Winter Onboard in Annapolis

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, February 8

We watched the Super Bowl last night, if you want to call it "watched."  We streamed it on Maggie's laptop (CBSSports.com) and listened to it on our satellite radio (because we are in a TV reception dead spot).  Unfortunately, the video stream was about ten or 15 seconds lagging the audio--so, eventually we gave up on the video stream.  We were rooting for the Chiefs and were disappointed in their loss.

The sun was shining brightly but it was cool outside (low 30's)--so, we decided to get started on re-organizing our storage unit by sorting out more old clothes and itemizing and photographing things we needed to sell in order to reduce the unit's size in half.  

Well, the "sorting of old clothes" didn't quite come to fruition today but we did a good job of taking pics and advertising some big items.  Four things got listed for sale on either eBay or Craigslist and I actually sold my 8-inch drill press by 3 PM!  (I must have received five or six call about it later in the day.)

My 8-inch drill press was sold within hours
of listing it on Craigslist! 

I also found a home for my spare C&C interior boat door to another C&C boat owner in Ohio--we are still working out details on getting it to Ohio without high costs.  One of the possibilities was simply meeting each other half way.

This interior teak door became excess
when we had to remove it to
install a new stove a
couple years ago.

The items that were advertised for sale today but not yet sold by the end of the day include: a RIGID-brand shop vac, a Nikon right angle viewfinder, and a Carlisle-brand kayak paddle.   We intend to tackle the "sorting of old clothes" issue tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 9

The sky was overcast and the outside temperature was a cool 34 degrees F when we awoke in the morning.  We had some trouble balancing the sources of heat in the boat last night because the outside temperature was not as cold as it had been lately.  Snow was expected during the next several days with varying amounts of accumulation.

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I had a mid-morning appointment with my oncologist (the medical doctor that supervises the radiation treatments) at Anne Arundel Medical Center (our local hospital).  I learned that my PSA had dropped from 25 down to 3.2 due to the hormone treatments.  It is noteworthy that cancer can still exist at a PSA of 3.2.  (PSA readings are simply an indication of swelling--not cancer content.)  I have an appointment for a simulated radiation treatment on Monday, February 15, and actual radiation treatments should start a week or so afterward.

In the afternoon, we took dimensions (and some close up photo's) of the green leather loveseat that we are trying to sell.  When we returned from our storage unit I prepared an ad for the loveseat on Craigslist.   (We didn't make any progress on the disposition of excess old clothing today, postponing it until tomorrow.)

I have had this green leather loveseat for about
15 years and it has been in storage for the
past 5 years.  We are trying to sell it now.

Today, my Nikon right angle viewfinder sold on eBay and I have an interested buyer for my shop vac.   So, we are making progress in reducing our storage footprint! 

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We experienced our first scam on Craigslist--a "fake" buyer from out of state offered to send a cashier's check with excess funds to pay movers to pick up the loveseat with the idea that we would pay the movers for them with the excess funds.  Scammers are slick!  I didn't take the bait but I was tempted.

Our typical evening aboard in Annapolis includes
watching the news on PBS (one of the few
stations we can receive) and Maggie
working on a puzzle on her iPad.

The outside temperature made it up to 46 degrees F in the afternoon!

Wednesday, February 10

The day started out overcast and cool.  Snow was expected off and on during the next day or so, starting late today.  The outside temperature was in the low to mid-30's.

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I shipped out the Nikon right angle viewfinder in the morning as the result of the sale on eBay and met someone at our storage unit who bought my shop-vac.  Little by little, we were making progress in reducing the contents of our storage unit--selling the loveseat will make the biggest impact on the volume of stored items and I got an email about it this afternoon.

Lola nestled in our heavy
winter coats.

Thursday, February 11

The overnight precipitation involved rain, sleet, and snow.  The accumulation was small as it snowed into the morning hours.

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At mid-morning I practiced holding water in my bladder--this is necessary for the simulation appointment I have on Monday--in the simulation appointment the machines are setup (and I get two small locating tattoos) for my radiation treatments.  

I was able to hold 14 ounces of water in my system for 1-1/2 hours today but I need to get this up to 16 ounces before Monday.  Again, this is needed to create as much separation of my organs as possible for the radiation treatments.

I had an appointment for my pre-radiation MRI shortly after noon today--the purpose was to check the placement of the gel and the markers.  (The gel was inserted to create a bit more separation between my prostate and my other organs and the markers were inserted so that my prostate shows up clearly.)  An MRI was the least invasive thing I have had to endure lately--the only annoying aspect of an MRI is the noise.

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We got back to the boat at 4 PM.  The atmosphere still looked like more snow was coming and the temperature was a real damp cold (but only 34 degrees F).

We finally found FRESCA when we were grocery shopping--this diet soda had completely disappeared from local grocery shelves since the start of the pandemic.

Finally, we found FRESCA again!

As a nation, we now have had over 471,000 deaths due to COVID-19.  Think about that for a moment--almost a half a million deaths!  (3,256 of those occurred  just yesterday.)  Please be safe and get vaccinated as soon as possible! 

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