Cruising Chronicle Part Un (one)

We left home on Thursday August 27th, headed south from Everett, where our yacht Morego is kept. Our goal was to make Andrews Bay in Lake Washington by happy hour. You never know how long it will take to get through the Locks and we had a couple of stops to make in the lakes on our way to Andrews Bay. Our timing was bad, as it turned out, and our transit took 2.5 hours from arrival at the Locks to exiting them on the lake side.

Next stop was close by at CSR Marine who were kind enough to let us use their dock so we could walk the 2 blocks to Kruger Propeller to pick up our reconditioned props. The ones Al had recently put on were a big mistake and not so good. So we picked up the props and headed over to Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club where we borrowed their guest dock to replace the props. Our diver met us there and in 2 hours we were all fixed up.

Finally and right on time we arrived in Andrews bay to back in as the 4th spoke of a Wagon Wheel which we were forming in preparation for the arrival of the rest of our friends on Friday. Happy Hour was well earned that day!

What a fun weekend we had with our friends and fellow members of Navy Yacht Club Everett. There were 9 boats in all. Saturday started out a little rainy but the sky soon brightened and the sun came out. We were challenged to participate in a paper plate sailboat race by Mukilteo Yacht Club, which it turned out were rafted with 4 boats nearby. 3 of our boats responded to the challenge and we all dinghyed over to cheer them on. The crew of Liberty won first prize and the crew of Venture won 3rd prize so we did pretty well.

Saturday morning Al decided he would not have enough projects for our trip so he headed home with the help of the crew of Liberty who dinghyed him to shore and loaned him their daughters car (she had arrived to visit). He brought back an inverter project which he had been intending to install. He arrived back to the boat in time for the sailboat races.

Sunday morning the wheel broke up by 9am and we were all on our way. It turned out to be practically zero visibility in thick fog starting about the locks. The good part is that we sailed straight into the small lock with 2 of our other boats and were through in less than 30 minutes. But from there is was very slow going in terrible fog, sounding our horn every 2 minutes as required by such conditions. Our radar was great and saved us running into another boat more than once. It is shocking how fast some people go in such unsafe conditions, and of course the fishermen are out there no matter what, not watching anything but their poles.

We made it over to Kingston as we planned where we filled up our thirsty gas tanks with 273 gallons of gas. Yikes! We also pumped out and will save water fillup until we reach our next port. Fortunately while we were in Kingston the fog began to lift. Horray! I was beginning to think we would have to stay there overnight.

While Al was filling the gas tanks I walked over to our favorite Creperie, J'Aime les Crepes. Perfect timing for lunch so I brought back one for each of us and a latte for Al. Soon we were on our way to our intended destination, Port Townsend. We were fortunate to snag a reciprocal slip which gives us free moorage for the night. It is great to be safely docked with power, having been on the hook and off the grid for the past 3 days.

There is no Clearwire here but our uber router is picking up bbx which I was able to successfully connect to.

Tempered Enthusiasm

Yesterday I walked 3 miles with my friend, Shirley. We are both doing Weight Watchers and encourage each other at yacht club activities. I had forgotten to fill a prescription at RiteAid before leaving Bellevue for Bremerton. I checked with Bremerton RiteAid and it would be no problem to get it there. It is located just 3 miles from the marina. Shirley is in better shape than I am for walking and thought we could walk there and back. My husband, Al, had some reservations and he was right. So we took the bus there, and walked back. I ended up with a couple of blisters (wrong shoes) but it was an accomplishment for me. Click HERE to see our route and some photos along the way.

Weight Watchers is encouraging members to participate in a 3k or 5k walk/run this summer. I intend to do this and have signed up for a walking/training group on Tuesday nights. Last week was my first attendance and we walked 2 miles already. But the 3 miles yesterday was much harder due to the up and downhill terrain, and the sunny day. I'm glad I have a little longer to train.

Ahhhhh, a good night's sleep - PRICELESS!

It was a good follow-up visit to my doctor this week. All my questions were answered and we settled on a course of treatment for now.

Regarding HRT - 3 sprays a day of Evamist; plus 10 days of progesterone every 3 months. We'll see how that goes for a year, unless I have any issues. The last 2 weeks on this dose has gone pretty well with just an occasional hot flash in the morning when I wake up, but nothing that wakes or keeps me up in the night.

Regarding night time bathroom visits - the baking soda nightly has worked wonders. I rarely get up more than once a night any more, which is wonderful. Dr. Avendano says the baking soda coats the bladder sort of like milk of magnesia for the stomach. She says I can have it 2 or 3 times a day if I think I need it. So far I don't have a problem during the day, just at night so the nightly dose is working great.

We're off for a vacation to Vancouver Island in Canada for a week. I am hoping my little female isues are tamed for now.

Foods to Avoid? You've got to be kidding

Here is the list my doctor gave me for anyone wanting to naturally reduce bladder irritation. Frankly, this list is a little scary. I mean, who is going to avoid all these things? Not me, for sure. But I read through the list and decided that I could cut some of them out of my diet for now. Not coffee, and obviously, not alcohol, but Guava for sure (what is that anyway) and citrus fruits and a few others . Between this and the baking soda before bed (1tsp in a cup of water, if you have missed my earlier posts), I am getting up normally just once a night, down from 4 or 5 times. As the commercials say, PRICELESS!

University of Washington, Dept of Urology
Foods That Can Cause Bladder Irritation

• Grapes
• Pineapple
• Cranberries
• Apple juice
• Citrus fruits
• Peaches
• Plums
• Tomatoes
• Guava
• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Decaf Coffee
• Regular Coffee
• Tea
• Alcoholic beverages
• All carbonated beverages
• Nutrasweet
• Chilies
• Spicy Foods
• Onions
• Vitamin B complex
• Chocolate
• Vinegar

To wine or not to wine

Last night I slept pretty well. We drank red wine with dinner, a Three Rivers blend called Rivers Red. We purchased a case of this very nice wine when we were at the Three Rivers winery just west of Walla Walla a few weeks ago.

Night before last we drank a St Michelle Reisling, one of our favorite whites, with dinner. That night I had a bad time and was very thirsty. I wonder if it was the wine. I will avoid white wine for a while and see how it goes.

Tonight we ate out at Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill at Bellevue Square. We saw the new Star Trek movie this afternoon and it was AWESOME! I had about 60% of 1 mixed drink and no other alcohol today. Hope there was not too much salt in the meal. I hope for a good night tonight.

Sat AM: YES, a great night! Slept right through and not thirsty (ok, just a little, but did not wake me up).

On our way to a wedding today. Hope there are healthy goodies at the reception.

Sun AM: Before bed last night we drank a bottle of our favorite Rivers Red wine, from Three Rivers Winery near Walla Walla, WA. I thought this would be a problem through the night but NO, it was not. Not thirsty and still only got up once in the night. Sooooo, good red wine, no problem. White wine, not so good.

Some good, some not so good

Good news! I slept great again last night, only getting up once and no hot flashes. I think this will continue and I will begin to feel better. It is nice to feel I'm on the right track.

Today was Weight Watcher weigh-in day. I gained 1 pound this week. Silly me... I guess I thought I'd done so well last week under very difficult conditions that I could loosen up a little this week. What was I thinking?!! I will never be able to "loosen up", EVER! Every time I open my mouth there is a decision to be made... yes or no, good or bad, on plan or not. Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is very very hard.

I went to Costco yesterday and picked up a couple of new items to add variety to my menu. This always inspires me to have some interesting new food to include in my meal planning. Costco is good for having new and interesting things.

I just have to keep in mind that every food is ok, and every decision is ok. There is either a cost to pay or a reward to receive. Either way it is my decision. Here's to receiving more of those rewards this week!

3 shall be the number

I have been using 3 sprays daily of the Evamist estrogen mist for a week now and the result is definitely better. Only one night have I had a major hot flash/night sweat. I even slept well at home last night which has been rare lately. I seem to sleep fine on the boat, and even at my parents house when we visited over a weekend. But home has been more difficult. It is definitely much cooler on the boat so last night we left the window and door open in our bedroom. I also did not drink any alcohol last night. The baking soda drink before bed has continued to work well, reducing my need to get up for the bathroom. Things are definitely looking up.