WOW! To say it has been a busy year would be quite the understatement! So much has happened it is hard to know where to begin! I suppose I should start by saying I've spent too much time on Facebook and obviously neglected the blog! I'll give you the short version...and then promise to do better!

November gave us a new four legged roommate....Dakota, the wonder dog.....December holidays and the birth of my first grandson, Ryne Maxmillion.....January arrived with a vengeance and took Floyd's best friend Gene away from us forever....February took my dad to finally be at rest (Alzheimer's is an awful awful disease)... We got married the second of March and left on our 25 day honeymoon April 5....spent a delightful, interesting and relaxing time cruising the Atlantic and then touring Italy. We were home almost four weeks before heading back to Huntsville, Alabama, and our lovely TUMBLEWEED.

Our purpose here this time is to acclimate the almost 9 month old puppy to boating life....and break in the new starboard engine. Dakota is doing great! He traveled well and settled right in to wearing a life jacket. He seems more than hesitant to do the wooden steps inside the boat so has managed to take over the salon area. He loves the freedom of running the big hill outside our dock which could prove interesting once we return to the condo. We continue to do something new each day...still on the list at this point is actual cruising and, the all important, swim lesson!

We've been here since Wednesday afternoon....takes a bunch of work to get this open and ready to live aboard. Our cabinets were empty...water system winterized....so major grocery shopping and clean up required, made more interesting with a puppy on board. We still have no running water ...kitchen faucet is to be replaced this morning which should solve that issue. But, as you well know, that could NOT be the case...I'm sure other  issues will arrive to keep us on the alert.

At this point, we have plenty to do through the weekend...Monday we cruise a while with Norm, our favorite mechanic, aboard. From there we'll do a couple of day trips, etc...got to put 20+ hours on this engine. Plans now are to be headed home June 19. Stay tuned to see how that works for us. Like I said, I'll try to do better at blogging....that Facebook is addictive!