Oriental, NC

 We are at the boat....but not going to move in the next several days.  The winds from a non-hurricane northerly system are battering us at the dock.  It would be NO FUN to be out there in these conditions.

One last project we had was replacing the trampolines at the bow of the boat.  We had ordered them about a month ago and they finally arrived.  Taking off the old tramp.  Seems odd/scary/wrong - to have that open hole up there! 

 

Duane made quick work of installing the new tramp using Dyneema line.  He just got one side done before wind and rain made it less-than-comfortable.  This is the only side that had an actual tear.  The other side can be done any time.

Ed and Cathy treated us to a nice pot of chili for supper - and a game of Hearts afterward.  So easy to slide right back into the groove!

But overnight the winds howled from the north, blowing lots of water into our little cove.  The dock is under water - we may just kick back with a good book today!  

(If you're wondering, we've never seen so much north wind - over the past couple of months it's been relentless.  I think we went whole years without seeing high water like this!!) 

Pittsboro to Oriental, NC

 I think we all know what this means😀!!  

Pittsboro, NC

Sister visits are always so much fun.  We went for a little hike on one of the state park trails at Jordan Lake.  (The boys are back there behind our heads in the photo).

 

 Beautiful fall day.  Just the right temp for a walk in the woods.

 

 

We stopped by the quirky venue "The Plant" in Pittsboro.   

Rafe treated us to some beverages at the Fair Game Brewing Co.

Just lots of conversation and visiting.....and a trip to the local Mexican restaurant for a yummy meal.  Southbound soon!

Pittsboro, NC

 Visiting with my sis and her hubby.  Out for a walk in the neighborhood, crossed paths with one of our neighbors. Beautiful day. 

Took a little detour over to another neighbor’s build site to see their progress. 

Their house is built like a tank!

And stopped by another neighbor’s garden to pick some kiwi. Amazing crop!!

Time is fleeting, we’ll be southbound soon!

Pittsboro,NC

 Time is flying by this fall!!

At the Asheboro Airport, we have a compass rose that pilots use to align their magnetic compass in their aircraft.  Here is a view of it from Google Earth -

But contrary to what it looks like above, the actual paint on the tarmac is pretty sad....

 

 

Compasses were much more important in the days before GPS....but it's still an FAA requirement that all certified aircraft have an old-fashioned mechanical compass in the airplane.  

The ladies flying group -The 99’s volunteer to paint compass roses at airports around the country.  If you want to see the history of the 99's (Amelia Earhart was the first president), see here .   

They made prior arrangements with us to come paint ours!  The City did their part - resurveying the cardinal points (they move with time!!) and painting over the old emblem with black paint.  The ladies congregated early in the morning and got to work.

 

A very long day....we provided them drinks and lunch....

Beautiful and functional!

 

Pittsboro, NC

 Last post about paving, I promise!

The contractor finished up the connection to the state road. It involved stopping traffic to allow the equipment room to maneuver. 

Very happy with the results!

Pittsboro,NC

 The long awaited paving day was finally here!  Beautiful fall weather. 

Not a lot to say so I’ll just show some photos. 

Very pleased with the result!  They will come back tomorrow to do the final connection to the state road. 

Pittsboro, NC

 The first bit of paving done today. After prepping the area around the mailbox “loop”, looks really nice. 

I can’t believe it, but tomorrow will be the main paving project!

Pittsboro, NC

 Lots of paving crew out on a dreary day....

  

 

I know you're getting tired of all the paving talk.....will soon be over!

With all the rain over the weekend from the N'orEaster that blew thru, no paving today.  They are instead focusing on the mailbox area.  This pavement had some large tree roots growing up and making it generally unpleasant.  The contractor is digging it all up, taking out the roots before reconstructing the pavement. 

 

Pittsboro, NC

 The paving crew is starting on our main subdivision road project....lots of dust as they clean out the potholes.  Paving won't start until Monday or Tuesday.  Looking forward to a nice, smooth neighborhood road!!

Oriental, NC

 Well, we're still in Oriental.  Just ticking off a few more little projects before we head back to Pittsboro.

Our gel coat, the white "paint" surface all over the boat is of course very old as it's original to the boat.  Years of UV has taken it's toll and there are some areas that the underlying fiberglass is showing thru.

 

You can't just paint it - if you do, it will eventually flake off and leave a mess.   

We used a two part gel coat - Duane spent some time tinting a quart container.  Because white is not just white.  This particular white has some tints of grey, brown and mustard apparently.  He added less than a drop of each to the quart and mixed well.  Pretty pleased with the color match.  After activating the epoxy paint, we had less than 15 minutes to apply before it sets up.  After two coats, we applied a wax product that helps it cure.

It's not perfect but much better than before. 

Another little project was finishing up the jib cover.  We needed to close up the end of the cover a bit.  We installed a grommet and a couple of DOT twist fasteners to snug-up the cover and provide good sun protection.  (There are two DOT fasteners....because we installed the 1st one in the wrong position.  Oh well...)

While we were tinkering with the jib cover, we raised the jib just to check things out.  Two massive mud-dauber nests so we got to wash off some mud.

And we joined 3 other Manta crews for lunch!  Charm, Jandals, Phoenix Rising and Sojourn represented!  All of us will be heading south soon - we may journey with some of them (and hopefully with What If ☺!)

Oriental, NC

I decided to do things a little different this season concerning bread-making.  I always hate pulling out all the ingredients for each loaf.  Sometime more than once a week.  I had the idea that I can vacuum pack all the dry ingredients for individual loaves. Then I can just toss in the water and oil into the bread maker and have almost instant bread!

First, I had to order a nice little food scale - then make a sample loaf using the same recipe I've been using all along.  But this time, weighing each ingredient in succession instead of using the measuring cup. 

 

 The sample loaf turned out wonderful.... 

 

 Had to sample it of course!

 

 The resulting vacuum pack.  I wrapped the yeast in a little plastic sachet to keep it away from any moisture in the other ingredients.  I'll retrieve that of course before using. 

Quite a few done.  I'll do more later if I end up liking the setup.

 In case you're interested, here is the recipe:

Wheat Bread Recipe

 110 g whole wheat four

40 g vital wheat gluten

350 g plain flour

1 1/2 c water

3 Tbsp oil

1.5 teaspoon salt

3 Tbsp sugar

2 teaspoon yeast

Oriental, NC

 Kris and Dean on Charm stopped by on their way to New Bern!  The boat is looking pretty and shiny from their recent haul-out.

They came over for a nice relaxing afternoon of catch-up.  We figured it has almost been 2 years since we've seen them - time sure flies!  (We took last season off and they've been in the Caribbean some of that time).   Like with all good friends, instantly feel like we've not been apart.  Lots to catch up on - a while later we got back together for a relaxing dinner aboard.  (There is a festival in Oriental this weekend so we opted not to go out as the restaurants are likely swamped).

I stole the group shot that Dean took from their blog....I'm sure they don't mind.☺☺

 Charm had already lifted anchor by the time I dragged out of bed this morning.....saw this heron on the dock....he quickly spotted me and flew away.