Sailing in the Gulf.....brrrrrrrrr

Sailing in the Gulf of Mexico is a fun thing. I thought it would be fun to get some people togheter for a day of sailing...so before we left snowy Iowa I spoke to the nice people at Windsong Charters and after some arm twisting they agreed to take us out to our own secluded islet near Anclove Island. Once on shore, they would prepare lunch for us. Lunch begins with buttered garlic shrimp and carries on with filet mignon and Maine lobster tails.....did I say lunch...feast is a better description.


It was a great idea and a good time was had by all....the only clinker was the weather which was a bit on the cool side since the day was mostly cloudy and not as advertised by the meterologists. (Where is Conrad Johnson when you need him?) So of course, macho Iowa boy showed up with very little clothing and consequently was cccccold most of the trip.

The other people were better prepared. Gentleman Jim had so many layers of clothing you would have thought he was going to a Iowa Buckeye game. Helpful Hilda brought slickers which the mystery lady quickly latched on to one. Hilda also brought extra clothes which turned out to be a Godsend for Sylivia after taking a header into the gulf whilst trying to board the dinghy. Dawn, the bird from England, had on a black velour warm up suit.

After celebrating Brian's 60th birthday the evening before.....thats a whole other blog.....we were all hurting units...except for the mystery lady and I guess thats how she gets her moniker. Somehow, Slyvia was able to have the foresight to bring more wine...which was a delightful addition to the lunch.

Gentleman Jim, served as the co-pilot for a lot of the trip while our Captain Chris got on task with the business of setting the sails so the nasty wind could propel us towards lunch. When we got to the key, Chef Bruce had already fired the coals for the barbque. Cheft Bruce is from South Aftica and talks funny ..like the British bird that was part of the manifest. He used a South African skottel to prepare the garlic shrimp and mushroom gravy...but relied on a good old Weber for the main grilling. I think he is part owner of the skottel company called Cadco, as he did a spendid job pitching its attributes. Cheft Bruce is married to Captain Wendy, who also acts as the booking agent for the charter and guides you to the harbour. She has a 15 minute talk at the beginning of the soree which spells out the rules and gives you a lesson in sailing and peeing and all of the inner workings of a marine toilet. If she ever loses her pilots license, she can do stand up at the Comedy Store.

We headed back just in time for the sunset had it not been cloudy with notions that a another trip was in order on a sunnier day. Slyvia and Dawn thought it was nappy time, the mystery lady guided us to the pier, showing all that you can drink copiopus amounts of whiskey and not hit a reef. Hats off and only hats....to Wendy, Bruce and Chris for a splendid sailing experience.

Billy's Great Grandmother Uhr Gross Oma

Billy's great grandmother was born in Norway...not the town of Norway like his mom, Priscilla; Norway the country. Ellen Christine Ostley is a tough old lady having spent a lot of time in hottubs, saunas and then running around naked in the snow. She also owns a NordicTrack....how fitting.

I say old lady, because she just turned 100!
Every day she burns her Raleigh cigarettes, has her Viking Fjord Vodka chased by a shot of Saba. She says she likes younger men.

They threw a party for her at her house and a good time was had by all.

The way we see it

We came back from the Florida primaries expecting spring to be around the corner.

Here are pictures of what you see with the naked eye looking out of our front and rear doors.

Two of these views are Florida and two are Iowa....you will have to sort them out yourself.

The way we see it with or without a naked eye....we're heading south. Stay tuned.

Gormo the Moviemaker

Billy's landlord's youngest son is an aspiring movie maker. He made the Puzzler movie which I posted on my blog. He made the movie I starred in and I posted on my blog. Now comes the Tide Commercial competition video. We can hardly wait for the next entry.

Billy and Gormo submit the following for your review:

Valentine's Gala

Life in an iron lung sucks. The view is always the same. Ceilings are boring. Oh, occasionally there will be an interesting spider web formation which can amuse you for an all too short of time. Also crown moldings can be entertainment that most people don't understand. The utilization of a mirror is novel and provides some relief...but after a while you catch on...its all smoke ( from Otto, Priscilla and Great grannies Raleigh's) and mirrors.

I mentioned that Billy likes to watch Desperate Housewives and he also likes American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. I suppose he lives vicariously through the people on the shows. It is only natural that he would also live vicariously through me and my friends and my reports to him of the goings on.

Well last night was American Idol, Desperate Housewives and Dancing with the Stars all combined. It was the first annual Ex Club Valentine's Ball at the big casino. We were concerned that the ride home might be dicey due to the inclement weather which was forecast. Well it was only rain...this mistake would have not happened if Conrad Johnson were at the controls...but I digress.

We began the event with some fortification at the residence of the Bickersons'. From there we headed on over to the Big Casino. All the smart people where there as you can see by the aaccompanying pics.

Today is Billy's Godmothers birthday and for that event the Puzzler bought her an Apple I Phone and because he thought they were way cool he bought one for his birthday as well. The Puzzler sometime gets puzzled himself and in order to run that thing, he has been taking night courses at The University of I Phones, located in the American Telephone and Telegraph Building, so that he can power it up and receive phone calls. He is looking forward to the advanced course which will include Voice Mail and Photography.

The gala had all the ingredients of a great event...well everything except for the official flag. There was great food, great drinks, great music and great conversations. The ladies were dressed to the nines as were the men. Another sign of a great party is when a congo line breaks out.