T-Minus 9 and Counting

     Of all the government programs available to make your life miserable, applying for new passports was quite painless, although we did suffer from the lighter wallet syndrome.  We had filled out the passport application online and then printed the application to expedite the process at the post office.  When we arrived at the post office, the only person ahead of us was filling out his passport application at the counter instead of using the table the post office had set up just for this purpose.  So, after a short time, this "gentleman" got the message and vacated the counter.  We were quickly attended to by a pleasant postal worker who reviewed the applications and birth documentation.  Unlike Sharon who has one birth certificate, I have a Department of State Birth Certificate, a Department of Justice Birth Certificate, 2 Documents for a Child Born Overseas to American Parents, a Birth Certificate from the U.S. Military Hospital and a Birth Certificate from Germany.  Yep, I was a Army Brat born in Munich, Germany and proud of it.  So I know who I am.  I got the documentation to prove it!.  Moving along, when the postal worker asked us why we did not answer the question about our immediate travel plans (country and dates of travel), we informed her of our plans to be full time cruisers.  She had difficulty comprehending the idea of living onboard a boat fulltime . So we tried to explain that we don't have firm travel plans, but that we did know that at some point we were going to leave the USA and travel by our boat to another country.  We just didn't know where or when.  You know, carried by the winds as if we have a sailboat.  We were instructed to write "None at this time"  in the answer block for travel plans.  So she took our pictures, made us affirm the application was true and that the picture she just took was in fact a good likeness of ourselves and sent us on our way. Hopefully, if Washington DC keeps its end of the bargain, we will have our passbooks and passcards in 4-6 weeks.

     As I discussed earlier, the galley is of the highest priority,  So we decided we needed a 23 bottle spice rack.  Where do you find a 23 bottle spice rack - you'll find it in your wood shop in the basement.  First we located 6.25 ounce spice bottles and then we located some No. 1 select lumber and one 4' prefabricate decorative wooden rail. A little table saw magic, some Aged Varnish stain and you have one custom spice rack.  The Aged Varnish stain is a very good match to the boat teak interior at a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy.
     In another preparation for our departure, I visited my dentist for one final checkup and due to Federal Law I am prohibited from discussing the outcome with anyone but myself!  Although I can say I have to go back.  Sharon has been lollygagging with scheduling her dental appointment.