OUR COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER

We have a great tradition here in Paradise Park and that is how we get together for Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Dinner.  

First of all you buy tickets for "Part of the Dinner"    That part of the dinner is the Turkey, the Dressing and the Gravy, which the park caters.  When you buy your ticket you also look on a chart of all the tables and find some friends that have already signed up and choose which table of friends you want to sit with and put your name on that table.  

Once you have your ticket and table decided on, you get together with the others at your table and decided on who is going to bring what, in a sort of Pot Luck for the rest of the dishes, sides and desserts that you and your friends want to have with the Turkey etc..  

 

The other thing that I love about this is that everyone contributes to their individual table settings as well.  

"I have some Christmas dishes I'll bring"  and "I have a nice Christmas centerpiece I can contribute" is how it all comes together and the tables all end up looking so nice.   

It all ends up looking so festive and we all have a great time socializing.  It is a great way to have a festive get together with friends. 

And a good time was had by all. 

NEXT UP, NEW YEAR'S EVE

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY

LOVE FROM LINDA AND DAN AND SEA-ENNA 

DIY: CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS

DIY: CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS HAVE BEEN TOTALLY REBUILT

When we purchased the Thunderbird she had a small V shaped berth deep down in the hull at the bow of the boat.  It went from wall to wall and you had to crawl across it, to lay down.  If you slept with your head toward the bow, your heads were crowded together, and if you slept across it, you had room for your head but, one of you always had to crawl over the other to get in or out of bed.  And that was usually me, because of Dan's need to be on the outside, because he was the tallest.  The only other thing in that area, was a small water tank under the berth and a very large vanity and sink.  Plus there was a large storage area, under what was the helm above in the Pilot house. 

After spending our first summer aboard we decided we needed to improve this area.  After taking many, many measurements, ( I even measured Dan from a sitting position to the top of his head, so that I knew how high up we could make the top of the bed, so that he could sit up in bed without him hitting his head on the ceiling.)  Like I say I looked at all the possibilities .  

I knew that a standard double bed is 54" wide and 72" long.   I also knew that the higher up we came, in that area, the wider the hull got, which would give us more width in the finished room.  So I made a wish list.  I wanted to be able to walk up each side of the bed to make it.  I wanted a second toilet and sink down there.  We also wanted some cloths storage areas and a larger water tank and even larger holding tank.  That was my wish list.  I sat down to re-work this sleeping area and I came up with a design. 

Now, having a design was one thing being able to translate it to Dan was something else.  I can come up with the design, and I knew it would work, size and shape wise, but he is the one that has to make it work structurally and mechanically.  He has to figure out where each piece of board is going to go and what he is going to attach it to and make it solid enough so it will all hold together even in rough seas.



So we plunged ahead.  And in the fall of 2004 we started ripping everything out of the entire area forward of the windshield and helm.  We stripped everything back to the steel ribs of the hull, except for the ceiling and 18"of paneling that came down from the ceiling.  When we opened up under the helm we realized there was such a large space there that we could add a huge sewage holding tank to the boat.  We had already taken the measurements for a new much larger water tank that we were having custom made, to fit down into the V of the hull, so we measured this other large area and decided to maximize our holding tank as well.  So we ordered two custom made tanks at the end of our fall work season. 

When we arrived back the following spring with two new tanks, we really had our work cut out for us.  The hardest thing to do in the nose of a boat is to set the levels we wanted for the floor and the bed.  "OK if that is the level at which you want the floor, where do I tie that to?  And if the bed is going to be at that height what do I attach that to? Were the often asked questions from Dan.    Of all the building and house renovations we have ever tackled, over the years, that was the toughest job we have       ever had to do. 



In the hull of a boat there are no straight walls, nothing to use a square against.  If you use a regular spirit level, you have to hope that the Lake Aggassi crew made sure that Thunderbird was level when the put her away in the fall.  Even the laser level, we purchased for this job, didn't prove to be the help we thought it would.  The only thing that proved to be of some help was a plumb line. 

It was a lot of work, with a lot of cursing and swearing, but we got it roughed in with a quick coat of primer in time for our launch that spring. 

We even managed to pick up our new custom built mattress just prior to having guests arrive for the Canada Day long weekend.  It wasn't all that pretty, but it was functional. 











The following year we put in all the finishing touches.  My Mahogany, my trellis dividers, my tiny sink, new flooring on the bathroom walls, etc. etc. 








We put a shower curtain up to enclose the little en Suite if you felt the need for privacy. 














 



We even installed a drop down DVD player on the ceiling for watching movies in bed at night.










I had to get an interior decorator to pick the paint colour for me.    ( I painted this area twice and hated it both times, then turned to a professional to pick the three different beiges I have on the boat. )  Now the colours are perfect. 




So now I have everything on my wish list.  I can walk up each side of the bed to make it.   I have my en Suite toilet and sink.  I have a huge storage area under the top half of the mattress, open compartments under each side of the bed and two drawers and a cabinet in the foot of the bed, as well as a small hanging closet, behind the bathroom wall.  I even have a very small vanity shelf below a large mirror for hair and make up.  

THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS ARE NOW PERFECT

ANOTHER COOL SNAP

The last cool weather passed and we had a reasonable week with highs in the mid seventies all week.   

So, I got my non-responsive wreath and garland re-wired and hung back up. 

I also picked up a couple of beautiful Poinsettias for my patio.  So, now it looks "Ready for Christmas".  

The weather man is predicting another cool weekend, so we will stay indoors and get some stuff done around here.  Dan and I have volunteered to be the coordinators for our Park's Christmas Dinner.  That should keep us busy for the next couple of weeks.  Thank goodness for all the experienced volunteers, that have stepped forward.  Because this is all new to us.  

THEY WILL HELP US GET IT DONE

SNOW IN TEXAS ?????

Being well into December I am kind of late with my Christmas decorations.  I usually try to get them up on December 1st. 

 

I got started early in the week and got my tree out and set up.  Then proceeded out side and put up my wreath etc. 

Well it turned out that the extensions and lights weren't working.  So off we went to the store to buy replacements.  But we couldn't get back at it the next day as the weather took a real turn down here.  On Monday we had a high of 88F or 31C.  and a cold front moved in that night and the high the next day was 46F or 8C with rain.  What a shocker.  And this morning we woke up to this. 

SNOW!!!  In all the years we have been coming to the Rio Grande Valley we have had one experience with a severe cold snap and that was to come out after a function and find ice on the windshield from freezing rain.  But I never thought I would every see snow.  As I am writing this it is disappearing quickly as the sun is now out and we are supposed to have temperatures in the mid 60s F or 19C.  and normal mid 70s F 24C the next day.  

I'LL GET BACK TO MY DECORATIONS THEN.  

OUT DANCING IN TEXAS

We went to our first dance of the season on Saturday night.  

 

We joined our new neighbours, Terri and Travis Gillon and off we went to "The Other" Paradise Park, to see one of our favourite bands "The Agency".  

We had a great time and it was a good kick off to the winter season for us.  

WE WILL DEFINITELY BE DOING MORE OF THIS!

LIFE IN TEXAS

I got my humming bird feeder hung up. 

I got my palms trimmed.  

We have met our new neighbours. 

We signed up and attended our park's pot luck Thanksgiving Dinner which was wonderful as usual.  

Now looking forward to the Christmas one.  

We even got a chance to go over to Siesta Village for happy hour on Wednesday for a visit with Sharon & Casey.  We have found our first dance to go to on Dec. 2nd, once that happens, we will really be in the swing down here in Texas.  

AND THAT'S WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT TEXAS