Holiday Greetings to you...!

Hello my friends......again, I begin a blog by apologizing for not posting for awhile....what can I do?....my life here has resorted to a unrelenting tedium trying to get everything done that is necessary to leave cruising. It looks like the final hurdle for me and Tana should be overcome in March......hope so.........those Islands are calling for us!   For now...............

We want to extend our sincerest wishes to all of you for a  Happy Holiday Season and a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year.........talk to ya soon

My Girlfriend-Tana

Hello my friends.....I do know that there are a few of you who check in with ZOSHASWAKE on a semi regular basis and I do know that I have been remiss in my responsibilities of catching up with those of you who care about what we are doing....we have not left for the Caribe yet....just got the boat outta the yard for a bottom job and for some ordinary maintenance...thank GOD for giving me the insight not to have bought a bigger boat!!!! AMEN!!!! ............................You know?  Let me tell you something...OK???..................I got the BEST Girlfriend!!!..........What you say!!! Yeah....Whats makes the BEST GIRLFRIEND???...............In my opinion it's what kinda stuff they know about...everybody knows a little bit about nothing important or unusual....just crap... what celeberity is doing this or that...or what politico is doing this...or what sports team or star has this going for them...or what some reality TV personna is up to.............you know what I'm talking about??...you've been around  and conversed with these people.............HO HUMM.....the other day someone for some unknown reason  brought up the topic of North American /tribal Shamanism..........Well let me tell you dude, my girlfriend was all over it...........she knew everything about it...........from the prehistoric beliefs of the early cave men to the pueblo dwelling inhabitants of 18th century southwest.........Whoa, impressive, right?............coupla weeks later, we are someplace and someone mentions Chinese Numerology and.............well, TANA explained the significance of numbers and the meaning of certain numerical combinations and how they impact human endeavor......WHOA DUDE!!...........sometimes later......can't remember where we were but the topic of Astrology came up and ...........somehow my GF ended up explaining to all the basics and history and evolution of the topic............she reads TAROT cards..............She knows all about Vampires..............She is an established professional musician............she is a poet and author..........you wanna know about the mugrations of native peoples in ancient times?......ask Tana....she knows a whole buncho other stuff that I can't recall right now because I been drinkin' ...but take my word for it Dude....she's AWESOME..and I love her because she knows so much cool stuff and because she has the sexiest little feet in creation.
Take care my friends..........








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Keeping Track....

It's been a while my friends...........I've been so remiss in keeping this dialogue open....it's my loss.....I'm sorry................I hope this finds you all well, happy, and prosperous.....today, I was reading one of those minamalist blogs and the writer was talking about all the things in our lives that we need to keep track of on a regular basis............thinkaboutit???     If you really contemplate the subject, you come to the conclusion that peace of mind might be not having to keep track of anything.   Many of us dream of casting it all off and going sailing....talk about keeping track of stuff .... sailing around the place on a permanent basis is work! .....it's a myriad of permutations and combinations of critical details! ......wind, weather, communications, navigation, boat maintenance, engines, electronics, customs, big ships around you, waves, charts, waypoints, radio frequencies, tariffs, currents, unfriendly peoples and officials, money, radio protocol, family obligations, this list goes on and on and on and we've 'chucked it all to go sailing'?   In our case, we still haven't left .......I've developed some health issues that unfortunately for the time being I need keep track of ........................take care my friends.........

Disappointment, promises, and blues....

This blog has been around for a year or so and I've made these illustrious promises of taking you on a Caribbean adventure....I was supposed to leave months ago....but I am still here....! Don't abandon me my friends....I promise that I will take you that I WILL embark on the journey and will take you with me .... soon............!

You just thought that I went away........!

No......I'm here.......I've missed you all. There's been alot going on in my world in the last couple of months but unfortunately none of it is interesting and not "blog worthy".  Last Thursday July 14, 2012 was somewhat of a landmark day for me.....on that day I sold the last piece of my old life and now own nothing but my boat and a few clothes and my old truck......feels good!! REAL GOOD!
The plan to be outta here and start cruising by Spring 2012 has not happened. I'm still in Seabrook, Texas trying to get the boat ready. Now that hurricane season here, we will not be able to leave until after the first of the year........probably February or March 2013......just a year behind schedule....not too bad....really. Nobody ever leaves for cruising on schedule the first time out. That we are still going is what matters.
The teak deck is all off  and the hundreds of screw holes have been filled with epoxy and the deck has been pretty well prepped for the new non-skid paint and guess what?? The company from whom I purchased the first batch of the DOVE GRAY non-skid paint that I was so happy with has gone out of business!! They have dropped off the planet....no website, no email, no phone number......AW CRAP! if you know what I mean. In retrospect, I think that they were probably a reseller of the paint. They most likely purchased it from the manufacturer in big batches and re-packaged it in quarts and gallons for the recreational market.....I think!! So now my quest is to find that manufacturer if there is one and try to secure some paint......if that doesn't happen, I will have to redo those parts of the deck that are already done with whatever new non-skid paint that I find. AARRGHHH!! 
Y'all take care.....Next blog will have some pics..........seeya

Frustration, Aggravation, and the IRS.......

Hello my friends- Its been a while since we've talked. The last few weeks have been hectic. I picked up six weeks of extra work that took up alot of my time and so no blogs from me for a few weeks now.    The wi-fi signal in my marina is soooooo weak that its virtually useless. So my blogging has suffered from that as well. I haven't forgot about you though and think of you often.
Well its Spring 2012 and my plans to leave for Florida and the Bahamas are frustrated once more. The boat is not ready yet . I'm not ready to leave yet and Tana is not ready!  Its been said many times...... "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  The IRS got a hunko my cruising fund on April 17th so now I have to work another few months to replenish the cruising shekels! Oh well, overcoming frustration and setbacks builds character. Doesn't it? 
The teak deck removal project on ZOSHA has been totally on hold  for the last six weeks while I was working extra but I started back on the project a couple of days ago right before the thunderstorms moved in........!! today is beautiful so am going to get started on the foredeck as soon as I finish this.
My next blog will have pictures of the progress  on the re-decking.
Y'all have a great day.........seeya soon.................

Open the BOX!!!

You know all the Shrinks say that its a normal emotion.....?
"What? what? what?" you say. "Whats this yahoo talking about now?"
The feelings of despair we get when we know that we lack something that we wish we had. Those feelings we internalize when we finally come to the conclusion that we are inadequate at something that we wish to be good at..............and then we finally realize that we could live as long Methuselah and that we would never acquire this thing that we wish that we possessed.  For me....its musical talent. I am totally devoid in any form of musical competence..........I'm tone deaf, can't carry a tune, suck at humming, can't remember or understand the words of most songs........I'm just a musical KLUTZ! Tana on the other hand sings like an angel! Actually, at one time, she was a performing professional musician and played venues with allot of biggies like Willie Nelson and Bob Hope and Dean Martin and Kristopherson and Captain and Tenile and the Cowsills and Soupy Sales.....I really don't know all the details but she sometimes talks about partying with Willie in his tour bus at the Houston Rodeo..............although she doesn't really tell me much..........anyways that's another story!
So how do I compensate for my lack of musical acumen? Well..........I'll tell ya......I listen to music and  appreciate and respect the marvelous talent of others.
"OK....good for you" you are thinking...."where is this going?"....you wonder.
We all have Internet access now.......I presume. Even our cruising comrades in the far reaches of the Bahamas and the Sea of Cortez and Mazatlan and Roatan and Belize and the Windward and Leewards now have Internet access. With the new generation of wi-fi boosters we can piggyback off of shore side wi-fi or off  the connection on multi million dollar yachts that are anchored downwind.
"OK Mr. 'IT' SO WHAT".....you're thinking. I'm thinking one of the greatest Internet inventions ever!!!
 PANDORA FREE INTERNET RADIO!! If you haven't already done so, check it out and if you really like it sign up for the premium version. Its only $36 per year. I've been giving the premium version as gifts............you don't need me to tell you how to find it online. Once you get there, you can play around and decide for yourself it this isn't the greatest music venue on radio and while you're there check out the music that these guys make: Walter Trout, Friends of Dean Martinez, Dick Dale, The Blue Hawaiians, Norman Blake, Peter Green, Calexio, and The Pizza Tapes by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice. If you're a music person, you should have many hours of fun on this site.
Seeya.................take care my friends