August 2013

Welcome to our world

We are thrilled to welcome James Wyatt Lindor to the family. Born August 6th to proud parents Vance and Amy, he joins his 5 other brothers and sisters in the menagerie. We couldn't be happier that everyone is doing well. You go, little man!

One in 130,000

In 2008, Janice began spilling the beans to friends that I was going ahead and would learn to fly. Many (including you, perhaps) thought I was crazy. When she added that I would build the airplane to learn to fly in, you knew for sure I was crazy. 

I was determined to build it in one summer (2009) and be flying before my 60th birthday in 2010. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men.  Once finished,  I did get to fly it for a few hours in 2012 thanks to Ian, but my instruction finally got of to a start in late June this summer. Last month I wrote that I was progressing  but I was  not quite ready to apply for a job with American Airlines. 

A month ago I was a know nothing wanna be. A month later, I know just enough not to be dangerous. That is, a wet behind the ears, low hours sky pilot. My instructor was fond of reminding me that when together, we had 4030 hours of experience in the cockpit. When I went off on my own, we had 30 hours of experience in the cockpit. It makes a difference.

 I am thrilled to report that the deed is done. I flew solo on August 13th, 2013 and I am beyond the moon! It took me 23,220 days on this earth before I reached the point where, on my own "I slipped the surly bonds of earth, put out my hand and touched the face of God". I felt the fluttering in my heart, an inexplicable sense of excitement. I was as happy as a puppy wagging two tails.

Of course I would never tell anyone but you of those inner demon fears that could have haunted me. Like that I would have built an airplane that in the end could not even fly, even though 3,500 others identical to it do. Nor would I ever have said anything about the fear that the plane would fly just fine but as a pilot I would simply never get the hang of it and wash out. Still, I continued to push myself way out of my comfort zone. I could not have lived with myself had I not.

I simply decided to take Mark Twain's advice. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"

There are roughly only 1 pilot for every 1,300 people in the US, with a similar ratio of airplanes.  8% of the planes are built in a non commercial setting and only 1 in five of that small number were built and are flown by their owners. That being the case, there are only 1 meticulously hand crafted, exquisitely custom built airplanes (what some disparagingly call home built's) actually built and flown by the owners themselves for every 130,000 people in the country. I am incredibly grateful to be one of them.

What a spectacular retirement this is.

Fun, fun and more fun

For the past umpteenth years, we have regaled you with stories of one household renovation project after another. While we obviously enjoy them, it would be understandable if you thought that I was simply incapable of not doing any and of just spending time goofing around.

OK, so you are mostly right. After 10 summers of doing serious work around here with little time to lollygag about, this summer is the exception. Yes there are still projects to do. Some pretty good ones too. But, this is the first summer where to date, we have just visited places (to some extent because we have Kayla), entertained, goofed off, Jet Skied around and of course, I fly.

Is it legal to have this much fun?

Again?

Five years ago, Cottage Life did a little write up on our dock bench. This is a Canadian publication that covers all manner of cottage living pretty much anywhere. With a subscription base of 900,000 people, they are the definitive resource for the lifestyle. We had brought our sons old surfboard from California and I turned it into a dock bench by adding a few legs to it and they wanted to share the concept with their readers.

  
Last summer, the local papers here took turns doing cute little write ups on our Little Free Library. This summer, we got an email from Cottage Life Magazine again.

They too wanted to do a short write up on the only boat access Little Free Library in the world, which happens to be at a cottage. Ours. So they sent a photographer all the way from the big city of Toronto to little old us and he shot pictures of the library to his hearts content. That story will be published in their magazine at the end of this month. Then, he spent hours shooting pictures of every inch of the island and the house.  

Shortly thereafter, we got a call from the magazine's editor who had reviewed his portfolio, and asked if they could send a couple of their people for two days to photograph  and write a full feature story about the Bee for a 2014 publication date. Cottage life publishes 6 times a year so they have months of lead time for each edition.

It would not matter when they came as we would always feel that we are not quite ready, there is always more to 'finish', improvements planned, and better, nicer, yada yada to come. What they will get is where we are at at this stage and time.  Next year, as is the case every year, we plan to make it better.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure
(Nova Scotia or Bust!)

I made a quick trip to Nova Scotia this month. I was invited by my flight instructor to drive there with an other fellow ( he is a wanna be pilot also) who had purchased a plane identical to mine and wanted our instructor (Claude) to fly it back.  By tagging along, the owner and I were able to split the 2000 mile (3200 Km) drive and fly time back.

 

I wish I could say that I was invited along due to my superior flying skills, but as Claude reads this blog also and is now probably laughing so hard he is choking, the truth is that I was like the fat kid picked last on the playground to join a game as there was no one else available.

No matter, I was thrilled to be part of the invaluable experience of cross country flying, new airports, navigation and all of the details involved in this kind of flying. We flew 5 hours a day for 3 days to get back.

The view from the magic carpet

I felt like a Peeping Tom, peering in everyone's back yard from 1-2,000 feet (3-600 M) for hundreds of miles. For the geographically challenged, Nova Scotia is a Canadian Province (its like a State) on the East Coast, located on the map due South of the North Pole and West of Iceland. Regionally, it is also East of Maine and West of of a place called Newfoundland.

Meanwhile, this was our second week of island rental for the summer so Janice and I set up a home exchange that we initially thought we would spend the week at until this Nova Scotia thing came up. Janice and Kayla spent the week at  a 3500+ sq ft stunning home (325 sq M) on the water across from the Canadian capital of Ottawa. 

With a beach outside the dining room window and a place big enough to get lost in, they were pretty comfortable during my absence. 

Meanwhile back at the Bee, the girls get snuggle time

Out exploring the secret garden

There is magic in the air 

Its hard to explain what magic is to a 4 year old. Fantasy and reality all blend together and its pretty much all the same. But, Kayla got a real wake up call this month. I was explaining to her that it was possible that fairies could move onto the island but she didn't believe it. 

So, we had  her sprinkle some fairy dust near a tree by the cabin door and rest her magic wand next to it overnight. She came out the next morning and to her stunned amazement found that they had indeed moved in. Now a true believer, she spent the day trying to turn us into frogs with her powerful wand. 

We too were shocked when on a subsequent day we found a note that had been written by the fairies. Proof positive  that they exist and live here. Don't believe me? Just ask Kayla.

Click once on the photo

 Aunt Mandy is to be thanked for coming up with the idea when she is not too busy running the law office she works at.

July, 2013

Wedding Bells

Cassie and Steve

One happy bride

When we left off last month, I wrote that I was flying out for an unscheduled trip to the west coast to join Janice for several days.  About 10 days earlier we had gotten a phone call from daughter Cassie announcing that she and her guy Steve had decided to get married. Neither was interested in a big wedding and for a variety of logistical reasons, the date was pushed up to June 17^th. The event was held at a relative of Steve’s family’s property, at a lovely home suitable for the 40 or so guests attending. 

Ms Kayla Marie as the flower girl

This being the first time I was meeting his family, I flew out early and we were thrilled to find such a great bunch of like minded, down to earth sweet and generous people. Steve is a chef and Cassie will continue working part time while pursuing a full time ASL (American Sign Language) degree. 

The couple with their respective out-laws

The wedding was the best I have ever seen in a home setting and was a success thanks to Steve’s extended family that pulled off this logistical miracle in about 2 weeks. After the wedding, Janice, granddaughter Kayla and I drove north to Anacortes Washington, to daughter Amy and husband Vance’s home to spend some time with the rest of the rag-a-muffins before my return to the Bee prior to Janice and Kayla’s flight to the island a week later.

Riding the go cart with Megan Grace at the Lindor's

 ...and that's when the problems began. There have been few occasions throughout our marriage when Janice and I have been apart for long. To be clear here, I missed Janice simply because I missed her. But, over the years, we become accustomed to what our partner routinely takes care of and to which we give nary a thought. 

Like cooking.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not one of those clueless men who don't know where the kitchen is. I know perfectly well it's where the beer and the potato chips are to be found. I also peeked into that space next to the ice bin where there are all kinds of huge hunks of God knows what.

The fridge was full but without a single thing to eat that didn't involve pot, pans, thawing, cutting, chopping and dicing. In short, time consuming labor intensive preparation. Hey, I'm hungry NOW! If I took the time to cook all this stuff I would be starving by the time it was ready. Reading and following the directions in the cookbooks would ensure that I would only eat once every 3 days. After eating olives, twigs and leaves for a week I think that Jenny Craig has nothing on Janice when it comes to putting me on a diet.

One more thing, how come there are no clean socks left in my drawer? This bachelor thing is just not working out.

Ms. Kayla

4 year old granddaughter Kayla has joined us for the summer. What were we thinking? Seriously, they just don't make them any cuter or better behaved than this pumpkin. There is simply no contest. Our grand kids are cuter than yours. Period! Determined to please, she is quite agreeable to spend the summer wearing her 'special jacket' (life jacket) anytime she steps foot outside the door to keep her safe. She has taken to being on the water like the geese that surround us and can't get enough of it. 

What every well dressed princess wears

She wants to go boating morning, noon and night and especially loves being out in the storms. She does a remarkable job steering us through the islands (while sitting on my lap). Her second most favorite thing is meandering in the 'secret garden', the shallows between the islands behind our property.  Her most favorite is riding the Jet Ski at unfashionable speeds. We usually make contact with every 3rd wave as she screams "Faster, faster!"

Still, she is 4. So there are lots of fun activities in her 'office', a low table and chair we have set up on the porch so she can keep a watch on the river and its activities. There are bedtime stories and plenty of Nana time in the kitchen as well as explorations when we head to the mainland. There are no shortage of frogs and fireflies to keep her amazed.

Kayla in her "office"

We have had 5 kids of our own, so this is not our first rodeo. It has been a while though since we have had such a young one around, so we had to re familiarize ourselves with head trips they will try to put you through. With an appetite of two line backers after a big game, I have estimated that she spends 87% of her waking hours eating and 150% of her hours talking. 

Eat, eat, eat. Then eat some more

Conversations revolving around questions like "Why is the water wet?" or "Why is the sky blue?" are commonplace. But my favorite coming from the other side of a closed bathroom door is "What are you doing?" When told "I am going to the bathroom" she asked "Why?"

We were invited to visit aboard the Tall Ship Fair Jeanne. Kayla now talks of being a ship captain and wonders where she can go to school for it.

I convinced Kayla that we could not BBQ unless she wore the official BBQ hat

With enough activity and ice cream, its hard to get bored

Da plane

After interminable delays, excuses and other tall tales, the bird is finally off.  Last month my instructor flew my plane from where I keep it in a hangar at the local airport, to the one near his home about 2 hours away. Since the 3,000 or so parts of the plane were meticulously, carefully and lovingly assembled, his test flight was without incident. Having completed my ground school last summer, we were shortly heaven bound and flying. And my flight instruction began...

Funny how you would think that the mechanics of taking off, landing and basic maneuvering would be what you would start with but after zig zagging for a few minutes he simply asked me "Hey, where is the airfield"? 

Crap! Tricked again...

It all looks the same from up here. Just fields, roads, towns and water everywhere. Ok, so maybe little stuff like that is important too. We typically fly for an hour, land to get my heart rate down, dry my sweaty palms then head back into the heavens for more nirvana. If only we didn't need to refuel....I could stay up here forever.

We fly when the weather and his schedule permits, while I am focused like a laser beam on the day I can solo. With over 3000 hours of experience in this plane, I have the pleasure to have who I have been told by several independent sources is arguably the best flight instructor in Canada for my specific aircraft. Well worth the 3 hour round trip drive for the 2 hours of instruction. Besides, my head is in the clouds all the way home anyway.

Janice has been a super good sport about the hours away and I now have 16 hours seat time and can take off and fly just fine. But, I can land on my own about 30% of the time. Perhaps a little premature to practice my top gun swagger as I walk across the field.

A real juggling act

One of the challenges of bouncing around as we are wont to do, is getting the registration of our  vehicles straight. You would think that it would be a no brainer, by simply registering whatever, where ever we are. Alas, it is not that simple.

Of course, registering and insuring our car in France is done there. That's easy. The car we leave at home in California is registered and insured there also as we are after all, residents of the golden state. The vehicle we drove from California and have left in Canada near the island for the past 8 years is more complicated. It too is registered and insured in California, again because we are residents there and because it was purchased there originally. 

The thing is, every year we receive a letter telling us that in order to complete the registration requirements, that vehicle must pass a smog check....which can only be performed in California. So, every year I return an exemption request explaining that we and our vehicle happen to be 3,000 miles away and I will be happy to bring it in for the smog check as soon as I drive it back. They have yet to figure out that I have not driven it back in 8 years so they keep granting the yearly exemption. Works for us!

The boats get really complicated because of the plethora of laws in the different countries, states and provinces. We bought our main boat and its trailer in Canada so we had to pay the confiscatory taxes outright. It allows us to insure it under our homeowner's policy at the island so that is a done deal. We purchased a 14 ft fishing boat in New York state and to register it we only needed an address ( but not a residence) there which we have in the form of a post office box. The motor is insured under our homeowner's policy. The canoe does not require registration and has too little value to be insured.

Last summers acquisition of two Jet Skis opened a real can of worms. We could have registered them in Canada but besides having to pay the import tax, they require that you carry insurance year round even though you only use them 4 months. We could not register them in New York state because we could not insure them as we do not have a residence there. The solution was to register and insure them in California, both because we are residents and because we could cancel our insurance after the season was over and not have to continue paying for the next 8 months. 

The Jet Ski trailer was the problem child. Register it in California with the jet skis, right? Wrong. Watercraft can be registered without  a physical check on their part but any vehicle (trailer) on the road must be brought in for an inspection. Not likely when it is 3,000 miles away. Since the trailer is covered by the auto insurance anytime it is being towed, we only needed to register it. New York state allows registration with a NY address only ( again, not necessarily a residence) but not insurance. So, the trailer is registered in NY.

Finally, the plane. Registered in Canada because my instructor lived nearby and can only teach in a Canadian registered aircraft and because I can insure it only for the months I fly as opposed to the US requirement of paying insurance for the 8 month I do not.

The real fun begins when I try to clear customs towing a New York registered trailer carrying California registered Jet Skis to our Canadian property. "Really officer, I can explain everything!"


I don't know about you but I am getting a headache trying to figure this all out.