A Christmas to Remember

I hope that everyone is having a truly wonderful holiday! We aboard the Good Ship Monster have had, without a doubt, a most fantastic holiday. It certainly blew in like none other. The winds we experienced on Christmas Eve gusted upwards of 40 knots/ 80 kms. Gordon and I woke with a start

T'is The Season

The Holiday Season has come upon on us once again, and the countdown to Christmas is quickly approaching! We have already made our customary trek to the grocery store for a wee table top tree. As it's a real one, we faced the challenge of securing the poor thing on the only space available, the

1st Blogiversary!

It's our First Blogiversary! Meaning that I have been writting, sharing my thoughts, and my photos, here on this blog for a YEAR! Woohoo! I feel a great sense of accomplishment in having come to this point. I said in one of my earliest posts that I never considered myself to be a blogger. Now 30

A Few Good Books

As the long dark days of winter settle in I want to make a serious attempt to lay down my trusty iPhone and pick up a few good books. Reading is a past time I've always enjoyed, but these days, I find myself all to absorbed in reading online: news, social media, blogs, etc. I'm missing the joy of

We Moved!

 

Alas, the time of year has come that our Island accommodations are no longer accommodating. By now, most of, if not all, of the neighboring boats have been hauled out. Most of their inhabitants have relocated to City dwellings and docks or tropical destinations for the winter. The Marina is cold,

One Year!

 

It was mid week, mid October, that marked us as being full time live aboards for ONE YEAR! One whole year! It is astounding to me really. For one, how did the time go by so fast? And secondly, other than last year's brutal winter, the transition to living aboard was almost, dare I say? Easy! Life

A Bump In The Road

It was a dark Thursday night when Gordon hit a bump in the road. "Cheryl? Are you up? I think I've broken my shoulder". 

I am now, I thought rousing out of my sleep and racing up on deck. One look at him, after managing

Septummer

The month of September started all warm and sunny, with some of the hottest days we had experienced all summer. I was calling it Septummer. Today, fall is in the air. There has been single digit temperatures at night. Burrrr. The heater is on standby. Other than the weather, the month has

The Dog Days of Summer

It's hard to believe that August has come upon and nearly past us so quickly. It's even harder to believe that thoughts of our Son heading back to school are running rampant through my mind. As much as I want these these lovely hot (?) sunny summer days to linger, I am already fully prepared to

Toronto Island Narnia

At this point of the summer the Toronto Island is inundated with activity. Every weekend and often throughout the week, the park is bustling with festivals and events of all sorts. There are people galore, here, there and everywhere. Subsequently, line ups are long for the ferries, the loos and the

9 Months

As of mid July, my Boy & I, and the Dog, have lived aboard our Monster for 9 months. You may recall that Gordon joined us 7 weeks later when his tug boat laid up for the winter. The numbers, days, months & years seem somewhat significant lately. We are coming upon a number of

This, That & the Other

This is where we are at these days. Living and working on the Toronto Islands, and happy as clams. In many ways Toronto hasn't changed from when we left the city three years ago, and then again, everything is different. Life has certainly gotten busy as of late, and so it does for everyone when the

Spring

When we initially docked Monster here in the Toronto Islands in early May it surely felt that spring was late. The likely sentiment of everyone who endured the long winter. Looking at the pictures from my last post I can see that it looks cold. The trees were still bare and the air held a chill, but this past

Island Time

Here we are. All secure in our new berth, our new home in the Toronto Islands. I'll say it's been a bit of a shock to return to the big bright city, overwhelming to say the least but, we are happy. Incredibly happy. I'm still a little in awe every time I look out our galley port to see the CN Tower and the

Maiden Voyage

Oh and what a voyage it was! It's hard to put into words the excitement and gratification one feels upon sailing one's own vessel on it's Maiden Voyage. We departed Belleville, Bay of Quinte, on a cool damp morning, about 11 am. Once we passed under the Bay of Quinte bridge we hoisted the

Busy as Bees

We've been so caught up with Monster that I've fallen behind with posting, so this is a bit belated...

Now that the ice has finally melted the good ship Monster has been a hive of activity. We are in the home stretch of preparing the boat for departure for Toronto in a matter of days. Not only are we

Still Waiting

I think the title says it all. We are still waiting on the ice to melt completely. As I think upon it, it always seems that us Sailors are always playing the waiting game. Whether it be for ice, weather, tide or season, parts or crew. It's always hurry up and wait!

Raising Our Son Aboard

It is only natural that Gordon and I would choose to raise our Son aboard a boat. Sailing is just what we do, and if you know us well, you would most certainly concur. Both Gordon and I grew up on and around boats. It's each of our choosen professions, our passion and ultimately the way we choose to

Counting...

Counting the days that is. While Spring has officially arrived according to the calendar, we've yet to really feel it's full effects. True, I have spotted my first crocuses, and a robin pulling a worm. The snow is melting, streams are running, and the birds are chirping. I have shed my long johns, but the

Marching On...

It appears that March is certainly passing us by, already we are into the final week of the month. I feel quite certain that Spring is in the air, and Spring holds a lot of change for us here aboard Monster. Not just with the obvious changes of the weather and season, but for what lies ahead.

The Sound of Monster

This weekend marks 5 months living aboard Monster! Slowly, but surely, I am learning her ways, or perhaps more so the sounds of her ways. Given, there will be a lot more for her to say once we leave the dock, but there is many a creak and groan that our old boat mutters as we go about our days.

 

Cooking

I was inspired to write a blog post about cooking after watching a marathon of episodes of Anthony Bourdain's series No Reservations and The Layover. The problem is I think I am more inspired to write about Tony rather than cooking itself. I've kept coming back to work on this post, it's been a

Condensation

Ah, condensation, it is without a doubt a downside of our winter live aboard life. Until now though, this topic of conversation of has been just too close to the surface of my sanity to be subject for a blog post. Condensation, simply put, is the watery result of warm air adjacent to cold air. As the

Blogging

I never fancied myself to be a blogger. But, here I am 9 posts and several drafts deep into my own Blog. Admittedly, I am finding that I am really enjoying writing, though I wouldn't consider myself by any means to be a Writer. What I am, is feeling creative. Again. The words have become shapes,

The Tedium of Winter

The sound of the ice explodes against the hull, loud enough to jar you from a sound slumber. Listening in the stillness it sounds like fireworks underwater. The first steps forward in the morning will have the ice creak and groan some more as your weight shifts throughout the boat ever so

The Project List

Like every new boat owner, or shall I say, every boat owner, or well, every home owner for the matter, we have an ever growing project list. As soon as you cross an item off that list two more jobs to be done are added. I've got lists upon lists with side and sub lists within!  Said lists began right

Tropical Dreams

Here, in Southern Ontario, we've been enduring a really cold winter. The frigid temperatures have been dropping to the -30's with the wind chill.  So what does one do but hibernate and dream of the tropics? Of warm sunny days? And the heat of the summer past? I happily think back to those days

Our Boat In the Middle of the Bay

Our Boy is a big fan of Madness. 'Our House' is, safe to say, his all time favorite song. At the ripe age of 4. And now that we live aboard, and well, no longer living in a house in the middle of the street, I have altered the words to reflect our new situation...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Dear Readers!

Please celebrate with us as we sail into the New Year, as we develop our blog and learn the in's and out's of blogging.  You can now subscribe to Good Ship Monster, and receive each new post in your