I’m so far behind I have no idea where to start.
Last time I wrote here I was two weeks into my leave. Well, my leave turned into a ‘five weeker’ and it was busy, busy, busy.
Highlights of the leave? We got in loads of hay for the animals, enough we hope to see us through most of next year; We got rid of some livestock; got some different livestock; Cleared a lot of the weeds down the driveway; Got all the electrics done in the well pump house; had a sheep dog / herding lesson; re-arranged all our storage units (tantamount to actually moving again!); filed loads of paper work regarding national insurance; started looking a paperwork to become a tax exile; and (one of the most important things) had a very productive informal meeting with the new President of our property owners association.
The meeting with the new President cleared up a lot of issues that the previous board had raised, and has shown us that we have a good deal of common ground with the majority of the current board in regard to the Covenants and By-Laws. It was nice to see agreement on what we felt was logical and obvious. In fact, our differences have been settled to the extent that I’m now helping out with the Associations official website!
Back on the boat, we are working in the Gulf of Mexico again, for a brief period at least. My biggest headache at the moment is looking at the crew-change schedule for the coming months.The ship is due to go back to Nigeria in November, and we need to try to ensure that those who worked Christmas last year are on leave this year. Things are looking good at the moment as long as the work schedule doesn’t slip.
All in all I’ve been back on board for about two weeks and the trip feels very long already. Another two weeks to go, with the probability of a relatively short leave before coming back for the transit to Nigeria. But, I should be able to get off as soon as it arrives in Lagos. Just in time to hang up my stocking! hahaah
