Our new sailboat

Ryan and I bought a 1972 Kittiwake 23 sailboat this weekend and we were so excited! We went to pick it up Sunday morning and the cord for the trailer lights was too short to reach the car, but we figured it would be fine until we got home and could fix it.

Problem #1:
We got pulled over about 5 miles away from the person's house that we bought it from. Luckily, the police officer gave us a written warning and was really nice and we were on our way!

We called my boss and her husband to join us on our maiden voyage because he used to own a few sailboats and knew how to sail. We figured anything we couldn't figure out on our own, he'd help us with and they'd get a fun day of sailing. Win win!

Problem #2
We arrived at the boat ramp at about 1 pm. If my boss's husband, we'll call him Josh, hadn't been there, we would have gotten to the boat ramp, looked at our sailboat, cried and driven home. We had no idea how involved it would be! Our little 11 foot Snark was like a Tonka truck compared to our new sailboat. After two hours of figuring it out, without the aid of an owner's manual and missing a few pins (that the boaters next to us were generous enough to donate) they finally got the mast up!
The Kittiwake has a HUGE keel (imagine a giant fin that runs the length of the boat and sticks down into the water to keep it from tipping over and generally make it sturdier) and is difficult to put into the water, but we managed to get it in without using the extension on the trailer.
While we were loading stuff onto the boat, we saw two boats being towed in who had blown their engines. As one was being pulled out of the water, it fell off the trailer onto the concrete boat ramp...holy crap that sucks. We thought "Wow, we thought we had bad luck"...little did we know, in a few hours, we'd have luck that was just as bad, if not worse. HAUNTED BOAT RAMP?!?

We went out and it was a GORGEOUS day. Smooth sailing...I've used that phrase before and this was the first time I could use it to describe actual sailing :) We watched the sun set before heading back to the dock.


Problem #3
The tiny motor that is used to get to and from the dock wouldn't start. It probably would have started eventually but Josh thought we could sail it to the dock. We narrowly missed a wooden post and made it safely to the dock.

Problem #4
This time, we decided to use the extension for the trailer to make it easier to get the boat on the trailer. We added the trailer extension and securely pinned it in place...or so we thought. As Ryan slowly back the trailer down the boat ramp, it started hurtling towards the water...unattached. Josh and I ran down and grabbed it just before it fell into the murky deep. Whew! We saved it...there can't possibly be any more trouble from here on out!

Problem #5
While trying to get the boat on to the trailer, we realized exactly why the winch we had on our motor boat trailer was so useful! It would not go far enough up on the trailer. So we backed the Expedition up until the trailer went over the edge of the boat ramp. We were stuck.
Problem #6
It's dark by now and for some reason this boat ramp has NO LIGHTS! And EVERYONE HAS LEFT. A young couple drove by and offered to help pull our car towing the trailer to see if that would help. The truck's wheels spun and it didn't work.

(Almost)Problem #7
By this time, I am on the phone with Geico trying to get a tow truck out. We have free emergency roadside assistance with our insurance but the operator wasn't sure if our policy would cover this so she had to speak with her manager. While on hold and debating if we needed a new insurance provider, a chipper voice informed me that our policy doesn't normally cover this, but they'd make a one time exception. THANK YOU GEICO. They made a very kind and wise move and kept their customers happy and not stranded...we will keep this in mind when we are recommending them to anyone who will listen.

Problem #8
After an hour, RJR's Towing shows up in what seemed to me to look like shining armor. The driver hooked up the tow line to our Expedition and gave it a pull. Nothing happened. Another pull. NOTHING!!! After a few more unsucessful tries, we decide that maybe we can attach the tow line to the trailer and move the car.

Problem #9
Once the Expedition is out of the way and the trailer is hooked up, the tow truck driver starts to pull the trailer and....THE CABLE COMES UNTIED. SERIOUSLY!?

Problem #10
The cable will not go back on it's thingy (technical term). So the driver finally does his best to get it on there and finally pulls the trailer out of the water!! HOORAY! Now, our troubles MUST be over....right?

Problem #11
After some trouble getting the boat onto the trailer, we successfully pull it out of the water and on to, what we think is, sturdy ground. We get the trailer extension off and leave the trailer off the car while the guys go up and start to take the mast down. After about 10 minutes...my boss yells out "THE BOAT IS ROLLING BACKWARDS". Now I realize that this wasn't a smart move, but at the time, as I saw our new baby racing back towards the water, I ran behind it and stopped it with my BARE HANDS...okay, it probably helped that the guys jumped down to assist me, but either way, it worked.

We attached the trailer to the Expedition and safely finished securing the boat to the trailer before driving home. It was 11 pm at this point.
When we got home, we had the additional joy of fitting the boat into our yard, where it now looks like it somehow crash landed in between our garage and carport.

Even with all of the trouble, I love our new sailboat. We learned a TON of things the hard way, but they are still valuable lessons. Before we go out again, we are going to make many changes to our process and hopefully, my next post about our sailboat will be a lot less eventful :)

The Ramona Flowers Railroad

UPDATE 2: So after much deliberation, we have decided to bring Ramona to the no-kill SPCA in Orlando. We found out today that "Fluffies on the Freeway" would not be able to separate Ramona from the 6 other dogs she'd be transported with. Since we are not sure how she'd react around that many strange dogs and the stress of being transferred 14 times from car to car, it creates an unsafe situation for the other dogs and the volunteer drivers. We hope that Ramona will have an awesome chance of being adopted from the no-kill SPCA since she has already been spayed, given her shots and has been trained. I will keep you all updated on her progress at the SPCA as we find out about it. Thank you all for your support!

UPDATE: "Fluffies on the Freeway" will be taking Ramona Flowers from Birmingham, AL to Milwaukee, WI on March 12-March 13!!! HOORAY :) Milwaukee is actually a closer drive for Jenni than Chicago, so this is great news! Now, I just have to get her to Birmingham :) That's a LOT closer! If you know anyone who can help, please let me know!

While we haven't yet found a forever home for Ramona, my friend Jenni has agreed to foster her until she finds a home....in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! (Trust me, if we could find somewhere closer, we would!) Apparently, the Humane Society there isn't as bogged down as it is here and they adopt out relatively quickly. Jenni has graciously agreed to meet Ramona in Chicago (5-6 hours away) and now the task is to get Ramona to Chicago.

1. Driving the whole way by myself is out of the question because it would cost roughly $500 for gas alone and as you may have heard from our "About Us" section, until we pay off our student loans, we're broke!
2. I want to fundraise, but our last attempt at fundraising didn't even come close to reaching our goal and this amount of money is more than we can eat.
3. Putting her on a plane: we run into the same problem of cost. It's at least a few hundred to put her on the plane, $80 for the shipping crate, and vet fees to get a "health certificate" no longer than 10 days from when she flies.

Solution? The Ramona Flowers Railroad! I was referred to Charlie to the Rescue, a website that lists people who are willing to transport pets. I have contacted people in Nashville, Louisville, and Indianapolis and I'm hoping to hear that they will help! If not, my next step is contacting rescues along the way from Jacksonville to Chicago to see if they have any volunteers! If you can help, please comment here and I will contact you!

Rutabaga and Radish Chips...mmmm

We got another huge CSA delivery today and we still had a bunch of stuff from last week that we hadn't used so I decided to use up the 2 radishes and the rutabaga in a delightful "chip recipe"....okay, it's less of a recipe and more of a "slice up, spray with my Misto....my awesome, wonderful Misto....sprinkle with sea salt and bake in the oven at 350 degrees"


I love you Misto!!!




I sort of felt like I was cheating by using them in this manner and not creating some gourmet meal with them....but really, I didn't have time for that. Tomorrow, I am going to attempt a pasta with this gorgeous creature:

Romanesco Broccoli! Haven't heard of it? HA! What's it like living under that rock?..... Okay, I hadn't heard of it either and I'm pretty sure nobody has and that's why the wonderful CSA people included a note attached to it that essentially said "Don't panic, this isn't an alien, it's food, it's called Romanesco Broccoli or Broccoli Flower and it's delicious."

Only time will tell if they lied to us...

Florida Wine Country

For Ryan's 30th birthday, we were planning on going on a surf trip....that didn't work out. Instead, we decided to tour Florida's world famous wine country. What's that? You say it's not world famous?! And Florida doesn't even have a wine country??? Shame on you! We set out to explore a few of Florida's wineries and vineyards and this is what we found:

Lakeridge Winery
We actually didn't go to Lakeridge Winery on our wine country tour because we have already been there but it is near the others if you wish to check it out. You can click the link above for our 2008 trip there.

Florida Estates Winery

Our first stop was Florida Estates Winery in Land O'Lakes. We were in luck and they just happened to be hosting a festival while we were there....when we showed up there were maybe 5 cars, so we were a bit skeptical, but this place is chock full of wine information! (And got pretty crowded as we left) For $3.50 you can partake in a tasting of the 7-8 wines that they offer ($2.50 to keep the glass) and along with the tasting, you are given a lesson in basic Wine 101 by wine maker, cellar master and tasting expert, Ron Hunt (shown below demonstrating how to be a wine snob).

While we tasted the wine Ron told us about the glassy winged sharpshooter bug that can infect grapes with a disease that kills the vine and that the blanc du bois grape is especially at risk. (This was very interesting to me..you might not care)

Mmmm....buggy!

If you are interested in learning "All About Wine" and how each and every state produces wine (I think we might have to test this out at some point), you can listen to Ron Hunt on Blog Talk Radio. For Florida Estates Winery, you can click here.

After the tasting, we went out to the back of the winery and there were several vendors set up for the festival. We stayed for a little while but then we were off to the next stop: Strong Tower Vineyards....


but not before this happened:
How Valentine's Day appropriate are these two! I loved them and after pulling the car over, I spent about 10 minutes taking pictures while urging them to "make their necks form a heart"....they did not comply.


Strong Tower Vineyards

Strong Tower Vineyards was created in Spring Hill when a couple, Terry and Janis, decided to grow blueberries to keep busy during retirement. After a soil sample revealed that the soil was better suited to grapes, they decided to create a vineyard and 10 years later they have a beautiful vineyard and 9 delicious wines. Fun Fact: They are the only vineyard in Florida growing the Norton Cynthiana grape. They host private parties and on 2 Fridays each month, they stay open until 10 pm and people can bring dinner and enjoy wine and dinner on their veranda. Ryan and I both agree that of the 4 wineries we have visited in Florida, this one has the best wine. (The blueberry wine is amazing!)
After tasting their wine selection, we both got a glass and enjoyed it while we walked around the vineyard and finally settled on their veranda. Ryan showing just how long the vines go back..1/4 mile!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we were the only people there...I wish we could have spent the entire day there, but we had more wine to taste! Next up: Pine Knoll Winery!!


Almost there!!


YAYYY we made it!! Awesommmeee....Yeah, woo, yeah!


WHAT!!?!?!?!


Pine Knoll Winery is no longer in existence....we had to learn the hard way, learn from our mistakes!! Also, Empire Winery and Distillery? Not for retail...it's a commercial distributor....but it's not like we drove all over the place before finding this out! Right? ...right? Oh yeah, WE DID....

So we were pretty discouraged at this point. Our Florida Wine Country tour had been going so great! We felt like we were on top of the world...and then it all came crashing down around us. We'll be the laughingstocks of the wine country community...oh no!

Lucky for us, we're not crazy and didn't actually think any of those things...but it still kinda sucked.

We decided to give up on our wine dream and just drive the remaining TWO HOURS (We didn't realize it was that far...whoops) to Cedar Key where we were staying the night...when I said "No! I refuse to let your dream of drinking wine around Florida be shattered Ryan! It's your 30th birthday!!"...So I did a little Google mapping and found:


Copp Winery

Copp Winery is in Crystal River and has a crazy amount of wines that they make on site. With names like "Scallopin Sangria" and PG-21 (Pinot Grigio)....I was crackin up the whole time...I also laugh at Laffy Taffy jokes though, so you may want to take that with a grain of salt. They allow you to sample 3 wines and then it's $2 to sample 3 more or you can buy a glass or bottle. They also offer cheese plates and a few appetizers which made us immediately regret our "OMG WE ARE STARVING" stop at Hardee's. (There is nothing good about Hardees, the only reason we stopped is because I confused it with Arby's which has mozzarella sticks...still fried and horrible for you, but a step up)


We give it 2 wineglasses up! I should stop trying to make jokes, they're all horrible.

Copp Winery is cool because they have custom labels that you can have made for a wedding or party and it's $5 for the design and $.50/wine bottle...pretty inexpensive and would make you look awesome. "Um, thanks for the roses...I guess...I got you a CUSTOM BOTTLE OF WINE..."

So there you have it folks! If you're looking for wine country but can't make it out to California...check out the wine in your state! For us, it was easiest to check out these wineries in Central to West Florida (Clermont, Land O'Lakes, Spring Hill and Crystal River) and then spend the night in Cedar Key. (Which is gorgeous and will get its own post) There is another winery just north of Cedar Key, but we ran out of daylight before we could make it there.

Thank you to the people that helped us recognize our dream of a Florida Wine Country by creating delightful wines!!

CSA Menu for first week of February

As I wrote about last week, we received our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery last Thursday and have been exploring ways to use the vegetables in time for our next delivery tomorrow. Here is what we got so far:

Items received:
-1 whole chicken
-6 eggs
-Head of kale (don't know if it's actually called a "head" but that seems to work)
-Bag of some type of lettuce, maybe butter lettuce
-Bag of spinach
-2 zucchini
-2 cucumbers
-2 tomatoes
-1 onion
-Bag of strawberries
-2 oranges
-1 green pepper
-Head of brussel sprouts (again, not sure if "head" is right)
-6 carrots



Rosemary (From our rosemary tree) infused, roasted brussel sprouts and sliced raw tomato served with (not from the CSA) humane certified chicken cooked with bacon from Cognito Farms (Our local farm favorite).
This was really simple, the brussel sprouts were just sprayed with olive oil,(We got a Misto for Christmas which sprays the olive oil evenly...thanks Janice!!) sprinkled with salt, a few sprigs of rosemary placed on top and cooked in the oven until they were tender but not too soft.

Brandy's AWESOME roasted chicken: I made this recipe up and it turned out really delicious, but I think I may have to cook it at a higher temp next time because it took FOREVER to cook!
Here's what I did:

NOTE: I had some leftover organic butter from a recipe I had made a few weeks ago, so I used that, but normally I would probably use olive oil.

Ingredients:
-1 whole chicken, insides removed
-1 stick butter
-3 sticks Celery, probably will use more next time
-2 Carrots
-2 Potatoes
-1 onion
-Sea salt
-Black pepper
-Paprika
-Mustard Powder
-3 cloves raw garlic, sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, I did 350 and it took forever, so I'm going with 400 next time!
I took the chicken, placed it in a roasting pan and generously rubbed it down with sea salt and black pepper...inside and out. I then took about 2 tablespoons of sliced organic butter and cut it up into cubes and placed these under the skin with the cloves of sliced garlic. I then placed the celery, cut up into large pieces inside the chicken with half of the remaining butter. I placed the rest of the butter around the chicken with the cut up potato, carrot, and onion and a half cup of water. I then sprinkled paprika and mustard powder on the top of the chicken because I thought it coudldn't hurt.

I then cooked the chicken for an hour, uncovered. I then pulled it out and basted it before covering with aluminum foil and cooking for another hour and a half...but I think if the temperature is higher, this time could be reduced drastically...either way, check the temperature and make sure it's at least 165-180. Baste as needed.

It's not an exact science that I have worked out, but it was delicious. The butter reminded me that I was clogging my arteries, but I normally don't consume that much so I think it was okay.

We didn't actually eat the chicken right away because we were late to a Super Bowl party (stupid chicken took too long!!) but the next day we ate it with the veggies it cooked with and they were amazing...especially the carrots!


Spinach salad with chicken, cucumber, carrot and not from CSA: apple, dried mixed berries, raw sunflower seeds, and poppy seed dressing. I halfway finished this before I remembered to take a picture...oops


Chicken and vegetable quiche: Using eggs, chicken, zucchini, carrot and not from CSA: frozen broccoli, grated mozzarella and sliced potato crust. (No picture, sorry!)

Baked Kale Chips: I LOVE THESE! The next time I make them, I think I'll cook them at a lower temperature so that they can crisp all the way through without burning. They are so easy! You just remove the stem/stalk and tear or cut the leaves into bite size pieces, rinse, use a salad spinner or towel to remove excess water, place (in 1 layer) on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil (or use your Misto you got for Christmas) and sprinkle with sea salt and cook in oven at 300 degrees until crisp. (I cooked them at 350 and they were done in roughly 10 minutes but either weren't all crispy or burned if left in longer)

They don't really store well, so this is something you need to eat as soon as you make it. If anyone knows a proper way to store them so they stay crisp, please let me know!

That's how far I've gotten and I still have the following left to use between today and tomorrow:

-Remaining chicken
-2 eggs
-Lettuce
-2 oranges
-1 zucchini
-1 cucumber
-1 green pepper
-1 tomato


I'm thinking a salad is next on the list.

Here is what I did with the remaining ingredients:

Chicken Stock:
I covered the remaining chicken (on the bones) with 6 cups of filtered water. I added 3 stalks of celery, 3 carrots, 1/2 an onion, 3 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and brought it to a boil before lowering the temperature and letting it cook until the veggies were soft and the chicken was falling off the bone. Then I strained the veggies and chicken from the stock and refrigerated the stock overnight. In the morning, if there is any fat, it usually hardens on the top and you can skim it off. The veggies are edible if you like cooked carrots, celery and onion :)

Everything else: a delicious salad!

Please help us find a home for Ramona Flowers!!

On New Year's Eve day I found a very skinny pit bull mix wandering the street in Jacksonville and she had healed stitches on her back that looked like they had been done with fishing line. We took her in for a few days but when we couldn't find any shelters or rescues that would take her, we had to bring her to Animal Control. The next day, my sister (a former PetSmart trainer and foster for Losta Love rescue in Orlando) agreed to foster her and train her until we could find her a home. So, we paid the fee to get her out of Animal Control (where she was spayed, all shots given) and brought her to Orlando to my sister's home. It's been nearly a month and the stress of taking care of Ramona in addition to caring for her own two dogs, working full time and going to school is getting to her. Lotsa Love Rescue won't take her b/c many HOA's won't allow pit bulls and we haven't received any interest in adopting her even though we have been posting on Facebook and Craigslist. If we both didn't have dogs of our own, we would take her in a heartbeat, she is such a sweet dog. Please help! Pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested.

Ramona has been spayed, given her shots, microchipped, trained to sit, sit to be pet, stay and is crate trained. She has played with my sister's cat and two dogs and though she has a lot of energy, her overwhelming desire to be pet and loved makes her eager to sit in order to be pet. (As she has been trained!) This girl loves everyone unconditionally and I really hope we can find someone who will love her and be her home for life.

Community Supported Agriculture

We just got our first CSA delivery! Included for $29.99 was: a chicken, 1/2 dozen eggs, 2 cucumbers, 2 zucchini, a bag of strawberries, 2 large oranges, 2 tomatoes, a bag of butter lettuce (I think, may be some other sort of lettuce), a bag of spinach, a large bunch of kale, brussel sprouts, carrots, an onion and a green bell pepper. WOW! That's a lot of food.

We have decided to get the chicken, eggs, and produce every other week and on the off weeks just get the produce ($18.99 for only produce)...that means that for less than $100/month, we are getting a TON of local, fresh produce, 2 chickens and a dozen eggs. After reading what Dr. Junger (Clean Program) had to say about buying local produce (more nutrients because it can be left to ripen longer since it doesn't have as far to travel) I'm really excited to have this opportunity. I'm also glad that we can support local farms and the local economy.

In addition to the benefits of joining a CSA, there are so many things that I normally wouldn't buy but I will now be forced out of my comfort zone to try! I have never cooked brussel sprouts before and I have a feeling this CSA will give me more chances to try new vegetables as the year goes on. I'll keep you posted about the recipes we try with our abundance of food :)

If you're interested in joining a CSA in your area but don't know where to look: try your local farmer's market! Our CSA doesn't have a website but they had applications at the farmer's market near us.

UPDATE:

My first attempt at using food from our CSA....rosemary infused roasted brussel sprouts, served with sliced tomato and chicken topped with the bacon we bought from Cognito Farms.

This is what brussel sprouts grow on....weird.



After I picked off the brussel sprouts and some rosemary from our rosemary Christmas tree


Finished result!