Christmas and Everything Else

It's hard to even know where to begin...... So I'll start at the beginning and do a quick recap. Jack and I had an epic 16 hour journey to get to Everett on Christmas Eve. First we had a three and a half hour bus ride which started out an hour late. Then we had a four hour plane ride that started out four hours late. Which resulted in our plane landing in Seattle at 2 minutes to midnight. There were people on our plane who had been trying to reach Seattle for four days, so I can't really complain about four hours. Thankfully the Homeland Security people stayed late to clear us through customs because our Captain had told us that if we landed after midnight, we were going to be sitting on the plane on the tarmac until they came back to work the next day (something about them having families and wanting to be home with loved ones on Christmas eve....) I can't tell you how good it was to be reunited with Patrick in the airport.
On Christmas Day, the three of us travelled to Lopez Island to be with my mom and dad. Then we turned around and came back to Everett on the 26th. The 27th was Grandma's funeral and it was a very beautiful service, as pretty much everyone reading this blog will know. There were so many people there, despite the weather! It is really a comfort to family to see how many people were touched by Grandma's life.
On the 28th we had a marathon shopping spree to replenish all the things that we had used or needed on the boat which we couldn't find in Mexico. So when we packed to catch our plane on the 29th, we had seven bags of luggage stuffed full.
On the 29th, we were supposed to be catching a flight out of Seattle at 9 am in the morning. Instead we were at the Everett Walk-In Clinic, so that I could get a doctor's ok before flying. I woke up the morning of the 29th very ill and did not feel safe getting on a plane without consulting a doctor. The doctor was very kind, took some samples and told me that I would survive until I could see a doctor in Mexico (I wasn't sure I would). So we re-booked the tickets for the 30th and got up the following morning and started out all over again. It was an epic 17 1/2 hour journey back. We arrived safely back on our boat at 11:20 at night. Our guard dog was hiding under the table, looking very worried when we opened the door, but when he saw us, he went spastic. We had to stay up petting him for about an hour. He is such a baby!
Things shut down here on the 31st, so we planned to find a doctor on the 2nd and I just laid low. Then New Year's Day I got a very serious sounding phone call from the Everett Clinic telling me the results of the testing they did. I somehow had managed to catch a very nasty abdominal bacterial infection (not likely caught in Mexico). Which explains why I look like I am 6 months pregnant! I am now on medication to kill it. Unfortunately, I am still pretty sick, but looking forward to feeling better soon.
This down-time on the boat has it's advantages since we are taking the time to have a stainless steel platform made for two solar panels. When it's finished we will be a very self-sufficient boat since we have a desalinization water-maker that can pump out 20 gallons of fresh water per hour, and solar power. After that we just need to add a farm on the roof for fresh fruits and vegetables and we will be set (kidding).
When the solar platform is done in a week and weather pending, WE LEAVE FOR MAZATLAN!!!!!! Pardon my shouting but I am happy to be leaving this dock. Love the place, love the people, but two months is long enough to enjoy it.
But, as faithful readers, you probably have started to notice that things don't always seem to go the way we plan (for better or worse). So I don't want to tempt the Fates and lay out any more plans than that.
Take Care and Happy New Year!
Laura