Two weeks before we move onto the boat.

Daughter Anna is home from upper Canada, and is moving stuff from our house to a perfect little house a couple of blocks away. The timing is great for us, because it means that a lot of stuff won't have to go in storage, and great for her, because she doesn't have to buy furniture or dishes (or bedding or bookshelves or bread machines) to set up house. Turmoil factor is cranked up somewhat, but we've lived in disorder for so long, the only change is that there's more of us muddling about, and more laughing. One bonus among many: she makes great Pad Thai.

Rainy day in Halifax, so that means it's a good day to run around and spend money. Huge hunks of life can go by while you wander around Kent or Home Depot with a limp little list in hand. We got grumpy, so we sat at the Smitty's discussing how to turn king-sized bedsheets into something that will fit the giant wedge that is the berth in the forward cabin (any ideas, please email bigsue58@hotmail.com), then picked out nice little glass tiles for the backsplash in the galley - pale grey and red - then bought 70 feet of line for the main sheet, then got the hell out of the BLIP (for the uninitiated, Bayer's Lake Industrial Park - shopping and traffic hell).

Last couple of days have seen big changes on the boat. For the first time in two years, the masts are in, the new rig is sorted, and we've got roller-furling for the genoa. No sails yet, but the Lunenburg folks have promised that we'll get them.

The boat looks a lot different than poor old Winterhawk looked after hurricane Juan. The masts, including the brand new mizzen, are stripped and varnished - nice job, Tom - the hull has white bulwarks, the boottop is white, but the brightwork maintains its Nova Scotia patina, which means that's a low priority job right now, even though it keeps RMS awake at night mulling over the indignity of it all.

Randy and Wayne hauled Tom up to the top of the mast yesterday to install the Windex and the windspeed/direction indicator. Thanks Wayne! Some people have a handy knack of showing up in a helpful mood at just the right times. Gives me a pain watching Tom up that high, but better him than me.

Getting the rig in is a big psychological boost, and I think I'm waiting for something of the same order to happen with the house. Once we get all of the things that Anna needs out of the house, I'm hoping that I'll find the energy to start flinging things in boxes with authority, and tackling those final bits of dreaded paperwork - wills, insurance, power of attorney, thank-you notes, tax crap, letter to my grandmother, bills, change of address. It gave me a bit of a pang to cancel my Saturday Globe and Mail. I'll get over it.

I've asked Randy if there's anything he wants to add about the boat, and he's says he's got lots to say about the boat, but none of it's fit to print. Maybe next week.