It's not teak...but it is tropical.

So finally we have a picture of our new bamboo floor which we just finished laying. It was perhaps the most ambitious project we have undertaken to date, but it's hard to know as we sit and look over all the things we have done to the house over the last few years what one thing has made the most difference or provides the most satisfaction. Each thing we did - the lighting, the paint, the blinds, tearing out the walls, the floor...each adds its own essence to the whole.

I had someone at work ask me this week why we were spending so much effort doing things to a house that we intended to leave before too long. I guess, even though it's not teak, that I see the floor project as an investment in our working relationship, a relationship we will certainly need to have perfected in order to keep a boat functioning well. The project, being spread over nearly 3 years, has taught me to visualize the end result and plan the necessary steps to reach the goal. For those of you non-sailors, this is a very important skill when attempting to place a large boat precisely where you would like it to be in relationship to a dock, other boats, or an inconveniently placed reef. And I guess there is also the fact that neither Tim nor I find it easy to sit for very long without doing something, ergo the reason we will make such terrific sailors some day. And since some day is farther away than I would like it, at the very least, keeps me occupied while I wait.