….not that we ever stopped…
The last post does date back quite a bit and there has been a year without work on the boat but I also have a lot of catching up to do on the website.
So the question I keep getting: “Where is the project at?”
The answer: “We are ready to give it its last push, the one that will lead us back to the water”
Now that about every big job one could think of having done on a house has been done, our little brick home is finally in sound shape and we could hope to have some equity in the property when we are ready to sail off (read: pay the boat dept). Even though this is something that is less discussed when presenting a life project like this one, money is a funneling factor and even though we would love to have it available at will, the reality is that equity builds over time. For those who have been following our project over the years and wondering why so much energy has gone in the house, there you go; in my mind, the time and energy going in the house was building equity that will go into the boat. We could have left the house to rot away or chose to make it a nicer place to live for ourselves now and for someone else, later, to fall in love with.
So, the house looks pretty good. More could be done and there might still be some winter projects, but we can move the focus away from it.
Was the house renovation an excuse to hide an other issue? Yes, partly…. my body got tired. This project (as the day job of so many people) is extremely physical. We can read articles upon articles about fitness programs and balance of workouts. A day to train the legs, an other for the upper body, rest days, throw in a specific cardio regimen… I don’t count how many times I go up and down the ladder, I down measure the loads I carry, I don’t consider the repetitions of my movements, I just do the work. I actually love that physical aspect of heavy work but my body got tired and some way it forced me to stop ignoring it.
Over the years pain and weakness developed in my lower back. I didn’t want to acknowledge it because, deep down, I feared it was going to stop me. It eventually got to a point where it did and, while still not admitting it, I got very scared that the project was going to end. I kept busy doing jobs I could do, head deep down in the sand, until… I couldn’t go up my ladder anymore… For some reason, my body had modified the way it moved and stopped using some essential stabilizing muscles in my back. Finding out the problem was not strait forward and took time but when the problem got pinned, a year ago, I put all my energy into getting back on my feet. Lots and lots of rehabilitation physiotherapy later, I am strong again, stronger then ever.
I will not get back to ignoring the physical aspect of the work on the boat; core exercises, stretching, fitness will be mandatory… oh, and maybe, when needed, some rest too 😛
So, there we go… Both Mark and I are the fittest we ever been, we are dreaming again and itching to move on.