Free Boat, Guin Update, Cascade Idaho
Soooooo, Chris likes to check out the things for free on Craigslist in Maine and New Hampshire. We get a kick out of some of the listings. One afternoon, when he'd gotten done with work early, he logged in and said, hey, there's a free boat in Wells (which is only about a half hour from us). We looked at the photos provided and the boat looked dirty, but sturdy. It was a 16 foot 1970 Crestliner, with motor and trailer. The guy giving it away said he'd gotten it for free a few years before and he had to move the boat out of his mom's yard, where he was storing it, because she was selling her house. He wanted to "pay it forward" and give the boat to someone else. I guess he got overwhelmed with responses. Chris was luckily the first to respond to his post, which this guy had just happened to put up when Chris logged into Craigslist.
Talk about good timing.
Chris was working on Sunday, so I drove up to Wells to meet this guy and look at the boat. I was going to meet Chris for lunch to make a decision, but once I saw it, I told the guy we'd take it. I sent Chris a photo via my cell phone and texted him. He called me and we arranged to pick the boat up that Wednesday. I took photos of the boat to show Chris at lunch. It was definitely very dirty, needed new paint, new seats, rewiring (which Chris can do), but it was in very good shape. And for free, you can't beat it. The guy signed all the paperwork over to me and I went to meet Chris for lunch. Chris was psyched.
So Chris went with a couple of his friends to pick the boat up that Wednesday, said the trailer drove like a dream, parked it in the driveway and we looked at each other. We have a boat!!!!!! One of his coworkers at Home Depot works part time there and part time at a local marina. So he's going to help us get the parts we need off of old boats at the marina that are just wasting away; he also told us he can get us a good deal on a stronger used outboard motor. Coolness!
We washed the boat the other day and what a difference a little soap and water can make. We can't wait for spring now. These photos are the ones I took when I first looked at it - so imagine it clean. Right now it's snug tight in a shed for the winter.
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GUIN UPDATE: She's doing well, actually better. And because Chris found a tick on her neck the day before yesterday. The little bugger was full up of blood (disgusting). I held her front paws, his daughter held her back ones and Chris removed the tick and put it in a cup. We took Guin to the vet and although he said it was a common tick and not a lyme-carrying one and he felt it wouldn't make a difference in how she felt, we've seen such a change - for the good - in her. She's been up and walking a lot more, eating like a little pig, actually following me around the house and has been sleeping pretty much through the night lately. Before the tick was found, she had us getting up almost every hour yelping to go out to pee or just yelping. Now she just gets up and I can either hear her footsteps or she barks a little.
I don't care what the vet claims, but Guin is definitely feeling better. She's still old- that won't change, but we both think the tick was a big part of the problem. So phew for now.
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Two weeks ago Sunday, when Guin was really bad, I had to fly to Boise, Idaho to do a full day of training on Monday for the Idaho Office of the Attorney General. It was covering maining child-related issues on the Internet, such as cyberbullying, predators, child porn, stalking and general safety.
I got into Boise at around 530 pm their time (730 pm our time), got my rental car (a Dodge Avenger) and then had another hour and a half drive to Cascade. The drive was windy and dark, through, up and down mountains and the hotel I was staying at in Cascade, looked wonderful to me when I pulled in.
The Ashley Inn was old-fashioned and more like a huge B&B. My room was large, with two queen-sized beds, a sitting area, one of those fake fireplaces that look real and blow out heat, a huge bathroom and was just all around comfortable. It looked kind of like this one, except mine wasn't so orange and bright. It was more stately with flowered bedcovers and walls.
My training went off without a hitch, but at lunch I went through the buffet line and ate in my room. Why? The lunch presentation was about the Idaho suicide prevention organization and since the person who booked me didn't know how graphic it was, I asked to be excused. After my late hubby's suicide, and with it being so close to the anniversary of his death (and his dad's), I didn't want to be upset for the rest of my training that afternoon.
The afternoon training finished well and everyone got a copy of Video Professor's "Learn How to Use A Computer" instead of the lesson based on my book. How come? When I'd called the guy at VP to have a box of the lesson based on my book, which is called "Protect Yourself Online," the shipping department sent out the other one because it had a label slapped on it that read "Protect Yourself Online." Oy. No biggie.
Sold some books, which meant I didn't have too many to bring home - yay!
The group I'd been training took me to a restaurant on the lake and had prime rib, which was good and it was neat listening to all the different conversations going on.
I was tired, so when I got back to my room, got the update on Guin and collapsed and fell asleep.
The next day flying back home was long - almost 10 hours with driving back to Boise, flying from Boise to Salt Lake City, then to Chicago, then to Manchester, NH. I was so glad to see my car when I got to the Manchester airport. And even happier to be home.
I got good feedback from the person who booked me - this was through the Dept of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, so I'm hoping this gets me more gigs. My speaking schedule is very quiet right now and I really need the work.
If you know anyone who would be interested in training (such as law enforcement, including university/college campuses); speaking to students, teachers and parents at middle and high schools; lectures at colleges/universities; training for business and organizations about online issues in the workplace; librarians; general online safety talks for conferences, events, etc, then send them to my Speaking Page. Support a good cause - my work in cybercrime (which I don't charge for when I work with law enforcement, victims and through my organization, WHOA.
Talk about good timing.
Chris was working on Sunday, so I drove up to Wells to meet this guy and look at the boat. I was going to meet Chris for lunch to make a decision, but once I saw it, I told the guy we'd take it. I sent Chris a photo via my cell phone and texted him. He called me and we arranged to pick the boat up that Wednesday. I took photos of the boat to show Chris at lunch. It was definitely very dirty, needed new paint, new seats, rewiring (which Chris can do), but it was in very good shape. And for free, you can't beat it. The guy signed all the paperwork over to me and I went to meet Chris for lunch. Chris was psyched.
So Chris went with a couple of his friends to pick the boat up that Wednesday, said the trailer drove like a dream, parked it in the driveway and we looked at each other. We have a boat!!!!!! One of his coworkers at Home Depot works part time there and part time at a local marina. So he's going to help us get the parts we need off of old boats at the marina that are just wasting away; he also told us he can get us a good deal on a stronger used outboard motor. Coolness!
We washed the boat the other day and what a difference a little soap and water can make. We can't wait for spring now. These photos are the ones I took when I first looked at it - so imagine it clean. Right now it's snug tight in a shed for the winter.
----------------
GUIN UPDATE: She's doing well, actually better. And because Chris found a tick on her neck the day before yesterday. The little bugger was full up of blood (disgusting). I held her front paws, his daughter held her back ones and Chris removed the tick and put it in a cup. We took Guin to the vet and although he said it was a common tick and not a lyme-carrying one and he felt it wouldn't make a difference in how she felt, we've seen such a change - for the good - in her. She's been up and walking a lot more, eating like a little pig, actually following me around the house and has been sleeping pretty much through the night lately. Before the tick was found, she had us getting up almost every hour yelping to go out to pee or just yelping. Now she just gets up and I can either hear her footsteps or she barks a little.
I don't care what the vet claims, but Guin is definitely feeling better. She's still old- that won't change, but we both think the tick was a big part of the problem. So phew for now.
------------------
Two weeks ago Sunday, when Guin was really bad, I had to fly to Boise, Idaho to do a full day of training on Monday for the Idaho Office of the Attorney General. It was covering maining child-related issues on the Internet, such as cyberbullying, predators, child porn, stalking and general safety.
I got into Boise at around 530 pm their time (730 pm our time), got my rental car (a Dodge Avenger) and then had another hour and a half drive to Cascade. The drive was windy and dark, through, up and down mountains and the hotel I was staying at in Cascade, looked wonderful to me when I pulled in.
The Ashley Inn was old-fashioned and more like a huge B&B. My room was large, with two queen-sized beds, a sitting area, one of those fake fireplaces that look real and blow out heat, a huge bathroom and was just all around comfortable. It looked kind of like this one, except mine wasn't so orange and bright. It was more stately with flowered bedcovers and walls.
My training went off without a hitch, but at lunch I went through the buffet line and ate in my room. Why? The lunch presentation was about the Idaho suicide prevention organization and since the person who booked me didn't know how graphic it was, I asked to be excused. After my late hubby's suicide, and with it being so close to the anniversary of his death (and his dad's), I didn't want to be upset for the rest of my training that afternoon.
The afternoon training finished well and everyone got a copy of Video Professor's "Learn How to Use A Computer" instead of the lesson based on my book. How come? When I'd called the guy at VP to have a box of the lesson based on my book, which is called "Protect Yourself Online," the shipping department sent out the other one because it had a label slapped on it that read "Protect Yourself Online." Oy. No biggie.
Sold some books, which meant I didn't have too many to bring home - yay!
The group I'd been training took me to a restaurant on the lake and had prime rib, which was good and it was neat listening to all the different conversations going on.
I was tired, so when I got back to my room, got the update on Guin and collapsed and fell asleep.
The next day flying back home was long - almost 10 hours with driving back to Boise, flying from Boise to Salt Lake City, then to Chicago, then to Manchester, NH. I was so glad to see my car when I got to the Manchester airport. And even happier to be home.
I got good feedback from the person who booked me - this was through the Dept of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, so I'm hoping this gets me more gigs. My speaking schedule is very quiet right now and I really need the work.
If you know anyone who would be interested in training (such as law enforcement, including university/college campuses); speaking to students, teachers and parents at middle and high schools; lectures at colleges/universities; training for business and organizations about online issues in the workplace; librarians; general online safety talks for conferences, events, etc, then send them to my Speaking Page. Support a good cause - my work in cybercrime (which I don't charge for when I work with law enforcement, victims and through my organization, WHOA.
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