Nun’s farts

Nun’s farts

Thursday 27 – Friday 28 November 2020

Whatever you may be thinking this bog post is about food and boat jobs! We had a lovely Thanksgiving day – we hope you did as well. We tackled a few boat jobs in the morning – laundry and changing engine oil and filter. Both jobs were needed and also not too demanding. It’s worth noting that the oil change can be a bit messy so I stripped down to just an old pair of shorts to avoid staining my designer clothes. When the job was done (and it all went fine) I needed to drop a bag of oily rags etc into the bin and felt plenty warm enough wandering along the dock to the bins without a shirt on. You can’t beat 79oF at the end of November.

Around noon we started cooking and first made some mini Damson plum pies. There was some pastry left over so Gloria suggested making “belly buttons” – where you roll out the pastry, sprinkle with sugar and dollops of butter (and in our case some raisins) then roll up and bake. She then went on to tell me that “belly buttons” were her families name for this pastry but an uncle called them “Nuns Farts”. Gloria was at pains to point out that the family member was only an uncle by marriage. Well what do you expect of the outlaws! However, she did confess that other family members called these pastries “ass-holes”, but neither Gloria nor her sister Liz could remember who it was or perhaps weren't willing to reveal this family secret! I have a suspicion I might know the guilty party! Anyway, Thanksgiving dinner was pan-fried rib-eye steak with a green peppercorn cream sauce, rice and broccoli, followed by pastries. It was delicious. The best part of the day was our 1-hour conversation with Tasha out in Wyoming.

Today we finished up boat jobs – more laundry, filling our fuel tanks and replacing the zinc (sacrificial anode) inside the fridge heat exchanger. All went well except the old zinc snapped off the bronze fitting that it screws into and I had to drill out the stub and clear the thread. Did you know we actually have a workshop vice on board and an electric drill? This evening we are heading into Charleston to a restaurant that is supposed to have patio dining. We have a reservation but that doesn’t guarantee us a place on the patio and if we have to eat indoors we’ll get a takeaway from somewhere else and head home.

Mike

32 46.755 N, 79 57.281 W

Charleston at night

The Governors Inn, Charleston

Pillars - This one is for my brother Martin because he loves abstract pillar shots (not!) ... sorry Mart!

Entry Way - Charleston

The oil change - this excellent vacuum device sucks the oil out of the dip-stick hole. It makes the job much, much easier and cleaner, unless the fitting between the hoses (at the red junction) accidentally separates ... !