Don’t Have a Single Excuse

I have MANY!  Where do I begin…?
My last post was over 16 months ago. (Really?!  June 2, 2017 to be exact.)  Since then, the main deterrent to blogging in a timely manner has been that my focus has been on finishing a second book for my grandkids.



I began leisurely penning the first book, called THE 
FARM, in the summer of 2000 which was when both our children, Becky and Bob, were just engaged to be married. We were living in Springfield, Missouri at the time, and I must admit that I was inspired by the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, a Missourian who began writing at the age of sixty.  THE FARM was slowly completed around 2012 due to a career move to Chicagoland, teaching fulltime in a new setting, completing a Masters in Ed degree, and, at last- “selling up and sailing away!”  By that time, our four grandkids- Genna, Lyla, Maya, and Aslan- were between the ages of two to five and enjoyed listening to my fond recollections of growing up in our large family on the farm in Southwestern Michigan. 

Our daughter helped edit THE FARM and wanted to immediately know if I would write another book so she could find out what happened next.  The grandkids also prodded me on and often asked to hear more stories.  So, I began organizing the second book, entitled DZIADZIA’S HOUSE, and imposed a deadline of June 2018 to coincide with a month long trip we had planned to take to SE Asia with our daughter’s family.  The long flights and bus transits afforded plenty of time to read DZIADZIA’S HOUSE to Genna and Maya from the copy on my phone.

Needless to say, we had a fantastic time with Becky’s family in SE Asia taking in the cities and countryside, the reclining Buddha, the floating markets along the Mekong Delta,  the various modes of slow and common of transportation, the sitting Buddhas, the temples and hikes, the beaches and dive sites, the people and street foods, and did I mention the Buddhas?

For a glimpse of our trip, go to www.beckyjeffmaya.blogspot.com.  (We traveled with them for the first month from Bangkok, Thailand through Nha Trang, Vietnam.)

For the past three hurricane seasons, Exit Strategy has been moored way south in Bonaire, the smallest island of the Netherland Antilles. Each year, we reconnect physically with family and friends up in the states for part of the summer and also with cruising friends in Bonaire who have been as close as family.  Diving opportunities here are among the best in our hemisphere and we take full advantage of Bonaire’s National Marine Park.

COCONUTS, on Frederiksted Beach, used to be a popular attraction. 

After Irma and Maria reeked havoc on the Virgin Islands last September, we decided to forgo a float plan that would take us to new ports and opted to base Exit Strategy in St. Croix. While there we experienced first hand the Crucians’ frustration with no electrical power, scant and scattered cell service, deeply potholed roadways, and debris at every turn.  Most of St. Croix lost power in September and it was finally restored to our son Bob’s neighborhood on Christmas Eve.

Lee & Mom summer of 2017

A week later I learned that my mom passed away after a bout with the flu.  She was nearly eighty-nine and had told us previously that she didn’t like that number for some unknown reason.  Her death, though not a total shock, still left our family with a feeling of profound loss.  And so, we made an unplanned trip northward to attend her burial services in early January. 

Genny and proud Dad Keith

A month later in February, we flew back up to the states to celebrate the wedding of our niece Genny, from Dan’s side of the family.  (Can you imagine Dan’s demeanor going up into snow country not once, but twice within a month’s time?)  Then, I extended my stay to attend a baby shower for my niece Katie.

Katie and Proud Grandma To Be Geri

St. Pat's Art Class

The remainder of our time in the Virgin Islands was busy with helping clean up after Maria in small ways. Bob’s was about to move into a new rental house, so we helped get it livable for them. We also cleared debris from St. Patrick’s Catholic School’s playground in Frederiksted and volunteered in the weekly art class.  In addition, I was quite happy to satisfy my soul by being a volunteer gardener at The Artfarm, one of the island’s organic farms, and was compensated nicely with fresh veggies!

In between volunteering, we took care of some routine boat maintenance which included sewing new strataglass into our dodger.  We also replaced our 8-man Viking Life raft with a 6-man Viking and hired a craftswoman to sew a new bimini .




So, these are my excuses for not keeping up the blog.  Take ‘em or leave ‘em.  However, from this point on, I do solemnly pledge to post more often in the coming year.



PS:  THANK YOU cousin Ed Stevens for actually letting me know that you MISSED our blog.  This one’s for YOU!