Scuttlebutt and SV Apolima

I know I have been slack about this blog, but I am going to get better at it.  One of the famous writers said that to be a successful writer you need to write a page a day.  So where better to write a page than on one of my blogs.  Most of the writing I have done lately is on the www.phyllisstratton.com blog, and because it is tied into my Shaklee business it has been very handy. Well, to keep you up to date on our progress or non-progress as far as cruising goes, here is a synopsis. We are still in the Marshall Islands, arrived here last Dec. 2017, and have been enjoying the weather, the friends and the town.  Yes it is an old town in an atoll,  one person from South Africa described it as a dirty place with lots of garbage, and she was eager to get back to S. Africa.  Guess it depends on your mindset.  I have found the people lovely, they are friendly, the kids are great, we like the church, the priest is always welcoming. We can walk to most places, and if not take a 0.75 tax

Dinghy Dock, Nuka Hiva FP It is 1 am and I wake up with my wife shaking me, saying ‘Wake up, Wake up, you have to get him’ What! What is going on? I say. She says “He flew right by my face and went over behind the books.” I say, “What is going on. What flew by your face?” She says, “I think it is a cockroach, the biggest one I’ve ever seen. It flew in through the overhead hatch and landed on the bookshelf.” “Well just find it and get rid of it, “ I say. “No no, you have to do it, I am scared of i. it was so creepy . “Okay, where did it go?” And so begins the Great Cockroach Chase. My wife is a great reader of books so she has an overstuffed bookshelf on her side of the bed plus a desk covered with stuff not yet put away. so I start pulling stuff off her desk to clear the battlefield . Then start pulling the books off one by one, ready with my washcloth to grab it when it came out of hiding. There it is. There it goes. Man, are they fast! It runs behind a bag of socks before

What You Should Know About Diabetes Actors Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. Former  American Idol  judge Randy Jackson. Tennis champion Billie Jean King. Former major league pitcher David Wells. Singer Patti LaBelle. Comedian Drew Carey. Former  The View  cohost Sherri Sheppard. What do these celebrities have in common? They all have type 2 diabetes: a disease that anyone – even world-class athletes and the rich and famous – can be diagnosed with. With more than 5.3 million Canadians living with diabetes and more than 5.7 million with prediabetes (that’s almost one third of all people in this country), it’s easy to think that this disease is unstoppable… …until you listen to what Dr. Jamie McManus, Chief Advisor of Medical Affairs for Shaklee Corporation, has to say about it. This is absolutely not true. In fact, type 2 diabetes is 100% preventable. Look at Sherri Sheppard; she credits type 2 diabetes with  saving her life . In her book  Plan D:   How to Lose Weight and Beat D

This is from a Facebook post that I read, and I couldn't have said it any better.  The truism in her points really hit home.  Most people want to live the great adventure that’s inside them but will never do anything about it. Perhaps its lack of opportunity but for most I suspect it is fear and guilt holding them back. Truth: Most people think the life on the sea is far more glamorous and risky than the reality. You still have to do your laundry just now it’s by hand in a bucket – yet you do the washing to a million dollar view in an amazing exotic place. Hand me that bucket any day. Truth: Most people are drowning in stuff. It ends up owning them, not they owning it. It clogs up their homes and their thinking. One of the most liberating aspects of the life of a sailor is “less is more”. Plus the planet will thank you when you become a sailor. Truth: Most people believe they don’t have enough money, enough knowledge or enough experience to go sailing. There a

Gary was reading me “Thoughts from the Frontline” by John Mauldin this morning while we were sitting in the cockpit and I was drinking my coffee. Normally I don't pay 100 % before coffee, but a couple of things hit me while I was listening. John goes on to talk about the USA cities and states primarily and the pension funds that have been promised to all government workers, and how they have all based their interest on their funds on 7% returns, and further with a lot of facts to back this up states that they are getting close to 3% return on their bonds and stocks. So the money has to come from somewhere, and it seems to be tied back to the taxpayers. Either the property owners or the state taxes. If you wish to read the entire article it can be found at http://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/promises-promises-pension-promises Normally I don't get too involved with the economics papers, sort of the lesse faire attitude, that what will be will