Any excuse to celebrate

I have made it a life-long quest to take advantage of ANY excuse to celebrate. It’s (almost) always worked well. A great excuse came along recently that warranted a two phase celebration. The excuse? In August 2019 I made my first posting on my blog:

From Paradise With Love and Rum

It was the beginning of what has been a wonderful journey full of learning, fantasy, and food. I feel like I’ve vicariously lived a life sailing across the South Pacific with R. B. McCarthy’s (my fictional Grandfather) sailing journals as my guide. While back in reality I am actually learning to cook. Win win.

The first post was his beginning sailing from Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, to Honolulu. In fine R.B. McCarthy style he had some great food, amorous adventures with a lovely woman, and with mixed emotions cast off for the South Pacific sailing life.

Ona Huli Huli Chicken – Lani Kai Nights

Back to the celebrating part.

Friends suggested I join them on a sunset sail out of Seattle. Hanging with friends AND sailing??? Twist my arm! I jumped at the chance and enjoyed every minute. Some of our group are subscribers on the blog and the source of my invite. As we were about half way through the sail they decided they were “The Halfers” – Zenly half in the moment of sailing, and half away with sailing story induced fantasy. I was way ahead of them.

The second part of celebrating came in the form of an Unevent. Even the PNW has some truly wonderful hot days…just not enough of them! On one such recent day a sweet little breeze kept things deliciously warm as we sat on the deck sipping rum. Surrounded by the lush greens of huge pines and Incense Cedars, and with a soundtrack of seagulls and ferry horns, the afternoon faded to evening and another unreal sunset. Perfection.

Letting my mind wander on various courses to take I’ve decided to keep From Paradise With Love and Rum going but try and focus more of the graphics on my drawings. Maybe it will enhance the “you and me” presonal feeling I’ve tried for there. Here’s some samples: