NEW ZINCS FOR THE NEW YEAR

You're thinking.... 'What on earth is a zinc?' Well, I have only a limited understanding of how they work, so go here and read the bit on the right about 'sacrificial anodes' first.

Right. So we have an old wooden boat, and it has zincs on the hull and on the prop shafts. Every two years when we haul out (a boat owner's nightmare I'll tell you about another time...), we replace the zincs -- more often if they're really bad, and if we can get a diver between haul-outs.

But we didn't haul out this year (or find a diver), and it may be late spring of '09 before we do -- so when we heard that another boater here was hiring a diver, we thought we better get the zincs replaced.

So diver Chris turned up today, of all days, donned his dry suit, and jumped into the December-31st-west-coast-Pacific-Ocean-water without hesitating, and replaced the two main zincs .... which, it turned out, were about 80% used up, so 'none too soon,' as the saying goes.

(That's Michael holding up one of the new zinc bars there...)

Meanwhile, we put Joshua on the train this morning for up-Island, and Hailey went back to Whistler yesterday. I can put the decorations away now, and be done with Holiday Season '08! We don't do New Year's Eve, but Mischa and Jeff may go out to some friends this evening for a bit, so Michael will go crash on their couch to babysit the boys if they do -- and I'll be here, fireplace roaring, knitting in hand. I can't think of a better way to end one year and bring in a new one! The baby blanket is almost 50% done already. And I couldn't let the year end without casting on a new pair of socks -- for me, this time -- with some Regia sock yarn, the very first sock yarn I ever bought, almost two years ago. Pics tomorrow!

Have a safe New Year's Eve, and Happy New Year to you all!