Tuesday, June 05, 2012

An Obligatory Life Style?...Only if You Cook!

As I have written about in the past, my close neighbors own a very expensive sail boat which does not get taken out very often.  This summer they are getting ready for a month's sail around the Chesapeake Bay.  Since they are novice sailors this is a good start and I am glad to see they are using this expensive toy more often.  Boats are like fashion models in that they require a certain amount of attention, money and an unreasonable amount of maintenance.

We have another friend that lives 15 miles away on the water.  We had not been to visit their home in the time that we have known them but I kind of had an idea that it would be one of those places where various sheds are full of various project supplies, gardens and landscape beds are like fraying patchwork quilts popping up every where and the house would be spacious, welcoming, and needing lots of work.  I was not wrong, except for the rescue cat operation that I later learned about!  Since I am allergic to cats, I sent hubby on the work errand to this house.

When hubby returned I asked if they lived on the water.  He said yes and that they also had a boat at dock.  He went on to say that the motor boat was idle and had not been used in years.  It seems that the first time the owner took out the boat he had some problem that had to be fixed.  The second time he had his grandchildren for a boating day in this new boat and did not realize he had to switch on some water pump to keep the inboard engine cool and the motor eventually overheated and they had to be towed back home.  That boat has not left the dock since that event.  This is a more interesting anecdote when you learn that this man teaches classes on boating safety and the rules of the road for boaters!  He has admitted that he actually does not like boating...just helping teach others how to be safe on the water.

I often wonder how we get ourselves into these expensive hobbies which we do not really want.  It happens so often to boaters.  People retire to the water in Florida and immediately buy a boat because everyone else has a boat.  They have never been boating but dive in head first (to mix an image) and end up with a headache that taunts them every morning.  Living on the water and enjoying the view does not mean one has to boat or sail.  Living on a golf course does not mean one has to enjoy golf.  Maybe you just like a perfectly "manigroomed" back yard view.  Living on the side of a mountain with a snowy view does not mean you have to ski just because all of your neighbors ski.  Surely you will find other things you enjoy with them such as apres ski warm drinks.  Living in the lively city doesn't mean you have to eat out all the time...maybe you just want coffee and like people watching.  Living in the country does not mean you have to farm!

I think we try to fit our personal round pegs into those lovely square holes that we find without taking time to test the hole.  We think we need to be exactly like everyone around us.  But we don't.  EXCEPT, I will never understand people who have huge gourmet kitchens with every perfect appliance and tool and yet they rarely cook!

21 comments:

  1. Personally, I like the occasional boat ride and I have found that a friend with a boat is the way to go.

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  2. Our best friends just remodeled their kitchen to the tune of 75,000 dollars and they NEVER cook. We we dine at their house they order pizza.

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  3. Mr. kenju would have loved to own a boat, but even though he took a sailing safety course, I put the kibosh on buying a sailboat. He would have NO clue about maintenance of any kind. It is funny that that guy likes to teach it, but won't practice it.

    My cousin and her husband live on a large lake, and own a pontoon boat, a sailboat, a motor boat and a kayak. When they need repairs or maintenance, they can afford to hire it done. That would be the way to go....lol

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  4. I was just wondering about some of my past interests that are gathering dust and vowed to stop collecting anything else! I grew up on a peninsula and no one in my family had a boat. But we have one fisherman in the lot (and he gets seasick!).

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  5. But, but, it's expected of you to conform, isn't it?

    You become a member of 'a set' and if you really want to belong, you play by the rules. That's how it is in the UK, which is really rather hidebound.

    Whatever is on your doorstep, whatever kind of place you find yourself in, you use its amenities. Why else would you live there? Having said that, we do not belong to the hunting, fishing, shooting fraternity around here, but then we are not genuine locals, just townies transplanted to the countryside.

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  6. I would like to live in a flat over Whole Foods Market, I would like a nice kitchen in which to microwave the food from their fresh bar. I would like to be very good to my friend who owns a sailboat and her husband who keeps it in tip top shape. I would like to leave golfing to the golfers and manicured fairways to the folks who like living on the golf course. Been there, done that and I can tell you that the country club golfers fortified by scotch and whatever, often messed up a shot near our deck and could be heard swearing like street thugs. It was most unpleasant. They did wear nicer clothes.

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  7. Did you ever hear William F. Buckley's observation about ocean racing? It was in his book on sailing, Airborne (quite good, even for non sailors).

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  8. We'll be getting a home on a lake sometime in the not too distant future. There will be a boat. There will be fishing. I've never driven a boat in my life. But Frank has been doing so since he was a kid. I'll be conforming. He'll be home. :)

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  9. We live outside the mainstream and love it!!
    No boat either!
    Ha
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  10. All of those things are for "someday".

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  11. Your post affirms for me how important it is to know not only where you want to live, but why you want to live there. We are going through that process right now.

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  12. Anonymous11:28 AM

    Yup, and living in Hawaii does not mean you have to go to the beach every day. Lol.

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  13. Guess it just proves that most of the time we don't REALLY know what want after all!

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  14. A part of me relates to Lonely Rivers. Been there - done that.
    Now so nice to ba in a cottage by the woods.
    Nothing I want anymore except health and wisdom. Guess that comes with age...

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  15. I have no desire for a boat. I've never had a flicker of excitement about a cruise.

    I lived 62 years of my life trying to do what other people thought was right. I've enjoyed every minute of living in the Pacific Northwest where the people think more like me. To heck with other people's ideas.

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  16. I used to repair outboard motors, n they break every other day it seems! Water pumping is the most important thing to not seize the moter- like the car running with no oil-

    I like canoes n rowboats myself- don't mind rowing, n they don't break down!

    I'd so love to have nice kitchen tools instead of the tiny Efficiency one! I can bake... but not in this kitchen-

    I'd like more expensive toys... but do have a banjo rarely played (was free) n an elec. violin I can't afford to plug in! 200 watt amp...

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  17. Yes, not seeing if the dream fits in the hole. I always loved living aboard, but once my mother got a couple of good sized yachts I saw the maintenance. Now I still love living aboard other folks yachts. :)

    I'm thinking about getting rid of all my fabrics. Quilting is a hobby that takes up a lot of space. I just don't like quilting tho I love quilts.

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  18. I understand boaters say the two happiest days in a boater's life are: first, when he buys the boat and second, when he sells the boat.

    My husband enjoyed boating with his bachelor buddies, but after we met and wed, he had long since lost his interest in boating, and certainly wasn't interested in owning one.

    For whatever the reasons, I've pretty much gotten only what worked for me -- maybe it's because some of my "wants" that would likely have been mistakes were items I couldn't afford or were unavailable to me at the time, so guess circumstances saved me from some poor choices.

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  19. I agree about all of the expensive hobbies... We all have them --to some extent. For George and me, we don't have anything expensive (like a boat)--but we do have lots of money invested in our cameras, our computers, iPad, etc..... Luckily though, we do make good use of what we spend!!!!!

    Great post... Have a wonderful weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  20. This made me chuckle. I live in the country and I garden; a farm is WORK! If I lived by the water I would not have a boat; I'm a land/shore person. I wouldn't fish either but I'd be on the shore with a book every day that wasn't too wet or cold. I do live near a smallish mountain and trek up it once or twice a summer; I wear simple hiking shoes that don't cost the earth. I live on bikeable country roads; I wear a plain helmet and my own everyday clothing and my bike is a single speed, pedal brake affair with a comfortable seat. I live the good life without guilt ;)

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  21. I'm thinking about French cooks who turn out fabulous meals in their miserable little kitchens.

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