Hmmm...it seems that looking for my last post, that I don't have one! I didn't do a December RaftUp, or even a Christmas/NewYear 'Hello'. Time to put down the Kindle.
So. Hope everyone had a great Holiday Season in whatever way makes it special for you. How's that for bland and inoffensive? We're very PC here on Celebration. We did our celebrating in Culebra, which is between Puerto Rico and St Thomas, with friends Ken and Cynthia, who came over on the ferry. It was very low key: swimming and eating, chatting and reading. We missed our families, although hearing the temps in Fargo and Minneapolis made us really glad not to be there. I am heading back to Mpls and then Phoenix in February so I'll catch up with everyone then.
So. On to the January RaftUp topic: blue jobs and pink jobs, and how that division of labor works out on the boat. If any one's not familiar with the subject, it refers to jobs traditionally done only by males or only by females. I'd like to say that we don't have blue/pink jobs here, that we both have equal knowledge of all systems and procedures, tools and replacement parts, but I'd be lying. I'll say flat out: I married a man who's a great mechanic for a reason, (the reason being that he was cute and played the guitar and I was 19;) but it's been a huge advantage. We couldn't afford to cruise if Steve couldn't troubleshoot and then fix the myriad of-little-things-that-lead-to bigger-things-that-could-lead-to-serious-we're-in-trouble-here-things. And the good thing is: he likes a lot of it! He likes to read tech manuals and look at schematic drawings, the cheesy translations don't throw him off at all. He can take something apart and see what's wrong. I can take something apart and see lots of parts.
We both do the cooking, we both do the laundry. I take care of the food inventory and storage and most of (what little) cleaning gets done. We work together well and try to 'help' each other when we can, but it's a boat. Most spaces are only big enough for one to work and one to stand outside and hand the tools. But we try to exchange roles when we can. Steve designed most of our systems and knows them so well, that I have to tell him to stop helping me when I'm trying something new.
For some other thoughts on the blue/pink topic check out these guys:
1 Dana www.svnorthfork.blogspot.com
2
3
4 Stacey http://sv-bellavita.blogspot.com
5 Steph www.sailblogs.com/member/nornabiron
6
7 Behan www.sv-totem.blogspot.com
8 Diane http://maiaaboard.blogspot.com
9 Jessica www.mvfelicity.blogspot.com
10 Lynn www.sailcelebration.blogspot.com
11 Verena www.pacificsailors.com
12 Toast http://blog.toastfloats.com
13
14 Ean www.morejoyeverywhere.blogspot.com
