Stalled in Brooklyn, NS

                                          The Brooklyn Marina Clubhouse

We are in Brooklyn, NS, which is just up the river from Liverpool, NS and we are stalled!!  We finally found a diesel mechanic to look at our engine which has a slow leak and he figured we needed a new diesel return line.  We have ordered the part and sit waiting for it to appear.  The parts place in Toronto did not have it and so it has to go to Toronto and then here and shipping takes time.  It is a pleasant spot, the only drawback being it is a long way from anywhere.  It is a very well protected spot and there is a clubhouse which they leave open 24 hours so we have access to electricity and lovely hot showers.  It was really windy over the weekend and our propane furnace would not stay lit so we went out and bought a small electric heater and we have been warm ever since.  

                                  

                 Cat's-Paw IV at the dock with the defunct paper mill in the background

We met some people that we had briefly met in New Zealand, Jack and Linda, and they were gracious enough to have us over for dinner.  They totally renovated an older house and it is just lovely.  They were very interesting to talk to, Jack reads for audio books, he has a wonderful knack for accents and Linda is a self published author, she has published nine.  They have enjoyed being here but say that they will never be able to overcome the fact that they are "from away", and consequently people do not open their home or their hearts to them. 

We are having a very social time here, one evening the Russian single hander whom we helped put on his new furling Genoa, came over with a bottle of vodka and some Russian snacks.  On Saturday a younger couple, who are new to sailing came aboard after we helped them take down their mast and picked our brains about sailing. Yesterday Gail and Royce Stryde drove down from Bridgewater and we had a happy hour aboard before we went out for dinner. Tonight Jack and Linda are coming for dinner so we are keeping busy with company and doing some of the endless boat chores. 

                               

I also got a chance to finally finish the cross stitch that I have been working on for 3 years.  It is for our oldest grandson Eli and he chose the pattern when he was 9, he is 14 now and I hope he still likes wolves.  It is the biggest and most difficult cross stitch I have ever worked on.  The difficulty was because so many of the colours are very similar, with subtle changes that is was very hard to figure out where you were on the pattern at times.