....over the wall!

Last week started with a "Boat Jumble" It's a bi-annual event in the marina where everyone digs out their "treasures of the bilge" and has a big swap meet, I think the idea is to sell more than you buy and we almost succeeded. We sold an extra small outboard that came with the boat when we bought it. (We've since up-graded to a bigger dinghy and motor) and only bought some original charts for where were heading for only 3Lira ($2).

Maggie did some baking and made some banana bread and cinnamon rolls to sell at the jumble and ended up with 30 Lira ($20) for her efforts. She'll definitely be making baked goods for customers if we're in a marina again.

Levi found a pair of flippers for his snorkeling adventures this Summer, and bought them with money he's earned in the marina. He figured out, towards the end of the Winter, that people in the marina pay well for odd jobs they don't want to do. So he made some good money in a short time crawling in hard to reach chain lockers, cleaning barnacles off dinghies and lending a hand to an electrician working and running wires in boats. IF we wind up in a marina, I fully expect Levi to be handing out business cards the first day we're there and be busy the whole Winter!

The jumble was followed by a bar-b-que, grilled meatballs and chicken shish kabaps. Our group of 25 stayed and had a great afternoon in the sun, telling lies and stories and it was a fun way to say good-bye to the marina.

Monday, we finally left the marina. For those of you following us, I'm sure it was getting a bit boring hearing all about Marmaris! Of course, it went faster than we thought, and it ended up being a mad rush to get things finished on the boat, doing the last loads of laundry, and filling the fridge and freezer and making our way out. Monday morning Rachel and I were in town for a last minute doctor appointment, buying groceries, and a few things for the boat. Maggie and Levi were an incredible help and had the boat clean and packed by the time we got back. We left in Hemingway style as some of our laundry was still hanging on the clothes lines on the boat as we motored out of the marina! We certainly felt loved as a lot of our friends came out on their decks and waved us off, very cool feeling!

We've met some great friends in the marina and it was bittersweet leaving after 3+ months there. One of the newer families is the Drinkalds from Australia, Steve, Cheryl, and their kids Chelsea (11) and Nick (8). Fantastic family. We found out later that they were involved with Growing Families, a Christian parenting program that we'd done in the US. Small world indeed. They recently moved aboard a big catamaran called "Connect 4" and are excited about heading out in about a month. After we left the marina late in the day on Monday, they came out to where we were anchored and had dinner. We played games and had a great time until after midnight. It was sad to say good bye, but we're hoping to hook up with them, maybe in Israel.

On Tuesday, we headed out of Marmaris bay and were travelling with another family we'd met, Peter, Ruth and Will (12) on "Time Warp" They are Americans and were wanting to have a "trial run" going East before they turn around and head West through the Med in preparation for crossing the Atlantic in November. We made it as far as Dalyan some 18nm and anchored in a bay. It was a fantastic sail, calm seas and gentle breezes. Just the kind of day you wait all year for! We were thrilled to get some wind in the sails and water under the keel. We're making our way to Fethiye with Time Warp and we'll write more next week.........

Bye for now........Hems.

Goodies from the Galley....:)

Bananas!!!

Yes the bananas were on sale this week at the store! So they were
quickly purchased and brought home to use one of my favorite recipes.
I've done this recipe many times before but this time decieded to add
cinnamon to one loaf. And chocolate chips to the other......mmmm they
were so good with the new improvments! :)

I didn't get pictures of the chocolate chip one because it was inhaled
before I could get it out of the pan!!! :) But here's pictures of the
one with cinnamon.....










Thanks for looking! Til next time....--Maggie

Goodies from the Galley....:)

Here, I had promised to write a weekly post thinking I'm so bored I will gladly do something like this in my free time. But (as life goes!) it did not happen this way at all! As we get ready to start our sailing season and leave Marmaris Bay the days seem to be speeding by and I don't know where they go! :)

That goes, of course, the same with my baking. But business can not stop me from doing what I love right? So Friday night I stared a batch of cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning......Without thinking I accidentally made a full batch instead of the normal half batch I make for our family. Need less to say I was going to end up with over 50 cinnamon rolls!!! Thankfully some of our friends here in the marina took them off our hands with out any complaints. Thanks guys! You saved us from some pretty terrible stomache aches!! ;) Here's a picture of them. One is while they were rising and the last is after they are baked complete with frosting......Thanks Grammy for the great recipe! I wish you were here to bake them with me!!

All in the pans. Now it's time to rise!

Just a few of the MANY I had to frost :) Haha

Also before I go, Mom asked me to make some cookies for a small potluck we had here with our friends. I looked through the cook book and had been dying to make this for a while so I took it as a good chance to try the new recipe out. Once I figured out how long they needed to be in the oven(since our oven has a mind of its own!!) they were really simple! They are Lemon Tea Cookies coated with a lemon juice and sugar mix. So here's pictures of the "finished product." :)

The Lemon juice and sugar mix getting drizzled on top!

I have so much fun staging the photos! I think it makes them look even yummy-er! :)

Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed the photos!! --Maggie

.......now it gets fun!

Well, we must have muttered something under our breath at some point about this lifestyle not being challenging enough.....trying to travel around over here with 7 of us on a sailboat (and not really even being sailors!) but I guess the Lord thought we could handle another challenge.


We found out a few weeks ago that sevensailors is growing to eight! We are expecting a baby in early September, and have been trying to come up with a plan on how this would work. 


Let's see...we first met with a female gyno/doctor here in Turkey, and our first meeting was quite an experience. She works at the local hospital in the mornings and sees patients in her office in the afternoon. We went in a waited for almost an hour and then she popped her head into the waiting room and said, Rachel! So we went in her office and sat there for literally, 5 minutes. She asked us questions like how many kids we have, vitamins Rachel's taking, so on. Next thing, she has Rachel on an exam table and she's doing an ultra-sound. It's certainly NOT like the States where it's planned, scheduled, family all comes and videos taken and all that. We just looked up and there the baby was......swimming around, looking healthy! The whole visit took maybe 15 minutes and we left there kind of in a blur at how quick it was. Pretty to-the-point. She thought everything looked good, so we started talking about options for birth. She is willing to help us deliver at the hospital she works at and thought it would cost, with her fees, roughly 1000 US. Everything, done.


Another option is......we looked up and found a midwife in Israel, where we were planning to sail anyway, to see if she would take Rachel as a patient even though we won't be there for another few months. She is an American who immigrated to Israel in the early 70's and literally has written the only book on midwifery in Israel. She has a 'birthing center' on her property which consists of cabins we are able to rent to have the baby in. You can visit her site at: http://www.birthathome.co.il  They are stocked with shower, bath tub, bed and look very comfortable. She has delivered thousands of babies and works with a hospital nearby in case of emergencies. The cost is similar at around 4000 Israeli sheckels (1200US) She was willing to see Rachel when we get there in June and sounded excited about our plans. She recommended some blood tests here in Turkey which we've already done. A BIG plus with going to Israel and using the midwife is all the kids would be able to be a part of the experience and could be in the room. 


So.......lots to think about. We know God is working in all of it and are excited to see which direction He points us. We get a little stressed at the unknown of it all, but I think that makes us trust Him more. Keep us in prayer as we see where God guides! It looks like it's going to be an interesting year!


Hems