Category: Random

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Check out our YouTube channel for the latest Sea Rose videos! Ep. 104

Hi! Tom here – just a quick note to let you know we have posted recent videos to our YouTube channel ‘LifeFourPointZero‘ of our sailing adventures around Italy, plus an episode of us in a completely different setting… cross-country skiing through the beautiful northern woods of Maine! Check them out here!

And if you are really bold, and want to hear about our tips for anchoring your boat, check out the latest in our of series of how-to videos titled ‘Boat Anchoring 101’!

Finally if you are not already getting notified when we release videos on our YouTube channel, be sure to click on the subscribe button on our YouTube channel, and then the ‘bell’ icon below any one of our videos. If you don’t have one already, you’ll need to create an account on YouTube in order to subscribe. Then, YouTube will email you whenever we post a new video!

Happy spring!

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Around and Round We Go, Round Two, Ep. 95

With our circumnavigation of France halfway completed, we headed east from the coastal Normandy region to check out the eastern portion of the country. On the way, one passes nearby the countryside village of Giverny, most famous as the residence of Claude Monet. Giverny is where Monet spent the last 40 years of his life. He built out a substantial studio at his residence, and planted expansive flower gardens, followed later by an Oriental style floating garden across the street. These grounds become the subject matter of many of his most famous Impressionist paintings. Today, you can tour his home and studio, and stroll through the flower gardens and past the flowing streams and ponds, all of which lead to a visual sensory overload. For sure it is an SD-card busting experience. Continue reading “Around and Round We Go, Round Two, Ep. 95”

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Around and Round We Go, Round One, Ep. 94

If you rent a car to explore France, like we did, you’ll need to get up close and personal with roundabouts. The French, and I suspect a lot of other Europeans, love these quintessential urban infrastructure anachronisms. On the one hand, they are highly efficient traffic cops, shepherding cars to their next exit without delay. On the other hand, they are technology-free, minimalist designs that could easily have existing hundred of years ago, and in fact they did, making your driving experience a true journey back through the centuries.

Continue reading “Around and Round We Go, Round One, Ep. 94”

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The City of Lights, Ep. 93

For some reason, Karen and I had never, collectively or on our own, ever visited France. Maybe it was my high school language choice of German (which didn’t get me too far in Germany!), or our leaning towards warm, tropical get aways. I must admit that after hearing several friends come home from France and report that the French were tough on those that didn’t know the language made this foreign language neophyte especially hesitant!

Continue reading “The City of Lights, Ep. 93”

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If You Are Going To Drink, Drink Responsibly! Ep. 90

Spring is coming tomorrow, and we all know what follows Spring. So, in the anticipation of warm, Summer days filled with boats and barbecues and beaches, I thought I’d share the recipe for my feel-good Kale shake. Check it out on YouTube. Also, you could consider it a belated St Patrick’s Day beverage (or tonic?).

Do you have a special Kale shake, or other favorite nutritious drink? Add your comments here on our blog or directly on the YouTube video. Go Green!

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Making a Rope Rug Ep. 88

I have a crafty side! I love to make all types of things from knitted or crocheted scarfs and afghans to bird-feeders decorated with mosaics of broken china. I sew nearly all of my own curtains and have made many things for our sailboats. I hope to share my DIY / how-to tips for making things with our blog followers and this post on making a rug out of rope is my first entry on this topic! Hope you enjoy.

Below is a gallery of the rugs that have been made on a weaving loom I created specifically for rope rugs. The best part is that once you have mastered something like this, you can invite a bunch of your friends over to drink wine while making rugs – what could be better than friends & craft projects together!

Skip reading and go right to the Youtube video on rope rug construction!

You have probably seen rugs like these selling for anywhere from $45 to $75 dollars in trendy stores along touristy waterfront villages, right? Since I first saw these several years ago, I have thought about the best ways to make them and what I will show you is my second attempt … the first prototype crashed! It didn’t work at all.  And, although I need to buy very large amounts of rope at a time to make the costs reasonable, I can make a large (45″ x 24″) rug for just less than $20 in rope. The loom cost me less than $30 for the bolts, pvc tubes, 2 x 6″ plank and other minor materials I needed to build it.

Watch this YouTube video on rope rug construction and please leave me any comments or questions – I would be happy to answer them!

Making a Rectangular Rope Rug