Lorraine’s exciting news

I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I love this time of year and each day when Lorraine (my sister, best friend, and publisher) and I go out for our afternoon walk, we see more color in the trees. I stop often to take photos of the trees which have the most color. Lorraine always lets me choose which walking trail we take, and yesterday we walked along the Lake, reminding us of our Lakeside cottage vacation a few weeks ago.

Some of the trees are already in full color. It was so beautiful with a blue blue sky and not a cloud in site.

We walked to the second set of benches. It was such a beautiful walk along the lake. Lorraine especially enjoyed it after sitting at her desk all day during her online course.

This is one of the paths that I like to walk. They used to have horses, but they are gone now. I still enjoy their beautiful garden. The other day we saw the woman in her garden. We went over to call out and get her attention. We thanked her for her beautiful garden and mentioned that we enjoyed it every day. She was a senior lady with a ready smile and was happy to get the compliment. It reminded me of my mom and how much she loved her garden.

I made my macaroni and cheese from my first cookbook. I made it in separate containers to make it easier to share with friends.

As promised, I have some exciting news to share with you. I was so excited when Lorraine came to me this past spring and said she had made a decision. On Friday, Lorraine started an online four-day course, which is a part of the MED (Marine Emergency Duties) course. Lorraine is going to start sailing again! Lorraine and I both sailed from 1981 to 1994 before opening our Creperie Catherine restaurant. I returned to sail in 2019 when we closed our restaurant. In the last six years Lorraine has come to visit me on board multiple times and she even made a few trips. I love sailing, and each time Lorraine would visit the ship, I would look around the galley, and raise the question, "Would you consider sailing again?" I was beyond delighted this past spring when Lorraine started talking about taking the steps to return to sail. There are a few steps to get a job on a ship. Each time she completes one of the tasks she checks it off her "to-do" list. Today she shared a photo of her online class. She has one more day tomorrow and then she can check off the Four day online course task. At the end of September, we will make the trip to Georgian College, where she will take a three-day course which will cover firefighting and water survival. I will go with her and hope to get some photos and video. Upon completing the course, she will join the Union and then wait for a job call. Lorraine plans to sail as a second cook, and my ultimate wish/dream/hope is that we will have the opportunity to sail together one day. Fingers crossed. We plan to fall back into the same routine we had in the 80's and 90's where we sail the same months and take the same months off. It's an exciting time and my future stories will include photos from both Lorraine and I on the ships that we are sailing on.

Every time Lorraine came to see me on the ship or make a little trip with me I raised the questions “Would you consider sailing again?” June 2023 onboard the Oakglen

1985 taking the MED Course in Port Colborne, Ontario. Lorraine is on the right and in the middle is our friend Annette.

40 years later Lorraine is taking the MED course again. this time she is doing the written part online during a four-day course and will go to Georgian College in Owen Sound the end of the month for the 3 day Firefighting and Water survival course.

The last four years, Lorraine was working behind the scenes shipping out book orders. Shipping the books was a part of the conversation when she was deciding if she would return to sailing. I presented the idea of providing the books as E-Books and shared my idea to offer a seasonal e-magazine (Digizine as I have seen it referred to). She agreed that the e-books and e-magazine would not require us to physically handle the books. They will arrive with a simple click.  It was decided that the time was right for her to return to sail. We will still mail out the original first cookbook, "Recipes and Stories as I Sail Through My Day," and the Children's book, "The Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse," when we are home. The second Gluten-Free cookbook, "More Recipes and Stories as We Navigate Healthier Eating," will only be available as an e-book. We have had some requests about a 2026 Porthole Calendar. I am just researching the best way to make it available to you. I will keep you posted. So that is my most exciting news. Lorraine enjoyed sailing when she sailed years ago so I am not worried that she will like it when she returns. I will keep everyone posted. I hope to get a call in the next few weeks and hope to get a ship for November and December. For the time being, I am enjoying every day at home. I wish you a lovely day too. Hi from Lorraine (my sister, best friend, publisher and student)

We will still mail out the original first cookbook, "Recipes and Stories as I Sail Through My Day," and the Children's book, "The Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse," when we are home. The second Gluten-Free cookbook, "More Recipes and Stories as We Navigate Healthier Eating," will only be available as an e-book. We have had some requests about a 2026 Porthole Calendar. I am just researching the best way to make it available to you. I will keep you posted.

click on the following link to order.

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