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23' mini-trawler by Schucker	Janice aboard Seaweed, living the good life afloat... Trawler life on a nickel budget is possible. I'm doing it and you can too. Janice Marois, nautical journalist. Accredited member of Boat Writers International.
Thanks to Cap'n Bill for your generous donation to my Cruising Kitty. My mailing address is: Post Office Box 8284, Madeira Beach, FL 33738 or 15019 Madeira Way, Box 8284, Madeira Beach, FL 33708
Date: 17 January 2022. Declutter by Donation. © janice142 Aboard Seaweed I have too much stuff. One of my weaknesses is galley gear. I have this idea (most likely a mistaken belief) that with just one more cookbook I will suddenly become a fabulous chef. Ha! Plus I admit to being fascinated by the smaller community cookbooks. I like older cookbooks because they use easy to find ingredients versus fancy stuff. Most of my books are stowed along the hull in my forward cabin: Older cookbooks are a particular favorite. They use real ingredients available everywhere. I prefer that to those fancy ones that need items I have never heard of nor tasted. For me priority is placed upon ease of preparation. Onboard Seaweed I treasure grandma's The Maine Rebekahs Cook Book. My grandma would have been nearly 50 when this book was published. She gifted it to Mother who passed it along to me. The years really do fly by. In any event, I am quite adept at gathering old cookbooks. One thing I regularly do is go through the purchased cookbooks seeking hidden gems. Those recipes I copy. Then I either gift the book to another boat gal or pass them along to Salvation Army. October found me in CORTEZ ↓ a boating community on the west coast of Florida. Down in Cortez, Florida I found a better option for the Cortez Southern Shoreline Cookbook. I donated my copy to the Florida Maritime Museum located in Cortez. I love knowing that Cortez cookbook will remain in the area. That it shall be available to others is important to me. The museum is a great spot to visit incidentally. They run on donations. I found the docents to be friendly, informative and kind. The seafood recipes in Cortez Southern Shoreline Cookbook were tasty too. Nevertheless I felt the cookbook would be better served in the community it originated in. Thus, the donation. Aboard Seaweed I continue to keep a full bookshelf in the main cabin. A girl has to have books. Living aboard a boat especially when one likes to collect is a constant in-and-out battle. I try to stay on top of the clutter. Too often I am much more successful at gathering than dispersal. That is where church thrift stores, museums, and major players such as Salvation Army come into play. It is nice to know what I do not want anymore may indeed find another home with someone who will like it as much as I once did. When living aboard a smaller boat choices must be made. I believe we are more likely to treasure our possessions when they are select, special, and not in great abundance. One thing to Consider: When parting with your older items, a museum or historical society might be just the right choice. One of my books (Eight Bells by Rear Admiral Daniel Gallery, USN) is in Gallery's U-Boat 505 museum in Chicago. How cool is that?!? Having friends is the biggest and best thing of all. Thank you for being a part of my world. And thank you for reading. Comments welcome and encouraged on the Declutter by Donation page. Categories: Becoming Clutter-Free, Books, Characters, Locations, Announcement: Folks who want to be notified when I post are welcome to become subscribers. I email readers every time a new article goes up. That's usually once or twice per week. If you'd like to be included via BCC* simply drop me a line to janice@janice142.com and I'll add you. It's free. *BCC - Blind Carbon Copy. Basically no one but me will have your email address and the list of subscribers is not available. Now this is not fancy. Basically I copy off the top three items in my Archive file. That way you can catch up if life gets in the way of your reading fun. Secret: If you want to know what's what, start in the Archive. It offers you the title, first paragraph and topics (Categories) covered in each article published on my website.			Something a new reader might not realize: Almost every picture on this website can be clicked. The photo will get larger when clicked. Do that a second time and the picture should be full size. Enjoy... My Cruising Kitty earns money each time you buy on Amazon through my links found in the upper left corner of every page. This is a tangible way to support me and is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support, and heck, just for being here. I appreciate that more than you can imagine. Paypal Tablet link: CRUISING KITTY for those who wish to donate direct to me via paypal. Pet of the Week: Angus on Evan Submit your pet's photo. Please email pictures of your crew! More canine, feline and feathered crew members can be found on the The First Mate Gallery page. Archive The Archive holds a chronological list of every item published on my website. It includes a brief synopsis (not just the title) along with the topics covered in each article. Click on the title and voila: you're there. Enjoy! Skipper, First Mate extraordinaire Of course every boat needs a Deck Swabbie. Mine, born in 2008, is a papillon mix. She weighs in at five pounds. Coming soon ... Topics of Interest: You can achieve a simple satisfying life Anchorages Nice versus never again Becoming Clutter-Free One Week at a Time Boat Talk A glossary for nautical neophytes Boats Find yours here Books On the bookshelf Channel Markers of Life Small yet significant Characters Interesting folks Comfort Decadence aboard DVDs Movie-time aboard Seaweed Entertainment Relaxing afloat Fishing* catching dinner - tips and tricks Your ideas, hints and articles welcome! Galley Off-the-grid and not starving* Gear The good, the bad and the ugly Humor Laughter along the waterways In the Bilges Repairs and Upgrades Locations Where we've been Memory Lane Stories from yesteryear Money Thriving on very little Organizing How to fight clutter Pets Aboard Boat life with four paws Recipes What's cooking aboard Recommendations With links Relationships Cruising partner matters Security Be safe! Simplify Less is more Sojourners Saloon Boater chronicles Unmentionables The head aka bathroom, trash disposal, pests, etc. Vignettes Brief notes about life Wild Things Nature entertains The Writer's Block by guest authors Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican! His bill holds more than his belican. He can take in his beak enough food for a week. But I'm darned if I know how the helican. (Poem by Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1879-1972.) Aphorisms For years I've been collecting short pithy statements otherwise known as aphorisms. If you're like me and enjoy the weird, go ahead and CLICK! These are previously posted at the bottom of each article -- for new, you'll have to come visit again. Seaweed is in St. Pete right now. The above chart (#411) can be a wish book of sorts as you look over your domain and wonder where to go next. And yes, I do have the originals (sans red arrow) as jpeg's for download should you desire your own for closer perusal. Enjoy! 411a.jpg (1024x840) at 556KB or 411b.jpg (5000x4102) at 7.41MB The Writer's Block It's my belief that other folks who boat are some of the most interesting in the world. Inside every boater is a story. Let yours out! I'd love to post short stories, vignettes, or even longer articles that focus on some aspect of our life on or near the water. Suggested topics include: 1. I Remember When... 2. My First Boat 3. Who inspired you to be a boater? 4. Fishing Trips or Tricks 5. Or another subject of your choosing For the novice, here's how to write: Simply pretend you're sending a letter to a friend. Tell about an event or a memory from years ago that you still recall. Life has changed so much on the water since I was born aboard. Personally I'd love to hear your memories of life when you were younger. Boats were smaller, narrower, and much slower. Kids were kids and our families often shaped the adult we have become. Here are my two aboard the tow boat my dad ran for a time: Your pictures would be wonderful too. I posted one of Boot Key Harbor taken in 2001 that has gotten quite a few downloads and really, that's not so terribly long ago... Do you have any photos to share? Email me. Do you want to help out? Often an article for the website will be completely written yet lack photographs. I like pictures and am looking for some for up-coming pieces: Pets afloat (include pet and boat name please) Any picture of boats underway or at anchor Photos of people enjoying life in or on the water Size: a minimum of 1000 pixels across please. If that doesn't make sense think bigger versus resized for emailing. I prefer the full-size version. Also, the name you'd like me to use when I add the copyright stuff to your picture. And thanks bunches! My email address is janice@janice142.com

Thanks for visiting. If you happen to see my boat along the waterways, give a call on Channel 16. I'm always listening.
click picture to enlarge		My home is not fancy by any means, however you cannot imagine how wonderful it is to come back to her after an expedition on shore. If I can live this life, why not you too?		Skipper, First Mate extraordinaire
Aphorism Alert: Begin doing what you want to now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake. Marie Beyon Ray.
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