Greetings,

This is another short update, but I am really trying to get caught up on a lot of things that I need to get into the WEB page. I am actually considering adding a "Houston" link under the "Ports and Places Visited". We will have spent close to two years here, so I thought that would be a way to get some pictures of the Watergate Yachting Center and Houston into the WEB page.

I added a new section under the Construction and Projects Page. It is concerning the installation of the dinghy davits and the "Hummer" Grill. I also changed and added some pictures to the Engine Room Upgrade page.

I have finally got our trip from Guatemala to Houston, via Isla Mujeres, Mexico, put in to the WEB page. It can be seen at Passages Made. I have not completed the associated maps as yet, but hope to get that done by the next update.

Not a lot has changed for us since the last update. I am still piloting the crewboat on Galveston Bay. Overall it is a fun and interesting job. This is the time of the year when it is a lot more challenging than the summer. We have some pretty vicious cold fronts that come through, and a lot of fog. When I do the Houston section in Ports and Places Visited, I will get some photos of the crew boat that I am driving. Kitty still has her contract at Schlumberger Well Services in Houston. It has been extended twice, and it looks like she will have work through May of 2008. That is certaintly good news for our team.

The Dream Away Christmas present this year was a new camera, so I am promising myself that I will take more pictures here locally in Houston, and when we start cruising again. Our other camera is a great camera, and it still works, but the on-off switch would not work properly. I never knew when I got the camera out if I would have power or not. The batteries could be down or it would turn itself off while trying to take pictures. Overall very frustrating, so I tended not to get the camera out often enough. Hopefully that situation will change.

Something fun that is developing is a possibility of moving to Belize. Our son, Stacy, wants to move his intellectual properties offshore, and he set about researching the options. The capsule version is that when he told us someone was going to be checking into the process for making the move to Belize, in Belize City, we suggested that he also consider Placencia, Belize, as we had been there and thought he would find it far more appealing than a dirty, contentious city. He immediately responded that, since we had been there and knew our way around, that I should go to Placencia for Stacy and research communications, possible locations for an office, labor force, etc. And so, we got a wonderful weeks holiday (working holiday, of course) in Placencia, and I prepared a detailed report that indicates this would be a good location for the move. We also found several locations for an office, as well as a beautiful piece of property that would make not only a good investment, but also a good office site, and a lovely place to build a wonderful retirement home complete with dock space for 2-4 50'+ boats!!! Once Stacy read the information, he wanted to know more. So, I will be going back to Placencia at the end of January, 2008, to sound the lagoon, and the channel to the property, to confirm that it will allow a boat with a 6' draft to pass. I will also be in talks with banks there, and various other business entities as Stacy directs. Should this all come together, you may find us writing to you from Belize in 2008 or 2009. The idea is that we would get the business set up, and then train staff to cover for us when we want to go cruising. Stacy would have a tropical paradise for a business location, we would have a Caribbean home base.

For our Christmas present this year, Stacy and Tina, gave us tickets to fly to Atlanta for Christmas. I actually have Christmas Day off this year, and Kitty will take a few days off. That way we will be enjoying the Christmas Holidays with our children, in Atlanta. We will be flying back on the afternoon of the 25th. Both Kitty and I have to go to work the next day. My job now does shift change at 0430 and 1630. For day shift that means that I get up at 0300 to get to work by 0430, even for me that is a bit early to start your "day".

Both Kitty and I probably went a bit to far with spending for Christmas cheer, since we are not living on a fixed income yet. We have both promised that we are going on an eating diet and a spending diet after the first of the year. If we both stay employed, we are hoping to be out of debt in the May timeframe. That means we can seriously start saving for the cruising kitty, and we will then have choices for our future. We need to build the cruising kitty back up, and save some money for a couple of major projects before we go off cruising again. As we have stated before, I will terminate my employment so that I can work on the boat and get it ready for cruising, while Kitty is still working.

Overall life is good. We have had a good year with a bump or two in the road. We hope that you all have had a good year and that 2008 will be even better. Please stay in touch.

regards,

jimk

Member Seven Seas Cruising Association

WEB page http://www.dreamaway.net