Today is Cal's 28th birthday. Happy birthday, son. I mailed him a card from the dock office, hope he got it. Deron made it back about 10:30, just in time to eat fish!! He was full of stories about his adventure. He said he didn't know why they needed him cause he was oncall watch and slept for 3 days!! lol
We got our new captain. He is from Northport, Alabama, a suburb on Tuscaloosa, and has four years left to retirement. He is a lay minister and will be here until next Tuesday. He is leaving to go on a mission trip to El Salvador to build a church. He has absolutely no profanity on his boat and it has been sorta funny watching the crew watch themselves. A couple of times I thought the Mate was gonna pop a valve!!
The pilot that took Myle's place is really quiet. His name is Danny and he is from Dover, TN. He just kinda eases in and out so I haven't had the opportunity to grill him yet!! :)
Well, we just found out we are losing Justin. The call came at 5:00 and said for him to be ready in 45 minutes. He is going to the Upper Mississippi cause they need someone with lock experience. He is spending his time installing a shelf for me for the pantry that sent the Mate into a tailspin!!! Bless him, he said he started it and he was gonna finish it.
We are still sitting in St. Louis doing fleet inspections. Deron said he heard that if the water goes down to 25 feet we will make a tow and go!! It is at 30 feet now but it keeps raining upriver. :(
Well finally at 7 they got here to get Justin. He probably won't be back this trip,hopefully he'll be back when we crew up again.
Saturday, April 10
Well the Coast Guard came onboard today to check our ID's with a new toy they have. It scans your fingerprint to make sure it matches your TWIC card. You have to have a TWIC card (Transportation Worker Identification Creditial card) to work in any type of transportation. They fingerprint you and take your picture and do a pretty thorough background check. All this came about after 911. The Chief was hoping they would their yearly inspection and get it over with but they were just checking id's.
The Chief did the grilling today and all I had to do was the side dishes!! We all sat out by the grill and drank tea and I listened as the guys swapped tales about other boats they've been on. Have I said today that I love my job?
Justin called the Second Mate and said that he didn't get to his boat until 5 am. They had to go 240 miles into Iowa somewhere and the van kept overheating and breaking down. He said it was nothing but fields and he was beginning to get a little concerned until they topped a levee and finally saw the river!!! He is not a happy camper.
Sunday, April 11
Oh me oh my!!! I got to sleep until 8 am this morning. I woke up earlier and looked at my clock it said 5:12. I thought, "Oh, no. My alarm didn't go off and they didn't wake me up!!!" THEN I remembered it was Sunday and I rolled right back over. Love my crew!!!!!
Got that chicken fried. I made Rice and Mushroom Casserole (recipe follows), Candied Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, White Beans and Pistachio Salad to go with it. I also made homemade rolls. The Captain said he like to eat light on Wednesday and Saturday but he made up for it today. I been cooking a Top Round roast in the crock pot since last night to have Italian Beef Sandwiches for supper. We gonna eat a little lighter tonight.
Gonna get to talk to at least one grand on Skype today. I miss my family more on Sunday than any other time. I'm gonna close this out for now so I can get to the talking to the grandbaby part!!! Till later.....
Rice and Mushroom Casserole
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery, (1stalk)
1 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 14 oz can beef broth plus enough water to make 2 cups liquid
1 cup instant minute rice
- Saute onion and celery in butter till translucent.
- Add mushroom and garlic. Cook a couple minutes longer.
- Spray 2 quart casserole with Pam.
- Pour in onion mixture and combine remaining ingredients and stir.
- Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
- Stir with fork to fluff and serve.
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