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    • Nana’s Egg Salad

      Posted at 12:01 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on July 5, 2018
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      Nana wasn’t a gourmet cook … her ingredients were simple and generally staples from her well-stocked pantry. But there was something about Nana’s meals … the flavors were always so delicious and satisfying that whatever she made was a joy to eat. My guess is that it was the secret ingredient of Love. I try to add a dash of that into every dish I make and when I cook from her recipes or use the few pieces of kitchenware that belonged to her, it takes me back to those cherished times sitting at her kitchen table having a chat with something yummy and a cuppa tea.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, Tayana, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • A Nautical Wedding

      Posted at 9:30 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on July 2, 2018

      Four years ago on June 28, 2014, Aaron and Heidi tied the knot and became Captain and First Mate for Life. It was a wonderful weekend in Ayala Cove at Angel Island, filled with friends and family … a Thursday night dinner onboard dear friends Dave & Speranza’s boat, Buoyant … Friday couple pedicures in Tiburon, wedding prep (which included constructing a six foot arbor that had been lashed in a box to the rail for the trip over and then balanced precariously on a dinghy to get it to shore), and a potluck with our boating community who arrived early to help set-up … and Saturday, Wedding Day: mimosas and boater friends decorating before the festivities.

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      Posted in You Live on a Boat?! | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, Tayana, VivoOSonho
    • Broken Sailor

      Posted at 12:01 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 28, 2018

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      They met at the beach to talk. His girlfriend had broken up with him and he needed a friendly ear. She was dating his best friend but was thinking of breaking it off because he was boring. They had double-dated a month ago to the Junior Prom and often chatted on the phone. This time he needed an ear at his happy place: near the water.

      “She doesn’t get me,” AJ said, with a big sigh. “She thinks that sailing is dumb and that I’m wasting my time working at the marina. She wants me to be “cool” and deliver pizza. She says she wants to “fix” me.”

      “Fix you? Doesn’t she know that you are one of the best Laser racers on the Bay?” Holly asked, incredulously.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 3 Comments | Tagged LivingTheDream, ShortStory, VivoOSonho
    • Blogging about Blogging

      Posted at 9:34 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 25, 2018

      I can’t remember a time in my life where I have wanted to be anything other than a writer. Even during the tenure at my favorite job at the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, I knew that someday I’d write a book … perhaps a “tell all” about the many shocking secrets of small-town politics. (Nope, will never happen … my lips are sealed!)

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      When blogging became a thing about a decade ago, I was intrigued. A forum where one “owned” the site and could share whatever fancied the writer. No need to submit and wait to see if your piece was accepted or rejected. Still, I didn’t think I had enough interesting things to write about. You can write all you want, but if no one reads your material or if your writing is crap, then it’s a mute point … at least to me. And yes, there is a whole lot of crap writing out there.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged LivingTheDream, VivoOSonho
    • Chia Breakfast or Dessert Pudding

      Posted at 9:49 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 21, 2018
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      I discovered chia seeds about a year ago. They are a nutrition power house and so easy to incorporate into a breakfast or dessert. A little goes a very long way! We’ll be carrying Chia seeds on our long voyages as they are an excellent source of fiber, iron, calcium and antioxidants, as well as omega-3 fatty acids (the kind of fat that helps raise HDL cholesterol, protecting against heart attack and stroke). They also help with constipation, so eating in moderation is a good idea! 🙂

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • Mermaid Dreams

      Posted at 12:01 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 14, 2018

      546382_455431514486118_237473839_nIt was her birthday and she had gone for a morning summer sail alone. She dropped the anchor in a cove off her favorite beach at Angel Island, stretched out in the sunshine and fell asleep. She dreamt of pristine white sand beaches and clear, turquoise water, delicate coral waving from rocky reefs teeming with rainbow-hued fish and dolphins playing tag with each other. She swam for hours in her dream, at ease with the sea creatures swirling around her and never needing to come up for air.

      When she awoke the sun was high overhead, beaming hot rays onto the deck. She stripped off her shorts revealing her one-piece swimsuit. She often swam in the Bay, enjoying the brisk and salty water. She was a strong swimmer but always wore a life jacket with a tether attached to the boat when she was alone.

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      Posted in Mermaid Tales, Story Shelf | 1 Comment | Tagged LivingTheDream, ShortStory, VivoOSonho
    • Vegan Quinoa Dinner Salad with Creamy Orange Lime Dressing

      Posted at 12:01 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 7, 2018

       

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      We invited guests for dinner and I learned that one was vegan. She told me that she’d bring her own food and it was no big deal. Vegans don’t eat any animal-based food, so meals need to have no eggs or dairy products. I love a good culinary challenge, so I did a little research and talked to co-workers that are both vegetarians and vegans and devised a recipe that is colorful and bursting with flavor and also filling. The key is to read the labels of everything … you’d be surprised how many items that you’d think are purely vegetarian have some form of dairy or meat product or are prepared in facilities that share machinery.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 1 Comment | Tagged BoatingLife, Cruising, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • Boat – Life Balance

      Posted at 9:42 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on June 5, 2018


      34321066_10216194796644007_1630616168223997952_oBoats require work. Lots of it. Being exposed to the elements 24/7 means that Aaron and Heidi have to constantly be on the lookout for damage by rain or sun, as well as keeping up on regular chores and replacing my worn parts. I guess you could say that I’m a high maintenance sort of girl. 😉 

      This past weekend Aaron replaced one of my 39-year-old bronze portholes with a brand new stainless steel one. I have three portholes, all accessed by the cockpit; two look into the cabin, one on either side of the companionway (our front door), and the third looks from the cockpit well (side of the floor) into the aft stateroom. Portholes are windows that open. Portlights are windows that are permanently fixed. All leak if not installed and sealed properly, which is not a good thing. I also have four hatches (windows that open up from my cabin top) for ventilation.

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      Posted in You Live on a Boat?! | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, Cruising, DogOnboard, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, Tayana, Tiki, VivoOSonho
    • “Hard” Work

      Posted at 8:58 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on May 29, 2018

      Why do Heidi and Aaron bust their butts to do work on me that they can pay someone else to do? We get that question often. The major reason is peace of mind.

      I’m not just a pleasure craft for weekend sailing. I am Home. Boatwork is very specialized and we want to make sure it is done to our high standards. It’s not like having a new roof put on and then discovering that it leaks and calling a company to come fix it. We won’t have that option in the middle of the ocean if I take on water because of a poorly installed thru-hull. Knowing that my bottom is sturdy and sealed tight is essential to our peace of mind. 

      Every three years I need to be put on the “hard” so my hull, keel and rudder can be inspected, repaired if needed, and painted. It’s also a good time to check out the propellor and all through-hulls. Being on the “hard” is taking a boat out of the water via a hoist and propping her up on stilts in a boat yard.

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      Posted in You Live on a Boat?! | 1 Comment | Tagged BoatingLife, Cruising, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, Tayana, VivoOSonho
    • You Live on a Boat?! Part 4: Where do you keep your stuff?

      Posted at 9:56 pm by Heidi Benson Stagg, on May 21, 2018

      “You live on a boat?! How is that? Does it move all the time? How does the weather affect you? Where do you keep your stuff? Do you have electricity? How about fresh water? Do you have a real kitchen? How do you deal with waste? Are you connected to cable and WiFi? Does your dog like living on a boat? What happens when you go sailing?”

      Where do you keep your stuff? Heidi and Aaron had just came out of long marriages in houses filled with lots of material possessions when they moved aboard in 2009. They left their furniture with the exes, so there really wasn’t any big purge to move onboard. They do have a storage loft with stuff that doesn’t belong or fit on me … Breakable items, photo albums, cherished childhood mementos and a bunch of accumulated crap in general. They are slowly going through the lot to pass on to family, donate or trash. Their goal is to have perhaps four boxes of items that will be stored with Aaron’s dad when we go cruising. That’s it. Everything else will fit in or on me.

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      Posted in You Live on a Boat?! | 1 Comment | Tagged BoatingLife, Cruising, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, Tayana, VivoOSonho
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    Heidi Benson Stagg

    Heidi Benson Stagg

    I live aboard a 42 ft Tayana Vancouver sailboat, hull #5 laid in 1979, with my husband and little dog. We left our berth of 15 yeas in Alameda, California in the Fall of 2022 and now live in La Paz, Mexico. I enjoy blogging about our journey, cooking in my tiny kitchen and writing short stories.

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