Terje and I went down to the Vodaphone shop in Whangerei the other day to get Steve a USB cell modem for his laptop so that he could drive his hospital gurney straight onto the information super highway.  By the time we'd returned to the boat, Steve was already online and had emailed us simply that "my dongle is working!"  

Not having grown up speaking proper Queen's English, Terje and I were left with our low english definitions of the word and wondered why our characteristically polite skipper felt compelled to share this little tid bit of info with us.  We figured that the young resident doctor had probably over prescribed Steve's morphine which, in turn, lead to his cheerful electronic self-disclosure.  Turns out that apparently the Queen and her loyal subjects refer to this slender and roundish electronic mobile device as a "dongle."  Ah well, I've never been to good with foreign languages.  But I digress...

The initial point of this story was that the skipper thanked me for tracking down a dongle for him by promptly firing me from my post as guest editor of the Curious Blog.  Seems that as the swelling in his foot has gone down, his pain meds have been reduced, which in turn has not only cleared his mental faculties, but brought upon a resurgence of his literary genius and he wants his editorial job back.

Before I clean out my desk, here are some pictures of Steve being entertained by good friends Michael and Gloria from Vancouver on S/V Paikea Mist.  And then the skipper explaining to Terje that the actual reason he is wearing a white stocking on his right leg has to do with a dress rehearsal for his annual performance in the Nutcracker Ballet at Christmas when he gets back to the UK.

Terje and I spent a couple of hours at the hospital yesterday lifting Steve's spirits by telling him about all the wonderful food we've been eating.  He especially wanted to hear more details of the seafood chowder and rack of lamb that Bill, Terje and I had Saturday night (to celebrate Steve's successful surgery earlier that morning).

We cheered him up even further by showing him pictures of the fantastic scenery we saw during our day trip to Treaty House in Pahia last week and our quick car jaunt last weekend through the Kauri forest up to Cape Reigna, the northernmost point of New Zealand where the Tasman meets the Pacific.

Apparently, the above mentioned encouragement has been working, as Steve is feeling a bit better, a lot of the swelling has subsided, and he's gotten his appetite back.  He tells us that the docs have gotten the antibiotics sorted out, decreased his pain meds, and will have another surgical peek around his foot tomorrow before putting stitches in.  He could be discharged as early as Sunday.  He hopes to get back on Curious next week under strict doctor's orders to do nothing more than keep his foot elevated and enjoy the scenery while his mates move the boat from Opua down to Auckland.  He'll then fly home to be reunited with Trish, Anewin, Chris, Bethanne, Katie and Jan for the holidays.  He told me today that it looks like he'll be on the tobaggan with Trish rather than on his skies with the kids during their Christmas in the Alps while his foot continues healing.

And now I'm off on the homeward flight where fresh snow and minus 18 degree temperatures are forecast to welcome me home.  But the warmth of hugging Tara, Tyler and Kaeli after 3 weeks away will make it feel as if I'm back on a South Pacific island.

Thanks Steve for inviting me on this grand adventure that included some great sailing, a bit of unexpected medical excitement, introductions to your wonderful friends, and so many great conversations.  

Get well soon my friend!