We have two problems which are likely to push us back to Tahiti. First, our outboard is dead. Again. [Insert a series of swear words here] The last problem of fuel solved, now the lower unit seems to be footer. [More swear words] DrC is giving up. We keep throwing $70 here and $140 there at this thing without any permanent fix. We can not cruise without an outboard. Right now is a perfect example. We're pinned down at the anchor off Fare on Huahine because of wind squalls blowing through and an uncertain motor. It might get us ashore and back, it might not and it is much too windy to row. All these attempts to save the dinghy outboard from being stolen seem to be incredibly misplaced.

This problem is NOT resolving itself. DrC is ready to throw the damn thing overboard. We can buy a new one in Tahiti for roughly three grand. Lovely. But we have to go back to Tahiti to do this. We might be able to cut the price considerably by purchasing it duty free. That's an interesting wrinkle. It'll still be insanely expensive.

But the real reason we'll probably end up back in Tahiti is Jaime's teeth. Her wisdom teeth can't wait another 4 months and have decided to erupt. Now. I don't know what the heck we're going to do about this, actually. We're emailing the orthodontist who took her x-rays last year. Hard to say what we're going to learn from that exercise. At this point, DrC is proposing that I fly her to New Zealand and get her orthodont started. Because we can afford that. Two tickets to New Zealand from Tahiti, please.

I'm depressed today. No decisions can be made for at least 24 hours in any case. Then we'll have to figure out what to do next. Part of me is in denial. The other part of me is making cheese buns. I finally found a yeast that works in 80F temperatures. My New Zealand just couldn't handle the temperatures and my Mexican yeast couldn't handle French flour. My Polynesian yeast is happy here, but I expect it to start balking as soon as we head west to the Cook Islands. In the meantime, we had garlic rolls for dinner, fried dough for breakfast, cheese buns for lunch. The entire family will soon be in a yeast coma.

At least it's cheap.