So here I am, a third of the way through January.

I have to be serious about winding up some old projects. I am still surprised at how many things I can get going. Usually, something comes up and the current project goes on hold until later. Sometimes(this happens a lot), my back flairs up and I move on to something I can do.

A good number of times, I am unsure of exactly the best way to continue so I work on other things until I am sure.

So the cabinet handles are now done.

 Also needed another coat of polyurethane on Vivian's stool. 'Nother thing done.

Time to finish washroom painting. Not quite there yet, but getting after it( you can see the old beige color where I stopped with the yellow). Moving the machines out and painting behind them was hard on my back. I survived. I had therapy today so will finish the painting tomorrow. I debated for a while on the best way to finish the doors. Stain and poly. Laminate, stain and poly. Also, laminate with vinyl and just paint edges and inside. Will be taking doors off three at a time. Filling edges, sanding smooth and then painting the same color as walls.

The color put on by the builder made it such a dingy entry way. The light yellow with all the white trim is really brightening it up.

I mentioned going through South Carolina's vocational rehabilitation program to
see if it was possible for me to work again. I spent three weeks up north last winter in the voc. rehab. center being assessed to see if I was even capable. I believe the verdict was...Not really, but as I was one of the few they ever get that is already on disability and attempting to get off it,(I suspect most are using it as a place to prove they should be on disability, whether they really should be or not) they had to admit there was a possibility I could work again. :-) I can be hard to deter when my mind is made up.

 I have to share this....I rode the bus back to Myrtle Beach a couple times. The one time, I met a gal who had just got out of prison for drugs. She asked what I was doing. When I mentioned vocational rehabilitation, she says...that is okay, we all make mistakes. I never bothered to try explaining what vocational meant. In her world rehab had meaning. I have noticed that a lot. Most people hear rehab and think alcohol or drugs. Vivian and I laughed about it. My only mistake was using the milk crates, the customer I was delivering to, had  for steps on the loading dock. Oops...pretty big mistake.

There have been a good many things over the years I was told I couldn't do. I can't think of one off hand that I was not able to do. I will admit to biting off a pretty big chunk on occasion. I will also admit to wondering why I did, on said occasion ;-)

The point of this? I start to work the third of February. Voc. Rehab. is buying me an ergonomic office chair and sending me in for a hearing test. I have tinnitus(ringing in ears) pretty bad. I guess they will even buy me a hearing aid if needed.

I am worth much more as an employee than what I will be making. That is not the point. Curious??? I will be working for an outfit that takes motel reservations for the motels in the area and sells vacation packages. Yup....sales. Whatever....I get to put a recent job on my resume and who knows? I might like sales.

This changes nothing when talking about moving south. We are looking seriously at the Tampa, Florida area. Clearwater is nearby. Mary Lee was built there in 1987. We have seriously started looking into the move. It sounds like the best place to be for sailing in Florida.

There is much to get done this summer before taking Mary Lee south. Finishing refit. Doing some canvas. Add auto pilot and solar panels. Much sailing in Charleston harbor this summer. I want to sail to Florida as apposed to running the Intra-coastal waterway. I have at least one friend who has volunteered to make the trip. Vivian and I will try to work in a few overnight runs for practice once we are comfortable with the idea.

Jon will be off to college next fall. Once he has a semester in...we will start implementing the big move.





We are both excited about what is coming next. I am able to stay busy during the freezing weather for the first time since getting hurt. I am thinking, that as the weather warms this spring, I will shift into high gear.

Oh ... I almost forgot, I still have a dinghy to build.