The upholstery work has begun.

Finally putting that sailrite machine to good use.
First was cutting out the top and boxing(sides).

Then making the piping cover.

I had seen a YouTube video where the gal had seen the cover on the piping at the same time she had seen the top to the piping. Looked easy enough.

It was.
Then see boxing on.

Not horrible hard to do.
It appears I forgot to take a picture of the zipper going in the bottom.

So there it is. First piece is in the v-berth. Turns out the supersoft does not push the cover as tight as one would wish. But it will be very comfy to sleep on. I start on the other v-berth cushion tomorrow. Then on to the settee. Then I have two cabinets and a comfy chair to build and upholster.
A table to build and whatever seat goes on the other side of the table.

Picked up the solid brass knobs for all the drawers and doors.

They are solid brass.
The wood is staying in the v-berth. As I get time, the bulkheads (walls) in the salon will get 1/4 inch foam under a white vinyl. Complete with covered buttons to match. It will insulate and brighten.
  It took a while to figure out exactly how I wanted to do it. But now it is work time. I am good at this part. It will not look like anyone elses boat.

I hope to be doing the dodger and Bimini very soon. The sailbags are not in bad shape. Will give them new zippers and straighten them up for now. I just will not have the time to do it all. I am heading to the Chesapeake bay as soon as I am laid off next July.

The first hatch is finished. Just needs a little final cleanup when the glue has cured.

I start on the other hatch in the morning. My Christmas Eve project.

That will take care of the leaks. I have no other plans for Christmas, so I am going to spend the day doing upholstery. If I get an early start, I may get the v-berth cushions done in a day.

It has accurred to me that I have spent the lion's share of my holidays(adult holidays) alone. I never seem to have that group of people around me. You know, the ones you can enjoy a nice time with!

I do not seem to be able to change that. I have friends who are important to me, but usually they are far away. It is perplexing.

But enough senseless drivel.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I had a port window and the forward hatch both spring a leak in the last rain. Investigation showed a very rusty screw causing the leak in port window. I guess once it rusted enough, there was no longer a seal with the bedding compound. Not sure how one screw was not stainless like the others.

But I fixed it today.
  The hatch was next.

It required pulling the "glass" out of the frame, cleaning it up and rebedding it. Well... It is more of a two step process. It gets a bead of bedding compound. Then glass is laid in and centered.

 Once cured, it gets the last bead around the edge of the glass.

Not really a big deal. I temporarily patched both hatches at about the same time. I suspect the salon hatch will spring a leak soon. I will do it. Tomorrow.

While I have them out.

I am installing both of the solar powered vents. This will take care of any mold from moisture build up while I am gone this winter.

I am very close to starting the upholstery. I am doing the v-berth first. I will be sleeping in there from now on.
The settee/couch conversion was not a success. The couch cannot be made comfortable enough. It is too tall because of the water tank under it.

So the other side is getting two chairs and a table. A booth will not be comfortable to sit in.

I have a plan. Considering captain seats recovered to match. Or..Just comfortable car seats. They are comfortable for sitting! Right?

I am redoing the floor. That will be a surprise. There are also a couple other small changes. I have hired a local guy to put in the second bank of batteries. The engine gauges. (Fuel,tach,heat, alternator) he will be working on those things while I am out in the truck this season.

I am going to have a couple other things done by a friend in Baltimore this summer. I am now choosing my battles. I bought Mary Lee to enjoy. Not spend every minute working on her.
I will still add an electric windlass, autopilot and a cooling unit for icebox. Not buying ice anymore. Solar panels wrap up the list. She will be ready to anchor out in Marathon next winter.

Day 20 of Ketogenic diet ended well. I said I was not going to weigh myself until I was happy with the final results. I lied!! :-)
  I weighed 240 pounds when I started. At the end of day 20, I had lost 20 pounds!!! I weighed 220.

  Still not going hungry. Still no cravings. The weather has left me laid up a lot with back pain. So no exercise, other than the bit of boat work I have been doing.

  At this point, I am very happy with the way I am eating. If back pain does not count, I feel great!! This has completely ceased to be a diet. It is a lifestyle change that I am embracing.

So I mentioned a little boat work. Did not get a lot done. Had two small hanging lockers forward of the salon. They now have shelves. Still have to make up the black mesh on bungees for the openings. It will give ventilation and easy access while keeping stuff in.
 The shelves will be wrapped with a fabric very similar to what car speaker boxes are.

I am getting as far as I can by roughing it in. I can easily beautify with the finishing touches later.

Have you ever seen the movie "White Squall? Good movie. Based on true story. I watch it often. The book has been difficult to come up with at a reasonable price. Finally found it.

Short book. Will be reading it today. My back was spasming a lot last night. Today is a day of rest. Right now, the dvd "All is Lost" , is playing.

Not a talking movie, but interesting.
  Likely to finish the day off with

Captain Ron.
  I have decided, finally, that I am going to pay to have some of the boat work done. I need to get a second battery bank glassed in. Two batteries is not enough for anchoring out. I will have someone replace all the gauges.
  There are a few other things also. I will have it done while I am out driving. I have enough to do. It is time to farm out some of the work.

Because I am pulling out at the end of July.

My ph test strips came in the mail. I tested my urine and saliva several times while researching what could be done. My ph level was 5.75 averaged from about 7 tests. 7.35 is near normal. With 0 being most acidic and 14 being most alkaline.

I researched everything I could get my hands on. I started four days ago. I will not recommend what I took. It is not something I want to get involved in. Suffice it to say. There is very much written online about it.

So...end of day four. I had a normal reading. Now I need to monitor it until it stabilizes with my eating regimen. At this point, I want my diet to do the job.

Was it necessary to take this into my own hands? Well. I had more than one blood test. "All is well" is what I was hearing. I knew something was wrong.
  For quite some time I have steadily improved since that last doctor visit. I stumbled into the pH balance by accident. When I started seeing the same symptoms listed over and over on different sites, I began to think I found the culprit. Time will tell, but I am already sleeping better.

I start going to the gym tomorrow. I wanted to get squared away with a few things first.

December is here. Hurray???

The work on Mary Lee continues. The couch/bed is basically done. a little more adjusting. A different kind of wood. Then upholstery time. But done enough for now.

I have started taking out the ruined water tank on the starboard side.

Not the most fun. Not wanting fiberglass everywhere, I decided to draw a line. Drill holes along said line. Then bust out piece of fiberglass. Insulation is then scraped out with a chisel. It seems to be working well, without a mess.

Diet is going well. My body is liking the way I am eating.

I suspected my PH was off. A lot of the symptoms, of a body being too acidic, matched what I have been going through. I finally ordered some PH test strips.

I have tested urine and saliva several times. I am very acidic. Even if the strips were off by a bit, I would still be very acidic. It is easy enough to google this and read about it, so I will say no more than to state...I am taking steps to get my body back to a balanced PH.

Hopefully, I will soon be sewing upholstery for Mary Lee.

Perhaps a bit more hopefully, I will have this acidic problem solved. It has my full attention!!! ;-)