Christmas is creeping up. Naturally I had the decorations up within a few days of Thanksgiving being over. There are 650 lights on this tree. Daytime picture does not do it justice. Each 50 has it's own flasher. It is an ever changing light show. It is fake. It had permanent white lights. I have snips and ambition. It has multi-colored lights now.

 I have since changed out the angels lights. Vivian has had it many years. It had not been lit up in a long time. I got it going. The other night I reached up to check it. Found the old bulbs had burnt holes in the plastic base. Touched bulb and burnt my finger. Maybe that is one of the reasons for all the fires you heard about at one time. I ended up buying a short string of lights. Changed the last 8-10 bulbs to the yellow/gold ones and strung those into the angle. This tree picture is the old clear lights. Angel is now gold and goes much better with the tree.

 So you know I don't sit still very well. Yes....I have been working on projects.  This is an oil painting I found at Goodwill for under $3. It was in perfect condition so I decided it was the bargain of the day.

I took it home and built a frame out of scraps I had in the garage.

It took longer for the "stone finish" paint to dry than it took to build the frame.

No....that was not my only project this week. I had been planning a build-in sewing table for Vivian. I started it last week. I may have mentioned it last post. I finally figured out how I wanted to do it.

The mechanism that locks the folding leaf up was the most difficult to figure out. It had to be simple, strong and most important. Not metal.

By the time I had the rest of the table pieces ready to go, I had a plan.

You will notice the end of slotted piece. I put in a notch that drops over bolt as leaf is pulled out. Locking knob will not have to be over-tightened to hold leaf up. Just tight enough to keep notch from slipping off the bolt.

 Vivian seems as pleased with it as I am. A corner that had no purpose turned into a place where she can keep machine ready to use. It is quite solid. All oak except the slotted arm and the trim around white board is one inch thick. I used dovetails for frame. I bought a dovetail jig to use when building dorade boxes for Mary Lee. This was a good time to try it out.

 This was my first practice with pine scraps before I built sewing table frame

The hole next to dovetail below is screw hole from fastening it to wall. I took picture when I was putting varnish on it.

A friend in Wilmington said he would supply the mahogany if I would also build him some dorade boxes. Good plan. I will build a couple out of pine first for practice.

Of course Vivian had to sit at the sewing table to see how it "fit".

 She has had a shirt pinned and cut out for a while. She is just real busy and needs a machine set up so she can use it more readily. Got one!!!

So last but not least. Therapy. It takes a lot of effort to get ligaments to move again on a guy my size. Scott(therapist) seems up to the task.

It is painful...but I can already feel the difference this session made. Vivian goes to sessions with me on Saturdays. She takes the pictures.

So there you have it. Not everything that happened since the last post, but the highlights.

I hope everyone is gearing up for a great Christmas!!!

Another week has gone by. The last session in physical therapy hurt so bad I kind of just wanted to lay down for a few days. Yet....by yesterday I was not only feeling better but could, once again, move a little better. I had the mechanics of what has happened to me explained.
  In my uneducated laymen terms. I got hurt. The body puts callogen"?" Over the injured area for healing purposes. As time goes by, this and lactic acid build up over the area. In time it affects posture. Another callogen process takes place. My meager understanding is that it takes about 2 years for each cycle to complete. So getting all the ligaments, tendons and muscles worked loose is not much fun.

I know....not a great explaination, best I can do. I understand it enough for me,but like as not, I don't understand it enough to write a post on my blog well enough for everyone to understand. I guess if you know enough you could google it.

 Vivian is in Nashville, Tennessee for a convention. I guess the university does this every year. Anyways, we both have android tablets so we skyped this morning. Pretty nice way to say good morning long distance.

 Vivian just sent me this picture of her from the Wild Horse Saloon.

I was told I was not to buy anything for myself this close to Christmas. Nobody said I could not build what I needed.

 I built a holder for my tablet. I suppose it could have took an hour all together. I had it mostly together in 20 minutes but it needed tweeking. I had to add stops so it could not fall forward or slide out the side. I also added rubber pieces where needed and glued some fine sandpaper to the bottom so it can't slide off my lap. It works great.

One more project is started. Vivian needs a sewing table. I am building one out of that particle board with the plastic on the sides. I forget the name and don't really care if I remember. I am using the last piece I hope to ever own. I am edging it with oak and making a piece that folds up on the end.

I just got started. I have to build the frame. It will be fastened to the studs in a corner. I should have a completed picture next post. I suspect it will be pretty solid.

Wrapped up another therapeutic session on Saturday. Steve asked if my therapy is "active release". Yes, with a few other techniques worked in. Scott(physical therapist) broke his back years ago and had a technique used on him to make loosen him up. He was interested in learning more about it. He went to school to study it. Then worked with several people around the country to learn different techniques. After 20 years, he came up with a system that is a mix of the things he has found that work.

I had Vivian take a couple pictures. Notice the big knots all over my back.

So it looks like I have quite a ways to go. But...two weeks into it, I certainly can feel a change. Crashing clown bike this last spring really set me back. I was in much worse condition. Just about all flexibility was impeded. It was time to get help.                                                                                                   

Vivian's youngest son, Jon, had his 18th birthday. I was the cake developer for the event. It took a good part of the day, but I successfully made a soccer cake.

Adding up the cake mixes, powdered sugar, etc. The cake would have weighed between 5 and 6 pounds. 

I thought I would throw in a few pictures of my home town's scenery this time.

The top picture. Looking at the bottom of it, you can see my Aunt Dorothy's pasture, home and outbuildings(also some of her neighbors homes). This is looking from north to south across town. Mullan is just out of sight under the mountain I was standing on to take this. (I learned to milk cows in her barn)

The second picture(showing the tamarack/ western larch turned yellow in the fall) is from near the top of lookout pass, on interstate 90, looking west towards Mullan. That is a settling pond from the silver mine you see. You can just barely see a small bit of Mullan beyond it. This view is no more.

In recent years the mine put in a much bigger pond and there has been enough strip logging to destroy it in the eyes of those who loved the area. Idaho has an old law on the books that allows mines to tie up large tracts of land. The idea was to give them the rights to timber to use in the mines. They have shipped in mahogany guides for many, many years. So, even though they never use the timber, they own it. In Idaho, you can completely strip your privately owned land. The mines sell off the land and the logging companies strip it of anything big enough to have any use. 

But they are smart. They leave enough timber standing in the right places that people driving through do not see the stripped areas easily.

Because of this, even if I lived to be a hundred. I will never see the area look as beautiful as it did while I was growing up.

This picture is from out front of the house I grew up in looking east towards lookout pass. The mountain to the immediate left, is the bottom part of the mountain I took the picture of Aunt Dorothy's property from.

The 1967 Ford 4x4 pickup I am getting ready for paint, is setting on the concrete that used to be the floor in the small shop I learned bodywork, painting and engine building in as a kid. Amongst other things. There was always a project. If you look at the top of the picture. You see a couple outbuildings. They were not there until recent years. I grew up right on the edge of the woods. The big difference I see between this and the woods everywhere I go? Here we have vast tracts of land owned by the bureau of land management and the forest service. Also, the land "owned" by the mines is open for use. I grew up with total freedom, on hundreds of miles of forest to run and do as I pleased. Utter freedom. Before strip logging. Lots of roads to ride dirt bikes and four wheel drives. So many good places to hike. Speaking of four wheel drives. I did finish the Ford,

The 1977 Mustang in the background was another project.

Few last pictures of Mullan in winter.

In the pictures above. The Datsun 280z (red) was one of my projects. In the last three, That is one of my Ford Bronco's. It was also a project. Before I hurt my back, I did love fixing up vehicles. I love the challenge of figuring out how to fix just about anything. I cannot remember ever looking at something and thinking it was beyond my abilities. I do remember a learning curve that made me have to do some things twice :-)

                                                                                               

Without thinking, I edited the last post. I figured out the picture part and added a couple things.

Not much to blog about, but I suppose an update won't hurt.

I started a type physical therapy. I had just had a belly-full of the second rate therapists I had seen for so long and was determined to do it all myself. Progress was slow, but still it was progress.
After crashing clown bike early this spring I had quite a set back. Due to my inability to be able to make any more progress beyond where I am and having two people tell me I needed to go see this guy they knew, I am now seeing him. The two people who recommended him were Vivian and Julie(from my meet up group). They have not even met each other and the guy has a great reputation. I can tell you. He is moving things. His name is Scott, he is the proprietor of.  AA Health in myrtle Beach, SC. If curious you can google it.

Got a hewlett Packard android tablet. Should have got one long ago. I just never realized how much better they were for my purposes than the laptop. Now I need to figure out where I can download charts from. Lance? I remember you did this,any thoughts?

Going sailing again tomorrow in Charleston. All about that in the last post. Possibly going to work soon. Has been a trial attempting to get myself healthy enough to return to work. Will share more later but this really is a self esteem issue. I need to know I can do anything I want. Being unable to work is also a pretty good indicator of my ability to function, with any task, because it all hinges on my physical abilities.

Scott thinks he can get me back to 90% of where I was before the injury. I am not sure if I can explain all of this correctly. His methods are a conglomeration of the techniques he has studied. I forget if it was a medical board that has studied his techniques and deemed it a new way of doing things. He is writing a book on it.

So there you have it. The only thing I did not share is a sickness in my immediate family. I am quite concerned for my younger brother. It is quite serious. 'Nuf said.

So my last year in myrtle Beach goes on. I have 600 Christmas lights up in the courtyard already. I know, kind of early, Vivian will not let me put up the 7ft. tall blow up Santa until after thanksgiving.......see!!! I need a job!

I will end up with over 2000 lights when done.

Figured out how to get pictures. Last picture. You know Vivian is a vegetarian? She eats cheese and seafood but otherwise, no meat. When I say we are working on our diet, I don't mean we are ON a diet. We are experimenting with healthier eating. We are looking over the Ayurvedic(India) diet.

You know me! Get a book and look it over. Looks like a lot of rice and vegetables. Also looks like different foods for different body types. My theory is this. Try all kinds of different ways of doing things. When you find what works, adopt it as a lifestyle.

I had to come back and edit this. Saturday morning the therapist really moved some things that had not been moved in a while. The rest of the weekend I was pretty tender. This morning(Monday) I could tell that a small improvement was made. Not much.....but noticeable. I am quite optimistic. It also looks like I will finish up the winter working. I will share more later. No sense counting chickens before they hatch.

Halloween has come and gone. I think I have watched all the "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" that I need for one year.

I really do not mind the charlie Brown classics since I grew up with them. I didn't get a picture of it but Vivian and I went to the first half of the "Young Frankenstein" musical. Her oldest son had talked her into buying tickets as they do a once a year "fun" thing. He skipped(I think his first girlfriend has something to do with it) So I went. Half a show was plenty. I like the movie but the musical was not especially endearing for me.

We also went sailing in Charleston Harbor with a Gal(Babs) who was doing a site on meetup. It was a nice way to get a look at Charleston Harbor and get Vivian out on a different boat.

She did great keeping the 33 foot sailboat into the wind properly. Looks kind of natural there(A line off Cap'n Ron, a kurt Russel movie)

I think this was an advertisement photo she had on the site. Boat was a 1977 and did not look as new as in picture. It was a nice boat. Got to learn a bit about sloop rigging. The sailing was not very productive in Winyah Bay this summer with Mary Lee. Water is too shallow and channel is too narrow. When done with interior work Mary Lee will be going to Charleston. Will get a lot of sailing in next summer. Turns out there is a reason why you do not see many sailboats in Winyah Bay :-)

I mentioned the meetup site. I am also going to a metaphysical meetup. I have gone twice and find it liberating to be able to discuss things I think and experience with like-minded people. It was a nice group of people each time. There was one other guy the first time. I was the only guy the last time in a group of about 15 to 16.(I never counted) More on that later.

A lot of things have happened in my life. The last decade was a real life changer with the last few years being the positive side of that. I would have liked to have been in Florida this winter but I have one last year of getting ready for the trip. Next fall I will be sailing down on the outside as apposed to motoring down the intra-coastal waterway. (It is why I bought a sailboat)

Turkey day is not even here and already the Christmas stuff is out. What am I saying? It was out before Halloween. I talked Vivian into trying on this hat with the facial hair attached. I would not have thought of it if she hadn't already tried the sock monkey hat

Of course I got this picture off Steve and Linda's Blog. They are the boaters I met in Baltimore my first summer. They currently spend summers on Guppy in Canada and winters on Yesterday's Dream in the keys. They have a daughter working on the set of "Big Bang Theory".

I had hoped to join them in Marathon this winter but my time in Myrtle beach is not over yet. If you have followed the blog then you know the reason.

I bought an android tablet finally. A hewlett Packard 10 inch off HSN. It was a good deal. It took a week to get here. Finally arrived. The back was off  in the package and a small part, I assume was one of the cameras, was laying loose in the bag. I never even got a picture. In about a half hour it was back at UPS for the return trip. Maybe next week I will get an android tablet?

Last, but certainly not least. I ordered everything I need to do the P90X home exercise program. Funny how many times I have been told how difficult it is and I should not undertake something like this with my back. If I listened to every ones advice, I would still be laying in a hospital bed in Idaho waiting to die. I will do this 90 day program the best I can.
   I do best when I am in better shape. I will keep trying until I am successful. I want to start out early this spring in good shape. I am sort of following the south beach diet with Vivian. I still like foods that I should not be eating. I am trying, but time will tell. :-)   I guess the fact that she has me eating a lot healthier is a pretty good sign. I like healthy foods, I understand why we need them. I just have this love of eating about anything that I think I can digest.

It has started to cool down finally. Fall is here. Halloween is around the corner. Vivian has one of those ghosts with a blower that fills it up. It is now going in the courtyard

And of course....It's the Great pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Vivian's favorite scene.

Spent the last weekend on Mary Lee. Watched about a 4 foot alligator doing the "mess around" by the dock.

Not even big enough to eat :-)

But the big news is that I have started the changes inside Mary Lee.

The starboard settee (left side of above picture for those unfamiliar with boat terminology) is going to be a booth. I must have a table to sit at when eating.

I got most of the settee and ruined water tank pulled out. I know exactly what I will be doing. I saw a sister ship to Mary Lee with the settee converted to a booth and it looked great. I also have several books on boat building and refitting. I am quite confident it will be done correctly.

The port side settee is already converted to a queen size bed....well...on one end, possibly just under a full size on the other end. I have finally figured out how to make it what we want. It will still be able to be a couch but a deep couch with pillows on the back. Also, if you notice the above picture shows the port side settee out where it will be when done. It is pulled out about 18 inches from where it was as a settee. I will be closing in that space underneath. It is 16 inches tall. 18 inches deep and 77 inches long. More places to store things.
 I will not be adding much more weight as it is kind of a trade. I take out and I build back in.

The longest seat in the booth will have a water tank added. There is a 40 gallon tank under the port settee but the 40 gallon tank under the starboard settee was cut out by a previous owner for storage. I am hoping to have room for at least a 30 gallon. I may end up putting a tank under the other seat later. We will see how it goes as the work is completed.

It has taken a while to figure out the best way to set Mary Lee up as a live-aboard. Usually things go together quickly once I am happy with what I want to do. As I mentioned last post. Vivian and I will be spending much time on Mary Lee. It needs to be an accommodating vessel, not a set up more conducive to weekend camping expeditions. There is almost nothing for storage, the seating is horrible and I am not going to be crawling in and out of the v-berth to sleep. I have a hard time believing I never thought of these things more before shopping for a boat. I am now!! :-)

So this winter is going to be refit winter. Finishing the upgrades in the house and starting my new hobby. I have just found lasts for shoe making. I have a very hard time finding shoes that fit correctly. I have spent a lot of money over the years on shoes that seem okay until I have worn them a couple weeks. They bother my feet and get thrown out while still mostly new. Enough. I can make my own. Besides, I already own most of the tools for working leather.
 Besides. Once I have what I need, I will not be spending near the money on shoes. I will be surprised if there is $30 worth of material in a pair of shoes. Until I figure it out, the shoes will be much more affordable to throw away. Once I figure it out. I get to actually wear out a pair.
Will begin sewing new canvas next summer. Still figuring out exactly what I want to do with it.

Last on the list. I have a box of oil paints and brushes that I want to get working with. I have a lot of years of art classes behind me. I intend to do something with them.

Alright....I guess it just looks like I am trading one set of projects for another.

I cannot help it.

 I try to have less going but my brain requires action on my bodies part. My body may hurt, but it is my brain that will drive me crazy if I am not keeping my body busy with new challenges.

THAT is why working was so important to me. Not routine. Routine is mundane and not acceptable. I chose a challenging lifestyle a long time ago when my peers were choosing a SAFE way of life.

I realize that slowing down because of  injury and age is expected. I am just stubborn.