__________________________ INSTAGRAM ____________________________

My son takes very 'non chocolate box' type photographs and posts them on Instagram. This photograph is of a mural on a wall somewhere - I quite like it. The word 'bald' is either the artists signature or perhaps its proclaiming that the image is a Bald Eagle.

https://instagram.com/nikolaiasmith/

DO WE EVER CONFORM TO THE DICTATES OF COMMON SENSE? NOPE, MOST OF US ARE TOO BUSY HAVING A GOOD TIME

Someone once asked,  " Do you really think it's sensible to buy a yacht that's less than say.... 20 metres long and that doesn't have standing headroom?"

In response someone answered:

"Hey, let's not pretend there in any practical use for a sailboat. And buying a sailboat is obvious insanity. Let's not kid ourselves. We are all nuts. My boat has all the amenities of a wind tunnel. But then, I didn't buy it for sleeping. So... yeah. I think it's sensible to spend large amounts of money and free time for an uncomfortable floating wind tunnel - if that is ones particular form of madness. Otherwise, I recommend a large bathtub and a warm quilt."

Yeah, Nah - can't say fairer than that Bro.

It's Not Exactly Christmas, But Hey! Who Cares? Merry Christmas Anyway

I found this on someone elses blog. It's kitschy and baubly and I think its great. I love the way the snow splashes on the road - if the snow keeps turning into water like this; soon someone is going to need a dinghy just to be able to  cross the road.

______________________________ BIRD ______________________________

                BIRD

It was passed from one bird to another,
the whole gift of the day.
The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,
in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass
to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air - 
and there, night came in.

                   
When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green
between sun and geography - 
I saw how wings worked,

how perfumes are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,
and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,
the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;
I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet
than the swallows in their courses,
the tiny, shining water
of the small bird on fire
which dances out of the pollen.

                  
Pablo Neruda 

___________________ WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD ___________________

I remember when I first heard Louis Armstrong singing this song on the radio. It must have been in the late 1960s. It always makes me smile when I hear it because of its optimism in a world that is often such a vale of tears for many of its inhabitants. But despite everything it's a message that I believe, need to be reminded of, and are required to work at to make it a reality. 

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD - Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying,
"I love you".

I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more,
Than I'll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Oh yeah.

Four Horsemen - Feature Documentary - Official Version

If you really want to know what the truth is regarding the way the world operates then watch this documentary. It repeats and explains what a lot of us have been saying for decades.

____________________________ DIE SLOWLY ________________________

The Iris - My Favourite Flower.

DIE SLOWLY - Pablo Neruda

He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routes every day,
who never changes pace,
who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,
who does not speak and does not experience,
dies slowly.

He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
dotting ones "it’s" rather than a bundle of emotions,
the kind that make your eyes glimmer,
that turn a yawn into a smile,
that make the heart pound in the face of mistakes and feelings,
dies slowly.

He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.

He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.

He who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck,
about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.

He or she who abandon a project before starting it,
who fail to ask questions on subjects he doesn't know,
 he or she who don't reply when they are asked something they do know,
die slowly.

Let's try and avoid death in small doses,
reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort
 far greater than the simple fact of breathing.

Only a burning patience will lead
to the attainment of a splendid happiness.

The Starling Project - Part 24

It has helped greatly to have the old splash boards reasonably intact so that I can use them as patterns. They have been particularly useful in enabling me to obtain the correct bevels and deck camber. The new mahogany splash boards are both thicker and higher than the old ones.

My new Black&Decker 'WorkMate' work bench has come into its own during this work. When I have finished using it - it just folds up and I put it back into my 'No Room To Swing A Cat' work shed.

The Starling now has port and starboard rubbing strakes at deck level, cockpit trim and new splash boards which were taped into place for the photograph. All of this new mahogany trim and the splash boards still require rounding and/or shaping and sanding before they get their first coat of varnish.

With 90% of the woodwork completed it is now time to turn her over and either begin painting or fiberglassing.

The Starling Project - Part 23

This is the aft part of the deck showing the underside of the plywood. I have painted this with a good undercoat paint leaving bare strips of plywood for where glue is required to adhere the ply to the deck beams.

The deck is now glued and nailed with silicon bronze nails. The nails have been countersunk with a nail punch and filled with mahogany wood filler. I was able to strategically place the cardboard deck patterns that I had made of the deck on a large sheet of Maranti marine plywood in such a way that I only have deck joins on either side of the forward ends of the cockpit. I hope I am able to sand out all the marks and stains so that I am able to varnish the deck. Time will tell.

I know I have turned a corner now, but wish I felt it as well. I think I feel like this because I am not looking forward to the amount of sanding that I have to do. Sanding is a job I don't like very much, whether it is hand or machine sanding.

At this stage I am still undecided as to whether to fiberglass the hull or not - And I wish that I had a proper workshop to work it, it's freezing weather and if I'm not tripping over stuff, I am out buying stuff that I know I already have but can't find amongst the clutter of a shed the size of a matchbox. Bugger it.