Ever the artist! Good creativity, Janice.

You are so nice to say that Sir. Yes, in addition to reading art has been a big part of my life.

It was my job when a kidlet to write our ship's logbook. A family friend/cruising partner gifted me a set of pencils (Faber Castille) and so I started illustrating the logbook. We would have folks sign when they came aboard too.

A great sadness is that Mother tossed them all. Basically she threw out our history. This was no doubt due to the early stages of Alzheimer's disease... one of those things that wasn't her fault per se, and yet I do regret not taking them before that occurred.

My own logbook is poorly maintained. Now, I do wish I had been better about keeping it up. Argh. Learn from my mistakes in that regard.

I do intend to start sketching again, along with oil painting. Plus getting healthier (I ate my way through 2020) would help too. So much to do...!

Thanks again for your comment Cap'n. It is appreciated. J.

Janet and I have to confess that we have already purchased the hanging icicle LED lights for our boat Grace. I suspect I will have them up and burning brightly in the Punta Gorda anchorage this weekend. When I told her you had already gotten an early start on playing the Christmas music her smile got so big I immediately had to initiate a limit of 5 Christmas songs per day. I know I will be overruled on this but I have to try. As much as I enjoy Christmas music she has aout 20 CDs of the stuff and after a while it wears on me. Your series on power, batteries, solar, etc. came while we were upgrading our power setup. Last weekend I added another 600 watts of solar panels to the roof and earlier in the summer we installed lithium batteries, a charger/inverter and more powerful solar charge controller. With 1100 watts of solar and 400 AH of battery power we are now totally solar in our day to day living aboard Grace. Yes, this truly is decadent living.

I looked at the icicles last night... what a cool idea. I'll be waiting for pictures (hint!) as I'm certain it will look spiffy on your Grace. The name is just perfect for your Schucker too.

Congrats on the lithium batts. In about ten years (when my lead acid finally quit) I'll be looking at them. I'm concerned about the recharging as it was quite finicky. Congratulations on finding a solution that works for you. And for making your home both off-grid and decadent. What amazes me is the progress you two have made. I know (as do other boaters) the amount of work and expense involved in that accomplishment. Sincere Congratulations!!!

P.S. to Janet: YouTube has loads of great Christmas music too...

I have a few SD cards of my Christmas music. That way I have a nice variety of cheery music. Dean Martin is singing to me right now. Be still my happy heart.

Thanks to you both for your comments and the kindnesses. Everything is appreciated. Your friend, J.

I love the card decorations! Little SeaWeed looks so festive and fun. One could sit there and find things they hadn't noticed before. Magical. 🤗 My little candy card was honored by being displayed. Fun. 😊

All my intentions of waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate are thrown overboard. The neighbors are already putting up lights. They have company coming so I'll make Seaweed look spiffy too. Yeah!!!

I would love to get to Walmart to see what is available. Well, any of the stores. I am a nut for Christmas. Have been listening to my holiday music for a longer time than I'll admit in print. Frank is singing to me right now. The older songs tell a story... and I can hear the words. Sinatra, Bing and more bring back memories of earlier days.

What is especially lovely is that now my expenses are low. Seaweed's major upgrades have been done. Of course there are always things to do, however the ac is purchased ($$$) and will be installed in a couple weeks.

I do need to readjust the alternator again. The belt slips, thus cooling system doesn't. For that I'm hoping to get to Harbor Freight for a belt expander. My friend Irene told me she uses it with success. Some projects might normally take two people however usually there are alternatives.

Anyway, that is life here. And yes, thank you for the card. That back window changes regularly. Small boats have built in furniture so changing the little things is the best way to freshen the boat.

Anyway, I will be digging out my Christmas box shortly. That is a Real Chore as Christmas is tucked wat out of the way under my bunk. Basically I will have to empty the locker to access it.

The project grows because that is also access to the fittings for the water pump so will tighten those two hose clamps while the locker contents are exploded all over my bunk. Ugh. It is a Pain in my Transom!!! But, it is one of those maintenance items that must be done. Christmas box time is when I get to those. Legit, I should do it every three months however it is so onerous I only check yearly. As an aside, the only possible consequence is the water tank could drain. Nothing critical to safety... I probably should think about another access point while I'm down there...

Anyway Pam, thank you for the lovely card, and for your comments. They are appreciated. J.

Great article and a very nice change of pace from the Power series (even thought I really did love those articles, too). You are such a creative princess, and a joy to have you in our lives. Thank you.

Gosh Sid, thank you for sharing my world. J.