Back in the Swing of Things

We have a new president...or at least they do. It certainly was interesting to hear all the hype and coverage. The world here just sort of stopped for an hour on Tuesday as the inauguration took place. Jane watched most of it on TV while at work the cafeteria was crammed with people watching on TVs there. At Isabelle's school they even did a little section on President Obama and his family. Isabelle came home knowing the girls' names. It certainly was a piece of history. Other than that we've had company for a few weeks. Jane's parents arrived not long after New Years and stayed until last Sunday. They did all the usual things and a whole lot of shopping. We ate out a few times and generally were very busy. I couldn't take any time off but did manage a few early days. Last weekend we had a cocktail party with some of the neighbors. Everyone wanted to meet the visitors. It was nice to finally have a few people in who have been so good to us since we moved here. I hope we get to do it again sometime. Next visit will be my parents. I hope they get good weather and don't have any issues with their flight. I think they will have a good time. I already have a plan to keep them busy while they're here. We'll see if it works. Speaking of busy-Peter did a lot of work while he was here. Jane's dad is a bit of a furniture buff and knows his stuff. He also knows how to polish, repair and cover. He managed to recover one major and two minor items with some fabric we picked up at the local stores. This part of the country seems to have a large number of furniture stores and along with that goes all the trimmings. Here is a before and after of the sofa he did first. It looks fantastic!

Before...

...and after.

I'm starting on a new project this week. On Sunday I lofted out the lines for a small 12 foot kayak called the Sea Flea. It's not for me, it's for Isabelle. It's a simple design based on traditional Greenland style boats. It should fit her for at least a few years and promises not to be too hard to make. We'll see about that. The design is a skin-on-frame so there is no fiberglass or resin to worry about. Here is a shot of the lofting process and some pictures of the stations partially cut out. I'm glad I decided to bring my workshop with me when we moved.

Next I'll be cutting out the centers and the notches for the stringers. I also need to sand the edges to make sure nothing gets caught on them including the skin boat and the skin on little feet. The link to the website I got the plans from is here. If you're into boats have a look at some of the other plans he has. This fellow even makes folding skin-on-frame boats and boats with plastic stations and aluminum stringers. He also makes it look easy. My reasons for building this boat are not unselfish. This is a little practice to get ready for the next project: an 18 foot traditional Greenland style kayak for myself. I'll keep you posted. I hope to document the whole thing here on the blog. A few last pictures of some of the goings on around here in the last little while. Contrary to popular belief it does snow here in South Carolina. I'm not talking about inches and inches, but it is snow. This picture is all that I could find in the backyard. The other thing that happens in South Carolina is that pretty little girls sometimes fall asleep and actually become fairies. If you don't believe me have a look below. I found her like this when I went to bed the other night. Do you believe in fairies?