random thoughts – Day 2,425 (Friday 11/6) – rain, patterns, wildlife

Turkeys in the rain.

The weather was cloudy and then it rained most of the day. It was perfect for staying indoors (not that I ever need a reason). It was a surprise to see turkeys walking around in the rain several times throughout the day. Maybe I just haven’t paid attention before.

It was a second day of not working on cutting glass. A large chunk of Thursday was spent reviewing and reorganizing the binder of stained glass designs. The binder is now so full the rings are about to pop.

I was surprised by how many designs I crafted so many years ago and it was a fun stroll down memory lane. There were also more photo prints of completed works tucked in with the patterns than I remembered, which was a nice surprise. One photo shows the first piece I ever made, but I have no idea where that is now. Some of the geometric designs had been drawn in a computer program, but many are hand drawn on either graph paper or brown packing paper.

Pattern organizing.

Multiple copies of patterns were found in different files and folders and now they are consolidated. I could tell if I had executed a pattern in glass by the presence of pushpin holes from pinning the glass pieces together on the pattern.

There was an angel design I had forgotten about until I saw the pattern yesterday and then I remembered standing at my worktable in Tennessee cutting the hair and face pieces, but not what happened to the piece.

In addition to several designs based on quilt squares, there were more flower patterns than I remembered. I did a commission piece with five purple tulips and a piece for a gala donation with violets and another with a rose, but I had also drawn designs with three tulips and single tulips.

The original fragment of an idea for the day was to pick a pattern from the freshly organized file and work on some glass. That didn’t happen. Instead, I finished reading Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. I had read to page 38 years ago and then life got in the way and the book was shelved. It was nice taking a break from fiction for the past week or so.

In exciting neighborhood news, someone posted on the Nextdoor app that three police cruisers and three animal control vehicles were on the street  that is one street over from me. The poster asked if anyone knew why. Someone else posted a screenshot from a scanner app that there was a verified coyote behaving strangely in a backyard on that street. Dang.

random thoughts – Day 2,424 (Wednesday 11/5) – shine and flashback

Sequins! Gaudy?

Yesterday may have been a full day, but not a lot happened today. As a result, I am taking the easy route and re-posting a piece from November 2020 (with a couple updates/revisions) when I was in the early days of genealogy research and discovering all sorts of fun things.

Mummu used to tell my sister and me, and our mother before us, cautionary tales in an attempt to guide us, or maybe to control us, depending upon your viewpoint. 

When shopping with her in the local ladies fashion stores, I would gravitate towards the adult cocktail dresses festooned with sequins and rhinestones. When I was about ten years old, we were shopping and I wandered away from her to stroke the fancy evening dresses, mesmerized by all the sparkle. Mummu suddenly appeared at my side. As she steered me back to the department specializing in age appropriate boring clothes for kids she said, “It’s important to keep children away from sequins or they will grow up to be gaudy.” Nice try, Mummu. 

Shiny Pink! (2019)

It turns out that despite her attempt at guidance and direction to conservative attire, my closet has been the recipient of an ever-expanding collection of beaded, sequined, and shiny garments. She probably would have choked if she saw the amazing sparkly everyday outfits available for kids nowadays.

Oh, if she could have seen me dressed in some of my favorite special occasion outfits and themed event ensembles. For a fundraiser event in 2019 with a pink theme, I got a pink and gold metallic tuxedo jacket. For another fundraiser with a black attire theme, the ensemble was black sequin shorts and a black sequin baseball jacket. In 2024, I bought a silvery sequin full blown game show host pantsuit that is still waiting for an event.

Sometimes, her tales involved horrific warnings of terrible potential consequences for noncompliance. My sister and I had long hair when we were kids. My sister’s hair was (and still is) waist-length and dark brown-black, straight, and silky. Mine was a mousey brownish reddish color with weird waves, bumps, and cowlicks and was never as long, straight, or as pretty as my sister’s. 

With our long hair, we would do silly things like twist locks of it and hold it under our noses like a moustache. I would pretend a lock of my hair was a paintbrush, or pass it between my lips and blow my warm breath through it. Mummu would see this and tell us “Don’t put your hair in your mouth, you’ll get a hair ball in your stomach and you’ll die.” The absurdity of the comment would have us rolling our eyes and thinking, “yeah, right.” When with my friends, I would tell them Mummu’s crazy story about the hairball.

Sequin suit, 2024.

Today, while adding family members to my Ancestry.com family tree, I added Grandpa Ray. One of the sources in the search results was a front-page newspaper article from January 6, 1926 about Ray’s parents, Hilda and Oscar. The story, titled “Hubby Charged Wife for Rides in His Machine” with the subtitle “Mrs. Kask Gives Divorce After Testifying She Walked to Work While Mr. Kask Rode”, described a court appearance where my great-grandmother Hilda testified before a judge that she walked seven miles to work while her husband rode around in an automobile, and, here’s the kicker, if he gave her a ride, he charged her 50 cents per trip. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, she also testified that he made her sleep in the woods near their home and threatened to beat her. This story appeared prominently just below the masthead, and directly above another riveting story titled, “12-Year-Old-Boy Siphoned Beer at “Speak-Easy”.”

Can't make this stuff up!

As if those news stories were not exciting and dramatic enough, I browsed the rest of the front page for entertainment, and two columns to the right, sat this gem of an article: “Ball of Hair Found in Stomach of Girl.” Hot damn. Mummu’s story about the stomach hairball was not nonsense fabricated to scare us after all. It really happened to a real girl, when Mummu was 10 years old. It was so shocking, so astounding, that I called Mom immediately to tell her the hairball story we had endured and rolled our eyes at, was actually real, and in 1926, a 15-year old girl from the nearby town of Ashby had a stomach ache that resulted in surgery and “A ball of hair was found in her stomach.” 

Now Mom and I have so many unanswered questions. How much hair? How big was the hair ball?  Was it accidentally ingested and accumulated over time or was there some ailment that caused her to literally eat her hair? And we will never know. 

The weirdness contained in that newspaper front page keeps on weirding. That story my grandmother preached to the three of us during our formative years appeared on the same front page of the newspaper as the story of the seemingly dysfunctional family she would marry into some 10 or 15 years later. I can’t even make this stuff up. But damn, it sure explains a lot. 

random thoughts – Day 2,423 (Wednesday 11/4) – breakfast, brakes, buddies

Kiki in her own little world.

The day was full. And beautiful, with temperatures in the 70s. In November, in New England!

The Jeep had an appointment for rear brakes, so Mom followed me to the garage and then we decided to go for coffee which turned into delicious breakfast at Westminster Café. We were both admiring the weather and wondering to what degree we will be punished for it later. The weather can be erratic and extreme here and it feels like nice weather is often eventually followed by brutal weather. Moderation is rare.

Back at home, the wait for the call that the car was done passed quickly because I was working on the glass panel, which, in years of cumulative glass work, is the first piece I’ve ever made with the intention of keeping it. Well, at least until I make the larger one, anyway. Two pieces of glass were replaced with newly cut pieces to remove some gaps. As I was finishing applying solder to the second side, the call came that the car was ready for pickup. I called Mom to let her know, washed the piece to remove the excess flux and then my hands and walked next door to meet my transportation coordinator.

Glass panel, soldered.

Fun note, I have blown through a one-pound spool of solder in just two or three weeks. The copper foil method uses a lot more solder than when using lead rails and only needing to solder the joints. I wish I had tracked how many pieces I made with the spool. I need to start noting how much time and materials go into each piece, which sounds like a great reason to start a new spreadsheet.

The mechanic said my rear brakes were basically shot, but I didn't notice that the Jeep handled any better (or differently) with the new ones. My wallet certainly felt lighter, though.

After the car business was completed, I took a walk to the mailbox and took a couple pictures of the glass panel while trying to decide if I would frame it in zinc rails. The zinc rail decision needs to be made before I can attach hanging rings. That’s when I noticed I hadn’t applied the solder to the outermost edge in my haste to get to the garage. 

The evening featured duet practice where I also got to pet three cats and one stretched out almost in my lap and it was lovely. Kiki is not a lap cat and I am deprived of that type of feline affection at home. She might sit an arm’s length away from me and stare at me, but that is as close as she gets. Usually she is across the room or hiding somewhere.

random thoughts – Day 2,422 (Tuesday 11/3) – glass and freetirement

Finally ready for solder.

It was Election Day and I voted early to make sure nothing got in the way. That left me free for the day to work on stained glass projects. The heart that had a couple pieces on the grinder Monday was soldered today.

The success of the small project propelled me to work on the problematic larger stained glass panel. The background pieces to the design were foiled, and the pins and metal rails holding the pieces were loosened so I could reset my assembly error.

Beginning from the from the top of the design, each piece of foiled glass was reset in the design. One small square at the bottom had to be swapped out from a bevel to another piece to resolve a fit issue. The pieces fit together much better now. There are one or two pieces that I may recut because they are a smidge smaller than they could be and I don’t like the gaps but I do seem to like torturing myself. Having the pieces fit better than they did yesterday is a relief. The plan for tomorrow is to solder at least one side of the panel, but the car is due in the shop for a brake job, so the day could be a bit wonky.

And that is how I spent the day until it was time to go to belly dance class. Freetirement is turning out to be pretty great. It helps that I am able to entertain myself. 

random thoughts – Day 2,421 (Monday 11/2) – tis the season

For some reason, Mondays have been exhausting. It doesn’t really make sense. The main activities are taking the trash and recycling to the curb (takes less than one minute), and going to stained glass class in Worcester (three hour class, 1.5 hours driving, round trip). 

Post patina and polish.

When I get out of class, I’m usually feeling good about the progress on projects, and also a little tired. It’s weird. Class isn’t at all stressful and I regularly spend the same amount of time (or more) working on glass projects at home and I don’t feel wiped out. Today and last Monday I was really wiped out and dreaming of a nap after class and it’s all a mystery to me. 

In any event, in class today, I learned how to apply black patina and polish. The patina darkens the solder and changes the look. Patina was added to three assembled pieces when I needed a break from the panel I’ve been working on. I cut and did the grinding on the rest of the panel background pieces and suddenly nothing is quite right. It was either take a break from the panel or take a hammer to the thing. Then I did some grinding and foiling on the final three pieces in the heart design I cut the other day. And then class time was over and it was time to head out. 

When I got home today (4:15) it was tempting to go straight to bed but I stayed up and ate supper. A couple hours later, I was still tired, it was pitch dark out (time change), and I was mentally ready for bed. At 6:30. Tis the season for early darkness and sleepiness. Ugh.

random thoughts – Day 2,420 (Sunday 11/1) – torah and tarot

There were two things on the calendar for today. The first was dance practice at dance bestie’s house in preparation for an event in November. The other was attending a lecture with dance bestie at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. The double event plan meant a modification in the usual sweatpants and no makeup practice attire. Camel colored pants and a light purple cashmere sweater were chosen. Hair was styled. Makeup was applied.

A debate took place over which of two scarves to wear with the ensemble. One had a purple and camel paisley pattern. The other was various shades of purple with a watercolor effect. As the clock ticked closer to departure time I finally gave up, set the paisley scarf around my neck and left. In the car, I checked my purse for a lip balm for my dry lips. These are usually planted in every purse, but today’s purse was empty. I went back into the house for one so it wouldn’t be a bother all day.

We ran through our dance several times, talking through the parts I kept messing up. For two weeks, I have suddenly been on the wrong foot in dances in ballet class, belly dance class, and duet practice. Errrrr.

The Magician tarot card through time.

The Yiddish Book Center is beautiful and holds a performance center, a theater, library collections, multiple exhibit galleries, and a small gift shop. The lecture was interesting. Stav Appel, author and educator, is a lifelong student of Torah and when he saw a reproduction of a Renaissance-era deck of playing cards (the Tarot de Marseille) he noticed numerous biblical references in the tarot artwork.  

This led to his further study of earlier decks containing even more recognizable biblical content. There are too many encoded images of Bible stories, Hebrew letters, Judaic ritual objects, and Jewish holy days to be a coincidence. 

The theater was packed and the lecture was fascinating. There was a companion exhibit in one of the galleries. A tarot reader provided readings to those of us lucky enough to have signed up in advance. Mine was a message that positive energy is coming in, good things are underway, and I should keep pursuing the things that bring joy and continue shedding the not joyful things. Yes, please.

random thoughts – Day 2,419 (Saturday 10/31) – inside day

Enjoying the outside from inside.

It’s still pretty out with some colorful leaves clinging to branches and I enjoy looking at them from in the house, especially when the morning temperature is in the 30s. In past years, I was perpetually ready for weekend hiking, but lately, it’s all about indoor pursuits for me. I hope it’s just a cycle and I will want to go outside and play again, but for now I am content with a view of it. My body feels like it’s fighting a desire for hibernation and bedtime is currently my favorite time of the day and I will enjoy the extra hour of sleep tonight.

As a reward for getting up, breakfast was a bagel with a fried egg, cheese, and the last of the homemade strawberry jam. So delicious.

Two in process, one done.

The day was spent indoors with a lot of reading. There was news, email, social media, and a book. Time was spent thinking about stained glass and trying to make a piece using only scraps but there weren’t enough scraps in the right sizes or shapes and it was abandoned. 

New pieces were cut for another crescent moon and a heart. The heart has an issue with pieces that aren’t fitting correctly and two that need edge grinding.  The moon was foiled and soldered and I was glad for the victory in a mostly unproductive day.