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 suer 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.

random thoughts – Day 2,418 (Friday 10/30) – costume party

There is nothing quite like the thrill of waiting until the morning of a costume party you've known about for a month to decide on a costume. With dozens of costumes gathered over the years from various themed parties, dance performances, and general acquisitions, ideas floated in my head but nothing stuck.

Contestants in one of
the costume contests.

Yesterday, a couple costume tubs and the closets were reviewed. Ariel the Mermaid, a 1920s flapper, Playboy bunny, a 60’s go-go girl, and a genie were dismissed from consideration. The potential choices were narrowed down to Red Riding Hood, pirate, fortune teller, and Prince. This morning, I decided on pirate and laid the clothing out on the bed. Then. During the gathering of pirate components, I found my spurs and considered cowboy, and realized half of the wig collection is missing. The pink, green, and black bob styles, the blond Marilyn Monroe wig, and the long glow in the dark white wig are all unaccounted for and will plague me until they are located.

After pizza lunch at Mom’s, I changed my mind to Red Riding Hood, and put the hooded cape in the dryer to take out the wrinkles. As I pondered the full ensemble, I realized I divested the basket collection in a move and decided to go to Dollar Tree to look for one. A trick or treat tub was found that seemed suitable and when I turned around I saw a lone pirate sword on a display which seemed like a sign and just like that, I was back on pirate, but still not fully invested.

Arrrrghhh.

The poufy pirate shirt worn in the past felt a bit snug and was swapped out for a stripey shirt. After dressing in black blousy pants, boots, the stripey shirt, a striped scarf, and a coin belt I was ready to leave. That’s when I realized I needed to use the toilet and had to undo half of it. The scarf snagged on the coin belt and once liberated, was abandoned.

At the costume party, our table included Doris (from Shrek,) Bo Peep, a chauffeur, a poop emoji, LL Cool J, a steampunk lady, a nun with a goatee, a pirate, two hippies, Captain Cleghorn, and a few more. There were costume contests and a game that involved racing with a ball on a spoon. It was fun, but I was tired and headed home by 10:00 even through the party was on for another couple hours. I guess I’m just not a party animal anymore, unless it starts at 2:00 in the afternoon and is done by nightfall.

random thoughts – Day 2,417 (Thursday 10/29) – in action

Finally painting the shed.

The morning slipped into the all too usual time-suck where I get up at 6:45 and suddenly it’s 9:00. Then I blinked and it was 10:00 and I still hadn’t taken a shower but I had finished a book and played games on my phone. That’s when I snapped into action.

Clear textured glass was chosen and pieces cut for the small panel. The first piece cut like a dream, the second piece was great but less dreamy. After that, the next few pieces didn’t cut as cleanly and are going to need grinding to smooth off the burrs and I took the hint and set it aside for a while.

At 2:00, I realized it was beautiful outside and mowed the yard. All the siding project mess was hauled away yesterday and I had full access to my yard and shed again. The mowing also chopped up most of the leaves so it was a two-for-one deal.

At 4:00, while messing around doing not much, I decided to paint the front of the shed with the paint left from some things on the house that needed paint during the siding project. It’s possible the leftover siding will go on the side and back walls, but it would be a pain in the arse with the doors.

The foam brushes and my favorite four-inch foam roller were fetched and I got busy. The first roll on the walls didn’t reach the gap in the vertical boards. That led to a snap decision to keep the thin lines white for a pinstripe effect. I hated the barn doors look, but pinstripes are fun.

Pinstripe shed front.

There were mistakes made. I should have scraped the black paint off the trim on and around the door. The hinges should have been removed but I don’t have a Robertson screwdriver for the stupid screws and I didn’t think to tape over the hinges because I tend to think I’m a neater painter than I actually am.  I didn’t paint inside the door frame yet because it was getting late and I wanted to be able to close the shed without them being painted shut. A smaller brush would have gotten some corners I missed around the stupid X shapes on the doors that I didn’t notice until after everything was cleaned up. I might take the X pieces off, but I want to check with a carpenter to see if they are there for support and stability first.

The shed isn't perfect but it’s good enough for now. I really hated the white shed with black trim and a barn door look, so that is remedied and I’m content with it. When the switch flips to the on position and I finally snap into action I’m pretty productive.

random thoughts – Day 2,416 (Wednesday 10/28) – baby naughty

Baby Naughty,
ready for mayhem.

My eldest niece arrived home yesterday from Vegas for a visit and today Mom and I went to Sis’s house. Niece #1 is working remotely during her visit and we gathered during her lunch break. It is always fun at Sis’s house because Sis, her husband, and her daughters have jobs working with the public and go on adventures that means they have lots of funny and outrageous true stories. 

Stuff like managers "helping" and changing all the descriptions on a list of loans in process, accidentally calling a manager the dorky nickname given to a sister's boyfriend,  dumb jokes customers tell at a banking counter, car rental breakdown on a honeymoon, a history of rainstorms on camping trips, and so on. I kind of miss having my own current stories about funny/ loud/ annoying colleagues and misadventures and definitely enjoy hearing about theirs. And I need to improve my adventure game. 

In addition to the amusing true tales, my sister usually has fun seasonal decor in the house. When the girls were young, there were decorations for holidays and seasons major and minor, including a year-round tree with décor that rotated to include Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween, and football season.

Plotting murder?

This year’s Halloween décor features “Baby Naughty.” Baby Naughty is a creepy baby doll that may have escaped from a horror movie and found its way to my sister’s house by way of Mummu and someone who was giving away kids toys. When weird things would happen at the house, like an odd noise, a missing item, a new crayon drawing on a wall, Baby Naughty was blamed. During football season, Baby Naughty often sported a creepy football head and was parked in a chair.

Baby Naughty is creepy enough that the family is afraid to dispose of it. The fear is it would return and unleash a true horror story. This season, Baby Naughty is in rare form. With a miniature meat cleaver at hand, Baby Naughty is perched on the top level of a six-foot tall pantry shelf, watching us eat lunch, ready to cause mayhem. Like plotting our murders by baby meat cleaver.  Oh, Baby Naughty.