Loose Ends

Last work break I worked on the large front bedroom & sorted through a whole lot of stuff.  This work break I loaded all the holiday paper recycling, the general recycling, the kitchen trash & anything else that belonged in the local dump & drove off to, well, dump it all there.  So a whole lot of paper & cardboard is out of the house & on its way to reincarnation as post consumer paper products. 

ALBA Door Prize

I also fixed the ALBA Door Prize Clock I won last August.  The hands had stopped moving.  So I took the little battery run motor off that makes the hands turn, took the back off the motor unit and snugged the little plastic gears down.  It now runs & keeps time just fine.  I put it up in the large front bedroom over the closet door.  Thanks to Paul from NNMC who made the clock.  I really really like it.

Da New Frig

I also cleaned up various things in the kitchen & setup my new frig.  The old frig hasn’t died yet but is clearly showing its age.  The box the frig was in was one of the things that went on the dump run.  The cute little appliance to the left of the frig is a Jet Soda Stream machine.  So I’m making my own carbonated water & adding 100% juice to that for home grown soda.  Lots fewer calories than sugared soda, no caffeine & no cans or plastic bottles to recycle.  Obviously I’m not done rearranging things in the kitchen but I’m well on my way. 

New to Me Strap on French Cartridge Box

I’m not working on any history projects right now but I did trade some gear.  I swapped an off white leather cartridge box strap without a buckle for a black cartridge box strap with a buckle.  Both of us are quite happy with the trade.  My bayonet & hawk baldric is black & I wanted my kit to match.  So its militia black straps all around for me. 

I’ve also started on my taxes which I plan to finish this weekend.  I hate doing taxes & find its easier to stomach if I do them one page at a time.  Then I take a day to go over them all & check for errors before I submit them.  Since the Feds aren’t taking any returns until January 30th & they just released the 2012 instructions I needed I’m definitely on the cusp here.

Nothing exciting here, nothing new historic made, just moving forward a bit at a time.  

Life After the New Year

So Americans party hearty from Thanksgiving Day right through until New Year’s Eve, then sleep in late on the 1st and awaken to find the Holiday cheer has VANISHED!  The lights are up but they are not on, all the glorious visuals of the season are gone.  The concerts are over.  There’s naught to show for it all but piles of soggy wet cardboard boxes awaiting the trash man.  There are even days when the mailbox is EMPTY!  Not even a bill to recall all the holiday festivities. 

The Cats help me Polish Furniture

Well Bah Humbug.  Yes Virginia, there is life after the 1st.  So I started the 2013 by visiting Da Urchin.  We had a grand time – we had homemade chicken stew with dumplings for dinner, we watched a DVD, we played with her cats, we walked the dogs, we removed the last of the studding in her basement (very much non-code put in place by the previous owner) and we capped it all off with a very pleasant visit to a local oriental buffet.  The year is well begun.

And a wonderfully quiet time of year has finally arrived.  Time to write long letters to friends.  Time to read.  Time to work on house projects.  Time to oneself, to enjoy by oneself or with ones friends & family just because you feel like it.  The quiet of winter has quietly come, and I for one intend to quietly enjoy it – thoroughly and completely enjoy it.

New Computer & Bookcase Corner

At my place I’ve been working on making a guestroom in the yellow front bedroom.  I’d already sorted through Da Urchin’s stuff & taken a load of boxes to her house.  Now I’ve finished clearing out the bookcase in what was once her room.  Most of what was here was Chatham Hall coursework in algebra, Latin & history.  That’s all been recycled.  The stuffed animals and toys are packed up to be carted to Da Urchin’s place later on.  The computer desk has been moved in here from the kitchen and the TV with DVD player too.  I’ve still got about 1/3 of the room to go – sorting through the last of the boxes stored here.  Plus a piece of furniture to deliver to C&D’s place next week.  The room should be in grand shape by month’s end.

Paws-in-Trouble Looking for Fancy Feeds

Of course the cats have been wonderfully helpful during all this cleaning and sorting.  Checking out the boxes to see if they’re ready for sleeping, pushing things out of the way to get ready for sleeping, and of course sleeping. 

Pippen Checking Out a Box

Paw-in-Trouble & Pippen Help me Fix the Tent

It hasn’t been all house projects of course.  The tent peg loops have been re-done on my tent so the metal rings are permanently attached now.  No loosing rings from the webbing!  Plus I not only didn’t gain any weight over the holidays, I’ve dropped 5 pounds since Christmas.  And thus goes my winter – may yours be as restful and restorative.