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.

Merry Christmas to One and All

As luck would have it I’m off work for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year.  WooHoo!   I had intended to go to the St. Nicholas church for services Christmas Eve but there was freezing rain here that night.  Somehow a 32 mile drive home at 2-ish am seemed a bad idea, so I went to the local Christmas Eve Carols service just up the road and had a wonderful time. 

Pippen Enjoying a Christmas Day Nap

Then I did another drive around on the way home to enjoy the Holiday Lights and fixed myself a nice fish dinner complete with ice cream for dessert. 

Paws-in-Trouble Enjoying a Christmas Day Nap

NPR let me down though – in the past NPR has featured 24 hours of Holiday music on Christmas.  This year there was music Christmas Eve but mostly talk shows on Christmas Day.   ?????  So I listened to my iPod instead.  And kept track of Santa’s delivery via NORAD while reworking an 18th century apple green petticoat I was given many years ago.  Its now been over-dyed with tan, which gives it a better period color, and the side slits for pocket access have gotten real plackets installed.  (That way the pocket slit doesn’t rip out again.)  It’s a nice light weight cotton fabric, perfect for those hot Virginia days.

So OK, that’s not the most eventful Christmas I’ve ever had.  But it was quiet, restful and I enjoyed it immensely.  What more can one ask?  I pray all my friends and family had as glorious a holiday season.

Happy Birthday

So today is my birthday, I have reached the venerable (or at least senior citizen) age of 62 and I happen to be off work for the day.  Its kind of a windy, rainy and biting cold kind of day so being home puttering around and listening to holiday music is just plain wonderful.  So I treated myself to a birthday lunch at the local oriental buffet, finished decorating my house inside for the holidays and put a new strap on my Patriot Rev War cartridge box.

New Cartridge Box Strap

Cartridge Box Strap Installed

  The cartridge box strap was originally cloth with leather ends and the narrow attachment pieces had gotten chewed up a bit by some small critter (which I hope the cats sent on to another life.)  So I dyed some russet leather black for new attachment straps and as long as the strap was apart anyway replaced the cloth shoulder strap piece with a buff leather piece.  The strap is not only repaired it fits better.

Holiday Lights near Ruckersville

After dark I took a nice slow drive around my neighborhood and  those close by to check out the Christmas lights.  The rain meant the lights were reflecting off the road so things were quite bright. 

A Serious Light Display

This Display Makes the Papers Annually

The display that’s visible from US29 was up and running this year.  Unfortunately there’s no way for me to get far enough away from the yard to get a good picture of the whole kahuna. 

Just a Nice Display

Oh Look – Real Christmas Trees

Back home in Michigan the normal Christmas decorations were lights on a pine tree in the yard.  There aren’t as many pines in yards here, so finding someone with not one but two lighted pines was a real treat for me.

An All-White Light Display

I’m not personally a big fan of the all white lights thing but this home has done a very nice job of it.

Once upon a time I had hoped to retire the month after I turned 62 but that’s not how the cards have been dealt.  But I’m in good health, have great job security, and should be able to retire at 66 with a decent income.  Since retiring at all once seemed a distant dream I’ll take what I can get and be glad.

Holidays & Hobbits

The LOTR came out during my daughter’s college years.  I waited each December until she was home from school so we could go see the LOTR.   It was wonderful and my enjoyment of those 3 movies will always be overlaid with seeing them with my daughter.  I’m a serious Tolkien fan but my daughter isn’t so for her the movies where just that – movies with an integrity of their own.  She insisted I not tell her anything in advance, which I mostly but not totally managed. 

So it was with great joy that we planned to see the Hobbit (part 1) together.  I re-read the book just to refresh my memory.  She has never read the book as far as I know, so I again had to promise not to tell the story in advance.  And yes, there are events in the movie from outside The Hobbit, but overall I found it closer to Tolkien’s texts than the LOTR.  Yes it’s a slam bang action adventure movie, but then so is The Hobbit.  And most of the “extra stuff” served to tie the movie to the LOTR for those who hadn’t read every work Tolkien wrote about Middle Earth.  I was entertained.  It was fun, it was action packed, and I will buy the DVD when it comes out.  I’ve already bought the sound track.  As for those of you who are not thrilled by the movie, well to each his own.

The weekend we went to The Hobbit was also the weekend we celebrated my birthday and our Christmas.  Da Urchin found me a grand sparkly green hummingbird ornament and 2 sparkly red mistletoe ornaments.  Then she let me pick out 2 books at McKay's for my birthday. 

I made her this count thread cross stitch ornament.  This is before I put the ornament in its frame.  Its 2.25x2.25 inches square.  I’ve never done this type of embroidery before and it took me quite awhile to get any rhythm to my stitches.  But it came out nicely and I enjoyed making it.  The apples in the tree are my own addition to the pattern. 

We also had a very nice dinner near the movie theatre and watched “Brave” together the next day.

On the way to Manassas for all this celebrating nature graced us with one of its wondrous moments.  About 15 miles from Da Urchin’s Place there were 2 eagles engaged in a courting flight.  I’ve seen this on National Geographic but its not at all the same as seeing it right before your very own eyes.  May they have many many healthy offspring. 

Happy Happy Turkey-Bird Day

Its over the river & through the woods

To Da Urchin’s house I go

The mule knows the day to carry me away

Through the hills I love & know

Its over the river & through the woods

My heart is light & gay

Though my body is tired my mind is wired

It going to be a great T-bird Day.

One of the not so great things about my current job is its 365 day 24-7 nature.  Its been years since Da Urchin and I have been able to do a T-bird Day together.  Either I’m working or she’s else ware – else ware like college, or Japan, or some other out of state location.  So this year was a special treat – her 1st Thanksgiving in her own home & I was off work & able to share it with her.  WooHoo!

Behold the richly laden table!  With roast duck as the entrée with fresh baked bread, cranberry relish, wild rice, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy.  There was even some kind of fancy sauce for the duck.  (OK, so we forgot to cook the veggies.)  It was a spread to be sure and Da Urchin, JR & I was all stuffed by the time we finished eating. 

I had arrived Wednesday after getting up at 11am for an ophthalmologist appointment & then driving to Da Urchin’s place.  Once there I napped until Da Urchin was home from work whereupon a light dinner was had by all.  I was still kinda tired but some fresh coffee set everything right.  Da Urchin, ever thoughtful, had gotten me some Hazelnut Coffee which was wonderful. 

Thursday was spent playing with the cats, cooking food and of course feasting on the feast.  The duck was particularly good.  I headed home early in the evening as I was scheduled to work Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights.  I do need to sleep at home the night before I go into work so I can go in well rested.

Friday night was rough – I had woken up with a post nasal drip and things didn’t improve as the night went on.  Saturday I got up at 3pm with a fever of 102, a body that felt like it had been used as a tackling dummy, and a smashing headache.  It had happened – I was sick.  Sick for the 1st time since June of 2005.  Sunday I was no better, not that better was expected.  I finally dragged myself to the doctor to find I had bronchitis and bronchiolar pneumonia.  Wonderbar.  Antibiotics here I come.  Plus plenty of fluids and long soaks in very hot bathwater.

In retrospect, I hadn’t been at full capacity since the OVPR.  I tired easily, chilled easily and had needed more sleep than usual all month.  Well I’m on the mend but behind on my holiday preparations and present making.  Such is Life with its ups and downs.

Productivity

Friday afternoon & Saturday morning was errand time with all kinds of necessary but boring tasks accomplished.  OK, the farrier appointment wasn’t boring & it went very well, but the rest of the tasks were just plain boring.  Saturday was a beautiful day, so I treated myself to a ride to my favorite Greene County places after lunch. 

Visitors at the Beaver Pond

The Great Blue Herons and Common Egret seem to have gone on to warmer climes but there are plenty of hawks & Canada geese who have arrived to take their place. 

Beaver Pond inflow mid November

The Beaver Pond has a very good water level for this time of year & is looking very healthy.

Greene County Pasture

Of course the world at large has wrapped itself in the browns & grays of winter.  Sandy brought snow to the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge & Shenandoah Park but its all gone now.

Afternoon North Fork Rivanna River

Don’t let the sunshine fool you, its sharply chill here and a bit too cold for fishing.

But its not too cold for projects.  I fixed the broken kitchen door threshold & replaced the torn weather stripping , which of course took the 3 trips to Lowe’s for parts.  No matter how carefully I plan all home repairs require 3 trips to Lowe’s or a hardware store to accomplish.  Various leather gear also got cleaned.

Detail of Medallion Straps

The leather at the top of my medallion display strap also got replaced (it got damaged last year) & I finished it up.  The beaver is a fund raising medallion from Fort St. Joseph at Niles Michigan near my hometown.  The fleur de lys is my paternal family heritage & the 3 pieces of trade silver were a gift.  I also made a 2nd strap to start using with next year’s events.  The “2” is from my 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Civil War unit days. 

New & Old Medallion Straps

The straps are 48 inches long, this keeps them pleasantly above any mud when they’re hung from the ridge pole of the dining fly.  It took 16 years to fill the 1st strap - 16 years of shining times, good food, wonderful music & great friends.  Plus some questionable weather.