Little Boy's Baseboards

Tyler's bedroom has been missing baseboards for more years than I care to admit.  Other projects budging into the line have prevented this project.  Time and money have also been in play.  Over the years we have put up the window woodwork, and his closet woodwork and doors.  But the baseboards have been patiently waiting to be installed ever since we found them on a great sale ("Such A Deal!") and refinished them.  I am chagrined to admit that it has been almost seven years.  How is that possible?!!  Here are some of the work-in-progress photos, from those two "warm" days this month, only two more small pieces until all is complete:

Long piece, ready to be cut to size

Paul loves this saw - a Delta Compound Mitre 

- he has gotten so much use out of this saw

Southeast corner, note the window woodwork above it

Shaping the profile to fit - intense work with a Dremel saw

Northeast corner with shaped profile to meet properly in the corner

Winter Produce

We had some abnormally "warm" days at the start of this new year (i.e. 40 degrees).  We were outside working on Tyler's baseboards, and I saw some lovely oregano that hadn't frozen, so I harvested a bunch.  Then Paul reminded me that we still had carrots in the ground. Fortunately only the top part of the ground was frozen. I was able to dig beneath and got about a dozen carrots total once I had completed the harvesting.

Lovely oregano

Carrot peaking out

First batch, in need of a good washing

Little Boy Tries Something Healthy

By his own request, Tyler wanted to make tangerine juice yesterday.  This came out of the blue from a little boy who is not always on board with healthy eating.  He found using the juicer to be fun.

This Christmas Season 2016

Christmas this year was/is unusual.  It was very musical choir-wise, not harp though (at least - not played by me, we did a special piece with choir and a professional harpist).  I was on the "bad list" at work, so was scheduled for all of Christmas, other than a small window of time later on Christmas Eve. Robert is in Portland, and Julie and Tyler went to Michigan since I was stuck working.  So our big family dinner is yet to come.  But I will give you the highlights so far, starting from early December.

Early December: 

Handel's Messiah, a new church for us, with a new choir.  

I was asked to sing a "O Thou That Tellest", my first solo.  

It was nerve-wracking, but all went well.

Our fireplace needed extensive repairs: 

Tuck-pointing, chimney cap, a stainless steel liner, and a fan.  ($$$)  

But all is well, and I love being able to use the fireplace again.  

Before Christmas frivolousness:

Christmas red toenail polish!

(And a kitty who likes to rub his chin on toes!)

Christmas Eve Choir Music:

Multiple pieces, including selections from Britten's "Ceremony of Carols".  

We had Ben Melsky as our harpist (awesome, playing the difficult harp accompaniment).  

I practiced long and hard on this piece.  

Musically it is difficult, but also the text is Middle English and Latin.  

(Here's a sample: "Wolcum Yole!" Voci Nobili with harpist Willy Postma)

In a nice surprise, we have been slow at work.  I had to go in from 11 AM to 3 PM, but then was downstaffed for the rest. Paul, Kristin, and I had a nice Christmas Dinner together - enjoying each other, but missing the rest of our family members. But we will all be together next week.  Julie and Tyler are home, and Robert will be visiting from far away Portland.  

(I haven't seen the lad in four whole months!)

Anniversary Clock Repair

This fall found Paul taking on a new skill to add to his arsenal: Clock Repairman!  

Three clocks demanded his attention all at once, sort of.  Paul had received an Anniversary Clock from work one year.  Note: the name "Anniversary Clock" comes from the fact that supposedly one only has to pay attention to it once every 400 days, although 365 days would suffice, hence, the anniversary portion of the name.  Official definition: "Unlike a regular pendulum clock, the Anniversary Clock keeps time with a mechanism called a torsion pendulum. This is a weighted disk or wheel, often a decorative wheel with 3 or 4 chrome balls on ornate spokes, suspended by a thin wire or ribbon called a torsion spring (also known as "suspension spring"). The torsion pendulum rotates about the vertical axis of the wire, twisting it, instead of swinging like an ordinary pendulum."  Unfortunately the suspension wire had weakened and over-twisted, rendering the timekeeping useless.  I thought it was just broken, so searched and found one on eBay for cheap.  Guess what - same problem (it would have been nice of the seller to mention that, but like I said - it was cheap.  

So we started looking into this.  Paul took one of the clocks apart carefully, and saw what we needed.  Unlike others of this ilk, these particular ones used a plastic end suspension wire, almost impossible to find.  however, we did find one shop online that carried it, Timesavers. The part is a Hermle 400-Day Suspension Unit.  We ordered, and Paul was able to fix them.

At the same time, the clock Paul made for his mom many years ago also needed repair.  The parts for that (the box where the hand-moving mechanism is) were easier to find, although it took forever to arrive. We got these parts at Clockparts.

Side by side suspension wires.

The on on the right is the broken, twisted one.  

Note the plastic ends.  

The suspension from the inside

Close-up of the bottom plastic end inside the suspension

Part finally arrived, Mom's clock fixed!

Advent Begins

“Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time.”

— Fr. Edward Hayes

On Saturday, Julie and Tyler went to Queen of All Saints for an Advent wreath crafting.  The result is beautiful.  We lit the first candle this evening.  In the background is a 2016 Valrhona chocolate Advent calendar that we bought at Trader Joe's.  Tyler is very much looking forward to December 1st, when he can open the first flap.

"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel."

I Am Finally Back

The past two and a half months have been very busy, plus I am dealing with health and motivation issues (more on this in a future blog post).  I am hoping to have a new post up by Monday!