Period

When do you know that it's the end of an era? I'm sure most people can chart their lives based on events that have happened. We move, we start or end various relationships, graduate from school, etc.

I feel that a era of my life is coming to a close. My girlfriend and I moved down to Fort Lauderdale from Pittsburgh and so began what I call my Fort Lauderdale Period. It was a classic example of a young couple starting out. During this time, my wife got her Bachelor's Degree and we got our first cat together. We got married, had jobs, and paid bills. We didn't have much money, lived in an apartment my wife would like to forget, and didn't have a car (we did everything by walking or riding our bikes, a lifestyle most people couldn't do in South Florida). When I started a job as a security officer, it became necessary to get a better mode of transportation. After we looked at our finances, we decided a motorcycle was an option. I rode it to work until we got a car, then a truck. The motorcycle was put aside. Over the years, we got it fixed up a couple of times and I rode it to get to and from work for awhile. Most of it's time was spent in storage, not being ridden.

Two weeks ago, we finally sold it (gave it away). So this post is in memory of a motorcycle that embodied what I thought of my personality from that era. Farewell, Derbi.

To-Do's

I'm starting to feel some self induced pressure as holidays approach.  "Are you crazy?!" you say.  "The holidays are several months away."  Yeah, I know but I wanted to try to make several things for Halloween and Christmas.  I know how my time tends to slip away while with the kids so I wanted to try and start earlier this year.  I've read that some Halloween home haunters start on projects around July (on average).  With the plans I had to make (and save money) versus buying this year, I created a list of things I wanted to make.  Will I get these done?  Probably not.  I have gotten more done this year (since last post) than I usually can claim.

1. I built a bookcase.  Results: not the best but nice.  I wanted to use joinery (and my router) instead of store bought fasteners.  The joints could be tighter.  I also rushed the finish (example: I didn't sand it down to the level I would have liked).


2. I've made several rings.  Results: varies.  I made several rings from one dollar Sacajawea coins, one from a Canadian two dollar coin, and one from coconut shell.  The coin rings were good practice and look relatively nice (but could use more polishing).  The shell ring looks good but could use a finish that makes it shine more otherwise it's very dull.  The only real complaint is that I have a hard time sizing them.


3. I found a chest of drawers/dresser being thrown away.  I sanded down the frame (leaving the drawers) and refinished it with Johnson's Paste Wax. Results:  very nice.  We're using it as an entertainment stand.  The only down side?  It's not meant to be a stand holding heavy things like the t.v., CD collection and DVD collection so it seems to bow slightly in the middle from the weight.  Still to be done: convert some of the drawers to hold the DVD player and other electronics and still run the wires through the back to the t.v. and speakers.

I hoped to get some projects done like some paper mache jack o'lanterns, maybe a flying crank ghost or other such mechanical ghost/creature and some sort of display for the porch.  The potion bottle collection also needs a better display.  I just have to decide how I'm going to do these.

Workout

Just to let you know, she wanted to workout at the same time as me.  This was not forced on her.

"Daddy, it's heavy!"

Condo Environmentalism

Living in a condo/apartment has made us have to make some compromises.  For example, we're limited on being able to grow a garden.  Container gardening is an option but isn't always easy to accomplish.  We've started to want to do more with our waste.  Recycling has become easier as we figure out space to temporarily house the stuff.

Our latest success is a compost bucket.  We've been wanting to try to reduce how much of our waste ends up going to a landfill.  Food trapped in plastic bags doesn't really do much in a landfill but if composted, it will break down in as little as a few months and provide nutrition for potted plants or flower beds.  I found several how-to's with a web search and decided to try this one.  I went to our local hardware store and picked up a bucket.  For the soil/sawdust mixture, I use soil right out of our flower bed and pine litter (unused) from our cats.  It's been a day since it was put together so I don't have any results yet but will post more as it progresses.

Mother's Visit - #1 of 2011

My mom is coming into town tomorrow.  Whenever she announces her intentions to visit, we start discussing what I will get done while she watches the kids.  They take up most of my time.  Many of my projects and some of the cleaning gets put off as I put out fires all day long.

What's on my list for this visit?  Cleaning, trying to finish an entertainment stand I started a while back, and possibly a bookcase or two.  We'll see how much actually gets done.