Keep in mind that you might just want to MOVE it someday.
Build it strong but use BOLTS instead of ENORMOUS SCREWS to join the horizontals to the vertical posts.
Just sayin'.
Those huge screws are a bugger to get back out. At least these ones are. I'm sweating like a racehorse and only have ONE (count it, ONE) out.
Gonna go get me a bigger screwdriver.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
STRENGTH TRUMPS BEAUTY
No, it's still not beautiful.
It has never been beautiful.
It will never be beautiful.
But those 2x10's that make up that table top are
darned strong.
So are the pillars supporting it.
The purpose of this table is not to be beautiful.
It is to be strong.
It is a WORK table.
It does not have to be beautiful.
It DOES have to be STRONG.
Every day for the next two weeks
right after my eye test
I'm going to give this table another coat of poly.
So that every time I use it
to create
a work of art
I will remember
that STRENGTH trumps BEAUTY.
IF IT'S FIXABLE FIX IT; IF IT ISN'T FIXABLE COPE AS BEST YOU CAN
I AM GETTING
PRETTY GOOD
AT COPING.
MY MOM DOUBLE DOG DARED ME!!! THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Mom sent me a forwarded e-mail of remembrances of times past - the 'good old days' as they are sometimes referred to by oldsters, 'ancient history' by younglings.
Her generation is a good twenty years before mine, and her mother's likewise twenty years before hers - nineteen teens through nineteen thirties through nineteen fifties and into now; keep that in mind.
As I was reading through the text and looking at the photos, it dawned on me that almost all of these things were as familiar to me as they had been to my mother and my grandmother.
Essentially, not all that much had changed over the three generations we encompass.
Only a few of the references were 'before my time' and I had a pretty good idea what even those were all about.
By contrast, I would wager that MY children would recognize a bare few of the photos or thoughts/feelings evoked, and those few only by hearsay or in reference to 'oldies'.
When people say that EVERY generation has a completely different world to live in and cope with, they may be almost right on some counts - but when I can relate easily and naturally to so many of the same things that both my mother and grandmothers could ... and my children (now adults themselves with children of their own) haven't got the faintest idea of what any of it's about ...
Well, that says something else, doesn't it?
It's got me puzzling about it.
The changes that have come about over the course of my children's lives DO seem to be leaping and bounding, so much so that the memory-making things of my own ... my mother's ... my grandmothers' ... time seem so far distant as to be over the horizon and beyond recall.
Has the pace of life picked up so drastically that generational sharing of lifestyles has become impossible?
Oh SUN ON A BEACH !!!
I can't get this concept to gel for me.
What I want to know is how we have managed, in the course of ONE GENERATION, to have lost that continuity - and why.
The odd thing is that it doesn't seem a gradual loss but more of a sudden realization: HEY wait a gol-darn minute here what the bloody blue BLAZES has happened here anyhow?!?
How is it that we three generations have maintained so much in common but THIS one is adrift by comparison?
I have an overwhelming urge to chant 'Mea Culpa' because it must somehow be me.
OH!
WHEW!
It's NOT just me.
Granted, there are altogether too many traditions, thought processes, activities, memory-generating things that seem to have gone by the wayside.
BUT when I stop to think more closely about the way things are NOW, I do realize that maybe just maybe all is not lost.
Life is NOT the same now; it is, however, still OUR life, the one we've created to pick up where those old memory-makers leave off.
While the highlights of my young life totally revolved around going to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, I have to try to remember that (back in the day) I wouldn't have been able to Skype my nephew halfway around the world. My mom couldn't call me from wherever she happened to be and talk to me wherever I happened to be. I wouldn't have been able to go shopping with my daughter from several hundred miles away. As my grandchildren grow up, they'll be privy to the same electronics that their parents use with such skill - maybe one day my grand-daughter will be taking me shopping with HER ... via cell phone and data transfer so I can see what she's thinking about buying!
Yes. It's different.
The things I, as the current 'middle generation', have in common with my mother and children are not the same things I, as the 'youngling generation' had with my mother and grandmothers - but we're making our own connections, traditions, activities, memory-generating things as we go along.
As I move along in the generational line, I had best be paying attention to preserving the concept, if not the specifics, of keeping a connection in place.
It's a fascinating journey, moving along from youngling to middle to oldster. It all blends as it rolls along.
Too TOO often the challenges and struggles of the journey seem to be overwhelming and I lose sight of those cherished others who are on this self-same journey WITH me.
And to that I WILL say: Mea Culpa
Our work and life schedules are all different these days. Few of us have nine to five jobs with every weekend off; fewer indeed are the stay at home moms of times past; fewer yet are generational family gatherings where the whole clan gets together to catch up on what everyone else has been up to and to bond as a unit. We can NOT change the way things are back to the way they used to be - but we CAN make the most of the resources we have at our command.
We may not have the luxury of being able to gather very often as a big group. We DO have the luxury of being able to visit with one another at will. Electronics, when work and life schedules keep us apart, can and will keep us connected. LOL and OMG have become a part of our vocabulary that my grandmothers would NEVER have recognized in their day. Were they around now, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd be on top of it, just as my mom is.
Back in the day answering machines were either non-existent or rare. If you wanted to talk to someone on the phone you had to catch them when they were at home.
Now I can talk to or text people whenever I want, and leave messages on any number of their devices or electronic accounts; and the reverse likewise. We may not be immediately available for our communications, but the messages get through. We can go places and do things together whether we're in the same place at the same time or not.
Family conferences have been enhanced by electronics. You can be there even if you're not there.
Heh heh ... we're all there even though none of us is all there.
Sometimes I wish it could be more like the 'good old days' but then I do remember that THESE ARE GOOD DAYS TOO. Traditions change and generations advance, but life is an ever-onward process; would we really want it any other way? Nope. And a good thing too because we really don't have much say in the matter!
Her generation is a good twenty years before mine, and her mother's likewise twenty years before hers - nineteen teens through nineteen thirties through nineteen fifties and into now; keep that in mind.
As I was reading through the text and looking at the photos, it dawned on me that almost all of these things were as familiar to me as they had been to my mother and my grandmother.
Essentially, not all that much had changed over the three generations we encompass.
Only a few of the references were 'before my time' and I had a pretty good idea what even those were all about.
By contrast, I would wager that MY children would recognize a bare few of the photos or thoughts/feelings evoked, and those few only by hearsay or in reference to 'oldies'.
When people say that EVERY generation has a completely different world to live in and cope with, they may be almost right on some counts - but when I can relate easily and naturally to so many of the same things that both my mother and grandmothers could ... and my children (now adults themselves with children of their own) haven't got the faintest idea of what any of it's about ...
Well, that says something else, doesn't it?
It's got me puzzling about it.
The changes that have come about over the course of my children's lives DO seem to be leaping and bounding, so much so that the memory-making things of my own ... my mother's ... my grandmothers' ... time seem so far distant as to be over the horizon and beyond recall.
Has the pace of life picked up so drastically that generational sharing of lifestyles has become impossible?
Oh SUN ON A BEACH !!!
I can't get this concept to gel for me.
What I want to know is how we have managed, in the course of ONE GENERATION, to have lost that continuity - and why.
The odd thing is that it doesn't seem a gradual loss but more of a sudden realization: HEY wait a gol-darn minute here what the bloody blue BLAZES has happened here anyhow?!?
How is it that we three generations have maintained so much in common but THIS one is adrift by comparison?
I have an overwhelming urge to chant 'Mea Culpa' because it must somehow be me.
OH!
WHEW!
It's NOT just me.
Granted, there are altogether too many traditions, thought processes, activities, memory-generating things that seem to have gone by the wayside.
BUT when I stop to think more closely about the way things are NOW, I do realize that maybe just maybe all is not lost.
Life is NOT the same now; it is, however, still OUR life, the one we've created to pick up where those old memory-makers leave off.
While the highlights of my young life totally revolved around going to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, I have to try to remember that (back in the day) I wouldn't have been able to Skype my nephew halfway around the world. My mom couldn't call me from wherever she happened to be and talk to me wherever I happened to be. I wouldn't have been able to go shopping with my daughter from several hundred miles away. As my grandchildren grow up, they'll be privy to the same electronics that their parents use with such skill - maybe one day my grand-daughter will be taking me shopping with HER ... via cell phone and data transfer so I can see what she's thinking about buying!
Yes. It's different.
The things I, as the current 'middle generation', have in common with my mother and children are not the same things I, as the 'youngling generation' had with my mother and grandmothers - but we're making our own connections, traditions, activities, memory-generating things as we go along.
As I move along in the generational line, I had best be paying attention to preserving the concept, if not the specifics, of keeping a connection in place.
It's a fascinating journey, moving along from youngling to middle to oldster. It all blends as it rolls along.
Too TOO often the challenges and struggles of the journey seem to be overwhelming and I lose sight of those cherished others who are on this self-same journey WITH me.
And to that I WILL say: Mea Culpa
Our work and life schedules are all different these days. Few of us have nine to five jobs with every weekend off; fewer indeed are the stay at home moms of times past; fewer yet are generational family gatherings where the whole clan gets together to catch up on what everyone else has been up to and to bond as a unit. We can NOT change the way things are back to the way they used to be - but we CAN make the most of the resources we have at our command.
We may not have the luxury of being able to gather very often as a big group. We DO have the luxury of being able to visit with one another at will. Electronics, when work and life schedules keep us apart, can and will keep us connected. LOL and OMG have become a part of our vocabulary that my grandmothers would NEVER have recognized in their day. Were they around now, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd be on top of it, just as my mom is.
Back in the day answering machines were either non-existent or rare. If you wanted to talk to someone on the phone you had to catch them when they were at home.
Now I can talk to or text people whenever I want, and leave messages on any number of their devices or electronic accounts; and the reverse likewise. We may not be immediately available for our communications, but the messages get through. We can go places and do things together whether we're in the same place at the same time or not.
Family conferences have been enhanced by electronics. You can be there even if you're not there.
Heh heh ... we're all there even though none of us is all there.
Sometimes I wish it could be more like the 'good old days' but then I do remember that THESE ARE GOOD DAYS TOO. Traditions change and generations advance, but life is an ever-onward process; would we really want it any other way? Nope. And a good thing too because we really don't have much say in the matter!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
STRIPPING ONE OF MY WORK TABLES
This sturdy work table came with the house. It's not fancy; two wooden rectangles support a thick wooden top and it's mounted on un-matching 2x4's. But I love its strength and endurance. The thing got painted with that same ungodly dark brown paint they used on all their floors (UGH!) which I don't like on my work surface any more than I do on my floors - so OFF it comes!
I spread that orange goopy stuff all over it and when it's ready I'll take it off; hopefully the nasty brown paint will come with it.
Well SUN ON A BEACH.
I can't get it to rotate.
At least that dark brown paint is GONE!!!
Now for a little sanding, a lot of sealing ...
and hopefully a LOT of USING!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
THE EYES HAVE IT
You know how we're none of us ever supposed to just take things for granted but we always do anyway?
Guilty.
I have this eye that's vulnerable and I've known it for some time now. Taking reasonable precautions with it has become automatic: not risking a bump and shielding it from extremely bright light mainly.
Being careful not to get my noggin knocked by falling off my roof is common sense in general but I'm also always aware that in addition to getting a headache out of the deal I might lose the vision in this one eye - that helps keep me alert.
The same goes for getting too close to fireworks, avoiding strobe lights, not looking too closely at the epicenters of sunrises and sunsets, and looking away when some blankety blank doesn't dim their headlights.
The little squiggles (they call them 'floaters' which I personally find an unpleasant term but I'm not the one who named them that) that sometimes roam around in my vision don't bother me all that much. I know what they are and why they're there and I'm okay with them.
What I'm NOT okay with is when they increase in number and bug the heck out of me - and more especially when they're joined by a new phenomenon: twinkles, or sparkles, little stars that belong in a beautiful night sky but NOT in my sightline while I'm at work.
That happened yesterday afternoon early in my shift for a second or two. They disappeared but came back, then disappeared again.
Spooked me a little, that did.
I remembered my optometrist telling me something about lights and that if a big bright one suddenly appeared and didn't go away I was supposed to get myself to an ER immediately.
This wasn't like that but it WAS unprecedented and freaked me out some.
So today I went and saw my optometrist. He fit me into his already packed schedule and deserves many special blessings for doing so.
Having looked it up on line last night I knew basically that he would tell me one of several things. I was hoping for word that it was just a natural aging thing and nothing to panic about. On the other end of the scale was a precursor to a retinal tear and/or detachment, which is considerably more serious. In between is where my condition seems to fall.
So it's good news and bad news. Good in that it could definitely be worse, bad in that it isn't likely to get any better and MIGHT get worse at any time.
Since there's nothing aside from reasonable precautions that I'm going to DO about it, I'm working myself around to a 'que sera sera' take on it.
Just KNOWING what's going on helps tremendously, so I'm very glad I made the trip today to find out. I know what to be on the alert for, and if/when it happens I'm not going to panic about it.
I'm supposed to get more sleep (possible), eliminate caffeine and nicotine (total elimination is not likely but cutting back might be a possibility), continue precautionary measures (a given), and get rid of all the stressors in my life (yep, uh-huh, right).
Since it's one in the morning I reckon I can get on that sleep thing right away. The rest can wait until tomorrow.
As for taking things for granted, I do believe that my days of assuming my binocular vision will never end - have just ended.
And now I'm going to go rest my eyes.
Guilty.
I have this eye that's vulnerable and I've known it for some time now. Taking reasonable precautions with it has become automatic: not risking a bump and shielding it from extremely bright light mainly.
Being careful not to get my noggin knocked by falling off my roof is common sense in general but I'm also always aware that in addition to getting a headache out of the deal I might lose the vision in this one eye - that helps keep me alert.
The same goes for getting too close to fireworks, avoiding strobe lights, not looking too closely at the epicenters of sunrises and sunsets, and looking away when some blankety blank doesn't dim their headlights.
The little squiggles (they call them 'floaters' which I personally find an unpleasant term but I'm not the one who named them that) that sometimes roam around in my vision don't bother me all that much. I know what they are and why they're there and I'm okay with them.
What I'm NOT okay with is when they increase in number and bug the heck out of me - and more especially when they're joined by a new phenomenon: twinkles, or sparkles, little stars that belong in a beautiful night sky but NOT in my sightline while I'm at work.
That happened yesterday afternoon early in my shift for a second or two. They disappeared but came back, then disappeared again.
Spooked me a little, that did.
I remembered my optometrist telling me something about lights and that if a big bright one suddenly appeared and didn't go away I was supposed to get myself to an ER immediately.
This wasn't like that but it WAS unprecedented and freaked me out some.
So today I went and saw my optometrist. He fit me into his already packed schedule and deserves many special blessings for doing so.
Having looked it up on line last night I knew basically that he would tell me one of several things. I was hoping for word that it was just a natural aging thing and nothing to panic about. On the other end of the scale was a precursor to a retinal tear and/or detachment, which is considerably more serious. In between is where my condition seems to fall.
So it's good news and bad news. Good in that it could definitely be worse, bad in that it isn't likely to get any better and MIGHT get worse at any time.
Since there's nothing aside from reasonable precautions that I'm going to DO about it, I'm working myself around to a 'que sera sera' take on it.
Just KNOWING what's going on helps tremendously, so I'm very glad I made the trip today to find out. I know what to be on the alert for, and if/when it happens I'm not going to panic about it.
I'm supposed to get more sleep (possible), eliminate caffeine and nicotine (total elimination is not likely but cutting back might be a possibility), continue precautionary measures (a given), and get rid of all the stressors in my life (yep, uh-huh, right).
Since it's one in the morning I reckon I can get on that sleep thing right away. The rest can wait until tomorrow.
As for taking things for granted, I do believe that my days of assuming my binocular vision will never end - have just ended.
And now I'm going to go rest my eyes.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
NEXT ON MY HIT LIST: POTS AND PANS
I ask you:
How many pots and pans does one woman need?
Well, let's see.
I need a good-sized one for when I want to make a big batch of soup that I can freeze in meal-sized portions so I don't have to cook for a few days.
I need a smallish one for heating up those meal-sized portions.
I need all the cast iron ones I can get my hands on for when I cook on the antique wood stove that's going into my antique kitchen as soon as 1) I get it refurbished and 2) I get the brickwork done where it's going to go.
I think that's about it.
I've got a crock pot.
I've got a griddle.
I've got an electric skillet.
Huh.
Oh yeah, I need a couple of cake pans and one for cupcakes and a cookie sheet.
And a roaster in case I get a wild hair and decide to cook a turkey.
And the old-fashioned canning things - they'll go in the antique kitchen.
There.
THAT's it.
Since this is me we're talking about here, you can bet your bottom dollar that at least 80% of my pots and pans are going OUT. I'll still have plenty, believe you me. I might even hang onto a couple of sauce pans I'm particularly fond of. A couple: that's TWO, not seven or eight.
My daughters would be so proud of me.
How many pots and pans does one woman need?
Well, let's see.
I need a good-sized one for when I want to make a big batch of soup that I can freeze in meal-sized portions so I don't have to cook for a few days.
I need a smallish one for heating up those meal-sized portions.
I need all the cast iron ones I can get my hands on for when I cook on the antique wood stove that's going into my antique kitchen as soon as 1) I get it refurbished and 2) I get the brickwork done where it's going to go.
I think that's about it.
I've got a crock pot.
I've got a griddle.
I've got an electric skillet.
Huh.
Oh yeah, I need a couple of cake pans and one for cupcakes and a cookie sheet.
And a roaster in case I get a wild hair and decide to cook a turkey.
And the old-fashioned canning things - they'll go in the antique kitchen.
There.
THAT's it.
Since this is me we're talking about here, you can bet your bottom dollar that at least 80% of my pots and pans are going OUT. I'll still have plenty, believe you me. I might even hang onto a couple of sauce pans I'm particularly fond of. A couple: that's TWO, not seven or eight.
My daughters would be so proud of me.
THEN THERE ARE THE TRENCHCOATS-RAINCOATS
I flat can NOT part with them.
Not the black traditional one.
Not the tried and true khaki one that can go everywhere I go.
Not the light blue one that's for light wear.
And most certainly not the purple one that I got when I decided I wanted COLOR in my life!
I had a pinkish one too, but I already threw that one away.
So there.
Not the black traditional one.
Not the tried and true khaki one that can go everywhere I go.
Not the light blue one that's for light wear.
And most certainly not the purple one that I got when I decided I wanted COLOR in my life!
I had a pinkish one too, but I already threw that one away.
So there.
SORTING AND FILING COUNT AS PROGRESS TOO!
Feeling a bit on the guilty side because I'm not roofing, or wiring, or plumbing, or yard-mowing, or branch-trimming, or moving my washing machine and dryer down to the basement, or un-burying the north end of my front porch so I can get at that big propane heater to move IT down to the basement ... among a hundred other 'major things I ought to be taking care of right this minute' ...
All I've been doing is sorting and filing my clothes on this not-so-fine day.
It seems a little lazy compared to the rest of it.
HOWEVER ...
I look at the divisions and have to smile.
The OUT pile is twice the size of the KEEP pile.
I have been RUTHLESS, I tell you. RUTHLESS.
I have had NO business keeping three times as many clothes as I have the space to store them.
Do I need an entire dresser full of sweaters?
No.
I do not.
OUT they go, most of them.
And onward I go.
The trash pick-up guys are gonna faint.
All I've been doing is sorting and filing my clothes on this not-so-fine day.
It seems a little lazy compared to the rest of it.
HOWEVER ...
I look at the divisions and have to smile.
The OUT pile is twice the size of the KEEP pile.
I have been RUTHLESS, I tell you. RUTHLESS.
I have had NO business keeping three times as many clothes as I have the space to store them.
Do I need an entire dresser full of sweaters?
No.
I do not.
OUT they go, most of them.
And onward I go.
The trash pick-up guys are gonna faint.
TELL ME AGAIN EXACTLY WHY I NEED FIVE BATHROBES?
Well, you see, the thing is that the pink snuggly one goes with the pink snuggly pajamas, the white one goes with the white nighty, the pale pink one goes with the pale pink nighty, the big green terry one is my favorite when I get out of the tub or shower, and the blue one ...
Okay, the blue one can go.
Okay, the blue one can go.
OH MY SWEET BLESS-ED LORD! WHEN DID I GET SO MANY CLOTHES?
For cryin' out loud already!
I seem never to reach the END of them!
There are five loads of laundry stacked in the attic hall, another three in the new kitchen, two more in the morning room (which is my dressing room) and a big bag of bedding to get washed. One person ought not to be able to have ten loads of laundry sitting about.
Even as I'm sorting out the loads for the laundry, I'm filling bags to go OUT - and STILL it just seems to multiply! I've long lost track of how many boxes and bags have already been disposed of, yet there's always MORE.
What the heck.
Remember when I decided that from now on I'm not going to buy anything unless:
1) I don't already have one of whatever it is, and
2) If I DO already have one or more of whatever it is I have to get rid of one
I've actually been DOING that, believe it or not. It helps me not to accumulate MORE STUFF.
Now I'm coming to the conclusion that I have to set myself limits, especially when it comes to clothes.
Socks, for example.
Really, how many pairs of socks does one person reasonably NEED? I have enough to fill two good-sized dresser drawers. Something tells me that's too many. I only have two feet and each week only has seven days.
It all stems from the years I was working road construction projects and was only at home maybe one day a week. I just kept buying new socks all the time because it was easier and less time-consuming than washing and matching them.
Hindsight tells me that I ought to have thrown the old ones away as I bought new ones (my new procedure) but did I?
No.
I did not.
No wonder I have two drawers full of socks (un-matched I might add, as who in their right mind wants to sort and match two drawers full of socks?) and since I personally have no intention in this world of matching them all up I think I might just throw out the lot of them and buy myself ten pairs of new ones and STOP THERE.
Except for the wool socks because I wear them for slippers in the winter time. And except for the ones with toes in them because I like them.
You know, maybe I could just go through them a LITTLE and if I'm lucky I'll hit on ten pairs that match right off the bat. Then I won't have to buy new ones.
And THEN throw the rest AWAY.
See, this is how my life goes.
It's the same with tee-shirts, and tank tops, and sweaters, and jeans.
Maybe if I start with the SOCKS the mood will carry over to the rest.
One can hope.
This is a sad commentary on the wastefulness of one human being.
I seem never to reach the END of them!
There are five loads of laundry stacked in the attic hall, another three in the new kitchen, two more in the morning room (which is my dressing room) and a big bag of bedding to get washed. One person ought not to be able to have ten loads of laundry sitting about.
Even as I'm sorting out the loads for the laundry, I'm filling bags to go OUT - and STILL it just seems to multiply! I've long lost track of how many boxes and bags have already been disposed of, yet there's always MORE.
What the heck.
Remember when I decided that from now on I'm not going to buy anything unless:
1) I don't already have one of whatever it is, and
2) If I DO already have one or more of whatever it is I have to get rid of one
I've actually been DOING that, believe it or not. It helps me not to accumulate MORE STUFF.
Now I'm coming to the conclusion that I have to set myself limits, especially when it comes to clothes.
Socks, for example.
Really, how many pairs of socks does one person reasonably NEED? I have enough to fill two good-sized dresser drawers. Something tells me that's too many. I only have two feet and each week only has seven days.
It all stems from the years I was working road construction projects and was only at home maybe one day a week. I just kept buying new socks all the time because it was easier and less time-consuming than washing and matching them.
Hindsight tells me that I ought to have thrown the old ones away as I bought new ones (my new procedure) but did I?
No.
I did not.
No wonder I have two drawers full of socks (un-matched I might add, as who in their right mind wants to sort and match two drawers full of socks?) and since I personally have no intention in this world of matching them all up I think I might just throw out the lot of them and buy myself ten pairs of new ones and STOP THERE.
Except for the wool socks because I wear them for slippers in the winter time. And except for the ones with toes in them because I like them.
You know, maybe I could just go through them a LITTLE and if I'm lucky I'll hit on ten pairs that match right off the bat. Then I won't have to buy new ones.
And THEN throw the rest AWAY.
See, this is how my life goes.
It's the same with tee-shirts, and tank tops, and sweaters, and jeans.
Maybe if I start with the SOCKS the mood will carry over to the rest.
One can hope.
This is a sad commentary on the wastefulness of one human being.
STORY WRITING IDEA
I had a thought about how to choose material for writing stories.
My thought was to ask someone, anyone, to pick a year, any year, and then write a story based on that year.
Another idea along that same path was to take each year of my life and write something about it, whatever memory first pops into my head.
Just so you know I'm THINKING about writing.
My thought was to ask someone, anyone, to pick a year, any year, and then write a story based on that year.
Another idea along that same path was to take each year of my life and write something about it, whatever memory first pops into my head.
Just so you know I'm THINKING about writing.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
YEE-HA ... ELECTRICAL STUFF ... AAAUGH THE MISSING BIT!
Now that I've got that bit of plumbing out of my hair and off my mind, I can trot myself along to the next set of problems.
Installing an extra outlet is NOT a problem, if I do say so myself. It's an easy and straightforward little project, just like putting in an adaptor I can hook my garden hose into was.
Yet I find myself going AAAAUGH!!!!
Good Grief.
Me and Charlie Brown ... or Lucy maybe ... oh no, not Charlie Brown's Lucy, I mean LUCY Lucy as in "I Love Lucy" (aka Lucille Ball).
Come to think of it, after all this time I ought not to be so surprised to find myself reminding me of Lucy. It happens all the time.
This particular time it's because I've just searched high and low for a drill bit that I KNOW I have - for cryin' out loud I just SAW it the other day! I remember SEEING it. I remember picking it up!
What I do NOT remember (sigh) is where I put it when I put it back down.
As crises go, this is not a major one.
I can always just use a smaller bit, drill holes in a circle, and punch it out. As a matter of fact that's what I will probably end up doing.
I have no great desire to continue searching my entire house for one drill bit that will most certainly show up just when I need it least, as it did just the other day.
It's the principle of the thing.
That bit isn't one of those itty bitty things that I conscientiously file back in my bit case. It's big enough to make a hole just the right size to run electrical wiring through, which is why I WANT it right now.
And it's not like I can just run out to a hardware store and get another one, you know.
Small Town USA has some mighty fine things going for it. Being able to pop out to a hardware store on a Saturday night isn't one of them.
Oh I could GO to a hardware store. I just wouldn't be able to get in since it's closed. So what would be the point?
SIGH
Off I go. Time to get to it already.
... Time lapse: about forty minutes as I had to let Duke out and then let him back in, and had to fiddle with moving things about, and had to locate my little saw so as to cut an opening for the outlet.
Which brings me to THIS:
CONFOUNDED BLASTED LATH AND PLASTER !!!!!
Okay, it could be just me. I really do know to cut the lath right alongside the stud last, honest. I just forgot this time. Par for my Lucy course tonight I guess. Now I've got a patching job to do, too.
See, this is why I like to do things my own self. If I mess it up I don't have to be mad at anyone else, which is a relief to my mind. I can cuss out loud if I want to and nobody's going to hear me except Duke, and he ain't tellin'.
The good news is that the outlet is going to be very useful.
Installing an extra outlet is NOT a problem, if I do say so myself. It's an easy and straightforward little project, just like putting in an adaptor I can hook my garden hose into was.
Yet I find myself going AAAAUGH!!!!
Good Grief.
Me and Charlie Brown ... or Lucy maybe ... oh no, not Charlie Brown's Lucy, I mean LUCY Lucy as in "I Love Lucy" (aka Lucille Ball).
Come to think of it, after all this time I ought not to be so surprised to find myself reminding me of Lucy. It happens all the time.
This particular time it's because I've just searched high and low for a drill bit that I KNOW I have - for cryin' out loud I just SAW it the other day! I remember SEEING it. I remember picking it up!
What I do NOT remember (sigh) is where I put it when I put it back down.
As crises go, this is not a major one.
I can always just use a smaller bit, drill holes in a circle, and punch it out. As a matter of fact that's what I will probably end up doing.
I have no great desire to continue searching my entire house for one drill bit that will most certainly show up just when I need it least, as it did just the other day.
It's the principle of the thing.
That bit isn't one of those itty bitty things that I conscientiously file back in my bit case. It's big enough to make a hole just the right size to run electrical wiring through, which is why I WANT it right now.
And it's not like I can just run out to a hardware store and get another one, you know.
Small Town USA has some mighty fine things going for it. Being able to pop out to a hardware store on a Saturday night isn't one of them.
Oh I could GO to a hardware store. I just wouldn't be able to get in since it's closed. So what would be the point?
SIGH
Off I go. Time to get to it already.
... Time lapse: about forty minutes as I had to let Duke out and then let him back in, and had to fiddle with moving things about, and had to locate my little saw so as to cut an opening for the outlet.
Which brings me to THIS:
CONFOUNDED BLASTED LATH AND PLASTER !!!!!
Okay, it could be just me. I really do know to cut the lath right alongside the stud last, honest. I just forgot this time. Par for my Lucy course tonight I guess. Now I've got a patching job to do, too.
See, this is why I like to do things my own self. If I mess it up I don't have to be mad at anyone else, which is a relief to my mind. I can cuss out loud if I want to and nobody's going to hear me except Duke, and he ain't tellin'.
The good news is that the outlet is going to be very useful.
GETTING AROUND TO THE PLUMBING
2012 July 14 GRRRRR
I finally get my poop in a group and decide to do some of the plumbing I’ve been putting off since forever.
All the supplies I need are on hand, the preliminary cutting and fitting are done, and it’s time to get to the putting together of the pieces.
Right. I cannot get the tops screwed off of the new cans of primer and cement.
Am I a wimp?
No.
I am not a wimp.
Even so I can’t break those seals.
I reckon it’s time to go to Plan B, since brute strength isn’t working (that was Plan A).
Plan B involves running them under hot water for a while before re-applying brute strength.
Nope.
Plan B didn’t work. On to Plan C.
Plan C is rapping them a few times against something, and then applying brute strength.
Dang.
Plan C didn’t do the trick, either.
It’s a good thing I have an entire alphabet at my disposal!
Plan D – geez, I hardly EVER get this far into the alphabet – means looking for and putting to use the right tool.
My wrenches, the ones I can find, don’t fit. Maybe I can find a pair of pliers that will work.
AH-HA!
SUCCESS IS MINE!
Ten minutes later. Now that little project is done and I’m going to file that pair of pliers with the plumbing supplies.
I tell ya: Next time my Plan A will be to use them straight off the bat and I won’t have to use any of the rest of the alphabet!
Friday, July 13, 2012
BELOVED CHAOS MUST YOU BE SORTED OUT?
YES!
Here on my loveseat...a microcosm of life as I know it:
cinder blocks for a project in progress
blanket and sweatshirt lest I feel chilly
movie theatre reels awaiting my decision as to their fate
and
above and behind all
books
My new kitchen with its modern conveniences is a clutter
because I really hardly ever go in there to use those things
but must have them on hand
lest my sanity (aka adherence to social norms) be questioned
My studio work room glutted with STUFF:
in the fore some recently used materials
a glide rocker with a garbage bag of plastic bottles ready to go out to the trash
stacks of finished pieces, some of them on the can of poly sealer
piles of books destined for my daughters
an old computer monitor I don't know what to do with, atop of which is
a finished piece by my Cities Daughter Tess to be displayed
a heap of new dish-towels to be painted on
a basket of plumbing supplies
a corkboard that needs putting up somewhere
rough cut (raw) pieces that need finishing including
pieces on my tri-fold screens and
leaning in the bay window a large thin piece of wood to be cut up for backings
And that's only a sampling!
So
YES!
The sorting out must commence.
But not right this very minute.
These are newly sealed cedar shake skyscapes w/silhouettes. They'll go to my sister's shop.
Hodge-podge of assorted stuff on the bottom shelf of my tea-cart.
Sorry it's sideways...laundry stacked in the attic hall.
This one's sideways too...geez...it's one of the ceiling tins, leaning in the attic hall along the wall it will be attached to (along with five others just like it) where I'll eventually be putting series pieces, beginning with the Dozen Cousins.
You know, I can certainly live with chaos.
Surprisingly, I can not WORK amid chaos.
When it come to actually USING my studio work room, my work spaces MUST be clean and orderly.
Typically I'll be working on several pieces, moving between them as my fancy or necessity dictates. On one table I'll have a sculpture under construction. On another, photos will be sorted and laid out neatly according to their futures. My desk will have computer stuff in the works, and probably a book either open or on hold. The tri-fold screens will have works in progress, paintings under way, with a little table nearby holding ONLY the paints and brushes needed for those particular paintings. Yet another table might have pencils and paper for drawings, or prepped hoops and more paints and brushes for smaller pieces, or both.
Files, books, papers, whatever I've collected in terms of inspiration, are organized so I can find what I want when I want it. Ideally, that is. Currently I have a lot of that organizing to get done - but I do manage to find whatever it is that I'm looking for since it's at least (even if only) halfway organized.
With so many outside projects dominating my time and energy, not to mention my work schedule, I figure I'll get by as best I can through these all too limited summer days - and know full well that my days of this coming long dark will have plenty of projects to keep me occupied!
Hand-Me-Up Jeans!
A young mother cleaned her closets.
She sorted out a big pile of comfortable old jeans which she gave to her ten years younger sister, telling her, “There comes a time in a woman’s life when certain kinds of clothes just aren’t appropriate any more. I’m too old for these.”
The little sister, who had plenty of comfortable jeans of her own, turned to a little old gramma lady, the mother of the two girls.
“Hey Mom, I can’t use these; I don’t have room for them. You want some?”
The little old gramma lady hesitated, remembering the words of her eldest daughter, passed on to her by her youngest, about giving up certain types of attire as inappropriate as a woman matured.
Giving a smile, she began looking through the jeans and chose several pair that fit her comfortably.
“There comes a time in a woman’s life when she doesn’t give a damn what’s appropriate as long as it’s comfortable!”
I think I’ll wear these jeans as much as I want to.
I think I’ll keep them for twenty or thirty years – because she might want them back one day!
Monday, July 9, 2012
An Adventure: The Loss of Lug Nuts While Driving Is NOT To Be Desired
THIS is where my little pickup truck BELONGS! Not stranded along a road or in a shop!
As adventures go, my last one is mild - but only by the Grace of God; it could have been fatal to me and/or someone else.
A simple day, beginning with a simple quick run over to the lumber yard to pick up a few roofing supplies, is once again a simple day.
In between came annoyance, frustration, confusion, fear, and some anger.
Here's the story:
As I said, it was a quick trip to get a few things. The annoying noise coming from the replaced wheel of my vehicle had somewhat abated but on my way home it suddenly returned with a vengeance and the click/pop/thump became a grind.
Pulling to the side of the road was a no-brainer. Backing off the road and shoulder onto the side of someone's driveway likewise.
I first looked at the tread of the tire, having just a week ago gotten rid of one that was bad. It looked fine to me, not flat or damaged that I could see, so I figured I'd keep looking.
Checking the area of the driver's side front wheel for something picked up along the way that would account for the racket proved pointless, as did my admittedly amateur investigation of the parts. I didn't see anything extra, or loose, or hanging, or feel anything that might have been guilty - until I craned my head and looked at the inside of the tire rim itself.
Well by gosh and by golly THAT wasn't right! It was gouged something fierce and the wheel was most assuredly NOT sitting straight on its pegs. It scared me a little.
Having an abundance of natural intelligence and a modicum of common sense, I thought to look at the outside of said wheel.
When I realized that three of the five lug nuts were missing and that there didn't seem to be anything for them to have been fastened to in two of the holes, and that the wheel was sitting decidedly crooked with the two side by side remaining lug nuts apparently barely keeping it on the vehicle, I became more than a little scared.
Not that there was any danger to me or to anyone else at that point, but the fact of the matter is that had I NOT pulled over when I did that wheel could have come totally off the vehicle and caused an accident that WOULD have been dangerous at the least and possibly fatal to myself and/or anyone else in the vicinity.
It wasn't until I came to the conclusion that I was not going to try to take that vehicle anywhere that I realized that my phone was at home.
Who would think a quick trip for materials would require a telephone? Did I not just SAY I have only a modicum of common sense?
Dozens of vehicles sped past, a few drivers glancing my way.
It reminded me of another time I had trouble, down along I-25 between Pueblo and the Springs, but that's a story for another time. That day angels abounded; today it seemed hopeless until a kind gentleman drove past, turned around, and came back to let me use his cell phone. Bless him forever.
Calling my sister Mary, because I know her number and that's just what I generally DO when I'm in trouble, I remembered that I wasn't using my own phone. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but Mary is choosy about what calls she will respond to. If she doesn't recognize the number she isn't likely to pick up. So I left her a message with pertinent information, then called my mom to ask her to call Mary (as she has a number Mary knows and would answer a call from) but Mom said that she'd just come herself, which she did.
Since the place where I had gotten that wheel put on was business partners with a similar place nearby the site of my stranding, we went to the nearby one and had the manager call the other.
After a futile struggle to make a land line curly telephone cord (and likewise my arm and neck) stretch beyond capability to reach a point where communication might be possible, the gal behind the counter finally deduced that it might reach across the side counter and I found myself speaking to the very person who had installed said wheel. As he was out on a service call I have no idea what on earth they thought he was going to be able to do about it, but that's who they put me through to. I explained as best I could, not that it did any good.
He, poor guy, had no way of helping me. He said that he'd snugged the lug nuts on good and had not over-tightened them when he put the wheel on. He wanted to know if I knew of anyone who might have loosened the lug nuts, tampered with them.
Well geez. Not that I know of. Anyone who got that mad at me would probably just up and shoot me, not sabotage my vehicle in such a way that people besides me might get hurt.
Then he mentioned that he thought maybe the lug nuts and/or posts or whatever they're called, the threaded pegs that the lug nuts screw onto, had been faulty as he'd noticed a lot of rust when he changed out the wheel.
Mom dropped me off at the local place where I'd had the wheel changed out, where I ran into the guy who had changed them for me and we spoke for a bit. Another guy was going to check it out, so I left it at that and walked the two blocks on home and let Duke in as I had left him out in his yard since I was only going to be gone for a very little while.
Then Mary showed up at my house, having gotten my message and gone in search of me before finally calling our mother who told her where I was.
She had stopped and examined the wheel with Brian her husband consulting via phone.
While she was still here, the guy who had gone to check on it called. He said he was picking up (or ordering if they weren't in stock) parts at the parts place and that they would fix the wheel for me. Good.
THEN he wanted to know if I was going to come get it and drive it home. Ummm ... NO. Three sequential lug nuts missing, two of whose pegs (or whatever you call them) had snapped off, and the remaining two barely holding the wheel on? Nope. Not this woman. Not EVEN gonna go try to drive any such of a thing anywhere. Not in this lifetime. Not no how not no way. IF I were fool enough to make the attempt, which I am NOT, I would drive it very slowly in the ditch so as not to put anyone else at risk. This I told him although not in so many words except the ditch part. He kind of half laughed and asked if tomorrow would be okay for them to take care of it. To that I said yes.
I will say this for him: he didn't quibble about putting it back together properly for me. At least I'm assuming that's what he means to do. If I get a bill of any kind, I'll sic my sister and brother-in-law on him.
And I called (at my mom's suggestion) the Sheriff's department to tell them that's my truck sitting there - yes it's safely out of any traffic zone - and generally why and that they were going to take care of it tomorrow. No I did not make an issue of the roofing stuff in the back as I cannot conceive of any logic that would make anyone even think of stealing such heavy and bulky stuff unless they had a great and immediate need for it. If that's the case and someone needs it badly enough to steal it from a beat up little old truck at the end of someone's driveway at the side of a busy highway, I reckon they can go ahead and have it. Me, I'm going to have a hard enough time moving it ONCE to where I need it to be - really, am I wanting to move it any more than absolutely necesary? Not.
I don't know what made it happen.
At this point it doesn't really matter what made it happen. It's not like I was out four-wheeling or mudding about in the fields (not that I would anyway, but the fields are full of crops right now so NOBODY better be out goofing off in them). I drove on pavement a bit around town and to and from work and that was IT. Nothing that ought to have put anything out of whack. And I seriously doubt that anyone would have tampered with the lug nuts on a vehicle parked on Main Street Small Town USA, or in the parking lot at work either. If anyone really does hate me enough to try to kill me I should hope they'd be more straightforward about it and not put others at risk in the process.
I was so traumatized that I walked the half block to the store and bought icecream. And chocolate syrup. And Smucker's caramel. And Smucker's butterscotch. And frozen strawberries. And A&W rootbeer so I could make myself a rootbeer float if my stomach had any room left in it after eating as much icecream and toppings as I wanted. And potato chips. I do not even recall the last time I bought icecream, let alone the rest of the fixings.
Now that I have under my belt (manner of speech - actually I'm wearing bib overalls and a pink tee-shirt) about two cups of the concoction I created out of all of the above, the shock and trauma is beginning to wear off.
Seeing Mary helped, I have to admit. And talking to my Twin Cities daughter Tess.
Still, there's a residual shuddering horror at the thought of how today COULD have developed. Just because it DIDN'T happen doesn't quite negate the thoughts and emotions associated with the fact that things may just as easily have been not just an emotional trauma treatable with icecream but a tragedy for my family and possibly other families as well.
Hells bells.
I wonder if I can make room for that rootbeer float?
Sunday, July 8, 2012
VINTAGE CINEMA REELS
I have several of these hanging on my wall, my favorites. The rest are hanging in the attic! One of these days I'll figure out something creative to use them for; meanwhile, I like them just the way they are!
BILL OF RIGHTS
The Bill of Rights: A Transcription
The Preamble to The Bill of Rights
Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Clause 3: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (See Note 2) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, (See Note 3) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. (See Note 4)
Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
Clause 5: The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4.
Clause 1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
Clause 2: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, (See Note 5) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.
Clause 1: Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Clause 3: Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Clause 4: Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, beprivileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Clause 2: No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
Clause 1: All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Clause 2: Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Clause 3: Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section. 8.
Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And
Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section. 9.
Clause 1: The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Clause 2: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. (See Note 7)
Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
Clause 6: No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Clause 8: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
Clause 1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
Clause 2: No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
Clause 3: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article. II.
Section. 1.
Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Clause 2: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
Clause 3: The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. (See Note 8)
Clause 4: The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, (See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the VicePresident, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
Clause 7: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Clause 8: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Clause 2: He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
Clause 3: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article. III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State; (See Note 10)--between Citizens of different States, --between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
Clause 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
Clause 3: The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section. 3.
Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Clause 2: A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
Clause 3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. (See Note 11)
Section. 3.
Clause 1: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article. VI.
Clause 1: All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Clause 3: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article. VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
GO WASHINGTON--Presidt. and deputy from Virginia
[Signed also by the deputies of twelve States.]
Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom
Maryland
James MCHenry
Dan of ST ThoS. Jenifer
DanL Carroll.
Virginia
John Blair--
James Madison Jr.
North Carolina
WM Blount
RichD. Dobbs Spaight.
Hu Williamson
South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles 1ACotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler.
Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut
WM. SamL. Johnson
Roger Sherman
New York
Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley.
WM. Paterson.
Jona: Dayton
Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
RobT Morris
Geo. Clymer
ThoS. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson.
Gouv Morris
Attest William Jackson Secretary
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