Got a Couple of Things on My Mind

2015  09  25

First of all, the Pope is visiting the United States. Next month it will be the Dalai Lama. The words of these two men will impact many, perhaps for a short time, perhaps for longer. People tend to make a big deal out of such things and then just get on with getting on, doing what they do for good or for ill.

Second, being as I'm an American and my family has been since the founding of the United States of America, I can't bring myself to ignore what's going on in this nation. See, we don't have a Pope to guide us; we don't have a Dalai Lama. We'll listen to what they have to say, but they aren't 'ours' so to speak. Some of us will listen harder, pay closer attention, try a little more to understand what they're trying to tell us - but ... well ... only some of us are Catholic and even fewer are Buddhist. We're a conglomerate of all sorts of peoples here. That's what this nation is all about, after all, or is supposed to be. People who believe in Family, Friends, Freedom, the Future, and have Faith that a way will be found to fuse all of us into a united country.

I think most everybody tends to forget how really young we are as a nation, only a couple of hundred years. Compared to most of the rest of our world, we are incredibly diverse - and we are young as a nation. We are working to figure out how our Constitutional Republic is supposed to function. Our founders gifted us with a legacy, and the instructions as to how to use it. We as a People haven't been paying real close attention to what they told us. As challenges arise, that's changing a little. But this isn't going to be about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the Federalist Papers.

I'm puzzling in my mind the reactions to those who are coming within our borders.

Now, on the one hand we've got millions of refugees who need a place of safety. On the other hand, here in the USA, we've got many more millions who are just coming on in without being invited. 

Some of us are saying we ought to close our borders completely, find and evict those who are just barging in on us, and not let anybody else in until we've taken care of our own current citizens. Heaven knows we've got plenty of internal issues among us that could use a sorting out.

Others say to kick out the illegals and use the resources we've been spending on them to first of all help our own and secondly to help those who are seeking sanctuary in the legitimate use of the concept, asking for and coming in only when given permission by the People of the United States.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. We are fussin' and feudin' among our own selves over this, that, and the other thing. Different folks have different views on all kinds of things, and  they're all strong in their opinions. It's been that way since the dawn of mankind. You'd think we'd have figured out how to manage ourselves by now, make allowances for people who don't see things in exactly the same way we do, and get on with developing our culture in a way that makes sense.

*laughing*

Right.

What makes perfect sense to one person is another person's idea of insanity.

#  2015  09  26

I found out that both China and Russia (their heads of state) are going to be meeting with our own in short order although not at the same time. Would it not be a good thing for both the Pope and Dalai Lama to sit down with them and a few other heads of state at the same table and come up with some solutions? 

Separation of church and state is not a bad thing, and I'm not advocating by any means a return to the bad old days when it was otherwise. Even so, I can't help but think it wouldn't hurt anything to throw in a couple of other perspectives. When it comes to that, add Cousin Rick to the mix. He's rich, and an atheist; his perspective might come in handy, too. For that matter, it would be a fine idea to take along a couple of ordinary citizens ... you know, the ones who have to live with the consequences of whatever the 'leaders' choose to do.

Back on topic ... I was reading the other day about the hissy fits people were having back when the Scots and Irish were coming over in big numbers. Some wanted to shut that down, too. Fortunately, things were a little different then; there was a lot of space to expand.  But it wasn't all peaches and roses by a long shot and that's a kind of sad fact.

And so I'm reminded of something we tend to forget about. There was a time when such things as 'Orphan Trains' were running. If you don't know about them, look it up. The cities in the east loaded up kids onto trains and sent them west. Many found good homes; some found a lot of really hard work - or was it the other way around? I guess that depends on which perspective you're looking at it from.

Then there were the WPA projects ... make-work for people in need of jobs. A lot of building got done. My Grandad helped to build a railroad; it wasn't in his home state, but he went and did it. And so our family had a little money and a big job got done. The fairgrounds of the county I live in has a beautiful stone building that got built at that time - we use it for all kinds of things.

Am I still on topic?

Yes.

In the past we've found or created solutions to problems. Maybe they weren't ideal solutions but they seem to have at least done a little good along the way.

Populations that weren't particularly welcomed by what was then the 'mainstream' have ended up becoming many of the vertebrae of our backbone, not to mention the strong body attached to that strong back. 

What the heck.

It is my considered opinion that Louis L'Amour ought to be required reading, and Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Oh I forgot. 

We don't read any more.

Well then, somebody ought to make movies out of all of the books of those authors, the ones that haven't already been done - and require us all to watch them if we won't read the books.

It would remind those of us who have forgotten, and inform those who have never known, what this nation is supposed to be all about and that freedom comes with a price tag. It would also serve to introduce our nation and our culture to those who wish to join us, so they have some kind of idea about where we've come from. 

No, it isn't necessarily where we're at right now, but for the vast majority of us those books are pretty good indicators of the families whose strengths built this nation. It's only fair to those who come here to know sort of what they're getting themselves into. Don't forget, we're a fairly new nation. Our roots are closer than a body might think.

And I'll get off my soapbox now. I've got a lot of firewood to gather if I don't want to freeze to death during this coming Dakota Long Dark. It's time to put my work boots on and pick up my chain saw.

Even us little old gramma ladies, in these here parts, do what needs doing when it needs doing. There are times when others might pitch in and give us a hand, but we sure as heck don't expect someone else to do every last little thing for us. My young daughter and I re-wired this house. We painted it. We plumbed it. We shingled it. We built a stout fence. Now I'm going to see to it that I can keep myself halfway warm this winter. Those steel-toed work boots in that photo didn't get into the condition they're in by sitting around on a shelf doing nothing. My sister's work boots look about the same - and you should see her work coveralls.

I think my point here with all this blathering about firewood and such (aside from the procrastination factor) is that unless you're ready, willing, and able to wear out a pair of steel-toed work boots you might not quite realize the standards this nation was built on and might want to think about that a little (no, think about it a LOT) if you want to call yourself an American.

Goodbye January!

Somehow seeing the end of January always makes me feel like SPRING is right around the corner.

Birds singing in the dawn, green grass everywhere, flowers shouting their colors, rainbows and roses and all that good stuff.

It's always a nice little feeling, saying goodbye to January, while it lasts.

Of course it never lasts long.

Take tonight, for instance.

Goodbye January ... and hello sub-zero temps as February comes along.

Where are the singing birds?
Where are the shouting flowers?
Where are the green lawns?
Where are all those rainbows and roses and such?

Not here, that's for sure.

Here and now, there's snow on the ground and more in the forecast. There are ice-slicks everywhere. There are plummeting temperatures.

We are still in the throes of winter, with or without January.

Even so, the greening gets closer day by day. 

We can stand February. It's three days shorter than January. 
Then comes March - it often brings blizzards howling down on us ... but not always.
And April is right behind it. April is never ever EVER as wonderful as we think it ought to be, but guess what. Sometimes it is. 

Me, I'm seriously looking forward to May Day.

Because that's really when it all begins, the greening, the singing, the shouting, and the rainbows and roses are on their way!

Plan A: Still Proceeding In An Orderly Fashion, Thank You Very Much !!

Okay, let's define "orderly fashion" here. 

To me, an orderly fashion includes setting some priorities. 

Although my personal priorities may not conform with what society at large may agree with, they are MY priorities. 

For example, in my own little world, the one I live in here in my Tumble Down Cottage on Main Street of Small Town USA, books and artwork are a priority.  According to most people I ought not to be sitting and reading a book when I've got plumbing and wiring to do.  According to ME, that's exactly what I ought to be doing.  The plumbing and wiring will get done, have no fear, and it will be done exceptionally well - in my own good time.  So will everything else. 

At the moment I'm multi-tasking. 

In between paragraphs, I'm painting a picture (not the recalcitrant child one; this is a different one I'm working on while that one's in Time Out to contemplate its evil ways until it agrees that I'm the boss here - it might be a long time out), putting things into place in my kitchen, sweeping the floor, telling Duke that no he can't go outside because it's the middle of the night, reading a book about Maine just before the Revolution, and working on a sculpture for one of my daughters. 

I'm also congratulating myself for the fact that there are NO boxes of stuff in 1) the dining room, 2) the kitchen (WHOO-HOO!), or 3) the bathroom.  And no it's NOT because there are boxes of stuff that go in those rooms sitting in OTHER rooms.  It's because everything is put AWAY.  Thank the Good Lord that I build sturdy shelving units! 

As I empty out the boxes I toss them (the empty boxes) into the morning room, which is getting mighty full.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to flatten out all those boxes, bind them up with baling twine, and haul them out to the dump.  I've got at least two loads of filled boxes (clothes and other burnable stuff) to haul out, so I hope the boxes flatten out well. 

In a little bit I'll head for a bath in my 100 year old clawfoot bathtub, which is in incredible shape for its age, I have to say. 

Considering it IS the middle of the night, I've been busy. 

I tell ya - I'm gonna get through this Dakota Winter in FINE shape this year!

Good thing I work the 3-11 shifts at work!

Refining Plan A - Electrical

Of my four daughters (by location they are GF, F, B, and TC) the one I most often brainstorm with is TC and it's always a joy, often provoking laughter as we wend our way toward solutions. 

On the topic of electrical ideas for the studio, she came up with a truly great solution to the question of how to light the front room (which will one day be the main studio work room) effectively and efficiently. 

The original light fixture is antique; while I love the aesthetics of it, it's not practical.  The same applies to the dining room. 

Given the need for good lighting, flexibility, and a desire to be able to spotlight different areas at different times (for showcasing a work and/or for various work stations) I was stymied.  Using lamps is only a stop-gap method of getting the effects I want. 

TC, bless her forever, suggested track lighting in an eight foot square. 

Now that's something I can get my head around. 

It serves the purpose, isn't 'invasive' in the sense of being an irreversible change to the 100 Year Old Home, and is something I'm fully capable of getting done my own self. 

The height of the old ceilings means the lighting isn't going to be the first thing you notice when you walk in.  It will be up high enough to not intrude on anyone's line of vision.  It won't, unlike the antique light fixture, hang down so far that it's in the way (low enough for some to bump their heads on).  And it's not pretty enough to detract attention from what is SUPPOSED to be the focus.  Namely (someday) works of art, either finished pieces or works in progress. 

As the dining room will be a secondary work room, it will have the same requirements; the same solution will work.  It's a smaller room so the tracks won't be as long, but the same principle is in play and the track lighting will definitely be a good move. 

I don't know what I'm going to do with the original hanging light fixtures; maybe when I get to the attic part of the studio projects I'll put them up there where I can put the center of the ceiling as high as I want so they'll hang up out of everyone's way while providing their own 100 year old beauty. 

Otherwise it's just a matter of adding more outlets and maybe another circuit or two, which is a cake-walk. 

The two original light fixtures I want to keep are the ones in the morning room and the kitchen.  I'll have to rewire them so they're up to code of course, but I want to keep and use them as they are so much a part of the rooms they are in. 

While I'm putting in track lighting I may as well give what will be the new kitchen the same treatment and be done with it.  My bedroom can have all the lamps I want. 

Having better than adequate lighting, during the long dark of Dakota Winters, makes an incredible difference.  Using energy efficient bulbs makes you feel okay about it. 

One thing about using wiring that exceeds industry standards is that I don't have to worry about overload. 

That too shows that I'm proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Plan A Moving Along In An Orderly Fashion

The Box Piles Grow - and I've already taken two loads over!



Excitement is tempered with dismay as I take a good look at all of the boxes and furniture that I'm going to be moving by myself.

The living room and dining room and front porch and kitchen of my 'good' house are stacked sky high with packed boxes which bury most of the furniture.

YIKES!

Then I just have to laugh at myself because after all, what the heck.  It's not like I can't DO this thing, you know. 

When the 'Buyer' officially said YES the first thing I wanted to do was start carting the boxes out to my little pick up truck and begin hauling them the half block to my studio.  I was getting ready to do just exactly that when it struck me that it was DARK outside.  It was COLD outside.  It was WINDY outside.  Plus I'd had a long day and was more tired than wired, AND a weekend of night shifts is staring me in the face.  

Through my mind meander the words, "Just do it in an orderly fashion."

There's nothing orderly about deliberately zapping my strength when I know full well I'll need every ounce of it to get through a challenging weekend.  There's nothing orderly about choosing to lug a houseful of stuff out into the cold and dark and wind when it's possible that milder days are right around the corner. 

I checked the extended forecast. 

Well skippity doo dah day, imagine that.  Next week, when I have some days OFF, is supposed to bring better weather! 

Hallelujah! 

By the end of next week I'll be happily and contentedly sorting through all my stuff, taking inventory of what I have to work with in terms of both artwork and project materials. 

And THAT, my friend, is something to look forward to!

Amid the chaos I will seek and find the quiet peace that has always pervaded that place, and it will calm me while I methodically, in an orderly fashion, battle the long dark of this coming Dakota Winter and transform chaos into tranquility. 

That's the plan.

Plan A Progress: The Contract for Deed is Ready

It's exciting and a little strange-feeling to have written another legal document. 

This one is definitely WAY less heart-wrenching than the divorce I wrote for my husband and myself lo these many years ago. 

There's a bittersweet feeling to the process and I'm having a hard time trying to define it to myself, let alone getting the words right here. 

The fact that it's basically a legal requirement means that I had it to do and so do it I have.  And it wasn't all that hard once I found one on line that I could modify to meet our specific needs.  The principles are simple and I simplified the wording without losing any of the pertinent necessities. 

Anyway, it's done.  All we have to do is take it to a Notary and sign it.  That part feels distinctly satisfying. 

In a very few hours now the 'Buyer' will be here to look at the 'Property' in the company of the 'Seller' (that would be me!) and we'll take it from there. 

If she doesn't like it after all, or chickens out, it's not really going to be a great big deal as I have Plan B all ready to roll. 

If she DOES like it and wants to go for it, we can get the 'Agreement' signed and notarized tomorrow and begin the moving!  Needless to say, that is what I'm hoping for. 

The thought of actually being able to live in my studio for the duration of this long dark Dakota Winter makes me happy.  The thought of being able to work on the projects that will turn that 100 Year Old Home into one that I will spend my later years in is exciting. 

AND, I'll have you know, I'm doing this in an ORDERLY FASHION.

Orderly Fashion Plan A

Already addressed are the preliminary phases of Plan A, namely getting my 'good' house into loving hands that will take care of it and fill it with the laughter of children, and getting my stuff and myself into my studio's serenity and peace.  And with any luck no more night shifts for me at work so my systems can settle into a regular routine that has a modicum of sense to it. 

Once that is completed, hopefully in very short order, Plan A follows its natural progression, which has been in the planning stages for a very long time. 

Basically the plan consists of modifying a 100 year old home into a wheelchair accessible one without compromising its historic integrity.  Let it be a challenge to me. 

One very positive aspect of the plan is that back in the day they built their doors wide and their floor plan is already conducive to chair mobility.  There are no unreachable built in cupboards and no carpets to contend with.  Everything's on one floor too, a serendipitous bonus.  There are laundry hookups in the basement, as well as old wash sink set (although putting in laundry facilities on the main floor will be a pretty simple task); the attic is wide open and a lift in the attic hall will allow access without interfering with the use of the hall.  It may also be possible to install a lift to provide basement access although I haven't really thought that one out all the way yet; it's just a glimmer of an idea, but having access to the entire house would certainly be an asset. 

The beauty of the place is that nothing I want to do to it will in any way change the original floor plans.  A door on the only side of the house that doesn't already have one and a doorway that wasn't there before are the only 'big' changes, and they aren't so very big.  Everything else I plan to  do will be absolutely easily reversible should anyone ever want it back the way it was. 

Plan A's immediate goal is to get me through the long dark of this coming Dakota Winter by providing me with peace and serenity as well as a challenge to my mind and body.  It is also designed to create a sense of satisfaction as the projects develop and progress. 

When I'm not at work or possessed by projects, another of the studio's characteristics will come into play. 

I don't refer to it as my studio for no good reason, you know.  There's something about it that jump-starts creativity.  It's where some of my best pieces have come to life.  It's where I found out I can sculpt a face and still not be able to draw or paint the same face - go figure.  Although I have found that I CAN produce fairly reasonable pieces in other places, I can't WAIT to get back in there and see what's waiting for me to find it!  The anticipation and excitement are heady, a real strength in Plan A.

Wry chuckle ... the pieces that don't turn out to my satisfaction I can just burn in my wood stove and nobody will ever know they even existed! 

There's enough sorting and filing to keep me busy for a good long time, just getting everything situated. 

Then will come the floor treatments, the wall and ceiling treatments, the window treatments. 

Then will come the building of accessible work counters and cupboards as the money accumulates to finance them.  The plans are already done so it's just a matter of doing the building. 

Also on the list is getting my double stainless steel sink set in and plumbed, as well as a walk in shower for the plumbing to-do list. 

Eventually I'm going to want a counter cooktop, but for the time being my regular stove will do fine.  For that matter the little wood stove would do fine for cooking purposes.  I also have table top burners, microwaves, and a big roaster oven so I don't even really need the stove at all but I'll put it in anyway.  The cold cupboard works great during the long dark of Dakota Winters for a refrigerator/freezer, but I'll put the ones I have in anyway. 

IF everything works out and Plan A is a go, by next spring most of the inside projects will be either done or well under way and I can leave them alone and get busy on the outside ones during the most wonderful part of the Dakota Year.  I will be in hog heaven while I'm finishing the roofing, getting the new door put in, and building ramps and decks in between working my 3-11 shifts. 

Having something to look forward to is as important as seeing progress on what you're working on. 

One of the outside projects I want to get under way is building a rock garage for my little pick up truck.  Heaven knows there are plenty of rock piles around that nobody would object to me robbing.  It doesn't have to be a very big garage.  Besides hopefully serving its purpose when I get it done, it will be good practice for a bigger project I have in mind - but that's a part of Plan B so I'm not going to get into it quite yet! 

Plan A, implemented in a duly orderly fashion, will keep me busy enough for quite long enough to get me through the next year!

Go About It In An Orderly Fashion

I ran into a dear friend at the post office and asked him if he thinks I'm too old to have a life, as in a REAL life, not just a job and home, work and sleep, ad nauseum. 

As we walked to our respective vehicles on packed snow and ice, I told him, "I think I want to expand my horizons, you know?"

He responded that he thought that was a great idea, paused as he was getting into his vehicle, and added, "Just go about it in an orderly fashion!" 

I answered, "Well you know me!  I always do!" and let go with a big belly laugh because he does know me and I NEVER do, apparently. 

Even so, there is almost always a method to my madness, which I cleverly conceal behind seemingly random and irrational behaviors. 

For instance, at the moment I am in the process of essentially giving away my 'good' house so that I can move half a block away into my 'tumble down cottage', which is quite truthfully a literal wreck of a place.  It's one of those apparently irrational behaviors that reinforce the idea that I am indeed a bonified lunatic. 

Explaining the method behind this madness here on my blog is not likely to blow my cover, as nobody even knows about it, let alone reads it! 

Nobody knows about me giving my house away except a few people at work (one of whom is the buyer) and none of them are confidants of any of my family or people who know me here in my Small Town USA.  The first indication they'll have is when they see my furniture being carted halfway down the block to my studio and the buyer's furniture being carted across the street into my house.  Since all three places are right on Main Street in the first block as you come into town, it's likely to be noticed by all and sundry.  We might get a couple of comments but more people will just shake their heads, maybe smile, and drive on by.  That's just the way it is.  People get used to the strangest things around here and don't bother themselves about it. 

As for the method behind the madness, to get back to the point here, that has to do with being ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to get through a Dakota Winter. 

In this case, the factor under consideration is 'happiness'. 

If I'm going to make it through this Dakota Winter intact I'm going to need every vestive of an edge that I can find and hang on to.  For me, the peace and serenity that envelopes me at my studio is more than a vestige of an edge; it's vital, a necessity.  I barely made it through the last couple of winters.  The prospect of this one frightens me in an elemental way.  The long dark of a Dakota Winter must be countered with something more powerful than a listless and vague hope for survival.  While the instinct for survival is a force in and of itself, it is not undauntable.  Dakota Winters are bloody well DAUNTING. 

Happiness is perhaps the most powerful weapon at our disposal with which to battle forces beyond our control.  Part of my edge right now is knowing what I need to do and, perhaps more important, the ability to DO it.  The studio is haunted; I'd much rather be haunted than daunted, so part of Plan A is for me to put that haunting to good use and exorcise the daunting darkness of this Dakota Winter.  That's the happiness factor. 

It's not that I'm UNhappy here at my 'good' house.  It's that I'm MORE COMPLETELY happy at my studio, and I'm going to be needing that feeling of serenity with which the studio is haunted.  It's a tool I want, and need, to put to use this winter. 

Hence giving my 'good' house away to a young mother with two little ones.  I was in her boat once upon a time and God saw fit to bless my little family with a home of our own - the studio.  I've kept it all these years, empty for a good many of them, and perhaps this is the reason.  Perhaps it's another turn of the wheel as things come full circle.  Who am I to question the mysterious ways of things?  All I know is that it feels right, it feels good, and that's enough to guide me. 

There are other parts of Plan A which are also parts of every other plan of any letter of the alphabet.  These are the tea and vitamins, sleep and eat patterns, using my brain (what's left of it) to the best of my ability, etc. 

The thing is that all the parts have to fit together right or nothing will work right. 

The factor that concerns me at the moment is the sleep/eat factor. 

Because I have to work some nights at my job, and 3-11 pm on other days, my systems are all mixed up.  I can't do nights only (which would presumably provide a stable schedule) because I can't get my systems to settle into that schedule.  For months I tried doing nights only.  It didn't work.  The schedule person at work then finally gave me SOME 3-11 shifts, but with the nights still mixed into the equation.  That definitely does NOT work.  My systems are so screwed up and confused I can't think straight half the time and the other half of the time I'm either sleeping or feel comatose. 

I hate to be the one to break the news here, but THAT is not LIFE.  It's barely survival.  If I've been barely surviving my scheudule during the good part of the Dakota year, what does that say about my chances during the long dark of a Dakota Winter? 

See what I mean? 

As soon as my friend with the little ones says the word (the word is 'yes'), I can get my things and myself moved, removing that stressor completely from the equation and replacing it with its antithesis.  Out with worry and stress, in with peace and serenity - for both of us as a matter of fact.  Well, I'm not sure how much peace and serenity she's liable to have with two little kids running around, but they're darned sure to enjoy the running room and playing room.  At any rate, both of us will be getting what we want and what else really matters?  It's a win-win. 

As soon as I'm sure this house is going into caring and loving hands, and my stuff and I are securely settled in the studio, I can address the work schedule issue. 

It may well be that the happiness factor of the studio will balance the negative of the schedule.  Plus the fact that I do have a Plan B ready to implement on a moment's notice may well provide the needed incentive for the scheduling person to get me off nights, in which case Plan A will work wonderfully well. 

At this point I'm willing to give it my best shot, with the stipulation that if my best shot proves to be insufficient I'll go immediately to Plan B. 

So that's where it stands at the moment.  The next few days will have a lot to say I believe. 

If that's not an orderly fashion I don't know what is.