December is such a busy month it would be easy to just pick up your feet and let it take you wherever it will. I have kids (grown ups) coming in from out of state for the week before and Xmas day (as well as their local siblings) and it feels a lot like juggling. I learned to juggle, taught myself with a set of juggling scarfs. The scarfs (3) were napkin size and sheer, light weight fabric that move so slowly through the air that you can’t throw them, they don’t go anywhere. So you just lift one across your body as high as you can reach and let go. Release with your right hand, let it fall and catch with the left hand. Reach across & lift, release, catch, reach across the other hand & lift. . . left and right, you can keep all three scarfs in the air. Once that is mastered the transition to bean bags or tennis balls comes easy. All you need to juggle more than 3 items is lots of practice. The surprise is that catching is the easy part. The trick is tossing the ball so it falls into the waiting hand on the other side. But then you need to make the same precise toss with both hands, alternating, simultaneously (muscle memory) again and again. Even if you think yourself a skilled athlete, keeping 3 balls in the air is an incredibly satisfying accomplishment, even better than a base hit or a stolen base.
I am juggling holiday dates, places, people and whatever else there is that I need to take care of. If I’m luckyI will keep all of the balls in the air and catch them all cleanly at the end. Even the best string of juggled balls is spoiled if you have to bend down and chase one across the floor to get them all back in your hands. I am writing early this morning, still dark:30. I am dressed, coffee’s in the mug without any spills and when I am finished here I won’t get back before it gets dark again.
Working with wood used to be a slam-bam thing with nails and screws but that has all changed. Now I use really good, really strong glue that takes time (hours) to dry. The caveat is, while the glue is wet it is also slippery. Even if you clamp the new-glued pieces in place, pressure from the clamps can make them slip & slide out of alignment. I’m not going into how you prevent that but it is a brave new world down in the wood shop. If you don’t get it perfect there is no re-do and you either do major, time consuming surgery that may yield only fire wood or, start over; saw new boards, sand, fit, glue, clamp again and wait. I tend to keep several projects going so I always have a task at hand, sort of like the dentist shuffling patient to patient rather than wait for chemistry to fizz or, what else, for glue to dry.
So my time at the keyboard today is limited. There are just a couple of slurps left in my cup. Christmas is not my favorite holiday, not by any means but it certainly requires more time consuming preparation than any other. I have less than two weeks to come up with a white elephant gift (draw numbers and pick a package.) There is a $20 limit but get this; it can be something cool and useful or it can be a gag-gift. Really, I don’t really do gag-gifts but I am the grandpa and I can’t veto the plan like when I was the dad. Gag-gifts suit people who have been conditioned to laugh at anything that combines the right timing with the right tone. Humor is basically a lost art form in the 21st century. When I grumble they tell me to re-gift it to someone else next Christmas. I’m not doing that either, don’t have space and can’t keep track of good stuff now. My coffee cup is down to one slurp.
No time to edit or revise this morning. The Blog will just have to sink or swim by itself. By the time I finish in the wood shop, stores will be open. Yesterday’s dirty dishes are still in the sink but I feel the need to throw money at some of Santa’s helpers. Coffee’s all gone and so am I.
I am juggling holiday dates, places, people and whatever else there is that I need to take care of. If I’m luckyI will keep all of the balls in the air and catch them all cleanly at the end. Even the best string of juggled balls is spoiled if you have to bend down and chase one across the floor to get them all back in your hands. I am writing early this morning, still dark:30. I am dressed, coffee’s in the mug without any spills and when I am finished here I won’t get back before it gets dark again.
Working with wood used to be a slam-bam thing with nails and screws but that has all changed. Now I use really good, really strong glue that takes time (hours) to dry. The caveat is, while the glue is wet it is also slippery. Even if you clamp the new-glued pieces in place, pressure from the clamps can make them slip & slide out of alignment. I’m not going into how you prevent that but it is a brave new world down in the wood shop. If you don’t get it perfect there is no re-do and you either do major, time consuming surgery that may yield only fire wood or, start over; saw new boards, sand, fit, glue, clamp again and wait. I tend to keep several projects going so I always have a task at hand, sort of like the dentist shuffling patient to patient rather than wait for chemistry to fizz or, what else, for glue to dry.
So my time at the keyboard today is limited. There are just a couple of slurps left in my cup. Christmas is not my favorite holiday, not by any means but it certainly requires more time consuming preparation than any other. I have less than two weeks to come up with a white elephant gift (draw numbers and pick a package.) There is a $20 limit but get this; it can be something cool and useful or it can be a gag-gift. Really, I don’t really do gag-gifts but I am the grandpa and I can’t veto the plan like when I was the dad. Gag-gifts suit people who have been conditioned to laugh at anything that combines the right timing with the right tone. Humor is basically a lost art form in the 21st century. When I grumble they tell me to re-gift it to someone else next Christmas. I’m not doing that either, don’t have space and can’t keep track of good stuff now. My coffee cup is down to one slurp.
No time to edit or revise this morning. The Blog will just have to sink or swim by itself. By the time I finish in the wood shop, stores will be open. Yesterday’s dirty dishes are still in the sink but I feel the need to throw money at some of Santa’s helpers. Coffee’s all gone and so am I.
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