Cruise Control

Life has been simple lately. Bob and my work schedules match up very nicely, so we've had a lot of time together. It's been absolutely wonderful. There's so much comfort in being together. We have such a strange routine, but it works for us. I catch myself thinking "cherish it while it lasts". We both work in the evening, so our days start around noon and end around 1 AM. It's a leisurely pace. With our free time I've been making Bob play Super Mario for Wii with me, since the only way i can progress is to have bob play with me. Mario has never been my strong suit.

Since Christmas Bob has been busy with projects. I'll post pictures later. I think it may have something to do with the fact that he got a jigsaw, palm sander, and power drill. First, he built drawers for under-the-bed-storage. The problem was the cats. They'd get under the bed, and at all hours of the night I'd wake up to the sound of them clawing at the box spring lining. Needless to say, when the boxes were installed the cats were obviously mad about it. They spent a few days circling and circling, looking for some way to penetrate the newly fortified bed. I'm sleeping much better now.

Once that project was completed, bob went ahead and began building a new butt for his .357 MAG revolver, Doc, who is now fully prepared for a zombie invasion. You'll see when I post the pictures that the way bob's put this new butt together, it automatically puts the gun right into "self-defense position" (aka the kill zone). It's pretty intense. He stained it, and coated it. Now it's shiny, refined, and beautiful.

Now that he's finished that, he's moved on to designing a quilt stand for Kathie. He's got something really cool in mind. I love that Bob enjoys working with his hands. Working on projects like this together was something I always loved doing with my dad. It's something I really miss, sharing that time and that sense of accomplishment and capability with my dad. I love that it's a part of my family. Lately I've been missing my dad, and hearing the drill whirring helps me feel better. I'm so immensely grateful for the hours I spent with my dad, learning how to work with my hands. What an immense advantage. I think those are my favorite memories to look back on. Shoveling snow with Diane while dad ran the snow blower, pulling weeds in the garden, learning about flowers and plants and tools and life. It reminds me of that song "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright. "That's my daughter in the water, everything she knows I taught her". A lot of what I know is thanks to my dad. So thanks, dad. I love you, and I miss you like crazy!

As for me, I just completed a series of electronic accessory bags for a friend. Two bags were for external hard drives, and the third was a laptop bag. Looking at them, you can immediately tell the order I made them in. The first one is a simple pouch. The final one came complete with a pocket for cables, and a pen loop! I was incredibly proud of the laptop bag. I'll post those pictures with pictures of bob's projects.

And that is what's happening. Pictures will follow soon.!