Catching Up

My blog has fallen in priority as I've been spending most of my time down in my shop working on stained glass projects. One would think that making an entry in a blog would be a quick 30-minute exercise but it's not. At least not for me—not usually, anyway. But here I am, determined to make an entry of some sort for future reference.

I began a rather large stained glass project for Bryan and Sue last spring after we'd returned from visiting them in Oregon. They had a decades-old, wood-framed stained glass panel hanging in the sidelight of their front entry which has a few cracked pieces of glass. I offered to remake the window, figuring it would be just as easy to simply redo the entire panel rather than repairing it. They told me it wasn't necessary to copy the existing panel and to feel free to do whatever my heart desired for the space. And so I did.

I came up with plans for a 3-part panel but I didn't share the design with them, wanting it to be a surprise. I started work on it back in May but soon shelved it for the warmth of the outdoors and the many distractions that awaited me there—until a few weeks ago when I was ready to commit to bringing it to life.  I completed the project and entrusted it to Colleen at FedEx in Lakeville to package it and send it safely on its way. And safely arrive it did! A photo from the inside looking out and outside looking in.

Since clearing off my work table I've been busy creating some stained glass sun-catchers for my Etsy site, trying to get my inventory up for people in search of gifts for holiday giving. I was able to knock out 3 of them this past week (here, here, and here) but I sold 5 so I have a net gain of -2 for the week. Tracee was kind enough to account for 3 of the 5 that sold. It's been so nice being down in the shop again. I love the ability to lose myself in a project for hours at a time. I plan to add several sun-catchers to my Etsy site each week in the coming weeks before Christmas.

I had to purchase a new indoor trainer for my bike. Since upgrading my MacBook to the Mojave operating system a couple months ago, my CompuTrainer no longer plays well with Zwift, the online program I ride with. The smooth graphics I was used to seeing had become choppy—useable but not what I need. The techs at Zwift have tried to find a workaround for me but haven't been able to. They think the problem is with the drivers within my CompuTrainer's program and its interface with Mojave. So, I pulled the trigger on a Wahoo Kickr Core a few weeks ago and have been more than pleased with it.

I've listed my CompuTrainer online to try and find a new home for it but so far I've had no luck. I lowered the price to $190 tonight and would be happy to go even lower if there's anybody interested. FYI- it requires a Windows-based operating system to do the initial calibration each time you ride it. Here's a link to a video I made about how the CompuTrainer works.

I've been listening to Rachel Maddow's Bag Man podcast. It's fascinating listening and possibly quite relevant to our times. Here's a quick preview with links in the description for where to find the podcast. There are 7 half-hour segments but only 5 of them have been released so far.

Tammy and I changed out the fairy garden scene at Trinity Care Center where her mother is a resident. Tammy is really good about keeping it relevant to the season. I tagged along to help out. Before and after.

Charlie has about the biggest appetite of any living creature I've ever seen. I have to tie him up in the morning when I feed him so he doesn't hurry over after he's finished his bowl of food to help Toby with his. Tying him to the leg of a chair works okay but Tammy came up with something even better. She found a bowl at PetSmart that prevents him from being able to devour his food so quickly. It's a hit! And Charlie doesn't seem to mind the extra effort. His feeding time has gone from 3 to 4 minutes to something closer to 10, and Toby gets to eat in peace. Win-win!!

That's all I've got.


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