Life

It's been cold the past few days. Luckily I got Bruce to fix the heater in my car a few weeks ago so scraping ice and staying warm haven't been as much of an issue as they were for the first half of winter. It's been kind of a strange winter though. It seams like it's been unseasonably warm for the majority of the past month or two. I'm not complaining though, it helps to keep the gas bill down when the heater doesn't have to work too hard.

Our little house is still coming along nicely. It's gotten to the point where it finally does feel like our place, by which I mean that we've cluttered up almost every nook and cranny with stuff. I don't think that Mandi and I will ever be known as minimalists. The bathroom remodel is almost done. The tile is finished and I'm pretty sure there aren't any leaks, fingers crossed, so all that's left is a little paint and maybe cabinet or shelf. I remember now why I gave up on the tile installation career while I was still in high school. The next remodel project we are thinking about, just thinking mind you, is the possibility of turning the garage into a second living area as is common in our neighborhood. I'm thinking that it might do more for our property value as a living room than it does as a single car garage. We'll see. I'm going to have to acquire a lot more tools for that project to be a possibility. I'm also going to need some planning help. Building codes and whatnot are not my strongest area. Luckily I know a few people who deal with that kind of thing a lot. We have also found out in the last week that the reason all of our drains have been slow since we moved in is that the drain pipe from the house to the sewer is collapsing. This is a common thing, we are told, in houses from the era ours was built in, and we were starting to think that this might be the case, but it doesn't make the news any less painful. The plumbers are starting to really love us. This will be their fifth or sixth trip out to our house. The good news is that they assure us the new pipe will outlast either the house or us or both. Woo hoo!

So I'm looking for woodworking tools, preferably used but in good condition, if anyone has any or knows someone who does and is willing to sell. A chop saw would be great, a drill press, a circular saw, things of this nature.

Also, I've been thinking for the past three of four years of picking up an instrument and learning to play. I'm thinking this would be a good time to do is as I have more free time than I am ever likely to have again, and I could probably scrounge up enough money to get a decent used instrument. I've been leaning towards mandolin, dulcimer, violin, fiddle, or something similar. If anyone sees or hears of anything that sounds like a good deal let me know.

Work is going pretty well right now. It seems like the slow part of the year for us is coming to an end as I've had at least 10 new jobs come to my desk in the past few days. I'll be very busy for the immediate future. It's nice to see the work coming in as so many companies and industries are struggling right now. It is probably too early for the downturn to really hit us, but it hasn't hit yet and I am very grateful for that.

I think that's all the high points for what's been going on lately. As this post is based on reality, the next will probably be more fiction. Exciting!