Unemployment Task Done

Back in May, I tackled the second task on my unemployment to-do list: painting the front of the house.

Something went wrong with the previous paint job, and the paint bubbled on the right side of the door. This was fine (I mean, not really, but it looked fine) until pressure washing peeled off the paint on some lower bubbles, leaving the cement siding exposed.

Matt had previously had the paint matched, and in May I sanded things down. Sometime in July, I borrowed my neighbor’s extension ladder and used Krud Kutter in lieu of pressure washing to clean the surface. That undid my sanding efforts.

And now, in September, I have sanded again and painted! I’m pleased with the results. I didn’t paint all the way up, and used the porch shelter as a demarcation point. But the colors look fine and point where the paint changes is blocked by the bush on one side and the upper porch on the other.

Most all of the bubbles flattened out and while you can see the outline, they blend pretty well.

This is one exception, but we will put back the mailbox and it will cover that right up. You can also see where the wood has rotted. It was very spongy when I did the initial work in May.

Rather than try to replace the wood, I’m thinking of this as a stop-gap measure. the house is up for repainting in the next few years, and the painters replace the boards that need it when they paint.

7611: Slide Quality

While scanning slides, I find it interesting to note that the slides my grandfather purchased (probably at the giftshops of national parks etc.) have mostly degraded and turned a red color. It’s very apparent when I hold them up to look at them, and somewhat less apparent in the slide viewer.

Whereas the slides my grandfather created still look great.

Tests Available at Walgreens

Standing in a very long line at Walgreens, I was surprised to see the variety of tests available for purchase without a prescription including food sensitivity, cholesterol, Vitamin D, Cocaine and other drug tests.

There’s even a paternity one. I’m wondering if these tests are available for purchase in drugstores in countries with comprehensive healthcare, or if this is another feature of the “greatest healthcare system in the world.”

7611: Slides

I’ve been going through the slides at 7611 and scanning ones with people. Most of the slides were from my grandfather’s photographic efforts. He did love a landscape. And he usually captured people from far, far away. Pictures of indoor parties center the people a good 20 feet away giving a clear view of the full table, people’s backs, and off in the background, people’s faces. “Walk closer, grandpa!” I mutter to myself as I’m sorting.

The love of landscape and very far away people is expertly captured in this picture from New Hampshire in the 70s. Who are those people? I will have to zoom in to find out. But look at that tree in full fall color!

Iron-On Labels

I suspect these were from the one time I went to camp. It was Pine Creek Ranch, which apparently isn’t a Girl Scout camp any longer. Camp Pittinger is still a thing. But there was one other one that also isn’t there any longer…Wait! It was Ta-Man-a-Wis and is now called TAM (Not surprising).

[more googling] Ah! They sold Pine Creek Ranch and proceeds went to a new building that opened in 2018. Pine Creek Ranch was last used in 2008.

Anyhow, labels. From Bell of Maine!

Third Anniversary

After kind of forgetting to make plans, Matt and I rallied and celebrated our third anniversary (the wedding one, not the together one, which was in May) at the Pixiu Mala Hongtang restaurant.

We chose our ingredients and chose to have them stir fried (the other choice was soup) and had delicious customized meals. It was quite fun and filling.

Then we stopped by the Pix-o-Matic machines to get some anniversary dessert. I got the Shazam and Matt got the Royale, which didn’t make it into the picture.

It was a good anniversary.

Early Embroidery: Make New Friends Cross Stich

I cannot believe that this was in a frame!

As a child, I loved this design. It had ladies in fancy dress. It had a Girl Scout song. It used silver and gold thread for the words “silver” and “gold” respectively. So I got this kit and set to cross stitching.

The first thing I did was to ignore the way the fabric was folded. I centered the design the way I thought it should be. Mistake. The fold was there to show me where the center of the design should be. Result: my mom had to cut stuff off of the bottom and stitch it to the top.

I also love that I used one strand for one lady and two strands for the other lady. Two strands was the correct number, but I did not backtrack and fix the single strand lady.

Finally, the rust stain from the hoop. Even back then, I wasn’t a finisher, so this got started and then set aside long enough that rust formed.

Emerging skills. Memorialized.

I was surprised that the back wasn’t more chaotic. While not the tidiest, it’s also not terrible.