. Spinning .

We married late in life so I am more lax about the habits that are decades deep.  Some things, however, do require behavior modification.  That’s on both sides, of course, but he doesn’t have a weblog and I do.

For many of the years we’ve been married he’s worked at a corporation that has a week-long shutdown between Christmas and New Year’s.  Fine.  It’s paid and he can do whatever he likes with the free time.  However, there’s one thing that he’s got to get over:

What’s for lunch?

I don’t do lunch.

This time it only took two days.  But after eighteen years you’d think he wouldn’t try it anymore.  Now he’s a great help on meals and loves to cook so I’ve little to complain about.  And his being home means I don’t have to get up at 5:00 a.m. to make a sandwich for him to take to work.  However, I’m thinking ahead to his retirement.  Him being home every day, every week of every year.  I just hope he has this lunch thing down pat by that time.

Well, while my niece is living it up with Kid Rock in Spain  (USO Christmas Show–some great photos of her and the Kid, Lance Armstrong, Robin Williams) I spent the morning fielding off one gas company from taking my tanks away while trying to find out when the new one would be bringing theirs in.

I’m sure the guys laughed their asses off by my fighting stance and demeanor and I did simmer down but would not let them touch the tanks and made them relight the pilot for the heater before they left.  Within a half an hour, the other company came and started making the switch.  Of course they had a leaky tank and had to bring in another one.  I ended up without heat for a couple hours which is about an hour longer than it took to get the shop back to outdoor temperature.

Toasty now.  And a lot less grumpy and disheveled.

Gotta share one of Erica’s notes on the images (she had to play gopher for the celebs): “Lance Armstrong – I couldn’t resist commenting that I did the Ronda 101K mountain bike – I am such a loser…”

Twas a nice enough Christmas, though there’s nothing left of my own family traditions, now lost to me in the fallout of war. Even our Christmas Eve has been changed by the ill health of our sister-in-law’s dad, but we did have a nice big family dinner Christmas Day over there with her family and turkey and ham and enough noise and colored lights to make it a holiday.

Never did find the extension cord to put on the lights on one of the small fake trees I managed to find down the basement.  With just my husband and me, and him not being real big on Christmas and my own focus on getting framing done to ensure my customers’ happy Christmas morning, it’s not a holiday of love, peace and enjoyment anymore.

We aren’t big on gifts either, except for a bit of special thoughts put into them.  There’s the tasty tidbits and underwear-stuffed stockings, and usually one special gift exchanged.  For me, a dainty iris-blue tanzanite and diamond ring.  For him, a special gold-edged volume of an old book on classic guns. 

Oh yes, and chocolate.

So happy to report that I finally did receive the package I was waiting to get in time for Christmas for my husband.

Yes, the sender did pay $9.65 to the US Postal Service for Priority mail from Texas to Connecticut and it was mailed on December 13th.  That’s 11 days the Post Office held onto this package that someone paid almost ten bucks to send me.

That’s what’s wrong with the government mentality.  They just don’t get it.

Just got out of the shop and I’m waiting for one last customer to pickup.  Been working since 8 am, and worked on these pieces after a loverly rib roast dinner last night.

Here’s the figurework for cutting 25 openings in a mat (x 7 because I needed 6 and one is always likely to get screwed up):

Now what the above represents is a facing image of the openings which I convert to reverse because the matcutter is used on the back of the mat.  The other thing is that while I have a starting point of let’s say 2″ (the side width) and can set that for the left margin, the right one may be at 7 3/4″ but the cutter will be set as 1″ on 8 3/4″. So the far margin, or right one will be 2″ on 35″, and the left margin for that opening will be 29 1/4 (for a photo 5 3/4″).  Same with bottom margin and top; the scale is set for the correct figure for the bottom, but the top margin will be x on x.

I know this is fascinating for you all, but since it’s how I spent the last two days on these pieces alone I’ll show you more.  Here’s the matcutter at work (each window opening set and cut by hand–though I often do a couple at a time on each of the 7 mats):

And of course, the dates under each photo, which I did on computer and put strips of ATG Acid-free tape, cut them out and pasted them on:

And the final product:

I’m sitting on the couch now under a blanket, with my feet up because they’re burning and my back rubbed well with Tiger Balm so I’ll be able to move tomorrow. At least to crawl up to the tree and look for presents.

Working in the shop today, but I’ll take tonight off before I start my last day before Christmas back on Monday.  Cutting twenty-five openings for twenty-five years of children for each of six large photo collages and to concentrate I need the peace of Christmas that I never get until the 25th.

All the while I’m planning a prime rib roast dinner with Yorkshire Pudding and maybe broccoli for the neighbor lady.  Vanilla Yogurt ice cream with REAL whipped cream and what else but my own canned peaches for dessert.

So all I have to do between the framing and the bit of writing (hypertextually) and reading (Agee) that I can squish in between nailing corners and stringing wire is try to get the house clean and find one of my phoney Christmas trees that lights up when you plug it in. 

E-mailed my niece in Spain to have her let me know if the packages I sent out on December 11th did not make it because I couldn’t track it.  She already had them!  So that’s great service.

However, a check on the USPS website to track this package still shows this:

What I circled above says:  Your item was accepted at 9:37 AM on December 11, 2007 in BURLINGTON, CT 06013.  Information, if available, is updated every evening.  Please check again later.

I also had requested e-mail tracking and did immediately receive an update with the above information and nothing since.

This is why it’s likely time for a non-government mail service to take over.  The delivery services such as UPS, DHL, Fedex, etc. have done a great job of package service (btw, because of the delivery locations I could not use them for these two sendings), and e-mail and text messaging have cut a huge chunk out of the mail service–not to mention online bill paying and e-mail greeting cards–so it’s time for someone to step up to the plate for the rest of the postal service.

Neither rain nor sleet, etc.; but lack of computer savvy will do it.

Just an all-around tough day today.  Up to five band-aids so far, though only two are glass-cuts.  Two are cracked skin from the cold and glass-cleaning and one is a torn fingernail.

Been trying to be upbeat about the end of one year, beginning of a new one but if things don’t start looking up in at least one little way…well…

I need change. I need to feel worthwhile.  I need to be successful at something. I need to feel good about myself and though there’s a lot of bad stress off me now, some good stress from positive efforts would be fine.

Just a rough day.  I’ll be in a better mind tomorrow.