I actually got to go into my studio today and work. I got to sit at a loom and weave. This is really huge. This is amazing. Because my life has been reduced to the care and feeding of my house. Hourly things go wrong. Really wrong.
So the past couple of weeks have been nothing but a parade of contractors in and out of the house. There is deck guy, and tech guy, and plumber guy, and tree guy. There is landscape guy and garage door guy, chimney guy and lawn maintenance guy. Pond girl is missing in action and it is 17 degrees. 🙁
My son complained, “You know mom, they all have names”. Yeah, I know, but most of them are named Jim. I can’t keep them straight. I like my “guys” just fine. The good news is I’m slowly finding solid competent people for all those stupid things that go wrong, and I’m starting to think, and actually say, “I have people for that…” The bad news is that everytime something gets touched it is like opening a can of worms. Deck guy turned off the hose spigot, at the actual spigot, like he should have, instead of the diverter, like my husband always did, and it started leaking. Profusely. In search of a non existent main shut off for that line going outside, I discovered a leaking galvanized end cap on a copper pipe that went nowhere in the ceiling of the basement. It has been dripping rusty water for a long time. Might explain my water bill? Plumbing guy is amazing. Done and done. (And now I have an actual shut-off). Chimney guy notes that my 125 year old chimney doesn’t have a liner. Not code and not good. Chimney guy lines my chimney and notes that my hot water heater has a 3 inch vent pipe, not a 4 inch, which is code. Now it does.
Tech guy spends hours figuring out my wiring, Ethernet, wi-fi, cable feed, etc. We removed bags of surplus wires and cables. The main cable from the box to the switching hub in the basement disintegrated as he was trying to figure out why I had no internet. Really old cable… One of the originals. Wouldn’t support the 100 mbps I’m paying for. Now it works. I have jacks in the walls, instead of a vomit of cords coming from holes. I know where things are. And so does my tech guy. Done and done…
And on and on and on…
The biggest work was on the front entrance of my house, time was of the essence to try and get the foundation laid for a retaining wall for the original crumbling slab on my front porch. It is getting colder and concrete work can’t be done when it is 17 degrees. Yesterday the steps were installed, and the railings framed. He delivered the black aluminum balusters and will install them when it isn’t 17 degrees.
Then the garage door opener failed. It isn’t worth having a garage door opener repaired that dates back to the late 80’s. Garage door guy comes tomorrow to install new openers. Apparently you can work them from a phone app.
My town building inspector has been wonderful. It is great to have officials on board watching out for you, lowly homeowner. And of course they all know me there, my husband was on the planning board for 25 years. It takes a village, and my goal is one day to have this house a well oiled machine. Right now, I wake up early because some contractor/repair guy is arriving at 7:30am to repair something or other. And the days slip away and I accomplish little. Or so it seems…
Side bar… I play recorders with a couple of consorts, I’ve mentioned this before. This December, the Montclair Early Music Consort had their Winter Solstice concert in a gorgeous church build in the late 1800’s, but we had to wear Renaissance costumes. Which I really didn’t own. So I spent the last couple of weeks scrounging through my vast stash to create something that would celebrate my creativity and look the part. I pulled the petticoat from my wedding gown, and promptly tossed the rest. Really, it was poly charmeuse from the 70’s. Princess Di style. We are never going back there again…
I whipped up a blouse from some silk dupioni I got from a recent trip to Tennessee. I trimmed the neck with some really pretty bobbin lace I had on a bobbin lace pillow. I cut apart a gold skirt from Chico’s and overlayed a silk broomstick skirt I’ve had for about 10 years. And the vest was from a friend from a craft fair, didn’t fit, but I edited the front so I could breathe in it and added the lacing. The headpiece was a bit of creativity as well. Made a tube of bias cut from the end of a sari my husband brought back from India. I think I’m not getting anything accomplished and then I end up with this.
I still have to figure out how to keep the elastic in the skirt from separating from the vest… An engineering question which I’m still mulling over.
And there is the letter. Yeah, I write that Christmas letter every year. Have been for more than 25 years. Sort of a tradition. I wrote it, printed it, had my son stuff 146 envelopes while I hand addressed 146 envelopes because I could not figure out how to get labels from my Google Contacts. I tried for four hours and gave up. Every year I go through this and my husband always figured it out somehow, but could never document how he did it. He just kept clicking on stuff ’till it worked. Last year I did manage to take three pages of notes, but tech guy installed Office 2016, at my request, and of course, now my notes are useless. They don’t relate to the mail merge in Word 2016. Sigh… I have a pretty hand crafted pen I bought at the Morristown Craft Market in October and I sat and wrote out 146 names. It was kind of fun…
Just in case you weren’t one of those 146 names, and want to read the letter, click here. I swore this was my last letter. It was important I do one last one, in honor of my husband and because there are probably people who don’t know he died. My kids are pretty much grown, and I’m trying to simplify my life.
And of course the annual holiday towel tradition continues. I put a 12 yard run of dishtowels on the loom last month, and managed to weave off 13 towels, a baker’s dozen, while fielding contractors/repairmen/and all my “guys”. The stack is washed and cut apart, and waiting on pressing and hemming.
And there is the new dog. Stupid dog. Totally in love with this dog but can’t leave him unattended for a minute. He is the one on the right. Thank goodness for crates. He managed to do this…
It is now repaired. I still had a small ball of yarn, and I picked up and re-knit the left front, and re-connected the shoulder. I was NOT a happy camper.
And yesterday I attended the funeral of one of the most beloved people in my life, Carol D. Westfall, my professor, my teacher, my mentor, my friend. I met Carol in 1974, six months before I met my husband, she was my fiber professor at Montclair State College in the 70’s. We have had many wonderful adventures over the last 40 years. She taught me that it didn’t matter if you knew what you were doing. Just figure it out as you go along. It is not lost on me that two of the most important people in my life outside my blood relations were my husband and Carol and I met them within six months of each other and they died within six months of each other. This year can’t end soon enough. I can’t take anymore losses.
Stay tuned…
I am in awe of how you rise to the occasion, with enthusiasm and creativity dispite the stress filled events you have been hit with this year. Only a week to go before a brand new year, keep hanging in there.
Daryl, you inspire me so much! You just do what needs to be done, and find a way to enjoy as much of the journey as possible! 2017 will be a year of new beginnings! You’ve inspired me to move forward. In 2012 I planned to begin knitting TKGA Master Hand Knitting program. Almost immediately, life conspired against me. Yesterday, for my birthday, we re-registered me and I plan to cast on my first swatch on Christmas night. I have Cerebral Palsy. Growing up, I was always told “You can’t do that”. Hopefully, in a year or 3, I will… Read more »
Thank you Daryl for your Blog and Christmas letter, words to spur all us on and hold our heads up to brighter and higher things.
Well, I’m into doing stuff around the house, so your list of the to-do’s that morphed into To-Do’s delighted me. Your crisp, economical telling of that string of near-dissters delights and amazes me. You have SO many talents! Yes, the costume you made out of stash and stuff – a winner! Hope you get to wear it again! If you can step away from frustration a minute or two, please notice the AMAzing amount of work and creativity you just blew through! Congratulation! “This WAS a test”. You passed as always, with flying colors.
Merry Christmas and may God bless you with peace in the New Year, Daryl.
Daryl, I am praying that 2017 brings you peace and joy. At least the HOUSE shouldn’t give you problems for awhile! Sounds like you have that under control. You certainly have plenty to keep you busy! What a blessing and inspiration you are to all of us.
Mary
I think it’s somehow appropriate that for your last annual letter, you hand-wrote those 146 addresses – it was a personal contact with each person as you addressed their envelope. You and your family have had a horrific year, and you have come through together. I admire the kids that you and Kevin raised; they are strong, talented and compassionate. I admire your strength and determination in shaping your home and new life to be as you want it. I hope the coming year is much kinder to you. I’m always delighted to see how you come up with creative… Read more »
You are an amazing woman, Daryl. I only “know” you through one class, taken at an ASG conference, and this blog. But you’ve made a big impression on me, as on so many others. God willing, 2017 will be a much better year. I laughed at the t-shirts y’all wore for the letter photo – good call.
Looking forward and inspired to do better in the upcoming year!