Ya never know what's coming round the corner.
Been busy here at Screaming Pines.
The DREAM Project is finally getting started and I've
turned over a large sum of money to the roof people to
finally fix my roof, after a year's delay.
All in good time, right?
So, I've been consumed by the house project lately, but there's been
a few other things, too.
Some great opportunities came my way, and I had to take advantage.
Was contacted early Tuesday morning to step in to play the lead alto chair
for a performance that night with the Iowa Women's Jazz Orchestra.
Deeply honored to be offered such an opportunity.
Of course, I said yes and rearranged my schedule a bit to make it happen.
What a great group of ladies, and good jazz players to boot.
It was fun, and after years of playing gigs that involve sitting down and
sight reading the music on the stand, I felt that I was well-prepared for the gig.
Then it was back to reality.
Liberated the mower from its tarp cocoon and started on the yard.
Raised the deck to keep it from stalling at the thick grass, and it
powered right through.
The mowing season has begun. Yay.
I don't routinely buy liquor.
But I am an opportunistic alcohol buyer.
I went into the liquor store get a new bottle of rum (observe the Kraken)
and found a few extra things, mostly from the clearance cart.
The tequila for $20 and the chocolate liqueur for $10.
A discounted bottle of wine to round out the wine cabinet and
a bottle of espresso martini cocktail.
My habit is to buy alcohol cheaply and just sip on it all year.
It will take at least a year to get through all of this.
I don't drink as much as I used to, but I like have a bottle of wine
available for when friends visit, and rum and usually a whisky to
make up a cocktail on occasion.
Speaking of cocktails.
I found these adorable cocktail glasses from an online store called Tikiland Trading Co.
It's the Creature from the Black Lagoon!
My unofficial mascot!
It was pre-order when I found it, so I made an order
for two glasses. Unbreakable, apparently, so I shouldn't
lose them to the floor if they take a tumble.
After a month or so, they finally arrived and I love them.
Super cute and fits right into my style.
And just in time to test making a margarita from scratch.
I had all the ingredients, with the new bottle of tequila, so shook up
a very tasty margarita. Pretty easy, really.
Got some leather cleaner and conditioner from the hardware store and gave the old
leather Coach bag a spruce up.
I found this vintage Coach in an antique shop in Iowa City lots and lots of years ago.
I think I paid around $50 for it.
I like to use it in wintertime, because it holds a lot of stuff, like
gloves and mittens and hats and is easy to grab while all bundled up.
I don't have a lot of bags, but I rotate them throughout the year, so it
just seems like I have a lot of them.
Taking it easy with cawfee and some skin care.
Still browsing through Medieval history.
Finally got my head around the time period.
Donut break!
Key lime Hurts donut. Yum!
My new windows arrived!
it's window time!
also found some baby bunnies running around the house.
At least two, unless the one bunny is just really fast.
I noted the few windows that were not being replaced.
So the workers wouldn't have to question it when they were ready to
start tearing the house apart to install the new ones.
The two windows I had replaced when I moved in were kept,
considering that in window lifespan years, they're still brand new.
And I'm not done paying for them, so I really wanted to keep them.
Hey Vern! You got someone outside yer house!
It was a long day.
Starting at 8AM, and not getting done until about 6PM.
Zuri hunkered down in the bathroom, and she seemed to handle the
noise and all the people pretty well.
Like a boss.
Fits pretty good.
before. These were marked to be replaced next anyway,
so I was glad to see them go.
The left one was sort of broken already and hanging on by a thread.
The workers managed to work around the big desk.
It's so heavy. I covered it with a cloth for some protection,
and it came through not much worse for wear.
Looking at this photo, I don't know what the green stripe is.
it's not on any other picture. Weird.
Guess the camera glitched.
There is no green stripe on the wall.
Even the attic window got replaced.
Amazing.
Still looking rough, but the asbestos siding gets taken off next.
Soon the new siding will go up and the windows will get trimmed
and all the ugly stuff will be hidden.
The dormer window.
Next, I had to re-establish contact with the roofers, a project which had
basically gone dormant after the siding delayed the roof work last year.
Spoke to my contact this morning and handed over the payment,
so that should be in motion now too.
Taking the opportunity to have the chimney pulled down and add
some vents into the roof to hopefully help with the summer heat upstairs.
Just need to keep my little pointed head on top of what's going one
a bit longer and all the work will be finished, and I can go on with my life.
Assembling another small piece of furniture.
After cleaning up the shoe corner, I wanted to do
the same for the sweater corner.
Much better.
I also refolded the sweaters and hoodies to the right of the new
shelf and it's much more sane.
Also a good visual reminder of how many sweaters I already own,
and thus probably don't need to be in a hurry to buy more sweaters.
Soap and sweaters.
I have far too many soaps and sweaters.
Pretty new window.
this one was a bitch to get out. It took the longest for the guys to remove
and clean up and was the last to go in.
Apparently, the old one was installed without insulation, but
several tubes of just caulk. They spent a lot of time hacking out the incredibly
silly amount of caulk and then cleaning up the frame.
But at last, the new one was installed and it works nicely.
The new scarab tattoo is now healed enough to resume swimming.
So back to the pool for me.
Splashy splashy.
Another last-minute call landed me in a small
local Baptist church to play in a small horn section
for a few tunes at the congregation's 60th anniversary concert.
Big choir, soloists, combo group.
The whole works.
It was an interesting night.
Something I probably wouldn't have attended on my own,
as it isn't my church nor scene.
Everyone was so nice though, and I felt welcomed. 😻
And me as one of about 6 white people in the whole black church,
including the other three horn players.
I think it's important to experience being the minority sometimes.
Gain some empathy and perspective.
People are different, but we're really all the same.
Some worn out feathers.
Due for a molt soon, Birdo.
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