Success!

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing we would truly astound ourselves."--Thomas Edison

This quote is from a wonderful little book, The Complete Pocket Positives, my cousin and his wife gave me for Christmas.  I thought it appropriate for celebrating the completion of my bakers rack project today.  First, it fits!  And I can still access the wood box and pull out the wood stove ash box.  And, and this is the real miracle, the microwave fit in under the wine rack on the first shelf, but within a hair's breadth!  And that was just luck.  I could have put it on the bottom shelf, but it would have really been too low.  I can deal with it at this height since I usually am just heating water for my coffee of a morning, maybe making oatmeal or reheating leftovers or making cocoa at night.  I haven't had time to load it up, but will look forward to doing that tomorrow. 

This was kind of a crazy day.  Somehow, the powers that be arranged for everyone in Nederland and Eldora to get free RTD bus passes.  With the price of gasoline, which I expect will only go higher from what I read, I decided this was free money, so went to the library today, along with every able-bodied person within a 30-mile radius from what I could determine, with proof of property ownership and signed up and had my photo taken for my pass.  While I was there, I turned in one of the books I had checked out yesterday when I realized I had already read it and picked up two more.  I almost finished the second book I had checked out yesterday last night and I get almost panicky when I think I might run out of something to read, especially when the weather is bad.  No TV.

We had four or five inches of really light powder snow overnight, but it was calm until just about the time I was ready to leave for Nederland.  Then the winds started picking up and they've increased all afternoon.  I had to sweep out, but this was the first time in two winters that my front wheel drive and studless snow tires could not pull me out onto the road even after I cleared the snow.  We had had just enough sun and wind that the snow that was on the ground before this last snowfall had been turned into solid ice.  I tried twice, didn't want to start spinning the tires and making it worse, so walked back to the house, got a bucket and scooped some ashes into it from my ash pile and sprinkled those in front of my front tires.  Pulled right out.  Sometimes I think when you grow up on a farm in snow country you've learned everything you really ever need to know by the time you're five.  OK, eight.  After I left the library, I drove over to the spring up Caribou Canyon and filled my jugs with water.

When I got back from Nederland I sanded down the Spackled areas of the wall where the shelving had been removed yesterday.  Wore a glove because I had run a pretty good sized piece of very old rotten wood into one of my fingertips yesterday (how long are tetanus shots good?).  It bled freely and I encouraged it, washed with very hot water and antibacterial soap, and it isn't even sore, so I hope I'm OK.

Very smooth.  

Oh, boy!  Now's when you wish you had a vacuum.  It looks like the snow that comes in around my front door, but it's Spackle.

A whisk broom and some tack cloth I found the other day, had to serve the purpose.

Then I painted.  I can't believe this paint brush is still OK.  It's been in this plastic bag for weeks!

I also painted the wood box while I was at it and was taking a real chance because I didn't want to change clothes, and this paint with the primer in it, albeit acrylic, does not come out of fabric, even with Goof Off.  I think my clothes came through unscathed this time.

While the paint was drying, I drafted a letter in response to one, forwarded to me yesterday from an incorrect address, from Mr. Paul Bernardy of Sedgwick CMS on behalf of Sears in which he suggests he just learned about my claim regarding the failed auto repairs made at the Sears auto center in Longmont last October and suggests we've never talked!  Do they train these people in obstructionism?  Well, I've got some fine tuning to do on the letter, but it's almost ready. 

Right now, it's just about 11F degrees, the winds are cranking, but so are the blues.  I've got KUVO radio, Denver, streaming.  They have fantastic jazz most of the time, but Friday night at 6 p.m. it's blues.  If you like jazz or the blues, tune them in.  I just type in kuvo denver jazz and then find I get best reception on Listen Online.  Someone's substituting for the regular dj tonight and he's really got some toe tappers going.  I've fed the fox, got the rug, quilt and roll of foam up against the front door, have a good fire going and I'm a happy woman.  What makes you happy:?  Teddee