Odds 'n Ends

Yesterday I took some updated documentation to Boulder Housing Partners needed in order to finalize my lease on the one-bedroom "senior housing" apartment that it appears I am definitely getting.  I hesitate to get too confident until I actually sign the lease and get the key as it has been such a long and convoluted process.  

It was cool enough that I was able to take Dixie along and she was one contended dog...

She stays alert until I actually get in the car and say, "O.K.  I think I'm ready."  Then she heaves a big sigh of contentment and settles in for the ride.  I'm hoping to be able to continue to spend quite a bit of time up here at the cabin, but know I will miss the day-to-dayness of the experience.  This apartment building in Boulder is a "no pets" building, so there won't be any chance of my having a dog or cat there...or a fox.  Maybe a hummingbird!


Prior to leaving, I had responded to an e-mail I had received from the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center in Nederland indicating it was starting to offer some adult workshops, the first being yesterday evening, topic "Introduction to Essences" by Eric Bresselsmith, www.originaltradegoods.com

I decided to go, even though the $20 was not in my budget.  Eric distills and distributes essential oils from conifers of various types.  It was actually more of a lecture and at the end, included in the $20, we got to select a hydrosol spritz, captured, if I understood, from the condensed steam during the distillation process.

I selected the white fir.  It smells medicinal, but I found it a comforting fragrance.  The essential oils were for sale at $30 for a small vial, but I really couldn't afford even one of those.  Eric is going to return with his "still" in mid-June and, if it isn't too expensive, I might sign up for that.  Participants actually get to help collect and prepare the conifer needles and sit through the distillation process.


This morning, feeling as if I were working in a small airport because of the hummingbird traffic, I got the trim, that I'd had to remove in order to get the old hide-a-bed out, nailed back into place on both sides of the cabin door...

This piece that I broke off is a little crooked, but it fit back together just like a puzzle piece.  Most of the nails had been bent when I removed them and, although I can remember my Dad hammering nails out straight again so they could be reused, I just made do with the few straight ones I had left.  I think the person who had originally installed this trim had gone a little overboard anyway.  If it looks as if I'm not going to get a new door put in the south end of the cabin because of getting the apartment in Boulder, I'll get a few more nails of the same type and drive them in before winter.


For right now, it will do and I can remove the blue painter's tape I had been using since Tuesday to keep the mosquitoes out...

I also did a better job of screwing in the door hinges, using a combination of long and really long screws because, although I could see that my brother-in-law had used the extra long screws in order to reach sound wood, this door jamb is so rotten, I just didn't have the strength to screw those in in all six holes.

I've been having trouble figuring out how to keep a screw driver head in the chock of my cordless drill.  I had no trouble last year when I used it to screw in those roofing nails, but when I hung that coat rack, it wasn't working (or rather my mind wasn't working) and I haven't taken the time to figure out what I'm doing wrong.  It would be nice to use tools so frequently that these things came second nature, but I seem to need a tutorial every time I undertake a project. 

I'm facing the same issue with the weed eater, which I bought last year.  I need to put a new string in and haven't a clue, although I do have the printed directions for that so it's just a matter of sitting down and reading them.  I can't believe how fast the weeds are growing.  This was the growth between the flagstones on May 11...

This is today...

My neighbor just came over and volunteered, not only to take the hide-a-bed to the dump if I can't find an alternative, but to take anything I need to move from the cabin down to the apartment if I get it!  Teddee

What a Day!

The weather today was absolutely gorgeous.  NOAA said a high of 50F degrees but I think it must have been warmer than that.  The red in the sky yesterday evening portended beautiful weather...red sky at night, sailor's delight...

It was warm enough by noon that I was able to shampoo outside on the deck...

...and I read a little at the picnic table, one of my favorite places to read in warm weather...

...and even applied makeup outside...

...then I loaded Dixie into the car and went to Nederland to check the mail.  Still no check from Sears.

It was such a pretty day I decided to drive on down to Boulder.  I went to the Boulder Housing Authority to see if they keep applicants for senior housing apprised of their status.  Unfortunately, the answer was no.  They are short staffed and can't take the time to keep the hundreds of applicants informed.  All I ascertained was that I was in a group of applicants whose paperwork had not even made it to review.  Even if my paperwork had been reviewed and I was in line for an apartment, how quickly I moved to the head of the list would depend on how many people ahead of me either accepted or declined a unit after they viewed it.  Patience is going to be required.

After that news, I decided I needed some retail therapy so drove south on Broadway to Goodwill.  Here are a couple of things I didn't get:

This piece of "Sevres" porcelain was not only chipped and cracked, but I discovered after I processed the photos it had two different price tags and the only one I saw was the one on the front for $12.99.  Had I noticed the $2.99 tag on the back I might have at least taken it the register with me to have the price checked.  I keep thinking I might try making a mosaic on a tray. 

According to the web site Antique China Porcelain & Collectibles...

Sevres Porcelain traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumored relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles.

I do not see this particular Sevres marking among those listed on line so it could be fake.

I also did not get this length of burlap...

...for $12.99 even though I had been thinking since last fall that I wanted to enclose the bunk area with burlap.  It has become such a decorating fad that now I'm almost inclined not to go that route...and anyway, I think $12.99 is too much to pay for fabric at a thrift store.  If it's still there a week from Saturday when everything is 50% off I might consider it.

This is what I did get...

...for 99 cents less my15% senior discount.

This porcelain trivet has no markings, but there's no doubt in my mind it's Victorian.  I've read that no markings can actually mean the item is older, pre-dating the1890 McKinley Tariff Act requiring all U.S. imports to indicate "Foreign."  This was eventually amended to allow the actual country of origin. 

I also had been looking for one of these bottle spouts...

...so I could use the larger bottle in this photo...

...for dish washing soap.  Well, the small bottle with spout was $1.99...

...less the 15% daily senior discount...but the spout does not fit the larger bottle.  Darn. 

So that was it.  I headed back to Nederland, dropped Dixie off at the bookstore and came back and took a walk.  I was determined to get back over to the creek through that treacherous snow that is still drifted in between the road and the creek.  Here's a melted-out footprint.  You can see how deep it is...

I managed to navigate it and only fell once...lost my footing when I fell through the crust and grabbed for a branch that broke.  There wasn't anyone around, but I just pretended I was soaking up some high mountain rays while I lay there on my back.

It was worth it.  I got some photos of some of my favorite spots that I haven't seen since last fall...

I decided not to try to navigate these stairs, half of which are still under deep snow....

I'm tempted to take my snow shovel next time and clear a trail or at least scoop off the soft stuff on top so it isn't so treacherous and will melt more quickly.

What did you do today?  Teddee