Autumn and Winter are times for me to catch up on new and unfinished projects. Having recently upgraded my computer to a MacBook Air I find myself having to learn how to apply new programs. For example, previously I worked with Photoshop. Now that has been replaced with Affinity 2 and I understand there is an Affinity 3 already available. So it goes. I am content with what I have as upgrades on the computer are never ending. Mostly I enjoy making funny birthday cards for family members or silly photos for my grandkids. The opening photo on this entry is an example of a photo of my granddaughter and her friend. Using this photo I added a dog with Photoshop. Then using the same original photo I made a new addition with Affinity 2. Haha, I love working on these silly projects as learning opportunities to improve my skills. Below are recent birthday cards I made for my granddaughters.
Another silly project I worked on was a little mouse given to grandpa 50 years ago by a student of his. The other day the cats got ahold of this little mouse and tore it to pieces. We were devastated as that mouse has been a special addition to our home all these years. Latah, particularly, was sad because of this mishap. It was she who played with mousy the most. I decided to rebuild the mouse the best I could using the hair from the cat who did the most damage. The cats thought it was a real mouse.
Originally mousy was a tree ornament and it wore a little white apron. I take little projects seriously. haha
Many of my projects are simple home maintenance. In November I cleaned the gutters and worked at killing the moss on the roof. That needs more work but the roof became too icy to continue. I did get the garden plants cut back and the more sensitive ones put under mulch. I finished getting all the firewood I need for this year. At one point the furnace quit which generally means the fuel filter needs changing. I got that accomplished along with changing the air filter. That project is a “jerry rigging,” process from beginning to end for me but I get it done. Jerry rigging” means to quickly put something together in a makeshift or poorly constructed way, using whatever materials are available
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Of course the holidays bring their own projects. This year it took 10 tree thinning’s to make our Christmas tree but I was pleased with the results. There were cookies to bake and several batches of Tiramisu to be made.
My life is made up of projects and I love doing them. I do lots of clothes mending and repairing broken items around the house and small plumbing jobs like stopping a leaky faucet. I like the challenge of solving those kinds of problems. I have always maintained life is about the joy of the little things.
If you like to talk projects you need to speak with the Jason Lindseth family. Their projects are major, like recently when Jeannette did an autopsy on a their dead alpaca to determine why it died. Just now they are completing a shelter for the in-laws travel trailer. Not only did they put up a shelter they had to dig up buried wires and pipes and move them to a more suitable location. Those people are insane about projects.
