I'm keeping busy these days...
PROJECT I
I'll begin with this. This is an antique to be sure...stored in our garage. It's a Remington Rand typewriter [circa 1939-40]. On this machine, I learned to type. Years and years ago. There are two key buttons missing, the period and the 't'. Wiping off the webs and gunk [yes, it was covered with a plastic bag, but still, somehow, the spiders and such got in], I took it in the house and tore it apart piece by piece. From the inside out I used rubbing alcohol on the key levers behind the keyboard cap. Tore off the paper cylinder, scrubbed underneath the entire mechanism and put it back together. During the cleaning process and having it torn apart, I found the 'writer's serial number. Doing it all, I remembered, eventually, what I was doing and got it all in working order. And believe it or not....the ribbon [never used for at least 20-25 years] still works!! I now have it inside, and it's a bit more 'protected' from the elements of life in the garage. My sister and I purchased this together back in the early 1960s from the public library that was auctioning off their inventory. We both spent $1.00!!! Now-a-days, a keyboard/computer is doing good if it lasts 5 years. They just don't build things like this anymore. Is Remington Rand still a company? No....but
you can read its history here. Will have to someday check online to see if there is a company that has interchangeable key buttons that'll fit this one.
PROJECT II
In his teen years, before the Navy, Bud worked at a slaughter house. People would bring in their hogs, cattle, sheep for Bud and his boss to age, cut, and wrap the meat. Sometimes, after this, they'd smoke and cure or make sausages. Anyway, this all took place in the late 50's/early 60s. One time, a couple brought in a Swiss Charolais Bull. Bud wanted the horns!! For many-a-years over the near 5 decades we've been married, he'd regale the story to those of us who'd listen. I know the story pretty much by heart by now. Eventually, those horns were his! He mounted it on the carport in Colorado. Of course he took 'em down when we retired and they went with us to Tucson....then came here, to Texas. And, in the garage they hung on a wall! Cleaning it all out this past month, Bud said: "The horn covering is loose, and bubbled in the back and split near the bone...might as well throw 'em out." I said: "No way!! I'll clean 'em, fix 'em and we'll get them in the house along with your saddle you just cleaned!" They'll be as good as new.
Day 1 - cleaning them
Day 2 - Shopping
I thought of going to a taxidermist here in town to see if they had any scrap cowhide [before tanning - with hair], but I nixed the idea. Instead I remained awake late one night....thinking. I came up with a solution and the next day I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a half yard of dense black felt. Not the 'finished' kind, but the felt with lots of nap....resembling untanned cowhide. After that was measured and cut, I went to the jewelry aisle and found what I wanted! Two gold skulls with horns, and brown leather cord. After I got home I tested to get the 'feel' and what it'd look like, by covering the bone/skull section. Not bad. In my mind I wanted a western/cowboy theme going....to edge the black faux hide, I planned on using blue denim. Denim...what best describes a cattle rancher, but the sturdy suit of the day...denim/jeans!!
Day 3 - Finishing
After three days working on it, cleaning, measuring, testing, cutting, polishing, I finished, then, mounted it on a pedestal and placed it on the fireplace mantel...
PROJECT III
This one is self-explanatory. Many have asked if I just draw a picture by memory...no, I have to have a 'model' to guide me. And no, I've never taken art lessons other than long ago when I signed up with the elective of ART for one semester in high school...
My most recent sketch [a favorite owl of mine - I love the shaggy 'mop head' look of this Barred Owl when I spot them in a tree; real time]
PROJECT IV - Book Reading
I finished reading a good book. Yep, more or less politics! It is about a man who worked for the Secret Service during three presidential terms. George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. The book: "Crisis of Character" [published 2016]. Of course the book dust jacket and the photo piqued my interest right away. I remember vividly the Clinton era in the white house. Scandal after scandal. I was happy as a pig in a mud hole when the Bush family dynasty took office once again after
that fiasco. Over the years with his SS position, protecting the president and his family, there seemed to be quite a stark difference in characters! Comparing the elder Bush family [congenial to ALL who protected them] and then....the Clinton's [who never once appreciated those that kept them from harm - in fact belittling them whenever the opportunity arose]. From the broken vase and Billy's black eye from Hillary - the loud bickering heard on the 2nd floor [the 'residence' area], the sex scandals, the Blue Dress of Monica Lewinsky, the SS catching Billy in act with Mondale's daughter....the perjury of said Bill Clinton, the impeachment...more and more eye opening [or memories of] disdain for the average American from that term. The world conflicts and lying from once Senator H. R. Clinton and her volatile split personality, 9/11 and Mr. Byrne [the author] eventually taking a position with the FAMS [Federal Air Marshall Services] and retirement. The book was fun - reading about Barbara Bush and President Bush...horrid during the Clinton reign...and the sadness with what the country had to deal with with terrorism and 9/11 with George Walker Bush. More or less, the book was a 'tell all' story of his job protecting our legacy; to put his life on the line to keep our president alive. That and other protective details such as semen in the white house towels, etc. The author's last published words [tho it was, remember, 2016 and the presidential election was still in existence between HRC and DJT]...
...The bottom line: My job in the 1990s was to lay down my life for the presidency. My obligation today is to raise my voice; to help safeguard the presidency from Bill and Hillary Clinton--to remind readers like you of what happened back then. We all remember what a Clinton White House was like...If we board that time machine for a return trip -- it's our fault"
Of course, we didn't. Who knows what the future will be with hate mongers who kindle hatred, enmity, or prejudice in others as we've all seen today since the election? I read an article online that there has been a record defecting of the American Citizenship....it was a bit misleading tho....I thought it was a current record...but it was during OBAMA's administration!! The media has a lot to do with the blame here on the country's anger!! So many lies, so much bias. [with the media]
I bought several books that day at Barnes n Noble. Another on Hillary, one on Fannin [Texas Revolution], one on Hitler's era and more. I'm having a jolly time keeping my New Year's promise to read more books!!
PROJECT v - for you!
Can You See 'em now?
Let me highlight where you should look...
...okay, moving in a bit closer, and two different angles...
now I bet you can see 'em, right?
Yep...two birds on one limb! By the time I got to the back side of the tree via the trail, they had moved closer together!! I zoomed in. Awwww, true love.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
CRESTED CARACARAS
Loading it all in the trunk of the car, I then made a stop at the store for lunch and ingredients for making a pasta salad for dinner. These individual salads are a great size for the two of us. And the flavors of the BLT are extraordinary. Taylor Farms Salads. Beats messing up the kitchen with dishes and utensils too. With my pasta salad for dinner [and enough for left overs] it's a simple recipe that my mom used to make [only she'd add boiled shrimp]. 
