Hmmm, Running Out Of Time.

[arontius]

.....TBT was not feeling well this morning, so we had a late start out the door for our usual Starbucks run. I was feeling a bit sluggish myself and slept in until at least 0600 before getting out of bed. But we finally rev'ved up for the day and made plans.

.....I'm still trying to figure out what to get for my Sekrit Santa gift. The person I drew this year is someone whom I've never met and have no clue as to their likes and dislikes. I have google-stalked them a bit, so I suppose that I have a little bit of a clue. But I'm scratching my head. My personal deadline is tomorrow. No matter what, even if the gift is cheesy and lame it must go out the door on Monday.

.....To that end, and a few other things, I went to work in Ingasbo on the workbench and did some metal-work today. I pulled out a few circlets, some pendants, and a few bracelets. I had an order come through on a circlet that I have to get into the mail on Monday. And I wanted to experiment on a few ideas for other metal gifts from Ingasbo. I'm just not as versatile as TBT though and struggled mightily.

.....Went into the studio at around 1030 and when I finally looked at my watch again it was almost 1430. Almost four hours had gone by and I hadn't even noticed. Very little to show for it as well. But I did finish the studio work on the circlet order. Just a final polish needed on it before bending it into final position. I also have some bracelets on the workbench to finish as well as a few pendants and pins. I'm hoping to get enough metal done tomorrow to make a decent showing into the mail on Monday.

.....Thinking of largesse 'stuff' as well. The bracelets should go over well. Just have to complete a dozen of them. Which will happen as soon as the Shipyard actually lets me go on my leave. I think that if I have even a little extra time I'll coat them with Envirotex as well so they don't react to the bearers skin.

.....The belt sander is starting to go as well. May have to think of a replacement soon. Or consider going to a grinding wheel. The wheel would probably be a faster way to shape circlets, but it is a monster. I like the finesse of a sanding belt a lot more. Will have to think some on that.

.....The drill press is suffering as well. We left an open container of etching acid next to the press. Just the vapors from the acid bath were enough to leave a rather thick coating of rust all over the drill press. It is a cheaper Harbor Freight (made in China) model. But it is still something that couldn't be replaced over night. So I made sure to move the bath away and will definitely oil and rub down the drill press tomorrow.

.....Made it over to the household dinner at Petr and Kierran's later in the afternoon. Petr and Kierran made smoked pork and prime rib as the main dishes. Reminded me just how good of cooks they were and I worked hard on them to think about maybe doing a feast next year or sometime soon. I think I finally got Petr convinced, and I solemnly swore that should he provide a feast that I would ensure he did NOT receive any additional award or title. I promised completely. :-) I would love a prime rib feast. Mmmmmm. :-)

.....It was a good turn out. Chris and her boyfriend, Greg, were already there when we arrived. Barnet and Tsuruko arrived soon after we did. Then Ralph and Ellen. Then Gwenllyn and Brigget. Then Brumbar. Then Stiven and Jocelyn with the two girls in tow, looking rather cute in the Christmas outfits. :-) The food was all good. The conversation pleasant. We all left feeling good.

.....Then it was off for a whirlwind visit to Yvon and Morte's for their Christmas gathering, which was quite large! And as usual, the snacks were absolutely fantastic! Even though I had quite enough to eat over at Petr and Kierran's, I could not resist sampling the goods. Mushroom tarts, spinach dip, meat pastries. It was all good. Made me wish I hadn't stuffed myself so thoroughly at Petr and Kierran's.

.....Spent most of my time talking to Mateusz and Renart. Good conversation. I had a good time. Then we ran into Anne and Aelianora and more good conversation followed. There was a point though that I finally hit the wall and was just, done. It wasn't anyone there. I was just tired and wanted to go home. So we made our goodbyes known to Yvon and Morte and went home. Thankfully we live only a short distance from them.

.....We should have stopped by Talon and Jenae's as they were having their Christmas gathering today as well. But I just couldn't. At some point I'm going to have to make it up to them as this was the second gathering I've missed at their place. I'll have to think of something.

.....Tomorrow's big ticket items: finish circlets, go to Ralph's birthday gathering, get to Mateusz and Rycheza's tree trimming if at all possible, and do all the chores necessary to get to work the next day. Sigh! I'm already tired and it does not look like a long list at all. :-)

.....Zzzzzzzzz. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.