In My "Spare" Time: Year 19, Week 16, Day One (week 1006)

Year 19, Week 16, Day One (week 1006)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-27-19 Saturday

Blue sky all day long. Mid 70s as the low, 84 as the high. This weather report is brought to you by The Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

During the week, went to the dollar store and found some 32 inch skewers I am not sure what I will use them for but I really wanted them and had wished I had bought several more packs. Why, I will figure that out later..... I also picked up some tooth brushes with clear shafts that I want to make into crochet hooks.

I did a quick run on half the yard sale circuit. I only found one sale and picked up a thing to hold your phone using your cup holder. I have several trackers and I am trying to come up with a way to hold my tracker in one specific spot without drilling holes or other permanent methods, I figure that between three holders I have picked up recently, I should be able to make up something that will work.

The neighbor’s mango tree is producing. The strong winds have knocked a whole bunch down. Mom and I picked up the green, undersized, damaged, and overripe mangos that had fallen so far, so that when fresh ones fall, we will recognize them and get them immediately. We then mowed the back yard with the electric mower. The weeds have seeds that stick to our clothing and are difficult to remove. We have three kinds to deal with. SAND SPURS are spiky seeds that stick to your clothing and the spikes hurt when you try to pull them off. We then have a seed that is flat but shaped like a bean and they just stick to the clothing, sometimes in rows. They just are a bother to pull off. Then there is a tiny needle that sticks into clothing and are not much of a problem unless they work their way into one’s socks. The neighbor’s yard has no grass and is made up of weeds. They do look good year around even in drought. They do have to be mowed to keep the seeds under control.
Unlike the push mower. The electric mower cuts the stiff stemmed weeds rather than just push them over. It also sucks the weeds up to clip them nicely. The back yard is cleared enough that we can gather fresh mangos with no problem. We did get a few that were ripe enough to eat.

Last week, I had shifted the woodworking equipment into the back corner to make room for our BBQ. Today I moved the equipment where they belong under the awning so we can start using the stuff again.

I sat down with the dremmel and converted two of the dollar store tooth brushes into crochet hooks. I tested them, made little adjustments and tested them again. They seem to be working nicely now.

The PAYLESS SHOES was going out of business. I picked up six pairs of shoes and a teddy bear blanket. At one store I picked up two pair were work boots, and a pair of deck shoes that seemed to fit, at another store I picked up a pair of orange shoes that seemed to fit and a pair of shoes I always get. I hate shopping for clothing and shoes are the least detestable wardrobe to shop for. I have always stuck with certain style and brand of shoe once I learned they fit nicely every time. Since I have always gotten my shoes at PAYLESS, I thought I had better get them before they were gone.
I took one pair of the two orange shoes out back and taped up the soles and some other parts on them as masking. Then over the day, I gave them three coats of black spray paint. There are some spots where the paint bled around the tape on to the sides of the white sole. If you look carefully, there are tiny spots near the edges of the top where the tape lapped over to far that bit of orange can be seen but you have to look closely to see them.
It is not too bad a job, though. I am wearing them tonight though they should likely dry another day or so.
I had seen videos on facebook where they took worn out $100 and $200 shoes and refurbished them. That was why I decided to do this on this pair. I am leaving the other pair for later in case I don’t like the effect. I might use a different paint either in color or maybe acrylic rather than the oils I used this time.

I did not accomplish near as much as I was hoping but I got some stuff done that was fun to do.

I will see what I do tomorrow.

Year 19, Week 16, Day Two (week 1006)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-28-19 Sunday

Mostly sunny and warm, likely mid 70s in the morning, mid 80s in the afternoon. I forgot to look at the weather. This weather report is brought to you by The Pompano Beach department Of tourism.

I touched the block of wood I started last couple weeks doing a little shaping. I then cleaned up and sat with my brother talking about videos we have seen and what we have learned. The tools seem to be sharpened pretty good. I think I can do better, though.

I will see what I do next week.

941