oysters

We have a New Year's Eve tradition in our household to drive out Sir Francis Drake Blvd, stopping at Perry's Deli in Fairfax for sandwiches, to go look for spawning salmon up Paper Mill Creek and to drive out to Drake's Bay for oysters. Well the lack of rain means no salmon, and we did go a day early, but we did procure a pint of oysters that are currently being baked into a quiche as I type. Now these oysters could probably have been gotten much closer to home, but the drizzle in West Marin, the walk on the beach, and the feeling that my childhood haunts still remain somewhat untouched by 60 years of civilization make the drive oh so worthwhile.

into the next county

On Monday we took a field trip to China Camp State Park. As a Marin County native you would have thought I might have been there before, but no, this was a first. It is a wonderfully crummy, not over developed and on the chopping block for closure, park. We are our scouting for possible boat launching spots for the dory we have yet to purchase. And this was a good excuse to at least get outside.

 

After a little exploring and a  short walk we headed back over the bridge for a bowl of soup. Feeling rather refreshed.

welcome yule

The Shortest Day

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

Officially the Solstice occurred last night at 9:30 PST. But yesterday and today are the two shortest days, 9h 32m 54s. Tomorrow we add 4 seconds.
I am told by a neighbor that the Chinese say that the earth's energy changes from Yin to Yang on Winter Solstice.

holidaze

Our neighborhood is ablaze with lights. I've strung up a few strings inside, here and there, but mostly am enjoying the neighbors efforts, and their Bureau of Electricity bill. Down at the shop we are all looking forward to January.  The shop is cold, people are coming and going, and our regular lunch spots are crowded. All my regular yoga classes are cancelled for the duration of the jolly days just when I need them the most. And we have not seen one single box of See's candy, but Steve did fill the cookie jar this morning. A couple of cookies and a shot of espresso and I was a little warmer. Only two days to Solstice at least.

plumb barbara

She's piece of work isn't she? Building 14 had a Christmas party today that included a Yankee Trader gift exchange. Old Barbara is a working plumb-bob. And was a highly sought after gift. It was through stealth and good game playing skills that she became mine. The other highly sought after gift was a teddy bear cookie jar, purchased at a thrift store by one of my workmates. Now Steve paid $4.85, which was under the $5 limit, but in fact you can find these on Ebay going for considerably more money. So John and I having numbers late in the game realized that we could get the cookie jar for the shop and I could could end up with Barbara. Dixie, who put Barbara out there for us, was quite happy that she was going home to a woman. And I may have to start baking more cookies to keep the jar filled. Although I am not the only baker in the shop, and the jar could be a good incentive.

key bushings

Today had all the qualities of a Monday. Problems, not insurmountable, but problems. Working my way through piles, with slow computer connections, I just tried to take a zen approach, and was glad that at least I had a lunch of tasty leftovers to look forward to. After giving up on reconciling a very involved credit card bill, I decided a fresh mind could sort it out later and I went down to the shop. The tasty lunch had been consumed, but I needed something else. I walked through the door and Steve said "last half a cookie on the desk". Quickly I stuffed it into my mouth. Hmmmm.

Now what does this have to do with key bushings? What are key bushings?

The above illustrates the task of replacing the felt pieces that line the key buttons, the keys then rest over the pins in the key frame. Above are the balance rail bushings, there is also a set under the front of the keys that are the front rail bushings. This is not an impossible task, but it is also not an easy one, at least for me. I have been working on technique, glue consistency, consistency in general. And there are depth issues. Since I use both my right and left hands for this task there seems to be variation. But today, 10 months later, and I don't know how many bushings, Steve told me the last set I did looked good. Hallejulah, and praise Allah and any other gods that may be around. For the record, I don't use a knife, but single edge razor blades, and I work from the front. And I change razor blades often. Not a wasteful usage, they go into the secondary tub for scraping tasks. And they ultimately go into the metal recycling can. And occasionally I find some errant plastic caul in the pocket of my jeans.

exclusive buttons

Today I took a long lunch (it has been a long week) and drove to El Cerrito to Exclusive Buttons. I am not not sure why I have never been there before. Mike has even been into the store. But there I was greeted by Mary Sortile who gave me the history lesson of the store, and a good tour. And then she pulled out the box from the back room of single buttons and let me sort through, giving me a very good deal and stuffing more buttons into my purchase. She even brought out the stool for me to sit on. Her husband was a button salesman in the dime store days, and they ended up with a rather large stock of carded buttons when the dimes stores all closed. So this store has been in operation for 28 years. I felt like a small child playing in my mother's button box again.
Then I moved on to the drawers and the walls. Guess I'd better get knitting. Or come up with some other button projects.