Author: alohawild

The morning started too early. I could not sleep and did not finish yesterday’s blog until nearly 1AM. Susie had a doctor’s video appointment at 9AM, so I had to rush a bit when starting at 7AM. I had just a banana for breakfast with some liberal coffee that I also put in a thermal cup and drank while taking Air Volvo to Susie’s place. I remembered to log on to work and put my out-of-office message on my email; my calendar was already blocked, and various other updates were done to ensure folks knew I was out today. I took paid time off (PTO) using my floating holiday for 2023 (I always use it first to remember to take it).

Traffic was heavy and slow-moving, and some folks, impatient with the slow speed, enjoyed the attention of Beaverton’s Finest motorcycle cups in a 20 mph school zone. I was attentive to school zones and drew no attention from the local police.

I was called by the doc’s office while still in slow traffic on Hall Boulevard. They wanted to review Susie’s meds. So I called them back after arriving at the hummingbird house, and Jennifer, the nurse aide on for today, had written them out for me (I called her from the car after the doctor’s office call–using Air Volvo voice hands-free option and thereby not breaking any laws). So I did not have much to do going ten miles an hour for a while.

I had the laptop ready, but we did have a sound issue that took me a few minutes to fix, and soon the cardiologist was happy to see us. We were pleased to meet her (she is also my cardiologist, and I saw her last in 2018) as Susie’s newest doc. Doc C had reviewed Susie’s history, even the Mount Sinia West events, and clearing understood what was happening. She was pleased when Susie’s speech today was understandable, and Susie’s vitals were good. Susie had gained twenty pounds since November.

Doc C agrees to continue the heart meds and blood thinners, believing that the strokes were caused by heart issues; the drugs prevent another stroke. We will meet Doc C in May 2023 and do a new echocardiogram and labs. The drugs are powerful, and side effects need to be monitored. Doc C said Susie was doing well and was happy to reconnect with us. Doc C reviewed my (Michael’s) chart too.

After we finished the call and Susie was happy with the good news, I connected Susie’s TV to Hulu (M.A.S.H is on Hulu), ESPN, and Disney+ without ads (We already had Disney and got credit for that). Next, we spent the morning watching the 8th Season of M.A.S.H. (When the writers reduce the jokes and tell more stories, and Radar leaves the show); Susie has seen the first couple of years of M.A.S.H. over and over and was pleased to see these episodes.

The movies Breakfast Club and Pearl Harbor were playing on the TV in the central area. Susie was happy with M.A.S.H. in her room, resting in her bed with a blanket. Susie stayed awake for most of the M.A.S.H. in the morning.

Susie headed to lunch at 1PMish, and I drove to the nearby Red Robin for a burger and diet coke. I was feeling a bit off and had some colon issues later. Likely the result of not getting enough sleep. I returned to the hummingbird house and spent a few more hours with Susie and more M.A.S.H. Susie liked the 8th season (one of the best with more emotion and fewer jokes). At 3:30ish, I headed out with a kiss back to the house. I was tired now, and everything was hurting- a sign to rest.

When I got home, I had a package waiting for me. Darkest Dungeon, the board game version, was delivered after a three-year plus late Kickstarter. I supported the original video game as I liked the art and theme, and when a board game version with all the art turned into 28-32mm Dungeons and Dragon-sized miniatures showed up on Kickstarter, how could I not sign-up? But, the Kickstarter project is a legendary failure–only 2/3 of the promised content has been delivered so far (that is what is in the boxes). I also had to pay an add-on of $50 for shipping after already spending hundreds of dollars and shipping. Few, if any, Kickstarters have 20,000 comments, most negative, and I have to use their Discord to communicate with the supplier–there are too many responses to get an answer now. Still, I loved the miniatures and the game, while interesting, is less interesting to me than the art.

Despite being tired and in pain as every muscle and joint hurts, I opened all the boxes of Darkest Dungeon and looked inside. So cool looking and got out the rules and started reading. It plays much like the video game with a 3D structure now added (the video game, well-loved as so retro, is 2d primarily).

I rested. I read. I opened the boxes a few times to look at more parts. I updated Discord with a picture of the boxes and got jealous comments. All good.

I reheated the Orange Chicken leftover and made more fresh rice to go with it. I ate that while watching Battleship New Jersey videos done by the curating team on the museum ship. They discussed today if the damage done to a cruiser in the Falkland Conflict would sink NJ. Yes and no was the answer. If three modern torpedoes hit NJ, they would expect it to be lost. However, the torpedos in the Falkland Conflict were WW2 designed and would do minimal damage to NJ (the curator said that NJ was expected to take up to six WW2 torpedos).

I rested more and finally wrote the blog. I am being careful tonight as I seem out of sorts. I did not work on my model today as I did not want to make mistakes because I am tired today. It is just a few hours of work.

Thank you for reading!

The morning started with me sleeping into 8:15ish and trying not to rush anything. It is my day off and MLK Day in the USA. MLK weekend includes the first days I get off in a yearend go-live–we did not have one for this year. In previous years I often worked through the holidays (Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year) and sometimes all the weekends too. In those hard-charging years, I would work with the team to deliver for the new calendar year.

I did not have to write the blog Monday morning; I wrote it Sunday night. I work on my model for Dungeons and Dragons and paperwork. Laundry and dishes are quickly started, and soon I am ready to travel to see Susie. Breakfast was toast with peanut butter and liberal coffee made in my French press. I run Quicken and update all my transactions. I check, and none of the documents for taxes are yet ready from the trading houses (growl).

After boarding Air Volvo, I cross Beaverton and stop at Basics, the new supermarket, and get some bananas, a croissant for my second breakfast, and flowers for Susie. They have only winter bunches, and I pick one with thistles as that is different. The flowers at Basic are not as lovely as Safeway’s.

I reach Susie, and it is sunny with even some blue skies, so Jennifer, the live-in nurse aide that works the weekdays, gets Susie in the wheelchair, and we bundle Susie up, there is little wind, but it is still 50F (10C). I take her to the park next door, Metzger Park, and it is actually busy with little kids with their parents taking them to a damp park. One little girl tries to climb the wet and slippery ladder, and dad catches her as she falls–he is ready. There are lots of folks walking their dogs. The dogs seem very interested in new folks, as if the isolation of the rainy winters has caused them to want more contact.

We call Susie’s mother, Leta, from a sunny spot off the trails (the dogs pass by and even whine when Susie does not pet them); we have a friendly, quick chat as Susie gets cold. I quickly push Susie through the park and then up the road. We are both cold when we arrive at the hummingbird house.

We set up in Susie’s room. Susie is in her rocking chair, and I am in a chair from the social room. We watch The Rock’s newest movie, Black Adam. Susie likes it, and it is my second time watching it; I liked it better this time. It is an action film, and while it has the usual DC Comic darkness and dystopian, this one works better, I think. I thought it was an entertaining movie.

Susie falls asleep a few times. This is a new state for Susie. Susie will sleep after sitting for twenty minutes or so. Susie becomes exhausted from just traveling. I am concerned, but Susie is safe, stable, and well cared for (loved, actually) at the hummingbird house.

After the big finish in the movie (no spoilers), Susie is looking for lunch (as I am), and I leave with a kiss. Traffic is heavy even without the school buses. I stop at the Aloha strip mall within walking distance of the house and have lunch at Stir Crazy. I have a cup of hot and sour soup that requires me to drink a glass of water to finish–very hot and spicy (perfect). I order Orange Chicken, and as it is no longer lunch, I get a huge plate. I put more than 1/2 in a box to take home. While not exactly authentic, and their version is more than corn syrup, oranges, and soy sauce you find in some places, I like it. They have dried orange peel and a more smoky flavored sauce–better.

Soon I am back home and working on my ship model. I managed to install the mast after drilling an even larger hole for the mast, only to discover I had the wrong mast and made the hole too large now. I managed to make a wood holder for the mast that looks nice and looks like I planned it that way. I mixed the epoxy glue (the mast is transparent plastic) and nearly made a worse mess than the drilling did. I installed metal loops for the mast and discovered I had put two in the wrong place and filled those holes, and moved the loops. Better. I did drill into the mast correctly, and the brass loops look good mounted in the mast.

Mariah wants a late dinner, so I read while the glue dries and then make the masts that hold the sail. Those are from smaller rods, and I make rope loops to hold them to the main mast. They look great (something finally goes to plan). I make a sail from transparent report holders, and that looks good. I repaired a bit more of the drilling damage (not too bad) and am ready to finish. Of course, then it is time to head to Portland.

It is a wet and dark night. The drive into Portland’s Hopwork Taphouse is uneventful. Unfortunately, Hopworks is only open for another hour. We managed to have a beer, food (a bacon jam and grilled cheese sandwich for me), and chat for a bit. We both have much more to share; another dinner, maybe Thursday, is planned.

Back to the Volvo Cave, India, Nike has some work for me tonight. An early afternoon meeting in India is 10PM for us in Pacific Northwest. I spend an hour helping out after Air Volvo gets me home safe (accidentally enjoying 75 mph with the light fast moving traffic on Highway 26).

Finally, I get to this blog. Sorry if it feels rushed; it is. I am getting tired, despite the coffee I had at Hopworks to help me pilot Air Volvo in the dark and rain. Thanks for reading.

My fav of MLK’s writings: Letters from a Birmingham Jail.

The morning started early, with me awake at 6:15 and writing the blog. I had just toast with smooth Jiffy peanut butter (the only kind Susie likes). I drank most of the liberal coffee this morning. I needed a bit of caffeine to get going. I also did some of my exercises and stretches. It is Sunday, and Susie may want to attend church today, so I have to be ready to do all the lifts. I also bring my computer and equipment in case we watch the service at hummingbird house.

As I am writing Saturday’s blog, the sun (well, we assume there is still a sun during the winter months, but we have little proof other than the regularity of night and day) rose, and I could see the enormous puddle in the backyard. It rained a bit last night. The wind was whipping the trees, and the little lake had little white caps. An ordinary January day here in the Pacific Northwest.

After the blog, I showered and dressed in my church clothing. A blue (or white) shirt, buttondown collar, oxford cloth (old school 1980s look, L.L. Bean biz shirt), nearly wrinkle-free (permanent press pulled from the dryer while still hot, placed on a hanger, and let cool–auto irons itself) plus banker tie (usually I go with something like Pride, Mandelbrot, or Elephants from India, but today banker). Blue sweater over it all. No suit coat.

I managed to leave on time, but the USA flag was twisted into the gutter. Can’t leave it that way. I pull, and the flag holder breaks, and I am covered in a wet flag. Beyond eye-roll! I collect the flag, hang it inside to dry, and put the broken post and post holder near the entrance to fix or dispose of when I have time. The damage shows that the screw to hold the top of the post holder was in rotted wood, and only the bottom was still holding. The metal post holder broke at the bottom screw where the stress would be from holding the flag with only the bottom screws. Crazy!

After that mess, I boarded Air Volvo and drove the wet and puddle-filled streets to reach Susie at the hummingbird house. I was splashing along without incident. However, I did see someone do a U-turn and nearly hit a bike in the bike lane. It was a damp day to ride, but worse with cars cutting into the bike lane!

I parked Air Volvo, and Susie was waiting. Anassa, the nurse aide for today, helped me get Susie ready. Susie was ready and in her heavy leather coat, matching hat, and scarf. I loaded Susie without issue (I am used to her being unable to help) and loaded the wheelchair in the cargo hold. Air Volvo had a short trip to First United Methodist, Beaverton.

The rain mainly was mist, but the wind was the cold mountain winds we get. The winds are from the east and come from the cold heavy air traveling east to west from the high desert to the valley. It pours down the Columbia Gorge and blasts over the low hills into the valley. It can be ten degrees colder than the ambient air!

Susie shivered as we de-Volvo’d and rushed to the church. We managed to get there just as the service, 10:30, started. Howard, the Music Director, was playing lovely songs on the organ. Susie was unstable and leaning to the right in the wheelchair (the stoke-involved side), so I moved her to the tables in the back. She was able to sit up with the tables and did better.

Dondrea gave the sermon, one of her best; so good that here is a link: 15Jan2023FUMCB. The sermon’s basis is the Centurian’s story in Matthew’s gospel. A Roman is given a miracle, and Jesus comments that he has never found such faith. Dondrea compares this to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s seeing an ally in an old southern President Lyndon Bain Johnson (LBJ to most Americans). LBJ drove the Voting Act, which began the disassembling of Jim Crow in the south USA, indeed, an unexpected partner. You can find LBJ’s words. Here is a bit of another speech, which is old-fashioned for today’s tastes: Speech.

“The time of justice has now come. I tell you that I sincerely believe that no force can hold it back. It is right in the eyes of man and God that it should come. And when it does, I think that day will brighten the lives of every American.” –LBJ 1965

Our first hymn was my favorite; here is Lift Every Voice and Sing. We also sang We Will Overcome, also the name of the LBJ speech.

We enjoyed some donuts and coffee after the service. Susie does not get donuts often (today, tiny bites). Next, I loaded Susie back into Air Volvo without incident. Susie was leaning so much to the right that I had to pull her out of her chair like a doll, but we managed without pinching or other painful mistakes. I use a moving belt over Susie’s coat to give me a purchase. I keep the belt in Air Volvo’s storage.

We returned, and I popped Susie out. The wind was a bit harsh. I had Susie’s coat unzipped to stop her from overheating in church, leaving her exposed to the wind. I rushed and got Susie back into the comfort of the hummingbird house without incident.

Susie was soon comfortable in her rocking chair in her room, and we watched the season finish of the Disney+ show Willow. The show was well done, and I liked the ending. A mix of too much sweetness but with a slightly bitter twist at the end. The special effects were Star Wars meets Swords and Sorcery. There are teenage love interests and everyone, but Willow seems to be squeezed into apparel that would fit a drawn comic book image showing every line and curve. No flowing robes here, but still an interesting story.

Susie was exhausted and slept through the slower parts of the episode. We called her mother, Leta, a bit late–after the show, but they still had a friendly chat. Susie headed next to lunch and a nap. I left with a kiss.

I stopped by a Mexican place and had average food. It took forty minutes to get lunch, so I will not name the business. It is closer to Susie. Next time I will travel back to Aloha.

I then rested a bit, read, and finally headed to Wildwood Taphouse to write this blog. It is about two hours of work tonight.

Thanks for reading.

I am writing Saturday’s story on Sunday morning. I had some vivid dreams and was wide awake at 6AM, so I started early. The dreams were about work, so I will not detail them here. I will carefully consider the contents of my dreams last night as the dreams are an opening to my true feelings. Often the predictions in the dreams come true, not magic; it is just my subconscious picking up on political currents at work and informing me through my dreams. I prefer the strange dreams to the screaming nightmares of chemotherapy or the crying sadness of dreams of personal loss. Nice to have a peculiar but positive dream.

Sorry, I forgot to take any photos on Saturday.

Going backward, I was back at the Volvo Cave, and the trip back from Portland was on wet roads with deep puddles and some local flooding. The roadways were not full of water, but they had been. The rains are here in the Pacific Northwest, and they will continue until June or July. I read and did laundry and the dishes and finally went to bed a bit early. I had trouble sleeping as I had a good couple of days and did not want the day to end.

I finished The Last Magician, and I liked the book. I thought it ended well and would recommend it. I still think the author has failed to make the characters as sympathetic as I like, and I am not a fan of dystopian stories, but this one works for me. I purchased the next book in the series (there are four) on my kindle. Thanks, Smiths (plus Jason), for the first in the series.

Moving backward, before this, I was at The Lucky Labrador Hawthorn playing board games with Evan at one of their slightly worn tables with heavy wooden chairs. A few other tables were also busy playing games. I also took questions about the games we played: Vindication and The Architects of the West Kingdom.

I had a rice-based beer and then a Scottish Holiday dark beer. Evan and I split a Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato (BLT) sandwich on traditional toasted bread with mayo (BLTs are usually excellent and are often the cheapest thing on the menu–the bartender recommended it). Later, at 7sih, we shared a pizza that was burning with spices that Evan selected (I told him to order what he wanted). The pizza was average, slightly undercooked with too much cheese, and I miss the wood flavor in the crust of wood-fired places. Still not terrible.

As for gaming, Vindication went sideways. Our first game hit the random end-game, with Evan claiming land so fast that he just won. We thought that was a waste and will consider a house rule requiring a longer game. The next game I miss played, a companion I had was unclear and gave me a stupidly good advantage. I re-read the card and asked Evan, and we both saw that I had misplayed; I surrendered that game (I was far ahead from the wrong play). We tried again, and I won that one, but again I tripped the end-of-game without even realizing it. Evan was in the middle of his plans, and I was lucky to win. We need to be more careful playing Vindication; we have so many plays that we get careless–Some of the new stuff coming from the newest Kickstarter for the game should be here next month (I hope) and will provide some game flow devices for the players to avoid some of the issues.

Vindication is a favorite and was designed here in the greater Portland area. I know the designer. It is a positive game about redemption and exploring that is beautifully implemented. It is a resource and worker placement game but with unique processes. Your character is a scumbag that needs to find companions and explore the island. There you find the resources to become vindicated and a better person. You may collect more companions and relics, fight monsters for honor, develop beneficial traits (Evan’s favorite), and become the owner of your favorite places. It is fun and very positive.

We managed one game of The Architects of the West Kingdom. Evan beat me by a whopping ten points. He schooled me on the fact that I was building cheap buildings, and in a two-person game, collecting resources is about the same for more expensive (and more victory points) buildings–I had drawn, at random, cheaper buildings. We built about the same number of buildings, with me building one great work building, and the scores on everything else were +/- nearly even, except victory points for buildings. The game ended with Evan and me down to our last two meeples!

Architects is a resource management and worker placement game. It uses a straightforward turn structure and complex options that make it easy to play, easy to learn, and challenging to master. I like games like this. Vindication is in the same style. Architects has more player interaction with the ability to arrest other players’ workers and sell them into prison for money.

We are playing the final version of Architects after the last updates from Kickstarter with all the moving parts. I also have most, maybe all, of the promo cards. Evan used one of those to clear his debts just before the game ended; the King Dan apprentice card is available at conventions and from the game’s New Zealand website (shipping was high, so I got multiple and gave them away as gifts).

Before this, I was at Susie’s from noonish to 2:30, watching episodes of Willow on Disney+. Susie was in her rocking chair in her room at the hummingbird house with me, watching her TV. Susie has a TV and all the cable we have at the house set up in her room. My account Alexa (renamed Echo) device, is also there. Susie can watch her favorite shows on Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and steamy HBOMax. Disney+ gets the most use. She can play music and get news from Echo.

Susie enjoyed the company and her chair with a Karen Wilson-made quilt (in Mardi Gras colors), keeping her comfy (Karen is the Treasurer of our church and very handy). Susie slept through the story-building sections (boring) and enjoyed the action scenes. This is a Lucas series with all the special effects and vistas of the incredible Star Wars shows; it is sort of like Star Wars goes Swords and Sorcery without the baggage of Tolkien or the Skywalker family; I enjoyed it.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, between the episodes (they are almost an hour long each!). She and Susie had a friendly long chat about Leta’s day. Susie is always delighted to see her mother on my iPhone using FaceTime.

After a couple episodes, Susie was sleepy and hungry. We had skipped lunch so far; Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, was ready to help and get Susie lunch. I gave Susie a kiss goodbye, and Susie was headed to some soup and rest. Anassa will have Susie prepared for church at 10AM on Sunday.

Before this, I was up a bit late but refused to rush. I wrote the blog with toast and coffee for breakfast. I skipped my exercises as I was stiff, and my back ached a bit. I was in Air Volvo at about 11:30 and headed to Susie’s place.

Switching gears, David Wesley has done a new video and since it is Sunday, let me put the link here: The Goodness of God. While I don’t support David Wesley on Patron, I subscribe to his channel as he does fantastic work.

Thank you for reading!

I am writing this on Saturday morning with a desire to not rush these next four days. It is MLK on Monday, and Susie has a doc virtual visit on Tuesday, so I took that day off too. I will try to do a bit of rest and recovery these days. No rushing.

Friday began with not rushing and getting up at the last moment for Zoom meetings. I managed to get up in time to make coffee. Friday, often declared a meeting-free day at the shoe company, is seldom that. Our weekly staff meeting is held at the end of the week for India. Always a pleasant meeting, as the master data engineering team is a great bunch of folks. More status meetings follow.

By 10ish, I was through most of the meetings, but a few crises of the moment kept me busy. I slipped in some breakfast of toast, and of course, the coffee was liberal and made in my French press. I was busy until I needed to get a shower and dress.

I was in Air Volvo by 11ish, and soon, the traffic was none too heavy to quickly reach the hummingbird house. The roads were damp but not flooded; the rivers of rain were south in California. The puddles around the Volvo Cave have dried or emptied. The now-cleaned gutters are making guttering sounds and gargling all day and night. I think I miss the sound-deadening gunk and leaves! Driving was easy and safe today.

Susie was delighted to see me and was sitting in her recliner in the shared space, watching Judge Judy. She was dressed in her new Lunar New Year t-shirt with Bugs Bunny to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. We called Susie’s mother, Leta, using my iPhone and using FaceTime so they could see each other. Leta shared what her day was like and her plans for the day. Susie responded here and there. I filled in a few details here and there. Soon my twenty minutes (twenty minutes to get there, twenty minutes to be present for Susie, and twenty minutes to home/work–A total of one hour) were gone, and I had to leave (I had stayed a bit longer actually–when Susie is feeling awake, like today, I take a few more minutes). Susie was sad to have me leave, but it was Friday, and she was happy to hear that we had a four-day weekend yet to come.

I stopped by Tammy’s Hobbies on the way back and got a few items. I bought from their wooden shipbuilding section (shrinking, I am afraid) and found a tiny ship wheel, wooden granting, and a few other small items I might need. In addition, I saw purple Dork metallic paint and a metal paint that suggests it will look like natural brass and can be polished. I need all the things for my Spelljammer ships that I am decorating; I want them to be more a model and less a generic role-playing terrain item.

I returned home, reheated the tamales I had purchased from a gal for dinner, and continued working on a few crises. I was up to midnight with work items in India, helping folks there with a presentation the night before, and I was starting to drag. I managed to keep going until about 4PM and then closed the laptop. I have a few more meetings with India planned over the holiday–They don’t do MLK day in India.

I read for a bit; The Last Magician has reached the page-turning last hundred pages. The book has improved. I find the characters less sympathetic, and their relationships are troubled. It is just hard to love them. However, the book is well-written, and the story flows well. It is in the first person switching between two characters’ perspectives, and I like that style. I recommend it to folks like me who enjoy time travel, old New York City, and steampunk with magic. I will be reading the next one. I am at the final pages; I had to stop reading at 1:30 this morning!

I returned to my model work. I painted the round power band (?!) for the spacejammer metallic purple (more silver than purple), having to apply four coats to get the look (I wanted it more purple, but that did not work out–I have had mixed results with Dork Metalic paints so far). I then splattered the ring with green, blue, and purple to make it look more magical. I abandoned the electronics for this model as there is no place to hide the batteries.

I created a steering wheel station and gratings and replaced the levers with tiny stick shifts. I pinned the steering wheel complex to the deck and then glued the grating next to it and the shifts. I have small and expensive premade tiny buckets that are too large for a 28mm Dungeons and Dragons scale; I remade one into a windless for the anchor. I glued an anchor I bought together, wrapped the windless (a capstan, actually), and then carefully drilled a hole in the deck and put a metal porthole in the hole to make it look neat. I threaded the scale hemp rope and finished with the anchor hanging just below the front (bow) of the spelljammer. It looked good (except I wrapped one loop of the anchor rope around the push bar for the windless–It is too late to fix it).

I had painted the exposed laser inscribed (to make it look like boards) deck with a clear finish. Next, I painted the bird-like figurehead brass with the new paint adding a strip of wood to make it look like a ram bolted on. I used Pine dye on the rest of the exposed wood of the ship and painted the base black after priming it.

I read some more and could not sleep. India contacted me and canceled the call tonight. Mariah turned me down for dinner, and I made a chef’s salad. Mariah rethought that, but I was already eating. I watched the Buzz Lightyear movie. I laughed and even cried, so I would recommend it, but I thought some of it was contrived for kids, and the story seemed forced a few times; I still laughed and cried, so it must be good.

I read more and could not sleep. I drilled the model as described for the anchor. The mast is going to be a clear plastic rod. I had hand-drilled tiny holes in the material with a pin vise hole. Brass deadeyes for attaching rigging to the mast. Unlike wood, this stuff is hard and takes pressure and time.

I knocked over my tiny drill bit collection that spilled on the carpeted floor. I think I recovered all the carbon drills. Just a terrible, sharp, miniature mess. I broke a bowl today. Putting Utterly Smooth on your hands (and toes) every day means dropping things. I have dropped everything at least once today, including the whole spacejammer.

The mast hole with a power drill had the drill lock and spin the model. I managed to extract the drill without too much damage. However, the mast hole will need a bit of clean-up once I have the mast glued in. I was going to do it but decided that 1AM was not the time to do the risky and must-be-prefect attachment for the model.

I finally went to sleep before 2AM, satisfied and enjoying my model building. I forgot how much I love to work with my hands. Wood is also a different experience than plastic, brass, and figure painting. It seems more alive and working with you (plastic always feels like it is resisting). Rope, I hate it, but I try to make it work. I just need more practice with it, but rigging makes a model look more authentic.

Thank you for reading.