two steps forward and one step back

I mentioned the last few days have been busy. I'm still taking Robin to and from work 4 days a week, about a 35 - 40 minute round twice a day. Thursdays are my volunteer day and Friday is one of my days to fix dinner and last Friday it was also my turn to do the dishes plus we went and got our boosters so neither of those days allowed me much personal time. Saturday though, I had all day. It was such a gorgeous day, clear blue sky, warm, not humid. I did my yoga routine, I managed to get a post up, I emptied the truck full of downed branches again and the burn pile is getting bigger and bigger. Rocky came by with his table saw and cut the plywood for me. He had bought a brand new saw blade just for that purpose so he would get nice clean cuts. He's going to get a 6-pack of his favorite beer for his thoughtfulness. Then I set up the wax pot and set up my forms to pour the bases for the next two models and while I was waiting for the plaster bat to finish absorbing water I washed all the little cups from the last mold I filled. Then while I waiting for the wax to cool I scraped the foamy parts off the wax that's been piling up from steaming out molds and added the clean wax discs to the wax pot.

Then I got out the chop saw and miter cut the trim pieces that will go around the plywood bases that Rocky cut for me in the morning for the trumpet flower pieces. 

Then I dismantled the forms around the cooled wax blanks, cleaned that up and then trimmed up the wax blanks and then cleaned up after that. And then I walked the dog and of course she wanted the long walk, and then finally I caught up on all the posts I've missed the previous three days. Finally fixed myself a drink and sit down with my book. I didn't realize how tired I was until I had sat for about 15 minutes.

And the night was full of dreams. I went on a tour of some city. There were only three of us, the tour leader, and her daughter. When we got to the first stop after getting to the city, the two others left, apparently they just wanted a ride home. We stopped at a beach of some sort but we weren't to go in the water but then I looked up and the tour guide was neck deep in it. After she got out I stopped at a group of faucets to wash the sand off my feet and then I had to go to the bathroom and the toilet was on a steep slant and then slid out from under me. Another stop was to see some jute (?, something coarse) weavings piled up in a big attic that we had to clamber up into on a precarious ladder of sorts and then through a hole in the wall and I took a bunch of pictures to show blogger weaver Joanne. There were some other stops that I don't remember now. We drove past the tour guide's house which was a big three story tudor looking place and finally we had to slog up a steep sandy hill to get to the parking lot where the van was for the ride back and I didn't think I would be able to make the last three or four steps but then I was at the top.

As productive as Saturday was, Sunday was not, and in fact I took a step back. I did get the plywood and trim pieces sanded, sprayed two cut off pieces with matte clear coat for testing. Then I decided to construct one of the shadow boxes but first I got the cut off piece of pine, cut a mitered trim piece for one edge, applied wood glue to the edge of the plywood, positioned the piece of trim and after It had time for the glue to set I tacked in three 5/8” little brads through the trim and into the edge of the plywood. Worked great.

Started on the real deal for the pine shadow box, glued a long and short trim piece on at the same time and the first little brad I tried to nail in split the trim. Well, fuck. I took that one off, I had enough left to cut a new one, and attempted to nail in a brad in the other piece and that one started splitting too. Well, double fuck. I gave up. So today I'm heading back into Lowe's to get a new piece of trim and will probably have to cut all four pieces again. But, I know what to do to prevent the trim pieces from splitting. I'll have to drill tiny holes in the trim before hammering the brads in. Anyway, I closed up the shop, walked the dog, and that was the end of my day.

The desert willow vine/shrub is blooming. It's not really a vine in that it doesn't climb on anything. It blooms on the ends of long branches it sends out.