Stuff and Such

Doing some blog housecleaning.  Amazing how many of 'my' people are no longer blogging.  To those of you that have continued but have changed your blog address, I miss you.  Please comment with your new address.

A Fresh New Look...

for Spring.  I'm going to make an attempt to be cheerful.  Hah!  But, yes, I'll give it a go.  It's got to be cheerful someplace so why not here.  I'm working on lots of keys for customers all around the states and as the warranty key person for KawaiUSA.  Thankfully it keeps me very busy and financially in the black after having to give up much of my tuning business.  I still tune for established customers in Rockport and Gloucester and by select referrals within the two towns.  Much of my time is devoted to caring (or trying to) for my mother who has dementia.  It's not fun.  It's draining, frustrating, tiring, exasperating.........
But, even though I don't get out much other than errands, a once every 3 week visit with a friend, and very rarely a quick breakfast or dinner out with Ray, I am managing to find time to paint.  While it requires a lot of thought and energy, it is not directed toward caring for someone else.  And....it is a calming and relaxing process.  When I get to it, I'll post some pics of my more recent work.

For now you'll have to be satisfied with a brighter blog look.

Among the Missing

That's me.  It's been a very long time since I have written anything here. I've thought of doing it, then time passes with nothing written.  If anyone is still around checking back here, here I am! Let yourself be known.  Is it worth writing here anymore or has everyone left?  And a picture...just for the fun of it...

Wow, I remembered how to do it!

Enough Grief

It hasn't been a great summer so far.  Death of a friend, although not unexpected as he was 98 years old, and bad health news from my dearest friend.  A is struggling with depression, she hates it here, hates her life.  She does manage to get herself moving for meals and for work, but that is about it.  She really needs to take her talks to her therapist toward this.  Mom's dementia continues to worsen and I find it very discouraging and tiring to try to keep up.

And then...

My neighbor (the one I've written about before) hits me with the most humorous accusations.

To preface:  Her husband, a very hard working gentleman, has been trying to neaten their yard.  Last week he evidently did some digging out around the area where he parks his truck next to the fence.  As I was sitting in my den window, about 20 feet away, I heard him shoveling rock into place.  I looked out the window just as some of the crushed rock shot under the fence and into the grassy area next to our back drive.  So...

The other day I was out weeding the veggie garden and along the stone area where I park.  It dawned on me about those stray stones.  I thought, gee, while I'm out here I'll go check on that.  I don't want to get hit by them when I next weedwack along that edge.  I worked my way along the drive, picking up the bits of crushed rock and gently tossing or placing them back under the fence to join the others he had shoveled.

Minding my own business.

Finished and looked up as I was to walk back down my drive.  There she stood...arms crossed in front of her.  Her comment at my shrug?  "You don't have enough stones so you have to steal ours?"

I laughed and responded that she must be joking.

She wasn't.

She proceeded to accuse me of trespassing...as she stood in my drive!

I gave up on trying to be reasonable and headed back inside.

Is This So Difficult to Understand?

I got a call from a tech today that kind of went as follows:

Tech:  Yes, hi, do you have extra ivories that you would sell?

Me:  No, I have never sold ivory as I use it for my own customers and for keyboard restoration work for technician customers.  Also, it is currently illegal to sell/trade in any ivory across state lines.  You are from Florida, right?

Tech:  Ah, yes.  When did it become illegal?

Me:  The federal government passed the ban in interstate ivory sales/trade on July 6, 2016.  You will have to find someone in your own state if you wish to legally buy old ivory.

Tech:  Oh, I don't know of anyone here. 

Me:  I'm sorry.  I can't help you.

Tech:  Maybe I can find someone out west that will sell me some.

Me:  Well, I can't say whether anyone will, but it is illegal for them to sell out of state.  That's now federal law.

Tech:  I'm going to Texas.  Maybe someone there can sell it to me?

Me:  (ready to scream)  They would be breaking a federal law.  That would be up to them.  Sorry I can't help you.  Best of luck.

Is the meaning of interstate and illegal difficult to grasp?  Wow.

The Endless Rut

A down in the dumps post.

Firstly, I'm tired, so there.

So, we are now in the thick of winter.  I shovel and shovel and work in between and take mom on her errands and keep track of her medicines and her groceries and her life in general.  She resents me nonetheless.  I know she doesn't mean it.  Yet I live with it. 

Her hearing aid died on Wednesday...not the battery.  The hearing aid office was closed on Thursday due to the blizzard...yeah the one with all the shoveling that I did.  It was open on Friday morning but I was busy and couldn't get there. 

Light snow again and again over the weekend...shovel, shovel, shovel.  This creates havoc with my arthritis.  I ache.

Mom can't understand why I can't get her hearing aid fixed...NOW!  I explain again about the office hours and the weather.  Doesn't matter to her...SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE!

So, here I sit watching the start of another blizzard.  Got Amanda to work and will need to pick her up at 4 today.  Hopefully the driving will still be manageable.  Guess I'll have to manage! 

I got a load of laundry done and Ray almost got a load done before the dryer broke.  Of course.  What else can go wrong?  He's off to get his soggy clothes dried at the laundromat.  Mom wanted to do a load but now can't.  She's mad because she has an eye dr. appointment on Tuesday morning and thinks she will have nothing clean to wear.  ONE MORE THING.

So when do I get her hearing aid fixed?  Blizzard tonight/tomorrow so can't get there even if they are open.  Their out-of-town office is open Tuesday, but Mom has a morning appointment and Amanda has an afternoon one...both in town.  Maybe Wednesday? (more snow expected) Not to mention someone will need to be home for the dryer repairman. 

Work?  Yeah, that, too.

A Promise?

To write something here over the weekend.  I might even share a picture or two.  Stay tuned. 

And She Found It

Going back to Thanksgiving Eve...

Since I knew I'd be doing most of the cooking for Thanksgiving dinner, I opted for a pizza night.  Amanda was working late so it would just be R, Mom, and me.

Mom always orders two slices of cheese pizza, R and I decided to split a large pizza - half pepperoni, half cheese. 

I'll preface the following tale with the fact that I hate pepperoni.

I went to pick up our order.  Mom's two slices were in there own package within a bag.  I took that to her first.  Handed it to her saying, "Mom, here are your two slices."

Ray brought the large pizza box in to Mom's kitchen for the two of us to easily grab our slices and eat dinner with Mom.

Ray and I each ate a couple slices - I noticed that there was one just cheese slice left for me in the box.

Mom finished her first slice and then TOOK MY LAST SLICE from the box.

"Mom!  That's my last slice!  Your slices were separate."

"No, I've only had one slice."

"I'm not saying you had more than one slice.  Where is the other piece from your package?  Remember, your two slices were packaged separately!"

"I haven't eaten two slices.  This is my second slice."

"Then where is the second slice from your package?"

"I don't know what you're talking about.  This is my second slice."

"No, that's my last slice, out of the box that R and I are splitting."

"Well, I've only had one and I wanted two."

NEVER MIND

Forward to Saturday morning.

Mom says, "What's this in my microwave?"

I go to see what she's talking about.
She pulls out a slice of pizza.

"That's the second piece.  The one you should have eaten instead of taking mine."

"Oh well, sorry, jeez......"

Dementia 

Over...Over Due, Over Worked, Over It, Over All

Yeah, I'll get around to writing something worth reading, soon.  I promise.  Right now, though, the title 'bout says it all.  Mom is no longer allowed to drive, which means that I am chauffeur for her and for A.  A's schedule is variable week to week and we never know the next week's schedule until the Thursday night prior.  We used to rely on Mom to fill in as needed if I had a tuning appointment or just someplace I needed or wanted to be.  No more.  How do I work full time and do this? 

Add to it that Mom's memory has failed considerably.  Makes me unusually cranky to have to remember stuff for her, check that she eats correctly, takes her medicines, remind her many times each day of appointments, errands, bills to pay, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

I know she can't help it.

I tell myself that over and over and over.  It helps for a couple seconds!

Past Time

After the last post where the time was combined with old piano parts, I got thinking about what I have created over the years from other parts of pianos.  One side table is missing from the photo line-up below.  I still have it, but it is stored due to lack of space.

A simple shelf in my kitchen was once a piano lid

A pretty fretwork front panel becomes a 'stained glass' wall panel when old silk neckties are used to fill the open design

I needed a coat rack in a narrow space at the top of my staircase.  This half front panel and some added hooks worked.

A little storage truck.  It was once on legs but wouldn't fit under the window in its new home (still have the legs).

A bookcase (currently rather messy) from an old reed organ case.

An entertainment center and display cabinet from two piano cases circa mid 1870s

A large oak storage truck at the foot of the bed.  I use it for extra linens.

It's Time...

to reveal a little project undertaken last month.  I received my PTG Journal and there was a photograph of a birdhouse made from piano parts.  Well, I could do that, I thought.  But I don't want a bird house.  I don't even want a fake bird house.  Maybe I'll just make a storage box...or something.

Then Ray said, "You could put a clock in it."

Why hadn't I thought of that?

So........

Concert Roller Organ

I know there is a way to post video on here, but I just can't wait long enough for the upload.  There has to be a better way.

So here are some photos instead.

I love the decal produced by Decals Unlimited.  Just wish they also had the decorative ones originally located on the front and sides of the case.  Of course, all were originally stencils, not decals.

Looking pretty good.  It was rather beat up and the workings needed a complete restoration when I bought it.

I got 8 old rollers (cobs) with the organ.  Then I bought these 5 new cobs.

I don't remember if I ever posted the restoration photos on here.  I'll check.  I just might also try uploading that video in a separate post.

A Disappointing Show

In many ways. 
Today was the opening of the Contributing Members show at the art association.  What a disappointment.
Firstly, a lot of the work was iffy.  Now this is not a 'professional' show, nor is it juried.  So, they hang what ever is submitted.  In past years most of the work has been pretty darn good.  This year.......well, an off year, I guess.
However, that wasn't the worst of it.  The show itself was poorly hung.  Lack of care, lack of knowledge, or just bad.  Even the food was pathetic. Doesn't speak well of the organization.  Especially when the exhibitors have paid dues, paid an entry fee, and will have to fork over 40% of the sale if one is made.

There's mine, smooshed down in the center.  At least it shares this space with some decent work.  The painting above mine could have held its own space.  They should have traded it with the watercolor on the left and then given a bit more space between the upper and lower paintings.  Same goes for the spacing on the other pair.

And then.....

One of the two galleries. 

The Opening is held on the same day as Town Meeting.  Just plain dumb.  The show was poorly attended.

The Woods Can Be a Scary Place - Part 2

You are being watched...

Title?

The latest from my easel.  Not my typical style...but I like it.  The big problem now?  What to title it?

Puzzling?

A massive 2000 pieces, 3 people, and 2.5 weeks of on and off puzzling and..........

it's FINISHED!

The Woods Can Be a Scary Place!

Perilous Position

What's This Sneaking Away?

A Whisper of Winter White

On my way home from a Wednesday morning tuning.  This is leftover snow/ice (would that be snice?) from the mess of snow and freezing rain on Tuesday.  Rte 128N, somewhere around Manchester, MA. 

Christmas is Fast Approaching

Even though the weather has not been very Christmas-like for the Northeast.  I am NOT complaining about the warmerthannormaltemperatures.  I'm sure we will pay for them come mid February or so...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Old Dolls

Britula Puppe dolls

Here are some old dolls that I have had stashed away for a few years.  The ones pictured above are only 3 - 4 inches tall.  I looked online for info about them based on the tags they are wearing:  Britula Puppe  Made by Baltic Refugees   Below is what I found, copied from a site called Worthopedia (you have to join to actually find the value of things...ah, no)

Baltic Sea Refugees
Between 1944 to 1948/49 over 15 Million Refugees - Expellees
were forcibly removed from the lands south of the Baltic Sea -of
Eastern German- Prussian Lands. Millions of people from Ukraine,
Poland ,Russia , Tchecheslowakia were brought into these German
Lands.
To this day the Governments -The Allied Control Council - which
administered these Lands under Military Occupation between 1945
to 1948 and 50 years after are silent and do not acknowledge
the 2 1/2 Million Germanic people that died during this resettlement.
They were mostly women and children .
This is almost never mentioned by the Official Governments involved
except by a very rare individual as " peaceful resettlement" .
Hitler had in 1932 by Military take-over ousted the Prussian Govern-
ment under Otto Braun . The Allied Control Council did the rest.
The lands are still occupied - not returned to the original population
Complicity of the Western Allies with the Communists 50 years ago
made recurring "Resettlements in the Balkans" possible in the 1990's.

I have some other dolls, too.  The pictures below show them.

Little Women dolls...one naked!  Porcelain heads, arms, and legs.

All stamped China with composite heads, arms and legs

His bench is stamped Made in China.  He seems to be made of leather.

This poor guy has no markings.

Someday (soon, I hope) I will be selling these.  None of them are in very good condition but I would think they are worth a few dollars.  Must find out.