Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Pt 2 - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus...

Gosh, it’s quiet around here when my wife’s away, except for the noise I made a moment ago while piling up the dirty lunch dishes beside the sink.

A moment ago I asked, rhetorically, what does a retired teacher/freelance writer do these days with free time?

It’s easier to start with what I didn’t do.

I ignored the laundry. (Some Martians are very good at this).

It can wait until after today’s hockey game. My shinpads need a rinse.

I didn’t plant beans for the fourth time. I’ll wait until I catch two more evildoers (squirrels) in my humane trap. Another summer like this and I’ll consider Brunswick stew (w squirrel meat) more seriously.

I didn’t start my next column. Research is planned for Thursday.

But after all that mental organizing I felt drawn to my workshop.

Six small piles of cedar strips stand ready to become birdhouses that will resemble the J.R. model, circa 1950.

[Google ‘J.R. birdhouse’ images for details. I can’t supply a photo until my blog site fixes an ongoing problem]

The real J.R. is made of teak and aluminum but I’ll continue with my own cedar variety.

Two are pre-sold and the proceeds will pay for the linseed oil needed to seal and finish my next six Rietveld chairs and matching tables.

The houses and chairs, columns and occasional bike ride (either on 12-speed or motorcycle) will take care of July. I might even find room for a wee camping vacation.

***

Does free time make your top ten list for ‘things we should enjoy on a regular basis?’

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2 comments:

Kathleen said...

Oh, yes. At least for some of us writers, there's a requisite number of hour of procrastination every we must hit before the muse arrives.

Does free time make my top 10 list for 'things we should enjoy on a regular basis'?

I'd have to confess it's #1.

Kathleen said...

Let's try that again, shall we:

. . . there's a requisite number of procrastination hours we must hit before the muse arrives.