End is Near

Where oh where has this month gone!  October is only 2 days away.  Hmm.  The ole cowboy will be 88 on the 2nd of October.  I had asked him if he wanted to do or plan anything special for Tuesday.  Nope.  He made sure I understood he was content and happy right here on Stauffer Avenue.  I will make sure that he has a cake for his day.

As I am working this posting, I can look to the south or the west.  What do my wandering eyes see?  Bugs.  Lots and lots of bugs.  Asian Beatles and Boxelder bugs flighting in the sunshine.  Ishi.  The suction cups that Boxelder bugs have on their legs is creepy when they latch onto you.

I am from the old school.  Extra furniture to make things handier was not in the budget.  What did work for me was to find several boards around the farm that would be cleaned or painted.  In the grove I would find old bricks to take home and clean them up.  Before too long, I would have a handy book shelf by using two bricks to sit on the floor.  Next add a board.  Add bricks on the end of the shelf, lining them up so they were placed consistently with the two on the floor.  Eye appeal was everything.  The amount of bricks on each end was determined by how tall your books were.  The finished height of the shelving unit depended on how many boards close in length could be found, plus how many bricks could be scrounged up.  This DIY thought process is alive and well today on Stauffer Avenue.

The “5” magnification lamp is located at the end of my 60s vintage sewing table as it sits on the floor.  The flexible goose-neck needs to reach 15 inches across said table where my cherry red chair is for the hand stitching.  Another item I addressed with the “5” is that for me to have my stitching far enough away from the lite lens of the lamp and still allow my hands to move over and under the fabric,  the lamp stand needed to be taller as it sat on the floor.  The table clamp that came with it would have had a lesser degree of help.

I’ll bet you all wondered where I was going with my board and brick shelving unit solution.  Here goes.  I went into the basement of our home and I brought up two bricks that had been put to use down there over the decades.  Nice clean bricks.  Two bricks placed under the heavy metal base plate of lamp, brought the height of the lamp unit up right where I needed it.  My hands can work freely while I look through the “5” lens.  

Sometimes that old Raymond logic is just the best when I need to help myself find what works the best for me without a whole lot of extra bells and whistles.

We have leftover chicken ruebens for supper and I am going to bake a tube of Pillsbury’s finest biscuits.

With that I will take my leave.  ♥