Monthly Archives: December 2018

Song: “Holiday Road” by Lyndsey Buckingham

Mood: 7

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: Horde

Hello!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much lately – even though it’s the holidays, I think I’ve been a little more busy than usual, and by the time I realize that I should sit down and write something, it’s already way past my bedtime.

J and I had a quiet but good Christmas. We stayed at home, hung out, and ate way too much ham and slow-cooked scalloped potatoes (hoo boy were they ever good). We missed hanging out with everyone but we had a good time. J had to work this past week but now has a four-day weekend, which is great!

Since my last daily post on the 21^st, I think I’ve only had nightmares one night. I’m still waking up quite a bit but it hasn’t been too bad and for the most part I don’t feel like a zombie during the day. I do have to be careful about getting too comfortable on the couch, though, because I can nod off a bit if I’m not careful.

I have been having a lot of trouble chasing ghosts, though, and yesterday was pretty bad. The weather dropped 15 degrees and we got some wind, so the house was making all kinds of sounds, which was… difficult. I’m still not used to the sounds that vehicles make while they drive by (I know that sounds silly but consider how well snow muffles sound and the noise it makes while rubber tires squeak through it), and there have been big trucks parked outside, idling loudly for long periods of time.

J and I are very fortunate to have pretty good neighbours, but for whatever reason, one of them has a car that, when pulling into their driveway, sounds like it’s dragging old steel barrels filled with angry furbys and pot lids. It never sounds quite the same and always catches me by surprise, and I can neither identify the sound nor figure out where it’s coming from. I scramble around the house, making sure everything is okay whilst trying to not be one of “those people” who stand and stare out a window for hours like a cat.

A little while ago I added Ghosts to my daily summary. I originally though I’d go with a scale that went from none to terrible, but decided a few days ago to do something different. If you played computer games back in the 90s, you may recognize the following scale:

• None
• Few
• Several
• Pack
• Lots
• Horde
• Throng
• Swarm
• Zounds
• Legion

It’s a little arbitrary but I think it works pretty well to give an idea of what’s going on.

I haven’t been back out driving the truck since the 19^th but I’ve been outside for extended times clearing snow from the driveway. I reinstalled the heated seat liner a few days ago but haven’t given it a try yet this year. It’s really nice to have on those nasty cold days.

I’ve been running the 3D printer pretty much full time during the day (and sometimes during the night). Both J and I have found tons of designs on the Internet and the more things I think about, the more possibilities open up for things to try to make. I’ve been playing with a few different software design tools and have been slowly getting to the point where I can design something that may actually be useful. Right now, the printer is attempting to cough out a nice hardy vent cover for the furnace vent at the front door. We keep buying new ones and they keep getting cracked. In addition to making one being cheaper than buying one (by more than half), it should last a lot longer, and it was interesting and fun to design.

I’ve made some useful things from designs I’ve found:

I also discovered that you can make lithophanes with a printer:

 

When I held it up to the light, it BLEW MY MIND. I think I’m going to make some of these for my nephews.

I also made a little bowl holder for J’s aunt’s new cat. It doesn’t look like much, but I fought with it for two days before I finally got it to where I was happy with it:

She should be coming by today to pick it up. I hope it works and that she (and her cat) like it!

I’ve also been doing more sewing. I made another three bags out of the leftover curtain material (which I think may have worked better than the denim), and I made my first clothing repair! One of my new sweaters had a flaw or a run in the fleece and I decided to try and fix it. Here’s the flaw:

And here’s the fix:

I think it turned out pretty well. I’m no longer worried that it’s going to pull apart, that’s for sure!

I’m planning on getting back into the towels over the next couple of days. I have a walking foot to install on the machine that should make it a lot easier to move over all the little cotton loops that keep wanting to get snagged on the regular sewing foot.

J and I finished watching the sixth season of Elementary a few days ago. It was miles better than the last season or two and we both really enjoyed it. I heard there is a seventh season coming and then that’ll be it. I’m a little bummed out that it’s been cancelled but seven years is a pretty good run and the shows are definitely rewatchable. We have since switched to Corner Gas, a cute little Canadian show that first ran a little over a decade ago.

So… that’s about where everything is at. I know I’ve forgotten a lot of things – with the way time is working for me these days, everything blends together and I can’t keep track of stuff unless I write it down.

One last thing… I can already tell that the days are getting longer, and it’s wonderful!

Stay safe.

[1] Model downloaded from: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1298487

[2] Model downloaded from: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:252162

J and I (and Lloyd and Buddy the Shrimp) want to wish everyone everywhere a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays.

May 2019 be your best year yet, and may you discover and enjoy many positive and interesting things about yourself!

For quite a few reasons, this time of year can be difficult. If you’re feeling unwell or are having bad thoughts, please tell someone. You are loved, you are wanted, and there are people who really want you to feel better. Please talk to someone, go to your nearest Emergency Room, or call you local emergency services or a crisis centre. There are some phone numbers and websites on the Resources page that may help.

Stay safe.

Song: “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” by The Andrews Sisters

Mood: 6

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: Lots

I was too tired to post last night – sorry about that.

Yesterday was a decent day, though. My homework didn’t go as well as it did the previous day – I was hoping to get out and driving again but it didn’t work out, which left me very disappointed. It’s a very strange and upsetting feeling to know that deep down I have the knowledge and/or skills required to do something, but for whatever reason, I just can’t do it. I have the desire to do it… I just can’t make it happen.

I spent a lot of time working with the 3D printer and PETG filament. I ran a couple of test prints that didn’t work well at all – very blobby, hairy, stringy… just awful. I did some reading and found a lot of conflicting advice so I wasn’t sure what to do. Then, I found out that the printer controller lets me tweak settings while the print is underway. I changed all kinds of stuff a bit at a time until things cleared up. I made a few things that look pretty good with the new settings:

To finish off the day, J and I watched some more Elementary and had snacks (I had fruitcake with icing on it). Speaking of which, I just heard yesterday that they’ve cancelled it so seven seasons will be all they make. It’s too bad – J and I have both been really enjoying the sixth season so far. It’s been much more engaging than seasons four and five I think.

I slept reasonably well last night but woke up six or seven times because I was worrying about something (mainly whether the front door was locked and if the garage door was closed). Having those pictures saves on my phone saves me a lot of getting up and wandering around the house in the middle of the night.

I felt awful this morning when I woke up, though. My guts hurt and my head felt like it was full of rusty old steel wool. I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything but I had some yogurt and then went over to the couch to feel sorry for myself. I sent out my texts more slowly than normal but still got them sent, then did some research into how to install the walking foot on my sewing machine. It looks both simple and needlessly complicated all at the same time. My mother-in-law says that it will make a huge difference when I go to make more towels. I’m looking forward to trying it!

Just after noon, I called the taxi company and ordered one for 15 minutes before my Dr C appointment. Unfortunately, I was feeling worse and was starting to wonder if I’d caught a stomach flu so 15 minutes later I called again and cancelled the taxi, then called and emailed Dr C to let her know I wasn’t going to make it today. I heard back from her not too long later. She was very pleasant about the whole thing and didn’t charge me a fee even though I gave her less than two hours’ notice. I was hoping to be able to wish her a safe and happy holidays in person but better to be safe and do it over the phone than barf all over her office. My next appointment is scheduled for early January, so that’s still close enough to the new year to wish someone a “happy new year” without seeming weird.

I spent a lot of time sipping flavoured water and arguing with FreeCAD. I can see that there are lots of features but everything is done so much differently than what I’m used to, I think it’s going to take a while before I can design anything practical with it. That’s too bad, because I have several projects around the house that I need to design parts for and I’d really like to get them done sooner rather than later. But – as always – I need to stick with baby steps.

Tomorrow is Friday. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. I’d like to set up a print and do some sewing while stuff is whirring away in the basement. I’m at a point now, though, where there are so many things I want to do with the printer that I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

No Elementary this evening, but we’ll have lots of time to watch some episodes over the weekend. I’m also feeling a lot better now than I did this afternoon.

Stay safe.

[1] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:131697

[2] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2230232

Song: N/A

Mood: 5.5

Nightmares: 1

Ghosts: Lots

I need to keep this really short because it’s 1:35AM and I can’t keep both of my eyes open at the same time.

I slept better last night but still woke up a lot, just not from nightmares. Taking those pictures when I do my rounds before I go to bed helps a lot but sometimes I find myself still needing to get out of bed and prowl the house.

I spent a bunch of time today designing a tilting stand for one of my Raspberry Pi boards. I’m still a long way from being able to call myself a FreeCAD novice, but I managed to fudge together a reasonable facsimile of what I was trying to do. Three hours later, it was done printing. Twenty seconds after that, I had this:

So yeah, that didn’t work out too well. I will go back to the drawing board and design something sturdier – something that doesn’t (in hindsight) rely on the weakest possible orientation for the part that’s going to hold stuff up.

I went out to do my homework today and I heard that colder weather is coming so I brought out my heated seat cover and installed it before sitting in the truck for close to 40 minutes. I started to get irritated at myself, feeling once again like I was letting everyone down. I took a few deep breaths, turned the music up even louder, threw the transmission in reverse, and very, very slowly backed down the driveway and out into the street. When I looked back at the garage I could see a puddle of coolant on the floor – I need to fix that or get it fixed soon.

Anyway, so I took a slow drive around the block. Sorry for the poor quality but the phone was in its stand, sitting on the dashboard and stuck to that black pad at the bottom of the picture.

And when I approached home I decided to do it again. Unfortunately, the second time around didn’t go as well and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t quite get back inside before I got hit with a panic attack. God, I hate those things. What possible evolutionary advantage could being able to experience panic attacks give? I get the “fight or flight or freeze” thing, but a panic attack keeps me from being able to do any of those three actions. I hate them. HATE them.

So that wrung me out pretty good – I’m always tired and worn out after a panic attack. Again – not a useful thing at all.

The good thing is I drove around the block twice today. The bad thing is that it ended poorly. I hope that doesn’t dissuade me from trying again sometime soon.

Another bad thing is that I’m having a lot of trouble chasing garage door ghosts today.

On the upside, my new spools of filament arrived today. Lots of PLA, some ABS, some glow-in-the-dark PLA, and some really pretty transparent sea green PETG. I unpacked it and loaded it up:

I just love that colour! Anyway, I set up the print bed and put on the tape like I always use, changed the temperature settings to what was listed on the spool, loaded up a model (I’m trying to make J another post-it note holder), sliced the model, and hit print.

It did not go well. I was hoping that the PETG would behave but it was not to be, and I ended up with a bunch of this stuff:

Over an hour later, I thought I’d hit upon the right combination of settings and told the machine to print again. I ended up with this:

Better, but one corner lifted away from the bed while it was still printing so the note holder is a little wobbly. J is happy with it, though, so she now has a fancy green post-it note holder to go along with the white PLA one I printed last week.

J was nice enough to stop at the fabric store on her way home from work and pick me up some supplies. Some grey webbing for handles for those bags (man that stuff is cheap!), some bobbles, and a pencil to mark dark fabrics. Thank you for going out sweetie, I really appreciate it!!!

J and I watched another Elementary this evening. This season is really very good. The stories are engaging and the cast is quite good (with one notable exception). I’m glad that it’s better this season, but to be honest, watching the show is secondary. I really enjoy the TV time that J and I take because we sit downstairs, she leans against me, and we watch the show all nice and cozy. We could be watching some ridiculous movie (which we have done on several occasions) and it would still be nice and cozy.

After that, I went back to the printer and tried to figure out ways to make the PETG adhere to the print bed. I ran a glue stick over the green tape I put down on the printer and fiddled around with the temperature. I can now get it to reliably stick to the print surface, but the quality and PETG adhesion to itself is still pretty rough. It’s either too cold and the runs don’t stick to itself, or it’s too hot and there are weird hairy things all over the place. I will get it figured out soon though!

And that takes me to here. I spent far too much time today messing around with the printer. And now I really must go to bed. I know I’m really tired when I keep seeing things moving out of the corner of my eye.

Stay safe.

[1] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:131697

Song: N/A

Mood: 5.5

Nightmares: 3+

Ghosts: Lots

Last night didn’t go so well. For whatever reason, nightmares woke me up several times, one of which led to a panic attack and me cowering out in the living room with the lights on, trying to be as quiet as I could. For the last three years, I’ve been having the same three nightmares over and over again, and it’s getting really old. The worst part is, they still scare the crap out of me and leave me panting and disoriented like they always have. I wish that for once I’d dream I was lost in shadows and being stalked by some formless, terrifying monster. Or that I was in a store and had forgotten to put on pants. Or I was out in the truck and stuck in a ditch and a bear was coming. Something other than knowing that people died because I threw a wrench into things by not being able to do the things that were my responsibility.

The nightmares don’t change, don’t seem to evolve, and they come and go as they please, with no real pattern that I can find. Fortunately, they’re not happening as often as they used to, and one of the three (overturned boat) I very rarely get anymore. Maybe the other two will follow. That would be nice.

As a result of the poor sleep, it took me longer than usual to get going this morning. I had breakfast, checked in on some stuff, and went downstairs to look in on how the printer was doing. It was still churning away at the job I’d submitted the previous evening and still had a long way to go but it looked pretty good.

I started sending my daily round of texts. FA and DM are back home so I can text them again now, too, which is great.

After that, I started in on some sewing. There’s enough of the curtain material leftover to make three bags, which is good, but this fabric has patterns on it that don’t quite match up with right angles and stuff like that, and since I’m only good at sewing rectangles and squares right now, it took me quite a bit of figuring, eyeballing, calculating, and measuring to try and figure out how everything should go. It took a couple of hours and several rounds of stitch ripping, but I finally got it sewn up the way I wanted it to be. The other denim bags I’ve been using so far have all been about 18” wide by 18” tall, but I decided to use up as much of the curtain material as I could, so those bags will be about 18” wide by 21” tall. I like how the new ones look – they’re kind of quirky:

I need to get some more polyester webbing for the handles but there’s no urgency for that at all.

By early afternoon, my poor sleep was catching up with me. Between that and me dwelling on those nurses and staff I won’t see again, the ghosts were quite bad this afternoon. Interestingly, the “whee-whoo-whiip-whiip” sound of the printer running didn’t seem to bother me at all – it was the usual cracks, ticks, weird sounds that make me think there’s a bird in the house, hearing a vehicle drive by but not seeing it, seeing something moving out of the corner of my mind, making sure I didn’t forget to turn off or lock something… the usual. Like I’ve said before, though – sewing is an excellent hobby for these kinds of situations: I can leave the fabric and machine exactly where they are, turn off the machine, go check things out, come back x minutes/hours later, and pick right back up where I was. A very nice daytime hobby. Plus, I’m still enjoying sewing for the sake of sewing and learning, and the thought that I’m doing something that might make it into a needy person’s hands makes me feel good.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. That phrenology head should be done in the next hour or so, so I’ll head down to the basement early on to check on it. Boy, I hope it turns out. Then, if it looks good and I have any filament left, I’m going to print up some other stuff that’s waiting in line. Then, I plan to make those other two bags with the leftover fabric. If I have any more time after that, I think I’m going to bake some cookies and design some things I’d like to build.

Stay safe.

PS: Please, please, please – no nightmares tonight, and no panic attacks either.

PPS: Too tired to proofread right now. Will try to remember to do it tomorrow

Song: “I Think I Love You” by The Partridge Family

Mood: 6

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: Very Few

Friday was a fair day. The phrenology bust I printed had several flaws, and despite my best efforts with the belt sander, superglue, and latex caulking, it didn’t work out. The good thing is I now know what I did wrong, so right now (it’s 11:54PM on Sunday) the printer is humming away (with a properly levelled print bed) on a new version that will take over a day to print but should be vastly superior to my first attempt.

My Dr C appointment was less difficult than some of them have been lately. She led me through a relaxation exercise that really helped and, amazingly, I left the clinic feeling less wrung-out than I did when I went in. I even stopped at the newly renovated first floor and had a brief and somewhat awkward chat with the receptionist that used to work on Dr C’s floor.

As for the weekend… it went by so quickly, I can’t believe it’s already Sunday evening. J and I got a lot of stuff done around the house and we had some time to hang out and relax, too. We’ve been working our way through the sixth season of Elementary and I’m pleased that it was renewed – season six seems much stronger than the fifth or fourth were.

I measured the leftover fabric from the curtains we made last week and I think I might be able to get three bags out of it. That’d bring the total to seven, which I think is a good amount to donate to a shelter. I will start on them tomorrow – I don’t usually sew in the evenings or on weekends because (for me anyway) running a sewing machine is a very interruptable hobby, so nothing will get ruined when I’m wandering around the house, chasing ghosts.

I’ve been running the 3D printer every day since I got it running for probably close to 16 hours a day. I’m comfortable enough with it now that tonight is the first time I’m running it overnight. I can hear it in the bedroom but hopefully it won’t keep either of us awake. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s not a sound that I can’t ignore. It shouldn’t be – hearing the sound means that it’s working. But who knows. There is a smoke detector in the room and I set up an old lamp and a Raspberry Pi wireless camera in there so I can take a look at the printer whenever I want.

I’m getting a little caught up in what the printer can do. Every time I look somewhere, I can see a new design and printing project. The furnace vent, the stands for J’s stained glass, little drawers for my sewing desk, doodads to help sew, flower pots, that broken piece on the downstairs couch, new handguards for my dual sport bike, a patch for the fuel tank on my dirt bike, a handle for our shoehorn, all kinds of guards, shims, knobs… and that’s before I even start thinking of the toy-like stuff I want to build, like some space ships and characters from TV/movie/game/comics. Lots of stuff to try! The supplies I ordered should be here on Wednesday, and then it’ll be time to figure out how to print with other materials.

I’m still thinking a lot about how it’s unlikely that I’ll ever see the nurses or staff from the hospital again. It bothers me quite a bit, but I spoke with my mom on Friday morning and she had a good point – once I’m a little more back on my feet, I can take a trip to those other hospitals and say hello. I really hope everyone gets through these changes without too much trouble.

J has been doing a ton of paperwork and making dozens of phone calls to my employer, insurance company, union, and Dr W. She’s spent an enormous amount of time and sweat getting everything together because I can’t do it – even writing about it right now is making my stomach start to lurch forward and backward. I need to say this, though: I can’t properly express how much I appreciate the work she’s doing (trust me, I appreciate it A LOT).

Because of all of J’s time and effort, a little while ago my insurance company recommended to my employer that I be moved from short-term disability to long-term. My employer considered it, along with the reports that J has been submitting, statements from Dr W and Dr C on my current status, prognosis, and compliance with my treatment, and has offered me the option of taking a medical retirement.

J explained how the medical retirement would work and I’m not sure where I sit. It sounds like a good idea – the insurance company will leave us alone except for a couple of calls a year. I would also not have to worry about my employer calling me back into work, because I’ll be retired from my position. It gives me more time to make as much of a recovery I can, and when I’m back on solid footing, there’s nothing stopping me from getting another job or taking some classes. I’ll even be able to volunteer at, say, a hospital once I’m ready.

At the same time, though, this is NOT how I expected my life to go. I’d planned to work until I was 55, then retire comfortably and hang out with J all the time. I did not expect to be 43 and unable to work. And still, after all this time, I don’t trust either my employer or my insurance company. Now that the medical retirement is a possibility, there are even more people looking at my case and treatment, and any of them could choose to cause a problem. I don’t know why I still don’t trust my employer or my insurance company, but I don’t.

Okay, enough of that, I really don’t want to think about it anymore. Plus, it’s way past my bedtime so I must go. Talk to you tomorrow.

Stsy safe.

Song: “You Think You’re A Man” by Divine

Mood: 5.5

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: Moderate

It’s very late, so here are the main things that happened today:

– Kept very busy.

– The stuff that happened yesterday regarding me probably never seeing any of the nurses, therapists, aides, or other staff from the ward again, is still really bothering me. I’m trying to keep busy so I’m not dwelling on it but I keep catching myself thinking about it. Good Lord, I’m 43 years old and find myself fighting back tears when I think about the staff on the ward that took care of me and helped me get safe enough to go home. I will miss them all so much.

[Oh great, it’s happening right now… argh…]

– I was trying to think of something to give Dr C for Christmas and came up with the idea of a phrenology bust. I found a model, cut it into two pieces so it didn’t need as many supports, and ran it through the slicer. It’s by far the most complex, largest, and longest print I’ve done yet. It took almost 15 hours, but I’m very pleased with how it looks. Tomorrow I will do some tweaking, hopefully get the front and back to line up properly, glue it together, and paint it. If it doesn’t work, I have another week to try again.

– While the printer was doing its thing, I sat down and made two more denim bags. That’s it for the denim so I’m going to either move on to towels next or make a couple of bags out of the material left over from the curtains. I’m not sure how much there is. I should get into the mittens soon, too. The sewing is great because when I have to go chasing ghosts, I can get right back to where I was with no problem, which was pretty handy today. That’s four bags in total done now, and I’m getting a lot faster at making them. They’re not the prettiest but hopefully someone can get some use out of them.

– My sister called today. It was good to talk to her and I was happy to hear that she’s doing well. I enjoy our weekly talks and hearing about how everyone over there is doing. My nephews are both doing really well – the younger one is really enjoying playing hockey.

– J and I watched another episode of Elementary this evening. I am pretty impressed with this season so far. I can’t remember which one it is, but it’s the one that recently came out on DVD.

– Since the 3D printing has been going pretty well and I’ve been running it a lot, I ordered some more supplies for it. Even ordered some glow in the dark stuff – I have plans to make things for my nephews with that.

I need to stop here. It’s far too late and I’m typing with my eyes closed. Dr C appointment tomorrow.

Stay safe.

[1] Model downloaded from https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-dr-caldwell-american-marked-bust-69227

Song: N/A

Mood: 5

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: few

No nightmares last night and I didn’t wake up too many times, so that was good.

Once I heaved myself out of bed, I hung out with J and my mother-in-law. Last night, I hemmed the sides and tops of the curtains, while today, the three of us figured out the best way to hang them so I could take measurements and finish them off. They look pretty good:

It was great to see my mother-in-law again, she is very patient about my crappy sewing and I hope she gets the chance to come by again soon.

My Dr W appointment did not go well today at all. There’s some reshuffling of staff going on and Dr W was slated to move to one of four other hospitals. J and I were only really comfortable with one of them (we know how to get to it, lots of the nurses that make the framework I trust is there), and for the last couple of months, Dr W has said he’s going to that one hospital.

Today, he said he is now slated to go to one that’s downtown, where J and I don’t know the facility at all, and where I don’t know anyone. I was probably a lot more shocked than I should’ve been. I went into the ward to say hello to the nurses on staff (Cassie and Katie, both of whom took very good care of me many times) and it turns out that they’re moving too, and they’re going to two different hospitals, neither of which is the one Dr W is going to.

Once we got into the car to go home, the gravity of what’s going to happen hit me hard and I became very upset. J helped me with a lot of it but I’m still having a lot of trouble processing this right now. I’m upset, I’m sad, I’m scared, I’m worried, I’m frustrated… all kinds of emotions right now, very few of which are good. I have never handled change very well – even way back when I was a kid. It seems the older I get, the harder it is for me to accept or adjust to when things change.

Stay safe.

Song: N/A

Mood: 6

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: few

Yet again another quick post because my evening medications are kicking the heck out of me and I need to get to bed. I realize it’s been a little while since I last posted, so here are some bullet points that should help me catch up:

– I fell asleep downstairs after an episode of Elementary (we’re back into that now) and J tried to convince me to get up and go upstairs. I told her I’d be fine and then fell asleep on the couch with my head back for four or five hours – without my CPAP machine. The resulting apnea and snoring has really done a number on the back of my throat – everything is swollen and very painful, and today is day four after I did the snoring. I can’t do that again.

– I went to the store on Friday to buy a cake mix and icing so I could make a cake when my mother-in-law came over. I don’t normally bake a cake so there was a bit of surprise when I revealed it this evening but it went over well!

– I ordered a 3D printer early last week and it got here on Friday. It’s a Creality CR-10S. J helped me set it up and was there to help keep me calm, although I still developed a pretty nasty flop sweat and my fingers didn’t work very well. I’ve been running the printer pretty constantly during the day, and the more things I make, the more excited I get about the possibilities. Here are a few of the things I’ve printed so far:

[Well, crap. My web host has changed something and now I can’t upload new images. Just close your eyes and think of something awesome, that’ll be close enough.]

[Ah, they’ve fixed it – less than a day later, which is pretty fast. Here they are!]

– I’ve also been trying to figure out how to use FreeCAD. I’ve used AutoCAD LT, but it was way back in college when the student version came on three floppy disks. I’ve forgotten almost everything about AutoCAD that I knew, and while FreeCAD looks pretty great, anything beyond the very simple is beyond me at this point.

– My mother-in-law is in town and is staying with us for at least one night. She is a sewing/quilting fanatic so it was good to get some suggestions and thoughts from her. Plus, it’s just nice to hang out and talk with her too – she’s a very pleasant person.

– Sewing has been going well. J selected some material for new kitchen curtains, my mother-in-law measured and cut them up, and I sewed them together this evening. I think they’re going to look really good once they’re up!

– Some job/insurance/disability thing is coming to a head. J is taking the lead on it (thank you so so much!!!) but I suspect there are some unpleasant things coming.

– I have a Dr W appointment tomorrow and a Dr C appointment on Friday. To be honest, I don’t want to go to either of them. But I will.

– I’m sorry I didn’t write more, but I have to get to bed. Good night, everyone!

Stay safe.

[1] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:131697

[2] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2637487

[3] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2994996

[4] Model downloaded from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3050876

Song: N/A

Mood: 6

Nightmares: 0

Ghosts: Moderate

Okay, really quick post because I need to get to bed.

Today was a busy day. My homework and exercises went pretty well. The time it takes for the anxiety hump to pass is reliably shorter than it was before. The intensity is lower, too.

It’s quite cold out there today.

I sent out my texts. DA is home sick with the plague today so I asked if he wanted to be put on the list of people I text with my silly videos and pictures and he said sure.

Reinforced, sanded, and painted a table in the basement.

Put up a smoke detector in the basement. Dropped my screwdriver four times, good thing J wasn’t home and the windows were closed.

Lots of parcels arrived today. Sometimes the delivery folks don’t even knock or ring the doorbell to let you know they’re dropping stuff at your door before they take off. I don’t like the idea of parcels sitting on the step for a while before I check and take them in.

Did lots of sewing today. Got one bag completely done (handles and all) and I am quite pleased with it. Unfortunately, I do not have enough polyester webbing to make another set of handles, and I ran out of yellow thread. Might put them aside for a bit and sew some pillowcases with white thread – I still have lots of that. Or black.

Waiting for one last parcel to arrive. It’s going to be a big sucker. It’s been delayed but may still arrive tomorrow. Here’s hoping…

J has Monday to Wednesday (inclusive) off next week! She needs some time away from work and I’m always happy when she’s home.

Tomorrow I plan to do more sewing, do some cleaning, check for that parcel, and who knows what else.

Stay safe.