Monday, December 31, 2018

A New Year--a New Normal

Hello all.  Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season.  While a tad on the chilly side down in the Lone Star State, we're surviving.  (A fire in the fireplace adds a nice touch of the season as well as a spot of warmth).

Well, the day came and went without much fanfare.  The people I care about offered their congratulations which were appreciated.  The people I supported were all concerned with "what are we going to do?".  

"Well, since you never DID anything before, why do you think you'll change?"

And those other folks....didn't say anything at all.  Which is fine by me, I'd have probably said something that would have gotten me fired.  

Even on my last day.

So, Beans, this is for you.



BTW, that's our help request system on the left.  The orange line is an unassigned request that popped up as I was taking the picture.

"Too Late!  Suckah!"

Easing in to the new Normal now.  Christmas helped.  Mrs J and I got the house all ready (Ok,  Mrs J did most of the directing, I did the initial stuff, she went behind me and made what I did right.)


Then we opened a Pre-Christmas present.  A lens kit for the cell phone camera.  (Not sure how good it's going to be.  The Telephoto lens is pretty good, but getting it in position is a bear)


Our next door neighbors are building a new house.  This is from our front porch.  Their house is about 3/4 mile away.  So, not too bad.  Just took about an hour to get the lens attached properly.

Christmas Mass was at 8 AM.  There was no choir or pianist, both were involved with the Midnight Mass and the Children's Mass at 10 AM.  But we did have someone start singing "Joy to the World" just to have some music.  Pretty gutsy as it came out with the cadence of a dirge.  But it was something. 

RTB'd to Rancho Juvat, cooked up a fritatta, coffee and mimosa's and setttled in the living room.  Cranked up Skype on MBD's laptop and dialed Little Juvat and DIL.  After getting some wiring fixed on the Sandbox side of things, we were soon seeing faces and therefore, ready to open gifts.
One of the "traditions" in Casa Juvat, is the election of the present presenter.  Said person has great responsibility to see that presents are distributed in an even fashion and only one is being opened at a time.  Part of the perks of that office is the snappy uniform that must be worn.  SIL rocked the roll this year!

As MBD and SIL are still in the establishing a home stage of their marriage, I had reconnoitered their apartment around Thanksgiving for gift ideas. I decided on this as something useful, that I could create.



A walnut and maple cutting board.  I'd gotten the idea here and modified it somewhat.  I thought it turned out well and most importantly, so did MBD.  So, one in a row for Dad!
Oskar was gracious enough to hold still for a second (only a second) for a picture.
Even the dogs got into the spirit!
After presenting presents and signing off Skype, we started preparing for dinner.  A bit of Prime Rib, Green Chili Mac and Cheese and Roast Butternut Squash with Gorgonzola and Pecans was the menu.  Oh, and Wine also.


The following day we paraded around Main Street, just to see the sights.  Brought along MBD and SIL's rental dog Scout.



They were dog sitting for friends while simultaneously seeing if a dog would be in their near term future.  While two of us are actually hoping Grand Kids come first, it looks like a dog is inevitable.

C'est la vie

Since Mrs J and I had also given them some patio furniture for Christmas, we loaded up the truck with that and the rest of their loot and followed them to their apartment in Moscow on the Colorado.  

Once more we schlepped furniture up the stairs.  (Man!  I thought I was over that requirement.  Apparently not.).  At that point, my sweet, sweet daughter asked if I would mind hanging some racks in her closets, and oh by the way, how about some pictures on the wall?



And maybe some over here?

I was happy to oblige.  Then a little light lunch and we RTB'd

Traffic leaving Moscow on the Colorado was even worse than normal.  Instead of dropping off to normal just west of town, it was pretty well crowded all the way to our town.  Turns out there was a Hot Air Balloon Festival as well as a Polo Tournament scheduled  for Saturday.

Talk about La-De-Dah!  (It got cancelled due to weather)

In any case, I decided we needed to stop in at the winery one of my co-workers (who also walked out with me on the 21st) is now managing.



Nice and quiet, with a very nice Tempranillo.  Just what was needed to round out a pretty good Holiday week.  

Now, back to the new Normal.  My schedule has been a bit of this and that to set things right around the house.  Then a bit of this and that to set things right around the shop.  Did you know that workbenches actually have tops?  Where work can be done?  I'd always thought they were just for tool and other junk storage.

I think I'm going to enjoy things around here. Oh, and maybe fill in a few of the remaining things I haven't yet seen/done from this song


Peace out, ya'll.  Happy New Year.


36 comments:

  1. As I've so adamantly stated, I haven't any wish to work in retirement. And then I read what you said about having a friend who manages a winery.
    Navy Machinists Mates spend a lot of their careers moving liquids from point A to point B. And along the way we fix and build almost anything. Working part time maintenance in a winery does sound like the ideal retirement job! Now I just have to find the friend with a winery within easy distance from home. Hmmm.

    Your cutting board looks great, and the young lady in the video really knows what she's doing. Fixing the oops she made with a dutchman would be challenging and worthy of a video of just that. The more you learn to do, the more you want to try, and the mistakes become correspondingly more complicated and harder to fix.

    Time with family at Christmas is a great transition into your future.

    Thank you for the post.

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    1. Thanks. One of the mods I made to the cutting board was not to do a juice ring. I practiced on every piece of plywood I had (literally) and could not make the router mind. Much like its owner, it kept wandering off. Didn't want to ruin the actual cutting board, so no ring.

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  2. Well done!! The envy is strong today... Be sure and post some pics of the projects. I'd be really interested to see some of your work.

    I figure I'll wind up like my grandpa. He had a heart attack getting up on his horse to work his cows, and was gone by the time he hit the ground. That was in February of '77. But my shop is getting setup, and hopefully, I won't have to dig ditches to survive the winter years.

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    1. Thanks. Quick and fast would be my preferred method, albeit sometime in the way distant future. Had dinner with our winemaker/travel buddies last night. They're caring for her Mother who celebrated her 100th birthday recently. Even got her to laugh at my Honduran Student story. That chuckle from her was a highlight of the evening.
      Project Pictures? Oh boy! I can do that!

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  3. Congrats Juvat, already ten days since you pulled the pin.......see how fast time flies? Avoiding the grocery store on the weekends fit into my schedule pretty fast as did more leisurely snow removal. Oskar.....heh heh...... If you can see a workbench top then you can't mislay the "honey-do" jar, jes saying. Happy New Year to all.

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    1. Yeah, but as someone said earlier, right now it's just Christmas Vacation. The real test will come Jan 7th when it's over. I did have a bit of a realization though. Mrs J suggested a project, which I calculated would take about 8 days to complete. Still using my old time measurement (1 work day per week, max), I thought I didn't want to commit to 2 months. Then, it dawned on me......

      Honey-Do Jar hiding, Aye!

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  4. Congrats on your retirement and it looks like the holidays are going along very nicely for you and yours. Have a very Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks, Aaron, Same to you and yours. Try to stay warm up there!

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  5. Very Nice cutting board!! Hubbie likes to give them as wedding/Christmas presents. So far they have been well received. They are a lot more work than I had realized, but I was happy to do the sanding and the oiling. Cherry, walnut, and aspen was the last one he did for my step daughter's wedding.

    So yes, more project pictures!!

    And, again, Congratulations on your new job (being retired) and your new boss!!

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    1. Sanding, Do you hire out? Just kidding. But that is the most tedious part of the project, well, that and watching the glue dry.

      Thanks Suz!

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  6. Cutting board. One of my prized possessions is a cutting board middle son made in shop class some twenty five years ago. Used it just last night to tenderize a steak. Maybe MBD will treasure the one your made.

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    1. I certainly hope so. Next project is a Flag box for Little Juvat. Needs to display some treasures from his first tour in the Sandbox. Yes....I'm behind on the Project Schedule.

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  7. Wheels up at 1500 local. Back in harness later today. Good post Juvat. Sounds like you're rocking the retirement gig.

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    1. Safe Journey. See you later in the Astral Plane.

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    2. Oh, sure, wakes up and acts all normal after tossing out some mysterious comment yesterday leaving us all hanging around in anticipation... grrrrrrrr..

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    3. Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace, Grace is a little girl....Beans.

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    4. Grace grows up, becomes a harridan...

      So, Patience is a Bi.. Female Dog.

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  8. So things are so weird where MBD and SIL live that they do hot air polo tournaments? I heard Texas was getting californicated, but yeeesh.

    Does the sign behind the dynamic duo and dog say "Mesquite Mantles?" That stuff grows big enough to actually make a mantle-board out of? If so, weird. Very weird.

    There's a guy who writes a webcomic who also has a blog where he rebuilds machinery for his other businesses. Would not mind seeing you post 'Shop Evolution' postings as you settle into your real career of making Mrs. Juvat a happy lady. And it's neat watching people make stuff, so I put in a vote for that, too. Since Sarge really blew it on the "Bridge over the Pond of DOOOOOOM" and only showed us before and after pictures (woulda been neat seeing his dolls, I mean ACTION FIGURES, posed as working on the bridge. But since he's a humorless yankee, well, gotta cut him some slack sometime...

    I love your countdown clock. With the screaming help request right next to it. Probably from one of your most un-favorite 'end customers.' Glad you made it out alive.

    This year was stressful for you, between job changes for you and your wife and life changes for MBD and Little Juvat. Glad to see you finally getting a chance to breath.

    Are you going to work at the Museum?

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    1. Thanks, Beans. The Tournament was actually scheduled in our town, which is very obviously evolving into to Moscow on the Pedernales. More's the pity.

      Yes, this year was very "special". The Museum is very much a possibility, but I'm going to take some time and ponder things (generally with my eyelids closed) for a month or so. Then we'll see what the next step is.

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    2. When contemplating existence, make sure you have the correct play-list playing. Else your priorities may come out slightly wonky.

      IE: Don't fall asleep listening to Nine Inch Nails or other depressing, suicidal generating music, or worse.

      Enjoy your transitional period, though I bet Mrs. Juvat doesn't let you get away with more than 2 weeks, tops...

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    3. She hasn't let me get away with 2 whole days! But her honey-do lists are part of the rest and recovery period. Take it easy, but don't get lazy (er). Not to worry, I'm a Jimmy Buffett/Mozart/Tchaikovsky kind of guy, especially when they include cannons in their performances.

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  9. The new mormal in retirement is mostly about deadlines.
    I’ve discovered I no longer have to be the first driver at the next red light and, thus, can laugh at the fools who are.

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    1. Hmmm! I CLEARLY have not reached that level of retirement nirvana yet! Just ask Mrs J.

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    2. That might be because you live in a one stoplight town! I would hope it stays close to that, but I'd expect it won't seeing how San Antone is one of the fastest growing cities in America (and you're on it's outskirts).

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    3. I'll have you know we have 20 stoplights in our town. All cleverly synchronized so that if you miss one, you will miss them all. Somehow TXDoT can make that happen, but not the other way around. See? I'm really not at Skip's recommended level of retirement attitude yet.

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  10. Enjoy your new normal. Keep busy enough to make life interesting, but not so much as to induce stress. Traveling can be fun, if you haven't maxed out on it from your USAF days. Perhaps you might even have time to post more than once a week, or not.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. Thanks Paul, Got a short trip planned for the end of the month with our Winemaker friends. Looking forward to that.

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  11. Beautiful cutting board, Juvat! My wife bought some from a vet who was later disabled; he gave her these instructions on maintaining them:

    1. Do not wash in the dishwasher.
    2. Gently wipe down with a damp washcloth and use only mild soap [like Dawn].
    3. Dry immediately.
    4. This is a cutting board. Do not tenderize meat on it.
    5. Oil every other week with Bayes High Performance Wood and Bamboo Conditioner/Protectant (Westlake's Hardware).
    6. Enjoy your cutting board.
    7. After six months you can tenderize meat.

    Hers were all walnut. :)

    Happy New Year,
    Jim

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    1. All good instructions and valid. Walnut is my favorite, although I really like the look the contrast between it and maple brings to the project. Found a really beautiful marked piece of Padauk that I'm considering for my Son's Flag Box. It'll be beautiful, but I'm not sure it conveys the same sense of honor and seriousness that Walnut does. We'll see.

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  12. I really enjoyed this post for some reason. It might be because I stopped halfway through and imagined my own retirement. However, that's over 10 years away. One can dream though. I wish I clanked when I walked, because I'd be your neighbor PDQ. Too far of a distance though, between what I'd like to do, and what's best for the family. Happiest of New Years to J, Mrs. J, MBD, SIL, and all the Chanters.

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    1. Thanks, Tuna. It's been a long time coming. I get what you're saying about long time in the future. It was for me also, until about Dec 15th. Then it was all...."Got to get this done....RIGHT NOW".

      It's a interesting adjustment, and I'm certainly not anywhere close to having made that adjustment, but....making progress.

      Best of luck to you and yours in 2019.

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  13. Juvat, may you enjoy your retirement. Happy Eighth Day of Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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    1. Thank you, Sir! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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