So much for moderation!

I'm just not a "moderating" kind of guy, I guess. After Dorrie left comments telling me how to deal with the Blogger Comment Machine -- comments which I seem to have lost while supposedly "approving" them, by the way -- I decided to go back to the old system. So if anyone decides to say anything, it gets posted right away. Unless, that is, it's on an old post from 14 or more days back, which seems to be where the spammers play, anyway.

I've said that excellent things were happening, and I want to mention a few. First, the World Headquarters: it's nearing completion, with drywall now hung, electricity (real outlets, not an extension cord draped over the wall) and a cable to hook me up to the Interwebz. Add door, floor, ceiling and paint and it's done.

PARENTHETICAL I'M-STILL-NOT-PRACTICAL NOTE: I keep pushing for a porthole in one of the walls, but head of the construction crew seems decidedly cool to the idea. I guess that'll be filed with my concept of making a ceiling out of rag rugs and concocting flooring from the various mismatched chunks of lumber left over from the main construction and D.'s scrap box, all randomly laid down and covered with Varathane. Doesn't anyone have a sense of adventure?

Ditto for a desk. D. and I found an old dining table at the local Transfer Station (dump, to you) and brought it home. It's a hefty piece, solid and substantial. We've cut it down a bit, fixed the drop-leaf section in place permanently and rearranged the legs, and it'll make a neat work table/desk. Once again, D. showed her penchant for over-engineering, with the result being a piece that should be able to withstand anything short of an all-out nuclear attack. Looks good, too. And it was free.

All of this is what you might call fortuitous timing. I have one job in hand, which will bring welcome relief to the dwindling supply of spondulix. Another project from the same people, longer and better-paying, is not yet final but has a good chance of happening. If it does, I'll have two or three months of fairly intense work. And money. Guess which pleases me more? Having a set place to grind out the verbiage will be a big help.

Random The-Sun-Also-Sets-in-Sandy-Bay photo

This is not tonight's sunset, which took place behind heavy clouds and drizzle. I planned to insert the photo maybe two days ago, but Blogger was being weird and I couldn't post.

Haven't had a day in my five-plus weeks here that my appreciation for D. -- and pleasure at being with her -- hasn't grown. I'm working harder than I have for quite a while -- there's always something to do here, and much of it involves some kind of physical effort -- but that's wonderful. Those muscles needed to be used. As the wheat farmers say, "no pain, no grain."

I've also been doing some menial tasks in D.'s high-tech workshop, too, learning work that I quite enjoy and helping her a little bit. Good thing, too: her customers are sending in quite a few jobs right now..

We also have fun. Sometimes it's as simple as going for a nice longish walk. Other times, like last Saturday, we get to more interesting events. On that day, we went to a nearby town to attend a reception at a shop where pipe organs are built; the company was showing off their latest work which, while not exactly my style musically, was a beautiful example of what it was supposed  to be. The workmanship was exquisite, too. It will soon be installed in a hall at Harvard, but was set up temporarily in the shop for testing.

Not much time to be bored around here. I like that.

Big, big change in lifestyle and attitudes from just over 13 months ago, Jim. I like that, too.