New things:
I
think I've found what I want to do when I grow up: In August I'm
attending a two week bootmaking course put on by the fellow who founded
the Merrell boot & shoe company. I have registered, sent my deposit, bought my ticket, and it's only May.
The lab is in Vernal, Utah, which is located in the northeast part of
the state, near Flaming Gorge (what a great name). I'm flying into Las
Vegas, renting a car and driving through Utah up to Vernal, and back again. I'm excited - I've seen pictures of Utah and parts of it are incredibly beautiful.
I'm
also excited about learning to make footwear; I've always wanted to do
it, but didn't have the resources. Now I have them, so I'm going for
it. I met with the fellow who makes and repairs shoes at Rino's Shoes
for the Stars, and he is pleased that someone is wanting to learn his
craft, and has offered to give me some guidance.
Making custom footwear is part of my retirement plan. More about this later.
In October, I'm flying to Montreal to hang out with my great friend Rob H, who has moved to his new place in a sketchy-but-up-and-coming part of Montreal. We'll then head to Toronto, where I want to go to the Bata Shoe Museum, and board a train for Vancouver. He has never taken the train across Canada, and I have done it once. We've booked adjacent roomettes, and we intend to do not much more than read and chat and eat things. I am really looking forward to those three days with nothing much to do. What with my vacation in August really not being vacation time, and all.
I've been ill with asthma since January, and I'm a bit concerned about the long term implications. Am I ever going to be able to not get sick when I'm around people who have been smoking or who use scented products? Am I going to have to exist in a bubble? I hope not.
About five weeks ago, in an effort to regain control of my breathing, I visited a naturopath. He determined that my liver and lymphatic system were weak and needed cleansing. He gave me a list of foods that are toxic to me - beef, pork, dairy products, nightshade (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers (even the spices pepper, paprika and cayenne), eggplant (not that I eat this one)), and fruit - all of which I have removed from my diet, and I am some, but not completely, better. That is the asthma is sometimes under control and sometimes not, depending on circumstances.
Even though the asthma is not yet controlled, the five weeks of changed diet has had some benefit, that is I have quite a lot more energy than I did and I am marginally less cuddly than I was.
Old things revisited:
I have not been writing much lately, but
I have been busy - mostly trying to clean and organize thisCastle (a
continuous and continual project). I've been here five years now, and
you'd think I would have fixed it up more, but no, I have not. I still
haven't painted most of the interior walls, still haven't done the
roof. How lame is that?
Not so lame - I'm working on both of them.
Paint-wise,
I've arranged a barter with my friend Glen, he'll paint my interior
walls and I'll mat and frame for some of his art. We're both excited over this.
Roof-wise,
I've had a few meetings with an architect who is interested in working
with me to manage the project of the replacement and greening of my
roof. He has seen the roof, knows what I want, knows my budget, and
he'll be sending a list of possibilities and quotes in a few days. This
is huge. I tried to manage this project in the fall, but it was too
much for me, I wasn't able to make a decision then, but now, with the support of a professional, I think I can do it.
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