mind the gap

in which our plucky heroine is feeling distracted...

Cranky back is still cranky. Indeed, the pain in my back/flank keeps getting worse. At this point I can't find anything that is absorbing enough to keep my mind off the pain. And I have this stupid phobia about making phone calls. Finally with some support from a dear one, I called my PCP yesterday and made an appointment. The soonest was at the end of August, but this morning I got a call from the clinic and they can fit me in tomorrow morning! I don't expect some magic potion to make it stop hurting, or even to let me sleep for more than a few hours at a time, but I hope to start the process of finding out what is causing the problem and maybe something to do to ameliorate it.

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time in the tinyworld:

I've been playing in the workroom with making up the rustic plate rack, and I think that my "popsicle/craft sticks" may be a little narrower than the ones Ann Wood was using; my finished piece ended with significantly different vertical dimensions, and the bottom shelf seemed too narrow for useful storage. So... I decided to go with plan number next, and do some adaptations...

A wider craft stick was cut down and attached to the back side of the plate rack to serve as a lower back piece to hold hooks for tiny teacups. One more, cut a bit shorter, could extend the width of the bottom shelf, and will have a bit of scrap wood added to the edge as a lip to prevent items from falling off. Finally, I added two more regular craft sticks vertically at the back, sticking up, so that the finished plate rack can be hung on two nails in the future someday kitchen.

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I've been slowly listening to and reading "The Art of Asking" by Amanda Palmer, and being more and more impressed with what she has to say. I admit I didn't really know much about her, her story, and what she shares about her point of view - I knew she was a musician, and that she was married to Neil Gaiman, and I maybe had seen one or two of her videos online. So much information and clear thinking in the book about asking, about trust, about being an artist... I think that once I finish the book I am going to re-read and re-listen to it.

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~ fun with home repair ~

finally beginning to actually close up the gap between the tub/shower surround and the wall next to the sink. Said gap been in place since 2014 when the soaked wallboard was replaced with plywood, but nothing was done about the gap where the moldy chipboard molding had been removed (former owners of the cottage have a lot to answer for in terms of thoughtless remuddling - really, who puts chunks of painted chipboard next to the shower?!?)

Took me years to figure out how to attach and shim trim pieces to a very multi-level surface that had no wall studs behind to anchor to. Last year a Netflix show about tiny houses mentioned "Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive" which turned out to be the correct thing to bond the trim to the wall. I'm using a few shower curtain rods as pressure clamps to make certain the trim bits are as flush with the wall as possible. There are three sections of trim, because the plywood and the former wallboard are that uneven, so it will take a bit of time. I don't know what made me think of using my assorted sizes of craft sticks as shims, but they are super thin, and can easily be glued together to make sturdy wooden shims of various thickness. Attaching trim and filling all the gaps will mean that the attic air (and various spiders) will no longer have a direct pathway into the indoors of Acorn Cottage. Huzzah! Better late than never!!

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel denim apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - sometimes the protocol at the local medical clinic is helpful. Apparently my constellation of symptoms were concerning enough that I was bumped into one of the "held-open" time slots. I am worried about how the pain is increasing instead of decreasing. I was effusively grateful on the phone to the person who called this morning to let me know my doctor could see me tomorrow instead of in two weeks.

Time of Isolation - Day 902