2025, A Springtime Tale (one that lasted through the summer)

 This is a long story.

It all began the first week in May, when I traveled to Aurora, Colorado, to help Karen with her car. This statement is incorrect; I have been working on this story my whole life; it only surfaced that day in early May, 2025.

Karen and I were hard at work on the front suspension of her Hyundai when I needed to take a break. After a brief rest, I was back under the car, an action which immediately resulted in my need for more rest. Following a short discussion, Karen called 911 emergency services. 

The short ambulance ride to the University of Colorado Anschutz had me feeling a lot better. Fortunately, the EMTs with their stethoscopes and electrocardiogram machine knew a different story; I was not well. I was having a heart attack! No pain, no dramatic clutching, just an extreme need to sit and rest.

UC immediately put me on the schedule for a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, or as the surgeon called it, "cabbage". I was to find out later that this surgeon, Dr. Tom Reese, is among the best in the country. Today, some 8 weeks later, I truly believe he is the best. I just completely lucked out and fell into his orbit.

The surgery took place on May 8th. By the 14th, I was fit for travel, and with Julie and Karen at the wheel, we headed for home. We had fair weather, a comfy car, and the very best drivers. We were home on May 17th.

Currently, in early July, I participate in Cardio Rehab at the Mayo Clinic, 3 sessions a week. Healing is slow, and it's hard to not lift more than 8 pounds or overexert myself. It will get better. I will recover. Heck, next week I am allowed to lift 20 pounds.

Karen finished the car by herself.

The long story part of this tale is that coronary artery blockages do not occur overnight. I have always considered myself reasonably fit, but my body was quietly saving for a rainy day by storing plaque in the coronary arteries. An insidious and silent threat. Waiting.

Some Turnings from Tom Thompson

Yesterday, the GlassStacker and I met with my cousins, Pat and Peggy, and Pat's husband Ted for lunch. Pat brought these seven wood turnings that were made by our Grandfather, Tom, in 1961.

It was last night, just before sleep, that I realized what this act of sharing meant to me and to my family. These pieces were originally gifted to Jim, Grandpa's son, and had been treasured and protected in his household for the last six decades. 

A little bit about the artwork. The large, unfinished plate is turned from American Elm. The four egg cups and two smaller bowls are turned from Green Ash. It is likely the original elm and ash materials were harvested from Pine Knoll Farm in Central Minnesota. 

The workshop used to create these pieces, built by Grandpa Tom's father, NP, is still operational at Pine Knoll Farm. NP's workbench, table saw, lathe, and bandsaw still see use as do the metal lathe and drill press which were added after WWII. 

I am honored.

Keep 'em running.

As always, the GlassStacker's Assistant

 

The Summer of 2024

This is becoming an interesting summer. 

To start with, there was a memorable woodshop experience in Arizona, even before the summer began. The boss and I have been wintering in Mesa, AZ for several years. The park we visit is called The Resort and has a woodshop. The day-to-day operation of this facility is handled by resident volunteers. One day, in March, while I was monitoring the shop operation as part of my volunteer time, I was asked  by the club presideent to turn in my keys and leave the shop.

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

I did return to the shop for the remainder of the season and used the lathe. No more monitoring. What will happen this fall is yet to be determined. 

We got a little lost on the way home from Arizona. It was near Dodge City, Kansas. I was driving and missed a turn, Google told me to turn, but I just missed it. Now, the map program immediately reroutes so as not to lose any valuable travel time. We quickly found ourselves on a narrower road, then a road without a fog line, and to top it off, we were now driving on a dirt road. The boss quipped, "If this gets to be a 2-lane track with grass in the middle...".

The reroute finally finished with us and served up a more acceptable road. As my pal Bill would say, "No harm, no foul." At least there was no lake involved that day.

In late June, we traveled to Greer, Arizona, by car, along the same roads we had ridden north in April, to participate in a birthday party for our granddaughter. Greer is in the White Mountains on the eastern border of Arizona, at about 9,000 ft of elevation. Our son and his family maintain a small travel trailer there and we joined them for the early July birthday celebration.

Only one small problem with this plan.

I have always had some sensitivity in my upper respiratory system to environmental conditions. This situation has deteriorated to the point of my not being able to tolerate a 9000-foot altitude. 

We had to leave early.

Things were much better at a lower altitude east of Albuquerque. I hope that our granddaughter understands that future birthdays will be celebrated at the half-birthday mark, sometime in January, in Tucson.

If I back up a little, there was a bowl in the 2023 Artist Poet Collaboration at Red Wing Arts.

A seat, a driveshaft, and a carburetor. First, the seat. We purchased a used van several years ago for our trips to the southwest. The Boss complained, mildly, that the driver's seat was not straight and that it was hard to use for more than 2 minutes at a time. This summer, I fixed it. A new cushion from the dealership, a little upholstery work, hog rings were involved, and it is now repaired. Some things take a lot longer than necessary to get underway.

The driveshaft situation literally became a pain in the arse. One of our vehicles is a rear-wheel drive sedan which has a driveshaft with a center bearing. The failure of that bearing introduced a nasty vibration right into the driver's seat. Truly a royal pain. I hope it is fixed.

Our Big Healey, 1957 100-6. Posted here in Blogspot on December 20, 2011. Yes, that old crate has a carburetor. A leaking float bowl left the carburetor dry resulting in a hard start situation. A little tightening and sealing maintenance was needed to rectify the issue.

I met an author, not in person, but through e-mail. Lindsey Drager was an artist-in-residence at the Anderson Center in 2019. While she was there, defining a topic for her novel, she happened on the block for Saturn in the Tower View Model of the Solar System while jogging the Cannon Valley Trail. Now, the book, The Avian Hourglass, is published. The solar system model became part of the story. I provided background information about the model, its conception and construction.

It is a fantastic and well-written tale about relationships and human nature. I will read it again. And again.

The story of her journey to the finished book can be found at; https://lithub.com/a-marionette-in-the-milky-way-on-finding-your-way-into-the-story-you-want-to-tell/

The Tower View Model of the Solar System. Posted here in Blogspot on August 25, 2015.

A letter to the editor published in Physics Today, 12/2019, led Ms Drager to my e-mail address. https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/72/2/12/825311/The-inventor-of-puffed-rice

Hearing aids became part of my life.

Drat! COVID-19 caught up to me in June.

Don fell last week while doing some landscaping in his yard and broke his femur. I know this is off-the-wall, but it just happened. He suffered a stroke as a result of the injury and remains in the stroke unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester. Don is part of our Friday evening and Wednesday morning informal social gatherings. The Boss and I care for him very much. We will do whatever we can to support his continued recovery.

There are 10 SpectraPly bowls in progress.

Keep 'em running

as always

The Glass Stacker's Assistant