I remember how, before the beginning, I would cry and repeat over and over "I want to go home".  Today, while mortising a door to accept a hinge (with Winston supervising, of course), I realized that I don't have to go home.  I am home.

She's been working.  The kitchen's own mother wouldn't recognize it.


I put in a shelf for the microwave oven, part of the design change necessitated by saying bye-bye to the big workbench that took up most of the room.



Yet to come is a table/counter.

Yay?

You didn't know my folks, did you?

Without a belt, this pair of jeans literally falls off my hips.  When they were purchased a month ago, they fit.  I'm heating a can of soup for breakfast.  I can't afford to keep losing weight like this; when once I was a size 18, I'm now a size 12 and heading for size 10.  Buying a new wardrobe every two weeks is not an option.

The number that is the title of this post is my weight, in pounds, as of yesterday.  This, from the person who was around 200 lb. a year ago, and 180 six months ago.

Da Sprach Der Alte Häuptling Der Indianer

It's a cute German novelty song about the white man and Indians fighting over the American West, recorded in 1960 by Gus Backus.

The lyrics:

Da sprach der alte Häuptling der Indianer (Gus Backus 1960)

Schön war sie, die Prärie
Alles war wunderbar
Da kamm an, weißer Mann
wollte bau'n Eisenbahn


Da sprach der alte Häuptling der Indianer:
Wild ist der Westen, schwer ist der Beruf!
Uff!
Da sprach der alte Häuptling der Indianer:
Wild ist der Westen, schwer ist der Beruf!
Uff! Uff! Uff!


Böse geht er nach Haus
und er gräbt Kriegsbeil aus
Seine Frau nimmt ihm keck
Kriegsbeil und Lasso weg


Da sprach der alte Häuptling ...


Häuptling schrie ziemlich laut
fuhr fast aus roter Haut
Seine Frau nahm sich Pfeil
stach ihn ins Hinterteil


Da sprach der alte Häuptling ...


Eisenbahn spuckte Dampf
Häuptling kamm, wollte Kampf
Weißer Mann sprach <<Komm her!
Du bist gleich Kondukteur!>>


Da sprach der alte Häuptling ...


And my translation into English:

So Said The Old Indian Chief (Gus Backus 1960)

The prairie was beautiful
Everything was wonderful
The white man came there
He wanted to build a railroad


So said the old Indian chief:
The West is wild, life is hard.
So said the old Indian chief:
The West is wild, life is hard


Angrily, he went home
and grabbed a tomahawk
His wife neatly took
the tomahawk and lasso away from him


So said the old Indian chief...


The chief screamed loudly
right from his red skin
His wife took an arrow
and stuck him in the arse


So said the old Indian chief...


The railroad spit steam
The chief came, wanting a fight
The white man said "Come here!
You're the porter!"

So said the old Indian chief...


I'm weird, what can I tell you...

I got the kitchen (mostly) rewired.

My pussy.  Remember, you asked...

The FAO has stated that, globally, one thousand million people are hungry, saying that the level of hunger, one-sixth of the world's population, posed a "serious risk" to world peace and security.

In reply, may I offer a modest proposal.  Names and locales  may be changed as necessary.

I've punched all the holes I think I'll be needing for a while.



I've even traced down the wiring, which turned out to be a classic Hunkie job.  John, I love you, I really do, but you can be a dumb Hunkie at times.  Anyway, now that I know where at least some of this copper comes from and goes, I can add a couple of outlets and a "three-way" switch set.

Yay?

There is a gaping hole in the west wall of the kitchen. I cannot take a step that is not over something. I am not complaining. I am not "living like a slob". I am beginning the work of overhauling this place, rebuilding it piece by piece. As I measure and cut wallboard, I make a meal of a stew made from beans, potatoes, carrots, and a bit of year-old beef found in the freezer. There is absolute chaos here, but what I see is the finished product.


I don't know when the product will be finished (the limiting factor is pictures of dead Presidents), but I will keep working until I get there.  I have been given a unique opportunity; only I, alone, could stand this chaos, the chaos which is necessary to see the project to completion.  I will stand the chaos, I will complete the project.