Saturday afternoon

It's been a busy time.  I went to Crossville Tile to try to get more of the upstairs bathroom tile (I only needed a few pieces) and they told me that the pattern I need had not been made sinse 1991.
They did not keep obsolete material, so I was out of luck.  I did find some other tile while I was there that I like a lot, though.  I got some small glass tile that I hope to use in making some 'stained glass' windows.  I'm going to try one in the upstairs closet that has a window.  I think it would be terribly interesting, and a fun project that I could do sitting down.  Cherokee is going to help me with them.  We're going to glue the glass blocks onto sheets of plexiglass, so that the windows can be removed and changed if we get tired of them.  I must mention Barbara, so I'll say that we're not going to ask her to help us. They will also give some insulation value.
There's many shapes of them, but they're all with square corners, so putting them together will be fairly easy, and like working a puzzle, to make the most interesting window units.
Cherokee and I really enjoy each other's company.  She's a delight to me, and I try to be useful and helpful to her as well.
Stucco has created some of the most beautiful window surrounds in the free world on the house.  That man is so gifted.  He made one window surround that he had described to me, and I didn't think I would like it.  After he was finished, I loved it!
He can do anything with his hands.
I had forgotten to get one of the colors of the glass tiles that I wanted, so I called Crossville Tile to get them to hold it for me.  So, on Friday, Cherokee, Stucco, and I went back to Crossville to get them.  Stucco went nuts over all the tile and the easy availability of them.  He, too, is disgusted with the way they set the tiles out in a field and let the weather, the high-lift operators, and customers mis-use and abuse those lovely tiles.  He, like myself, has been hungry, and he hates waste.  He can make almost anything over, or make it work in another manner, and he seldom throws anything away.  His personality and mine work together well.
We really enjoyed our trip together, though it was a little crowded in the cab of the red truck.  The white truck would have been a better choice, but it needs alignment, so we had to drive the red truck.
They told me at Crossville Tile that they had some of the tiles in the color I wanted, but that they were 'mat', which is not as heavily textured as the ones I really wanted.  I picked up a box, but when we got back to Rutledge, they did not match as closely as I had hoped.  I've got some more thoughts on how to manage the shortfall, and I'll see what I can do.
Marsha Higgs came by last night to see me.  She is the widow of Jack Higgs, who was one of the most tallented men I've ever known with wood.  She has been wanting her kitchen floor covered with slate, and I had told her once that she could do it herself if she applied herself.  When she saw my tile-laying efforts, she was quite impressed.  She has always loved my tastes, and she had not seen Creekside until last night.  She likes what I'm doing with it.  Jason, her son, has been faithful in visiting me sinse his father died. Jack and I were old friends, and he's sadly missed by many.  I really wish he were here to give me some tips on wood for the house.
Randy is doing a fantastic job on some of the wood-work.  He is so gifted.  He is another man who can do almost anything.  I had asked him to sand the trim to get it smooth for re-painting, and when he got it ready for me, he had sanded all of the old paint off of it.  It's old-growth antique pine, and is incredibly beautiful wood.  I'm going to use most of it in it's natural color with just a polyurethane coating on it.  He brought a lot of beauty out of that old wood that many people might have discarded.  He reminds me of the poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand".
He and Penny took the old paneling off of the wall in the stair well yesterday while Cherokee, Stucco, and I were gone to Crossville.  More bad news.  The wall is badly rotted under the south-facing window. Stucco said that the brick window sill is mostly the culprit, as they are somewhat porus, and water can seep through them.   It's not all bad though.  I had planned to raise the roof of the back porch, which will then cover the area from outside, and it can be repaired from inside.  We are going to replace that window with a fixed window, which will not open.  It's beveled glass that is totally beautiful.  I bought it at Habitat.  Stucco will then stucco the window trim, which will keep out moisture.  He sure can do good windows.
There was a huge drug bust in Rutledge this past week.  Casper and his merry band of functional illiterates went to serve a warrant on a man I know, and they smelled meth being cooked.  He had a meth kitchen in his basement.  He is a junk dealer, which is why I knew him.  Barbara (there's another mention for you, Barbara) and I often bought Christmas decorations from him.
He seemed like a nice man, but I don't think nice people cook meth.  His home is not far from mine.  Drugs are the down-fall of society.
I've got to get to work, so I'll write more, later.
Now, Barbara, don't you be calling and scolding me for not mentioning you in my blog.
And you're still fat, so you need a little more Jenny Craig and a lot less Sarah Lee.
If you were ever to really visit Hillshire Farms, they'd hook you to a plow.