Fun with Glass in the New Garage

Samples Jeff made during class

Now that the garage is done but we haven't moved all our stuff into it, we had a magic opportunity to use the space to hold a class in lampwork glass bead making.

We had a beginning class in the morning and an intermediate class in the afternoon with six students in each class. The instructor demonstrated several techniques then we would get a chance to experiment.

Woodworking Class: Plant Stand

Sharon finished making the pieces for her very first piece of furniture in woodworking class—a plant stand! She made it from douglas fir to match the rest of the wood in the house. This hasn't been glued yet because she is planning to stain it first.

She's hoping to sign up for another woodworking class next quarter to continue to work on her meager skills. Next up may be a mission style garbage can. She's been collecting possible period plans and we really need waste baskets around the house.

In other news, we received our 1914 toaster today! Too cool. Jeff tried it and it works! It even flips the toast when you open the panel.

Woodworking Class: Cutting Board

Sharon has been enjoying her beginning woodworking class out at Franklin High School. She finished her first project tonight. It obviously has issues, but was a good learning experience. (She definitely needs to work on cutting correctly along the lines on a band saw.)

Leaded Glass Class: Soldering and Cementing

Jeff attended the fourth and final class in lead came stained glass. This week we started with soldering which goes much faster than when doing copper foil because you only need to do the intersections.

We used the mini-phaser to dial down the soldering iron to 70-80% power -- enough to melt the 50-50 solder, but not quickly melt the lead came. Gel-flux cleaned the surfaces where we wanted to solder. Steel jump rings were soldered to the corners to hang the piece.

Once we solder all the intersections on both sides and have the jump rings on, we jump into the multi-step cementing process. Strictly speaking this isn't needed for a little art piece like this. However it will be important for panels that will be used in cabinet doors to add strength and prevent pieces from rattling.

After we work the dark mortar mixed with linseed oil into all the lead came channels we cover the piece with whiting powder. After the whiting powder is worked into the mortar the excess is removed (in our case with a sharpened chop stick).

Now that it has been cemented we use a drill with a fancy brush attachment to buff the lead.

Ah, look at that nice luster.

All done. Now on to our own project...

Leaded Glass Class: Leading

After creating a good right-angled base we started building out our pattern with U-channels on the edge, and H-channel between pieces. We learned how to make three different kinds of cuts using angle cutters. And there was a cute little hammer for "attitude adjustments".

To bend lead came around a curve we used a fid (which evidently is a handy Scrabble word).

All assembled ready for soldering.

Now just to get the lead off my hands....

Leaded Glass Class: Cutting

Jeff's second week of lead came stained glass class covered cutting and grinding glass. After an overview of the tools and techniques we spent a little time practicing. Then we started in on the glass for our project.

Jeff learned that he has picked up a couple "bad habits" that he worked on breaking: keep his wrist straight while scoring, and move his arms (not wrists) to snap the glass. He also discovered our running pliers are supposed to have little plastic guards on the tip.

Once the pieces were cut to close to the right size, he took them to the grinder...

... and trimmed off any excess.

Now that we have a good fit, we soaked off the pattern paper, marked the piece number directly on the glass, and pinned a little frame down to keep everything in place.

Next week: leading.

Leaded Glass Class: Pattern Prep

Jeff started his Leaded Glass Class yesterday! Here is a quick summary of the process they taught him for preparing the pattern.

First he chose a pattern and used carbon paper to trace two copies of the pattern. One was on regular paper, the other on heavy paper that can stand up to water from the glass grinder.

Then he got to go pick out glass from the scrap box. Always fun.

Next he cut one of the patterns apart with a special pair of scissors which removed a thin strip of paper to allow room for the lead came.

Then they had him glue the pieces on the appropriate pieces of glass. They recommended using Elmer's Washable School Glue, which is supposed to survive the cutting and grinding process.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Glass Cutting next week....

Fall Classes

Jeff and Sharon signed up for classes again this coming quarter. Only, this time we're taking some classes which will teach us some skills useful for working on our house. =)

Jeff is signed up for Leaded Stained Glass through Roses Glassworks Art Glass School. Even though we've done copper foil stained glass, we thought it would be worthwhile if one of us had some exposure to working with lead caming before starting a project. We have 10 stained glass panels we're planning to make for built-ins throughout the house.

Sharon has signed up for Beginning Woodworking through Portland Community College. We have lots of woodworking projects we'd like to undertake, but Sharon would feel more comfortable getting some exposure to using the power tools before she jumps in. One of our first priorities will be to install shelving in our pantry and master bedroom closets!

Sharon Graduated!

It's been a long time coming—three years actually—but Sharon finally finished her Paralegal degree. She doesn't recommend transferring schools twice while working on a program—it tends to slow down your progress as you typically have to repeat quite a few classes! =)

Now it's time to see if there are any jobs out there. She's hoping to line something up by the end of the year.
These little ditties are from one of Sharon's favorite blogs, Economicrot.

Update on June 14: Got grades today! Sharon managed to complete all of her Paralegal program (not just at PCC) with a 4.0 GPA, despite all the distractions! Yippee!

Paralegal Degree

At the beginning of the quarter, Sharon filled out an application to graduate from the paralegal program at Portland Community College. There was some extra paperwork, because credit for five classes from her California schools needed to get transferred over.

Yesterday she got an email from the evaluator, and if she passes her two classes this quarter, she will have successfully completed an A.A.S. in Paralegal Studies. Also, unless she really bungles her grades this quarter, she'll be graduating with Highest Honors.

It does seem a little anti-climatic after getting a Bachelors degree, but it has been a long time coming, and she's glad to finally be nearing the end.

Now it's time to start looking for a job.... We need to figure out how to make some money, since we've managed to hemorrhage so much of our savings on this remodel project.

University of Here

Because he's found many of the Portland Community College (PCC) classes were often not what he was hoping for, Jeff decided this next quarter he would plan and "take" some courses at home of his own devising. He has a number of landscape-related books he's been wanting to read for a while, but never had time because he was busy with work or classwork, so next quarter in addition to his one PCC course, he is also going to take two or three at-home classes. (This also has the benefit of saving us a bunch of tuition; the PCC courses, at about $250 each plus books, start to add up.)

Sharon decided to join him in her own University of Here class. Like Jeff, she wrote up a syllabus with a schedule and goals. Her class: Introduction to Arts & Crafts-Style Stenciling. During the quarter, she's going to read three of our stencil books, practice stenciling on paper, and practice stenciling on fabric. She's hoping to make a stenciled decorative pillow. Then, once she's done with that, she's going to advance to stenciling on the plaster walls.

Final Exams!

Last night, Sharon finished up the last of her class lectures and now only has final exams remaining. Two of her classes have fully-take-home finals which need to be completed and emailed to the instructors. One class has a take-home component to the final which must be completed and then brought in when she arrives at the in-class portion and the last class final is taken fully in class.

From the looks of the one take-home final she's received (Intellectual Property), it's going to take many hours to complete. The exam is straight-forward, but it's going to be quite a bit of writing. She's probably going to have to spend most of the weekend on her schoolwork, which is definitely going to set back our packing schedule.

If she can just manage to focus for one more week on her classes, she should pull out a decent quarter grade-wise. But it is so hard when there are so many other—more fun—things to do. (Packing and cleaning are more fun than doing finals, unfortunately.)

While Sharon only has two classes left to complete the paralegal program, attendance next quarter is in doubt. Since she transferred into PCC pretty recently, she has a pretty late registration slot. And by the time she got to register, her last two classes were already full. =( If she really wanted to be persistent, she could probably manage to get the instructors to add her on the first day of class, but it is so tempting to simply skip next quarter and have time to deal with remodel projects.

Currently, she is hoping we'll strip the upstairs woodwork ourselves, which will involve quite a bit of time and effort. We'll either try and strip in place or pull pieces for dipping, depending on where the woodwork is and how difficult it looks to strip by hand.

Snow!

I was surprised to look out the window this morning and see snow! The forecast was for rain this week; I guess they were wrong.I will not be disappointed if it "sticks" because that would mean my class would be cancelled tonight. Since I got a bit burned out last quarter, I have not been doing my best work this quarter. Oh well, there's just 4 weeks left (including finals week); almost there.

Finally Done for the Quarter

This quarter just seemed to stretch on forever...but I'm finally done. My final this morning was pretty gruelling, but I think I did okay. The second final was pretty easy because we could use the book.

I should find out next week how I did grade-wise.

School starts again on January 3, so I have three short weeks to get lots done.

Update several days later, after we got our grades:

Both Jeff and I have gotten grades and we managed to get straight As! Yeah. We both worked very hard and have found the workload in our programs at Portland Community College to be far more than we expected. I know I felt like I was back at University.

Busy Day

Today was one of those amazing days where I got more done in the morning before 11AM than I usually get done in the entire day. I wish I had more of these days.

I spent another 30 or so minutes stripping paint in the dining room. Then, this afternoon I spent a few minutes stripping paint in the living room, because little chips in the paint made it look like the woodwork in there may be darker.

Unfortunately, it is. Bummer. Now we'll either need to use a dark stain in the dining room to make it match, or spend extra effort in the living room trying to lighten up the woodwork. My preference would be to have lighter woodwork, so we’ll probably go with the latter option.

We also spent another hour or so cleaning up the leaves in the front yard. I’m hoping this will be the last of the raking, as the trees are finally starting to look pretty bare.

Then we came in the house and got to work cleaning up the kitchen and then turned around and made it a mess again cooking! =) We made a new cookie recipe—Chocolate-Peppermint Snaps and Jeff put together a soup from turkey broth he made last week. And this evening, as I write this, Jeff is working on a batch of his favorite cookies—Snickerdoodles.

I’m still struggling with motivation to work on school. Most of my final projects are done and now I need to study. I must be broken, because I’d rather do nearly anything else than sit around and study. But I’ve been like this for years; at least I get a lot done during the couple weeks before finals! =)

I did, luckily, manage at least a couple of hours of studying this afternoon when my computer (incorrectly) thought the internet was down. But then Jeff told me his connection was working and a restart of my computer did the trick.

Update at 7PM. This task goes much faster with two people working at it. One person holds the infrared stripper, while the other scrapes the softened paint.

Schoolwork All the Day Long

While I am thrilled most of my teachers cancelled class this week, I am far less thrilled they also seemed to assign extra work over the break, because I guess we have so much free time.

Today I spent literally all day (9AM until now) working on my Legal Software class. I've been working on the final project which is to learn how to use the SmartDraw program. It's actually a pretty neat program, but too expensive to buy without more of a reason to use it.

These are the documents I made this week with this program. At least I'm having fun with this project.

Fall Has Arrived!

We've had bucketloads of rain this week and the temperature has definitely cooled. Luckily, we had a break in the weather long enough for Jeff to get his cover crop seeds in.




A couple of days ago we jury-rigged a plastic cover over the chicken house, because the wood was absorbing too much of the rain and we didn't want our chickens to get sick from all the moisture. It ain't pretty, but it will do for now. We're exploring options for something more permanent for the winter. Maybe a new not-movable coop, or maybe something like a portable "garage roof."

With the change in weather, our resident trees have started shedding. The yard was thoroughly covered in leaves, so yesterday we finally managed to make it to the store to buy a leaf rake. We spent a while yesterday afternoon cleaning up the front yard and street. Jeff hauled the leaves into the backyard because they'll make great compost.

We've learned this house is really not insulated! I wonder how earlier residents took the cold. We finally turned on the furnace yesterday when we realized it was 55°F inside the house. Though, it's not really working very well; as I type this in the parlor area, I can see my breath when I exhale heavily. It hardly makes much sense to turn the heat up if the heat is simply going to pour out of all the uninsulated spaces and windows. We're going to spend a very bundled-up winter!

We've taken to sleeping in the basement again, because at 63°F, it's the warmest space in the house. Though, with the furnace on, one of the noisiest; we may need to just abandon running the furnace at night. It will be really nice once we finish insulating and replace the furnace with something more efficient, and hopefully quieter. =)

Jeff and I are trying a new routine where we spend 5PM to 9PM working on school. It has reduced our Netflix watching and has helped us be more proactive about getting the schoolwork done. We've also started doing our shopping errands on Tuesdays. This week we acquired food stuffs and lawn tools. Hopefully next week we'll make it appliance shopping. I hope these habits stick at least through the rest of the quarter.

Jeff Visiting Seattle

Jeff decided to go visit Seattle this weekend. One of his team members from Intel (way back when) is getting married up there tomorrow and Jeff thought it would be nice to visit. And since Erik lives there, it gives him an opportunity to have some friend time with Erik as well. Hopefully Jeff will share some photos when he returns.

Tonight, I'm trying to resist the lure of remodel "window" shopping and Netflix to spend my time getting caught up on my reading for classes. After nearly a week of blowing off my school responsibilities, I was starting to get behind.

Rain Gardens 101

Earlier this week, Jeff and I attended a free class in Portland offered by the East Multnomah Soil & Conservation District: Rain Gardens 101. A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. It is designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns. Rain gardens are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediments from the rainwater runoff.




We are definitely planning to add a rain garden or two as soon as we can figure out where we want to put them. We quite enjoyed the class and it was worth every penny! If anyone else lives in Portland, you might want to check it out.

Though, one thing we learned is that we shouldn't use copper rain chains because the copper leaches into the water supply and harms salmon. Oh no, we already bought some. Bummer. So now we have to decide if we're going to hang them or abandon that earlier plan. =(

For folks not lucky enough to live in Portland, but who want to build their own Rain Garden, I found a great website that had links to tons of resources for DIYers. Check it out. They look pretty easy to build; mostly just digging holes and planting particular varieties of plants.

California Trip Cancelled

Good News! I don't have to drive down to California to pick up my new prosthetic. UPS delivered it today!

I was planning to visit next week, but when I called for an appointment, the prosthetist told me he'd be out of town. Then I told him the next time I could visit would likely be the end of October. So, he basically gave up and shipped it to me! Yeah!

Though, unfortunately, now we need to figure out how to go get the bird child. Maybe Thanksgiving week because most of my classes have been cancelled that week. =)

This morning, I realized I had so much homework, I needed a way to keep track of it, so I made myself a spreadsheet. I went through all my syllabi and entered all the reading and homework assignments I could find. It was more than a page-long; 65 lines to be exact. And this doesn't even include homework that has yet to be assigned. I am keeping busy these days!