Snapshot of January

In homage to Sarah H. at Death Wears Diamond Jewelry, who is no longer blogging but is missed.

Listening… Podcasts Why Files Operation Podcast. It deals with a wide range of unexplained and paranormal. 

Reading… The Body In Motion, Dave Snyder's upcoming book I am helping edit.

Watching…I am Peaky Blinders on Netflix. I like this show. I can't believe I started it once before and didn't keep watching.

Playing … I have been playing Wordscapes and Royal Match on my phone. 

Hoping… For a mild winter from here on out.

Buying… Nothing lately 

Loving... Nothing here

Planning…  Transportation of my Lego models to BrickFestLive on March 2nd and 3rd

Missing… Gia, who I still text with but cannot convince to go on a trip with me.

The Weekend

I stayed inside again this weekend. The cold weather has me hibernating. I toyed with this pink tower top on Saturday. I don't have enough pink to make a full tower. Besides, I think it is a bit much. It was more of a learning experience for me.

I do like the frogs as ornamentation. I will have to see if they come in grey.

Sunday, I started what will become the centerpiece of my new build. I won't be able to get too far into it until after the show in March. Too many of my tan pieces are taken up by other builds.

The one started out as an experiment, too, but I think I will keep it going

Winter

From my balcony, I saw a vacant field and the houses beyond for nineteen years. Now, looking out the doorwall, I see a wall of black shingled roofs that block out everything. It's been cold. The kind of cold that makes you want to stay indoors. Despite that, I went to the grocery store after work while the sun was still out. My hands were stinging after I loaded the truck and returned the cart.

*     *     *

It has been a few days since I started this post. The temperatures are in the teens and twenties now. We have been getting snow every other day, but not enough to make it challenging for the Gladiator. I completed the final tower for the show. Anything else I build between now and then will be extra. I don't have plans to start anything big. My collection of essential parts is mostly in the pieces waiting for the show. Will see. I don't plan on doing much other than build Lego this weekend.

The Front

The Back

Aerial View

It comes apart in three sections

Side Views

Side View

Final Project for BrickFest

 The Gladiator read -3 degrees this morning as I drove to work. I stayed indoors over the weekend. I built Legos on Saturday and watched Peaky Blinders on Sunday. I took some images during each stage. I am not really happy with the results. Too many errors in the build. I am still deciding if I will continue or redo it all.

The Base

I figured a snow scene would be appropriate

My theory was to work in several stairs

Figuring out the angles

The first roof was rejected

The upper roof is better, but I need to work on more color and frills. The lower roof needs work, too. I might continue with it, but there will need to be a lot of rework.

Quick

      Here is a quick look at the finished roof. It actually comes apart in three sections.

                                                 

Brick Fest Live

 In my post Conversations, Rothwilder suggested: Give her some space, see if she writes you and takes initiative. Only way to know for sure. 

I took their advice and gave Gia some space. She continues to reach out to me close to as much as I her. Nothing profound, but we keep in touch. She is still in Rhode Island and is currently sick. 

I received acceptance to display at BrickFestLive in Novi, Michigan. It is about 45 minutes away. The show is on March 2nd and 3rd. It is a different show than last time but at the same venue as before. I will be continuing to build up to the day of the event. I have committed to filling four tables. I really need to finish the Star Wars scene.  I need to figure out the roof of my latest building and maybe create more pieces for the show. 

Transporting everything will be a challenge also. I will be taking the Friday before the show off to set up. I plan on taking the majority of the pieces apart after the show. I will probably keep the newest scenes up in case there is a show nearby some other time of the year.

Weekend In

 I stayed inside and built Legos all weekend. I hope to be accepted to display in BrickFestLive the first week in March. The club I loosely belong to displays year-round at other venues, but they specialize in city scenes, while I tend toward castle scenes. I have an interview this Wednesday to see if they accept me. If not, I don't know where I will display this year. 

I have one large layout and four smaller stand-alone pieces. I am working on a fifth, which I hope to have completed for the show. I just need to figure out the complex roof angles for the building. 

It is a lovely building with angles but needs a properly angled roof to make it unique. The challenge will be finding enough parts for a roof, determining the angles, and keeping the tower.

I want to go to Utah in March, also. Gia will not go. Max is interested but needs to see if he can get the time off work. He will need to take off seven work days. I want to attend the Off-Road Wrecker Games. It would be a busy few months if these things come together. 

Max Update

 Max stopped by for lunch today. He says they have him on overtime for the next three weeks. Max works in a shop that specializes in making walk-in freezers for restaurants. They ship them all over the country. Apparently, there are few companies out there that do this. He likes the work, and the pay is okay. 

There are only seven or eight others in the shop. Max is the youngest, and he picked up on the work quickly. He sounds like one of the shop's most dependable workers. Max works on the doors and doorframes. His supervisor wants Max to learn to build the rest of the unit. This is a good idea. It will only make him more valuable. Even though I wouldn't want to see him stay there. 

Max told me he will be working overtime for the next three weeks. I told him winter is a good time for that. He isn't going to be doing much anyway. He will be working six nine-hour days. When I was his age, I put in fifty-three hours a week in five days. Max said he has almost $10,000 saved up. That is great. I'd like to see him get his own place one day.

Conversations

Gia and I are still texting daily. Mostly, she just replies to mine, but she always responds.

Bathwater: Happy New Year. Did you make any resolutions?

Gia: Nope. You?

Bathwater: To stop wasting time and to see you again. I am going to need your help on the second one. :).

Gia: Okay! I am just home right now. I need a little break from being on the road.

It is hard to keep things from fading. The distance and her avoidant nature are daunting, but I don't want to give up on her, and she hasn't given me a reason to give up. Still, there is little hope of connecting.

Give me a reason.
To end this discussion
To break with tradition
To fold and divide
'Cause I hate the ocean, theme parks and airplanes
Talking with strangers, waiting in line
I'm through with these pills that make me sit still
Are you feeling fine?
(Yes, I feel just fine)
Tell me that you're alright
"Yeah, everything is alright."
Oh, please tell me that you're alright
"Yeah, everything is alright"... Everything Is Alright, Motion City Soundtrack.

Happy New Year

It's a new day
But it all feels old
It's a good life
That's what I'm told
But everything, it all just feels the same

I am back to work. I didn't miss it. I was falling into a pretty good routine. I could embrace retirement. I built three Lego models while I was on vacation. All in the last week. I would spend up to eight hours daily just listening to podcasts, building and sorting. My Lego table is a jumble of parts when I am building.

You already saw the Treehouse. I like that one. I have put it away for this year's show. Here are the two others. The first is a companion piece for the Treehouse.

The second was an experiment. I was trying a new way to make a round tower. It worked out well.

Now, I have fifty- five emails to sift through and respond to.  So the year begins.

This is the anthem.

Throw all your hands up.

Y'all got to feel me

Sing if you're with me...The Anthem, Good Charlotte