Cunniforms to Blinking Cursors

From journal entry May 30, 2020 – Day 78 of “Stay Home Stay Safe”

As I was sanding my new deck coffee table it accorded to me that designing, creating/building, and finishing this project was similar to the writing process I teach my First-Year Writing students. First, you to have an idea, a theme, or a subject you want to or need to write about. Second, you have to do some research, planning, and thinking about the project. Third, you have to write a rough draft, or as Anne Lamott say’s, a “shitty first draft.” Finally or fourth, you have to revise, reorganize, and polish the piece. In writing we use the the three terms High Order Concerns, Middle Order Concerns and Later Order concerns that help students understand it is a process.

My table project started while being confined to my home during the COVID 19 pandemic “Stay Home, Stay Safe”. I began thinking about making a coffee table for my deck to go with the wicker rocker I bought from the At Home store after receiving my pandemic stimulus check. I did a curbside pick up wearing my mask on April 30th. I had thought about buying a wicker coffee table to match it but decided I didn’t want to spend anymore money. The rest of the check went into the savings account. So, I surveyed the materials I had on hand. I had a piece of formica-topped shelving from a kitchen cabinet that I thought might make a good table top. I also had four ceramic tiles left over from the little dwarf house (that’s another story). I laid all the pieces out on the floor of my basement workshop for a visual of size and possibility. I even drew a sketch of how it might look (See image at right).

But after a week of thinking about this design, I decided it would end up being too heavy with the extra layer of wood to put all the pieces on. So I looked at other options. I had three pieces of deck wood from the side porch steps that had been removed when it was redesigned last summer. I laid them side by side on the floor of my workshop. they looked like they would be a good length. I went back to the website to see what the actual dimensions were for the wicker table I almost bought and realized the step boards would be a perfect length for the top. The wicker table was 38″ long by 18″ wide and 17-1/2″ high. So I drew a second sketch (see below) using the three step boards that were 36-1/4″ long for the top, along with the four 4″x4″x12″ legs, and the two 2″x6″x18″ boards to attach the legs to. At this point I realized the legs needed to be taller. I researched banister post tops. I found them on the Home Depot website. There were several styles to choose from and I really liked the octagon ones for only $5 each. I added the four 4″x3-1/2″ post tops to my sketch as feet for the legs. I liked how it looked, so I ordered them.

This part of the table project process is similar to the first phase of the writing process. A lot of thinking, planning, and researching has to happen before the actual writing can begin.

Once I had my final design, I took all the pieces I had and laid them out on the floor in my basement workshop. The post tops I ordered would not arrive for five days. Sometimes when writing you need more information so you do more research. And sometimes that research has to come from another library or you need to buy another book. Any project process takes time, waiting and patience are just as much a part of that process as the actual building or writing. From the time I first thought about making a coffee table for my deck until I actually had all the pieces to assemble on May 28th, almost a month had passed. As an instructor I try to give students this all important thinking, planning, researching time before their first draft is due.

Even writing about this project has taken several weeks as you see from my journal entry above, I began on May 30th. I wrote “Even as I sit here in my new wicker rocker writing about designing, building/creating, and finishing the coffee table, I’m considering what to write, why I’m writing, and how to explain each process.”

The next phase, phase II is making sure I have all the right size pieces, the lag bolts and the flathead wood screws needed to put it all together. I had only two 4″x4″x12″ pieces for the legs and I needed four. I needed to saw two more pieces from a longer piece. To do that I realized I needed to buy a new saw blade for my circular saw because the one I had was very dull. I bought the new blade when I picked up the four post tops on the 28th. That was an eye opening experience. Home Depot had a huge sign on the door saying everyone is required to wear a mask and practice social distancing, six feet apart. However, when I entered the tool section to get the saw blade there were at least six or seven men talking, standing right next to each other and not one had a mask on. I freaked! I quickly found what I needed, paid at the self checkout, and left the store. Fear of being exposed to the virus is very real, especially when you are 73!

Now, I was able to saw the other two leg pieces and the new blade cut through the 4×4 like it was butter. Once I had all four leg pieces I could to attach them to the two 18″ 2″x6s that the three step boards would be screwed onto to make the top. This phase is similar to taking notes, making a list of information you want to include, or writing an outline for that writing project.

Phase III is assembling all the pieces. I decided to attach the 4″x4s to the two 2x6s with two lag bolts for each leg. Lag bolts are screwed in with a socket wrench that has an attachment that fits the top of the lag bolt, depending on the size. I was using 1/4″x3″ lag bolts so I needed a 7/16″ socket. The socket wrench ratchets the lag bolt into the wood. The ratchet part is the lag bolt turning clockwise while the socket ratchets counterclockwise so that it is a continuous motion of screwing the lag bolt into the wood. This tool makes it easier to bolt things together no matter your hand strength. I have arthritis so this makes it doable for me (See socket wrench at the right).

I used two lag bolts for each leg and two legs attached to each 18″ 2×6. Once I had all four legs attached to the two 2x6s I was able to set the three step boards on top to see how it would look. I used four 2″ flathead wood screws at each end of the step boards to attach them to the leg pieces. I marked the boards with an x where each screw should go then drilled the holes and screwed the boards down. Once I had these pieces assembled I turned the table over so the legs were sticking in the air so I could attach the post-top feet to the bottom of each leg. The post tops came with a screw in the center so all I had to do was drill a hole in the center of the leg and screw them into each leg. I also used wood glue attaching the post-top feet to the legs. Once everything was assembled I took the photo you see below. I love building things with my hands, it’s therapeutic for me and after not seeing any family for over two months during “Stay Home, Stay Safe,” I needed this physical activity!

Phase III of my table project is similar to writing the first or rough draft of your paper. Pouring out all of that information onto the page or screen. Lamott calls it “the child’s draft.” My table was now together but there is still a lot of work to be done before it’s finished. And when writing this is also true. Now you move into the fourth or final phase where you revise, reorganize, edit and polish your writing just as I had to sand, make adjustments, and apply a finish to my table.

Phase IV of my table project starts with sanding, a lot of sanding. It took a couple of days. As I was sanding I was thinking about how I would finish the table. I had several options, staining and varnishing, or just sealing the wood or shou sugi ban. I had used the Japanese shou sugi ban technique on the arbor I built last year. I needed to think about it. It took me several days to sand the whole table (see below).

During phase IV sanding, I discovered one leg was not ratcheted tight enough to the 2×6. So I had to unscrew three screws and loosen the fourth of the outside top board so that I could get at the lag bolts underneath and tighten them down.

Every project has it ups and downs and starts and stops. After writing that rough draft you will almost always have to rearrange information, delete parts, and add new parts to make the piece readable that’s why this phase is called “Later Order Concerns.” I have now worked on this piece of writing for several days and many hours, reading out loud to myself, revising sentences, and adding my thoughts to make it more fun to read for you the reader.

Once I finished tightening the bolts and putting the top board screws back I decided I would finish the table using the Japanese wood burning technique of shou sugi ban to seal and finish the wood. I took the table to the back patio.

I watched a couple YouTube videos to refresh my memory on the technique. I used a small hand held blow torch that attaches to a canister of propane gas like that used on a camping stove. It’s actually quite easy, it just takes patience to evenly move the torch back and forth to burn the wood evenly. This took a couple hours. After I had the whole table burned it needed to be sanded again. I took the table back to the basement workshop and used the electric sander. I needed to wear a mask because the dust is actually soot. Yes! It is a very dirty, messy part of the process.

Once the table was all sanded again I brought it back to the deck and I sanded that table with a finer sandpaper, whipped it off with a soft rag, and then applied linseed oil. I rubbed linseed oil into the wood with a clean rag. I let it dry for several days. Then I rubbed the table with steel wool, whipped it with a clean rag, and brushed another coat of linseed oil all over it. This finishing technique is supposed to last 10 to 15 years.

After thinking about, designing, building, and finishing the table I felt like I needed to sign it. I got out my wood burning tool and wrote “Pandemic 2020 Pam” on the inside of one of the legs. When I posted a picture of my table on Facebook, my sister-in-law replied I should call it the the “Pamdemic Table”. I laughed.

The finished table at right and above my signature.

Today is June 17th, day 95 of the 2020 pandemic. Michigan is in phase III of reopening. I’m doing fine. Designing, building, and finishing this table is proof. And now I have finished writing about the process for my blog.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my process!

This is the first time in ten years I will not be teaching a class at EMU. I have a consulting position in the University Writing Center and I’m a volunteer writing consultant for YpsiWrites at the Whittaker library. I only need to be on campus two days a week so that leaves me plenty of time to do some writing and some drawing! It’s strange to not be revising my syllabus, project assignments, and reading schedules. BUT also, quit invigorating to be writing for me, myself, my own interests.

I’ve started revising my children’s book that started my teaching career over twenty years ago. That’s correct, I wrote a little story for my niece and nephew in 1990 for Easter. That story turned into a chapter book I finished during an independent study with a children’s literature professor at Eastern Michigan University. I submitted that story to about 15 different publishers. Rejection letters are hard to read. Through suggestions from my creative writing professor and my independent study professor, I pursued my master’s degree in Children’s Literature than a master’s degree in Written Communication with an emphasis in the Teaching of Writing.

So, here I am at my laptop, writing on my blog about writing. I pondered what to do with this spare time and many ideas have been sent out to the universe. Should I try to find another teaching position, no. Should I get a part-time job to fill in the money gap, still thinking about that. Should I finish writing the several projects I’ve started over the past ten plus years and submit them for publication, yes. Should I do more drawing that I know I can do after taking a class last winter and passing with flying colors, yes. However, writing and drawing and sending it out for possible acceptance is absolutely terrifying! Yes, the fear of success is real, the fear of rejection is real, the fear of not being good enough is very real. I just googled “fear of success” and it seems to be a female issue that society has built into us, whereas men have “fear of failure’ issues. These are my thoughts about what to do in 2020.

I’ve also revisited my book I started five years ago. A memoir of sorts that tells the story of my transformation from insecure young female to more confident adult woman. This project includes some of my poetry I’ve written about my childhood and my life. I need to be brave, confident, and persistent to survive the coming winter insecurities. That’s it. I also have to draw and not be afraid. One of the pieces I drew last winter, is a triptych of my Petosky stone. I need to frame it so that I can submit it for exhibition. I have not submitted any art in the last twenty years.

I must write every day!

I must draw every day!

As I stare at the clementine peel, laying next to my laptop, it reminds me of the series of photographs and drawings I have done over the last five years on this subject. Why does this particular item peek my creativity so much? It’s just an ordinary orange clementine peel. I don’t know. However, last winter I turned this item into a fictional beast in one of my fantasy drawings. Maybe there’s a story there as well.

So, I begin another trip around the sun, whatever the outcome only time will tell . . .

In 1972 I was an art student taking drawing classes in Sherzer Hall at Eastern Michigan University, last week I returned to Sherzer Hall for a drawing class at the age of 72. It took me seventeen years to get my bachelor of fine arts degree than two masters degrees in my sixties and now, having taught at EMU for eight years, I’m returning to the thing that started it all those years ago, drawing.

When I applied for admission to the art school I was interviewed by Kingsley Calkins, department head at the time. I took in my little portfolio of the few things I’d drawn and painted, one was a watercolor of a fall landscape (8 x 10). I varnished it, framed it and it hung on the wall of our home for many years. I might still have it tucked away in one of my folders of old work. I also still have my original acceptance letter, it is a signpost of my life, one of those moments when you really feel good about yourself, something you have accomplished all on your own. Even though I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I’ve set out to do, this one moment, this one letter was the beginning.

Now, for class this coming Tuesday I’m supposed to find a new artist or new website, some avant-garde example and be ready to share with the class. However, I was curious about the art of Kingsley Calkins, I really didn’t remember what type of art he did. I can see his face and almost hear his voice because for my last class, after taking classes for seventeen years, I took a study abroad class in Paris, with Kingsley Calkins, Sharon Harrison, and Richard Fairfield in May of 1987. So, I did a Google search and found one image and an Oral History Interview with Kingsley Mark Calkins, 1979 June 19 done by the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. I then searched the ARTstore database on the Halle library website and found nothing. That is such a shame since he was department head for many years.

Then I pulled out my journal from the Paris trip that was part of our homework from Kingsley Calkins. I saved the note King and Sharon wrote about my journal, it brought tears to my eyes as I read them because they are both gone now.

I need to get back to the ‘little brown” drawing that is also due Tuesday. I’ll insert it here when it’s done. I also have to finish prepping for my writing classes.

Loved this little trip down memory lane. Blessings!

I haven’t written in my blog since this past July, between the garden, the yard, the house, and then teaching three classes and consulting for the Writing Center at EMU there wasn’t any time left for my blog. It took me twenty minutes to figure out how to even get here with passwords and a new site. As I said in my Holiday letter: this past year has brought about many changes in my life.

First, I bought a small house in January. It is perfect for me, with three bedrooms and a family/dining area off the kitchen with a fireplace. I love having a fire in the evening, it’s very comforting and calming after a long day of teaching and consulting. The smallest room is my office, where I grade, write, and have room to draw, create all kinds of projects. The house also has a full unfinished basement that is great for storage, laundry and my summer furniture along with a few plants.

The second big change, was the passing of Tobias Lorenzo, my little Yorkie of almost sixteen years, on April 9th. I was devastated. He went almost everywhere with me and had almost as many flying miles as I do. He is buried in the backyard in his own little garden next to my tiny barn.

The third biggest change was adopting a rescue puppy. Little Orphan Annie came into my life on May 19^th. She was born in Corpus Cristi, Texas on January 17^th, the same day I bought the house, my mom and dad’s anniversary, and Michelle and Richard’s anniversary. The universe picked her for me! She came to Bottle Babies Rescue and I picked her up at Pet Smart in Dearborn. She is now eleven months old and still in training. Being half Yorkie and half Havanese (we think) she’s stubborn, smart, and a little beasti-girl! It took me about four years to train Toby and it looks like it will take just as long to train this little twelve-pounder.

This year for Thanksgiving we all met at my oldest son’s home in the Kansas City area. It was a special time with my three children and seven of the eight grandkids. The Sunday before Thanksgiving I picked up my granddaughter in Cleveland and she stayed with me until we drove to KC on Wednesday. She talked me into buying matching PJs for the grandkids and me. My sister bought the girls matching socks and the guys matching hats.

As you can see above, it turned out to be a very special moment for the McCombs/Dobson Thanksgiving Sleepover!

We had not all been together for eleven years, at that time the two youngest girls were only two and now they are thirteen! One of them is taller than me, of course, most of my grandchildren are taller than me.

What does 2019 hold? Who knows, I don’t see how it could top 2018.

My Potager! I’ve harvested lettuce, snow peas, green beans and Hungarian peppers. Tomatoes will be soon. I’m sitting on the deck, the robins and other birds singing to me. It’s supposed to be another 88+ degree day. Grateful for the breeze.

Lorrie & I had a relaxing time at Cindy’s Manchester fireworks party last night. Let the fireworks begin, boomers and all the spectacular colorful designs bursting in the night sky!

Summertime and Annie’s training continues , , ,

Five and a half months old and she chews on everything and anything. However, she is the cutest!

This entry is going to be a short one. I’m just trying to get myself writing on this blog more consistantly. So until next time, have a SAFE and FUN 4th of July!

 

I bought a small three-bedroom ranch on January 17th. I moved in, over a couple weeks in February, with my little Yorkie, Toby. I had help from many relatives and friends. I finished, redoing the front of the fireplace, painting, and unpacking all of the boxes sometime in March. On April 9th I had to have my little Toby put down. He had an enlarged heart, a tumor, and his seizures were getting worse. He would have been sixteen on May 1. It was the hardest thing I’ve done in a very long time. I cried for two weeks, every time I thought of all the things we did together, including the move to the new house. He had almost as many flying miles as I do.  He now lies in his own little garden by the little barn in the backyard.

It’s now June 6th. I’ve built and planted a Potager (French for kitchen garden). I’ve transplanted hostas, lilies, iris, and lily of the valley to all parts of my yard. I’ve moved dirt from the front gardens to the Potager frames and back gardens. I’ve mowed the yard now several times. And, I’ve adopted a little rescue puppy. She is a four and a half -month old Yorkie mix born on January 17th in Corpus Cristi, Texas. Yes, her birth date has a lot of significance, not only is it the day I bought the house but also was my parent’s wedding anniversary, the day my dad passed away and my daughter’s anniversary date. The Universe has a way of providing us with exactly what we need when we need it. I call her Lil’ Orphan Annie! A new chapter of my life begins.

And now, I finally have time to write on my blog again.

The Potager idea came about when my brother tagged me in a Facebook post when I first moved into the house. I decided that was what I wanted to do for my garden area. I started with the sandbox frame left in the backyard and made four more frames to go with it. Here are a few shots of the progression from one frame to five, as the half moon shape of the North edge of my Potager was revealed.

 

It took a couple months to complete. I did it in stages, building the frames, removing the sod, and finally moving dirt from the front gardens to the Potager frames with my new two-wheel wheelbarrow. The stone also came from the front gardens. When I had the house inspected, I was informed that the front gardens were too high on the foundation and that they needed to be excavated so they drained away from the house. YES! a lot of work, however, I didn’t have to buy any dirt or wood for this project.  The sandbox frame was already there and all of the wood for the other frames and the bench came from behind my little barn. All I had to buy were the lag bolts to put them all together. I am a do-it-yourself person, I come from a family who knows “the art of making do” and I needed to work with my hands; my form of therapy.

In the right big frame of my Potager, I’m growing green beans, peppers, peas and lettuce. The middle frame has four different kinds of tomatoes. The left large frame has rhubarb, zucchini, squash, spinach, beets, and sunflowers. The two smaller frames have herbs: cilantro, sage, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary. I picked some of the lettuce yesterday for my salad! All of the hard work is well worth it as I begin to harvest. Now, when I sit on the bench in the morning with my cup of coffee and Annie’s playing in the mulch, I have my own meditation space surrounded by all the growing energy.

Today