Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Steve and I have been looking at 1960s ranches lately. No, we’re not in a hurry to move, but we like to keep our options open. Last Saturday, we looked at the home of Mary Guccione’s mother, Sis, who died recently. On first look, it seemed perfect. It had a room for my studio, original tile bathrooms, a wet bar in the basement, original kitchen counters (in turquoise!), nice neighborhood, etc. Last night we visited again to give it a more critical eye and have come to the conclusion it’s just not right. Have you ever walked into a house and knew it was the right one? That’s what happened to me 10 years ago when we walked into our current home. I took one step inside and knew it was right. This one, while having a lot of the features I love, just doesn’t feel right.

Valerie called to say a house we’d looked at a couple of months ago is being gutted. It’s so sad. The gorgeous slate floors, perfect tile bathrooms and shade brick wall on the back porch have all been destroyed. I’m sure they’ve also taken out the uber-cool intercom system too. Kevin, Valerie’s husband, stopped and talked to the owner to ask him about his “renovations” and found out the guy is just “updating” it to sell it again. It makes me so angry that this guy is destroying all that great style to create a generic box. He’s installing 12″ white tile where the slate was and creating boring bathrooms. Had this been a Victorian mansion I’m sure the Historic Society would have had the guy’s head on a plate for not preserving history. But this is history!

Architecture of the 1950s and 1960s is some of the most interesting of all time. Built-ins, colored tile and details made each home individual and interesting. Now, we’re stuck with miles of McMansions full of the same shit. I don’t want an all beige home so it coordinates with any decor. I want something interesting that makes me smile and makes my home different from everyone else’s.

I realize a home owner has every right to do whatever he/she wants to their home. After all they paid for it. However, if you’re planning to buy a home to flip it, don’t assume you know what the future owner wants. Another piece of mid-century architecture has now been destroyed. Stop the madness!

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Sometimes I step back from metalsmithing and think, “man, this job is fun.” Casting, for me, sums up perfectly what I do and why I love it. It combines heat, melted metal, some stress and a lot of luck to create something beautiful and unique. Tuesday, I got set up to cast some monkeys for a customer and thought I’d show you the process. Most of the time I carve pieces out of wax and cast them (I’ll show those soon) but this time I’m casting a found object. You may recognize these as the plastic drink monkeys A & W used to put on their root beer jugs.

It all starts with the sprueing. Wax sprues are used to create a tunnel for the metal to flow. You always sprue at the thickest point of your piece. In this case, the monkey’s rear. Nothing like saying you have to sprue some monkeys in the butt!

Next, plaster is made and poured over the mold into the flask. I forgot to take pictures of this! Anyway, the flask is put into a kiln and heated for 5-8 hours. This is called the burnout. During this time, the plastic monkeys and wax sprues melt while the plaster hardens around them leaving the image molded. Now, the fun begins. First, we set up the centrifugal casting machine. This will use force to thrust the melted metal into the flask.

Next, is my favorite part of casting: melting metal. Molten metal is a beautiful thing. It’s mesmerizing to watch solid silver turn liquid and I never tire of it.

Next, the flask is put aside for a few minutes until the button, which is extra silver, isn’t red/orange any more. Please excuse this photo as I was trying to cast and take pics at the same time! The orange spot on top of the flask is the button.

Next, the flask is plunged into water where the plaster dissolves leaving you with your casting. If all goes well, you should have an exact replica of what was sprued in the beginning. Because I cast in silver, the piece is dark grey due to oxidation. Now I have to cut the monkeys off the sprues and the clean up begins!

Aren’t they cute?!

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Actually, it’s more like “take my five.” This week I reached my first weight loss goal of losing five pounds. I also had my body fat measured and am now down 8.5% which puts me in the healthy range. What all this working out is doing for me is making me feel better about myself which makes me feel more confident. Sure, I’m still five pounds away from my final Weight Watchers goal, but right now I’m stronger and healthier than I have been in quite some time.

Heck, I might even buy a swimsuit this year and actually wear the darned thing!

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I’m officially tired of all my spring/summer fashion choices and the season isn’t even in full swing yet. At first, I thought I’d boycott crop pants and just wear jeans all summer like so many of the teenagers I see. That boycott ended yesterday when temps soared near 80 and the humidity was high. I had to drag out my crops and I was still hot. It’s not that I think crop pants are horrible, I’m just desperate for a new look. I can’t bear to think of going through the entire summer wearing nothing but crop pants and black t-shirts like I did last year. True, I jazzed up my ensemble with cool jewelry and a vast footwear selection, but it was still stale and predictable.

So, what to do? I’m not against skirts, but I don’t like my sweaty thighs touching so they’re out. Shorts are ok (I do have nice legs) but then I have to keep applying self-tanner to my very white legs in order to hide my spider veins. I guess I could throw vanity aside and just present my glaring white limbs to the world sans tanner, but I doubt I’ll do that. Sigh.  Guess I’ll just have to wear the crop pants and attempt to find some tops other than my black t-shirts to make my look more exciting.

Ideas, anyone?

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Compliments of fellow blogger (and good friend) Cindy.

You can only type ONE Word! Not as easy as you might think. Now copy into your blog, change the answers to suit you and post it. It’s really hard to only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? Arkansas
3. Your hair? blonde
4. Your mother? driven
5. Your father? golfer
6. Your favorite thing? metal
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? beer
9. Your dream/goal? artist
10. The room you’re in? guestroom
11. Your hobby? shopping
12. Your fear? rejection
13. Where do you want to be in six years? thinner
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? sarcastic!
16. Muffins? calories
17. One of your wish list items? Louboutins
18. Where you grew up? Missouri
19. The last thing you did? coffee
20. What are you wearing? sweats
21. Your TV? TiVo
22. Your pets? fuzzy
23. Your computer? Mac
24. Your life? satisfying
25. Your mood? calm
26. Missing someone? sister
27. Something you’re not wearing? jewelry
28. Favorite store? Gap
29. Like someone? many
30. Your summer? soon
31. Your favorite color? orange
32. When is the last time you laughed? today
33. Who will resend this? mom
34. Food? Sushi
35. Favorite word? enigma

Now, it’s your turn! Leave me a comment and let me know if you did this on your blog.

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Dear Emily Post,

I was wondering if you could clear up some questions I have regarding etiquette. You see, I’m wondering if people are becoming more rude, or if I’m just completely out of touch with current standards. So, could you please tell me when it became socially acceptable to:

ask me how much I pay for things. Anything - car, house, rug, purse, gym membership. Why is it so important for people to know what I pay?

ask how much someone inherited from a family death. Yes, my dear friend Mary has actually been asked lately the amount of her inheritance.

include where a bride/mom-to-be is registered with the invitation. It used to be that a guest asked where the bride/mom was registered instead of having it assumed she was to bring a gift to the shower.

send email thank you notes. This, in my world, will never take the place of a handwritten note. Never.

to assume that since I don’t have a full-time job I have nothing to do all day. I can assure you, I have many things to do and my time is just as valuable as every one else’s.

have personal conversations on your cell phone in public then give me dirty looks when I repeatedly say “excuse me” to get past you. Same for conversing on the cell phone while checking out at the store or at the bank.

ask personal questions about a doctor’s visit then give details about it. I really don’t need to know all about your last exam.

I understand there are exceptions to all of this. My friends and I can talk about all these things without it seeming rude. However, I still send thank you notes to my friends and family for gifts. That’s just something that my mother ingrained in my head as a child. Thanks, mom!

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Last weekend, Steve, Valerie, Kevin and I went to Kansas City so Valerie and I could attend a record show on Sunday. We’d been saving our garage sale money so we could add some new goodies to our collections. While the show itself wasn’t bad, it was the treasures we found at the Westport Flea Market that made the trip worthwhile. One dealer had about 3,000 albums priced at $1 each. Valerie and I decided to take the time to peruse them thinking we’d probably find some good album art, but not much in great shape. We were wrong. Once the guy learned we were collectors and were going to buy several LPs (or 47 in my case) he gave us a discount (75¢ each) and gave us access to his back room where he had more albums. There I found three Peggy Lee LPs in perfect shape, several Eydie Gorme’s and, my real find, a sealed copy of Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Those albums were worth the final cost alone. Sunday, at the record show, I added two Cal Tjaders and a Stan Getz. Combine that with some great food, too much beer and a trip to the Gap and you have a perfect weekend in KC!

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Good grief the basement has water in it again! I’m not sure if I should clean it up or build an Ark. Regardless, it’s a mess and I’m a bit crabbed out about the whole thing. Sure, water in the basement is part of owning an old home, but twice in a month is getting old. We’ve lived here for 10 years and have only had this much water probably 2 other times until this month. Worse news is that more rain is predicted for this afternoon. Grrrrrrr.

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Things are almost back to normal here at Chez Kirks. Steve went to work today and I got up before 9 a.m. We’re both still coughing, but feeling much, much better. I don’t remember when I’ve ever been this sick and I hope I don’t experience it again for a long, long time!

I did take some time last week to finish my latest project for school. The assignment was to take a mechanism and create a necklace or bracelet. Mine’s based on a bicycle chain. Here’s a view of it from the top:

And here’s a view from the side where you can see the clasp. It was my first box clasp and it works perfectly!

Today I find out my next assignment. I know it will include powder coating which should be fun. Stay tuned for more adventures in metalsmithing!

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April Fool’s Day was two days ago, but I still feel like the butt of a cruel joke. I’m finally recovering from my illness, but now Steve has it. Yesterday we had some nice “togetherness” time being sick all day. At one point, we were lying in bed wishing someone would bring us dinner because neither of us had the energy to get up. I’m sure we could have called someone to deliver, but that would have required getting up and finding the phone. Sarah called about a half hour later to tell me she was making chicken soup for us but wasn’t bringing it over until tonight. I finally dragged myself out of bed and made some chicken and brown rice.

I’m officially sick and tired of being sick and tired.

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