A day to myself

"It is the rust we value, not the gold" ~a. pope

There is this wonderful place not far from Agnes. Some may say a graveyard, full of skeletons. Rusty remains of once beautiful machines. A mere shadow of their former glorious selves. Chunks of metal that are now obsolete and forgotten. They seem like creatures to me. Their patinaed and aged skin that has seen decades of weather and neglect seems more beautiful, more interesting. Old timers with stories to tell and history. I have an odd habit of giving life to inanimate objects (yes, i know it's called anthropomorphizing, but it's so hard to say). It always seemed to me when I've used something, or something has been there to provide for me, it takes on a bit of life. Like I owe respect back. 

Here, they let the creatures be, rest.

I dove into some electrical today. No use procrastinating. Taught myself a few things and applied them best I could...

Splitting Romex, very carefully. Black-hot, White-neutal, Bare-ground

Strippin'

My little R2-D2 outlet

Not sure how this happened, but it hurt alot more that it looks like it should

Feeling a little more confident

I spent the day all by myself. Well, aside from Agness and the local critters...Yeah. I think me and Agnes are gonna get along splendidly.

You can find me lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling

So it's not often that I start and finish an entire task in one day. Ok, never. Several things come into factor for this. Agnes is a bit of a country girl. Meaning that there is no Home Depot, no Ace Hardware close by. There is a most fantastic little local hardware store that comes in handy, but selection is somewhat limited. The biggest hindrance is lack of internet service. There is a dial up, kinda. The fact that I just can't jump online to verify or reassure myself can be a little frustrating. I usually have to wait til I get back into town and do more research or make yet another trip to the land of orange aprons.

So I was ecstatic when I actually started AND finished today's project with time to spare and chill on the front porch. Feeling quite pleased with myself. Although I didn't do it alone. Even got Mom pulling out the old nails...

Today Agnes got her new floor. There had been some hemming and hawing about which side of my reclaimed wood I was going to use. I had wanted to use the back originally because it was more interesting. Sanding and staining to give new life. Then I thought about using the front and leaving all beat up for a true worn feeling. But after seeing all the inconsistencies and random turquoise marks, black stamps, tar? on the back, I knew it was the right choice. It was just more, well funky. More Agnes. More me.

Feeling more confident about this than anything so far

And we're off!

Sophisticated system for measuring cuts courtesy of Benjamin :)

I am so incredibly satisfied and happy

And a bit beat. Let's just say it hurt to walk the next few days...alot

My favorite photo of Agnes so far

My friend, Joe, came out with me the next week since he hasn't seen Agnes in quite some time. I think he was slightly impressed with the progress. Or at least encouraging ;). Not quite sure how different she really looks.  He even said she is now Agnis instead of Agnus (did I explain that before? He kept misspelling her name when I first got her as Agnus and I said to stop because it looked like anus-well it does! and he said that's what she kinda looked like. Joe has a very distinct humor that I very much appreciate). Anyway, she has now graduated to Agnis and when she is done he will properly call her Agnes. Or maybe I will make him call her Miss Gooch just out of spite. Joe is definitely an inspiration for projects and I always ask him a million questions. Quite the Macgyver. Or Joegyver. And he always asks me why I have to make things more complicated than they need to be. That's just what I do. 

We went over to the Motor Transport Museum to check out some rusty goodness. It was closed, so we just walked the perimeter. So many beautiful pieces...

We met Shadow.

Zoe is a happy puppy

Pooped Piper on the ride home