I made a bracelet

Got the estimate for enclosing the patio….$2500. OUCH! But I think I am going to go ahead and do it. I have absolutely NO outdoor privacy, and I really hate that. I have people walking by and driving by all day, and each and every one of them has to wave or say hello. Which is fine, but there are days I don't feel like being sociable, and half the time I'm in my jammies. :(  But to lower the cost some, I am going to have to change two of the panels from rollups to permanent installation. It is probably better that way anyway. I’m thinking about removing that low wall and recycling the bricks into a patio border. I have to keep stepping over the wall and from what I can see, it serves no purpose except ornamentation. Although, if I pay someone, it won’t have saved me the money for the two less roll up panels. Maybe I can do it myself. I can at least demo it myself, if not recycling the bricks. I will live with it a while longer and maybe make that a winter project. So, privacy or floors? I can’t do both. I have floors, so I think I am going to go for privacy…it will create a whole extra room.

Anyway, I actually got out into the shed yesterday and made something. I made a bracelet out of a piece of copper that I kept when I changed the kitchen sink faucet. I still have one piece and will probably make another. I got to use my rolling mill, my vise, and I soldered with propane for the first time. I also pressed a quarter with the rolling mill. It was an experiment. And used my dapping set to make a dome. I’m thinking I will finish it off as a rustic locket like I made with the nickels before. I still have a few tools I haven’t tried yet, but I will get to them as I get going. The shed is still a mess, but I organized and moved some stuff around as I was working. It was HOT in the shed. I don’t know how much I will be able to work in the summer. I guess we will have to wait and see.

This is the bracelet I made and the materials that I made it from…

The solar power ran my grinder and tumbler just fine. :) I also had a fan running. While I had all my soldering stuff out, I soldered two more of my rings together. The one with the stones was constantly spinning, so now that it is soldered to the band, should spin a lot less. I had been wanting to do that for a while.

Spent the afternoon reading. When it hits 98 or so, it is time to stop. We hit 99 if not higher. I didn’t look to see.

There seems to be a few less mourning doves around. They really like the dry cat food I have been putting out so maybe I will continue to buy some cheap stuff just for them. They go for that before they go for the bunny pellets. I do need to get back to DG and get that other feeder if they still have it tho. They empty the new one in less than an hour.

Thinking about heading to Yuma tomorrow. It is time I got out of here for a day. I have been stuck here since I moved in and I no longer have to be here for Kali Cat. It is still very strange without her. I miss her. I wish she hadn’t gotten sick, she would still be here. Although if she hadn’t gotten sick, I probably wouldn’t have bought this place. We’ll never know. 

As I see other units in the park, I am still very happy with mine. It feels so much larger and open that the others I have been in. My living room is larger too. So I am still happy with it. If I could just get the shed organized. It is hard having the shed serve two purposes - storage shed and work shop, but maybe I will get that figured out at some point.

I want to make something again this morning. I am going to try to make something five mornings a week and start pushing my stuff online. Mother’s Day is coming and maybe I can sell some stuff. Would be nice to make enough money to buy food or pay the electric bill. At least my power tools won’t be adding to that. Not sure what I will make this morning, will figure it out when I get out there. Supposed to be cooler today by about 10 degrees.