Morro Bay | 365 Days Handmade

May 2, 2015
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Day 121/365: Why I Should Never Schedule Late Appointments on Friday Afternoons

I was hoping to go home early today, but at 3:00 PM I had (unwittingly) scheduled an appointment with a patient who turned out to be suffering from delusional disorder. He was convinced that a particular inmate (who, according to the statewide inmate locator, was not even housed at our facility) was tormenting him by sending electrical surges to his eyelids via satellite. It was not a laughing matter for him or for me, particularly since I spent an hour and a half completing my documentation afterwards.

Thankfully, it is the start of another three-day weekend.

April 20, 2015
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Day 109/365: Pink and Yellow Striped Socks, Completed

A couple of socks, just hanging out. Enjoying the sea otters off in the distance.

Today I got it in my head that I wanted to eat a large fisherman’s platter for lunch– you know, the meal consisting of deep fried battered fish and shrimp and scallops and calamari and clam strips, with a hefty side of deep fried French fries thrown in for good measure. So this afternoon Sean and I walked down to Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant near the Embarcadero, and I was fully prepared to feast on a meal of a thousand calories… until we sat down and looked at the menu and my better sense kicked in. I still ordered the fisherman’s platter, but asked for the seafood to be grilled and substituted rice pilaf for French fries. I know, boooo. But I also want to live to at least eighty, with relatively unblocked arteries.

After lunch, we walked down the Promenade and admired the sea otters that were gliding and twirling in the bay just several feet away from us. I brought my completed pair of socks and took some photos. I made this pair of socks for a friend, and I purposely started the second sock without matching the color sequence to the first sock. I thought it would add a little more charm if the socks had mismatched stripes. I’m hoping my friend will think so, too.

April 19, 2015
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Day 108/365: Catching Up on Down Time

With the exception of going out to lunch this afternoon with Sean in San Luis Obispo, I didn’t do much of anything today. It was nice to just sit around and decompress. While Sean graded papers, I made some progress on my sock. I turned the heel and started the ribbing for the cuff. I should be done with it tomorrow.

I’m already trying to decide on my next project and whether I will start another pair of socks or start another crocheted afghan.

April 18, 2015
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Day 107/365: Winding it Down

It’s hard to believe that a week ago today, we were in Minneapolis, it was my 100th post, and I met my longtime online friend Alisha for the very first time.

It has been a busy week, jam-packed with all kinds of activities. We traveled a lot and had a bunch of adventures. We returned to California and went back to work. Now it’s the start of my three-day weekend, and I am looking forward to doing absolutely nothing except sitting around the house here in Morro Bay and just knitting or crocheting.

Happy Friday!

March 28, 2015
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Day 86/365: The Day Before I Start My Four-Day Weekend

Was it just a week ago that I had that hectic Friday with all the urgent referrals?

Today at work was another busy one, with the morning involving another facility-wide yard recall and then an “emergency” referral for me to evaluate an inmate who turned out to be perfectly fine. (Oh, those two incidents were completely unrelated, by the way.) It was more a matter of the staff member overreacting to a situation that someone else with more experience would have perceived differently. Rather than get into the details of that story right now, I’ll just say this: Thank god Monday is my day off and Tuesday is a state holiday.

My four-day weekend is on, and I’m putting the work week behind me.

This evening’s view of the Morro Bay sunset.

March 10, 2015
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Day 68/365: Hike (Resting the Arm and Shoulder, but Not the Legs)

This morning I met my friend Roberta to go for a hike up the side of a large hill or small mountain, whichever way you want to look at it. If I didn’t have plans with Roberta to go for this hike today, I would have just sat on the couch all day with the TV on, eating potato chips and chocolate, and either knitting or crocheting and not leaving the house. I think I would be great at doing solitary confinement in prison.

Anyway, so Roberta and I hiked up this large hill/small mountain in Los Osos, and it was not easy, but it was a good workout. When we got to the top, we both pulled out our cell phones to take photos of the view of the Bay and of the fog rolling in over the water, but the sunlight was so bright that neither one of us really knew if we were capturing any good photos.

Luckily, I did take a good photo. It’s just showing up small here. Click to get a better view!

The funny thing about the hike was that when we reached the lookout point, we discovered that somebody had carried an old bench all the way up there. Having just barely clawed my way up to the top of that mountain, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could be that agile and fit as to carry an unwieldy 50+ lbs bench while navigating that steep hiking trail. That takes some commitment and dedication.

How’d that bench get all the way up there?

But I guess in the end, the view from the top makes it all worth it.

That’s the Morro Bay Rock in the center of the photo, underneath all that fog. And somewhere in the distance, across the Rock and also underneath that fog, is our house on a way smaller hill than this one.

March 8, 2015
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Day 66/365: Not A Nothing Day

“I don’t have anything to write about for tonight’s blog post,” I told Sean. “Today was kind of a nothing day.”

“You could write about how you got up this morning and your husband made you breakfast,” Sean said. “And then how later on we walked down the hill and went to the Otter Rock Café and had lunch with a view of the bay, and we watched a sea otter cracking open an oyster. And after that we walked down to the library and found a couple of good deals in the used book sale, and afterwards we went and got some really good frozen yogurt downtown. And tonight we went out for a delicious sushi dinner. Today wasn’t a nothing day.”

“You’re right,” I said. “Thanks for writing tonight’s blog post for me.”

And I got this much done on the afghan, along with everything else we did today.

March 7, 2015
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Day 65/365: Counting Down to the Time Change

Over these last few months, I’ve been staying late at work and typically leaving the prison between 5:30 to 6 PM. Normally I have no problem being inside a prison, unlike Sean who absolutely does not enjoy the idea of being locked inside a penitentiary surrounded by electric fencing, barbed wire, and gun towers with armed guards. But when it’s 5:30 PM in late November and outside of my office it’s like night time and I have to navigate my way through a prison yard where inmates are freely walking to the chow hall– I become acutely aware of my environment and the fact that I am a petite woman walking outnumbered among convicted felons who are potentially violent. It is a downright creepy, nervous-making feeling.

Now that it’s March, the days have started to stretch out longer so that it’s still bright outside when I leave my office, and I’m easily spotted by the correctional officers as I make my way through the facility. It’s also nice to get home and still have enough natural light to take a photo for the day’s blog post and show you a little bit of our view from the deck.

Ahh, fresh air and the ocean. Such a contrast to the work environment.

March 6, 2015
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Day 64/365: Full Moon

I am almost too embarrassed to admit this, but I’ll share with you anyway: I have been knitting and crocheting so much lately that I think I injured myself a little. My right arm and shoulder have been sore and aching. It’s not quite carpal tunnel, but probably something along those lines. I hate to say it, but I may need to take a break from the needles and hook for a few days. At least there is the sewing machine, though…

Tonight I left work after 6 PM, which is late for me. By the time I reached Morro Bay and was turning into my street, the moon was already visible in the sky while the sun was starting to set. I pulled into my driveway and got out of the car and stood staring at the sky. It was a really pretty sight. I love seeing a full moon, and I love that the days are getting longer. Even though it’s still the same amount of hours, the longer days make me feel like I have more time. You know what I mean?

March 2, 2015
by FC5 4 Comments

Day 60/365: How to Upcycle an Old Bureau into a Shabby Chic Beach Cottage Credenza

As you know, on Valentine’s Day I found this little gem and rescued it from the trash. I gave it a makeover and shared a sneak peek. I promised a big reveal in two weeks, so today I give you the full deets! (Click on each photo to enlarge.)

The poor little bureau only had two working drawers, and they were missing their knobs:

Narrowly missed being sent to the landfill!

I bought some aqua paint (Clark + Kensington Good Life) and four faceted glass knobs, and then I got to work.

Paint ($10, but free to me because Sean paid) + glass knobs (4 x $6 each) = A damn good deal for the final product, if you ask me.

I put wood putty over the extra holes in the front of each drawer, and then I painted them.

Sean built a shelf into the empty space where the missing drawer would have gone. He also drilled a couple of new holes into the top drawer for me.

Empty, hollow, and a little sad.

Getting measured for a new shelf…

… and waiting to dry.

I was hoping for a nice sunny day today where we could carry the bureau out to the backyard for a pretty photo shoot. Of course it was overcast all day and rained instead.

At about 5 PM, I’d had enough waiting and decided to take photos on the front porch, clouds and rain be damned. It did sprinkle a little, but I think the bureau did a nice job posing for the grand reveal.

And here it is, in all its upcycled glory:

Ta-da!

Before:

After:

I think it would make a great credenza for the TV, DVD player, and DVDs. It would also look great in my craft room where I store my yarn and fabrics. Either way, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. It’s got me thinking of doing a lot more trash picking and upcycling. Stay tuned!