Here we are in the storage/workshop area between the east and west wings, where Andrew has his amazing collection of tools- most of them bought at yard sales and auctions. Some of them are very nice functional antiques. He was just using the shaper, so there's sawdust flying about. He's a very good carpenter- mostly does custom stuff. That's Lyell, the "house mother" and leaseholder, examining some part he's made for the restoration of the old house she recently bought in Asbury Park, NJ. She, her daughter Parlin (being picked up here by Andrew), and Parlin's father Doug spend most of their time there nowadays, but occasionally hang out in their suite of rooms here at the loft. Lyell is a painter/plasterer who has her own business, but also does freelance display/museum shop work, and is a very good jazz singer to boot. She and Doug, who's a guitarist, routinely play gigs in the area. Little Parlin was actually born here in the loft 5 years ago last December; Lyell and Doug hired 2 midwives who brought a neat little inflatable jacuzzi-thing for Lyell to soak in during labor, and Parlin came into the world through a nice "buffer zone" of warm water before being hit with the hard reality of light and air. Long labor, but the delivery went like clockwork, I heard. I waited up for a while for the birth, but had to turn in, and somebody woke me up at about 1:30AM to meet the new arrival. It was extraordinary- never met anybody that young before. We all love Parlin- she's a rather bossy, willful 5-yr-old, but she can also be very warm and sweet. She's just like her Mom!
You can probably see her "lazy eye" eyepatch in the photo; she has to wear that once in a while.
Well, looks like nobody's inspired to go out tonight- too cold. So it's become a TV night. That's Maz on the left- he's a brilliant special-effects artist who has his own little shop here- mostly makes exploding heads for indie films, that sort of thing. He and I and Peg drove out to his friends' house in New Mexico last October, and we've became good friends. As you can probably see, we're watching the Simpsons...
Here's the resident cat, Vision, saying hello. She pretty much ignores me as I will not feed her (that's become Maz's job, and I have Peg to deal with), so this is a rare moment. She and Peg play at hating each other, but it's all bluster, and I've caught them snuggling in the wee hours more than once...
?? hrs:
As usual, the day ends with me at the computer. Too tired to fly tonight, so maybe I'll just see what's going on over at SimV...and goodnight!
Hope somebody finds this series interesting... also hope to see somebody follow suit w/one of their own!
