Feral Fifties - Joining the Circus

I took this to heart when I saw it,
and have been living by it since 2021

In the summer of 2021, a friend of mine from NaNoWriMo posted some pictures of her circus journey with Old Lady Circus Club, and I was instantly intrigued. I mean, who hasn't watched a Cirque show and wondered if they could do some of those cool things? I asked if I could join her sometime, and on August 26, 2021, I ran away and joined the circus. We started with the aerial sling, and it was amazing! Like playing on the playground, but the sling felt secure. 

I dove into circus 100%. Despite being much older than the other gals in OLCC, I was welcomed with open arms. Trying something new is always terrifying, especially something like this, but the warm welcome instantly set me at ease. Circus became my "me time". 

Oh my Lord, y'all, the bruises. The bruises are epic. Painful, yes, but a source of pride in a twisted way. Sling is probably the most painful, and leaves bruises that look like you've been flogged. Lyra bruises look like you've been caned. Trapeze didn't leave a lot of bruises, but I definitely came home with rope burn more than once. Silks, while the hardest to master, don't bruise as badly as sling, and I think that's because you can adjust the tension. When I was beginning my circus journey, I swore I was going to have Jay make me a shirt that said, "my hubby doesn't beat me, I play circus". It got to where I would warn massage therapists and doctors before I ever disrobed.

I failed to take pictures for the first few weeks of OLCC, but then week four came along and we learned to do two very basic drops. I had to break out the phone for those!

Angel drop

(But I think it should be called the Dracula drop)

360 drop

I really enjoyed playing in the sling, even without the drops, and it was a great foundation for me as a fifty year-old beginner.

Airplane

Seahorse

Hip key

There's probably a name for this shape,
I just don't know what it is.

Gazelle

One of the greatest things about OLCC was that we had the opportunity to spend a few weeks trying out different apparatus. Lyra and I became fast friends; it was more intuitive to me. I understood how the solid ring would move under pressure, so I felt as though I picked up skills more readily.

Mermaid. This stupid skill took me weeks. It's not physically hard,
but mentally it kills me.

Span set skills on the top of the lyra are terrifying, and some of my very favorite skills. I didn't get to work top bar stuff until I moved out of OLCC and into actual classes, but immediately fell in love. 

Double knee hang

Straddle back

Gazelle

Gazelle

Iron Cross

After lyra, we moved into silks. I'm not gonna lie, my heart and soul love silks. My body does not. For the past three years, I've been intermittently taking the beginner silks classes hoping that my strength will catch up to my will and it hasn't happened yet.

3 years in, and I still can't climb

Fabric management can be
incredibly frustrating

No idea what this shape is called

Same shape as above, 
different angle

Witch's broom

Iron cross with knot in silks

Iron Cross without knot in silks

After a session on silks, we transitioned to dancer trapeze. Like lyra, it was more intuitive to me, but with the potential of rope burns.

I have no idea what this is called,
but it's cool

I also don't remember the name
of this shape.

I can't seem to find most of my trapeze pictures, which is sad, because I had some really cool ones. 

Of course, life circumstances changed a bit, and I had to step away for several months, then struggled to get back into it. The struggle is mostly mental, because I've gained back a lot of the weight I'd lost (thanks menopause) and I'm not playing with the same ladies that were in OLCC - we've all moved on to other things. As OLCC fizzled out, I moved into regular classes, and I love them, but it's not the same close-knit support system.

Feral Fifties - Learning Grandma Skills

Losing weight on Noom, and gaining a lot more confidence in what my body can do, happened to coincide with turning fifty. I like to tell people, "I quit my job, got a bunch of ink, and joined the circus." 

That's not entirely untrue. I left my job at the career college in 2019, on my fifteenth anniversary. I wasn't quite fifty when I made that jump. I didn't like the way the college was going, and morally, I couldn't do it any more. I used to be proud of the impact I made on our students, and knew that the graduates I was putting out into the field were the very best of the lot. However, over time, I became more and more constrained by corporate. I was being told to do things that went against every fiber of my being, and I just couldn't do it any more. 

As soon as I found out about our surprise Gremlin, I embraced the whole grandma thing and learned to crochet. I mean, what is more grandma than crochet? My great-grandma had tried to teach me when I was young, but gave up in frustration when I struggled with even finger crocheting a chain. My Grandma Mary also tried to teach me, but gave up. Luckily, I ran across an ad for the Woobles. I was feeling optimistic, riding on the high of successfully learning new things in the recent past, and bought Fred the Dinosaur.

The Woobles were able to teach my what two grandmas had given up on. More specifically, the Woobles YouTube channel that I could stop, rewind, slow down, and watch as many times as possible without the tutorials becoming frustrated. Jay hasn't quite picked up crochet yet, but considering the number of times  he had to listen to the tutorials, I have no doubt he could pick up the yarn and go to town.

I tell you what, it's a good thing I'd learned perseverance throughout my lifetime, because trying to pick up this skill was tough. I frogged Fred more times than I could count, but I finally succeeded. Then, I made a second one so Gremlin could have one at each parents' house. I took my new-found crochet confidence and jumped into another project. I decided that since I didn't have the skill when the kids were little, that they were all getting some crocheted critter in their Christmas stockings.

Not even the animals were safe - I started making things for them to wear as well. Tally the Turtle got an Avs sweater, the horses got Christmas stocking caps, L.E.'s dog got a Christmas hat, the cats got witch's hats.

The Gremlin got the bulk of my crocheted critters, of course, and I had a great time making them. 

This was supposed to be a dragon blanket,
but I got overwhelmed and mounted it for Gremlin instead.

After this, I swore I'd never use glow-in-the-dark yarn again.

Once in a while, though, I'd find a project that wasn't for Gremlin, and just enjoyed making little keepsakes.

This was a weekend Halloween project in AZ.
What a treat to sit by the pool in late October to crochet.

I made these little sloths to commemorate
our trip to Costa Rica

There was one crochet project that I started a month or so before Mom and Bill's accident. There is a group of us old bloggers who keep in touch and call ourselves the "Squirrel Brigade". My intent was to make a squirrel for each of the bloggers' households, just as a fun little thing. After the accident, I couldn't bring myself to make more. I tried, but I lost my mojo for that project. Last year, I packaged it up and sent it to Rachel and Mr. Daddy (remember them, from Once Upon A Miracle?) for their second little miracle child.

Grief is dumb sometimes, but I hope their young 'un can enjoy the squirrel.

More Maggie

Last Saturday, Chief came by for a couple of hours to cut in the new window. It's amazing how much light breaking up the north wall added.

That was a long, unbroken wall, but we needed light.

I'm so thankful for Chief.
Adopt your kids' friends, it's worth it.

Maggie feels completely different.

Opening up Maggie's back wall was amazing. I originally didn't want a third window there, because I wanted wall space for shelves. This window was the right choice. I still have wall space, just not as much, and what I have should be sufficient.

While Chief was busy giving Maggie more natural light, I spent the time to put a solar light in a chandelier I found on FB Marketplace. I had no way to hang the chandelier, so I fashioned a hanger out of some project wire we had around the shop. It's not a pretty hanger, by any means, but who's going to pay attention to it, when the chandelier is so pretty?

Worth the $15 on Marketplace.

I waited anxiously for sundown to light it up.

Looking in through the stained glass window.

The solar light was much brighter than I expected it to be, and I made sure to buy one with a remote control, so that it could easily be turned on or off. Now, I just need to find a new light for Whimsy. The "chandelier" I had for her finally burned out and needs replacing.

The Magical Potting Shed, Part 4

While we ladies managed to get Maggie's roof on, albeit askew, Maggie had a bit of a mullet going on. The roofing tin that we found was much too long, but none of us had the expertise to cut it, so we left it for Chief to do the next time he came to visit.

The roofing panels were about 5' too long.

I did the tiniest bit of research and found that I needed to buy a different saw blade to cut the metal safely. Holy cow, that was expensive, but I wanted Chief to be as safe as possible while cutting these back. Ashinator laughed at me when I insisted on keeping my trauma kit within reach while Chief was doing the cutting. I don't know what it is about cutting metal with a circular saw that terrifies me, but I didn't breathe easy until he was done.

She looks much better without a mullet.

After the Chief finished with the roof, he framed in and hung the last non-negotiable from my list: the door. I learned a lesson from Whimsy, and made sure that the door was hung with the hinges on the right so I wouldn't have to work the hose around the open door to get it into the shed.

With the door, Chief had completed the project I laid out for him. Jay and I spent one evening replacing the broken window panes, and once that was done, Maggie was as ready as she could be for winter.

My plan for Maggie, besides acting as a potting shed, is for her to double as a "guest room" for those times when the kids want to crash at our place. Our house is far too small for any overnight guests, so it'll be Maggie to the rescue. 

Trying out Maggie's camping cot.

It's tight, but Maggie will fit an oversized camping cot and a twin air mattress. She'll function as a place to sleep and that's about it, but it's better than nothing. Nebalee and a dear friend of mine tried it out after a movie night in October. It was cold, but they did manage to sleep in there with a space heater.

Every magical place needs a dragon night light.

My to-do list, which I need to complete before April, includes cutting in another window along the back wall for more light, adding insulation, and putting OSB up on the inside to finish the walls. I still need to sand and seal the potting bench, but that shouldn't take more than half a day.

And, of course, both Whimsy and Maggie need painted to finish complete them. That, I hope to have done no later than the end of June. I'd love for it to be earlier, but Colorado spring weather can be complicated.

The Magical Potting Shed, Part 3

After working for just food for a couple of weekends, Chief had to spend some time with his family, and I grudgingly allowed it.

Unfortunately, we were quickly approaching October, and storms were on the horizon. I needed to get the roof on. LE generously let me pilfer the barn for bits and pieces, and I found some tin roofing material. It didn't quite fit the whole roof, so I hit Home Depot and bought a couple of clear greenhouse roofing panels to work in with the scavenged ones.

A couple of friends from work volunteered to come play Rosie the Roofer with me. We meticulously measured, laid out the panels, and had a plan. It wasn't going to take us but a couple of hours.

Measuring and marking, getting ready to put up the rafters.

Turns out, Lizzy the old truck, was just the perfect helper.

Despite all of the careful planning, measuring, laying out that we did, once we started putting up the panels things went sideways. Suddenly, things were not going so well. We forged ahead, making adjustments here and there, until we got a roof on Maggie. Her roof sits a bit askew, and it made us crazy until we realized that we'd assumed she was square.

She was not. An inch here or there makes a difference, and her north (back) side is a touch shorter than her south (front) side, so even though we laid the rafters square, the building itself is not. I, frankly, love it and I smile big every time I look at her crooked little "hat". It reminds me of Minerva McGonagall's jaunty hat.

Credit: Harry Potter FanZone

See? The roof is sitting at a jaunty angle. It's perfect.

Our "just a couple of hours" project turned into all day, but it was a ton of fun. My friend's son even joined us and made a gnome home out of 2x4 scraps.

My little gnome, cozy in his new home.

The Potting Shed, Part 2

It took me a while to get my poop in a group and get started, but I managed to hire movers to move the potting bench out of LE's basement and coordinate with Ashinator's best Marine friend, Chief. In September, 2023 we broke ground.

My non-negotiables for the potting shed included:

1. The stained glass window from the lodge,
2. "Vintage" windows from Mom's cabin,
3. The "potting bench" from LE's basement,
4. An old door that had been living in one of the barns that I fell in love with.

We literally built the shed around the potting bench.

I 'rescued' some pallets from work to use.

Chief worked fast. This was all the first day.

I was astounded by how much someone who knows what they're doing can do in just one day. It would have taken Mom and I at least two days to get this far. Building a frame instead of just putting it together like a puzzle is genius, not to mention the correct way to do it.

Ashinator mentioned that the potting shed was looking "quirky", which became its working name. It fit.

Bright and early the next Saturday, Chief was back at it, putting the windows in. Some of the windows were missing panes, broken from being removed from the cabin, but I wasn't worried about it, considering Mom and I had become glass cutting "experts" with Whimsy.

Non-negotiables numbers 1 - 3 complete.

She looks like a real building with walls.

The requisite "I helped" picture.

I might not know a thing about framing walls,
but I can use a square and saw.

Again, I was amazed at how much Chief could accomplish in just a day, and I'm so thankful he volunteered to do this. All I had to do was feed him! I definitely got the better end of the deal.

By the end of the day, "Quirky" fit as a name. 

However, the minute we started putting the OSB up, she no longer looked quirky. I was floundering for a name, until LE walked out and said, "oh, she looks magical". Ashinator and I agreed that she did, indeed, look magical and immediately "The Magical Potting Shed" stuck. I love how LE just casually comes up with the perfect names. Ash immediately shortened "Magical" to "Maggie", which I embraced. Maggie was named within a day or so of Dame Maggie Smith's death, so it seemed even more fitting.

Welcome to the family, Maggie.

The Potting Shed, Part 1

 Following my failure with getting seeds to start in Whimsy, I decided we needed a potting shed. And, it just so happened that the Bionic Cowgirl was getting the windows replaced in her cabin, which meant more free windows! I seriously can't let an old window go to waste.

Plus, there was this amazing stained glass window that she'd brought down for Whimsy that we never got incorporated, so I had to build something to hold the window, right?

This window stood sentry outside of Whimsy,
just waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.

Plus, LE had offered me a cabinet a few years ago. The catch was that I'd have to get it up from her basement without ruining her beautiful floors. It was a heavy piece of furniture, with bins for flour and sugar, but, more importantly for me, a pull-out bread board for rolling dough. That piece of furniture was never far from my mind, and last spring I had a eureka moment in which I realized that would be the perfect potting bench. There were drawers for supplies, and two tilt-out bins that we could put potting soil in. It needs some love, but not a lot. I'll strip the paint from the top, sand it and the pull-out board, and seal the surfaces with polyurethane, then she'll be ready to go.

It needs some love, but not a lot.

Old windows from Mom's cabin, a stained glass window that she and Beel found in the lodge attic, and a potting bench from LE. All signs pointed to being required to build a potting shed. My mind made up, I hired movers to get the potting bench up from LE's basement and chose a spot near Whimsy that would be easy-ish to reach with a hose.

I gathered some pallets from work and contacted a friend of Ashinator's to help with the build. I knew that I had to make it less air-flow-y than Whimsy, so I had to call in someone who know what the heck he was doing.