My ten things

Greetings, sister, Universe.

This is what I have been working on lately. Getting the new Minneapolis location of Vertical Endeavors open on time. It means 12-hour days on the lifts pictures above, or inside the walls in a harness with a drill, a bucket of T-nuts, a hardhat, and a headlamp. I am loving it. I come home late at night sore and covered in dust and sawdust and metal shavings. I get to watch welders and remember the days when I used to touch heat and electricity. I miss working with metal and... working.  I love making things with my hands, working with paper, and wood and stone and fabric. I must remember that I love to be a Maker of Things, whether they turn out well or not. 

My friend Nathan, freshly back from New Zealand and full of wonderful stories and new slang on his tongue, stayed with me for the past couple of days while he waited to get into his new apartment two blocks from mine. I missed him very much and am happy to have a friend whose company I enjoy so close. My roommates and myself are looking for a new person to live with us as another one leaves. We've met with two people so far, and finding a good fit has proven an interesting exercise in self-evaluation and the choices I make about who I want to be around. 

My friend on the mountain recently found out she is having serious health problems due to an ectopic pregnancy. I have been writing her letters and even going on facebook to check in with her and see how she's fairing. Last I heard, she needed surgery. So does my mother, for her hand. I am grateful for my health.

I am also writing my friend Matthias, who, after three seasons of hitchhiking, is wintering in New Orleans, a place I'd very much like to see. I am also scoping out a portrait lens, since the one I've used for years has returned to its rightful owner. This year may be the first year in many that I get something I want rather than something I need for Christmas. 

Here are 10 other things that have been in my life:

-The People of Paper

-Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-French Meadow Bakery 16 grain and seed sprouted bagels

-Hoch Organic Honeycrisp apple cider

-Overdue library books

-Bombay Black India Ink

-Margaritas with Nathan at Pancho Villa

-Latest episodes of Dexter

-Webster's Dictionary stamp set

-Embroidered boiled wool coat from Icelandic Design

...what are 10 things in yours?