Jag fick flyga i dans idag!

[kareina]

Tonight, at our normal Sunday evening folk dance session, I got to fly (like this) for the first time in a long time! That is just so much fun. I was enjoying dance before that moment, but adding that into the mix has me home after dance bouncing and full of energy! There are actually four of us in the group who want to fly, but only two these days with the strength to be the supports, and one of them is shorter than I am, so our dance teacher thinks it looks better if the shorter girls fly instead. We so need more tall, strong, dancers in the group. Know anyone you can send our way?

In other news, today we got the forge out and we made a tool for tuning the piano. I get to say "we", 'cause I helped. Never mind that: 1) He got everything set up while I was inside doing other things. 2) He took a bit of scrap high-strength steel we had lying around and ground it to the same size and shape as the pegs on the piano that one needs to twist to tune it. 3) He took an old railway spike (or other nail about that size) and hammered it into a right angle bend to get ready for the next step.

I got to help by holding that steel peg in a pair of tongs, ready to set into place the second he clamped the re-hot metal into the clamp, so that he could then grab the tongs on the peg and hit the peg with the hammer to drive a square hole into the hot metal. This took several repeats, with heating in between before the hole was deep enough.

4) Then he went to work drawing the metal from the handle out to a longer, thinner length before...

I got to help again by using the big hammer to hit the other hammer while he held the narrow end against the re-hot handle of the tuning wrench in progress, and again while he held the spiky end hammer against the handle end so that we could punch a hole in it, so we can later hang it up for storage.

5) Then he did the last of the hammering and grinding to clean it up and make it ready for use.

Now he is happily tuning the new piano (did I remember to mention the new piano? His sister called a week or three back to say that one of her colleagues had an old walnut piano they wanted to be rid of, and did we want it, free. Well, plus the cost of shipping it here, but that is close enough to free for such a nice instrument) while I bounce happily to you guys about my day.

The day also started nicely, with delightful -6 C temps, so I went skiing. Not that one actually needs skis just now--the hard packed ice we have left from all the beautiful snow we got at the end of January is more than firm enough to support my weight if I wanted to walk on it, but skiing is better exercise, because it uses arms too, so I should do it as often as I can before that nasty spring weather we have been having ever since I got back from Australia finishes killing off my poor ailing winter. Seriously--it has gotten above zero every single day since I have been home. There was a time when March was one of the the coldest times of the year, but not this year. Not last year either. Oh, wait, no complaining--the day has been too fun for that...

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:) :)