+JMJ+

It has been seven years since I started to blog. (Glory to God!) 

It has been a crazy ride sharing my recipes, my crafting projects, and my observations about Catholicism and femininity with you all. 

I know I speak a lot about my handicrafts and other feminine interests on this blog. But I would be lying if I said that this was the entirety of my interests. 

So today, in honor of this 7th blogoversary, I want to share 7 things that I am interested in that may surprise you! 

1. Engineering

My love of engineering was born when the reality TV show Design Squad aired on PBS. I was right about the age of the contestants and the projects they did on the show looked absolutely awesome. I loved the problem-solving aspects and seeing how forces interacted with each other. The main thing that stopped me from becoming an engineer in real life was...I can't math to save my life, lol. 

Nowadays, I still have a strong interest in learning about historical engineering. NOVA and Smithsonian documentaries are some of my favorites. Doubt it will go beyond that, but it's still cool!

2. Hunting/Fishing

Many times people will poo-poo hunting and fishing as masculine pursuits. In some ways, I can see why - mainly because killing something and harvesting it for food goes against the feminine nurturing spirit. 

But I am a country girl, and out here, the outdoor sports are life-bloods to us. I have fished before, though I haven't done it in over a decade. I'm not particularly good at casting, not gonna lie. May have accidentally hooked a person or two in my time (ooops). But I haven't hunted yet, and I wouldn't mind trying it once. 

3. Guns/Weapons

Again, this happened because of my obsession with reality TV. In this case, it was Top Shot and Forged in Fire by the History Channel. Both gave me a strong appreciation for marksmanship and weapons creation. 

I learned to shoot when I was a teenager. I do still like to shoot, but I do have a slight fear of shooting guns - I have a bad startle reflex when the gun kicks in my hand. Granted, what I probably need is a lot more practice, especially with an instructor. I've also shot a bow, and while I really like it, my shoulder doesn't do well under the repeated strain. Haven't done much axe or knife throwing yet, lol. 

4. Classic Cars

This one's because of my family. My mom is a big classic car fan and so are some of my brothers. Therefore, when we see an old roadster, there is a collective "Oooh!". 

I'm primarily interested in the aesthetics and the restoration processes. I'm not much of a mechanic, lol. I can't even drive half of those vehicles because I don't know how to drive a manual transmission. 

5. Skeletons/Mummies/Incorruptibles

If you knew me before 2017, you would have known that I had a morbid fear and horror of dead bodies. I still feel a little queasy if I see war casualties or murder victims (which is why I typically can't watch murder shows). 

However, skeletons in an archeological or lab setting? I'm okay with that. More than okay, I'm actually interested in those. (Though I will admit that the documentary I watched the other night on the St. Bee's Man kinda grossed me out a little.) Ancient Egyptian mummies and bog bodies are also (morbidly) fascinating to look at because of the souls connected to them. 

I think what helped me over the hump was learning about the "incorruptibles". For those who don't know what those are, they are bodies (or body parts) of saints that didn't follow the natural decaying process. Realizing that not all dead bodies are dehumanized freaks of horror (as depicted in many police and murder shows) was a big step in dealing with that phobia. 

6. Disaster Stories

As someone who tends to avoid murder shows and heavy dramatics, this may come as a surprise to some people. It started with weather disaster shows when I was a kid. Then it moved to plane and boat disasters. I had a whole obsession with Titanic during the 100th anniversary of that sinking. 

Again, I can't *usually* stand watching these for a long time. The dramatics get to me. 

But what hooks me is the "How and why did they happen" (or if people survived, lol).  Again, the problem-solving thing. This seems to be a complex, lol. 

7. Space/Astronomy

I'm sure many of you guessed that history was my favorite subject. Science was a very close second, however. As much as I loved biology, zoology, botany, and other sciences of living things, I had a very persistent interest in space and astronomy. 

Growing up in the space shuttle era was fun, y'all. I watched so many shuttle launches as a kid, and I watched the ISS fly over our house once. I learned how to identify planets and some constellations such as the Big Dipper and Orion the Hunter. I did have a telescope that we used to look at the moon a few times, but the lenses were bad. Since I am in a semi-rural area, I can still observe the stars whenever I'm out. Nothing is more beautiful to me than a clear night sky (unless it's a sunrise, lol). 

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And there you have it! 7 unusual areas of interest for 7 years of blogging. I do miss the ability to spend hours in front of a computer screen, pouring my heart into this space. As I begin to recover, I'm beginning to feel the words coming back and I hope I can devote more time to some of those deeper posts that I used to write. 

As always, I want to thank all of my loyal readers for sticking by me these past seven years - especially Lia, who is the person responsible for dragging me into this. If you would like to keep up with all of my adventures, I highly recommend that you sign up for my monthly newsletter, which is located in the sidebar. In the meantime, stay warm and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

In corde Mariae, 

Catherine

+JMJ+

Please note: This is is a repost of a post I did for the Maidens for Mary blog several years ago, and has been updated.

Now why in the world would I bring up such an unpleasant subject as this?

 +JMJ+

I had to leave them at my brother's house temporarily, since they didn't fit in my car, lol. When I came up again the next day, I took a full evaluation of them. I did discover that in the move, some of the pieces of the two wheels had been accidently switched, so I fixed those. 

At the same time, I discovered that both wheels were missing parts, including flyers (which hold the fiber being spun) and footmen (the connection between the treadle and the wheel). Undaunted, I started to research how to fix them. Surely other spinsters had restored similar wheels to working condition. 

I got both wheels home safely and continued researching. I discovered then that while the footman would be a simple fix, the flyer was another matter entirely. It would seem that flyers of antique wheels were custom-made to the wheel itself and that wheels without flyers were doomed to being decorative pieces. Maybe this was naïve of me, but I found that to be a little ridiculous. 

At this time, I decided to focus on only one of the wheels because it would have been much harder to create leather bearings for the second pair of maidens. Not only did they not match, they didn't have the holes drilled into them (my guess is that they were replacements for decorative purposes). 

While poking around, I discovered one day that one of the parts I had was a quill spindle. Since it was an older form of collecting the thread than the flyer, I thought I could use it for one wheel and got excited. For an experiment, I tied a string to one of the footmen and tied a temporary drive band around the wheel and the quill whorl to see if it could work. I had to hold the spindle with my hand because of the lack of leather bearing on the other maiden, but it was exhilarating to see it turn! 

While I was attempting to figure out the quill/flyer conundrum, I started creating the new footmen. One of the wheels had a degraded leather footman, so I used it as a guide. I ordered a roll of leather strap from Amazon, cut the holes with an awl and knitting needles and tied them to both wheels. I had to jerry-rig them with string between the wheel itself, but they worked like champs on both wheels. I also bought some narrow strapping to help repair some of the wooden pieces and make a temporary bearing for the back maiden, and shimmed one of the wheel supports that had come loose in the repair process.  

After I finished the footmen, I turned back to the flyer/spindle problem. I discovered that the quill spindle was meant for a walking wheel, and not the Saxony style (which is what I have). The original bearing was also indeed meant for a flyer, and would not be able to hold the quill properly. So it was back to the drawing board with even more measurements being taken. 

This all happened in the space of about a month. For the rest of the summer, I was in a rut trying to find a flyer that could fit the wheel. I discovered that modern flyers for spinning wheels were simply too big, and many vintage ones were too degraded to safely use. When buying one didn't seem to be an option, I looked for resources for making one. I soon found that while there were some craftsman and plans available, I was in over my head. So I abandoned that idea and decided to keep looking online. 

Fast forward to late September. 

I found a listing for a vintage flyer on Etsy, estimated to be about 1910s. One cool thing was that while the seller was from Wales, the flyer was originally from Sweden. The measurements looked about right and the condition looked decent, so I took a chance and ordered it. Once it arrived, I did a fit test and it was just about right! 

On closer examination, the orifice and the hooks had a little more rust than I had anticipated. In order to safely use it, that had to come off. Using vinegar, WD-40, some steel wool, and a lot of elbow grease, the majority of the rust was able to come off. As of right now, it still needs a tad bit more work, but it will be ready soon! 

Meantime, I made a more permanent bearing for the back maiden, and found a string that I can use for a permanent drive band. All I need now is to buy some oil, finish the last bit of cleaning, and then I can...take it for a spin. Sorry, I couldn't help making that pun. 

All in all, I really enjoyed stretching my brain to figure out how to make this spinning wheel work again. In spite of the sometimes discouraging setbacks, I'm really blessed that this $5 find turned out to be fairly easy to get back into shape. I'm really excited to get to spin my wool on there - I've been carding like crazy over the summer so I have enough to play with! 

Have you ever restored something? What was that like, and was it successful? Tell me down in the comments below! 

God bless, 

Catherine