Hi, everyone.
It has been a nice day, although windy. We had sun, temperatures in the mid-70s, about 50% relative humidity. Today was a quiet day. Sundays are always quiet around here because Gail takes her weekly arthritis medication and she sleeps most Sunday afternoons away. Everyone could use a quiet day, so we indulged ourselves and did almost nothing. I spent the afternoon cutting ebony veneer to make a ring for myself with a brass inlay. I have 4 ring blanks curing outside. It involves working with 0.024 inch thick ebony veneer and crazy glue. Needless to say it involves rubber gloves, work surface protection and it's very precise, specially for someone with large fingers such as mine. However, I succeed very well in tasks involving precise tasks and minute control. As I said, I have 4 blanks already glued and curing. From those, I can cut 8 rings tomorrow. From the lot, the odds are in my favor that one will turn out well. They look very nice.
Dad was watching me all afternoon, wondering if I would make it and laughing out loud when I succeeded. He didn't want to try making one, but if mine works out, he wants one, too. What can I say, I like rings. I'm already wearing gold, 410 stainless steel and titanium. My wish would be to have one made of iridium for my right thumb, a nice 3/4 inch tube but I don't have that kind of money. Iridium is more expensive than platinum. Dad laughingly called me the Lord of the Rings. He thought he was hilarious. I had never looked it that way, even though I have read Tolkien's trilogy. I begged to differ because I am no lord. One drawback, however, is that the cyanoacrylate glue bleaches some of the gorgeous black pigment in the ebony somewhat. But there is a bright side to that: it brings out the ebony's grain and looks kind of nice.
Dad listened to classical music while I was working on my project, thanks to the BlueTooth wireless speaker we gave him for Christmas. He ran it from his tablet while he read Les Misérables. We listened to baroque music all afternoon and it was a good thing. Rum & cigars were quite enjoyable at the end of the afternoon. Gail, predictably, did snooze part of the afternoon away. It's only normal. Dinner was a simple affair comprising an array of leftovers. Dad said some people would pay big money to eat my leftovers. He's so funny. The leftovers were nice, but nothing to write home about. Just trying to clear some space in the fridge, here.
At the risk of repeating myself, Lucy was a rescued snake. A friend got thrown out of his apartment 5 years ago. Things like that will happen when you stop paying rent. We took him in for about 6 weeks. When we met Lucy, she was a pitiful little hatchling, with a body no bigger than a No.2 pencil and not long enough to wrap fully around my wrist. That's when she started using my watch for support. She still wraps her tail around my watch because that's the way she was raised; holding on, but not squeezing. What a sad little animal we met: emaciated, slightly dehydrated, a few patches dry shed from an earlier bad shed. She got fed a little mouse when her owner could spare the price of one. We started caring for her and loving her. We knew nothing about snakes, but we could tell that this one was a delightful animal. I became The Daddy and Gail became Not The Daddy. When our friend found out we cared for the snake, he stopped caring for her entirely. Finally, one day he announced that he was leaving in the morning to return to his home state, which I will not name here.
Before going to bed that night, Gail told me the snake was going nowhere. A decision had been taken; be afraid, be very afraid. I informed him of that fact at breakfast. When he wanted to argue the point, I told him that Gail had sharp knitting needles inside her knitting bag and if he broached the subject with her, he would fall dead on the floor before he had time to finish his sentence. For your information, Gail's nickname is Hiroshima. Pushed into a corner, she'll get mad for an instant. You'll see the mushroom cloud forming and the shock wave will blast you to bits before you have time to react. And then, you'll be vaporized. Your remains will never be found. A wise person doesn't mess with Gail. It's the quiet ones you have to worry about. You have been warned.
So, he left and Lucy found a forever home with us. Who could resist that beautiful little baby, a 23rd Psalm animal that once slithered in the shadow of the valley of death? Under our care, Lucy thrived and became the beautiful baby she is now. Said friend visited last August and spent 2 nights here. Gail told him that he could look at Lucy, but couldn't open the vivarium, or handle her. And then, her left eye twinged a bit. I ran for cover because I had seen that twinge before and nothing good can come from it. We love our snake and we'll protect her to the death.
Snakes are becoming increasingly popular in the pet trade. They make great pets. They don't shed hair all over the place, won't run after the mailman, won't bother the neighbors, are hypoallergenic, you always know where they are, they're almost never sick, tey don't claw the furniture and someone dropping by unexpectedly will never sniff at the air and think: "They have a snake box that needed cleaning 4 days ago". Plus, when raised properly, they are a delight to behold.
Dad will come with me on Tuesday when I go stock up on rodents. He's gotten used to the idea that there is a bag of individually wrapped rodents in the freezer. He kinda likes Lucy, but he won't handle her. We never force Lucy upon anyone who expresses reluctance. We do this to protect Lucy, not the visitors. I once thought I'd like to volunteer with Lucy in the hospital's zootherapy program, where she would undoubtedly be a big hit. But hospitals are not really clean places and Lucy could catch something in there. I gave up on that idea. Let the golden retrievers have their moment of glory. Lucy doesn't need that.
Tonight, she's in her heated cardboard box with the tip of her tail sticking out from the entrance. Maybe we'll get to play with her later on. Time will tell.
Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.
You can make a bed and couches from empty cardboard boxes 
