We normally get a nice book-type calendar from our insurance company. My wife loves it, big enough to write in, yet small enough to fit in her purse. Of course, that sentence is a conundrum in and of itself. Small enough to fit in her purse - that thing is about the size of a picnic basket. Okay, I'll be honest, it is now smaller than that since we no longer have four kids to tow around. But, I digress. Yup! Nada left. I was able to get the last wall calendar and two desk calendars. Score for me!
Not that we're all that rich, but we do have two banks. Enter bank one. Nope, they didn't get calendars this year - in fact, they had to go next door to an insurance agency and get one for their wall. Hmm? Do I really want to bank here? [sigh] Off to bank number two. The wife scores two more wall calendars.
Almost all is copacetic within my world - except... I had this super really great neato calendar we got back in 2015 for 2016. So cool. It showed a week at a time, flipped the pages so I could save the information and had space where I could write down appointments and such. I loved that calendar. It stood against the window by my desk. If I gazed out the window (I do a lot of that!) I would see my calendar and know what was ahead for the week - doctor appointment, classes to teach, speaking engagements, book signings. Everything was right there. Flip a page and see what was planned for next week.
If somebody called and wanted to get together to talk and have coffee at the local cafe, a quick check of that calendar and I knew what was planned.
Putting it bluntly... I NEEDED A NEW ONE!!
I was reluctant to approach the establishment where I'd gotten the calendar before. I was there for a funeral of a friend's mother back in 2015. I'd not have the opportunity to attend a funeral there since. Could I really just saunter in, pick up a calendar and walk back out? Rather crass. I considered waiting until there was a funeral and slide in as unobtrusively as possible. Option 1 seemed the awkward, but option 2 seemed the really awkward, especially if somebody was visiting and saw me and said "I didn't know you knew so-n-so." A reply of "Just picking up a calendar." didn't seem an appropriate.
I decided the frontal attack was the best and drove to the community and parked my car. I sat there staring at the entrance. Could I do this? Answer? NO. I drove home.
Welcome to Arts and Crafts 101. I decided to do my own calendar. I had the supplies. I had the skills. I had the time.
I found a calendar for 2017 that was somewhat like what I wanted but it was 1 full page per week and I definitely didn't want that. I spent a whole day finding that calendar. Okay, I spent about 4 hours locating it. I spent another almost 6 hours reworking to what I wanted. In other words, it don't look anything like the original I found. Of course, my wife wanted one, too. So I printed out one set which only printed on 1/2 of the page in landscape mode. I flipped the pages around and re-did it for another set. Then I began the assembly.
First, I got all my items together: printed calendar, paper cutter, old calendar holders, and my handy-dandy binder system.
I cut the pages in half to make two sets. Tedious job, only two pages at a time to cut... and with 53 weeks, plus a full calendar page with 2017 and 2018, that was 27 cuts. Yes, there only 52 weeks in a year, but there was the beginning partial week with 2016 and the ending partial with 2018.
Now the fancy cut work for the spiral binding. Again, only a few pages. I did most 3 pages at a time, although the instructions say I can use up to 6 pages of 20# paper. In my youth, I probably would have slapped in 6 or 8 pages and slammed the cutter down, but, now in my maturity, I've learned less is more. It is easier to carry in 4 bags, two in each hand, than attempt 8 bags in the left, with another 6 heavier ones in the right and a 20# bag of dog food on the shoulder. Anyway, I cut the pages.
After cutting those cute, small square notches, I then assembled them onto a spiral holder.
And VOILA! The final product. Yes, I am rather proud of myself.
Who'd have thunk I could do such marvelous work? Even my wife was amazed at my skills. And my calendar sits proudly on the windowsill where I can see what is happening in my future... at least, when I'm not gazing or daydreaming out the window. BTW, at the present time, there are 4 deer ambling through, about 35 feet from my house. They're in the thicket, grazing. Yes, in my bio I mention I'm snuggled in a wooded acre. I am. It is so peaceful.
Until next I ramble on...
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