Cleaning a leather handbag

Last April, I purchased a new leather purse.  I mentioned it here.  It was purchased off ebay, and it was in worse condition than I felt it was represented.  I decided that I should revitalize it.   It was a new project, and I was eager for a new project.  As I mentioned then, the cost of the repair materials was more than what I paid for the handbag.  I feel good about the whole thing, though, and still have no regrets.

BEFORE

(click to enlarge any of the photos)

The handbag photographs well.  Here it is, after I received it:

What is not clear in the photo, either the one above, or the original ebay photo, was that it was covered in a yellowish haze that could be seen in real life.  Here is a picture that shows the haze a little better:

As you can see from the photo above, the leather had small white scratches and little black marks, too.  Below are more photos of dirt and/or wear:

The color was also wearing off on the top of the trim:

There were also pen marks on the strap:

DURING

Products:

For cleaning, I used Leather Rejuvenator and Prestine Clean by Leatherique.  The Leatherique brand was well recommended on online automobile restoration forums.  I figured that if it worked on old BMWs, it would work for me, too.

Step 1:  Prep

The handbag had a fabric lining.  To protect it, I covered it with masking tape.

I then put the bag in a dishpan to prepare for step 2

Step 2: Leather Rejuvenator Application

In most leather cleaning kits, you use the cleanser first, and then the oil, to put the moisture back in the leather.  With Leatherique's system, you apply the oil first.  The oil is supposed to work itself into the leather, pushing all the impurities out, so that the leather cleaner will be more effective later.

I applied the Leather Rejuvenator using a sponge brush:

The leather went a little underneath the edge of the back pocket.  I put a large mason jar in the back pocket so prop it open, so I could apply the Rejuvenator.

Per the instructions, I covered the tub in plastic wrap to help prevent evaporation, and I let the oil sit overnight, to work itself into the leather.  (I left the jar in the back pocket to keep the pocket open.)

Step 3:  Clean with Prestine Clean

After letting the handbag sit overnight, I sprayed it with the Prestine Clean, and wiped it off with a paper towel.  It really helped to remove the yellowish haze:

Step 4:  Remove oil stains from lining

Since I did not put masking tape on the inside of the back pocket, the lining did get oil on it:

I removed it by dipping a Q-tip into a bottle of carpet cleaner (I had Carbona), then dabbing the wet Q-tip  on the stain until it got moist.  After that, I took a dry paper towel, and dabbed the stained area until it was dry.  If the stain was not completely come off, I repeated the application of Carbona and dabbing it dry.  

The oil stains came out perfectly.  

Steps 5 thru X:  Getting the tough spots

I don't have clear step by step documentation of the rest of the cleaning process, because it really was trial and error.  You know the white, faded spots, I photographed earlier?  I tried several methods of restoring the color.  First, I ordered Angelo leather paint.  That didn't work--it looked much to bright, and looked painted on.  I tried to tone it down with regular acrylic ink.  The color match was better, but it still looked like a painted spot.

Next, I tried colored shoe polish.  I had to order it online, of course, as blue shoe polish isn't something you get at the store.  I used Tarrago polish, which comes in 95 colors.  I also painted it on, using another sponge brush, then buffing with a microfiber.  That worked a little bit.

Finally, I purchased pigment stamp pad.  I used the eraser end of pencil to stamp the pad, and then stamp the leather.  I found that, the stamp pad ink, covered with a layer of shoe polish on top, worked the best.

Additionally, I had a terrible time with the ink stain on the strap.  Basically, I ruined the color on the purse strap with all the stuff I used to get the ink out--the Prestine Clean, rubbing alcohol, acetone and damage from scrubbing it using a toothbrush, and with a fingernail brush.

It took a while to figure out how to repair that.  I ended up using a very thin layer of leather/acrylic paint mix, + the ink pad + shoe polish.  At one point, I used a metal file to roughen up the leather to get everything to adhere.  The strap ended up looking pretty good:

AFTER

I'm happy with the end results:

Here is the full spectrum of products used:

Achievement unlocked! Novice Leatherworker 1

Appendix:
Products Used, Notes, and Mistakes:


1)  Leatherique Rejuvenator and Prestine Clean:
Purchased at http://www.leatherique.com/, but available in other automotive detailing outlets.

I can get a little fanatical when it comes to cleaning.  The people that shared this fanaticism about getting their leather *perfect* were the guys on the auto restoration blogs.  That's why I focused on auto leather, rather than say, shoe leather, or saddle leather, although there are cleaning products targeted for these markets, too.  I was happy with the Leatherique, and in fact, I'm bringing it out again to clean the purse before I store the purse for the fall.  For other leather cleaner options, however, I encourage you look at autogeek.net, or, if you are set on using only purse cleaning products, www.lovinmybags.com sells cleaners and conditioners.

One thing I learned from my research is that saddle soaps should not be used--they were fine for the 1800's, but the technology for both tanning the leather and for cleaning leather has much improved since then.

Something I learned from experience: do NOT use a toothbrush to scrub either the oil or the cleaner into the leather.  It will darken the leather.  (After my application of the oil and the cleaner, the ink mark on the shoulder strap remained, even though it was lighter.  I tried scrubbing the mark to try to remove it.  I should not have done so.)

2) Angelus leather paints:
Purchased from turtlefeathers.net and available elsewhere


The paint is favored by those painting their leather sneakers, so I thought I'd give it a try on my handbag.  Like I said earlier, it didn't work for me because I was trying to blend the faded spots on my purse, but this left a paint spot.  One thing to note, the "Neutral" color is actually colorless and it makes the color thinner.  I had purchased it thinking that it would make the color lighter, as in, it would make the blue a more pastel blue.  This was NOT the case.  Mixing the neutral with the blue resulted in the same color intensity, it was just a thinner paint.  If you want to make your colors lighter (more pastel), buy the white paint.


3)  Folk Art acrylic paint: 
Purchased from my local Michael's 


It adhered surprisingly well to the leather.  I was even able to mix it with the Angelus leather paints, even though I'm not sure that it is recommended.  Using a mix of the Folk Art acrylic with the Angeuls paints in light blue and the neutral to thin it all out, I was able to make a color that matched my handbag very well.  Even though I was able to get the color match, it still looked like a painted spot when applied. 


4)  Color Box pigmented ink:
Purchased from my local Michael's 


Since paint was not working out for me, I tried ink.  It worked so much better.  I was able to blend it into the leather.  This is what I ended up using to cover the white spots.  


Something to note is that this is PIGMENTED ink.  Pigmented ink sits on top of the surface.  The alternative is dye ink.  Dye based inks sink into the surface. I was really interested in dye ink, but Michael's didn't have dye ink in the color that I needed, and I didn't want to go online to buy it.


Now that it's been some months since the leather buying frenzy, I think I might buy some dye ink.  After a season of use, some of the white spots that I covered using the Color Box ink have started becoming visible again.  


5) Tarrago shoe cream:
Purchased from shoeshineexpress.com and available elsewhere

The shoe cream got good reviews on the Purseblog forums.  It is a shoe cream, so it does need to buffed into the leather very well, or the color WILL rub off on your clothes.  

6) Rubbing alcohol:
Purchased at Wal-Mart

I used this in an attempt to remove the ink mark from the shoulder strap.  It worked a little bit, but it also took the color out of the strap.  I would not recommend it.

7)  100% Acetone:
Purchased at Wal-Mart

I purchased my bottle in the health and beauty department, near the nail polish removers.  You can also purchase a can of it in the hardware department, next to the cans of paint thinner.

This is serious stuff.  I used this to get the ink mark out of the leather strap.  It removed the ink, stripped the leather dye, stripped the oil out of the leather (the leather became stiff and dry).  I would NOT recommend it for removing ink marks, due to how damaging it can be.

Niagara Falls road trip! Part 3

Niagara Falls State Park, NY

The next day we checked out of our hotel, got free cookies (we stayed at the Doubletree hotel in Niagara Falls, ON and one of Doubletree's signature amenities is free cookies at check in.  They had run out when we checked in the day before, but we were given vouchers and told that they would be available fresh the next day. ), and had breakfast at Tim Horton's.  Tim Horton's, as far as I can tell, is Canada's version of Dunkin' and is something for which Canada is known for.  They call glazed donuts "honey donuts".  

We crossed back over to the US, and were one of the first people in Niagara Falls State Park when it opened.  Here is a bad map of the park:  http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/destination_PropertyMap.aspx

We walked over to Goat Island, the island in the middle of the map above, and waited about an hour for the Cave of the Winds attraction to open.  At one point the Cave of the Winds was once an actual cave at the base of the Bridal Veil Falls--but it has since collapsed.  The attraction now just takes you to the bottom of the falls, where you get drenched with a generous amount of spray.

The entrance to Cave of the Winds is near the Nikola Tesla Memorial.  I had no idea that he was Yugoslavian.  (Click to enlarge all pictures)

After getting tickets, you are allowed into the building where you are given a yellow plastic poncho, and a pair of foam sandals.  You are also given a plastic bag to put your shoes and socks in.  You leave the ticket building and wait in line in front of the elevator building.  When we were  there, one of the two elevators was still broken.  The elevator takes you down to the bottom of the falls, where you exit via a long hallway:

 And end up on a wooden walkway at the edge of the Niagara River:

The area also happens to be a seagull rookery (and smells like it):

(All those white 'spots' on the ground and in the water are gulls)

The walkway takes you towards the falls:

See all the banana people!

Until you can stand right next to them:

This would be where the ponchos come in handy.  

And then up to the Hurricane Deck:

I think the "No Smoking" sign is supposed to be ironic...

Because THIS is what it's like to stand on the Hurricane Deck:

Or this:

(This lady has a blue poncho because it is from the Maid of the Mist boat ride...see later)

The walkway then curves around and takes you back to the elevators.  Here is a view of the Cave of the Winds walkway from above:

We put our ponchos in the large recycling bins at the exit, but kept our sandals, because they were surprisingly comfortable for cheap foam sandals (and mine were two sizes two big).  Our next destination was Maid of the Mist.

First, however, the trolley took us past Terrapin Point, which overlooks US side of the Horseshoe Falls.  We got out for a look:

It was then back to the visitor's center for the Maid of the Mist!

The Maid of the Mist is the boat that takes you to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls.  Once again, an elevator takes you down to the bottom of the falls level.  Unlike Cave of the Winds, however, these elevators are fairly new, and there are 4 of them.  Once you get out of the elevator, you are given a blue poncho.  

We were lucky.  We got to the dock right as one of the boats was pulling in.  There are at least 2 Maid of the Mist boats on the river at a time.  One boat leaves from the US side, and one leaves from a dock on the Canadian side.  

The boat takes you up past the American Falls:

And then into the middle of the arc of Horseshoe Falls:

Before turning back to the starting dock:

Once again, ponchos were collected in a large bin at the exit.

There was an overlook in the Maid of the Mist area called the Crows Nest:

(This is the American Falls)

Here is the American Falls (foreground), and the Horseshoe Falls (background), as seen from the observation tower above the Maid of the Mist dock, before you go down the elevators:

It was a little after lunchtime at that point.  We took the trolley back to Terrapin Point, where we had lunch at the Top of the Falls Restaurant.

It wasn't a bad restaurant.  It offered a beer and wine list.  My husband had a veggie wrap, which looked delicious, and I had fish and chips.  There was a gift shop on the 1st floor of the building (the restaurant was on the second floor), and I got some souvenirs: a magnet for me, a pen for my brother, and a postcard to mail later.  

It was nearing 3 o'clock at that point, and we were expected at my husband's grandmother's house that evening.  It would have been nice to stay longer, but we had seen the two major attractions (Cave of the Winds and Maid of the Mist), so it was not too much of a loss.

There were lots of vineyards on the way to Grandma's house as well.  

[The penny remains.]

Niagara Falls road trip! Part 2

After leaving Ithaca (previous post), we headed towards Niagara Falls, travelling through New York's Finger Lakes region.

Before the trip, I hadn't even known why it was called the "Finger Lakes region."  It's because the area has a bunch of narrow oval lakes, shaped kinda like fingers.

The area is now becoming a famous wine growing area, apparently.  It seems like we passed a sign for a different vineyard every 10 minutes.

We drove past the town of Canandaiuga.  If we go past again, I definitely want to stop by the Sonnenberg Gardens.  I have a soft spot for historic homes and botanical gardens.

NIAGARA FALLS:  Day 1

We reached Niagara Falls, NY, around 3:30 in the afternoon.  We decided our first stop should be the visitor's center.  The thing that surprised us most was that the downtown seemed largely abandoned.  When I think of downtowns, I think of crowded spaces, cars parallel parked along the street, making them narrower, lots of stoplights/signs, lots of one-way streets, lots of pedestrians.  Even in small towns--like here, in University Town, or in Ithaca, or my hometown--and definitely in the downtowns of larger cities, the downtown area followed this general pattern.  Niagara Falls, NY was nothing like that.  It didn't help that the visitor's center was right across the street from a boarded up hotel (click to enlarge):

(courtesy of Wikipedia commons)

We were able to pull up into a space just a block away from the visitor center.  We were one of two cars on the street.  We were wondering if the visitor's center was even open.  It was brand new--the ceiling was unfinished, with missing ceiling tiles, and there was no decor, just plain white floors and walls.  And besides three ladies behind the desk, my husband and I were the only ones there.  There was just one, small, shelf with pamphlets.  Of course, all the maps and such were only for Niagara Falls, NY.  Any area maps for Niagara Falls, ON (Ontario, Canada), were non-existent.

I asked one of the ladies at the desk where the Cave of the Winds (one of the attractions on the NY side) was.   She gave unclear directions and was unable to tell me travel time/distance  (isn't it the point of a visitor information center to know these things?) but did tell me that one of the elevators to the Cave of the Winds was broken, and that the wait in line was about 3 hours.

I was hoping to get across by border by 6 o'clock, so we decided to go first thing in the morning, instead of that evening.  Since we had some time before then, we decided to walk down to the Falls.

It was confusing, since the visitor's center was not shown on the map that I had been given, nor was the map to scale (it was a cartoony park map).  It was also confusing because there was no one around.  No one.  It was alike we were in a ghost town.  Besides the shuttered hotel, we walked past an abandoned shopping center.  We found the intersection where the park should have been, according to the map, but we didn't see an entrance.  We DID see a large 9 story building that had "Gateway to the Falls" in large neon letters--like you would see at a car dealership.  We were skeptical:  it looked like an abandoned office building.  The sides were entirely glass, and did look very nice at first glance.  However, through the glass on the sides, we could see on the upper floors had exposed wiring and parts of the ceiling was falling down.  We didn't know what else to do, so we went in.  It was shelves of cheap souvenirs and a food court.  But at least this was the first place we had been that had a bit of a crowd.

The stairs to the second floor was cordoned off, and there were cardboard cutouts of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe at the top of the steps.  There were signs that said "Observation Tower: Free!", so we got into the elevator for the top floor.  We stepped out onto a bare linoleum space with a few wooden park benches and pay binoculars along the one side.  It was humid and had a strange smell.  My husband said: "It smells like  pee."   We went over to the window to look out, and AH! there was the entrance to the park--it was behind the building!  We quickly went back downstairs and out to the park.

So this was where everyone was!  Surprisingly, there was no admission to the park.  We were able to walk right through the Niagara Falls Park Visitors Center (which was different from the Niagara Falls (city) Visitor's Center, where we were just at) and out the other side to see the water.

Here's a picture of the rapids (for all photos, click to enlarge):

Leading to the American Falls (the skyline in the distance is Niagara Falls, ON):

The drop-off, up close:

It was just awesome.

We were there for a little while.  My husband bought me fruit flavored Dippin' Dots (strange tasting when they were solid, as it melted, the flavors mixed to a nice fruit punch), and we went back to the car, and headed across the border.

It was an easy crossing, fairly quick.  But once we were across the border, it was like night and day.  Niagara Falls, ON was like Disneyland.  The streets were lined with all sorts of shops and restaurants, and there were plenty of people.  As you can see from the skyline in the previous pictures, there was no shortage of hotels and attractions on the ON side.

Our hotel was easy to find.  Check-in was efficient.  Our room was wonderful.  We didn't quite have a "fallsview" room--our room overlooked the rapids and the city, but it was a nice view, nonetheless.  The front desk even called up as we were starting to unpack to make sure we were satisfied with our room.   We stayed at the Doubletree Resort and Spa.  Expedia gave it their "Insider's Select 2010" award.  It definitely lived up to its reputation.

We had reserved a dinner table at a Fallsview restaurant: The Keg at the Embassy Suites.  It was for 8:30pm--they illumiate the Falls starting at 9pm in the summer, and I wanted to catch that moment.  We showered, put on dinner clothes, then walked the few blocks to the Embassy Suites.  I wanted to be extra sure we got a window seat, so we got there early, at 8pm.  To our surprise (it was the week after the 4th of the July--normally one of the busiest weeks of the tourist season), we were seated right away, and at a table next to the window.

This was my view:

That's right...I was seated directly across from the Horseshoe Falls.

There was also the view of the American Falls:

Now see that square glass building with the banners on the side, just left of middle?   Let's zoom in:

And zoom again:

This was the "Gateway to the Falls" that we had gone into earlier--the one with the observation deck that smelled like pee.  Notice the random blackened windows.  Also notice behind it, to the right, the empty parking garage of the shuttered mall.  

But...back to dinner.   Since it was only 8, and we had to have our dinner last to 9, until the lights came on we took our time, ordering everything from appetizer to dessert.

Appetizer: Fried calamari.  (No pic)  It was very lightly breaded (a good thing), and came with two little dishes one of spicy red sauce (Sriracha/Rooster Sauce based?) and one of a ginger sauce.  Yum.

Salad:  Cesar salad, with a fresh lemon wedge!

Entree:  Prime rib, with au jus and horseradish, baked potato, and sautéed mushrooms and broccoli.

It's supposedly Medium Well--they do say that you're supposed to tell by temperature, not by color--but I'm not so sure.  It didn't taste bloody, so I didn't complain.  I quite enjoyed it.  My husband had sirloin steak, which he liked as well.  

Desserts: Brownie sundae (me) and Creme brulee (him)

I had to take half of that brownie home.  

We stayed until after 9:30, I think. I spent most of that entire meal looking out the window.   I don't have pics of the Falls lit up--there was too much glare from the indoor lights on the window.  It was nice, though, watching the colors change. 

There was a lady, going from table to table, carrying a basket of roses.  My husband bought me one.  I thought it was absolutely sweet of him.

We took a short stroll around the hotel area, and saw a raccoon digging around in the grass along the sidewalk.  On the way back, there was a pirate, on stilts, making balloon animals, in front of a seafood restaurant.  We saw a gang of Mennonites.   

It was a fine day.

Niagara Falls road trip! Part 1

A week after I finished my summer class, my husband came to see me, and we went on Summer Road trip 2010!

NEW YORK:  Corning and Ithaca

I felt a little bad because I planned every day in advance: I reserved the hotels ahead of time, picked the restaurants, printed out the routes.  I didn't want to become a micro-manager.  But it all ended all right, and I think, let us be more relaxed for the actual vacation.

It began on a Saturday afternoon. I packed a snack--I even planned the snack: baby carrots, prunes, a lunch cup of mixed fruit--and headed to pick up my husband from the Capitol Airport.  Then it was to the mall in Capitol City to buy him a new pair of shoes (no sales tax on clothing and shoes in my state!).  The store was really neat--specializing in comfort shoes--the saleslady looked like she was a high school student, but she was very friendly and knowledgeable.  And, I got my feet digitally analyzed!

The next day, I finally got to take my husband to the church here, and introduce him to the people I knew.  Sunday was July 4th--so we grabbed my throw blanket, bought some sub sandwiches, and went to the university to sit, have a picnic dinner, and watch the fireworks.

Monday began our trip to Corning, NY.  I had been to the Glass Museum a couple of years before, when my brother had graduated from Cornell, in Ithaca, NY.  I wanted to show the museum to my husband.  They had a new collection from the last time I had visited.  I enjoyed the new collection more than the previous time.  I got a good refresher, and my husband, I think, got a better appreciation of how glass is made.  I would *still* go back again.  Oh, and the Steuben glassware talked about in the TV show Archer on FX--that's made in Corning, NY (and also owned by Corning Inc.).

That night, we stayed in Ithaca, NY, about a 45 min drive away from Corning.  The evening was a little disappointing.

There aren't many places to stay in Ithaca.  I had booked at a Best Western, with a chance to get a queen bed, or a double bed.  When we got there, there were only rooms with double beds available.  It was an older hotel, a little rough around the edges, but comfortable enough.

We had dinner at the Moosewood Cafe.  It was one of the first vegetarian restaurants to open in the 1970's, and I've cooked a couple of recipes from their cookbooks in the past, which I enjoyed.  I was looking forward to going to the place that started it all.  We had a good meal.  But it wasn't anything special, either.  The service was slow.  There were no free refills on anything besides water.  My husband had a Caribbean rice and beans dish.  I had a curry.  It was a little bland for a curry.  The portions were on the smaller side considering the prices.  Both of us cleared our plates.  My husband said he liked the meal, and that it was filling, but that best part was the bread basket (it IS local fresh baked bread).  It wasn't a bad experience, but it was a so-so experience.  I wouldn't recommend a special trip to go there.  I'll just stick to their cookbooks.

I couldn't sleep for part of the night.  I ended up spending a couple of hours surfing the web on my iPhone.

The next day was much better.  We had breakfast at the hotel.  We then drove/walked around the Cornell area of Ithaca a little, and took pictures of the bridges and gorges and waterfalls.

Unfortunately, all I have at the moment is this pic of one of the smaller waterfalls.  This year, there were 6 suicides at Cornell with students jumping off bridges.  The city/school has therefore put tall chain-link fencing around all the bridges.  My camera wouldn't fit through the holes of the chain link to take photos of the larger waterfalls.  My husband has a pocket-sized camera though, and so we did take some photos of the more spectacular falls.  (Though, for your enjoyment, here's a link to Cascadilla Falls)  I just don't have access to them at the moment, since his camera is now back with him in Metro.  

We then visited the Cayuga Nature Center, just outside Ithaca, and their 6 story tree house!  And yes, we took the stairs to the very top.

The nature center also had some live animals--turtles, snakes and lizards indoors.  Outdoors, there some hawks, some peacocks, and a fox.  There were baby peacocks the day we visited.  It was fun seeing them follow their mother around the pen.  

Then, it was to Taughannock Falls, just down the road from the nature center.  The falls are taller by 33 feet than Niagara:

Then before leaving to get back on the road, we lunched at another Ithaca-area hotspot, the Glenwood Pines.  They're known for their Pinesbuger:  A cheeseburger served on french bread, dressed with Thousand Island dressing (instead of mayo or ketchup):

I would say that it was the Best Cheeseburger I Ever Ate.  

Thus started the custom for the rest of the trip, of me sitting in restaurant, next to window on my right side, overlooking the water.  Glenwood Pines feels like it was a converted double-wide.  However, it has a nice patio in the back, and it overlooks Lake Cayuga.  

On to Niagara Falls!

And now I start writing...

I see this as the second phase of my school career:  I will begin to write my dissertation.

Yesterday I was in my office, one of my classmates--we came into the program the same year--came to chat.  One observation: Can you believe that we've been here 3 years already?   I cannot.  The first year here in University Town...it was probably my worst year ever (which brings to mind the last time I said that about a year, my 7th grade year, which at the end, I thought that I wouldn't wish my 7th grade year on my worst enemy....heh, funny how one keeps tracks of years).   I was assured that it would would all pass quickly by my officemate at the time, a girl about to graduate.   Well, they say that the years pass quickly, and it's the hours and the days that last forever.  It was the beginning of my path towards depression.  

The second year was alright.  In fact, I can't really think of anything good or bad to say about it.  One of my friends got married, in the local courthouse, and they had a simple reception at their house afterwards, with food from their favorite Indian restaurant.  They had a magnum of some sort of sparking wine chilling on their porch, an Asti, I think--as I gift, I had brought a bottle of Veuve-Clicquot.  Towards the end of the dinner, they toasted with my stuff.  I wonder now, thinking of it again, if it was rude of me to bring it.  Towards the end of that year, I began to accept that I would be here for the long term, as in really, really accept it.  My depression bottomed out around that time.

And summer before my third year began.  It was a very quiet summer, mostly.  There were trips to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  I had family visit me in University Town for the first time.  I watched the movie Julie and Julia.  I can't remember if I watched it with my husband in person, or if we watched it him at his theater, and me at mine.  I want to say that we watched it together.  In the movie, the protagonist, Julie, takes up blogging.  My husband suggested that I do the same, to give me something to do in University Town.   And so, this blog started.

I think that this blog did keep me sane this year.  School wasn't bad this year.  In the fall, I had two classes that I very much enjoyed.  The first classes the entire time I've been here that I can say that I actually enjoyed.  The spring was hard.  Tough classes, but it kept my mind engaged, and they were both classes that I wanted to take.  Then of course, there was the summer class that I taught!  It was an adventure every day.  I laughed, I cried, and now, it's done, I feel like king of the hill.  And in the winter, when I normally go crazy...I cooked, I photographed, and I blogged.  

So here I am.  Last week I returned from a trip to Niagara Falls.  And now, I'm working on writing my dissertation.

I was on the phone with my husband today.  We joked that in old cartoons and TV shows, the wife would wail "I'm going to go my mother's!"   I pointed out that I would just get on the plane and go back to University Town.  It used to hurt me that I lived here by myself.  It doesn't hurt so much any more.

The penny remains.

Back again--Part 2

Classes are over for the summer.  All that's left are finals on Monday, and then I have to turn in the grades, but that shouldn't be too much work.  I suspect I'll get a few e-mails on Monday and Tuesday, after grades are posted, with people wondering about their grades.  I really hope that it is nothing major, that is, I hope I don't have to deal with many upset students.

I've been thinking, too, that this experiment--this blog--is almost over, too.  I started last August, and July is coming up fast.  I'm somewhat in a state of disbelief that this blog has lasted as long as it has.  I have 55 posts so far, which averages a post a week over the entire year.  It's half as much posting as I originally intended, which was 2 posts a week.  I still feel good though.  I've never kept a diary of any sort for so long--I used to always be amazed, absolutely amazed, by those who could keep diaries.  I never had the discipline, or the interest.  Yet, here I am.  

The blog has served its purpose.  I find words coming to me much easier now.  I think teaching helped, too, having to get up in front of people everyday and making sure the thoughts that were in my head came out of my head in coherent sentences.  It's one thing to read.  It's another to craft those words together yourself, and not just take in what another has put together.  

Teaching  has been a good experience.  I do like having the schedule.  I like having a goal each day--this is the lesson plan!  It wrecked my sleep schedule--I would go to bed at 1 am, wake up at 5 am to prep for my 9:30am class, then around 3 o'clock or so, come home, sleep until 7 or 8 pm, wake up and be awake until 1 am....and wake again at 5 am.   It was a strange schedule, but I adapted, and towards the end, felt well rested each day.  It was confusing at first, I must admit.  I'd wake up, and wouldn't be sure if something happened yesterday, or the day before yesterday.  I had been used to marking my days by when I went to sleep, and when I was sleeping twice in one day, it threw that system out of whack.

I think my stomach is also thankful that classes are over.  Towards the end, I thought for a while that I was getting an ulcer.  

People have asked me, what grade would you give yourself?  I think I'd give myself a C.  I was not the most prepared teacher.  I think there might have been things that I explained better.  I think I might have incorporated more activities into classes, made it not be as lecture oriented.  But I went over all the material that I needed to go over.   And my students' exams have averaged around a 76%--right where the average needs to be.  I think I did expand over and above the book a little bit, so that I was not redundant.  And, as far as I know, no went marching over to the dean's office to complain about my teaching.  So, I give myself a C.  We'll see, later, if the teacher evaluations agree with my own assessment.

Besides classes, not much has been going on.  The only thing worth mentioning is that a few weeks ago, after taking my car through the automatic car wash, I was double checking the hood, and I noticed several small rust spots.  They have been repaired, and as always, I had to make it into a project: 1000 grit sandpaper for the rust, primer, touch up paint, 2000 grit sandpaper, polishing compound.  That's five different items I purchased for 4 rust spots, each the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.  I don't know why I go overboard on everything, and yet, if I don't, I feel like I haven't done enough.  

It took 2 weeks to do everything.  I applied a coat of touch of paint every night for a week.  But before that, of course, each day, I'd go out to my car with a bucket and a sponge, wash off the dirt from the hood, dry it, and then, after that, I'd apply a tiny dot of paint to each spot.  My neighbors, I'm sure, now know me as the girl with OCD about washing the hood of her car.  This is what happens when you live in an apartment complex with no A/C and it seems, a third of the residents having toddlers that like to go outside as the sun sets.  

I now own way too much paint:  paints for the suitcase project, paints for the purse project (6 bottles!), and now, two more paints for my car (paint and primer).  

And finally:  Squirrel!

It's a piebald squirrel.  I usually only see one or two a year.  This was taken with my new camera, handheld, at 17X zoom. 

(Apparently some towns celebrate the fact that they are the home to colonies of white squirrels  or black squirrels )

The penny remains.  

Back again

It's been a month since I last posted.  I'm not sure where to start. So let's go stream of consciousness!

Part 1--Austin

I last wrote shortly before Memorial Day, when I left town to go to Austin to see an old college friend, C., get ordained as a Catholic priest.  On that trip, I brought the purse that I had restored--so that's an entry I need to do, the purse restoration entry.  

Back to the trip to Austin.  I left first thing Friday morning.  I drove about 45 minutes from here, to get to a smaller, but cheaper airport.  I had never been there before, and so I updated my Garmin, and full of hope, drove to the airport.  It wasn't difficult to find at all, and the traffic was almost non-existent.  There was only one airline servicing this airport--Continental--and the waiting area had only enough chairs for about 12 people.  But that was OK--the airplanes that flew out of there only held about 12 people.  

The neat about the airport was that it served both commercial and private flights...so just walking down the hall a few feet from the commercial waiting area, there was a lounge for the private pilots and an office area with maps and a computer for planning a flight path.  On the commercial side of the airport, there was an actual cafe/grill.  Usually in airports of this size, the only things offered to eat are out of vending machines, or perhaps a few premade sandwiches.  But not this place.  The whiteboard in front was offering the "222 special"--2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 slices of toast for $2.22.  Besides the indoor seating, the cafe actually opened out in the back to a large covered patio area with picnic tables.  There were people sitting out on the patio.  

There were 8 of us on the flight out.  There were 4 TSA agents that checked us in.  Because the waiting area was so small, a conversation started up between one of the passengers--someone who worked for an oil exploration company and was travelling to Houston--and one of the TSA agents, and the whole group got drawn into a conversation about BP and what was going on in the Gulf.  

It was the smallest plane I had ever ridden.  There was no overhead storage space, and only one seat on each side of the aisle.  There was no flight attendant, just the two pilots.  There was no overhead light, either, but the air vent, the light, and the compartment for the oxygen mask, were all built into the side of the plane.  I had been a little nervous about flying in such a small plane, but the flight was not bad at all.

I landed in Cleveland.  I was scheduled to transfer to Houston after a 4 hour layover in Cleveland, but I noticed on the flight monitors that there was another flight for Houston leaving in an hour.  I asked if it was possible for me to fly standby on that flight, and I did indeed get on that flight.  Houston Intercontinental is a nicer place to layover than Cleveland.

On the flight to Houston, they played "When in Rome", starring Kristin Bell.  I didn't want to spend $3.00 on the inflight headphones, so could only see what was going on.  I wandered around the shops--got myself some nice smelling hand lotion from the sample bottles at the L'Occitane en Provence shop, and snacked with a fruit smoothie from the Nestle Tollhouse bakery.  I people watched, ate a cookie, played solitaire on my phone.  The corridors were tall, airy, and bright.  It honestly wasn't a bad way to spend a 4 hour layover.       

The flight from Houston to Austin was unremarkable.  It was around 6pm when I landed in Austin.  Unfortunately, my husband, who was supposed to arrive in Austin around 7pm, has his flight delayed until 9pm.  We had plans to have dinner together at one of the local restaurants.  But I ate at the airport instead.  It turned out alright: the airport had a number of local restaurants represented, and I had Salt Lick BBQ, which had been featured on the Travel Channel.  It was indeed good.

After eating, I found a quiet terminal to curl up and take a nap for a few minutes before my husband arrived.  I was surprised at how cold they kept the airport.  I looked for a sweatshirt, but the ones being sold at the airport were $30.  

We got our rental car.  I found out that my husband thought that I was going to bring my Garmin to help us get around town.  I had not brought it, but we used our iPhones instead.  For some reason, the first time I pulled up directions to the hotel, the map told us to make a left turn off the main highway.  We followed it, realized we were going the wrong way.  I re-entered the address--and this time the iPhone showed that we should have taken a RIGHT off the main highway.  We were on the correct road--just on the wrong side of it.    It was easy to correct--just a U-turn and a few minutes, and we were at our hotel.  Besides that, all other directions provided by our iPhone in Austin turned out to be accurate.  My husband would drive, I would hold the phone and read the map out loud.

Breakfast the next day was at Cafe Java, not far from our hotel.  I would recommend it.  It was clean, service was fast and friendly, and prices were average.  Then, it was to the ordination.  The church was packed--even though we arrived almost an hour early.  We were able to find a seats in the last row on the side of the church.  I then practiced taking photos with my new camera.  

The ordination ceremony started at 10:30 and took 2.5 hours.  I got lots of good pictures--well, good considering that they were taken from the very last row of a large church.  I was happy though, and the camera purchase was definitely worth it.  

After the ordination ceremony, I met up with my college friends.  One of my friends had brought along her neighbor and co-worker, Rebecca.  Rebecca knew me--my friend had told her that I was "the one with the most sense, but also the only one who almost burned down the apartment."  ::sigh:: Those were the good old days!  

Rebecca had gone to the University of Texas, and was therefore familiar with Austin.  I suggested we go to lunch at The Magnolia, another famous Austin restaurant.  Our whole group went-Rebecca knew how to get there, but my husband and I used iPhone directions--this time with full success!  There was lots of eating and talking.  Afterwards, the rest of the group returned to the church to attend C's first mass.  My husband and I went to the movies, instead.  We saw "Babies."  We then stopped at Target, where I bought a hoodie for the flight back and we picked up food for dinner.

I wonder if I'm becoming a food tourist.  

The next morning, I got on a flight back to University Town.  The hoodie kept me comfortably warm on the plane.  On the flight from Austin to Houston, they were handing out free inflight headsets.  I was happy--I got two pairs.  I would be able to watch in the in-flight movie from Houston to Cleveland.  Except, that this time, the plane from Houston to Cleveland didn't have TV screens.  Foiled!   However, for any other long flights in the future, I have spare headsets.  I will remember to bring a one next time.  

End Part 1  (The penny remains)