Missy's blog: Merry Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas to you from Casa Kuehnert.

We have new baby fish named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Donnie.

Long may they swim.

For my birthday my fabulous coworkers got me a laser cut hurdy gurdy

This is what a traditional Hurdy Gurdy is like.

So far I have successfully created a laser cut hammer for assembly and the main gears and turning axle.

For my birthday I also got beautiful flowers (from David) and a sweet tiny harp (from Mom).

Clearly it is a year of music for me. I couldn't be more delighted by the prospect.

I discovered that an assembled hammer is too weak and my workshop hammer is too strong but Davids guitar work luthier hammer with the brass head is perfect for laser cut hurdy gurdy assembly.

At work we had our traditional sock exchange.

Its hard to want to get back to work when you have taken off your shoes...important life lesson.

David and the kids picked me up at work on my birthday night and took me to an Indian place to eat. It was fantastic.

The elf on the shelf continues to amuse me.

Mom entered an ugly Christmas sweater contest with a group in Frederick.

Also there was live music.

Megan and I got matching outfits for the holidays.

Kelsey's family gave us an air hockey table!!!

Oh man the kids are happy.

For the Haven Christmas bardic I did something scary. Let me back up there. Every month at Haven (on the 3rd Friday of the month) they have a thing called bardic. Bardic is a time when people get together to sing songs and tell stories. The haven songs tend to be either bawdy or historical. the stories tend to be autobiographical and hilarious. Occasionally someone dose a poem. There are two sets 8pm-9pm and then 915-10. The first set tends to be milder and the 2nd tends to get loud. There is a theme for every bardic (spring time or love or faeries or sea songs or harvest songs). This month the theme was Christmas.

My friend Geoff offered to take me to bardic last year and I went with my heart in my throat because new people and situations scare me. I went though because I love music and I wanted to see what went on.

It was disorienting and loud and many people were drinking alcohol (a thing I am not used to) and their potential for drunken violence or at the bare minimum noise was super intimidating to me. On the other hand everyone sang a song about chicken nuggets and I heard some stories that made me weep with laughter. I decided to try to sing there for myself. I told myself that I would learn at least one new song every month (in the theme) and preform it. So starting January last year that is what I have done. Even on months that I couldn't go to bardic I learned a new song. Its been great.

So anyway...

For the Haven Christmas bardic I did something scary. I played my lyre. I think that this year I will try hard to do instrumentation either with my singing or as my 2nd set piece at each bardic.

If all goes well I will start a new musical performance channel on my YouTube channel and put up bardic songs there.

I got an 3D printer.

We unboxed a 3D printer

David mowed the leaves into mulch for the yard and I chopped and whacked the fall and winter dead things into submission then we mulched the beds and the trees for winter.

I am so pleased to have actually done this.

The yard looks so much better and I am not worried about my bulbs and the little maple freezing to death now.

We got software for the 3D printer.

David did a calibration cube print that turned out perfectly.

We did a test print or an ink stamp sort of like the ones from haven. There is a site called thingiverse that has lots of plans for 3D printed objects. Have a look and let me know if you would like me to print you a thing. I need the practice and this printer seems so powerful and fun that I would quite like to share it.

We floomped in a pile on the bed and watched it do its thing.

It too is surprisingly musical

Speaking of music, this year when we went around the neighborhood delivering Christmas cookies we also caroled. The kids were super into it. Our neighbors are tolerant.