I know there are people who like to make and bake from scratch.  You know, get their hands into the dough they are creating, putting in filling like apples you cored, pared and rubbed in sugar and cinnamon and covering with another layer of dough with fork holes punched in on the top.  That is the most familiar picture that comes to mind when I think of someone working with his or her hands.  I have great memories of my mother being a “balabusta” or someone greatly admired for her ability to do all things culinary; not to leave out knitting, crocheting and keeping her house neat as a pin while working a full day in the store.

But, being a fella, I also cozied up to my father and went through his tool box that he took with him when he left the employment of Mr. Thomas Edison where he was a machinist.  Now, I loved his tools, the feel of them and they gradually disappeared along with the box with its many drawers and cubbyholes.  But, my interests lay in making things out of wood.  I liked to carve and I am slowly getting back into the mode of carving “yods” which I believe I have mentioned earlier.  But there are a number of bits and pieces of broken articles that I have put aside to work on in my spare time or, as it is called, my retirement. One is a copy of a Degas sculpture of a dancer standing on one leg, leaning forward with her arms outstretched.  She has been put away for many years because of a crack in one of her arms so the plaster that covered the metal armature could be seen.  I knew I could fix her, but there were other things to capture my attention first.

When I took her out of the place in which she took up too much room I discovered to my dismay that her other arm had lost its bottom part.  I checked with my dentist a long time ago in NJ and he said he had some powder that you mixed with water and it became as hard as enamel and could repair teeth.  He gave me a bag that I saw not so long ago but I have no idea where it is or went.  My present dentist, after being asked about this repair material, said he fixed things like this sculpture with an epoxy material that could be molded.  (It smells really bad.)

I bought the epoxy, read the directions and just finished mixing the two parts together.  I used it to fill in the broken arm and then a long piece of it to make the other arm whole again.  I doubt if it is finished for it is rough and will need sanding and then I will have to paint the repairs and then probably have to repaint the whole sculpture.

The thing is, I actually got all my materials together, pulled on a pair of latex    gloves and finished the whole operation in about ten or so minutes. I am sort of proud of myself.  The question is, I say with interest, what’s next?