What Adam's Been Up To

Part of what makes marriage to Adam so fun and interesting is that he is quite varied in his activities and pursuits. In fact, it can be hard to keep up with all he's doing. He just does what he loves, and that embraces quite a bit. He made some wonderful whole wheat bread this week, with flax seed.

In fact, he made us two loaves and then went to an elderly couple's home and made two loaves for them. He makes them lunch several times a week. As he says, he's a full-service pastor. Haha!

That same day, I believe, my desperate need for chocolate cake finally refused to be silenced any longer, and I told him I must have a piece of good chocolate cake with white buttercream frosting. Some things in life are necessary. So, being Adam ... he made a 6" chocolate cake from scratch, as per ordered.

He practiced his icing skills, which he says are still lacking.

And I washed up a dusty cake plate.

He dusted it with some cocoa powder. Very pretty.

And I had my piece of chocolate cake with a half cup of hot homemade chai. And the inner chocolate beast was appeased ... for now.
It's tricky being on weight loss routines and loving to cook and bake. I had a piece of cake, as did Julia, and we took the rest to Tuesday night Bible study at our church. (Adam is not fond of sweets himself. Except pumpkin pie. And Kit Kats.) (Oh, and ice cream. And ginger snaps. And Danish butter cookies.) The congregants enjoyed the cake, I washed the plate and returned home with my diet intact.
The local Methodists have a program for older folks called "Prime Time." They offer all manner of classes, trips, groups, gatherings, meals, etc. Adam is always looking for new ways to meet people in town, being a pastor. He's also had a life-long love for star-gazing and telescopes.

Adam, with the supplies for his astronomy class

He ordered a mirror blank from Edmunds Scientific when he was 14 years old, and he's had it ever since. His goal was always to grind it down to a telescope mirror and build his own telescope. But you need a group of people to do this project. He tried it with a class of school kids once, without success. He tried it with Anna and Peter once too, and failed. What he needed was a group of old guys as enthusiastic as he was.

There are various grades of grit used for grinding the mirrors.

So he's teaching an astronomy class with the Prime Time program, and he'd had great response. He has six people in this first class, and quite a few interested for the next class. He's been studying out this whole telescope-making process for decades. At last! It's time to begin.

Some of the grinding grit he purchased about five years ago

Adam built a stand upon which to grind his mirror. We've been lugging this around from house to house for a few years. He already had some grit for grinding.

Adam's stand, with his mirror on it

Today he took all the grit to class that's been delivered. The new mirrors for the class members have not arrived yet. But Adam took his mirror and showed them some of what they will be doing. It's useful to have a group of people grinding your mirror because the variety of people actually increases the accuracy of the mirror. Do not ask me much about the science of this, because I don't know!

Adam's mirror, now 33 years old

The other thing you have to make is a grinding tool, the object you use to grind down the mirror. This is what it looks like:

In case you're wondering, there are things that Adam doesn't do, or can't do. He can't sing. And he can't dance. He's pretty much tone deaf and has no rhythm. But other than musical ability, I honestly can't think of much that he lacks. He is brainy, he is strong, he is fun and funny, and he is extremely kind. He follows me around like a puppy dog, but he knows when to give me alone time. His knowledge and understanding of God's Word are deep and discerning, which is one of the most enjoyable interests we share. He can build shelves, mend furniture, fix a car in a hundred ways, take out stitches, do beautiful math, explain how most things work, fix broken plumbing, electrical lines, tile, small appliances, and most computer issues. Plus he's a good friend. All that talent would tend to make a man vain, so God also gave him lots of trials to rid him of that taint and make him humble. Thus, I have been given a lovely husband, for whom I'm very thankful.