OK, it wasn't that cold, but we still do have piles of snow.
Gratitude #83 - Sweet Biddies!
13 years ago
Saturday, February 7, 2009
walking
I have never liked “exercise.”
OK I rode my bicycle a long time and I use to run a few miles a day, but maybe that was an aberration.
But in the last ten years my blood pressure has inched up, not dangerously so, but higher than the doctor likes, and she has put me on two meds now, and they don’t seem to be working too well.
My pulse at rest is perilously close to what it should be when I exercise. That does not seem good at all.
So this week I began walking again. Miriam and Leo go during the day when the weather is good. Walking with miriam is fun, but she is 9” shorter than I am and walks about that much slower. At that speed my heart rate does not go where I want it.
So this week I began walking. It was cold, but I have proper clothes, and rather than walk in the middle of the day, I went at dusk. In fact it was fairly dark by the time I got back. I walked about 2 miles at a good clip and it was good.
But one thing was different than the old days: I had my trusty iPod. Music would be alright, but I had Mark Twain along. Twain was as much a philosopher as story teller and I can surf along on his story as I walk.
My weight is alright, my BMI is acceptable, but that pesky BP and pulse. Maybe I can be motivated. Spring will be here soon and with it the garden. During that season I get a lot of good exercise. Ever spade up a 160 square foot bed with a digging fork?
But what amazed me most of all, was the sheer joy of walking in the cold right at dark.
OK I rode my bicycle a long time and I use to run a few miles a day, but maybe that was an aberration.
But in the last ten years my blood pressure has inched up, not dangerously so, but higher than the doctor likes, and she has put me on two meds now, and they don’t seem to be working too well.
My pulse at rest is perilously close to what it should be when I exercise. That does not seem good at all.
So this week I began walking again. Miriam and Leo go during the day when the weather is good. Walking with miriam is fun, but she is 9” shorter than I am and walks about that much slower. At that speed my heart rate does not go where I want it.
So this week I began walking. It was cold, but I have proper clothes, and rather than walk in the middle of the day, I went at dusk. In fact it was fairly dark by the time I got back. I walked about 2 miles at a good clip and it was good.
But one thing was different than the old days: I had my trusty iPod. Music would be alright, but I had Mark Twain along. Twain was as much a philosopher as story teller and I can surf along on his story as I walk.
My weight is alright, my BMI is acceptable, but that pesky BP and pulse. Maybe I can be motivated. Spring will be here soon and with it the garden. During that season I get a lot of good exercise. Ever spade up a 160 square foot bed with a digging fork?
But what amazed me most of all, was the sheer joy of walking in the cold right at dark.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Nymph by Maillol
This is one of the fist sculptures done of Dina, when she was just 17.
Remember this is meant to not be an exact replica of reality, but a bit romantic with very a classical viewpoint.
While I enjoy modern sculpture with it's emphasis on abstraction to one level or another, these classical pieces give me inspiration.
muse
I saw another obit the other day that brought back memories: Dina Vierny.
Of course I never met her, but when I was in graduate school I studied, and did a short paper on Aristide Maillol, and there I met Dina.
Maillol was a French painter/sculptor, born in 1861. He his early 70’s when he met Dina. His career had flatted out, his creativity seemed to have escaped. Then an artist friend sent the 15 year old Dina to model for Maillol. She became his muse, his assistant and his model.
Their relationship was totally platonic, without a hint of any thing beyond, but she immediately inspired him and his creativity took wings in a flurry of new works that continued until he died in a car wreck at the age of 83.
When he died his family was not very interested in preserving his work, so Dina carefully collected all she could, she set up a museum in Paris, mostly stocked with his work and spent the rest of her life looking after his reputation as an artist. She was his inspiration.
The thing that always interested me was that something happened to light Mailllol’s creative fire at a time when it seemed to be going out. It may not have been her directly as much as the change it made in his thinking. He spent the last ten years of his life producing a flurry of important pieces of sculpture.
When I was a photographer another photographer said that sometimes a simple thing can kick start our creativity. A new lens that offered a different way of seeing, a different process, or a new model, but the suggestion was to be aware that such a thing could transform a career and be ready to experiment.
Right now I am about the age that Maillol was when me met Dina. My art career surely has flattened (at best). That something that lights the fires could be a simple thing like a new welder (which I acquired recently and have not used yet) or any one of a dozen other inspirations.
Hmm.
Of course I never met her, but when I was in graduate school I studied, and did a short paper on Aristide Maillol, and there I met Dina.
Maillol was a French painter/sculptor, born in 1861. He his early 70’s when he met Dina. His career had flatted out, his creativity seemed to have escaped. Then an artist friend sent the 15 year old Dina to model for Maillol. She became his muse, his assistant and his model.
Their relationship was totally platonic, without a hint of any thing beyond, but she immediately inspired him and his creativity took wings in a flurry of new works that continued until he died in a car wreck at the age of 83.
When he died his family was not very interested in preserving his work, so Dina carefully collected all she could, she set up a museum in Paris, mostly stocked with his work and spent the rest of her life looking after his reputation as an artist. She was his inspiration.
The thing that always interested me was that something happened to light Mailllol’s creative fire at a time when it seemed to be going out. It may not have been her directly as much as the change it made in his thinking. He spent the last ten years of his life producing a flurry of important pieces of sculpture.
When I was a photographer another photographer said that sometimes a simple thing can kick start our creativity. A new lens that offered a different way of seeing, a different process, or a new model, but the suggestion was to be aware that such a thing could transform a career and be ready to experiment.
Right now I am about the age that Maillol was when me met Dina. My art career surely has flattened (at best). That something that lights the fires could be a simple thing like a new welder (which I acquired recently and have not used yet) or any one of a dozen other inspirations.
Hmm.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
m and d
Stefanie made us hats for christmas This is this is us clowning with the hats
Really, I am not trying to hurt Miriam.
drains
When we built our house I decided it had to have two bathrooms.
That was very unusual for a thousand feet house (OK 1080 feet). We had 3 daughters still at home and I was not willing to share baths with them every day, selfish me.
The house was all built on the tightest budget iminagable. I barterd with electiricians, heating guys, general contractors to get materials and skills to build the house.
Often it would have been better if we had had a bit more to put in it, but we did not want to borrow money to build, and so we just did it. This decade I have been going back room by room to refurbish: paint, carpet, and wide molding and work to what might have been an arts and crafts look. Mostly.
I got to the down stairs bathroom was a few years ago. The owner of the company I was working for at the time, gave me a jetta tub and the faux marble panels for the shower as a bonus. (The year before he gave me a very nice motor boat as a bonus). The tub worked out well, the faux marble even covered the ceiling. While I was at it I made new cabinets, put ceramic tile on the floor and painted fresh new colors.
But the drain has not worked well almost from the beginning. A while back I washed out a paint bucket in the tub and when it did not drain I was sure that I had clogged the trap, which is not easy but it can be done.
So today I got David’s Jackhammer out, cut out a bit of the wall plate and made a new header, then started hammering out the concrete. It was a hard old slab. It so noisy I brought some hearing protectors over and gave one to Miriam as well, and she wore it.
But as I dug deeper I discovered that the wash machine drained into that line before the trap. If the trap was clogged, the washer would be over flowing, but it was not.
I could not figure how to disassemble the drain from the inside of the tub. So I called David, who is 500 miles away at his sick mother in law’s house. He had me buy a “drain wrench” for eight bucks. But when I got that part off (David was right, of course) What I saw made me know that the problem had not been the trap at all.
The drain was full of hair and stuff and stuff. I spent some time taking it apart then cleaning it all up, (Miriam helped with the cleaning). And then put it back together.
I called David. He laughed and said: “I hate it when the solution is something simple” especially after spending a lot of time and energy with a complex solution."
But now that tub drains big time.
Ahh. Life is good.
That was very unusual for a thousand feet house (OK 1080 feet). We had 3 daughters still at home and I was not willing to share baths with them every day, selfish me.
The house was all built on the tightest budget iminagable. I barterd with electiricians, heating guys, general contractors to get materials and skills to build the house.
Often it would have been better if we had had a bit more to put in it, but we did not want to borrow money to build, and so we just did it. This decade I have been going back room by room to refurbish: paint, carpet, and wide molding and work to what might have been an arts and crafts look. Mostly.
I got to the down stairs bathroom was a few years ago. The owner of the company I was working for at the time, gave me a jetta tub and the faux marble panels for the shower as a bonus. (The year before he gave me a very nice motor boat as a bonus). The tub worked out well, the faux marble even covered the ceiling. While I was at it I made new cabinets, put ceramic tile on the floor and painted fresh new colors.
But the drain has not worked well almost from the beginning. A while back I washed out a paint bucket in the tub and when it did not drain I was sure that I had clogged the trap, which is not easy but it can be done.
So today I got David’s Jackhammer out, cut out a bit of the wall plate and made a new header, then started hammering out the concrete. It was a hard old slab. It so noisy I brought some hearing protectors over and gave one to Miriam as well, and she wore it.
But as I dug deeper I discovered that the wash machine drained into that line before the trap. If the trap was clogged, the washer would be over flowing, but it was not.
I could not figure how to disassemble the drain from the inside of the tub. So I called David, who is 500 miles away at his sick mother in law’s house. He had me buy a “drain wrench” for eight bucks. But when I got that part off (David was right, of course) What I saw made me know that the problem had not been the trap at all.
The drain was full of hair and stuff and stuff. I spent some time taking it apart then cleaning it all up, (Miriam helped with the cleaning). And then put it back together.
I called David. He laughed and said: “I hate it when the solution is something simple” especially after spending a lot of time and energy with a complex solution."
But now that tub drains big time.
Ahh. Life is good.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
crackers
As I do each morning, I was reading the NY Times this morning (on line of course).
Down the home page among the headlines was a piece about making crackers at home. Hmm I had not thought of that, though the article suggested that it is not all that complex.
Any way here is the site: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/dining/04mini-web.html
I will definitely do some research and some baking.
I can skip the preservatives and “conditioners” and be very happy.
And, i maybe crackers, but that is another subject.
Down the home page among the headlines was a piece about making crackers at home. Hmm I had not thought of that, though the article suggested that it is not all that complex.
Any way here is the site: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/dining/04mini-web.html
I will definitely do some research and some baking.
I can skip the preservatives and “conditioners” and be very happy.
And, i maybe crackers, but that is another subject.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
hot bread
A bakery that makes good hand crafted bread will make bread as good as this. But, it is not in my budget for sure. I haven't figured it out really close, I will, but I am pretty sure I can make a loaf for less than fifty cents.
bread
Remember the line about asking a guy for the time and he answered with a lecture on how to make a watch! This is my entry in that genre.
Tomorrow I'll show a formula (bakeries I worked in did not have "recipes") for a very simple bread with just 4 easy to find ingredients.
“Arline’s Whole Wheat Bread”: makes 3 1 ½ pound loaves
Put in mixing bowl:
3 cups warm to hot water (I make it 3 ½ and I use it as hot as it comes out of the tap)
½ C raw oats (either Old Fashioned or Quick)
2 T of Honey (I use good old black strap molasses and close to half a cup)
2 T yeast (I buy it in pound blocks at the grocery store, by the package it is spendy)
Since the bowl is cold along with all the ingredients that hot water does not stay hot.
Let it set while you do the next step.
Combine in largw bowl (use it later for proofing)
½ C VitalWheat flour (available in health food stores, though I buy it at my huge market bulk food section. It is a very high gluten flour. If I did not have it I’d use that much more of AP flour)
1 C All Purpose or better yet Unbleached Bread flour (Ok we are wimps, but 100% whole wheat bread makes better bricks than bread)
1 ½ C whole wheat flour
1 T salt
Mix all of those together dry. The point is that the VitalWheat will make horrible clumps if a bunch of it gets wet, so mix them all together while they are dry.
Put that dry mix in with the wet (use a paddle mixer, save the dough hook for a bit). The mix will be fairly soupy. Add:
2 T cooking oil (applesauce will work too). Mix for 3 or 4 minutes at medium speed.
I often add ½ C of raw, unsalted Sunflower seeds at this point.
Change to the dough hook and add whole wheat flour. At first you can put in a fair amount at a time, but once it gets doughy be more careful, it is not too hard to get too much flour. The dough should make a ball and should clean the sides of the bowl as it mixes. Mix 3 or 4 minutes.
Dump it out on a table top that is lightly floured. Kneed the dough a minute or so. You can slap it around pretty good and pound it, good for frustrations. The dough should smooth and soft to the touch. Put in a large greased bowl.
I turn the oven on 170 for one minute only and leave the oven light on. Proof for 30 minutes.
Arline puts it in the pans at this point, but I punch the bread down and let it rest another 10 minutes.
I have a small spring scale, so I weigh the dough to make sure I have the same size loaves, but you can guess pretty well. Mould into loaves and put in greased pans (I have used spray oil, but lately have gone back to using margarine and a brush. I grab a hunk of dough and slap it on the work surface pretty hard. That lengtens the dough. I fold the two ends in and carefully roll into loaf shape. Big bubbles in the final bread means that it was not rolled tightly.
Put back in the oven and proof for 20 minutes. The loaves should double in size. It is also possible to over proof. The bread will “kick” a bit more when the oven heats, especially the way I work it.
I don’t take it out while the oven is heating. When the dough is proofed to size, I turn the oven on to 350, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on how much I want the crust to be crusty.
Take out of the pans, and cool on a cookie rack or a wood cutting board. It is legal to slice off the end and put a bit of real butter on it for a quick taste! When it is cool slice with a bread knife and put in a bag. I prefer not to put bread in the refrigerator. I think it turns it to concrete. A loaf will last about 5 or 6 days (in our climate) before it starts to spoil. If it takes longer than that to eat a loaf, freeze half of a loaf for later. Frozen bread thaws very nicely.
If you want to make bread by hand (no mixer) I’ll give a few tips if anyone wishes. BTW, that kneading is good for the shoulders and pects!
Tomorrow I'll show a formula (bakeries I worked in did not have "recipes") for a very simple bread with just 4 easy to find ingredients.
“Arline’s Whole Wheat Bread”: makes 3 1 ½ pound loaves
Put in mixing bowl:
3 cups warm to hot water (I make it 3 ½ and I use it as hot as it comes out of the tap)
½ C raw oats (either Old Fashioned or Quick)
2 T of Honey (I use good old black strap molasses and close to half a cup)
2 T yeast (I buy it in pound blocks at the grocery store, by the package it is spendy)
Since the bowl is cold along with all the ingredients that hot water does not stay hot.
Let it set while you do the next step.
Combine in largw bowl (use it later for proofing)
½ C VitalWheat flour (available in health food stores, though I buy it at my huge market bulk food section. It is a very high gluten flour. If I did not have it I’d use that much more of AP flour)
1 C All Purpose or better yet Unbleached Bread flour (Ok we are wimps, but 100% whole wheat bread makes better bricks than bread)
1 ½ C whole wheat flour
1 T salt
Mix all of those together dry. The point is that the VitalWheat will make horrible clumps if a bunch of it gets wet, so mix them all together while they are dry.
Put that dry mix in with the wet (use a paddle mixer, save the dough hook for a bit). The mix will be fairly soupy. Add:
2 T cooking oil (applesauce will work too). Mix for 3 or 4 minutes at medium speed.
I often add ½ C of raw, unsalted Sunflower seeds at this point.
Change to the dough hook and add whole wheat flour. At first you can put in a fair amount at a time, but once it gets doughy be more careful, it is not too hard to get too much flour. The dough should make a ball and should clean the sides of the bowl as it mixes. Mix 3 or 4 minutes.
Dump it out on a table top that is lightly floured. Kneed the dough a minute or so. You can slap it around pretty good and pound it, good for frustrations. The dough should smooth and soft to the touch. Put in a large greased bowl.
I turn the oven on 170 for one minute only and leave the oven light on. Proof for 30 minutes.
Arline puts it in the pans at this point, but I punch the bread down and let it rest another 10 minutes.
I have a small spring scale, so I weigh the dough to make sure I have the same size loaves, but you can guess pretty well. Mould into loaves and put in greased pans (I have used spray oil, but lately have gone back to using margarine and a brush. I grab a hunk of dough and slap it on the work surface pretty hard. That lengtens the dough. I fold the two ends in and carefully roll into loaf shape. Big bubbles in the final bread means that it was not rolled tightly.
Put back in the oven and proof for 20 minutes. The loaves should double in size. It is also possible to over proof. The bread will “kick” a bit more when the oven heats, especially the way I work it.
I don’t take it out while the oven is heating. When the dough is proofed to size, I turn the oven on to 350, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on how much I want the crust to be crusty.
Take out of the pans, and cool on a cookie rack or a wood cutting board. It is legal to slice off the end and put a bit of real butter on it for a quick taste! When it is cool slice with a bread knife and put in a bag. I prefer not to put bread in the refrigerator. I think it turns it to concrete. A loaf will last about 5 or 6 days (in our climate) before it starts to spoil. If it takes longer than that to eat a loaf, freeze half of a loaf for later. Frozen bread thaws very nicely.
If you want to make bread by hand (no mixer) I’ll give a few tips if anyone wishes. BTW, that kneading is good for the shoulders and pects!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
another one
New item: Ingemar Johansson, 76, dies.
Most of the world does not remember Ingemar, but we old guys do. He was the Swedish model who took up heavy weight boxing, started at the top and fought the then champion of the world and won.
His reign at the top was not too long, as he lost in a rematch.
About that time I was out of town working for a bit, Miriam was home with our two girls (this is before the last two were born). She was putting curtains up in our small rented house.
She wanted to use a tie back for the curtains and temporarily held one of them in place with a largish darning needle.
Then she slipped and fell into the wall, but caught herself with her right hand against the wall. She finished the job, but could not find that needle. She looked and looked, but nothing.
And, her hand was really sore. She was sure that was because she had pounded it pretty hard against the wall when she fell, but it got worse and worse. Finally, she called our local doctor who met her at his clinic a few blocks from where lived in our town of 3500 residents.
He looked it over, saw nothing, but said he would Xray it to see if there was an injury that he could not see. He took the picture and disappeared.
When he returned he was laughing.
Right there as big as life was that needle! Right inside of her hand. He had her check into the hospital and the needle was successfully removed. Apparently they gave her a general anesthetic because when she came to, just after Ingemar had defeated Floyd Patterson, she looked at her right hand and said: “Now I can beat Johansson.”
Of course I remember Ingemar.
The sad thing is that ten years ago, when he was 66 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and spent the last ten years of his life dealing with that/this horrible disease.
Of course, I never met him, but I always liked him (what was there not to like), even though I am not and was not much of a boxing fan.
Still it is sad to see a good life cut down by this horrid disease.
RIP Ingemar, another friend that I never met.
Most of the world does not remember Ingemar, but we old guys do. He was the Swedish model who took up heavy weight boxing, started at the top and fought the then champion of the world and won.
His reign at the top was not too long, as he lost in a rematch.
About that time I was out of town working for a bit, Miriam was home with our two girls (this is before the last two were born). She was putting curtains up in our small rented house.
She wanted to use a tie back for the curtains and temporarily held one of them in place with a largish darning needle.
Then she slipped and fell into the wall, but caught herself with her right hand against the wall. She finished the job, but could not find that needle. She looked and looked, but nothing.
And, her hand was really sore. She was sure that was because she had pounded it pretty hard against the wall when she fell, but it got worse and worse. Finally, she called our local doctor who met her at his clinic a few blocks from where lived in our town of 3500 residents.
He looked it over, saw nothing, but said he would Xray it to see if there was an injury that he could not see. He took the picture and disappeared.
When he returned he was laughing.
Right there as big as life was that needle! Right inside of her hand. He had her check into the hospital and the needle was successfully removed. Apparently they gave her a general anesthetic because when she came to, just after Ingemar had defeated Floyd Patterson, she looked at her right hand and said: “Now I can beat Johansson.”
Of course I remember Ingemar.
The sad thing is that ten years ago, when he was 66 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and spent the last ten years of his life dealing with that/this horrible disease.
Of course, I never met him, but I always liked him (what was there not to like), even though I am not and was not much of a boxing fan.
Still it is sad to see a good life cut down by this horrid disease.
RIP Ingemar, another friend that I never met.
Friday, January 30, 2009
baking day
Arline (daughter #1) has a “baking day” each week.
Whatever her hungry family needs baked for the next week happens that day. She makes a big batch of cookies, makes them into nice little balls, and freezes most of them. Then when she wants the family to have some cookies, she gets out the amount of little frozen cookies, bakes them right there and serves them hot. They all enjoy those hot cookies.
She does all of this in one busy morning.
Hmm.
But I digress.
I Usually make bread when we run out. That may be a week and it might be less or more. Often I give a loaf away so a batch does not last as long as when I don’t, and sometimes I make a lot of quick breads making regular bread last longer.
Today was make bread making day. So, remembering how Arline does it, and dedicated the morning to baking. I made three loaves of whole wheat bread, two of all french bread (my french bread is not really french, but it is not too bad, really), and then a dish of apple crisp, with apples from the freezer.
It really does not take much longer to make two batches than one. In fact both breads will be ready to come out of the oven at the same time.
Making bread is really not a hard job. It takes two elapsed hours to make a batch, but only about 20 minutes of that in actually time, the rest is proofing and baking time. I encourage every one to make their own bread, at least once in a while.
If any one is interested I’ll posts the recipe I use (Arline gave it to me and I follow it pretty closely).
A mixer makes it a lot easier, though I have made bread for years without one. My sep father who grew up working in a family owned bakery talked about making 25 loaf batches of bread and hand kneading it!
Arline and Lora both have Bosch mixers, which are pretty nice. We have a big Kitchen-Aid. In the bakeries where I worked the mixers were all Hobart, the parent company of Kitchen-Aid, so I went that direction. Ours is the big one where the bowl raises and lowers by a lever on the side and not the one that tilts back.
And that is a story too.
A long time ago on Miriam’s birthday I went to the Bon Marche (now Macy’s) to look around. I did not know what I wanted to buy her, but I was expecting to spend about $50.
Then I came by the display of these big mixers and I was hooked. My memory is that I laid out close to three big bills for it, but it sure has worked well for us. Miriam, of course, was amazed.
I know it was not terribly romantic as gifts go.
I am sure that I bought her some lingerie to make up the romance factor. That is my story, and I am not changing it!
Whatever her hungry family needs baked for the next week happens that day. She makes a big batch of cookies, makes them into nice little balls, and freezes most of them. Then when she wants the family to have some cookies, she gets out the amount of little frozen cookies, bakes them right there and serves them hot. They all enjoy those hot cookies.
She does all of this in one busy morning.
Hmm.
But I digress.
I Usually make bread when we run out. That may be a week and it might be less or more. Often I give a loaf away so a batch does not last as long as when I don’t, and sometimes I make a lot of quick breads making regular bread last longer.
Today was make bread making day. So, remembering how Arline does it, and dedicated the morning to baking. I made three loaves of whole wheat bread, two of all french bread (my french bread is not really french, but it is not too bad, really), and then a dish of apple crisp, with apples from the freezer.
It really does not take much longer to make two batches than one. In fact both breads will be ready to come out of the oven at the same time.
Making bread is really not a hard job. It takes two elapsed hours to make a batch, but only about 20 minutes of that in actually time, the rest is proofing and baking time. I encourage every one to make their own bread, at least once in a while.
If any one is interested I’ll posts the recipe I use (Arline gave it to me and I follow it pretty closely).
A mixer makes it a lot easier, though I have made bread for years without one. My sep father who grew up working in a family owned bakery talked about making 25 loaf batches of bread and hand kneading it!
Arline and Lora both have Bosch mixers, which are pretty nice. We have a big Kitchen-Aid. In the bakeries where I worked the mixers were all Hobart, the parent company of Kitchen-Aid, so I went that direction. Ours is the big one where the bowl raises and lowers by a lever on the side and not the one that tilts back.
And that is a story too.
A long time ago on Miriam’s birthday I went to the Bon Marche (now Macy’s) to look around. I did not know what I wanted to buy her, but I was expecting to spend about $50.
Then I came by the display of these big mixers and I was hooked. My memory is that I laid out close to three big bills for it, but it sure has worked well for us. Miriam, of course, was amazed.
I know it was not terribly romantic as gifts go.
I am sure that I bought her some lingerie to make up the romance factor. That is my story, and I am not changing it!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
oops
I have been working in my wood shop this week.
The organization of the shop has been ignored for a long time. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. You get used to how things are setup and it is easy to ignore the design faults.
So I have been trying to correct those flaws, getting a place for everything to go so the horizontal surfaces will be easier to keep cleared of stuff.
So I was re-sawing these boards to make some drawers. They were about 3 ½ inches wide, wider than my table saw will cut in one pass so I was cutting them half way then turning the pice over and running it through again.
That is pretty standard procedure and nothing unusual about it at all, woodworkers do it all the time.
So I was on the last run through of the last board and it was a bit thinner than the others, and I was pushing it through with a stick but holding it in place with my left hand. The blade was safely inside the wood.
As I slid my hand across I felt something and I knew instantly what it was.
I looked at my finger and blood was oozing, not squirting. I looked it a bit more, got my handkerchief out and wrapped around it while I looked for Band-Aids.
The blade I was using has very tall teeth on each side of the blade, it slices through plywood better that way.
I had run my left pinky finger over that row of tall teeth and had cut into my finger less than 1/16 of an inch. The cut was just back from the nail a tiny bit. It was more irritating than anything. I know that one of the ways guys loose body parts is forgetting that hidden blade.
Not much blood and not much soreness, but a reminder.
So I am chastised, and healing without even a scar.
And, that should keep my careful for another 8 or 10 years.
I hope.
The organization of the shop has been ignored for a long time. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. You get used to how things are setup and it is easy to ignore the design faults.
So I have been trying to correct those flaws, getting a place for everything to go so the horizontal surfaces will be easier to keep cleared of stuff.
So I was re-sawing these boards to make some drawers. They were about 3 ½ inches wide, wider than my table saw will cut in one pass so I was cutting them half way then turning the pice over and running it through again.
That is pretty standard procedure and nothing unusual about it at all, woodworkers do it all the time.
So I was on the last run through of the last board and it was a bit thinner than the others, and I was pushing it through with a stick but holding it in place with my left hand. The blade was safely inside the wood.
As I slid my hand across I felt something and I knew instantly what it was.
I looked at my finger and blood was oozing, not squirting. I looked it a bit more, got my handkerchief out and wrapped around it while I looked for Band-Aids.
The blade I was using has very tall teeth on each side of the blade, it slices through plywood better that way.
I had run my left pinky finger over that row of tall teeth and had cut into my finger less than 1/16 of an inch. The cut was just back from the nail a tiny bit. It was more irritating than anything. I know that one of the ways guys loose body parts is forgetting that hidden blade.
Not much blood and not much soreness, but a reminder.
So I am chastised, and healing without even a scar.
And, that should keep my careful for another 8 or 10 years.
I hope.
Friday, January 23, 2009
sleep again
We went to bed early last night, about 9:30.
I know for at least some of my friends, that is the “normal” time, but I never was considered “normal.” Miriam was tired and I agreed to go with her, but I told her I’d be awake about 3, it seems to work that way.
So I slept and slept hard, and woke up an hour later. I got back to sleep without too much trouble.
And an hour or less later I woke again, each time after a few minutes of being awake I got back to sleep.
Then at 3 Leo woke me up. He had gotten uncovered (as short haired as he is, he sleeps under a blanket. Often I have Miriam look after Leo when he wakes up, because she can go back to sleep almost instantly. If I get up it is very hard for me.
But this time I took care of Leo.
So here I sit in my leather recliner, inside a sleeping bag, since I did not want to start a fire or get dressed -- I will go back to bed in a couple of hours.
It seems that my sleep comes in 45 minute to an hour and quarter “packets”. I do not know if that is unusual, I do not know if it is healthy or not, and frankly I am not much concerned.
It is a nutty way to live, but I do know that there are a lot of people who wake up early and spend an hour or two before going back to bed and sleep. Some do it regularly, finding that this quiet time are some of the most precious hours of the day.
I am not ready to go that far, but I do understand the idea, and I sure do not find the time unpleasant.
I know for at least some of my friends, that is the “normal” time, but I never was considered “normal.” Miriam was tired and I agreed to go with her, but I told her I’d be awake about 3, it seems to work that way.
So I slept and slept hard, and woke up an hour later. I got back to sleep without too much trouble.
And an hour or less later I woke again, each time after a few minutes of being awake I got back to sleep.
Then at 3 Leo woke me up. He had gotten uncovered (as short haired as he is, he sleeps under a blanket. Often I have Miriam look after Leo when he wakes up, because she can go back to sleep almost instantly. If I get up it is very hard for me.
But this time I took care of Leo.
So here I sit in my leather recliner, inside a sleeping bag, since I did not want to start a fire or get dressed -- I will go back to bed in a couple of hours.
It seems that my sleep comes in 45 minute to an hour and quarter “packets”. I do not know if that is unusual, I do not know if it is healthy or not, and frankly I am not much concerned.
It is a nutty way to live, but I do know that there are a lot of people who wake up early and spend an hour or two before going back to bed and sleep. Some do it regularly, finding that this quiet time are some of the most precious hours of the day.
I am not ready to go that far, but I do understand the idea, and I sure do not find the time unpleasant.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
changes
I used to tell students that since all good things come to and end, and the semester was ending, it must have been good.
The same logic could go for this week’s change in our national government, I guess.
This blog is not about politics, and I won’t go there, but another line is that a change is as good as a rest.
So, enjoy your rest, because there seems to be major changes ahead, and changes often are what we make of them.
As we get closer to the end of January the garden seeds which I ordered a couple of weeks ago are arriving, adding to the stack. Each packet of seeds is a promise, an expression of faith. There is still a lot of ice on the garden, though the snow is pretty well gone. It is hard to think of much spring this time of year, but i try.
I'll open the cold frame soon and begin eating the salad veggies that have been waiting for a bit of spring weather. I planted them back in September.
For Christmas one of our daughters gave Miriam a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle. She began working on it about as soon as we got home before new years day.
She worked on that puzzle like it was a job, like she was getting paid! It kept her occupied for a long time.
Last night she put the last piece in. It was the hardest puzzle she has ever done. She was sure of that and I tend to agree. The whole experience tells lot about her. Once she starts something she won’t stop.
Hmm, maybe that is why she is still married to ME!!
The same logic could go for this week’s change in our national government, I guess.
This blog is not about politics, and I won’t go there, but another line is that a change is as good as a rest.
So, enjoy your rest, because there seems to be major changes ahead, and changes often are what we make of them.
As we get closer to the end of January the garden seeds which I ordered a couple of weeks ago are arriving, adding to the stack. Each packet of seeds is a promise, an expression of faith. There is still a lot of ice on the garden, though the snow is pretty well gone. It is hard to think of much spring this time of year, but i try.
I'll open the cold frame soon and begin eating the salad veggies that have been waiting for a bit of spring weather. I planted them back in September.
For Christmas one of our daughters gave Miriam a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle. She began working on it about as soon as we got home before new years day.
She worked on that puzzle like it was a job, like she was getting paid! It kept her occupied for a long time.
Last night she put the last piece in. It was the hardest puzzle she has ever done. She was sure of that and I tend to agree. The whole experience tells lot about her. Once she starts something she won’t stop.
Hmm, maybe that is why she is still married to ME!!
Monday, January 19, 2009
birthday
Yesterday was Miriam’s birthday.
It was one of those numbers that does not include a zero but is a familiar number. You know 6 times 12; or 8 times 9; or 3 dozen twice. You know.
It was a quite day, she was home all day. I had to leave for a while, so I left her with the computer phone to take cals. Earlier I emailed the daughters telling them to be sure to call their mother on that number. I have told them for years that they can forget my birthday and it is OK, but do not forget your mom's so I send a reminder from time to time!
Emily called first. When I returned from getting icing for the cake (I know, I could have made it myself), a gift of lingerie for miriam, as well as a bit of ice cream to go with the cake, she was happily talking to grandkids on the phone, often repeating the same bit of trivia.
I had to remind her a dozen or more times that it was indeed her birthday and that was why people were calling.
Maybe I should have made some cup cakes and, after we each had one put the rest in the freezer, but instead I made a smallish two layer cake, with strawberry jam between the layers and chocolate icing on top.
She requested a chocolate cake, even though I had thought of angle food, (she has surely been my angel). I have never never made an angel food cake, but it seemed symbolic. I don’t particularly even like them, but I got over the symbolism and whipped up an easy box cake (Oh I know I know, I should have made a mayonnaise chocolate cake).
When I served her the cake, an hour or so after dinner, I teased that I forgot to call the city and get a fire permit, with that many candles. She laughed at me.
I changed her medical insurer, and while I have power of attorney and all the rest of the stuff, the new company got all fussy about it, so I’ll take Miriam in to sign the papers herself. Her signature has no legal bearing, but it will make the company happy.
Miriam is a few months older than I (January to May), and every year since we were 20 (we married at 19), I have teased her about being married to an “older” woman. But it has been good.
I love you Miriam, thanks for making my life so much more enjoyable
Christmas time when all 20 something of us were together, one of my sons in law said: “Dave, this is all your fault.” Then we both laughed.
It was one of those numbers that does not include a zero but is a familiar number. You know 6 times 12; or 8 times 9; or 3 dozen twice. You know.
It was a quite day, she was home all day. I had to leave for a while, so I left her with the computer phone to take cals. Earlier I emailed the daughters telling them to be sure to call their mother on that number. I have told them for years that they can forget my birthday and it is OK, but do not forget your mom's so I send a reminder from time to time!
Emily called first. When I returned from getting icing for the cake (I know, I could have made it myself), a gift of lingerie for miriam, as well as a bit of ice cream to go with the cake, she was happily talking to grandkids on the phone, often repeating the same bit of trivia.
I had to remind her a dozen or more times that it was indeed her birthday and that was why people were calling.
Maybe I should have made some cup cakes and, after we each had one put the rest in the freezer, but instead I made a smallish two layer cake, with strawberry jam between the layers and chocolate icing on top.
She requested a chocolate cake, even though I had thought of angle food, (she has surely been my angel). I have never never made an angel food cake, but it seemed symbolic. I don’t particularly even like them, but I got over the symbolism and whipped up an easy box cake (Oh I know I know, I should have made a mayonnaise chocolate cake).
When I served her the cake, an hour or so after dinner, I teased that I forgot to call the city and get a fire permit, with that many candles. She laughed at me.
I changed her medical insurer, and while I have power of attorney and all the rest of the stuff, the new company got all fussy about it, so I’ll take Miriam in to sign the papers herself. Her signature has no legal bearing, but it will make the company happy.
Miriam is a few months older than I (January to May), and every year since we were 20 (we married at 19), I have teased her about being married to an “older” woman. But it has been good.
I love you Miriam, thanks for making my life so much more enjoyable
Christmas time when all 20 something of us were together, one of my sons in law said: “Dave, this is all your fault.” Then we both laughed.
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