Week 525 Woodworking diary

year 10, Week 3, Day One (week 525) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-31-10 Sunday

Saturday: 80 degrees, good breeze, mostly cloudy. No humidity made it so it did not feel like 80s. Light front passed over during the night.
Sunday: 72 degrees, breezy, heavy cloud cover. Temps started to drop at about three. Won't drop past 60 degrees. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department Of Tourism. Our stores and entertainment is open for you and your money.

Saturday,
No wood working at all. We went yard sailing!!! Mom is a master navigator. I picked up a good drill and we got several trays of parts and pieces for a couple bucks. I got some wire we need for the model railroad.
At a church rummage sale, I got some books. We went to a condo yard sale, a condo with hundreds of apartments, we got some kitchen stuff. We then went back to the church sale and got a whole bunch of books a few other things. I spent about twenty-five bucks total!!

One thing I got at the church rummage sale was two Christmas displays. One is a little Bavarian band. They are off their mount.

The other was an unopened wooden Christmas tree with little hooks and tiny figurines to hang on the hooks.


I got all of these for decoration. the idea is to if I have a piece I break, I can make it into a little amphitheater or use these pieces in my own ornaments. One time, I had carved my own little people for such a project, but it turned out to be too big a project for the time I have to work. I sold the little people individually.


Sunday.
I got some woodworking done. Nothing finished, but made some good headway.

I petted Beggar several times. He actually acted like a moody cat, rather than a grinch. He tolerated my brother being there, but because my brother did not sit still, there were several times where Beggar would leap up and be gone for a while. He is very skittish around strangers.

I got to Mom's house early, and was setting up when My brother also arrived early. It took me a bit to get set up to actually work. My brother sharpened his drill bits using the DRILL DOCTOR 400. He found that the drill bits, all by the same manufacturer, required adjustments on the "advance" of the twist compared to the setting that the Drill doctor suggests. He said that this was one thing that has taken him a long time to figure out. He was fighting his drill bits all the time until he figured this out. the more expensive units likely adjust for this, but this unit does not.

I dug out a couple drills and One was having problems. My brother opened it up, re-did the wire and put it back together. He used it for a while and finally we figured out that the switch was what the problem was, not the wire as I thought it was. A yard sale special from many years ago.

I searched Mom's garden for appropriate leaves I wanted to add to my flower vase. I carried the vase with me and quickly figured out that leaves had to be very small. I gathered half a dozen different leaves, sat down with the vase and examined what would have the right effect. I forgot what plant I took the selected leaf off. I traced around it, placing only two leaves on each side of each stem. Once I had leaves I was satisfied with, I started grinding wood away.
I set the background back a little around each leaf, then I shaped the leaves slightly, creating a vein down the center of each. I could have sat and ground a whole lot more, but I was satisfied with my progress.



I should concentrate on getting the blossoms exactly the way I want them. they will set the highest point on the surface, everything else is to be set back in relief. I have a whole lot of wood to remove to get the final thickness I am after for the background. I may do some serious undercutting of the flower, stem and leaves when I am done.
I have a good half inch to cut into and I can do expansive relief carving in that space. Consider how thin a dime is, and how effective their relief carving is.

I searched out a piece of cherry I had cut for a project and chose not to use. It was glued to another board for a rocket powered race car, one who's design I changed to a more solid design.
I band sawed right down the joint, separating them. I then took the small piece of wood and drew, about five times, a duckling head on it before I felt I was ready to cut it out. I wanted a bigger head, but could not get the size and proportions correct.
What I ended up with is about the same size as the other heads I made last week, but this one is wider. I need to re-shape it more, basically make the head itself round, while it is sort of flat on the top. I have more of the wood and if I get it right, I will make more heads with that wood.
I took one of the duckling bodies I made, a bit bigger, out of Sea grape, and started carving the feet. When I made the bowl, I had a saucer around the base. I have removed the saucer from the side and back of the bowl so the feet stick out, out front. I have a lot of work to do, but got a good start on that bowl too. It needs a lot of finishing that mere sandpaper is not going to solve.

Playing around, I did not get as much done as I should have. I did have a good time working and made headway.
Next week, I have loads of projects to work on but nothing will get completed. They will get another step closer, though.
I will be visiting the antique shop where I have my work on display, and see how things are gong. I get to visit a thrift shop on the way down there and will likely end up with more books, not that I need any more.

I will see what I actually accomplish next week.

Digging Up Bargains, Doing More Stuff...

Oh hi, Autumn here. As you can probably tell by my nose, I've been out digging for goodies in the backyard. Well you know, Mom went out digging somewhere too, and she came home with a whole bunch more people goodies. Nothing I'd like, but she sure seemed happy. Lee went with her and he came home with things too. I still don't understand why they don't trade all that stuff in for a nice big chewy bone or a squeaky toy. It seems to me like that would be a lot more fun, though I might try chewing on some of their new stuff to see what it tastes like.

Well, gotta go, Mom wants the computer back and I have kitties to chase. Bye-bye for now!




Sometimes it is hard to get a peaceful moment around here. We've had our share of ups and downs and illnesses since the holidays were over. I haven't been able to get out much at all, with the puppy sitting and the storms. But I had an afternoon doctor's appointment the other day and it was in the same general area as one of my favorite thrift stores. So, Lee and I packed up early and went thrifting. Afterward we had lunch and then went to my appointment. It was a fun day, and it is always good to have an enthusiastic partner along. *S* Lee does the driving for us, and while he doesn't have a lot to spend on his fixed income, he enjoys the hunt for bargains as much as I do. Thrifting is one of the least expensive hobbies you can have. I like that my purchases help local charities support those in need.

Books are always a draw, I am both a reader and a writer. I have the Gnomes book below and love it, so I picked up that and the Van Gogh as a gift for someone else. I discovered the Gnomes book back in my teens when it first came out. I checked it out of the local library in my hometown and fell in love with it. I got my own copy a few years ago, and was very happy to grab this one, which is in good shape.

When Roger was up here on vacation in August of 2008, I was fortunate enough to get 4 free passes to Yale University Art Gallery for a Van Gogh exhibit of Starry Night and Cypresses. Roger and I, Lee and #1 son Jason, all went together. Imagine being in a small side room and almost nose to nose with those very famous works. Breathtaking. We had such a great time there, the place was filled with art we enjoyed, and there was another museum filled with British art right across the street. We got lunch in a funky little cafe, and made a real day of it. Great memories...

This is the back of the Gnomes book, and the fiberboard cover of the Van Gogh. Both show wear and are a bit musty, but are really in very good condition.





I found some other books I wanted, and two of them are for grandson Ben. The Lorax was always my favorite Dr. Suess, the one I enjoyed reading to my kids the most. Ben is big on Thomas The Tank Engine, and this little popup book is in fair shape. I don't buy many cookbooks anymore, but this is New England, and maple syrup is just something we do here. There is a recipe in there for a maple pecan pie that sounds amazing. I have always wanted a copy of Black Elk Speaks and snapped that one right up. I read the preface and I am already hooked.






We love comedy movies for those nights where there is nothing on TV and my mother wants to watch something light and entertaining. The Gilligan DVD is still sealed. The game disc is still in very good shape even though the case is toast. Don't know if Jason has tried that yet.




Lee wanted me to show you his favorite find - this very large book of Hubble telescope images of our universe. The pictures in there are amazing! The original cover price on this was like $75, so a steal for $5 because the interior is in very good shape. He talked about that the rest of the day, and I was really happy for him. Sometimes you find a real treasure out there.





You know me and the kitchen stuff... Another old pie tin for my collection. The measuring cup is like brand new. I go through several of those in a sitting when I bake. Tomato slicers are not that easy to find anymore, and nothing makes more uniform slices of the big juicy love apples we grow here in the summer. My find of the day was 7 Corelle salad plates. They are not the color I hoped for, but a heck of a lot better than even the outlet price. That is the size plate I have my dinner on, to control portions and keep me honest about it. I lost over 60 lbs in the last year, and that was one of my tricks. We never seem to have enough of that size plate, but we do now!



And of course there is the thing I have with tins. The one on the left is actually a canister, and it has a filter of sorts under the lid that can be unscrewed and dried out in the oven. I think it smelled like strong coffee, so I have to do that. It was the fruit prints that got me on these, anything botanical will catch my eye.

These small tins were all attractive, so I grabbed all three. The one on the left is hinged. I got into bringing home tins a couple years ago because I saw a couple of nice ones and remembered that a dear friend who has passed on used to collect them, and displayed them on the big beams of her old farm house. I do use mine for storage, so they are here and there around the rooms.

One more big tin with a Victorian feel to it. The Gnome picture frame was the first thing I grabbed, it needs a cardboard backing but is otherwise intact and adorable. The little witch riding through the clouds vignette was kind of cute too - I have a small collection of witches going now.

Speaking of witches, crocheted witch doll #2 is now done except for the jewelry. She turned out as good as her predecessor. I tried for a slightly different expression on her. I still haven't decided if and how I want to trim her hair.

You see how full her hair is in the back? I think it should be shaped, but I am afraid to ruin it, so I am waiting until I am sure what I want to do. I do like the two-tone look. With the exception of the trim, the gown she is wearing is the original pattern that came with the doll instructions, now that I rewrote the awkward areas. I made a seam because I prefer to work it that way. To make a straight seam like that while working in rounds, you have to join and turn back at the end of each row. She looks very California Girl to me.

She appears to be conjuring something on the TV.

How can you not believe a face that open and innocent has your best interests at heart? I bet she rehabilitates bats and sends them back into the wild.

Mischief says that since the day is about over, you should forget about the rest of the chores and relax a little - they'll still be there tomorrow. After all, the clean clothes in the laundry basket will look a little better with some cat hair on them. People will see the cat hairs and smile because they know that you have a kitty at home who loves you. Besides, who can see cat hair on plaid flannel anyway? So take it easy, take a break, and find somewhere warm and comfy to curl up and have a nap for a while today. It will make you feel like purring again.

Did You Write? 01-24-10

Did You Write? 01-24-10
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Another week has passed, and this is the last Monday of the month of January. Those of you who have written something every week this month, will have done your resolutions proud. For the rest of us, I hope this note got you to write something, sometime during the month, so you could proclaim that you wrote. Hopefully, this next month, you will be able to write each an every week, not just once during the month.
The desire is to create a habit in your writing. Writing once a week is a good way to start, and this note, and the public announcement of your accomplishment, or failures, is a good prompt to get to write. It works for me, especially this week.
What one calls WRITING, is up to interpretation once one gets past ANY NEW WORDS. We are not picky, and we are not judgmental. Just getting words onto paper makes a big difference, even if it is not a story. Because we don't all create perfect works first try, let alone fifth or tenth try, Editing is writing. It is even writing if you are editing someone else's work. Critiquing someone's work is on part with editing so that also counts as writing. Poetry, Blogging, article writing, writing assignemnts, world or character building, are also writing. Even E-mails an be writing, if they are discussing story or writing, and are wordy. If there is something else you wonder is writing, the answer is yes.
The beauty is that there is no word limit either. The more, the better. If you write the RIGHT word, then you have accomplished something. You have written.

I settled down to write this note, and checked to see what I worked on. I viewed the directory in DETAILS and sorted them according to date. I had not written at all this week. The last time I wrote was on the 18th, just before I posted last week's note.
I opened one of the incompete stories I have, and started reading. I changed a word there, flipped a sentance there, changed the ipression in another spot. I got to where I stopped and the keyboard took over and I finished the scene I stopped at and then attacked another scene. I did not finish it, but I got a bit farther than I was. It felt good. When I was done, I only added 231 words, but I broke through a block on this story. I can write a bit more and get farther into the story.

The past two weeks, I had been stuck on coming up with new story ideas. I was forced to dig into some of the pieces deeper into the compost pile. They tend to stink, but they were something to post.
The ideas broke free this week and I was getting more ideas than I have posted. I love that. What is more, most all the ideas I have gotten are worth posting. I would love if that was the norm. I want to post the five ideas on top the stack. Beyond that, not so much.
Because I have gotten new ideas, I am back up to 40 notes in the compost pile.
One advantage of the clueless times, is that I get rid of second rate ideas, so I don't have to deal with them. The problem is that what is left, are third and forth rate ideas. They are harder to work with.
I should note that there is some five ideas in the stack that are very good, but require more effort to write up, because they are more complex, than I tend to want to expand energies on.

In woodworking, I got very little done this week, but got a step farther on several projects. It is the kind of weekend where if you get several strung together, you end up with a bunch of finished projects without realizing that you accomplished anything.
I have tried to make some duckling napkin holders. I kept failing on getting the design right for what I was after. this weekend, as one of the last attempts, I finally got the design right, then figured out that I could not finish it due to geometry problems because of tools and equipment. I have to work with second rate designs They will be good enough.
I had made duckling heads for the bowls, but I decided they need to be bigger. Even so, they look pretty good. With a little bigger heads, they will be quite acceptable.


As a story idea, he can live forever as long as he is not actually killed. he chose to work in safe jobs, not get into any danger, so he can live forever.
He had lead several uprisings and has tried twice to gain control over the system by more peaceful means. They know him for what he is, so he is not allowed near any control position. He can work to the best of his ability, but he always has others in command over him, and his leaders always go through corporate training.
As a worker, he does many different jobs. One is that because of his experience, he trains the new workers. It is rare for anybody to not go through his training at one time or another.
Because he cannot directly take control, he decides to work with patience. He works on very little changes, really a slow change in the personality of the company and the way the company works. It is easy since nearly every one goes through him. He just plants the idea in each person and that idea slowly rises to the top, becoming normal, so he can make a slightly bigger change.
The time comes where there The system trips due to something outside it. At that moment, his motion in the way the company works, suddenly comes into play. It is a sudden cascade of decisions and actions that force them to bring him into the leadership. He knows so much about the system.
the next thing they know, he is in absolute control over the system, their master and he is in place for life. since he lives forever, He is not going away. he continues to train the new people, but this time, no one can tell him how not to train them.


As to the question of the day,
I can honestly say,

YES, I DID WRITE

DID YOU WRITE?

Week 524 Woodworking

year 10, Week 2, Day One (week 524) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-23-10 Saturday
76 degrees, unbroken clouds in the morning (reminds me of Seattle except warm), a light drizzle of liquid sunshine for about an hour, a bit of blue sky showed in the distance. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department of Tourism.

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Wood turning club was Thursday. The demonstration was showing how one guy purchased jigs and gauges for sharpening turning tools on the grinder. then another borrowed the tools and made copies out of wood that work just as well. Looks simple and logical abut something is usually lost in the translation.

Me at the turning club meeting

I took pictures of everything on display and drooled the entire time. Even some of the beginning people are doing well.

They had a wood raffle, where one buys tickets, and then after the meeting, we gather by a wood pile. They call out a ticket number and that person gets first choice of the wood. they go until they run out of tickets or wood. I purchased six tickets and got ten pieces of wood. One four foot long piece of orange tree, one six inch long piece of Norfolk, and the rest were Live Oak (called that because it never loses all the leaves in the winter so it looks alive compared to other trees).

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Had one of those days where everything got in the way. We stopped at a couple yard sales, then the neighbor was having a yard sale so I helped mom get some stuff over there, plus I brought over a few other things that I got out of my house.

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Beggar could not decide whether to be a cat or a Grinch. He caught me twice, lightly, with his claws. A bit later, he was happy to snuggle between my feet.

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We went to a model railroad swap meet. I did spend a little money, but it was almost nothing. We left after we both ran out of drool.

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I did get some woodworking done. When you purchase a chuck for your lathe, they give you a special screw. They have different names for it, but the head is designed to be held in the chuck, and the screw has thin, but aggressive threads to it. It is designed to be able to hold wood in the chuck, yet be easily removed. this is a easy-off version of the screw plate you can purchase. I decided to give that a try.

I drilled a hole about the size of the shaft, and twisted the screw into place. The wood I was using was the green oak I got from the club. I put the screw in, then mounted it in the chuck, and used the tail stock to stabilize it. Of course, I found out after I was working, that I had the wood slightly off center.

I mounted the wood cross way to make more saddle bowls for ducklings. I turned two of them, the second one was better. Experience helps. Neither one is finished as both have a post of wood in the center that the tail stock used to support the piece as I was hollowing it out.

With pieces this small, the hole of the screw is bothersome.

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I have plenty of projects to do. The problem is what projects will get priority. I have several duckling attempts made. I might clean them up and make them useable. I also have the flower vase to make and have a lot of time to apply to that. I have carved ornaments I have blanks for that need to be carved. I have other projects half started that need to be finished.

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I will see what I actually will do tomorrow.

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year 10, Week 2, Day Two (week 524) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-24-10 Sunday
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81 degrees. It started out with broken clouds. You could see little cracks of blue within the solid ceiling of clouds. The spaces got bigger and bigger, and we actually got some sunshine a bit later in the day. There was a nice breeze all day long. The lack of heavy humidity made it feel cooler than the same temperature in the summer.

During one of the points where it was sun shining, I was wood turning out from beneath the awning, I started feeling driblets of liquid sunshine. I kept looking up, trying to figure out where it was coming from. I think I was getting rain from the overhang of a cloud, blown over me. I finally pulled the electrical stuff under the cover and waited for it to end. It was half over before I even decided something needed to be done. I could have ignored it, but I don't like my equipment rained on.

This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

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Beggar was in a mood where he pretended to be a cat. He was so sweet and enjoyed all the attention I could give him. Being the grinch he is, One can never completely trust him. He has changed drastically since I first started taming him. At that time, I could pet him six times before he swung with all four claws. I introduced him to the pleasures of petting and when he could be touched with some safety, Mom started taming him. Between us, we have taken him from a hateful creature to something that even on bad days, could be mistaken for a cat.

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I mounted another piece of oak on the lathe and made another duckling bowl. I made more corrections in what I was doing. Instead of creating a tenon to hold the wood in the chuck or using the woodworm screw (Nova chuck's wood screw), I just worked between centers, the drive spur held in the chuck and the tail stock holding it in place. I rounded the ends and shaped the outside, then worked on the inside.

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Working on the inside with the tail stock holding it is a bother. It is right where you want the tools to angle in from. It is the main reason one uses a face late, a woodworm screw, or a chuck to hold your work. One can get the exact angle needed to cut the wood.

I started on a second one. I finally got the precise shape I wanted for these duck bowls. I then found out that the tail stock made it impossible to hollow out. I needed the mouth of the saddle bowl to curve in towards the center, rather than open out.

I am making these with the bark still on the wood. I tend to lose the bark fairly quickly. On this perfect shape one, I lost the top of the piece because I could not get my tools in on the right angle. I tossed that last piece away. Not worth keeping.

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I then took my knife and shaved the base of the posts that the tail stock was holding the pieces with, until I could break the posts off. I then used a grinder to remove the base of the posts so the floors of the saddle bowls were even. I ground any roughness and tool marks from the rest of the bowl so I will have less to sand later.

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I decided to try and make some duckling heads. I choose a piece of wood and drew the profile of the duck head on there. I then cut it out and since it was wide, I cut it in half for two duck heads. I cut a slot in the neck so it will fit over the edge of the bowl. they are cute, but I am thinking the heads are just too small, even for the small bowls.

The saddle bowls with the duckling heads stuck on them.

I also cleaned up the little larger bowls I made before. they definitely need bigger heads to look right.

I could not find my white glue, found at the last moment as I was packing up, so I tried "School Glue" to glue a broken piece off of a cedar saddle bowl I had made. it did not hold. It was strictly designed for paper.

White glue is about the very best glue to use for wood in most cases. I read a test where they were testing all the top kinds of glues. It was not part of their tests, but they included it anyway, but white glue rated very high on their list, which surprised them.

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A lot of what I did today does not sound like finishing anything, but it really made a big difference in the long run. One day, I will suddenly have a number of things complete and not realize I had done all that work.

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I used the strip sander to remove my drawn leaves on my flower vase. Sanding cleaned it up quickly and I will try again on designing the leaves I will carve in the vase. One thing is that each time I grind away my markings, the flowers and the stems stand out that much more proud.

I have seen that a lot of leaves is not going to work, and I can see that "no leaves" is not going to work either. I have to choose a kind of leaf that looks good with that kind of flower and just have enough to make it look good. After I get that part of the design right, I will then be able to carve back the spaces between the leaves so I have a deep relief I am after. I should spend time this week and find flowers and leaves that look right.

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Next week will be working on new and existing projects to get ready for the late march art show.

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I will see what I actually do next week.

Jan. 18, 2010 Did You Write?

Jan. 18, 2010 Did You Write?

Another week, another test of you resolutions. The question is, Have you written at any time this past week? If you have, you have met the minimum of what we ask for.
This note is a prompt to give you something to work for, to develop good habits in writing. The good habit I am interested in, is to write each and every week, even if it is a paragraph or even a sentence. We are not interested in volume. One should open a document and write something. the hope is that by the end of the year, writing will become second nature. A little bit of writing each week will add up to a lot of pages of work.

Of course, what we write, is not important. If you think it is writing, you have our permission to announce it. Even if you don't think it is writing, you may announce it.
No one will debate that NEW writing is writing. I am positive that no one will disagree about Editing being writing, especially since few of us can write perfectly the first time. Even editing someone else's work is writing. Along with editing, critiquing someone else's writing is writing. Plus, there is poetry, articles, blogging, world or character building, writing assignments, are all writing. Even E-mails can be writing if they are wordy and pertain to writing or stories. there are others that can be listed. If you want to say you wrote, whatever you did counts. No one is going to tell you it is not writing.

as for me, I did write, a little, about five hundred words. the last scene may well disappear. I just realized that on this second story, I really have no story, no plot, no real ideas for it. I wanted to show some stuff to set up other stories, but there nothing there. I will have to give it a thought, now that I see I have a problem. Until I work it out, I have other stories to work on, either to finish or to edit.

On the story idea front, I am doing all right. I am caught up with today's date. In my compost pile, including tonight's story idea, I have 38 notes. I went a week or two without coming up with anything new, and then, Ideas have been coming to me fairly quickly.
I do wish I had control over when and how I come up with the concepts. Having them come fairly regularly would make a big difference. there is always that worry that I will never come up with something. then there is that worry that all I will have to work with are concepts that deservedly sink to the bottom of the pile.

This weekend was the start of my tenth year of woodworking. On January 17th, 2000, It dawned on me that my dad was in his 80s. He had tried to get me into woodcarving before this but I was not interested. On that day, I decided I did not want one of those I wish I had said, I wish I had done" kind of thing with my dad. I borrowed one of his knives, took a piece of wood and carved the top half of a little man that I am still proud of. Taking up carving was an excellent decision as a hobby in my life.

I had one of those woodworking weekends where, if I were not in a good mood, it would have been thought of as a royal pain. I broke four to six pieces in the course of the day. What I did mostly was to go onto a different project. I have had days like that where it felt like nothing was going right. This was not one of those weekends, though.
the thing I am sad about, was I never finished some projects I was really hoping to get done.

To take that and turn it into a story idea,
Billy seams to be a happy person. He is working with a large manufacturing team. Each item they are making is custom, all hand work and sometimes delicate. The machines they are working with are much the same.
Billy walks in each day with a big smile on his face. He gets to work like the others. A piece he is working with gets out of balance and the piece is destroyed before he can turn the machine off. Others are cussing about their mistakes. he is all smiles and tells one of the guys a joke about dumb machines.
On another machine, he is working when there is a loud pop and the machine shuts down violently. Two others working with him on the machine scream out using language to make a sailor blush. Billy is almost laughing.
Through the whole project, this goes on. Billy is always in a good mood while others are getting more and more down as the project is falling farther behind.
Billy's mood keeps growing brighter as the deadline approaches.
It turns out that Billy is family with a competitor and actually has something to do with the company falling behind schedule. His happiness is from them not succeeding.

As to the question of the day,
I happily can say

YES, I DID WRITE.

DID YOU WRITE?

Week 523 Woodworking

This like an on-line diary. I write my activities in my hobby of wood working, bragging about my accomplishments, crying about my failures, and mentioning what else is going on in my life.
In spite of the fact of my regular postings, anybody can post here, on any subject, at any time. Join in the fun and let us know what you are doing.

year 10, Week 1, Day One (week 523) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-16-10 Saturday

This weekend is the anniversary of my starting woodworking. I started January 17th 2000, which on that year, was a Saturday. This year it is Sunday. I go by the nearest weekend. Dad was trying to get me into carving a couple years earlier, but at the time, I was not interested. One day, it dawned on me that he was in his 80s. I decided I did not want any of those “I wish I had said, I wish I had done,” kind of things, so I borrowed one of his knives and a piece of wood and carved a little man. The brim of his hat was supposed to go all the way around, but it kept breaking until it was an off center baseball style bill.

When dad started carving, he had problems getting deep into the wood. He was afraid to do something wrong so he would not cut in deep. Keeping that in mind, I dug into the wood, trying to be bold in the wood I removed. I am still impressed with that first carving I did.
Now in October 2003, I got a lathe and that changed a lot of what I was doing in my woodworking. My dad thought that all one could do was spindle turning, such as baseball bats and chair legs. My bowl turning impressed him, even though I did not really know that at the time.

I am still following his legacy, and following different paths. I am not, and never will be, as good a carver as he was. What I have done is so much different than what he did, my own style, my own subject matter, my own direction. I am constantly thanking him for giving me the opportunity to learn this skill.

I must say that he had a great way to teach me how to carve. I would carve something. He would then “pat me on the head and tell me to keep carving.” For my personality, that was the best way to teach me to carve.

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It finally got into the 80s, at 81 degrees. During the early week, though, we got a lot of cold weather. So cold that the Politicians were seen with their hands in their own pockets. Getting warm weather was really nice. I opened my doors and windows for the first time yesterday to air out, and left them open all day today to air the place out even more.
There was a strong breeze coming off the Ocean. The cloud movement was interesting. the lowest clouds came off the ocean, heading west. the middle clouds were heading east, and the high clouds headed north.

In the morning, the clouds were heavy, with a little broken blue sky, but later it was mostly blue sky with high feathers and thin, low, cotton puffs dancing across the sky.
this weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department of Tourism.

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The day started with a quick yard sale stop. I picked up a Dremmel. I never tried it when I was there, but when I got home, I had to do a very small repair. The lock pin was jammed in place. I drilled the lock pin and use the thread of a screw to slowly twist the lock pin out. The lock pin is still way to stiff to be useable. I stuck the flex shaft on and used it most of the day. It has one problem where the flex shaft moves inside the shaft, to where it disengages. I will look at it, but it might be as simple a repair as to stick a loose dowel inside the space of the chuck so the core of the shaft does not go inside the chuck.

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I worked a bit on the flower vase. I made the stems stand out slightly, and then drew on leaves four times and erased them three times. I have to erase them again and try one more time.

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Another project was to work on the handle of a beer stein. I cut the relief for the lid, and cut a groove through the top of the handle for the hinge. I also cleaned up the handle quite a bit. It now just needs finer and finer grits of sand paper. I mostly need to make the hinge system for the lid. I made one piece but don't think it is quite right. I need something more elaborate, possibly even turn a decorative cap for the lid. I will decide more tomorrow.

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I filled some sea urchin shells with insulating foam. One of my projects was to disassemble and clean out the "straw" of the foam can. I learned that the cleanup of the straw is easier than I thought it was. I have a drill bit that fits inside and draws out the dried foam inside. I will clean out the straw again tomorrow so I can start fresh.

To keep the foam from breaking the shells, I stuck a skewer into center of the shell, spun it, and then pulled out a little bit of foam in the center so the foam had some place to go. I did somehow break a small piece off one shell. Have no idea where the piece went. I will figure out something to do to decorate that spot.

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Beggar was his irritated self in the morning, but he started acting like a cat in the afternoon. I was packing up and he came out and settled between my feet and likely would have stayed there for a couple hours, but I had to be going so I interrupted his lounging. the big problem is that is more like what I want him to be. he only gets that way after his noon time nap.

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tomorrow, I will work on the same projects, trying to get something actually done.

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Will see what I actually do tomorrow.

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year 10, Week 1, Day Two (week 523) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-17-10 Sunday .

78 degrees, fast moving clouds on a blue background in the morning. Clouds building up to rain at around eleven thirty as a front passed over us. I packed up before I left. It is supposed to plummet to 51 degrees this afternoon, again below the 56 degree frost temperatures. If the water on the streets don't evaporate in time, I could be slipping and sliding on ice on the way to work. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

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Mom is out of town. Yesterday, when I arrived, her front door was slightly open. My brother came later in the day and did a fix, which seamed to work. There was an angle going into the hole of the jam, giving the bolt something substantial to hit. We cut it off, moving the hole slightly forward.
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I arrived today and the door was ajar again. I dug out my tools and moved the catch plate forward. It did not hold the door. I built it out by placing washers behind the plate. Still would not hold. Examining the problem since my solutions were not working, I figured out that the bolt was not going into the hole. I moved the strike plate down a little and now the door locks in nicely.
My brother pointed out later that the door, being made of many separate parts, sagged which was why it was missing the hole.

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Beggar actually acted like a cat today. I am not sure what got into him. while my brother was here, Beggar actually let me pet him completely for quite a few minutes.

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I dug out the sea urchin shells I added foam to. One had collapsed. I think what happened was that the foam over expanded, breaking the shell, then it withdrew a little There still might be a way to use the shell. Will have to see. It would not be the first to toss.

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I looked over my beer stein, removed a piece of wood I planned on using as my hinge. A bit later, I glued it back on again, deciding that my alternate plan would not work.

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I decided I would do some wood turning. I wanted to make some platters. I had two I had started, ran into some minor problem, and set them to the side.
I mounted the first one on, and it was not quite square. It had a wobble. I trued it up and found I lost the edge because the wobble was more than the thickness of the edge I had. I tossed that one. I took the second one and started turning again. I did the work I needed on one side, and needed to turn the piece around.

I am using double sided tape to hold it in place. I gave the platter a rap to knock it off the wood face plate I was using. The tenon of the face plate broke instead.
I began to feel a few dribbles, so I put everything away and cleaned up.

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I dug out my ornament blanks and sat comfortably and carved a wise owl. I intended to do more, but my brother showed up so I stopped. I have to do the eyes, and decorate it, and it will be done.

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I solved the problem with the flex shaft of the Dremmel I picked up yesterday. the flex shaft stopped turning many times. it dawned on me that the shaft inside the housing slid inside the chuck so it would not engage the hand held chuck. I solved the problem by sticking a skewer inside the chuck. The Interior shaft cannot go very deep inside the chuck so it stays engaged on the other end.

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I did not do anywhere near what I hoped for this weekend. I hoped to have something done to show for the turning club meeting this week. Instead, I ended up with nothing complete.
I have loads of projects to work on and not enough time to finish them by the end of March. I need to become efficient and get things done.
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Will see what I do next week.

January Inside And Outside

Yep, snowed again. We are having a traditional winter with snow and cold temps. It has been spaced out just right so that we can get one storm cleared up before the next one comes along.

It looks pretty stuck to all the trees like that.


Tough for our feathered friends to find food though. Someone needed to go out and brush the snow off the feeder so this poor little chickadee didn't have to work as hard. Not good to let the moisture seep in either, it ruins the seed. We feed the birds all year long.



This martin house is usually inhabited by house sparrows and starlings all through the spring and summer into fall. It kind of look likes a pagoda...


Even with the cold weather and all the storms, we still manage to get out and about. A couple days after Christmas, I hit a local job lot chain for post-holiday bargains. Got some paper, and gift boxes, that sort of thing, but also stocked up on ribbon and decorator picks for next Christmas' gift baskets. This stuff below was 50% off.


This batch of glittery picks in the next shot was from the craft store at a local mall that we went to yesterday. They are now all 70% off, and there was still a decent selection. The purple thing in the middle in the plastic case is a eggplant shaped kitchen timer. That was in the craft store's dollar item aisle, and I got it for my neighbor Shelly, who has a January birthday. We are both gardeners and she loves the color purple. It will go into her gift bag along with the cardinal print glass condiment set and one of those reed diffusers in a Gardenia scent. BTW, all those other items mentioned (but not pictured here) I got with discount coupons. It's not that I wouldn't pay full price, but when a $5.99 item like the glass condiment set is marked down to $3.50 with a coupon, it's hard to resist. I got two sets for my household too, one with cardinals, one with bluejays. Darn, I should have taken a picture!


These were in the dollar aisle at the craft store too, stretchable, glow-in-the-dark 'geckos' for my grandson Ben. No occasion, just grandma spoiling.


On the way back yesterday, we stopped at a thrift store. They had just remodeled and reorganized things. Lee went through the children's books and found these for Ben. He is a big Thomas Tank Engine fan. The Pooh book was not supposed to be in with the others, because they have a sliding scale for the larger hardovers. But because it was tucked in the wrong rack and not stickered, they only charged me 49¢, which is what I paid for each!


It was a quick stop so I didn't have a lot of time to look, and there wasn't much that interested me anyway. I grabbed the silicone Christmas tree cake mold below because it is attractive and those are easy to store - you can just scrunch them away. I try not to do that, but my kitchen is small and unfinished, so storage is an issue. I can see a Jello mold done in there, or a frosted spice cake. Don't know if I will ever get around to them...

I have a thing for old flatware patterns and I don't mind at all that mine are all mixed up. I like the really solid and heavy pieces because they feel good in the hand and don't get all bent up. I found a few I couldn't pass up, I really love that vine pattern. I needed the teaspoons, we never seem to have enough. I am still looking for more salad forks, round soup spoons, and long handled ice tea spoons.

Not mentioned here is a generic shoulder strap, 2 pocket, padded camera case I found for Lee. They charged us $1.99 for that, and I figure it is worth at least $10. I forgot to take a picture of it.


Thrifting is a lot of fun. It is all about the hunt. Anything I find I never use can be passed along to others. I spent a whopping $5.24 there yesterday, and handed them a quarter change and said keep the penny. I left smiling.

Autumn is always ready to greet us when we come in, especially if we have been to the pet store to buy new treats. Right now she is telling you goodbye, and that we will have more for you to read next time Mom does something interesting.

Did You Write? Jan 11, 2009

Did You Write? Jan 11, 2009

This note is written as a prompt for slackers like myself, who would not otherwise write unless a hard prod was available. Standing up in front of the crowd, and admitting one's failures, does help get one to do something, even if it is just a little.
The plan is that you will know these notes are coming each week, and you will write something, anything, so you can report that you actually wrote this week.

What is writing, is anything you want to be writing. Each week, I give a list of what can be writing, if you want it to be. I am running late today so I won't list them this time. If you have any question if it is writing, The answer is yes. I have yet to hear someone say "that was not writing," to anything posted.

I must stand before the crowd with my head hung low and announce that NO, I DID NOT WRITE this week. I looked at my story directory, sorting by date and never opened any of my pieces. I am even behind on my story ideas to this point of the month.
I can give lots of excuses, including the cold, and helping my mother with her new computer, dealing with her old equipment, taking care of other projects around the house. They are, when you get down to it, just excuses. I should have written.
I did open my story today and was going to write, but a quick check on line showed that my writing partner had posted a longer piece on line. I ended up spending my evening reading, rather than writing.

I had not taken the time to get caught up in my story ideas either. Looking at the time I am writing this, I doubt I will get tonight's story idea written to be posted on time, so I will end up two story ideas behind. I know from last July, It is fairly easy to get caught up if I put my mind to it, so I am not worried.

I now have four computers set up in my place and they won't talk to them. I know just enough about networking to know I am missing one simple bit of information to get them to work. I also played around with my mom's Window's seven computer and have decided I do love XP. Other than some of the newest programs not working with them, I also like win98.
Her computer's chip is the same speed as my hot computer, but the rest of the board is much faster. I love how fast her computer boots up.

We had a real cold spell across the country. Here in South Florida, we have gotten near freezing temps on the coast, and actual freezing temps inland. The worst part is that it has been all week. We are not used to that. A couple days is one thing, but a whole week? It was too cold to do woodworking this weekend, since I work outside.

To use the above as a story, The place was tropical, nice, never any bad weather, Tourism was the real industry. It was also the only place that was truly tropical. Any place else got bad weather periodically.
A series of accidents and situations added up to where the climate changed. space dust filtering in front of the sun, newly found chemicals filling the atmosphere, natural swings of solar energy and planetary position. The planetary climate changed. An ice age started.
The equator became hotter, and the moisture that normally fell on the equator, lifted higher and was carried to fall on the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn of the planet. change of the circulation caused the heavy snow falls on the polar areas. Glaciers started growing and fast. The arctic would not thaw because of all the snow.
Crops started failing and people started moving to better places that might support their crops.
The tropical place did not change much, it was in just the right place where only the wind direction of the weather it got had changed.
People started trying to come to the tropical area as it was the only place still habitable, but it was hard to get to before and that did not change. They had an excuse now to keep the place isolated. that was the only way they could survive.

As to the question of the week
I sadly have to say,

NO, I DID NOT WRITE.



DID YOU WRITE?

Week 522 Wood Working

year 9, Week 52, Day One (week 522)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
01-09-10 Sunday

38 in the morning, 46 as the high. High feathers interlocked into a solid shield to filter the sun so there was no real sunshine. Strong winds blew any heat away.
To say the least, it was too cold this weekend to do any outside work, and I don't work wood inside. It was just warm enough to feed and pet the cat before going back in to thaw out.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

Friday, I checked in on my wood projects that are in display in the city of Dania. These are on display in the CANDLELITE ANTIQUES SHOPPE. I have not sold anything in the year it has been there, but I have a better chance of selling something there, than in my closet.

I sent off my check for the entry fee to the LIGHT HOUSE POINT YACHT CLUB art show that will be March 28. I have till then to get all my projects finished, and finishes of everything that will be on display, improved to presentable levels. I have learned a lot over the year so I should get them to a higher level than they were. I do have the problem that I have all sorts of stuff stacked around the show stuff, and dealing with the stacked stuff does have priority right now.

This weekend, because of and in spite of the cold, I spent all weekend working on Mom's computer. Last week we got the computer set up, and this week we finished the project, except for some tiny setup problems I have to work on. I now know a lot about what you cannot do with WINDOWS 7.
I really felt guilty about not wood working wood. I thought it got warm enough to work outside, but while petting the cat, the cold slowly soaked in. I would not really do a good job on a woodworking project before I would have had enough.
One penalty of being able to work when it is 90 degrees and a hundred percent humidity, is that anything below sixty degrees is too cold to work.

Next week, I need to work on the project that were too cold to work on this weekend. Hopefully, it will have warmed up more than it is.

Will see what I actually do next week.

A Shadow Passed Through Here...

Monday was a sad day. I had to send another 4 footed member of the family over the rainbow bridge. Shadow has left us for the Great Beyond, where he has hopefully found the carefree peace he never seemed to have in the mundane world. We miss him very much.



Shadow was a rescue cat that we adopted kind of on a whim. It was June 2004, and the story was on the local TV station's evening news that 30 cats and kittens had been found abandoned in a small apartment over a then defunct country store in the next town. They were left with no food or water, and no one had contacted the landlord about them. He found them when he went to talk to the tenant who was way behind on rent. It was also in the papers, because the town animal control officer, the landlord and a bunch of golden-hearted volunteers were working hard to get the place cleaned up, the animals vet-checked, and most of them adopted. It was only a 10 minute drive away and the folks caring for the cats were desperate for supplies and donations. We had 4 cats at the time and had lost a 5th one over the past year, so we decided we could afford to take in one more. So #2 son Brian and I headed out with some things to donate and a pet carrier in hand, our minds set on bringing home one more furbaby.

It was quite the scene once we got there, cat lovers of all kinds were lining up outside. We brought a 25 lb bag of clay cat litter, a half case of canned cat food, and an old blanket to use as bedding. We got into the line that snaked up the stairwell and small deck that lead to the apartment and inched our way along. At times we had to lean over as another happy pet person came down with a cat-laden carrier. It did my heart good to see so many people turn out to adopt an unwanted animal. They were only letting in a couple people at a time, as the apartment was tiny and the cats in there were easily spooked. By the end of the next week I heard that all but 5 cats were adopted, and they went home with the animal control officer to learn to live with people. Only one of the 30 had to be euthanized because it was too ill to survive. All that were sick were treated and restored to good health, and all were spayed or neutered.

As we finally made it to deck level I got to chat with some of the other folks as well as the very patient and understanding landlord, and they filled in the missing info. The lady who had rented the place had taken in shelter cats, and she had a big heart but minimal resources. She'd been late on the rent often, and hadn't paid in several months. There had been issues with a boyfriend and it seemed both had skipped out and abandoned the cats. There was still a dead Christmas tree in a stand (remember this is June) and the needles lay all over the floor. The place was a stinking mess with all the cats using it as a giant litter box, and some of the cats were too ill to be adopted yet. What a story!

The landlord seemed like a really nice guy, and so I thanked him for being a kitty angel, and letting the animals stay there until they got adopted. He was going to have a massive bill for cleaning up the place, and he admitted it was the worst mess he had ever seen in 27 years of renting property. Still he never pressed charges against the lady who abandoned the cats, and I heard that she did show up later that week and filled the animal control officer on whatever she knew about the cats and explained that she had just panicked and walked out without thinking. But to leave 30 animals without food or water for two weeks is cruel, so I had only a modicum of sympathy when I heard that. I would ask for asssitance before I did that to helpless animals.

As we were waiting on the stairs, a couple of happy people walked out with a striking tuxedo (black and white) cat in the carrier that had a sleek and shiny fur and a blaze down the left side of his face. That was Shadow's sibling and he was very pretty too. We never saw him again, and I hope he had a good life. When Brian and I were let in, the couple before us were playing with a very friendly gray mackeral tabby that they were going to take home. We were kind of late getting in, and most of the friendly, healthy, and sociable cats were gone. We were told of the cats left, most were skittish and hiding. Some eyed us warily. There were a lot of combinations of gray, both long and short haired, and several cats were marked as ill and not currently adoptable. I opened a hooded litter pan and found four cats piled in together, a very large long haired one on top. They stared at me with fear in their eyes, and my heart went out to all of them.

In the closet of that tiny place, was another pretty black and white adult male cat, and he had a paper collar on with a temporary name and his sex. The animal control officer said that to get the cats vet checked and neutered, they had to be named, and so the two black siblings that had the white on opposite sides of their face, became 'Lefty' and 'All Righty' We looked at all the other cats, but the black and white one was very attractive, and while he was wary and not very playful, he let us pet him. So Brian and I decided he was the one, and Shadow came home with us.

Because they had paid to have him vet checked and neutered, and he had been given some innoculations, I gave the animal control officer a $25 check to help with expenses. She did tell us the vet said one of the black and white cats had a seizure during the neutering, but they couldn't recall which one. Shadow also had some bad teeth, but he was only approximately 4 years old, so he likely had either been caged or fed on bread. He also showed signs of abuse, as did many of the other cats. Poor guy!

It was quite an adventure from the start. Shadow was sleepy and sluggish from being neutered just the day before, so at first he was quiet. Once he woke up and realized he was in a strange place with new people though, he began to look for places to hide. He wedged himself into impossible spots in the furniture and we lost him for half a day. He was deathly afraid of men, and would bolt at their voices or whenever someone walked into the room. Once we got the idea that he needed a safe hiding place, so we left a pet carrier out with the door propped open so he could retreat as he needed to. He got his name for the way he would slip out silently to get food, water, or use the litter pan, and then race back into the carrier so fast he was more of a blur than a cat. Sometimes he hit the back wall of the carrier so hard it almost tipped up, such was his fright at being seen. Shadow always came and went like that, as long as we had him, slipping into a room on silent paws, and racing away like his tail was on fire. It took a long time to tame him enough to handle him, and he never was easy to treat or medicate in any way, as he usually went beserk as soon as you tried to pick him up. It took a lot of work to get him to trust us, and right up to the end, he was always wary of people.

It takes a lot of patience to tame a feral cat. When I took him to our vet for the rest of his shots and an exam, I noted a front shoulder that seemed to bother Shadow and we suspected that he had been kicked or flung at some point. I remember her telling the cat he was lucky because he was going to a good home. The only time I could hold him without struggling was at the vet. He was especially skittish around men, and I figure the boyfriend of the woman who had taken him in must have been the abusive culprit. He was never an easy cat to work with, but we did what we could for him.

In the early weeks, had a few accidents in the house where Shadow would find a potty spot for himself, but we forgave him after all he had been through. For the first couple weeks into having him with us, I would scoop him out of his carrier at regular intervals and take him kicking and scratching me to the bathroom, where we keep the litter pan. The door shut, he would squat in there eyeing me in fear while I sat on the edge of the tub talking quietly to him. As time went on, he would use the litter and come out of it to watch me warily from across the floor. Now and then, he'd venture a bit nearer, and I would make soothing noises and put my hand down to be sniffed. The first time I heard him purr, I wanted to cry - it was like he had forgotten how. He made a sound like an old car coughing to life and then a staccato series of rumbles came out of his throat. He began to arch and brush against my legs, and I knew we had finally made our peace with one another. I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat that this frightened little guy had finally relaxed enough to realize I was not going to hurt him. He was always secretive and jumpy, but eventually he did show some affection to us. To the end he had the loudest purr I have ever heard - you could hear him across the room.


Shadow was never all that friendly with people, and unless you had food he mostly ignored us. He had the best begging eyes I have ever seen, and I got him to the point where he would sit nearby and accept a tidbit from me without clawing my hand. If he had food, I could pet him a bit. My mother is the one who feeds the cats most of the time, and the last couple of years he would sit with her and purr himself to sleep. Seldom was I ever graced with his presence and he would bolt away when anyone else approached. Shadow never quite lost his fear of humans, but he loved other cats, and snuggling with them was something he relished. He and Barney became special pals and they were often seen cuddled up together.

Little Katy was very old when this picture was taken, and her fur was thin, so she put aside her dignity and reserved nature to snuggle with the boys. Barney watched over Kate, and Shadow watched over Barney. We lost Katy back in 2007, and Barney earlier last year. Poor Shadow was bereft after Barney's absence and he never became close to any of the other cats.

Shadow did try snuggling a bit with Oreo though, and that was OK to a point...

I guess Oreo is just not the cuddling type. Oreo loves to hunt and he is often outdoors, so they didn't spend much time together. Barney was more of an indoor cat. Shadow never liked being outdoors all that much, and would only ask to go out on warm and sunny days in the late spring, summer, or early fall - often following Barney. Once out there he rarely left the backyard. If a bird flew over, Shadow would cringe in fright, and sometimes cling to the back door screen, begging to be let inside. He had a tiny, high-pitched 'mew' that sounded more like a kitten. He also didn't like eating with the other cats, and so most of the time we fed him separately, on an old computer desk where we prep the foods and fill the dishes. Shadow was always the first one there when it was feeding time.

You can see him eyeing me here because I am getting much too close.

The last couple of years, Shadow became very attached to my mother, who is the primary feeder of pets. He would follow her with his eyes when she was in the room, and slink over to sit with her as soon as she plopped down. When she was busy, he would sit somewhere nearby and wait for her, scuttling after her as she walked past. Ma gets up early in the morning, and the pets all mill around her, waiting to be fed. At night when she would go to bed, Shadow would return to whatever his favorite berth was for the night - sometimes a corner of closet, a particular chair, and old box, or the top of a storage container. Deep in the night, some feral part of him would awaken and he'd decide his claws needed sharpening. So he would find a box to dig into or a plastic bag to shred and spend the next fifteen minutes making confetti. If you came looking for him, you'd find him standing on hindlegs all stretched out, claws fully extended, eyes wide and glowing wildly. He'd glare at you demonically without recognition before he bolted off. I don't know what night terrors woke him but it happened almost every single night at some point, and some mornings we'd find bits of paper or plastic in shreds and the telltale signs of claw marks. No matter what we provided for him to scratch on, the boxes and bags were always better.

Most of my cats go outdoors and they hunt. Barney was declawed and never very ambitious, but he poked around outside a bit. Shadow's only kill was a dizzy moth that came too close to him in the kitchen. He seemed more surprised than the moth was. He actually jumped away when he saw it was dead. If it didn't come in a bag or can, it wasn't edible. What little time he spent outside was mostly soaking up some rays. Even when we had construction going on and our roof was being torn off, Shadow stayed indoors, racing from the kitchen where he loved to be at the time to the curtained-off livingroom, where he cringed under the computer desk we used to have in there. When the demolition was done, he came right back.

After we lost Barney last year, Shadow seemed rather lonesome. The other two cats, Oreo and Max, spend a lot of time outdoors, and so he was left inside a lot. He took to sitting with my mother all day long, crawling into her lap as soon as she plopped down. He also begged food from me, sitting on the arm of my recliner and watching my plate. Those few of us who are home in the evenings often eat dinner together in front of the TV, and he would join me every night, purring loudly and hoping for tidbits. I would force him to let me pet him before he got anything, but yeah, I spoiled him. Sometimes at the table, he'd hop onto my lap, his claws digging up my leg as he nervously waited to be fed. Not a good habit, but quite an accomplishment for a cat that had previously bolted as soon as I came into the room. I had hoped to fully tame him, but that never happened.

When we brought the kittens Merlin and Mischief into the household, Shadow hid in my mother's closet for a couple of weeks when he was not being fed. He had a similar reaction to Autumn, our new puppy, except he picked a favorite high perch to watch her suspiciously from. With the new pets and my having had a lot of doctor's appointments and medical tests insterspersed with gardening and chores, it was a busy year for me, and I didn't realize I had gotten completely off schedule with pet checkups and innoculations. And then came the harvest, and the holidays, and so on...

We are still not sure what happened to Shadow. Over the last several weeks he developed a limp in one of his rear legs that progressed to a hitch in his walk when he would first leap down from his chair or a table. Not surprising at about 8-9 years old, considering his past history of abuse and neglect. He had no visible injury and I could feel no lumps or abnormalties in his sleek body, and he was still able to run from room to room, so I decided to watch and see what happened. The holidays were upon us, and I was cramming to get things done as it was.

And then during Christmas week the hitch became a stagger and a weird weaving way of walking, like his hindquarters weren't working properly. That got my attention. He also wasn't eating that much. Of course by then my regular vet was on vacation, and wouldn't be back until after the new year. We talked about taking him to the emergency clinic but it is a 40 minute drive away, and it was snowing like mad. New Year's Eve Shadow was very bad, he was stumbling and unable to walk properly, so we knew we now had something serious. He either jumped or fell off a the feeding table and then had some sort of seizure. Yowling, he raced through the house dragging his uncooperative hindquarters, twisting and scrambling about, and scaring the daylights out of us. Brian cornered him and got him under control, and we put him safely in a big pet carrier with a blanket and some water. He lay there dazed with big shocked eyes, and a blank stare that said he had no clue what had just happened. Obviously he needed to see a vet, and I was kicking myself for not taking him in sooner. Later that evening Brian transferred Shadow to the puppy crate in his bedroom, where he would have more room to stretch out and a quiet place of his own. The puppy slept in Jason's room, and Brian slept with his door closed so the other pets would leave Shadow alone. He had several more seizures that night, not as bad, but with writhing, biting, and flopping around involved. Something was very wrong with him.

So Friday, New Year's Day, Frank (OH) and (#2 son) Brian took Shadow to the emergency vet clinic while I cooked our dinner. We figured it could be diabetes or kidney failure, and I had authorized them to do whatever was necessary. Both of those are pretty much a downhill journey for any cat, but would be a death senstence for one this hard to handle. Brian had already sadly dug Shadow a grave through the snow and frozen ground up back, where many former pets were buried, and we all said our tearful goodbyes. It was a long wait at that rather expensive clinic, and Shadow had bloodwork and a full exam. The vet on duty was mystified because all his values came back as a healthy cat. He had no lumps or deformities of the hip or spine that could be felt, and he was normal in every way except not being able to walk and having some bad teeth. With the reported seizures (which only we saw) it was chalked up to something neurological and best followed up on by our vet, though they were eager to keep him all weekend and do hundreds of dollars worth of testing in the meantime. The boys said no, we will take him home and make him comfortable until Monday. So Shadow was given some antibiotic liquid to be administered by syringe to help forestall the gum infection, and home he came.

Shadow was still basically unable to walk or stand very much, so we caged him again and hoped for the best. Twice a day, we had to drag him out and wrap him up so that he didn't struggle too hard and we could force his gums apart and squirt a dose of antibiotic liquid into his mouth. He fought us tooth and nail, and I still have some deep claw marks on my shoulder, and Brian does on his hands and arms. He also urinated all over us as soon as we picked him up, whether it was nerves or loss of control I couldn't tell. I had to wash up and change clothing afterward. Shadow did get a little better and began to eat soft food, and he eventually used the litter pan to defecate, but he was urinating all over himself and his blankets. Thank goodness the crate has the thick plastic bottom. He was still having mini seizures where his head would go down and he'd twitch. The small progress was encouraging, but my gut instincts said this was not enough.

By Sunday night, I knew we weren't going to get lucky this time. He was just not standing for more than a few minutes, and getting up was difficult. Monday morning I called our vet bright and early, and we got him in for 9:45, since they only x-ray in the AM - it is a small office with only one room for each function, and some things have to be done on a certain schedule. But I respect my vet, and I trust her judgement, and we have been in this situation many times over the years.

As promised the clinic had faxed over Shadow's treatment records, and Betsy went over them carefully, not wanting to duplicate what was already done. He was soaked in urine again when we took him out of the carrier. She examined Shadow very carefully as we held him down, not finding any deformities or lumps that would give us a reason to do any further testing. She took his temp and vitals. She listened to what we told her, and watched Shadow try to walk when we put him on the floor; noting that he was unable to use his left rear leg at all, the right one being very rigid too. Without all the expensive tests like ultrasounds and CAT scans, there was no way to know for sure, but Betsy felt it was a brain tumor or something neurological of that nature, and the kindest thing to do would be to end his suffering now, since there was little else we could do for him. It was only going to get worse anyway.

The saddest thing in the world is having to sign a death sentence for a cherished pet. I have had cats I've been much closer to, but Shadow was a special case because of his background. I wanted him to have a happy old age, and not end this way, struggling just to go on. He wasn't ready to die, we could see he wanted to live, and that was why he was dragging himself around as best he could. Whenever he saw my mother, he would still purr loud and happily, and while it broke her heart to do so, she came and visited with him in confinement, and even held him a bit. She didn't come with us to the vet, because watching an euthanasia is not easy for any of us, and I worry about her blood pressure as it is. We made sure she had a chance to say a tearful goodbye before we left the house. Everyone who stayed home did and she had people with her.

Because of how hard he was to handle, Betsy decided to give Shadow a sedative before the more lethal injection. It should have put him almost catatonic, but he was fighting it. He also fought the final injection, and we had to hold him steady as he hissed, growled, and thrashed. I cried my eyes out, it hurt so much to see an animal that clearly wanted to live so fiercely, who had such a rough start in life, and to know there was little hope for him to have any kind of quality existence. But I wanted to be there to the end, and I'm glad I was again, as I have been so many times, though his last moments will haunt me the rest of my life. Always the difficult one, Shadow took a long time drifting away, but eventually he did pass, and thankfully without all the pain and suffering we all knew were ahead of him. I've lost 4 cats and a dog in the last 2 years, 3 of those pets this calendar year alone, and many more preceded them. I was there for each one, and it still hurts just as fiercely as the very first time I had to say goodbye to a dearly loved animal companion.

The sadder part was what came next - we couldn't take Shadow home with us. The clinic had noted he was behind on his rabies shot, and that was possibility for his medical issues. Betsy's records agreed, it had been over a year. Rabies vaccination for cats and dogs is required here by state law after a 10 year serious outbreak in the 90s. So, she strongly recommended that we turn Shadow's body over to the local health board to be sent to the state lab for testing. Rabies can only be diagnosed by examining brain tissue, which means skull dissection, and you don't get your pet back afterward. I knew I was to blame for getting behind, and now I had to protect my family, my other pets, and my vet, on the outside chance that somehow this mostly indoor cat had contracted something the others had missed. So I said OK, we'll do that, and she boxed him up in a plastic foam container sealed with tape with the necessary paperwork taped to the top. And off we went to take the poor guy on his last ride.

We had to wait a day and a half, but the results were negative. I was relieved to hear it, even though I wasn't really expecting a more sinister outcome. I still feel very badly that because I was disorganized and not attentive enough, Shadow didn't at least get a proper interment near his best kitty pal Barney, but what counts is the memories, which even you can see in the above photos. We will have to content ourselves that we took in a cat that had started life with little to hope for, and gave him 5-1/2 really good years of life and plenty of love and TLC. He didn't come home at the end, but at least he was here for a good long time, where he was pampered and spoiled. He is missed and will not be forgotten any time soon. Looking around the house I can see places that are autographed with his signature claw marks. I can still picture him sitting there with those big green gold eyes, begging for a scrap to be tossed his way, or curled up with Barney in a box too small for even one cat. His food pan has been washed and set aside for another feline rescue that will likely come home to live with us someday.

Those of us who believe in more than a mundane existence know that while the body passes on, the spirit of what was remains, and I don't think that just applies to humans only. Shadow left a legacy here, and it taught us that with love and patience, you can conquer just about anything fearful but death itself. I am glad that he graced our lives for as long as he did. If there is an afterlife for cats, I hope his is happy and comfortable, without the constant fear of pain and betrayal. And I hope he found Barney again to cuddle with once he has slipped silently over that Rainbow Bridge.

This is the last picture I could find of Shadow, taken back in September - likely one of the last times he went outdoors this year. Goodbye dear little one, we miss you just as much as the others that passed before.