Year 13, Week 18, Day 0ne (week 694)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
05-25-13 Saturday
   
   
    86 degrees, sunny with clouds, nice wind. This weather report is brought to you by the City of Pompano Department of Tourism.   
   
   
Went Yard sailing. We hit several yard sales. At one, I picked up a set of twelve kitchen knives. It had six steak knives. These were on the idea of the "As Seen On TV" knives where they can cut pipe and leather without dulling them. I also got a frog and turtle figurines that can be used as go-bys-- you use them to go by while carving something similar.
At another yard sale, I picked up a aluminum step stool. At home I have a tall ladder and chairs in order reach something high. This step stool will help on that.
Mom picked up a buffer used for car finishes and handed it to me saying, "happy birthday." My birthday is next month, but tomorrow we are combining my birthday, my brother's birthday which is at the end of the month, and Labor day.

I've been digging into my kitchen to see what I will never use or have too many of. I found that I had a couple dozen cooking spoons and spatulas so I sorted them out and set aside some to give away.

I also had a bunch of wooden spoons and spatulas. Many did not look in fantastic condition. While packing to go to mom's it dawned on me that I am a wood worker. I can fix them up. I have the technology!
Later in the day, I sat outside and sanded on them to refresh the finish. A couple are soaked with oil, which is not a problem but that would not sand out so I did not try. I did sand the surface a little anyway. My sanding improved the look of most of them.
I gave mom a couple items from my kitchen stash. The metal stems of some scoops had a little bit of corrosion that a Brillo pad would not touch. I used the dremmel to knock down the corrosion and touched it with emery boards (the kind for your finger nails) There were a few little pits but otherwise they cleaned up nicely. I have some more at home that needs that kind of work.

I went to a party at about lunch time and donated the knives to the hostess. She thanked me when I gave them to her, and she thanked me again later. That always brings a smile.
I went to a fellowship meeting at night and gave the kitchen stuff I had gathered. I told them to keep what they want and pass on the rest. One of the women commented about five spatulas....

Tomorrow is supposed to be a combined birthday party and Memorial day cook out. My tendinitis is not cured yet so I won't try to bring my carving basket and carve figurines.

I will see what happens tomorrow.





Year 13, Week 18, Day Two (week 694)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
05-26-13 Sunday
   
    I have no idea what the temps were. I was under a nice cool oak tree all day long. The sky was blue with wisps of really high clouds. The breeze was just enough to keep things even cooler. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Fort Lauderdale Department of Tourism.
   
    We combined my brother's and my birthday parties and Memorial day. We are within a couple weeks of each other. The specific day is never important to us. For me, other than the presents, it would not bother me to forget the day.
   
    I realized I did not have a card for my brother, so I grabbed some colored felt pens. I was not sure what kind of art to do on the card. He has a red pickup truck that he is working on, so I drew a red truck. I then wondered what to do next, so I drew his shed. I then drew a person inside and then the stand for the machining lathe he has. I wrote Happy Birthday on the outside. I also added grass all around since that is basically what is around his shed. I then added a nice message on the inside. I even made his envelope and that was his card. It came out pretty good. He looked at the picture of the card and said "That is about it."  I forgot to take pictures of it.
   
    My brother's house is always dark and tends to be crowded so I stay outside all day. We have been lucky as our gatherings have not had more than a passing shower in all the years we have had them there.
    There were a lot of people I had not met in years, or never met so that made for good conversation.
   
   
    My brother had to go to a job so he did not come home until later in the day. Because of that, we did not do any metal working or any other project.
    My tendinitis has not healed enough yet to do any carving with a knife. Because of this, I did not bring my carving basket. I did not bring the Dremmel either. Too much hassle and not good to become covered in dust.
   
    The food was cooked in dribs and drabs and by the time they were done cooking, everybody was full. They had loads of food and I cannot eat anywhere near as much as I used to. I did over eat anyway.
   
    They finally passed out our gifts. I got a book on HEALING SECRETS OF NATIVE AMERICANS and I got a gift card. I then got a WOW gift.
    Mom gave me a pasta roller, something I have wanted to get for a couple years. All I could say for a while was     WOW!
     Every once in a while, I will make my own pasta. I use an egg noodle recipe found in a 1949 copy of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COOKBOOK. The biggest problem I had was I could never get the pasta thin enough. When I used mixed grain flour it is so thick that it is like rubber.
    This pasta roller also has a noodle cutter attachment with it. This is one sweet machine. NO motor, but crank powered, which I kind of like. It fits with my crank meat grinder.
    It is going to take some doing to avoid making some pasta immediately. I may make some in the next couple weeks to try it out.
   
    Tomorrow, Mom and I are planning to visit my Dad's grave at the Lantana National Cemetery. I have no idea if I will work wood after that. We will have to see.