Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, andidante said:

How long do the tanks for your stove last?

That obviously depends on use. But I heat water with solar and use gas only for cooking. I own two cylinders but they are in the 20-25 lb. range so they don't last very long. I used to get 2-3 months out of a cylinder, but I can't remember when last I changed to a new one.

You are supposed to have one in use and one on standby. When the one in use runs out, you quickly switch to the other and then you have 2-3 months (in my case) to refill the empty. But right now, everything is cut down to the bone and my backup is also empty. It will cost just under $50 for a refill, and I can't afford to do them both. Right now, I can't afford to fill even one!

Just spoke to my contact about the cheque for the tables and she says that she has received the invoice for the second table (which I sent on Monday), and forwarded it immediately to Accounts Payable. She says she will call and chase it up... The phone just rang; it was her calling to say that the cheque is with their messenger, on it's way from accounting in Barbarees Hill to her in Wildey. She promises she will call me as soon as it's available and I will go collect it. From there I will go directly to the bank and deposit it. She says it should reach her by 2:00PM at the latest (three hours from now). Even with the worst of traffic it shouldn't take more than half an hour to make the journey, but the messenger may have several deliveries to make.

I just hope I can collect it and get to the bank before it closes. They usually close at 3:00 but the branch in the mall near me stays open until 4:00.

Quote

I did see the Queen movie and he was very good in it. I enjoyed it very much!

An excellent movie, especially if you enjoy that type of music. Like you, I think Malek did a first class job, and the multiple awards he has won for his performance would indicate that we are not the only ones who think so.

Now. I have a dog asleep on my left foot, and a plant pot to check on...

[Netfoot]

The cheque was ready by 2:30 and I rushed down and collected it. 

From there, to the gas station for a 25 lb. cyl. of gas. I got there two minutes before "shift change" and paid for the cylinder. But the new shift didn't want to deliver gas that the old shift had been paid for... 20 minutes to sort that out. 

For the first time in my life, I spent the rent-money on something (the gas) with the expectation of replacing it later. 

To the bank, to deposit the cheque. 3.4 x 10⁵⁶ people in the queue. Abandonned the idea of depositing the money directly. Used the drop-box instead. Money won't be available before Thursday because the cheque had to clear. But rent must be paid first thing Wednesday...

In for a penny... Went to a nearby store and bought 4Kg of potatoes. Also a couple of those 99¢ tins of lentils, a pot of red butter and six Bajan salt breads.

Came home and could barely lift the gas into the house. Three trips: car to steps, steps to halfway across the living room, living room to kitchen. Stove now working. Plan to have a huge bowl of macaroni (or rice, or potatoes) for dinner. In the mean time, I ate two corned beef cutters. Could have eaten six, but that would spoil my dinner. 

Went to brew a cup of tea. F**k, f**k, f**kety f**k! Forgot to buy milk!

Bucket. Came out looking nice!

Getting the bottom in was tricky but I got it done. 

And then, I chucked it on the junk pile. Because no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop it from falling apart. Tried glue. Tried staples. Tried nails. Tried dowels.  No go.

But the idea is a good one and I can try again with a slightly different design. Not sure what exactly, but I will think about that later.

Now just have to relax until dinnertime and not eat more bully beef cutters! Maybe I'll have a mug of (shudder!) black tea.

[Netfoot]

Just gone eleven and in bed, doors locked and puppy wandering around inside somewhere. The question is, how many times will he make me get out of bed before 4:30 wake-up for Brighton?

Transfered my EDC from shorts to grown up trousers. Here it is. With a busted phone standing in for the one I took the photo with:

Also taking one of my little neckers. This is one of my favourites. Not worn every day, just for special occasions:

Had that hand-made to order by a knife-smith of note. It is an integral knife (blade, handle, everything all one piece) and it's made of genuine, Swedish damasteel! I own several pieces of pattern-welded, high-carbon Damascus but this is the only piece of damasteel I own. 

This is the fourth and last piece I had the knife-smith make for me. 

Some day, I would like to own a well made Sgian Dubh with a damasteel blade, big oak Bog Oak sheath and handle, Stirling ferules and a pommel stone from Skye - maybe marble. Swedish Damascus was highly desired historically, and bog oak also very traditional. But we're talking minimum £1,000 worth of knife. And me, struggling to keep the lights on.

Dinner was not humongous. Just large. Boiled potatoes and carrots and stewed lentil peas with tinned tomatoes, thinly sliced onion rings and a generous amount of bully. A slab of red butter on top was just the ticket. Better eat lightly tomorrow, or blood sugar will go into orbit. 

All ready for tomorrow. Car loaded, not very limey but extra sweet lime squash ready for the thermos, breakfast meds in pants pocket, piece of cheese pre-hollowed so Mo gets his meds without delay....

90 minute auto-off set on the music box. Listening to Steely Dan(Aja, Deacon Blues, Peg, etc.) Will blow out the candles now and try to get a bit of shut-eye before I have to be up and off to Brighton. Got exactly $20 and some coins to go with. Hope to bring home more than that, not less. Bitterly cold last night in the wee hours. Let's hope it's a little warmer tonight.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Listening to the album Argus, by Wishbone ash. Puppy still running in and out so I can't lock up yet, but I'm in bed, fresh from a hot shower (but low water pressure) and ready to call it a day.

Puppy woke me three times before the alarm did, but finally I got up and prepared toget to Brighton by 5:30. Two minutes after I got up, the rain came down! Drove slowly and carefully through a deluge to arrive on time. Nearly didn't go in, thinking that thevtsin would reduce the number of visitors, but I was up already, and there already, so I could as well sit around idly there as I could at home.

Took a while getting set up, because of the effort to avoid getting soaked to the skin. But finally got everything laid out. 

Thankfully, the rain stopped and the place dried out quickly.  I Had a very pleasant morning chatting with the guy next to me and having some fun with the shoppers.

I bought a few bananas and apples and loaded up a couple of my bowls. More than one grinning wag asked "how much for this fruit?" To which I gave the same response each time: "Sixty bucks! But you get this free bowl to take them away in..."

The early rain did appstentkhnkeep people away, because the croudywas smaller than usual. Pleasant as the morning was, I got only one sale. And after deducting the entrance fee I had to pay, I only made $50. But at least this allowed me to pay for a carton of milk on the way home. And of course the fruit (which I bought at the market) made for an afternoon snack. Mo likes apples but not, apparently, bananas. Anyway, the balance of the fruit can go in my Grape Nuts tomorrow. 

speaking of food, I was planning a day if light meals but that didn't quite go to plan. For lunch I had the balance of yesterday's dinner to which I added some cabbage. And dinner was macaroni with corned beef, cabbage and tomato sauce. There is a little of that sauce remaining so I'm thinking white rice (or with lentils) and a bit of fried chicken and the remaining sauce. Or instead of the rice, some dumplings. Chicken and dumplings doesn't sound too bad!

If I'm in bed early it's because I'm tired. It was cold outside tonight under a sky showing small patches of cloud and stars. But what worried me most was that it was cold despite there being no breeze! So wind chill isn't part of the equation. We are talking pure, natural coolth!

 Anyway, Mo is inside now, and here with me. So I will lock up the house. Ooooops... He's gone again. <sigh>

[Netfoot]

So, today is the last of eight bath-days for Mo. And the medicated shampoo is just sufficient to the task. But it's not warmed up yet, and no strong sunshine to help.

Last night was the worst of the cold nights. I wrapped myself up 100%, not even the top of my head exposed. And most of the night I couldn't get to sleep for the shivering and chattering teeth. Mo did nothing to help, because far from snuggling up, he simply barked loudly at me every 90 minutes demanding I let him out. 

I really don't want to get soaked by the hose bathing Mo, any more than he does. but we've suffered through it 7 times already, so I guess around 10:30, if the sun is shining down warm and no rainclouds threaten...

[Netfoot]

Bath #8: Complete.

I laid out the requirements (stool, shampoo bottle, hose) and went for Mo. Curiosity had him come half the distance but then he lay on the ground and increased his weight to max. I had to carry him to the selected spot. That's when I figured out I'd f*d up.

I decided to place the shampooing accoutrements out on the grass, where the suncs sun's rays would be warming. But when we reached the stool I realized that I couldn't loop Mo's lead over the convenient pipe I always used in the past, because it was too far away. Had to loop it around my wrist. Then, when I'd doused him (and he'd doused me) I figured out mistake #2. Mo could now run around me in circles, tying mecup me up in the lead. And insist on standing directly behind me so I couldn't sprinkle him down any more. If I turned, he turned as well.

So, it was not an easy job, but eventually he was wetted down, lathered all over, and after a suitable delay, rinsed off and toweled dry. 

Now, he smells fresh and clean! 'Course, I like him when he smells naturally of puppy! But fresh and clean is a good smell too.

And since today was #8 of 8, we don't have to do that exercise no more!

Don't really have the gas for it, but I think Mo and I could use a trip to the club. Mo hasn't been anywhere in ages (not counting trips where he is confined to the car). And I could use the fresh air too. Just waiting to hear who else is going today. Don't wanna go up on our own. Unka Rudy is away, so hoping to hear from Austin, Kev, Ian, Tony, ... So far nobody redpondeth to my query.

Edited January 29, 2023 by Netfoot

[Kindred Spirit]

 

Congrats on completing the series of shampoos! (Even if this last one didn't go quite as smoothly as the others.) I hope you and Mo can reward yourselves with a visit to the club.

I'm sorry that your sales weren't better at the market, especially since I'm so impressed by your wares. I wish the market's patrons had felt the same way, especially since a little more money in your pocket would be so welcome. I'll keep a good thought for the next time you venture to Brighton.

[Netfoot]

12 hours ago, Kindred Spirit said:

I hope you and Mo can reward yourselves with a visit to the club.

Unfortunately, the only person to go today was Kevin, and gave no joyicevov notice of his plans until nearly 3:30. If I had set off then, it would have been after 4:00 by time we got there. So regrettably, Mo and I did not enjoy the pleasures of country air and scenery this afternoon.

We're in bed now, having just completed our Garden Patrol. It was cold again tonight, and desirous of not shivering and chattering all night long, I am wearing two shirts, black (one long sleeve), a pair of shorts, a black pair of long and wooly trousers and black, knitted socks. I was going to wear some knitted gloves as well, but I left them outside when I locked up. And I can't find my black balaclava. 

Pup is here by me. He has one chance, tonight. The first time he comes and demands to be let out and he will be out for the remainder  until 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Do you remember a few days ago I threw out a bucket that wouldn't stay together? I've been thinking about that. I tried glue, nails, staples and dowels, but nothing stopped those joints from falling apart. I concluded that only splines might work, by but cutting slots for splines into a pair of surfaced surfaces that were already cut at an angle was too much for my brain to compute. (But see later.)

Giving it some thought, I figured that I would have to cut the splines at 90° to the chamfered face. Which was chamfered at 22½°. So I would have to set my blade (currently set at 22½°) to 90-22½=67½°. Unfortunately, my blade won't go past 45°! To cut an angle of more than 45° you have to rotate the board 90° and instead of using the fence as reference, use the table top. So in my case, I would have to register the board on the fence, and reset to the saw blade to 90-67½=22½°! Which... my blade is... already set at..... Too much for my brain to compute. That the splines must be cut at the exact same angle as the chamfer was cut at and that the blade is already set at....

Ok, I am a dumbass. 

So I took the bucket apart and cleaned up the faces on the saw (which will make the bucket very slightly smaller), then rota1ted rotated the boards onto the fence and cut some slots. Then, with some trial & error, I cut a bunch of splines as close to the blade thickness as I could. 

Here you can see the boards with the slots cut, and a stack of splines. Also one board with a spline in the slot of one of the boards.

Gluing the splines into the slots will allow two beveled edges to come together, and the splines will hold the edges in alignment with each other until the glue can set up in the joint. They will also add strength to the joints.

Now, for maximum strength, splines should be cut across the grain. In this case I have cut them with the grain, but in this application I am not expecting the joints to experience sufficient force that it would split the spline from end to end. So I will accept this compromise. 

Here you can see three boards put together to see how well the splines fit.

The joints are close, and more importantly, they are staying together while I support the assembly from one side only. Recognize that there is no glue in use here. This bodes well for the joints holding together quite strongly when glue is applied to the mating faces of the joint as well as to the splines.

Now, I need to make a new bottom for this pot. Cleaning up the boards after I took the old setup apart resulted in a slightly smaller diameter and shorter height. I think the proportions will be better, and I believe I can come up with a better fitting bottom than I had previously. So, here is hoping I don't screw that up, somehow.

Gotta go next door to deposit my big $50 profit from Saturday, but then I will start work on a new bottom. Maybe have lunch first.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

By the way, last night, wearing layers of clothing, I figured I wouldn't need a cover, so I drifted off to sleep without wrapping up. 90 minutes later the cold woke me up and I brought the cover sheet into action. With the combination of layered clothing plus the sheet, I was able to sleep comfortably. Only issue was getting up to pee. Obviously, all those clothes had to be disengaged in order for the equipment to be used. And it was noticably colder, when I climbed out from under that cover sheet.

I just hope that winter ends soon!

[Netfoot]

Planed and glued up some boards into panels from which I expect to cut bottoms for my flower pots. Will start on that tomorrow. I really hope I don't run into additional problems that require me to dream up solutions for. True that everything I foul up leads to discovering a solution, and eventually I will know how to accomplish each step to successfully complete a build. Just resent the amount of time it takes to get the first one built.

Back in my heavy duty cold weather clothes for another night's sleep. Lying in bed listening to some Joni Mitchell, waiting for the puppy to decide he is ready for bed. It was quite cool outside when we patrolled the garden. A condition that is becoming the norm!

Gotta go on a long drive tomorrow. A friend in England offered to send some computer bitz for me via a guy who was coming out on holiday. He does this from time to time. My friend usually has sexy hardware to dispose of, so It's generous of him and the gear is often interesting. I never refuse (which would be rude) but I never actually need the stuff. 

So I have to go make a pickup tomorrow and it turns out the friend who is bringing the stuff has chosen to stay in the most distant hotel from my house in the whole island!

Anyway, I will have to burn some precious gasoline tomorrow, and soze to best utilize resources, I will be stopping at a friend's house on the way home. He constantly complains that I won't come and see the new house. So I will go see him tomorrow. 

Unfortunately Mosie Posie can't even come for the drive. And he could really use an afternoon away from home. He's here with me now... No, he's gone again. 

Got to go get a prescription from Dr. Kristi some time this week. Have not seen her in ages! Hope she will be able to chat for a few minutes instead of being run off her feet, as has been the norm recently. And I have a tiny piece of sawdust in my left eye which is irritating as hell so maybe she can get that out.

Going tonfetch to fetch the pupper so I can shut up, shut down, and shut eyes.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Some time ago (the computer says 14th November at 7:41 AM), I wrote a program which generated dimensions & distances to help me cut square blocks of wood into octagons for easier turning on the lathe. I now have a square board that needs to become an octagon for use as the base of an octagonal flower pot. 

I will have to take time to modify the program to calculate measurements for both blocks and boards. And what might prove useful would be if I also extended it to manage shapes other than octagons. Such as decagons, dodecagons and hexadecagons (10, 12 & 16). But right now I need to cut a octagon, So I will quickly make that change to the program.

Have a look at Wonderboy:

Fast asleep in the morning sunshine. Found a towel to pull down to make a bit of a nest too! Why not in the bedm because the sunshine no longer reaches the bed.

I should wake his arse up and keep him hopping all day! Then maybe he would sleep at night and not spend the entire night harassing me to let him out so he can run around in the dark and harass the neighbors with his barking!

But I haven't got the heart to do it. Sleep sound, little puppy!

Last night was cold again, and I stupidly forgot to put on the socks so my feet felt it. Tonight, socks, gloves and where is that balaclava?!??

[Netfoot]

Went north today, into territory I have not explored since I was a teenager whose girlfriend lived in that part of the world. It was all quite different to what I remember. And different in a good way, too!

Stopped at a friend on the way home and had a pleasant afternoon chatting with him and his wife. During the afternoon their grand daughter came to visit. She was a tiny tot last time I saw her. She is a proper young lady, now!

But eventually, home to Mosie who was on guard all afternoon, back at the ranch.

A friend popped around to bring me a new chain for the saw I borrowed from him, and during my journey I came across, asked for and brought home, two small logs of completely unknown type. Who knows what sort of bowls will be forthcoming from them? There won't be many and they won't be large, but they might be interesting...

Didn't get much done on the flower pot today. Will go at it tomorrow and hopefully make some progress.

Now gotta go find a pair of gloves and a balaclava...

[Netfoot]

Still no sign of the balaclava but I found my gloves

Which spoil the night-camo effect of the all-black outfit. But with black shirt, long trousers and socks, plus day-glo gloves, the only part of me not covered is my big head. One downside: Mo attacks the gloves every time he gets a chance. More cold air during the Garden Patrol, and a wearher man was analyzing the temperatures we've been having in the region, and says that cold as the nights are, they will get colder for the next couple of weeks. Wonderful.

Listening to some Suede and nodding off. When puppy comes in I will consider locking up. Slipping in and out now, so the little guy had better hurry up!

[Netfoot]

Cut that little log into three and turned one into a wee bowl.

Asked around. One guy suggested White Ash 🤣, and I thought Neem, but another suggestion was Clammy Cherry, and I think that might be right.

Made a pot of rice for lunch and added too much salt. Decided I'd eat it any way. Of course I ended up so thirsty I was drinking water like a camel. And then came The Belly.....

[Netfoot]

I was shivering on patrol tonight. Now, I'm dressed up in more clothes than I'd normally wear to go to a wedding. Almost. I'd wear shoes to a wedding.

Listening to Cosmic Dancer by T. Rex.  Marc Bolan (who so feared being killed in a car accident that he refused to learn to drive) was killed when his fellow band-mate and romantic partner crashed her car, a Mini 1275GT, on the way home from a party. I recall several very rough jokes that circulated about the incident: "Marc Bolan was on the radio last night! And on the glove compartment! And the steering wheel, and the gear shift...." He is considered to have started the Glam-Rock movement.

I hope to turn at least one more bowl tomorrow. I just wish I knew what the mystery wood was. I've also got the (borrowed) chainsaw running so I can cut up some of the remaining tamarind. Once it's small enough that I can physically lift it, I can further divide it into bowl blanks on the bandy. The idea is to waste as little of it as possible.

I just took Mo's collar off. I do this occasionally, so he can sleep with out anything around his neck. When ever I remove it, he becomes highly agitated. I must immediately give it to him so he can reassure himself I am not going to take it away. He is quite insistent on my returning it immediately and will play with it for several minutes before he will lose interest and allow me to hang it over the bed.

Didn't have any dinner tonight. I have a small portion of salty rice in the fridge but didn't fancy eating it tonight. I think I will cook some potatoes tomorrow, and add the rice to the finished dish, so the salt can be distributed over a wider area. I think I have one more carrot left that I can boil with the potatoes and some lentils remain as well. There are even a couple of onions!

Late this afternoon, the bank finally cleared the cheque I deposited on Friday. And barely in time, because minutes later the landlord came along to collect the rent. I don't usually touch the rent money, but I simply had to buy a cylinder of gas last week. There was very little in the house that could be eaten without cooking.

In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry. I remember when that hit #1 in the charts! Some folks didn't like it (it was different) but I did and I still do. I could tell you exactly where I was, what I was wearing and what I was doing the first time I heard it. I was listening to one of these at the time:

Mo went off, returned with a piece if cardboard from somewhere, brought it into bed and tore it to little flakes of brown confetti. He then abandonned that and is now sleeping against my tummy. I think I will join him in slumber...

[Netfoot]

This morning I noticed that Mo was limping. Decided to take him to the vet. Knowing Mo fairly well, I took a video of him walking around before we went. By time we were at the vet he was bursting with excitement and was walking around perfectly normally. 

It appears he has injured his ACL or something like that. He is on Ibuprofen twice a day for the next 10 days. 

Turned this today.

Mystery wood again. With the turning complete I started sanding and then went on to finish with beeswax. A small crack developed, starting at one of the sides. 

No sooner did I complete the piece, than a chap turned up on other business, took one look and offered to buy it. I pointed out the crack, but he insisted. So, a few bucks more for the kitty. But I had to buy $12 worth of Histal tablets for Mo, a bag of sugar and a carton of milk, plus $25 gas for the car. That plus the Ibuprofen pretty much wiped out any gains. But at least I will be able to reach Brighton on Saturday, and maybe even get back again! 

Went to see Dr. Kristi today but she wasn't there! She won't be back until next week, so Dr Gabby helped me with my prescription. I must go collect the meds tomorrow. Also a block of cheese to concel Mo's pills in so he will take them. He's here with me now, making himself comfortable lying on my cover sheet. 

Watched Black Panther II today. Well, I watched an hours worth. Just couldn't take any more. Did watch a decades-old western about shepherds vs. cattle men. Had Shirley MacLaine in it. As a youngster I was quite smitten by her!

Eyes closing. Will complete my ensable by donning my day-glo gloves and dousing the light.

[Netfoot]

When you are living close to the edge, it doesn't take much to push you over. 

Got up this morning and fed Mo his breakfast and cheese treats complete with meds. (He is on big-boy chow now. None of the puppy stuff.)

We went to the bank to deposit the few bucks we made yesterday, then to the supermarket to buy cheese ($9.08). I don't get to eat any cheese these days. It is earmarked for Mo's medicine delivery system. But I also bought some bread for myself and had it for lunch and for dinner. 

I also went to the poly-clinic to get my meds for the month, plus blood sugar test strips. I get a box of 50 strips free every three months, but I only use one every 2-3 days or so, so that could last me five months. I've now got enough for approximately 7½ months. I am concerned that if I stop taking a box every three months, when I eventually need to start getting them again I may be asked to pay for the first box and they ain't cheap.

When time came to prepare Mo's evening meds, I could not find the envelope with the ibuprofen in it. The bag of Histal was right where it should be, but the ibuprofen was gone. I turned the house upside down twice and even looked in silly places. But no go. So with the clock saying 5:58 I had to race down to the vet and beg them to sell me another bag of meds for him. Well, the first batch nearly broke the bank, and having to pay for them again has really impacted the financial calculations for the current period. Really hope I get a few sales tomorrow.

To that end, I don't want to be next to the fish cutter people again.

Unfortunately, this has been a very unproductive week. I made two bowls out of mystery wood, both of which cracked. I was able to sell one, but the crack in the other gets bigger each time I look at it. I also made a lovely little purpleheart cup which polished up beautifully, shining like glass. It also cracked. Purpleheart. Which I've seen resist .38 Police Special and 9mm Para Bellum rounds. Which has been stress relieving itself in my garage for the past 9-10 years. Cracked.

Car loaded except for my thermos of tea. Tea making things laid out in the kitchen. EDC transferred into my jeans, clothes all ready. Mo's meds ready for the morning as are mine. And since I've been eating Bajan salt breads all day, I'll do a blood sugar test as well. $55 in my pocket to pay my entry fee and have a little change in case someone wants to buy something. Want to make $40 to pay for next visit to Brighton. Another $160 would help with some bills. Anything beyond that would make some groceries possible.

Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm by the Crash Test Dummies is playing. Mo is outside barking at something. Not particularly tired but tomorrow is an early start so I will go get Mr. Mouth and draw a line across this page.

PS: When I went to put on my day-glo gloves, one was missing. Went in search of the biggest little thief I know and sure enough, the glove was out by the front gate. Along with a kitchen funnel that was last seen by the kettle, ready to direct hot tea into the thermos tomorrow morning. He would have had to get on his hind legs to get that down! Scamp!

Edited February 4, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Klepto-Puppy is pretty adept at making things disappear. But I have absolutely no idea how he achieved this:

Can you suggest how he did it?

Went off with $55 in my pocket and not much hope of making many sales. Alison put me in a different spot from the last two visits. And I was pleased about that. Last two trips I was located next to the fish cutter people and a line of their customers very successfully hid me from most shoppers who went wide to avoid the line.

Today, I was positioned next to a pleasant woman (Toni) who sold pastries and who I chatted with during the quiet spells. I laid out my wares by the light of one of my torches equipped with a hat brim clip. I had 12 pieces, plus the dish with peppermints.

A small gang of kids devised a scheme to deplete me of the mints. One of the gang would approach and ask about the mints. When I offered him one, he would ask if he could have some more, for his friends. Ten minutes later, another member of the band would approach and use the same line of patter to make off with another fist full of sweets. Of course, I pretended I didn't know what was going on.

At the end of the morning there was only one peppermint remaining and I gave it to Toni who gave me a cinnamon roll in return. (I think I came out on top, there. And I feel bad about it!)

Came home with only 6 pieces remaining, and $295 I my pocket. So I made $240 and even putting $40 in reserve for gasoline and entrance fee for the next time I go to Brighton, it looks like I will be paying my bills this month after all. And I'll have $60 odd left over to buy groceries with. Which is good, because I am very low on bully beef, and I am completely out of onions and Matouk's beans.

Blood sugar this morning was 3.7 mmol/L (dangerously low) despite my eating all that bread yesterday. So I will probably eat some more bread today. Actually, it's lunchtime now....

[andidante]

17 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Came home with only 6 pieces remaining, and $295 I my pocket. So I made $240 and even putting $40 in reserve for gasoline and entrance fee for the next time I go to Brighton, it looks like I will be paying my bills this month after all. And I'll have $60 odd left over to buy groceries with. Which is good, because I am very low on bully beef, and I am completely out of onions and Matouk's beans.

 

That's awesome!! Glad you had such a good day. 😃

[Netfoot]

It's early yet, but I was up before the crack of dawn, so I am heading off to bed early. The night air was not particularly cold when Mo and I went out for our patrol. I'm thinking of forgoing the wooly space suit I've been wearing as pyjamas this past few days. Maybe just the shirt? And hope that winter has broken.

Cinnamon roll for breakfast, Bajan salt breads (with a little bully beef) for lunch, and potatoes in a bully, lentil and tomato sauce for dinner. Sprinkled some flour on the sauce to make it thicker. Should have added some milk too. A spoonful of the potato eatercat water at the end. Seasoned with dried chives, garlic powder and too much red pepper flakes. Red butter as a garnish. Feel quite replete. 

Maybe Mosie has just come in and dusted the bed with wood shavings. I am planning to do nothing about it, at least not until tomorrow.  

Eaton Rifles by The Jam. My eyes are closing. I will go lock the house, put on the shirt and try to get some sleep.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Woke at 8:00 AM!

I really was tired last night and I slept comfortably with only the long-sleeved shirt on. No long trousers, gloves or socks. Maybe winter had broken. Or was I just too tired to notice? We will see.

No bed need to bathe the baby today! I thought about pranking him, but I don't know that he would see the joke.

Hungry, despite plenty of food yesterday. I think today will be pasta and/or fry-bread. Or even dumplings. Prolly pasta because it is easiest.

Otherwise, feeling very lethargic. Have not even stepped out the door as yet. Don't think I will do much today. Watch some TV/movies, read, snooze. Speaking of reading, I had got stuck into a book, but can't remember anything about it, it being so long since I was awake enough to read it. I will put it away for Another time, and find something else to read. Anything will do - even a trashy thriller by an author I don't know, if that's all I can find.

Mo is well, no sign of his experiencing any distress with the knee, but I am medicating him every 12 hours. His doctor said he didn't want him completely pain free, which I thought a strange thing to say, but he explained that a little discomfort will persuade Mo to go easy on the leg and give it a better chance to heal.

If Of course, he was a complete Monster at four in the morning, demanding I let him out! When I roused myself at eight I gave him his breakfast (which he polished right off) and his cheesey treats. Dunno where he is right now. Probably outside, in a burrow in the shavings under the lathe. (I know that needs scooping up and disposing of, but right now I am just feeling too lazy.) I think I will go and find him!

Edited February 5, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Can you read minds? What is this little fellow thinking?

"I want fry-bread and gravy, now!", that's what!

I went into the kitchen and put a pot of macaroni water to boil. While waiting for it to come up to heat, I made up a batch of dough, to leave in the fridge for tonight. 1½ cups of flour, ½ cup of corn meal, dog one spoonful of baking powder, salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.

When it was all ready, kneaded and fine, the macaroni water was still not boiling. So I turned off the water (it will reheat this evening) and cooked the fry-bread. Smeared with red butter and served with the remainder of last night's bully, lentils & tomato sauce, it made a solid lunch. Which I doubt I could have finished, were it not for the assistance of a very demanding little friend. 

Watching a TV show and may watch a 2016 movie later. Or may simply take the opportunity to get some sleep.

Tomorrow, I have to start working on something I can sell. I have four these purpleheart boards

and I can get more if required. The boards are approx 10¼" long. Two are 4¼" wide and the others a bit wider at 5⅜" wide. I could make a trinket box out of these boards; it would be about 2"x5⅜"x10". Or, by rearranging the boards, I could make it narrower but taller (2½"x4“x10“) instead. Or I could make two boxes, not as long as 10".

But not today.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

It's nearly midnight. Rain was bucketing down so we had to wait until there was a break to go on our Garden Patrol. A cool breeze was blowing and is in the bedroom window now. There was dark cloud to the North, South, East and West but directly overhead was open sky with a nearly full moon. (I think illumination tonight is in the order of 97%.)

Mo is not happy with me because I did not share my dinner with him. He got chow and cheesey treats for breakfast, a significant share of my lunch and more cheesey treats with his chow for dinner. But he is not happy because he got no share of my dinner. The fact that I had no dinner did not mollify him one bit!

Listening to some 10cc, like Rock 'n' Roll Lullaby, I'm Mandy, Fly Me and Don't Hang Up.

Spent the day in my jimmy jams doing nothing. Now I think I will try sleeping in only shorts tonight. It's wet and cold, but not as bad as it's been these last few weeks. So I will risk it. But that long sleeved tee shirt will be right under my pillow, should I need it during the night!

Mo is here, alternately looking out the window and eating the lid of a Rubbermaid container. He's been eating it for some weeks so there is no point taking it away. It was ruined when I first saw him with it, some time around Christmas. Oh, he's gone out, after a long scope out the window. 

I never did take a snooze this afternoon so I'm tired again. I will wait for him to return and then lock up and call it quits. The rain has started to drizzle (probably that black cloud to our East has drifted down towards us as expected so I'm shutting the window to avoid blow-in.

Mo has now returned and is leaning against me, polishing his sphericals. I better end now and go put us in lockdown.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Slept comfortably with only a pair of shorts on. Right up until 3:00, when Mo insisted I get out of bed to open the door for him. It was cold, and I put on the long-sleeved tee shirt before returning to bed. I do believe that had I not been roused by the high-decibel barking on my eardrum and the simultaneous application of The Paw/Claw, I would have been comfortable under my sheet until morning.

I just heard that the couple whose tent I shared when I first went to Brighton had a baby boy yesterday. No details, but best wishes to them!

Just ate lunch, assisted by a puppy who always wants his share of my grub, but never sets aside a share of his grub for me! Now the meal is over and he has polished the plate, he has departed.

Been feeling sick all day. May try to sleep it off later. Walked over to deposit the money from Brighton and walked back. Had hoped the short stroll and the fresh air would help me feel better, but I don't think it had any effect. 

When the bank acknowledges the deposit (I used the drop box) I will pay the remainder of the utility bills and see exactly how much is left for groceries.

[Netfoot]

I paid all my bills... just in time for another bill to show up: the post office want me to pay for my PO box.  There is no way I will get that paid. So let's hope they will allow me to pay monthly. Or quarterly.

Ian Gillan and Richie Blackmore are competing for my ear drums with Child In Time. Always did like that Deep Purple In Rock album! Mo was here a moment ago but raced out to bark at someone passing by. He should be back soon.

With the bills paid (except the GPO) I have $60 to spend on grub. I've got masses of rice, a few packets of macaroni and one (albeit pretty large) potato. Bully beef is low, one possibly two tins. Ate the last carrot today. Have not seen cucumbers or pak choy for a while. Nor a decent plantain. Think there is one tin of Cuisine lentils, no tins of Matouk's red beans, and no tuna fish. I should get some tuna. Ounce for ounce cheap tuna is cheaper than cheap bully beef, but it doesn't go as far. Even so, it's good to have an occasional change from bully.

Unfortunately, I also need to buy wood glue. One pint cost $28 and one gallon cost $93 so a gallon bottle gets you eight times the glue for only three times the money. But I don't have enough to buy a gallon. As it is, a pint will deplete almost half my groceries money.

I can still hear Mo outside complaining about something. I will go and summon him inside and lock up. I can also check my chargers.

I periodically recharge all my torches and their extra batteries. Got stuck into that this evening. Got 3-4 left to do (out of 13) and then will start on the spare batteries. I have four single-cell chargers and most of the remaining torches use two cells. I have some two-cell heads on single-cell bodies powered with lithium cells to maintain the higher voltage and keep performance high. I hope that the two cells currently charging will get complete when I go lock up, so I can put another pair on to charge overnight. 

I think I will go lock up now. 

ETA: Tomorrow is the first Tuesday of the month, so the book-tent should be there in the supermarket parking lot all day.

Mo refused to come into the house so he is now locked out.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Wore my tee shirt to bed last night, just in case. Good thing I did!

Opened the door at 1:30 to see if Mo wanted to come in. He was waiting on the doorstep and squeezed through the crack like toothpaste.

The battery charging continues. Nine done, one charging, and one more waits it's turn. Meanwhile the spare batteries are slowly being charged as well. Nine done, one on charge and three more waiting their turn. I like to charge them at the start of the hurricane season, but periodically I get the urge to bring them up to full charge. I really should cycle these batteries. In fact, I may do that next. One at a time.

Hungry. Always hungry these days. Maybe I've got a tape worm. I don't usually eat breakfast, but I would certainly eat some this morning, if there was anything suitable in the kitchen. Don't fancy rice. Although someone told me that rice is a main part of the traditional breakfast in the Philippines. Dunno if to believe them, but I would happily eat rice for breakfast; I just don't feel like cooking it first thing in the morning...

[Netfoot]

Just back from the store. Cucumbers, which were $3.49 last time I bought some, are now $9.49. When I noticed that, the ones I'd already picked up got put down hurriedly. Got some pak choy while it remains in my price range, some bully beef, a little tuna, some carrots, some onions, a new tub of red butter, a bunch of el-cheapo lentils, and some macaroni. Which has also gone up from $1.75 to $1.95.

Parked across from the book tent. Mo loudly expressed his desire to be let out to prowl around, be a nuisance, wreak destruction and get himself killed by a passing car. I ignored his wishes this time.  When I got back from shopping (with my pitiful hoard of groceries), there were a number of the book tent ladies playing with Mo through the open car window. He really is cute as a button and can easily fool people into thinking he is a little angel. rather than the devil-spawn that I know him to be!

Post Office lady says pay the $260 by the end of this month or they will give my box to someone else. I asked and was told I can indeed pay quarterly, but will have to visit the main post office in town to make the arrangements for that. So, burn some gas and then pay for parking, because the last free parking space to be had in Bridgetown was snaffled up back in 1966!

[Netfoot]

Cold in the garden. With a creepy moon, waning gibbous and shiningbregly shining redly out from between a heavy black patchwork of cloud.

Listening to Black Dog by Led Zeppelin. Mo is here with me but the house is not locked up yet, so he may be back and forth for a while yet. He is cleaning his feet.

Took to bed right after a full lunch of rice with bully beef, carrot and pak choy, with lentils. Seems every time I eat a full meal my tummy hurts.  Just the general processes of life seems to be getting more difficult as time passes. I think it's called Old Age. 

All torches fully charged and all spare batteries charged too. I have my favourites but I should start using them all in rotation. (Mo's gone outside.) My torches are varied, but they are all made by dearly departed 4Sevens. Some are Twisties, which make them slightly smaller. Some are clickies which are a little easier to use with one hand. (Mo is back.) The Preon I and II models can me switched back and forth between clicky and twisty. (He's gone again.) The Quarks are tactical torches, recessed clickies that can tail-stand. One has the bursty head that will run double normal current in a 30 second burst on initial switch-on, before pulling back on the current so as to prevent the torch getting too hot to hold, or the head from burning out. (Mo is back.)

I use different ones for different purposes. I'll carry a small Preon on Garden Patrol. Or a Mini, or Mini Turbo. the other day I used a Mini on my hat brim because it has a brim-clip. I will use a larger Preon if I think I will need extended use. If I have to leave home at night I will take one of my Quark tacticals. Because you never know. Prolly the bursty one. Or the one with five brightness levels.

Why am I geeking out on my torchlights?

One of the ladies at the book tent is mother in law to a guy who is daddy to one of Mo's brothers. His name is Cooper. Apparently, he is incredibly naughty, and very self willed. And they know the people with who yet another of Mo's brothers live with. And he is incredibly self willed and naughty as well! So it seems it's in the blood. Mo is just a wicked, evil pupper by birth!

Well, after buying a groceries, I ate a solid lunch and ended up with tummy ache. So for dinner I ate something a little less... seasoned and a little simpler. I made fry-bread again, and ate it with a smear of red butter and a very simple sauce. Simple, but it tasted good. And Mo insisted in a fair share as he usually does.

I remember when I used to make soups. And stews. With exotic ingredients like mushrooms, sweet peppers and jalapenos. I recall eating minced beef. Chicken breasts. The occasional small steak. Oh well. Can't complain. Some people don't have anything to eat.

Mo seems settled now, so I will go lock up, and see how many hours sleep I get before he wakes me up again, demanding to be let out...

Edited February 8, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Wooden planter, 4" tall and 8½" across.

Should I keep the rope handle? Replace with a wooden dowel? Or lose the handle all together? Should I distress it? Stain it darker? Sand the corners slightly rounded or leave them sharp? 

Should I drill holes in the bottom? It isn't water tight so any water will leak out anyway.

If you were looking to buy something like this what would you consider a fair and reasonable price? Or put another way, if you were trying to sell this, what price would you ask?

Edited February 8, 2023 by Netfoot

[Mr. Sparkle]

My 2 cents? Leave the rope, stain it darker. $35 US. 

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Wooden planter, 4" tall and 8½" across.

Should I keep the rope handle? Replace with a wooden dowel? Or lose the handle all together? Should I distress it? Stain it darker? Sand the corners slightly rounded or leave them sharp? 

Should I drill holes in the bottom? It isn't water tight so any water will leak out anyway.

If you were looking to buy something like this what would you consider a fair and reasonable price? Or put another way, if you were trying to sell this, what price would you ask?

I think the rope looks good, if people don't like it, they can remove it themselves.  I presume the rope is cheaper than wooden dowels, and, since these are decorative objects anyway and not meant to be carried around, I'd stick with the rope which I think probably makes it more interesting to look at than another piece of wood.

I don't think it needs drain holes if water can leak through the seams.  I like the idea of a dark stain and don't think you need to sand the corners or distress it.

I'm terrible at figuring prices, but there are similar planters on Etsy, made of cedar, that seem to run around $85 apiece.

[Netfoot]

Thanks, everyone, for your input. 

3 hours ago, Notabug said:

I presume the rope is cheaper than wooden dowels...

The holes are ⅝" and a suitable hardwood dowel would cost $4.99 but that dowel would do for four planters this size, so $1.25 per planter. ½" manilla rope (bigger is difficult to get through the holes) goes for $1.50 per foot, and I need 2 feet to make one handle. So, $3.00 per planter. But I do think the handle of natural-fiber rope looks better.

I think I am going to (try to)  complete the other two taller planters without messing them up, and then I may decide to stain them using my own stain made from vinegar and rusty nails. I may first paint them with tea, so as to increase the amount of tannins in the wood. It is this that reacts with the iron in the stain to darken the wood. Tomorrow I will do two scraps, one with tea and one without. Just to see how dark each  method gets so I can decide.

Mo is here snuggling up against my thigh. He came and demanded we do our Garden Patrol early, and I was happy to oblige. A clear moon and a slightly cool breeze. But the moon and all other sources of light, such as street lights, neighbors porch lights, etc, have a halo around them. At first I thought it was my glasses but I took them off and the halos remained in place. So, I'm not too sure what the halos mean. I know that in cold climates it indicates micro-crystals of ice in the air. Obviously, it isn't that. And there was no fine drizzle of rain. So I can only assume it is some sort of mist?

Mo was in a pranking mood. He would disappear in the dark, and reppear running towards me at top speed. A few feet away, he would leao into the air and slam into me at high speed, with his two front feet. His usual target is the tummy, which results in me making a loud ooof! sound. Or else he goes for the goolies, which leads to me making an entirely different and usually louder sound. But tonight I was able to twist aside and take the impacts on the point of my hip instead. 

No sooner did we return to the house, than a heavy downpour came thundering down, but fortunately it didn't last long. What a clever doggie to insist we patrol earlier than usual tonight!

I had one potato left and I ate it for lunch and dinner. It was a bit of a giant. So, I guess it's either rice or macaroni tomorrow. Or fry-bread or dumplings. Until I get to the supermarket.

My phone bill, paid two days ago? Got a new phone bill today. You can't win. 

I also got a text telling me that my mobile balance would expire in a couple of days. "expires 2023-02-11 00:00:00." OK, but it also says "Bonus of 60.00 expires 2022-03-11 11:31:18." Now, WTF does that mean? I'm going to have to go ask them. I need to top up the phone anyhow...

Nearly midnight. Mo will probably demand I let him out around 2:30 to 3:00 so I'd better get some shut-eye. If he will let me. He is clawing and biting at me quite forcefully, this evening.

 

[Netfoot]

Ok! I cut a piece of scrap into two and treated one with my vinegar & nails solution. As you can see, the treated piece has become much darker. 

If you look closely, it is easy to see a line separating the scrap piece into two distinct areas. The larger area (leftmost) is a shade darker than the smaller area. This darker area was dipped in my morning cuppa (before I added milk & sugar) and left to dry. You can clearly see the effect of the tea-treatment.

The difference is not great. But then, this wood darkened rapidly. Moreso than I would have expected. What ever wood this is, I think it must have significant levels of tannin, even without being dunked in hot beverages.

I'm making bottoms for the other two planters. To prevent having to cut the octagonal shape by hand, I made up a quick jig for cutting corners off of squares. When the glue dries I will test it out. 

Yesterday, when making the first planter, I glued alternating sides, but one at a time. (If you glue every other piece in an octagon to it's neighbors, then all eight pieces get glued to their respective neighbors.) Today I will try gluing up more than one piece at a time. I would like the task to be achieved by a single glue-up rather than four separate glue-ups with a delay for drying in between. But with eight pieces that becomes eight glue joints, and eight splines, all to be done at once. I'm hoping this won't be too finicky.

Mo let me sleep until 6:30 this morning. Probably because the scamp managed to unlock the door and let himself out, some time during the night. Or did I fail to lock up the house last night? I know I got out of bed and set off to do that. I find it hard to believe that I'd have walked to the door and then walked away from it without locking it!

[Netfoot]

It rained earlier so the grass was wet when we went on patrol tonight. The air was cool, and the sky very clear. Hardly a cloud to be seen, and what there was, was high altitude cirrus. The moon has a sort of yellowish look to it. It's still gibbous but close to third quarter.

Last night, I wore the full winter-ready bedtime outfit as before. I was planning to skip the long trousers tonight, but the more time passes the more I think I should go full Shackleton again tonight.

I had macaroni with tuna fish for lunch, with some onion and pak choy. Some of the topping remained so I cooked more macaroni and finished the sauce for dinner. Just before we went on patrol I went and frisked the fridge. Found a package of rice cakes. Round, insipid things with no flavour. But I also found an egg, which I fried carefully so the white was set but the yellow was not. A teaspoon of corned beef in the pan to warm in the oil and I had a tiny snack for Mo and I to share.

Second planter completed. Except no rope handle added as yet. Letting the glue cure up overnight. Hopefully the third one will be completed tomorrow. I'd like to mill some lumber too. I don't like to run that perishing loud planer on weekends, so I should plane some boards tomorrow so as to have some ready for use over the weekend.

Tomorrow, got to buy rope for planter handles, a pot of glue and top up my phone with a few bucks. Feeling tired, and I have a puppy curled up and sleeping on my thigh. Going to shift his sleepy head, lock up and go to sleep.

[Netfoot]

It's after midnight, somehow, and Mo and I are finally in bed listening to those four guys from Liverpool.

Started our Garden Patrol with Mo waving a wet sock at me and dancing away, just out of reach. I assumed I'd be sleeping with only one sick sock on tonight. Finally finessed the sock away from him and hung it up to dry. Now, getting dressed for the night, both of my socks are where I left them. So I have no idea where he got the one he was playing with. 

All three planters are finished, bit but the last one is curing overnight. Tomorrow I will touch them up with a little sanding, apply the stain and add the remaining rope handles. 

Wanted to buy the rope and some more wood glue, but as it got late I remembered that tomorrow is Saturday and the hardware store will be open. Then, with the last of the woodwork complete, I realized that Kooyman stays open until 7:00 PM, and are just around the corner. I looked longingly at the gallon bottles of Titebond-II and -III but settled for a pint of -II and 8 oz. of a different brand of glue that claims to be water proof. Will try it out and see. Bought this because it was cheaper than the Titebond-III. Also bought a bag of dinner mints and another bag of Choco-mints, at a very low price. Stopped on the way home to pick up the required 4' of ½" rope for the handles and a pack of Teatime biscuits. 

Mo was very pleased about the Teatime bikkies, and so was I; they went great with a cuppa tea. When the last one was gone, Mo stole the wrapper out of the bin and tried to eat that.

In between assembling planters and waiting for the glue to dry, I went on Mr. Noisy and planed 15 boards, about 3' long. There are several boards which are flawed. Cracked, chipped, etc. But if some part of the boards have to be discarded, there is at least some useful wood to be had in each piece.

I would like to try resawing some of them, to see if I can get useful lengths of lighter wood out of them.

Resawing is the third way of cutting wood. First is ripping, where a board of say 1x6x30" is cut along its length, giving two boards of 1x3x30". The second way is a cross-cut, where the board is cut across it's width, giving two boards of 1x6x15". The third and trickiest cut is the resaw, where you do a rip cut, but along the thin edge, giving two boards of ½x6x30". Depending on how thin and wide a board you start with, it's a bit like using a razor blade to slice a sheet of paper into two sheets of paper the same size, but half the thickness.

Anyway, I want to make a couple of hump-backed, pirate chest type boxes. The problem is to find small enough hinges. The smallest hinges around here are quite large. The solution is to build the box bigger to fit the hinge. But if I build larger boxes, I will want to fancy them up a bit, which is more work, time, glue...

Also wouldn't mind making myself a slightly larger folding table and a matching stool. But for that I will need more wood. Which I have, on the form of 6-8 more pallets.

Anyway, dunno what tomorrow will bring. Had rice for lunch and dumplings for dinner, but the blood sugar this morning was low, so I should not peak up too high. 

And finally, Cyril... Time for me to do an orderly shutdown. Will post a photo of my three planters tomorrow, when I've got them handled and stained. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Here are the three planters, finished all but the handles and the staining.

Will stain a short section of the rope to see if it will darken, and if so, whether I prefer it darker or lighter. Obviously, I should have refrained from adding the handle to the first planter until any staining was done, but I'm not cutting that handle off, so if I decide to stain the planter but not the rope, I will have to wrap up that handle to protect it while I paint the planter itself with rusty-nail juice.

Later!

[andidante]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Here are the three planters, finished all but the handles and the staining.

Will stain a short section of the rope to see if it will darken, and if so, whether I prefer it darker or lighter. Obviously, I should have refrained from adding the handle to the first planter until any staining was done, but I'm not cutting that handle off, so if I decide to stain the planter but not the rope, I will have to wrap up that handle to protect it while I paint the planter itself with rusty-nail juice.

Later!

Those are really nice!

[Netfoot]

Oh, by the way, the rope for the handles, being natural vegetable matter - namely manila hemp - stains well. 

 

I have stained the planters and I'm waiting for them to dry thoroughly. Then I will attach the handles and stain them too. I could stain the rope first, but the whipping would still need to be stained after the handles are attached.

And it has stained my stomach too, in a beautiful speckly pattern as droplets from the brush spatered against it. I deliberately removed the shirt so ad to avoid staining it, but never thought.....

ETA: I'VE CHANGED MY MIND!

I've dunked the rope in the jar of stain, and will tie the handles after the rope dries. When I use the cotton twine to whip the handle around the knot, I can use a small brush to stain the whoppings whippings. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

In bed, late and tired. The planters and the bit of rope needed for the handles are stained and I'm leaving them overnight to dry thoroughly. 

The stain does make the planters look old and beat up; vintage you might say. I'm not sure if I should apply a wax/oil finish to the stained wood, or even a coat of polyurethane varnish.

Everyone I asked (and I mean everyone) said to stain them. But honestly? I prefer the look of the clean, pale, unstained wood. Too late to do anything about it now. Will post a group portrait tomorrow when the handles are complete.

Almost out of stain, so I began brewing up a new batch. It will probably take a couple of days for the vinegar to absorb the iron in the rust of all the rusty nails I could find. Hope the new batch works as well as the old!

Listening to Mick Hucknall singing If You Don't Know Me By Now, a cover of the song by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Mick sold something like 50 million records in the 25 years he was with Simply Red. As a young man, he had a reputation for shagging all the groupies that followed the band, and when a reporter asked him about it, he replied "It's a dirty job... but somebody has to do it!"

Going to lock the door, put in my socks and gloves and go to bed. Spend all day in a pair of shorts, then put on all that to sleep at night. Global warming my ass, Gretta!

Left him sleeping in bed

and went to shut the door. As I was about to close it, he  unexpectedly shot between my legs and disappeared into the night. It was at least five minutes before I could persuade him to come back in.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Working to finish the planters, I decided I didn't like the colour/texture of the wood, so I considered waxing it. I tried it on the little piece I first tried the stain on, and preferred the result.

The upper section of this planter is before waxing, and the lower portion is after. I much prefer the look of the waxed wood, and the wax will help protect the wood as well. I used plain parafin wax for this; no need for beeswax in the garden, I think.

So, on to making the handles. The rope for some reason, frayed itself open at the end. It was obvious I wouldn't be able to tie any sort of decent knot so I decided to temporarily serve the end of each of the three strands. One more to go:

With this, I was able to tie a simple Crown, and tuck the ends over the next strand and up through the middle. I thought I was tying Ashley #778 but checking the reference later indicates that knot starts with a Wall, not a Crown. In any case the knot looks suitable to purpose and I will finish the planters with the same knot.

Here it is, tied and tightened:

Next to remove the temporary service and with a heavier cotton twine, serve the rope just on the outside and inside of the knot. I used Ashley #3442, known as Common, Plain or Ordinary whipping. Again, no need for Sailor's, American, French, Portuguese, or in fact any of the 15+ other methods described by Ashley.

This white cotton twine will need a touch of stain to cause it to darken, more in keeping with the rope and the planter itself.

Now, I must fit this handle into one of the planters and tie the complementary knot, to fix it permanently in place.

But it's nearly one o'clock, so I will have to consider a meal first. It will needs to be rice, since I have no spuds and I had pasta yesterday. I wish I had a bigger pot. I'd cook enough for two meals and have the other half for dinner!

Better get to it, then.

[Netfoot]

Planters finished. Stained, waxed, handles attached.

I they look aged and rustic, but I still prefer a pale or blonde wood.

My house is full of wood shavings. They are everywhere. In the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom, my sock drawer... and I just can't figure out how it's getting in!

Anyway, I leave you with a photo of Mosey Posey:

[Netfoot]

Late to bed, again. Neil Young playing Southern Man, Don't Let It Bring You Down, etc, from After The Goldrush.

Mo is here with me and the house is locked up, but hecwoildxrther he would rather be outside barking at the dark for the next few hours, I'm sure.

Cooked a pot of rice for lunch. Bully, lentils, carrots, pak choy, garlic, red pepper flakes and red butter on top. Didn't eat all, so put the remainder in the fridge. Come dinner time I couldn't be bothered to warm it up, so ate it cold with a teaspoon. 

With the planters complete, I need to find something else to work on.  I think I will build a removable bottom shelf or shelves for my folding table. Actually, what I want to build is a whole new table, just a little bigger. Then a removable shelf for that would be in order, and would not become a discard when the new table gets built later. Which is what would happen to it, if I built it to fit the small table I now use.

Will see what good pallet wood I have available. The top will be simple enough. But I will want to mill thicker pieces for legs and supports. Then too, I will want to keep everything as light as possible so some lightening on the legs, etc, might be in order.

Thinking that the next planters (assuming I decide to make more) might be pickled instead of stained and waxed. Not 100% on how the pickling takes place. Heidi will know, but she really isn't talking to me these days. She was in the states a few weeks ago, and I asked her to call the people who make my chuck and her get a part number and price on a Woodworm Screw Chuck for my lathe and she just couldn't even manage that for me.

Going to turn in now.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Looked at building a slightly larger folding table, today. I have all the boards needed to do the top, but the legs and supports need some slightly heavier boards. I have several boards that I might use. Nothing esentially essentially wrong with them other than the blackened nail holes, which I would deem a feature rather than a bug. Unfortunately the boards are all twisted. 

The normal way to un-twist boards like this would be to use a jointer, which would leave one side flat. Then using that as a reference, the planer would make the other side flat and parallel. Unfortunately, I don't own a jointer.

Very tired; eyes closing.

So if you don't have a jointer and need to flatten wood, you can do it with the planer and a Jointing Sled.

I could make a jointing sled to flatten boards, but the thing is, you need to start a very flat board. So, you need a jointer to make a jointing sled, which will do the job of of the Jointer you don't have. If you have a jointer you can make a jointer sled which you won't need, because of the jointer you already own!

It's too confusing. I'm going to sleep.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Completed a lightweight shelf for the bottom of my folding table.

It simply slots into place and because it has reinforcing cross-strips which "hook" onto the leg supports, it has to be lifted and turned to come off, so it I'd be quite secure.

Here it is in use:

I resawed some wood and planed it very thin - only ³/¹⁶" except where the cross-strips are. Because it's thin it very light. I can easily pick it up between two fingers. It's obviously not as strong as if it were ⅝" thick, but I don't intend to load it down with heavy items. If it ever fails, I can remake it with stronger boards but I consider it unlikely that it will fail. 

Originally, I thought that to build an extra shelf for this table would be silly, since it would only be thrown away when I eventually build myself the larger, rustic, folding table I've been thinking of. This was faulty thinking. Because, when I do build the ruatic rustic, folding table, it isn't as if I will throw away the current table!

For lunch, I planned to make a batch of dumplings and a small bowl of corned beef stew with onions. As I was preparing the dough, I spotted a tin of "Chicken & White Rice Soup." I thought "Buggrit!" and slung the dough into the fridge for dinner, heating up the soup for lunch. 

There are two things that should never be put in soup. (Well, there are loads of things that don't belong in soup, but I'm talking about two things that people often out put in soup that ruin it.) Those things are: pasta & rice. Lunch was not that good. I ate the rice with a spoon and then drank the broth. There were some tiny cubes of something I in there which u I suppose might have been chicken, but it would take some sort of lab test to determine the truth of it.

Unfortunately, all I have is rice & macaroni. No potatoes. So if I made a batch of soup, it would have to have one of them in it. I'd pick the rice because pasta in soup is just mush. Ugh! Of course, I could put dumplings in it instead/as well. I remember not that long ago I used to make good soups with all sorts of things in them. 

Only a handful of teabags left, very little sugar, and enough milk for maybe one mug. 

Lost my cellphone. Somewhere around the house. Was going to call it and listen for the ring, but then I remembered it has no "minutes" left, so it wouldn't ring. Thought about asking a friend to call it from their cellphone. But first I went to see if there was any means I could employ from my desktop, to make the phone make a noise. Google's "Find My Device" website set the phone atootling and I quickly found it locked in the car. Goid Good to know. Works even if the phone is in silent mode.

Got some "found footage" taken at the cliff and working on it. May share the final edit with you later...

Edited February 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Dinner was dumplings with a tomatoey sauce with onion and bully beef. Either I overdid the pepper in the sauce, or I added pepper to the dumplings themselves when I made the dough at lunchtime. Either way, it scorched my mouth and lips and I had to get a second glass of water. Delicious!

A heavy shower fell this evening but fortunately it didn't last long, so as soon as the last drop fell, Mo and I took our chance to make our Garden Patrol. Light overcast, moon not obviously visible at this hour, and a very gentle breeze only. Last night was almost warm, but I am dressed up in head-to-toe sleep gear again tonight.

Ran out of room in my /home filesystem today, so I ran lvresize to increase the partition by 64G and then did a resize2fs to extend the filesystem into the enlarged partition. (I remember when you could not do this with the partition actively in use!) While spelunking through my /home directory looking for files to delete, I came across a largeish video file. It turned out to be from an afternoon at the cliff, where I left a camera running. It was about an hour long. Skimming through it, I saw an old friend who appeared several times, briefly. I created a supercut of his appearances. It is just under 2 minutes long. The video quality leaves much to be desired and the audio is rubbish. Mostly wind noise. You can hear some mumbled conversations, but I wouldn't bother to try and work out what's being said. It will probably be all about large boobies once encountered, larger fish that were almost caught, and highly improbable aerobatic maneuvers successfully accomplished when no witnesses were present. Anyway, click here to see the short video.

Cut up a big chunk of tamarind and the wood looks good. Potential for several bowls there. Hope none of the pieces turnout punky on the inside. The bits all look surprisingly sound and nicely coloured with nice spalt running through the pieces without being too over the top. 

Today was Valentine's day and for the first time in over a decade I failed to give Dr. Kristi my usual present: Hershey's Kisses. I searched everywhere and couldn't find any to buy. You would think that a confection named "Kisses" would be obvious for Valentine's day, and would be on a shelf in every shop. But not even the stores that specialize in candies had them.

Androgyny by Garbage playing. I absolutely love Shirley Manson! My absolute favourite cousin Lindsay who lives in Glasgow told me he once went round to visit a mate early the morning. Shirley was there having breakfast with the rest of them, having crashed there the night before. Lucky bastard to have met her! (But I'd suggest you never accept a bowl of cornflakes from her.) Check his link for an interesting peep into the sort of family I get to contend with. (I love you, Lin!)

After midnight, puppy crashed out on my thigh. Going to lock the door (unless he dashes out like the other night) then douse the lanterns and get some sleep. I had something else to tell you, but I've forgotten what it is, so it obviously wasn't very interesting.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Last drop of milk went into my morning cuppa. 

Cut some tamarind into bowl blanks on the bandsaw, but this happened:

That's $103 down the drain. I have other blades but not the ¾" blade I normally use when chopping up big blocks of wood. I'd actually like a 1" blade (biggest my saw will take) but they aren't available here, and it would cost me U$57.30 plus shipping and duty and delays at customs to get one.

I have another ¾" blade I could try but it is old, dull and has a kink in it. But I may be forced to use it. I also have a ⅜" blsde, but it's a little weedy to be hacking huge chunks of tree.

At least I did get these blanks out of this morning's exercise:

Have arranged to go to Brighton this Saturday and fingers crossed for a couple of sales because I need some cash. So I have to get at least these three finished and maybe more. 

But there won't be more unless I figure out how to get these pieces cut up:

Edited February 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Notabug]

Quote

It turned out to be from an afternoon at the cliff, where I left a camera running. It was about an hour long. Skimming through it, I saw an old friend who appeared several times, briefly. I created a supercut of his appearances. It is just under 2 minutes long. The video quality leaves much to be desired and the audio is rubbish. Mostly wind noise. You can hear some mumbled conversations, but I wouldn't bother to try and work out what's being said. It will probably be all about large boobies once encountered, larger fish that were almost caught, and highly improbable aerobatic maneuvers successfully accomplished when no witnesses were present. Anyway, click here to see the short video

I smiled when I saw Budweiser front and center, keeping the lads in line.  

The coastline is so rugged and beautiful there.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Notabug

[Netfoot]

Hot off the lathe!

5¾" by 3¼". I like the pronounced line of spalt that runs across this side of the bowl. Other side is pretty too, but I like this side best. 

Another piece is already on the lathe being roughed out, but I'm taking a break for a cup of black tea. (Ugh!)

Quote

I smiled when I saw Budweiser front and center, keeping the lads in line.

He was a proper little fellow. Accepted as a club member by all the lads, he was fond of them as well. I still hurt when I think of his passing. When Dotty went he was a senior boy and I could see the writing on the wall as the years rolled on, but Buddy went in his prime. And frankly, I can't help feeling that maybe, if the people at the vet had spent more time looking after him and less time squabbling about who was working the weekend, the infection would have been managed better and he might have been saved. That's why Mo goes to a different vet now. 

Quote

The coastline is so rugged and beautiful there.

I agree totally. I love when we go gliding for that very reason. And of course, I like the gliding. Plus, sometimes visitors to the island who are exploring come along and stop and we get a chance to chat with them. That doesn't happen so much at the club. Sightseers don't usually drive down random agricultural tracks to see what they can find. It does happen when they look across and see a plane in the sky and come searching, but visitors (and locals too) come past at the cliff much more often. It is, after all, a public place.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

We got uh sayin' 'bout hey: "Cheap ting nah good; good ting nah cheap!"

Remember that bowl gouge I bought the other day? The cheapest I could find? The only one I could afford?

I was in the last stages of hollowing out another bowl (more later) and there was a bang. I thought the wood had split or cracked or let go somehow, so I stopped the lathe immediately and spent the next 10 minutes looking for a scrape, a catch, a scratch, a crack... anything wrong with the bowl. 

Couldn't find anything wrong with the bowl, so I thought "Duppies!" and decided to sharpen the gouge before continuing. When I looked at the tip of the gouge, this is what I saw: a huge chunk out of the tip of the chisel!

The idea that the tip of the chisel could just fly off like that, without significant damage to the inside of the bowl occuring is hard to grasp. 

This is supposed to be HSS (High Speed Steel, or Tool Steel). But this would lead me to believe that either i) it was very badly heat-treated to harden the tip, or ii) it isn't HSS at all!

Anyway, it will probably take me a fair while to re-grind the tip of this chisel, going slow so as not to overheat it and make the situation worse. I will finish the bowl with a scraper chisel and then sand and finish.

Mean time, let's see that again:

Wow. Just... wow. 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Netfoot