Sweet Home (from) Alabama

Whew! Concluding a few months of mostly traveling we got back to Shangri-la late Sunday evening after driving non-stop from Alabama, where L’il T’s family just moved (we were “helping,” a/k/a grandparenting L’il T and his brother).  Travel advisory — avoid Chattanooga if at all possible, the construction and attendant constriction made it a more than an hour of stop and go experience at 97 degrees.

I am looking forward to resuming some semblance of norma life, including full days in the shop.  This is made possible by the cessation of travel for most of the foreseeable future, along with finding a sturdy Mennonite lad to do most of the yard work.  We were spending 3-4 days a week just keeping the grass cut, brush beat back, and trimming the edges.  This young man could do what is necessary in 3-4 hours, rather than 3-4 days.  Oh, to have the exuberance and fortitude of the young!  That plus a $10k lawnmower makes a big difference.

Other than routine chores around the homestead I’ll be preparing for a Labor Day Weekend shindig at my friend Tim’s place, celebrating the historic crafts of our ancestors.  I’ll be assembling a vintage-form tool kit to fit into my antique cabinetmaker’s tool chest which has been used as storage for the past couple decades.  So, I’ll be there with tools and one of my Nicholson workbenches, in period costume, probably making a small dowry chest.  If you are in the region, stop on by.

In addition I’ll be ramping up for my only teaching event of the year, a 3-day Introduction to Historic Woodfinishing workshop near Charlottesville VA.

And resuming work on my magnum opus tool cabinet, and oh by the way L’il T is now big enough to use a step stool to wash his hands and brush his teeth.  The ones I made for his mom and aunt are still in service after 35+ years.

And my traveling tool kit needs completing.  As do a couple of Gragg chairs.  And those half-finished Studley mallet exercises, and the patterns for the genuine replicas.  And the custom oculars for my rifle scopes, bypassing the now nearly defunct right eye (dominant).  And the boat load of writing and editing staring me in the face.  And setting up a video system to make in-shop vids after I get the Gragg video edited.  And tuning my ripple molder.

And, and, and…