polyacrylamides Science Fun (or gushy colored diaper crystals )

Yup, that's right ~ our science experiment was all about gushy diaper crystals! Of course, we don't have anyone in diapers anymore, so we just went to the store and got a bunch of these little science experiment kits, and they were cooler, anyway, cuz they were COLORED in bright pink, orange, blue & yellow.

Izzy presented the science experiment, ( dig his funky whiteboard drawings! ;-D)

everyone had fun *growing* them,

& we learned that polyacrylamides can get REALLY BIG!!!

See that little petri dish the crystals are all crowded into in this pic? Well, Kat took 2 out and put them in their own little petri dish, and decided she wanted to ~feed the monster~, and see just how BIG they really COULD get!

And here they are, one day later, EEWWWAALLGHHH!!

They really ARE gushy!

And to think I was changing my kids' diapers every two or three hours! I CLEARLY could have gotten at LEAST 3 days longer in them ~ those puppies suck up some SERIOUS moisture!

Mental illness ~ could it be your drugs, the lack of God, both?

I was astounded by this article, & wanted to share it with everyone I possibly could.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Kupelian, as I have personally seen many examples on both sides of the coin ~



Why so many Americans today are 'mentally ill'


By David Kupelian



Posted: August 14, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern



"When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn’t sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind telling me to kill them."
You're reading the words of 12-year-old Christopher Pittman, struggling to explain why he murdered his grandparents, who had provided the only love and stability in his turbulent life. He was angry with his grandfather, who had disciplined him earlier that day for hurting another student during a fight on the school bus. So later that night, he shot both of his grandparents in the head with a .410 shotgun as they slept and then burned down their South Carolina home, where he had lived with them........

To finish the rest of the story, please follow this link, it's long but VERY well worth it! ~

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57143

Curry pork & rice cure all life's little ill's

I love curry, in bean soup, with any type of meat, and ESPECIALLY with rice. So, in an effort to love & be loved, I would like to share my curry recipe (well, tonight's recipe, anyway, it changes every time, since I am a ~pinch of this, pinch of that, till it smells right~ type of cook).

First off, I have to admit something, I use a pre-mixed curry blend powder from the bulk section at WinCo. It's not as good as the Spice Islands blend, & definitely not as good as fresh mix, however, it's cheap, and if I add some stuff to it, it works very well. Also, I only like to use fresh herbs, if I can at all help it.

The other thing I have to really re-iterate is, I cook to taste, always. So, sometimes it's spicier, could be saltier, could be garlic-ier, even green onoin-ier, just depending on my good ol' shnozz.

That said, here are the things I always use, in varying amounts.

fresh chopped Green Onions (stalks AND bulbs) ~about 4 to six stalks, or one bunch from the grocery store)

fresh minced garlic ~ about 2 Tbsp to 1/4 cup, depending on how garlicy you like it

Aloha Shoyu soy sauce ~ about 1/2 cup, depends on how salty you want it ( this is the ONLY kind of soy sauce I have ever liked, the flavor is fantastic, and compliments rather than overpowers)

sesame oil ~ probably a Tbsp or so

peanut oil ~ again, probably a Tbsp-ish

scant amount of dill weed ~ a pinch or a large pinch,, depending on how much hotness you want to cut

(dill weed cuts the hotness, so if you like a lot of spice flavor without the hot, dill weed is a perfect compliment, also, if you can't find this fresh, dried will do)

curry powder ~ about 3 to 5 Tbsp, depending on how spicy you like it, and how much you need to make

fresh minced ginger ~ about 2 tsp

OPTIONAL:

coconut milk to taste ( add in with 2nd soy sauce, makes a creamy light sauce, it's HEAVENLY!),

chopped cashews for garnish (salted taste the yummiest!)

some sort of meat, if you eat meat, if not, make a gravy & pour it over rice & veggies

We only eat meat once in a great while, so usually I cut it into small chunks and use it to mostly flavor the food, about 1/3 pound or less for 7 people.

about 3 tbsp flour , mixed with about 1 to 2 cups cold water, to make a rue, or saucy sort of paste, to thicken what's left on the pan, if you want to make a gravy out of it, plus water to thin it to desired amount & thickness of gravy)

First off, I take some sesame oil & some peanut oil ( enough to cover the bottom of the pan, plus a splash or so more, also, I guess you could substitute with olive oil, but it won't have quite the same flavor) put it on the bottom of the pan, add in the green onions, garlic, ginger dill, & curry powder, plus about 1/2 of the soy sauce. Then I turn on the gas to small flame, and let that all simmer together for a bit, making sure to mix the powder in with the oils & soy sauce.

Once the green onions have started to wilt ( or are not as firm looking), it's time to decide if you are going to add meat or not. If you do want to add meat, stick it on top of the mixtre in the pan, let it braize for a bit, then turn them over, add the rest of the soy sauce(if you are adding coconut milk, now is the time to add it, as well), sort of scraping up the mixture, ( you can add a touch of water here too, if not using the coconut milk, if you think it looks too dry or you are cooking extremely lean meat), put the lid on the pan, turn it to low, and let it cook till the meat is done. ( I have a huge fry pan I use, and I just turn a huge wok over the top of that to make a lid for it)

Now, when the meat is done, or, if you don't want to add meat, you can take the mixture that's in the pan, and make it into a gravy ( leave it simmering on low), by adding the rue ( flour & water mixture, be sure you have gotten all the lumps out!) into the pan. It will thicken up quite quickly, so add a touch more cold water (or coconut milk) to the mixture, plus the rest of the soy sauce to thin it to taste, making sure you scrape up all the goodness off the bottom of the pan. Tast the gravy, and see if it needs more saltiness, if so add a little more soy sauce, if it tastes too salty, add a bit more water, and if it's perfect, it must be ready to serve! Once you get to this point, you can add a few long fresh stems of green onion, makes it look pretty.

I like to make up a pot of jasmine or basmati rice to compliment the curry, but plain old regular rice works too. Also, corn, broccoli, spinach, greens, beets, etc, compliment curry very nicely.

If you have left-overs, the best place for them is with scrambled eggs in the morning! No kidding, left-over curry and eggs are simply DIVINE! Especially in chapati's or even corn or flour tortilla shells, if you don't have chapati's.

Dinner anyone?

today is monday~ monday bread & butter, it's all the same to me

Today is Monday,Today is Monday,Monday bread and butter,All you hungry soldiers,I wish the same to you~


reminds me of public school, and being ~ on the conveyor belt~ of public education, seeing my kids struggle on that conveyor belt, and feeling helpless to do anything about it.



What are some of the reasons people don't just get so disgusted they walk, & start homeschooling? I know there are many homeschooling families out there that have never dealt with the public system, & so don't understand why so many stay so long in such a broken system. Let me enlighten you & hopefully help other families teetering on the brink of indecision regarding homeschooling.

Because the public education system would have you believe that:



#1) You aren't capable of doing what they do, unless you have certificate stating that you are a professional (who gave all those mothers a certificate of motherhood, I'd like to know! Oh...God did....)

#2) You have no rights as a parent, the school & the government have all the rights, so just get over it and conform already! (anyone in the public school system can attest to this)

#3) Your child will not be ~properly socialized~ if they don't attend public school ( who ever said a Godless lot of 150 13 yr olds is the best place for a 13 yr old to learn how to act morally & become an upstanding citizen anyway?)

#4) Your child will academically suffer from learning at home, in fact, you could never offer your child the diversity that they will recieve with a public school education (in fact, time & again, even by the state standardized testing standards, homeschooled children score at least 95% better than public-schooled children, in ALL areas of testing)

#5) (the biggest lie of all) The public education system is ~EDUCATING~ your child, when they get out of it, they will be able to go on to college, &/or life; happily, with ease, able to make a living & join their fellow ranks of Americans, earning plenty & living the good life, knowing WHAT to think( but not how, don't be thinking for yourselves, there, America!). (This is so sad, because people automatically ASSUME that the only way to educate is to have a professional proclaim you ~Educated~, when in fact, all anyone can actually do is teach, each person must EDUCATE themselves. It is an ongoing, life-long pursuit, and does NOT in fact require any certificates, titles, or proclamations of ~Education~. And what exactly DOES public school prepare you for? Life on the conveyor belt, complete with debt up to your ears, hardly any real-life application {when's the last time you had to take a closed book test of life, were not allowed to get any help, and had to go home and write up 10 pages of completely non-instructive filler, just because you were ahead or behind everyone else?}, and a permanent job at the Walmart or McDonald's.)



If I could offer up just one book to families who are still trying to make the leap, and yet are unsure ~ please, if you can, read this book: " A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver DeMille.

I realize that most of this is not new to those already homeschooling, however, for someone just falling off the public school conveyor belt, and ~de-toxifying~ so to speak, it can be a major revelation!

I just want to add that This is NOT an open attack on public school teachers!! I have a mother and I think all of my 4 sisters who are either teachers or professors in the public system, and they are fantastic individuals, as are so many of the teachers my children have had through-out the yrs. I firmly believe, however, that it is difficult to succeed within the framework that the government & states have built.

Homeschool vs Public school ~& the debate is on~

See?? I SAID I would post again, really really really soon, and I DID!! hahaHAH!

So here is the dealio ~
My kids have been public-schooled now since they were in Kindergarten. But last year, (2006-2007) I tried something new. My oldest child was in 9th grade and hating life. Released time ( for seminary) was her only repreve in long day filled with endless homework, memorized diatribe and media-stained filth & expectations. The only saving grace was that her sister was just under her in 8th grade, and so they might see each other in the hallway or at lunch once in a while.

These two girls had braved the realities of the current status quo "Jr High experience" for 2 & 3 years. They had friends in the same boat ~ just pushing through the filthy rush, hoping to make it through as unscathed as possible. In the midst of all this, my husband and I were constantly there, trying to unteach what the world teaches, giving what insight and hope we could to what looked like a very bleak picture of the future. (All along, I have always tried to supplement my children's education, not only with fun vacations, museum trips, cultural introductions, fact-finding quests, and trying out new and different things, but also as a teacher's aide, a substitute, room mother, PTO member, and finally, PTO president... I have been VERY involved, in all 5 of my kids' educational progress.)

Then, mid-year, I heard about a different type of charter jr. high - highschool, based on a Thomas Jefferson Education. I had never heard of it prior, and when they gave me a book to read called "A Thomas Jefferson Education", by Oliver DeMille, I about flipped! It was EXACTLY what I was after! AND, it neatly refuted all of my former concerns about homeschooling. I HIGHLY recommend this book to ANYone. After reading this book, I knew something had to change. I researched the Jefferson charter school, & switched my oldest two to it. Then I started looking into homeschooling very seriously, in fact, I even considered taking my younger three kids out of school that very year. Of course, I didn't. I let them finish the school year out. I planned and planned some more, made a lot of new contacts within the homeschooling community, found out about federal funding, (figured out how to use it to MY advantage), prepared a place within my home to hold school properly, & THEN made the leap.

My two oldest kids ( ages 15 & 14) have the option of attending either my homeschool or the Jefferson-based chartered highschool, ( they chose the charter, which is great, they love it, and so do I), while my three younger kids (ages 12, 10, & 9) will get to homeschool, & wait for that once they hit 8th or 9th grade.

And so, we've done it, I'ved applied for and recieved the federal funding, I've put together an AWESOME curriculum, my husband has finished off the basement to make a NICE school room, with plenty of lighting & storage for school supplies & curricula materials, my kids have adjusted to the idea that they will actually get to have FUN with learning, and voila! ~ another homeschooling family is born!

And I have to say, I NEVER thought I would be a homeschooler. See my previous post for concurrence on this; I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I honestly thought that most homeschoolers were a little "sstraannnge". ( And great and mighty is the fall there-of......;-D)
So, without further ado, I'll be the first to admit my snasty hypocrisy, and proclaim my repentance! For I , too, have joined the homeschooling ranks!

my semi-blogginess sucketh tis true

And with that, I feel a poem coming on:

My semi- blogginess sucketh, tis true ~
I write only when I am bored or just blue ~
There are those who look on in disgust and distaste
For my blogging days hath been sadly mis-placed.

Indeed you might say,"HAH, look, a new day,
but no entry she gives a'tall."
"In fact, it's quite boring, I WAS all-adoring, but now, pft,
her entries are small."

You'd be right, of course,
in fact, I whole-heartedly endorse
a boycott of such extremes
that this blog ............

ah gee, I just can't finish it ~ any suggestions?

Look at what happens! I don't blog for a while, and VOILA! my poetic powers decline!
Sad, oh sad day!
BUT WAIT!! ~ There's MORE!! IF you act NOW, you TOO can have declining poetic powers! just enter the finishing lines to my poem in the comments section and we will ALSO include declining mental faculties. AND, if you act RIGHT this VERY SECOND, AT NO EXTRA CHARGE, we will also include declining bank account symptom!!!! Simply send $19.95 to this paypal account, and YOU TOO can be a decliner!! :-D (send payment to : redhed83402@msn.com )

Holy hannah ~ it COULD work, you NEVER KNOW.........( dee-nee neeeee nee, dee-neeeee-nee-nee...)

AARRGGHHH ~ I'm a blogger FAILURE ~ ok, ok, I know that was harsh ~ too harsh, perhaps. I mean, garsh, I DO blog SOMETIMES. But, like, if my family & friends were, like, depending on , like daily updates and stuff, like, whoooaaa, cuz, you know, I sorta suck at the daily scene.

Well, see, this is the dealio ~ I am going to post another post really really soon. No, really, Honest Abe, I am. Cuz guess what?
I am going to start homeschooling. It's true. Can't deny it any longer. Gonna do it. Can't stand the school system any longer. And guess what THAT means? My kids are gonna be ~all up in your face~ HOMESCHOOLERS. But I don't care. I'm gonna do it anyway. My poor kids were tinged with weirdness the day they were born to me simply by virtue that they were born to me, so...... whhheeeeewww... here goes. Gonna happen. Gotta do it. Can't stand the public school system anymore. I admit it, I used to mock homeshooling, in fact, I have to hang my head in shame, I DID, I really DID. And now, of all the hypocritical, turn-coat, low-down DEALIO's EVER, well, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna homeschool.

My mother is a retired schoolteacher, my sisters all have teaching degrees, and I .. well , I have a life taught degree (along with some college, I ain't a total gonner :-P). I think they are all disgusted with me, but I don't care, I just can't stand idly by and let my kids be ruined by all the filth and politically censored crap that goes on in the public teaching arena. It's not like it used to be. Now-adays kids can get shot just by being a regular public school attendee. Not to mention all of the other crap they have to endure. I don't want to filter life from my kids, I just want them to live & be able to grow up. So, here goes.

Sorry to all of you who read this blog for the ~Foray into the Woodshop~ posts. I will still post fun, different projects as Tony gets them, but I will likely vent a bit about the whole school thingy from time to time now as well. Such it is.
:-D








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WOW Visitor # 5000 !!!

Well, folks, Visitor # 5000 just came by today, and I was happy. Visitor #5000, from Taree, New South Wales, I just want to thank you for being that special #5000! You only stayed a scant 20 seconds, but hey, that's ok, everybody has choices to make, and if speediness or brevity was yours, well, my blog does not lend easily to it. You are forgiven. In Fact, you are HERALDED, because of course, you are #5000! Happy Day, #5000, may the blogging authorities that be overlook your whims and grace you with blogging ease!
A Moment of Silence.......
.......
...
.
Go in peace, O #5000
Go....
into the blogging world afar~
drift not into My Space Spheres
Be at peace with your Google Account~
Use search often
& remember,
~*YOU*~
were once heralded as the great
#5000



A special smile from me, to you.
May you ~#5000~ have a lovely day.
Always remember who you are.
You are #5000~
;-D

Foray Into The Woodshop * Carved Headboard *

Carved Headboard

Today our little ~ foray ~ will be a funky new headboard design. well, sorta funky, ok,ok, so it really isn't so FUNKY at all, really it's more like a traditional meets southwest and has a carving offspring. Hmm. you know, I don't think that label is gonna work on the catalogue, what do you think? Maybe I will just stick with FUNKY NEW HEADBOARD DESIGN. Hehehehehe.

All RIGHT already, I'll get ON with it..... in a sec. :-D

As you know, if you've read through other projects, Tony is a stickler for maintaining his equipment, and that's what he is doing here. Also, note the knee panel saw turn-off. This is the safest design I've ever seen, (Tony made it himself, not hard to do, but wise) and we both recommend it. After-all, I am Madame Paranoid, & am constantly concerned about safety, and have often let him know that I LIKE his fingers & hands, don't want them removed suddenly by any forceful, accidental or stupid means, and as Tony always says " I like all my fingers too."




At any rate, that knee panel shut-off is key, he can easily use his knee or even foot to bump the saw off quickly & safely.







Here we have measurements for the arch & such going on. This piece will be constructed of alder & agathis, (Not sure of that wood name, but it's what the lumber yard called it, and it seemed to match grain pattern with alder somewhat closely) with black walnut pins.





Clamping the legs, this is a dry fit, to check for tolerances, etc.


Ahhhh, the unlovely, unloved, and largely thankless task of sanding. And yet, without it, no project is complete. In fact, sanding is almost half the labor time of any job, and cannot be cheated on. It helps make the difference between fishy & professional.





More sanding & clamping, you can see the walnut pins in the sides. Tony always prefers to use wooden pins & dowels, dovetails, & mortise & tenon joinery to screws & nails. Not only does it distinguish the piece, but it also provides a nice tight fit that won't rip out, get sheared or joggled loose.





Close-up of the walnut pins. These are funky shaped, (aHAH ~ see, there IS some FUNK in this headboard! :-P)







Here is the layout for the carving. It will be a very simple wheat sheaf, which will go nicely with the overall design of the client's bedroom.





Carving with a GRINDER? Yep, not only does it save time, but it also provides a burn accent which really picks up quite nicely when finished. Tony still always cleans up all carving with chisels, however, as there really is no substitute for it.






And VOILA! Here we have the finished headboard! Now this client did not want a footboard or rails, as they did not have a lot of extra leg room around the bed. This is the beauty of custom-made, if you only have 1 extra inch between your bed and your nightstands, & yet you want a headboard, you can still have one!!




This is a composite view, & the bottom pic is a close-up of the carving. It is a very simple carving, & yet, it will accent the client's decor perfectly.




I hope you have enjoyed this ~ Foray Into the Woodshop ~.

Foray Into the Woodshop HOLY COW! a NEW POST! & fish stream table ;-D

For those of you who may have linked to this because of the table, please skip my little diatribe, unless you have a minute or two, & just scroll down to the pics. :-P (wussies! :-D)

Well I finally have an afternoon off to breathe a sec & I decided ~What the Heck, I haven't blogged in ........ well, such a LOOOONNNGGG time that really I am a titch embarrassed about the whole dealio. I mean, here I am, a confirmed bloggerette, and I seem to have a severe lack of *blogginess* to show for it in the last many many moons.

So, I just know everyone is waiting with ~ BAITED BREATH ~ to get to the current topic du jour (are yah blue yet, go onnn..... breeeeeeaaaatthhe, it's gonna take me a while to work up to that ~ :-D).


The truth of the matter is, I seem to have been sucked into the vortex of ~ business ownership reality ~ and as it happens, that vortex has a very strong time resistance pull, making time both stretch & recess at the most in-opportune moments. In layman's terms, you never seem to have enough time to get organized enough to make life easier when in the midst of a deadline crunch AND YET there are moments when you feel as though you might have to, in one simultaneously painful yank, dehair your head to a shining pate of glistening baldness for lack of work, and ~OH MY GOSH~ HOW are we gonna pay the bills...... WHEWWWW, they paid the invoices, so we have fundage again, BUT DANNNGGG, it's busy around here.


See, from this one little example we can clearly determine that neither technical jargon NOR layman's terms can be relied upon in times of true mental expression.


Ok ~ I think I have now shaken off most of my non-blogginess-cobwebs, and FINALLY ( oh hallelujah!) am ready to GET ON WITH IT!

So, This post ACTUALLY is about another project Tony has recently finished. This is a fish stream table, which is very cool. I should say the table is cool, my camera & I are not. HOWEVER, I am MOST pleased to announce the arrival of a brand new NICE camera onto the scene, which will GREATLY improve all parameters! No more nasty GRAIN issues, or lack of pixels, or low-light problems! YEAH! Now our catalogue can look decent and a ~little~ more professional ( I am still doing the photography, so .. you know, there ARE limits, but HEY, the CAMERA is good!) Guess what camera it is? Guess ~ guess.... gggguueeesss... ok, give up? it's a nice little Canon powershot SD550 Digital ELPH! YEAH! Hallelujah!!! ok, ok, so it's no MLR, but I ain't that good yet, sooo, this works. Sadly, this lot of pics ISN'T taken with the new cam, BUT, when we cover the headboard project, they WILL BE. wooo-double -hoo, eh? :-D I know, I know, I am rejoicing HERE too!

Are ya sick of my blabbing yet? (It's ok to say yes at this point, I know I am!)
















Here we have the basic set-up, Tony made this out of knotty alder. This piece was commissioned by an insurance salesman (Jason Dahl, great guy!) who has his entire office done in knotty alder.



Here are some fish that Tony carved to go into the *stream*.


The idea for this table originally came from Mr. Dahl himself, who had seen a table in Jackson Hole, WY, and asked Tony if he could do something similar. Well, Tony had not seen the table, and Mr. Dahl had no pics, but he described what he could, and Tony took it from there, to be something far more awesome than the one in Jackson. (This is because Tony is a perfectionist. Now if you asked Tony, he would say, "I don't want it perfect, I just want it RIGHT". hmpph ~ sounds a tad perfectionist to me, :-D.)




Here are some rocks Tony carved to go into the *stream* as well. He used butternut, walnut, redwood, alder, & pine for variations in rock color.

I have them up on pins to finish them, makes it easier to get around the entire piece. (Yes, I get to do the finishing. I am SOO not a finisher, even though I love it, we are leaning towards hiring out the finishing for the next few projects, just because I don't have the time to run the business, do marketing & web mastering AND be the finisher. Ain't working!)



Here is the dry set-up. We do this to make certain everything ~looks right~. (But it's not perfection, don't BE for calling it perfection! :-D)


Full on view of dry set up.



This is a close-up of the finished product. Glass is in, finishing is finished, & we deliver it in the morning. One of a kind, only one like it in existence. (And if you want one, it won't ever look EXACTLY like this one, because these are hand-carved, made one piece at a time, specially for that specific customer. We don't mass produce, we create masterpieces. :-D)



Here is the producto finito, just before we delivered it in the morning. Hope you all have enjoyed this little ~ Foray Into The Woodshop ~. Any questions, comments or complaints, go for it, use the commentary...... but if you're spammin', I'm gonna wipe ya! :-P

This just in:

I was able to take the new cam over to Mr Dahl's office today & get a few shots of the table. I think you will all agree there is a MASSIVE difference in quality with this new cam!





Here he has placed a nice elk sculpture on the bottom shelf.



Here is a much better close-up of the intereior *stream*.
If you double click the pics, they will enlarge even more, WITH the new enhanced awesomeness.



Other side of the stream, you can see a submerged log in there, rocks on the bottom of the stream, and 3 fishies.



And here we have a little dude fishing off the log, which I absolutely LOVE, he is so cute on there, like it was meant to be!

Pumpkin Carving with POWER (tools, chainsaw, you know)

This post has two purposes ~ 1st ~ YEAH!!! ~ it's been one year!! I can't believe I hit my one-year mark already! oh, I'm a happy bloggerrrr, oh II'MMM a happy BLOGGERRR~ hei-ho- the DAIRY-o, Oh I'm a happy bloggerrrrr!!!

Ok, that all done with, 2nd ~ I thought I might show off the pumpkins Tony carved at this year's Harvest Fest. Well, the pumpkins he carved that I got pictures of before they got carted off by happy pumpkin purchasers. (Yes, people really DO pay other people to carve them a funky, off-beat original pumpkin which I think they sometimes enter into contests as their own, but hey, I guess they DID pay for them :-D)

All right, first off, I have to say, Tony is a great fan of ExtremePumpkins.com
& regularly checks out the site for new & fascinatingly disgusting pumpkins to carve. ( He swears he's gonna enter one of his contests some time...) Since this Fest was a family affair, he stuck to the least offensive examples & still maintained high shock value. (It's amazing how routinely people are disgusted by even the remote SUGGESTION of pukery & cannibalism.)
I would like to make this suggestion; Do the Puker Pumpkin, put him on a tray, then put the candy for the kids INSIDE the pumpkin, and don't forget to mix some of it up in the *puke* as well. Shock value-added ~ :-D.


These two pumpkins were all-time favorites, it's a good thing he was using a router, jigsaw, & a drywall knife, or he would have been at it forever.



We teased him about not using a chainsaw to carve, and he was actually bummed he couldn't; apparently it would have been too loud for the crowd. But it is interesting, every single time he turned on a tool to carve with, he immediately got 50 - 60 onlookers, literally within just minutes. (So guess how he started every carving :-D)

Funny thing about that Brother Bear one, little kids kept coming up all day long to stick their hands in it.



This one was my favorite use of melons.... I mean uhh.. you know, those itty bitty pumpkin/gourd/miniature-what-the-heck-am-I-gonna-do-with-THIS thingy's. He was supposed to look like he was getting his eyes squeeged out.


I think it would have been more effective to have flayed him as well, but you know, when carving a bazillion pumpkins in a day, time is of the essence ~

Tony's biggest piece of advice? Draw it on with a dry-erase marker, then cut OUTSIDE the lines. Far less clean-up afterward. Also, that jigsaw ( or a sawz-all would be equally effective) is ESSENTIAL! Use it to make all of your major design element cuts. Taking off the skin to add depth can really liven up a carving as well, and either the router or a chisel can be used ( with stop gaps) to acheive the effect well. And finally, no matter how good or bad, easy or difficult the final carving is, it's really the IDEA that counts. As long as you get your IDEA across ( and its an idea worth GETTING across) you have acheived pumpkin carving SUCCESS!
Happy Harvest!!!

Marching Forces of Wooden Animals

SafeTinspector said...
The massed forces of the wooden bears made terrifying progress as they cut through the hapless civilian population of Boulder on their way to Mile High Stadium. It was only then that they realized the weakness of their race when the butane lighter struck....

Mr T, I want you to know that this is my husband's favorite line, every time we get a load of those bears going! In fact, he quotes this "It was only then that they realized the weakness of their race when the butane lighter struck.... " on a regular basis, especially when we are torching the bears.

I have been a litte bit busy of late ( ok, so when am I NOT busy? It seems to be a recurring theme on my lack of posting issues, eh?) but I DO have progress to share!
check it out, this is the new website I put up.
http://www.carvingman.com

Yes, I know it's only a piddly little microsoft publisher affair, but that is the most this 106 IQ-er can do. :-D

If any of you have higher webdesign skills or know how to make listings come up on google, etc (SEO stuff) we would trade a bear for it. Or two. :-D
Even suggestions would be nice.
I've noticed that html code strings don't work well with microsoft publisher, on the other hand, I can see what I am creating with it, instead of a string of code. (This is what happens when you have limited brain capacities, it tends to make your mind want to EXPLODE with frustration and annoyance!)

Ode to the Bears

O wooden bears
of wooden hairs
& torched black little buns

Your website's bad
it makes me mad
& I haven't had much fun.

I must admit
I've cussed at it
& screamed "What have I done?"

Adding meta tags
& site feed lags
are among the things I shun.

I see now
EXACTLY how
those SEO's make funds.

Who wants to sit
and work at it
When they could be having fun?

Did you see
how BADLY
my last rhyme was just done?

My brain is scrambled
I'm afraid I gambled,
And lost out on the pun.

ughh ~ time to stop odeing ~
I'm done.

For anyone that made it this far on the ode, I am truly impressed, you must be one TIRED BORED person, and I thank you for your rapt attention, it's harder and harder to come by of late. :-D

Just for that exercise in patience, I will post a pic or two of the rapidly increasing bear populace gaining momentum in our garage, eh?

Or maybe not ~ dang thing won't load up ~ oh well, click the link, and be AMAZED at my website building PROWESS! ;-D

Marching forces of wooden animals

Where AM I?

Good question, posted by Mr SafeT himself! I have been a verrrryyy buuusssssyyyy woman ~ ( how busy can a mom with 5 kids, a cat, one nympho-matic husband, 2 church callings, and 3 side-businesses, plus a NEW WRITING JOB!!!! BE?, you may ask yourselves ~ weeelllllll... pretty sorta busy, anyways...)


Well, to make a lengthy, fun blog short, boring and to the point, I have decided to quickly insert THIS bit of dribble. (yah, yah, yah, I knooowww, more TESTS ~ but hey, take the little IQ test, and see how brainy YOU are! )

Know what the sad thing is ~ I only scored a 106 ~ I think that makes me like a total numbskull ~BUT, here I am bravely publishing my IQ test results for all to mock and point at.
(Oh the lengths one will go to in order to avoid a meaningful, well thought-out blog entry ~ pity, isn't it? )

Ok, here goes, this is what Tickle has to say about me and my lousy IQ ( see how they have tried to make me feel better about being a numbskull? only 6 in 1,000 are as brain-dead as I am..... take the test, I'll bet they can make you all feel right chipper too! )
:-D


The Super IQ Test
How Smart Are You Really?

Red, your IQ score is 106

Your overall intelligence quotient is the result of a scientifically-tested formula based on how many questions you answered correctly. But it's only part of what we learned about you from your answers on the test. We also determined the way you process information.The way you think about things makes you a Linguistic Architect. This means you are brilliant when it comes to language and words. You are also very good at understanding things on an abstract level. You are at your best when you put those two skills together to communicate new ideas and see how they fit into different contexts. You understand math and science on a gut level, even if the equations and science don't come as easily. You can use these skills to be a great communicator or to create a masterpiece.
How did we determine that your thinking style is that of a Linguistic Architect? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you a Linguistic Architect. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.


Hey, this didn't come out looking right, maybe the web address will do better:
http://web.tickle.com/tests/superiq/result.jsp

How to Chainsaw carve a bear ~Part I~

Ok, ok, so this has to be the worst/longest sabatical I have ever taken from blogging, and the worst part of it is ~ I have had material all along, I simply have not had the time ~
Ok, woe is me :-P
Now, on to the better, more interesting stuff. Today you all get a look into the new and thrilling job of my husband, ~ that of chainsaw carving bears (among other things, he carves all sorts of stuff, both relief, in the round, chainsaw, etc). Remember when I said he had gotten sick to the gills of HR, and decided the income simply wasn't worth the anguish, and therefore switched over to bear carving?
Well, if you ever wondered how they do it, now yah get to see ~
Chainsaw maintainance is key to good carvings ~ if the blades are dull, they cut hot, and therefore slow down the carving, as well as cut ragged, and that heats up the engine, all bad joojoo, best to keep the saws in good working order.

Measuring the log, ( this bear is gonna be a biggy, it will stand taller than me, that's over 5 ft tall!)
Checking the log for cracks, positioning, and viability.
VROOM ~ hehehe, always wanted to make that noise!
This part would suck for me, but he likes it, cuz it's like lifting weights with a purpose, keeps him in shape for hockey season, he says. :-D
Checking out the best placement for the face, as cracks, boles, and knots make it more difficult, and can ruin the face.
Notice that he has to stand up on other logs to reach the top. That looks insane to me, but he insisted it was safe. Like OSHA knows ~ :-P
Some of the cuts are just plain physically demanding, let alone lifting the saw all day long.

You can start to see the face taking shape.
All right, blogger isn't letting me upload any more pics to this entry, so I am going to do a part II.

How the Computer *REALLY* works

Ever wonder how the computer ~really~ actually works? Well, here it is, explained in full. (click on the picture to see it in action, full size.)




ok, Kim, thank you for pointing out that the gif didn't work ~ hope the above does, and perhaps the below will show it in action. (crossing fingers)

Handmade antique Kittinger baby cradle ~ Part 2

YEAH! The cradle is done! Folks, we have lift-off! To everyone who commented and gave their 2 cents worth, Thank You ~ and now, enough talk, here it is ~



This is the snasty joint issue that gave us so many headaches; turns out, he ended up using a dovetail after-all, just one that is 3 times larger in every way.

This is the set-up for the bearings, you can see he even made two wooden jackets, so that a bare minimum of metal was visible. These rocker bearings, along with the screws and giant washers on the base of the uprights (helps to stabalize the uprights) are the only metal used in the entire piece.



Here you can see ( sorta ) the dovetail work on the ribs.



Here you can see the spreader bar, finials, and upright.


And here is a dinky shot of the unfinished finished cradle!



TaDahhhhh!!! Now, notice the legs off to the left, how they dangle from the workbench, almost as if ~ yes ~



as if somebody just couldn't stay up any longer!

Well, afterall, 200+ hours IS a long time to be working away on something, he earned it! ( check out how even in the absolute deepest throes of sleep, he manages to maintain a death-like state, so very still, that his glasses are still perched atop his non-moving chest ~ and he wonders why I tried to rescusitate him ever so forcefully once, early on in the marriage, ~ actually ~ I really thought he was dead, so I balled my two fists together and slammed them down on his chest to re-start that unmoving heart ~ actually scared the livin' daylights out of him, woke him up with a start, he said "What, what'd I do to you?" ~ We can laugh about it now :-D )



Sorta looks like he's on a coroner's table to me ~



Hubby and I worked for hours, rubbing this hard paste wax in, buffing, rebuffing, another coat, another coat, another coat ~ argh~



Here's that joint again, looks better, eh? can you see where he actually *grew* another dovetail?

Here you can see how nicely many many coats of paste wax shine up, looks almost high-gloss, only without the ugliness of highgloss. Well, to me high gloss usually looks a little gauche. There are situations where it's the right application, but not many.



Check out those dovetailed ribs, spoke-shaved rim, and hand-rubbed finish!

And finally ~ VOILA ~
here it is ~







Still debating whether to hang the curtains from little loops, with the fabric hanging beneath the spreader bar ( thus the spreader bar is visible, for the most part) or somewhat like it's pinned, with the fabric hanging over the top of the spreader bar ( hangs better, but can't see the bar, and the bar IS gorgeous.)




~ UPDATE ~


Well, the loopy's won out, and I think it turned out all right ~ what do you think?