I’ve been working on some new designs of treenware, and these are the two latest. The long knife is made of Black Walnut and designed to reach the bottom of a Costco peanut butter jar. The other is made of cherry and is a sort of scraper.
Being Friday, and thus date night, we went to Ding How for supper. It’s a Chinese joint in Ridgeland, a nearby suburb, and the family that own it are delightful. We always get updated on her kids, and hear about the rising food costs, and she asks how we are doing, and she thanks us effusively for being suck loyal customers. We probably eat there once a month or so.
Dinner was somber – we learned this morning that Renee’s sister Lori had died. We knew it was coming, but still – you can know a thing is coming, and yet not be ready for it.
I’m teaching myself (with the help of books and videos) how to make staked furniture – that is, furniture where the leg is driven into a flat surface, usually the seat or table top. This style of building is very, very old.
This is the second stool I have made, and I didn’t use someone else’s plans, so that’s cool. For posterity, I used a 15 degree leg angle, a 1 inch leg tenon, and hide glue. The stool is made of Southern Yellow Pine (from a 2×12!) and has red oak wedges. The seat is 14 inches from the floor. I don’t think I would have liked it much lower.
The legs are a bit clunky – they were octagonalized from 1.5 inch SYP, and tenon turned on the lathe. Next time I will taper the legs, wide part near the floor, to lighten it visually.
For my second effort, I’m quite pleased, honestly.
One thing I love about living in Mississippi is the long “shoulder” seasons. Our springs and falls are nice and temperate, and are the best part of living here. I’ll have roses in November and again in March.
This is just a Knockout in the bed in front of the house, but almost all my roses are still blooming.
I’m the cook, but Renee is the baker. Tonight she made a caramel apple crumble sort of thing – apples tossed in caramel, then a crumble topping and baked until it surrenders.
Mercy!
One of our favorite dishes in our rotation is Salisbury Steak, rice and gravy, and green beans. It gives off very 50’s vibes, but it also feels like comfort.
I’m gearing up to begin making chairs, and needed a lathe bed extension to make that happen. But my old lathe bench wasn’t long enough, so I’m building a new one. It’s 2×3 construction, with 2 pieces of 3/4 plywood for the top. I’ll be adding shelves underneath. The sand is to add mass, to reduce vibration.
I put off getting an extension for ages, thinking I would just buy a nicer lathe. But the Wen 12×18 does everything I need it to do, which is mostly cutting tenons and tool handles and with a bed extension, chair legs.
It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day, so we went to the Chimneyville Arts Festival at the Waller Craft Center. Afterwards, we went to lunch at Cock of the Walk, which sits on the Reservoir named for our racist former governor.
I love the reservoir – it’s one of the best things about living here. But I really wish they would change that name, though.
For our Friday Date Night, we went to Jose’s Mexican in Pearl. They have great tamales (seen), and good prices. It’s a family business, and we get treated like royalty. We don’t spend much money in the suburbs, but we make an exception for Jose’s.
Moving from Raleigh (where there are many great Mexican food options) to here (where there were not) was a difficult transition, but once we found Jose’s, we quit looking for other options.
We found it based on a recommendation from one of my Dad’s friends. who mentioned it at Dad’s memorial service. That I get to eat regularly at a place he enjoyed makes it more enjoyable – like another way we can connect.
When we made the decision to remodel our kitchen, I knew I wanted a strong feature backsplash.
Sometimes it still catches me by surprise, almost two years later.
Hopeful in spite of the facts