“Look mommy! I twirled it like Nonni!” Here’s hoping my # 1 Granddaughter learns from this … there are much better days ahead!
Archive for October 2014
Ever Had A Day Like This? 2 comments
The Trouble With Success 2 comments
Mrs Ms Handmade set a one-day sales record yesterday. My retail persona, Mr M, sold more wooden objects in a day than ever before … 13 pieces were sold.
Yes, for you numerologists out there, that good number occurs again in our lives. I love 13. Link below.
So, back to the success thing.
I’ve been building a number of cutting boards, cheese boards and serving pieces, as you know. Have to be ready for the big push for the holidays! And in our first big event of the 4th quarter … we sold 1/6 of the inventory.
One sixth.
Here’s the problem: we have 14 days of sales left. Oh, and we added another retail location last week, and that will require pieces to sell. And display pieces. In three weeks.
So, as much as I enjoyed having that nice lady pick apart Mrs. M’s lotion display so she could buy the display pieces for Christmas presents … and then hand me more money when she saw another piece when she began to walk away … it meant that more pieces were walking away.
Success means I have a LOT LOT LOT of work to do in order to be ready for November’s events.
Success. And since when does success mean you have to work harder?
Perhaps I would be happier as a lazy bum.
Nah. Never going to happen.
So here’s a visual goodbye to some of the pieces I loved that served to remind me that there’s a lot of work required of me … and I couldn’t be happier.
Hickory end grain board. 14″ diameter x 1-1/4″ thick. 20 degree cant on the edge.
# 62 Cutting Board, $150. Hard Maple, Walnut, Yellowheart and Cherry. 22-1/8″ x 14-3/8″ x 1-5/8″. Edge grain.
# 70 Cutting Board, $125. Hard Maple end grain cutting board. 12″ x 14″ x 1-1/2″.
Three pieces were made from some walnut I got from a contractor doing home restorations. There are 3 slightly different sizes. # 1 is 11-3/8″ x 10-3/4″ x 1-1/8″. # 2 is 10-5/8″ x 10-1/2″ x 1-1/8″. # 3 is 10-7/8″ x 9-1/4″ x 1-1/8″. End Grain. Black Walnut.
# 10 Cheese Board, $30. Walnut, Padauk, Hard Maple, Red Oak.
#27: Purpleheart, Walnut, Red Oak, Hard Maple.
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Hemingway’s Fall Leave a comment
You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen.
– Ernest Hemingway
Grand Teton National Park. Photo by K. Canetta, 9/25/14. From the Park’s Facebook page.
Ninaistako 7 comments
Chief Mountain (also named Ninaistako) in Glacier National Park stands tall above the golden aspen forest below. A spectacular monolith towering above the prairie along the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Chief Mountain can be seen for more than a hundred miles away. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/9/14.
Blood Moon Leave a comment
A rare bloodmoon, shot from Yellowstone National Park in the early morning hours, 10/8/14.
During a total lunar eclipse, the earth passes between the sun and the moon. The sunlight reflected off of the earth gives the moon a reddish hue … a blood moon.
Yellowstone’s bloodmoon. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 10/8/14.
Selecting & Maintaining Great Knives Leave a comment
The corollary to a great cutting board is a great knife, and Bon Appetit’s article, linked below, provides a nice resource about how to select your knife set.
And of course, with great knives, you need a great cutting board (or two). Here’s what the article says:
Where to Cut
A common mistake is using the wrong type of cutting board. You don’t want to cut on a surface that’s harder then your knife. This will cause the edge to roll and become dull and even damaged. Don’t cut on your granite countertop—and, please, if you have a glass cutting board, throw it away and pretend that chapter in your life never happened. Super hard glass is one of the worst materials you can use to chop on.Â
An end-grain wooden cutting board is ideal, but any hardwood board is good. Snyder says to stay away from plastic as your “everyday” board because cuts in the surface will harbor bacteria. Bamboo will dull your blade because of its fibrous makeup. A more traditional hardwood is softer then metal and will keep your knife sharp and provide a better cutting surface. The end grain receives the blade, and minor cuts in the surface of an end-grain board will seal up, keeping the cutting surface clean. A quality wood cutting board should last you plenty of years.
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The Bears Of Katmai 2 comments
Wonderful first person account of being a ranger in a National Park with more bears than people. Read Tim Downey’s blog about his experiences this summer. Great read!
The bears of Katmai National Park. From the Park’s website.
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Cuteness 2 comments
This will fill your cuteness quota for the day. Now, get back to your Monday.
Hawaiian Monk Seal. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 10/5/14.
Dream Lake 6 comments
Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/3/14.
More American Color Leave a comment
South Fork Snake River in Idaho. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 9/30/14.
Dogwoods (Cornus florida) are often among the earliest trees to turn red—occasionally as early as August. Their summer green first changes to a dull red, but the color brightens as fall progresses. This one, growing beside the Little Pigeon River in Greenbrier, is just beginning to show its brilliant fall color. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, from the Park’s Facebook page.
Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park, in the heart of red rock country, shows other colors in the fall. Pictured here are cottonwood trees in front of the Castle in Capitol Reef. Photo by Glenn Nagel. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 10/2/14.
Washington’s North Cascades National Park, which is home to more glaciers than any National Park in the lower 48. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/1/14.
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