Practical Skills Book

My sister has a book collection that I have been enjoying this winter.  Gene Logson's Practical Skills reminds me of The Foxfire series that I am quite fond of but have not gotten the whole collection as of yet.  Practical skills covers the basics of how to do projects and the the tools needed to do them.  I have taken the book out of the library several times over the years and am pleased that I can spend time studying about the projects that may be in my future or my friends futures!  I write from a computer that is hooked up through satellite, so there is much downtime.  Having a book like Practical Skills around is great on those days when reception is bad or non existent.

Sudden Snow Storm

We had a pop up snow storm yesterday afternoon and it was glorious.  I went outside with my camera to try to capture the beauty and essence of it.  I was shocked to find a happy accident among the several shots that I had taken.  This photograph has not been photo-shopped or tampered with in any way.  I am not sure I could improve or alter it even if I wanted to.  Sometimes we just have to accept a gift as it was given!

Outsourcing Magic

This is a toothpick holder called Ouch by Fred.  Of course it is made in China and would have little effect as a magic poppet unless of it was infused by something belonging to the victim (sympathetic magic).  I have a poppet and voudoo doll collection I sheepishly admit.  Not because I sought to collect them, but because people gave them to me as gifts and ended up with a collection in spite of my dislike.  It is sad that a witch would need to buy a commercial poppet rather than make one for the occasion.  It reminds me that when we (family) were on vacation and shopping for souvenirs on an Indian reservation, that many of the items in the store were made in China, not by the local Native Americans living there.  My mother refused to let us buy made in China souvenirs (35 years ago) with our vacation money.  I think she was on the right track and that our own country has deteriorated because our locals stopped making things here.  We have become a country of lazy people who outsource our jobs and work to other countries.  Outsourcing magic is a very bad idea though as it waters down the potency to say the very least.  Ouch by Fred can be bought on Amazon and would make a great Halloween party decoration.  Poppet magic in real life though is very serious business, and making light of it or fun of it is like telling dead baby jokes (not very funny).  I reserve the making of a poppet for rapist's and murderers.  My circle sisters used them more liberally though, and I imagine there are at least 2 poppets with my name and DNA out there LOL!  Hopefully not in opposition to each other.     

Nineteenth Follower

I had already posted yesterday before I noticed that Concha's Cauldron has a 19th follower.  Welcome The Simple Mom from Texas.  Check out The Simple Mom's blogspot here.

Garden And Gun Magazine

I missed this issue of Garden And Gun in May 2011 that features The Avett Brothers.  I believe that one of the photos of Seth has a nice closeup of Kristi Kloss's pendant that she made in 2010.  I drum with Kristi in The Columbus Women's Drum Chorus, and we have followed the Avett Brothers from small bar gigs to large concert venues.  I didn't get to see them in concert this year but am planning on attending their next Columbus concert come hell or high water!

post note:  Welcome 19th Follower
second post note Correction.  Kristi did not make that pendant as I thought. She did make all the Avett Brothers some very kool jewelry though that I am sure they will be wearing in concert one of these days!

My Eigthteenth Follower

Welcome Pamela my 18th follower.  I am reminded of a song I heard Gillian Welch sing once called 18 Dogs.
I have known Pamela through some of my "doomer" forums.  She always has something cleaver to say and reminds me a little of Gillian Welch and Oh Brother Where Art Thou.  18 Dogs was written by Hank Dogs and this YouTube was the only one I could find today.  The song is worthy no matter who sings it and the message is clear.  Pamela is an Outsider Artist and you can see some of her work here.


18 Dogs
Poor little house in the country
18 dogs and an M-16 for company
Those cowboys coming over the horizon
They’ll be looking for some hospitality

Come on in, boys, the door is wide open
But I warn you my dogs are born to win
I’ll take the greatest of pleasure
In watching you torn limb from limb

There’s rumors starting down in the village
Those cowboys haven’t been heard of since the day
But if anybody comes ’round asking questions
Well, I’ve got it worked out what I’m gonna say

Come on in, boys, the door is wide open
But I warn you my dogs are born to win
I’ll take the greatest of pleasure
In watching you torn limb from limb

Poor little house in the country
18 dogs and an M-16 for company
Those cowboys coming over the horizon
They’ll be looking for some hospitality

Come on in, boys, the door is wide open
But I warn you my dogs are born to win
I’ll take the greatest of pleasure
In watching you torn limb from limb

Yes, I’ll take the greatest of pleasure
In watching you torn limb from limb

Take It To The Limit Etta

"Put me on the highway...and show me a sign..."  Sorry folks....I don't think Etta James song of all times is "At Last".  I think my tune in relation to her and me is "Take It To The Limit"...a cover tune done by the Eagles. RIP Etta. I appreciated you!

Syd's Third Ear

Syd has grown a 3rd ear since we have been here!  All joking aside, it has been painstaking to say the least to get him to come out of the bedroom that he and I have occupied since October.  He has always been a shy cat, and our move was traumatic for him.  This week he has begun to come out of his shell and interact with my sister's kitties.  We have been doctoring them and trying to get him to allow family members to pet him.  I can forgive Nesley her hatred of me and evil self centered pursuits, but I will never forgive her for the harm she has done to the animal kingdom...right down to the poisons she willfully dumped down the basement drain poisoning the ground water supply.  There is no hell hot enough for her.  I have tolerated her burning poisonous toxic things in her stinking cauldron on her back porch as well as her diseased abused pets.  I wish enlightenment for her but have no hope that she would be receptive.  She deceives herself to think that she is more to my X than just a dirty filthy drug dealer.  Nesley didn't know that Lori despised her and made fun of her.  When Nesley murdered her unhealthy cat, Lori was suspicious that the workman that Nesley openly has an affair with every Thursday and Saturday did the deed.  The cat mysteriously vanished the very day Nesley put her dog to sleep.  This was all a result of me telling Nesley that Lori (my X) would never be comfortable in her home with the deplorable conditions and treatment of her pets.  I watched Nesley shove her aging and sleeping cat from a chair and the poor thing didn't land on it's feet while Nesley smirked in satisfaction.  Lori's back was turned at that particular moment, but she could tell from my outrage and comments what had in fact happened.  This is a woman that should not be permitted to have any pets, and my X knows it!  Instead of cleaning up her act and house, she put her pets to death.  That is the kind of person my X landlord is and I will have great pleasure when we go to court next month where I can expose some of her wickedness and create a record for future court cases and unfortunate individuals who have dealings with her.  It is probably inevitable that a low life like Nesley will be in court in some fashion for the rest of her days, whether it be for animal abuse, selling drugs, or gleefully poisoning the environment.  I confess no drug deal would make me forget these images and I imagine that it is just a matter of time when Nesley will slip and Lori won't be able to tolerate her inhumane habitual treatment.  Hopefully it won't be one of Lori's cats.  Meanwhile Syd is safe from her and I may only have to deal with her two more times (thank goodness).  Lori will have to deal with conflicting feelings about Nesley, or stay in denial.  I am reminded of Gerry Garcia's quote "the lesser of two evils is still evil".

Gracie O'Malley And My 17 Follower

I don't have a photo (from google) of Gracie O'Malley as she was born before the invention of photography ( who was one of my ancestors).  But Linda my 17th follower has been captivated by her as well as Robert Henry Hendershot (drummer boy from the civil war).  Much of my blog posts have been dedicated to my genealogy as I am trying to leave an electronic record of my path as family genealogist.  I love it when someone actually recognizes this rather than dismissing my blog as simply self indulgent (See Dee Ames comments)!  Even though I have no picture or portrait of Gracie... I feel her activism in my bones.  I googled an image of her for this blog and in celebration of my 17th follower Linda (who replaced Dee Ames) who was following me in order to harass me.  Linda and I could very much share some of my genealogical roots.  This blog is for you Linda and thank you for following this blog.  I promise you that I have a bit of Gracie in my bones and I won't let you down in my responses to the injustices of the world.

Classic Christmas Tune

We are celebrating Christmas a little late this year.  But it don't matter much...."wait a while eternity....old mother nature's got nothing on me..."

Vintage Buffalo Drill Press

My mini Foredom drill press is still in storage until I can get back to Columbus.  Last night I needed to drill holes in the deer antler tips for my nephew and my nieces husband who are both hunters.  We are having Christmas this weekend and these antler tips will make a fine gift for these two men.  Thankfully my friend Tom has his uncles old drill press from Buffalo Forge Company that probably was thrown out at Kaiser in the 60's when they "upgraded".  Tommy's uncle Lee worked there back in the day.  This is a beautiful machine (in spite of the dust) that still does the job.  Tom's uncle Lee was a thrifty old codger when I worked for him in the 90's.  He was a great employer and did not skimp on tools.  The tools uncle Lee left on the farm are still operational and I would guess better than what the modern replacement tools would be.  I miss my little Foredom press, but it is fun to improvise and learn more about Tom's uncle in the process.

Belated Christmas

The copper deer in this photo is going to be a Christmas ornament.  It is a little trickier to cut out than the feathers, but will look great on a Christmas tree or wreath.  Most of the feathers in this photo are already sold given and received as presents, and I have made a second copper deer.  I have an abundance of brass at the moment, so I will be looking for brass projects in the near future.  I prefer to work in silver, but there is more versatility in the use of other metals.  I will finish the projects on the bench by Thursday and my family is celebrating Christmas this weekend.

Cutting Antler

Here is an antique miter saw in action cutting a deer antler that I am using in an upcoming Christmas present project for my brother in law. Our families Christmas was delayed this year which allowed me to work on other folks Christmas presents. Deer antler is plentiful around here and a great alternative to ivory which is banned.

Whistle Past The Graveyard

I know, (even if most folks don't know), that most people have bought their last car and don't even know it.  I learned that from The Kunstlercast.  Endless growth is a thing of the past.  Our task is (from now on) to make due with what we have, and to try to sustain ourselves without depleting fossil fuels.  And that my dear readers will be quite a task.  Better start now and get some practice in before the crash.  In the meantime...take a Sunday drive if you can afford it, and imagine endless growth.  Compare it with the visual evidence you see with your naked eye.   Whistle past the graveyard.  Here is a photo of a non functioning oil rig that I am sure will bring some high dollars at the scrap yard in future times.  These are common around here.  I see them everywhere.  Both sides of my family were working in the oil industry, so I have an eye for it that is damn near genetic.  Most of my family right now are unemployed or about to be.  But if you look at the landscape around here you would believe that there is plenty of the earth to be pillaged and of course...endless growth.  I got this photo largely because the pump was not pumping!  A few days ago, a thief stole a gas pump and was caught under surveillance in Columbus.  You can bet they were going to scrap it at a scrap yard.  Why would they do that?  They would do that because the pump wasn't pumping in the first place.  It is harder to steal metal when it is moving or functional!  We get some beautiful sunsets around here.  And this heap of scrap metal is only pretty when it is in a reproductive pose.  Otherwise it is a (silhouette) model of the raping of the earth with a nice sunset behind it.  Oil porn if you will.  Later it will be more useful in it's weight at the scrapyard and an invitation to thieves.  Or maybe we can figure out a way to take the overpopulated human remains and turn them into fossil fuels in order to continue on with our endless growth model.  Instead of Soylent Green (Sci Fi Movie of the 70's where people were turned into hamburger), Oilent Green (people turned into fossil fuels).  We could just shove the dead down the abandoned oil wells and turn them into fossil fuels, save on funeral costs and plant food in the graveyards,  and make money on the dead...as we have been all along.

Winter Sky

My drive to and from Tom's Body Shop requires some skillful driving at places.  Some of the sunsets are breathtaking though.  I stop occasionally to take a photo.  This shot was taken 1/2 hour before dark.  On the other side of the road was a brilliant sunset with no hint of the oncoming rain storm.  My little Kodak point and shoot does not do justice to the landscapes and skyscapes that are constantly changing.  My major in college was art education, but I minored in photography.  I miss my old single reflex Nikon when I am trying to capture the spectacle and splendor of natures colors.  These digital cameras have their place for sure, but being able to control f-stops and the aperture is seriously lacking in the digital cameras.  One of my new years resolutions is to try to learn about my camera and it's limitations this year.  Hopefully I will be able to blog some better pictures in the coming months.

Body Shop Spot

I am taking a few days off this week from my metal projects.  I left everything so that I can pick up where I left off and also begin new projects.  Hopefully today I can order my metal for Brenda's project that I had to abandon because of water damage at Paul Drive.  She sent me money in April when the basement was constantly flooding and my tools underwater.  I will also be gathering the supplies for the metal quilt project I started working on that had to be put aside because of moving and small claims court appearances.  As you can see by my photo I am squeezed in here pretty tight with a couple feet from the front fender of a Cutlass that is being repainted.  I am so lucky to have this space that I feel guilty on days when I can't go over there and work on my stuff.  I am hopeful that the weather will clear up, metal will be sent, and I can get back over there.  Meanwhile, I brought home some minor projects that I can do at the kitchen table if the cats allow.

New Years Eve First Night

New Years Eve was quiet this year.  It is the first time in years that I have not drummed with The Columbus Community Drummers at First Night.  And while I am sad to not have joined them this year and will miss them, I am not going to miss the drum drama that went on behind the scenes.  There is not much opportunity to drum in Frazeysburg, so my drums are safely packed away in the top bunk.  I still drum with The Columbus Women's Drum Chorus whenever the opportunity comes up and practice with them often.  Perhaps someday I will be able to play with some of the Columbus Community Drummers once again...but I won't hold my breath.