Day 10: Rings and Things.

Today started off with a nice breakfast. Did I tell you that we always share a breakfast? It is nice because I get up between 6 and 7am, and I have a little snack and watch Jon Stewart and read the news: VICE NEWS, BBC, and Aljazeera America. These are great news sites, with the BBC being the most likely to bullshit for some hidden agenda. Aljazeera is pretty straight forward, and when I read the comments after the articles I find that they are pretty balanced between left and right leaning folks. But these folks seem genuinely interested in dialogue and not arguing. And VICE NEWS is my favorite! They go to a place and show what is going on. I love that they give me information and let me make my own decisions. They show the truth in all of its grittiness. Some of it is hard to deal with, as it should be.

So we always start with a meal and conversation. Dwain was a bit upset because he lost a ring that is precious to him--I couldn't help that one, sorry. We were all over the shop yesterday, but I looked around as we worked and did not see it. He said that he looked, too. I hope he finds it in a place that he put it for safe keeping.

My dad had a great ring. It was a wrap-around ring, in that it was a broken circle. There were snake heads at either end. My sister kept it long after my dad died. She gave it to me because nobody ever wore it. I wore it until I lost it. I was really sad that day, and I went back to the places where I'd been with no luck. I don't wear rings anymore.

We then got back on book matching two sister pieces of lumber for tops of dulcimers. The two that we did yesterday came out fine. There was a spot where I didn't make sure the boards were pressed flat. But now that I've seen that it won't happen again. In fact, when I did two more today I made sure of it.

Today's were easier in a lot of ways. Of course I want to show Dwain that I will do well and work hard, which I do--work hard, I mean. So yesterday when I was using the joiner plane for the first time I could not relax. My shoulders were up and I eventually started sweating from my effort. Not in pushing the planer across the wood. But my effort in trying to do so well.

So today is a new day and I was so relaxed. I did in five minutes what took me half an hour yesterday. And then I did it again in a short amount of time. And the pieces are better than yesterday. So progress, yay!

I got to set up and hide glue and get it hot enough to use. Dwain has a decent system, but we were talking about better ways to do the whole glue operation. This is another of the benefits of learning from a well-practiced master of his craft. I get his methods and I get his ideas on how to do it better.

I got done with the book matching and I got a lesson on sharpening gouges, straight-edged carving tools, and knives. I really had a lot of fun with this, although I usually don't do well with tedious jobs. I understood what was explained to me and I immediately put it to practice. I got to work from a rough stone to a leather strop. My dead dad loved knives and kept his sharp. My not-dead-dad likes knives, too. And he is an experienced machinist who sharpens the hell out of his knives. So I'm surprised I was not shown this before. Or maybe I was and I just wasn't ready to receive it. Today I was, and I made some sharp, shiny steel.

Then we had a watermelon break. It gets hot here, so it is no wonder people here love watermelon. But really, who doesn't like watermelon?

Then I had a lesson on sharpening plane blades. There is a bit more to them than a hand-held blade, in that the plane has to be taken apart. But essentially the process is the same. A significant difference is that Dwain uses a wet stone for this work. He has a secret tool that helps hold the blade and the angle, but Dwain said you can't buy 'em anymore. I didn't get to do one today, but tomorrow I will do a blade or two, and then we will talk about scrapers, which is great because I like the idea of scraping more than sanding--although they will both be necessary. I just see scraping as liberating the wood where sanding tends to push the wood and dust down into the wood, closing stuff up and choking off progress.

At some point I got to watch Dwain do a third coat of shellac on the machine that he is building. Watching him make this has been a real treat, and I'm glad that I've been here for that. This is just icing on the cake!

So I've been riding to Dwain's place, and it is 4 miles each way. There is a lot of stuff to see, so I'm glad that I get to ride and walk. Like the flash flood signs. Who has flash floods, really. Isn't that a desert thing?

 Now it has been a rainy day, but the rain is off and on, and there is some sun, too. But there have been no floods, and not really a lot of rain. But on the way home a storm was brewing, and as soon as I walked in the door--literally--the sky dumped water on us, and now it is perfectly clear how there can be a flash flood here!

I was planning to run today because 8 miles of bike riding isn't enough. Plus I was dripping with sweat from the humidity, or do I just say rain?, and that is THE time to run. Anyway, I got online and saw that there was a break in the weather system. So I plotted out a four mile run and took off.

My google map isn't exactly right, but you get the idea. It was a nice run through the city. Now I've never been much of a city runner, I prefer a marked trail, where I can gauge my progress and time.  It was around 6pm, and there were a lot of people outside. Many people said hello or cheered me on. My favorite was the youngish kid with tats all over who just held up one fist, pumped it, and said "Go!" Yeah, I'm just like Rocky here.


I really had no expectations for Rochester or her people, but I have been amazed by the friendliness and beauty that she holds.

After my run I went out to sit on the porch and do my homework, which is to review what we did today, do any research on that, and just think and reflect on dulcimers, their construction, and the business in which I'll engage.

And it rained some more.