Day 23: Begin Again!

I woke to the sound of thunder and the flash of lightening. That part wasn't great, but I love to wake up to the rain. My alarm was set to go off in a while after I woke up, so I just stayed in bed and zoned until the alarm went off. The last time that it was raining Dwain called to offer me a ride. But if you recall I turned him down so that I could put a little stress on myself, which I did. But I told myself that if he calls to offer a ride I'd accept it. But I couldn't call him because I couldn't ask him. Did you ever see "Winter's Bone." You must see it. It is so similar to my upbringing that you'll get a better idea of who I am. Really, you will. 

George doing laundry this morning.

Anyway, in the movie there is a scene where Rhee, the hero who goes on her journey, is with her little brother. They are looking at their neighbor cut up a deer. The brother said that they should ask for some, and Rhee said that you should "never ask for oughta be offered." I'm glad Dwain called and offered to give me a ride!

We had a great breakfast of eggs and fake sausage and bagels with cream cheese and preserves spread across the top. We talked a little, but not too much. The dynamics have certainly changed now that there are eight more legs in the house. I think that Dwain cannot be as honest and opened as he was when it was just us, and that saddens me a bit. But his life ain't about me, and I'll just have to settle for the wonderful Dwainisms as I get them!

Dwain has been telling me a bit more about his anti-fracking stance and what he is doing to resist fracking in NY. He is really into educating others concerning fracking and has been collecting articles and other resources to compile in the library here. He has other causes and is out there making the world better, like his work in Attica Prison. And I get to experience all of this tangentially, so I am happy for that. He does make me want to be a better person who does more in the world--and makes me want to build dulcimers!

So we get to it!

Today I fixed the bookmatched pieces that I failed to do correctly. The fish glued ones that were pretty easy to fix are extra strong fixed! Now I could drive a truck over them. A really small truck. Okay, maybe I can just step on them while they are flat on the ground. The other two that I worked on I had to clean up the glue and plane them down again. But it is good practice planing, and I got to work with the glue again today. I'll have two more to fix tomorrow, and then I can plane them all down to a working size.

Then I got to work on my peg block again. I had it all ready to start the carving, so that is what happened--I started carving it. I knocked off too much in the back because I forget to draw a line and stick to that line. That was the final straw for Dwain because there were other issues with the box. The issues weren't either of our faults alone, so we took the blame collectively. But he's a pretty good teacher and wants it all. He can't have it, though.

So I started again! Which is really good because now I documented thoroughly the process of making one and I got back to where I started today working on my own with a lot of check-ins with Dwain. So I get to take the other home as a non-working model, which will be handy as a reference. And I'll continue to clean this one up tomorrow and get it ready to carve out. 

Dwain said that he has had to abandon work before, and he'll likely do so again. The trick, I guess, is to become so good that I have to abandon so few pieces I'll be surprised and saddened at its loss. I'm miles and miles from there.

Then we had a watermelon break, and we talked about music theory a little, at least until my eyes glazed over.

So we went back to work. There was a great post on Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer about how the builders back in the day used to put in their frets for a certain type of playing, noter style. A great conversation grew out of it, and Dwain and I were following it. It was great to kick back and forth with Dwain ideas about how to make them today. It was a fun process, and this is how I sometimes make art. So I can see that I may do more of this as I'm building dulcimers.

This is safe, really. Using a bandsaw one handed and taking a picture is safe. Plus, don't worry about the piece that is being cut. You have plenty of wood and time. Both are free. 

Dwain is working along side of me--or, at least, he's working on the same bench as me--and I get to watch his progress and methods. At one point he brought me over to show me what he was working on and why he had to do the thing he does so well. I'd not have gotten that from any video!

He is also making a peghead, but his is going to be a scroll head. It is nice to see this process because it is what I'll be doing after this one. I'm not sure what machine I'm making next, but I think I recall Dwain saying it'll be one with a double bout.

 I always come home and look up dulcimer stuff. But for the last few days I've been coming home and playing, too. Dwain lent me one of his, and it is quite a bit different than my own. I'm having fun learning to make this one sing, and it does. I'm getting some positive feedback and great suggestions from those who can play and teach and want others to succeed. Life is great, indeed!

Oh, we ate a huge dinner!