Post for the month of January:
January has been really, really cold! Hopefully, spring will be right around the corner…
Post for the month of February:
February should be an eventful month. LOTS of things changing quickly that will set up the priorities for the next year or so. “Shop time” might be limited, so I figure I better make stuff while the opportunity presents itself.
Post for the month of March:
Ah… Spring time in Central Illinois. One day you’re wearing shorts and opening the windows and the next day you’re scooping snow off the driveway. Here are the projects for March, 2017:
Post for the month of April:
There’s been a BUNCH of stuff happening, so there hasn’t been that much time to spend in the shop this month. I did manage to get a couple of project completed…
Post for the month of May:
There is MUCH happening in May, 2017. One daughter is graduating with a BS from Illinois State and another is graduating with her Associates Degree from Heartland. Add in a visit from my oldest daughter from Phoenix and a couple massive projects at work and life just doesn’t seem to be slowing down any. Here are the projects for May:
Post for the month of June:
Summer is finally here! yeah, there’s the cookouts, the swimming, the sleeping in front of the TV while baseball is on, lightening bugs, and a whole host of other stuff that only comes around during the summer, but there is one thing more important than all the others that begins this month. SUMMER JOBS!!! All the kids remaining in the house will be working this summer, so after 27 years of patient waiting, there will finally be times when I have the house all to myself! Now, all I need to do is find a bigger lathe to buy so I can spin up some of the logs I’ve been holding on to…
Here are the offerings for June, 2017:
Post for the month of July:
Summer is going along as expected! Hot, humid, and busy! I have a new lathe coming, which should allow for turning projects that are a little bigger. Not sure how many finished projects I’ll have, because my plan with the new lathe is to rough turn a BUNCH of half logs that are cluttering up the garage. We’ll see…
Here are the offerings for July, 2017:
Post for the month of August:
Where did summer go??? Summer jobs and summer school for the kids is winding down, the fall semesters are about to start, the air conditioner isn’t working overtime and it’s actually getting cool in the evenings. Time seems to be speeding up with each passing year…
Haven’t completed many projects so far this month. One of my daughters came home with a car load of maple that she “procured” from a tree service that was taking the tree down. When I say carload, that is not an exaggeration. Even the baby’s car seat had a log nested in it. Processing that amount of wood, then rough turning it into bowl blanks has eaten most of my time. Late next spring, though, watch out because all of those blanks will be ready to turn!
Here are the contributions for August, 2017:
Post for the month of September:
I love September! No just because this is my birthday month (or the birthday month of my oldest grand daughter) but because the weather is pretty much as good as it gets in central Illinois. The heat from summer is gone, the cold of winter isn’t close, the grass is still green and the leaves really haven’t started to turn, yet. Doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to spend in the shop, but I’m sure I’ll be able to make a little bit of time…
Here are the projects from September, 2017:
Post for the month of October:
This month has been nuts! Between work, birthdays, work, school for the kids, work, and work, there hasn’t been that much time to spend in the shop. Here are the offerings for October, 2017:
Post for the month of November:
I can’t believe it’s November already! Must be, judging by all the Christmas decorations that are already up! I swear, every year it gets earlier and earlier. This year, there was a house that actually turned their lights on the day after Halloween. Too soon, people, way too soon! Thanksgiving has never really been my favorite holiday, but that’s starting to change. For the past four years or so, it seems to be the one day where everyone comes home (or to someone’s home). I never thought it would feel so wonderful to have all my kids – and now my grandkids – all talking at once, making enough noise to make the dog wince, and laughing about the stupidest things. Life is good!
Between work, family, and “life”, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to spend in the shop, but I’m sure there will be something made! Here are the offerings for November, 2017:
Post for the month of December:
Ho, Ho, Ho! I guess it’s Christmas time already. Not sure where 2017 went, but I guess time waits for no man. Here are the efforts for December, 2017: