Dusting Off My Overalls

So I got a friend who just opened a retail shop and was kind enough to ask me, a furniture maker, to contribute a few pieces to her inventory.  Kind of a win-win, if you will.  I ruffled through a few plans in my head, and then two months ago bought about $400 of lumber to get my blood pumping.  I inhaled every inch of rustic cherry and aspen as they made their way past my face and I organized them in my garage, neatly in stacks…where they remain to this day.
Cut me some slack- I’ve been busy.
Well, last week I got a bit of of a yearning to make some sawdust again, and headed out to the garage to crank out a custom wine cabinet, complete with exposed dovetails.  I planned to cut the joinery utilizing a dovetailing jig I had used just once a few years before.  I prepped my panels, sanded them down, and realized a bit late that MY JIG IS TOO SMALL TO ACCOMMODATE MY PLANS!!!!
I have exhasted every option that I could think of, and have come to the realization that I have no option but to go in the way back machine and bust out some hand-cut dovetails.  Hand-Cut!  Like 19th centurey-style!
***SIGH***

***SIGH***

Apparently I am going to have to awaken my inner-Roy Underhill to get this one done.  I suppose this is my reward for a nasty little procrastination habit.  It’s coming, Zak…

The Make-up Artist

On mornings my son goes to school, he typically gets up as my wife turns on the shower.  With his thumb in his mouth he crawls into my bed and finds his spot buried in the sheets with his head nestled on my shoulder.  Together we lie there until we hear mommy turn the water off from her shower.  This is my signal to get the boy dressed.

I tell him to go to his room and grab the clothes that he had pick out to wear the night before.  With his first spark of the day he rolls off the bed and hurries back with pants, a shirt, a pair of undies and a big smile.  We wrestle playfully as I peel him out of his jammies and get him ready for the day ahead.  By this time Mommy has put on some clothes as well, and takes the lead with the boy as she leads him downstairs for a healthy breakfast.

At this point I am off duty for the rest of the morning, and lay my head back down on my pillow, rest my eyes and fade in and out as my inquisitive little boy plays twenty questions with his loving mother.  For instance, this is what I heard this morning:

SON: Mommy, can I put your make-up on you?

MOMMY: No, but you can watch me put my make-up on.

SON: {mild yet high-pitched fit}

MOMMY: Don’t start this morning.  Here, help me by holding that.

***BRIEF MOMENTS OF SILENCE***

SON: MOMMY NO! That doesn’t go on your eyelashes!  It goes on your lips!  MOMMY STOP!

MOMMY: Stop that!  Give me that!

SON: MOMMY THAT”S NOT THE RIGHT COLOR!

I must have fallen asleep for a bit as I never did hear them leave.  It must have been a deep sleep to boot.  If I didn’t know better I’d swear that this was the duo that kissed me goodbye on their way out the door.

Clown

The Greatest Picture Ever

So Erik and I went to Beer Club Night at a Colorado Springs Sky Sox game (Thanks again, Peter) for a piece on rediscovering.wordpress.com.   The premiss was one man’s perceptions (Erik) of another as he gets a bit too deep in some Rocky Mountain Refreshment (Yours Truly).  Anyway, coming out of concession’s with #9 & #10, I saw the team’s mascot, Sox the Fox, taking pictures with the kids.  It turns out I have done this before-

Innocence from last season

Innocence from last season

With a few too many already flowing in my veins (all within the spirit of the article, mind you) I ran down (stumbled really, and lucky not to have broken my neck) to our seats and tell Erik what I found.

We rush to Sox’s table where I am greeted skeptically by his handler.  I take a deep breath, and do my best to keep my eyes from straying in different directions, and tell the gentleman that me and my partner are writers of a travel blog (it’s true) and were covering the Mug Club for the site.  We told him that a picture with Sox would be a great accent for our piece.

It’s a funny thing that happens when you let people think you are doing something important.  Where just moments before this guy was about to call security and have me put in an arm-bar and removed from the premises, he opens up my path to Sox the Fox and says, “Oh wow!  Take a few if you have to!”

Thank you sir, but just one will do…

It's good to see you again, buddy...

It's good to see you again, buddy...