Well, all the Christmas decorations are in Maryland. So; this am, we hit Walmart!

I spent the remainder of the day in the shop continuing to clear things out. Organize. Put away. And, I built another bench in the cleared spot. I shall use this area for many of my carving, engraving, flex shaft, rotary pneumatic tools. I snapped this shortly after I got the bench top screwed down. As you can see .... the theme here is function. I'd like a nice butcher block top on mortised frame ... but .... then I'd need custom handles on all my tools ... and the whole thing would spiral out of control.



And then, this evening ....



We put up the tree. It was fun. We like it. What? No mechanical key wind handmade carved ornaments? I know, I know ... I'm a disappointment ... hahah.

Was a nice day here. Hey - we FINALLY managed to get some Christmas music to put up the tree by. Man ... a few more years and that might not be possible. We tried the under counter radio unit left here. None of the stations had Christmas music. Reception is spotty. Hey - no prob-lemo! I have stuff on my iPod. But the radio had no aux. input. Kelly says - hey - the computer! She hooked up the iPod to my laptop. And, a host of windows flooded the screen demanding to update this and that. We fought them to a tie. Then iTunes said in a snarky bubble - this iPod is synced with ANOTHER account. We can wipe it out and load what's on this acct. (which is nothing - very helpful). Or we can ... bla,bla, bla ... So we try for an Mp3 player. The search function for the laptop had absolutely NOTHING to offer when I searched for MP3 Player. Forget it. Hey! How about the TV? They have all those high number channels of music!! yeah .... So we get the booklet which shows 378 channels of Zumba Dance and Ah Bra channels. And ... IF there are any music channels ... they are mixed in with the 378 OTHER stupid titles and do not stand out. By now ... my festive spirit was suffering a bit. This is absurd. At any time over the last 100 years, we could have easily and simply played Christmas music. However; now things have been so confused and chopped up in a bunch of incompatible units which each demand that you study their particular version and swear allegiance and convert everything you own to them. If this is all obvious and simple to you ... I'd like to submit the Gary's Galleries section as evidence that I am not a total moroon. I just refuse to re-educate myself on a yearly basis, as to how to open a door. How to sharpen a pencil. How to use a radio. (Oh ... got a great one for the new shop. When all the lights are on - looking like an airport control tower ... THEN IT's OFF. When it's on, you can barely see the digital display).

So; what did he do? Did he implode? Will there be Christmas?

He trudged down to the shop, in the dark ... risking panthers, bears, snakes, forest fires, etc., .... and I got my Black and Decker cordless drill battery charger. They tossed in an am/fm radio function. With real dials. No search function. No touch screens. And, I nearly immediately found FM 93.3 down in Fort Walton Beach ... playing all Christmas music. Just like 1960. Can we stop improving now? Please?

OK ... Merry Christmas everyone.





Gary

The very best "Santa Baby" is the version by Eartha Kitt. Very silky smooth. Funny too - she mentions a "54 convertible" .... yr. of my birth. And she mentions a "Duplex" where I grew up.

Merry Christmas everyone

The Christmas Spirit has arrived! Merry Christmas Gary, Kelly and everyone!

Gary,

Use the "Radio" portion of Itunes. I found one 24/7 Christman music selection in "Religious".



Lon

Thanks Lon,

Will look into that. Never heard of that.



Gary

Spent much of the day "cluttering up" that bench and the walls around it. haha.

Moving stuff from shop to shop as needed. It's been great to see tubs and boxes become empty as items find a home. The shop porch has tubs inside of tubs inside of tubs as I condense.

Most of this work seems eternal until you realize you've crossed a barrier recently, and it's tumbling into place.

Can't wait until the work days are spent on projects using the tools and machines. The pictures posted are good for me to keep track of the work completed as well.



Gary

The horizontal space is disappearing as fast as you can build it!

Nice to see you getting into the Christmas spirit down there in sunny Florida.

So...are you SURE you're finished with shoveling snow, scraping car windows, and walking around like a penguin?



You can come up and visit if you start missing all of the wintertime joy, after all.

Hi Sean,

I guess that's pretty ... so long as I'm sitting here in my tee shirt and not there in my parka. Today, it was 72 degrees here. Worked all day in a tee. We have baskets of blooming flowers hanging from the shop porch beams. That's awful pretty too. No outside bath tub though. Ya got me there.

Hey - aroung the town's perfectly round lake ... They have wrapped EVERY tree with lights. It's one mile around the lake shore. They have installed bigger then life lighted displays - by the hundreds. Here candy canes, there Victorian carolers, snowmen, etc., etc., etc. The entire lake park is filled with these displays and they all reflect into the lake. It's amazing. We saw some of it from the old town street this evening. Learned that it's closed to cars except by admission. We heard $6 per head. But you can walk it too. We'll see. We were on the way to get a quick meal and just noted the normal street access was blocked. It would appear to be all you can stand. I'll see if there are any lighted bathtubs for ya.

Gary

Yeah, it's a bit brisk when you have to get out of the bath, but it still beats trying to use the shower out there.

Just kidding... you knew that, right? We may be sort of rural looking up here, but most of us DO have indoor plumbing. At least we do here in Juneau, state capital and all, even if you can't actually drive to it.

All kidding aside, the old-style tub is a future project waiting to happen. We bought it off the local Craigslist, and when we get around to remodelling the downstairs bathroom it's going in to replace the ugly fiberglass unit that's there now. It's an old cast iron claw-foot, probably about 70-80 years old, recently taken out of an apartment building that was remodeled.

Yeah - been there. Probably 600 pounds. I lowered one out a second story window on a homemade rope and pully system. The charm of crawling over the tub walls and tryin to keep the ceiling mounted circular rod and shower curtain from wrapping me up ... wore off. I installed an ugly fiberglass shower unit!

Hi Jerry,

We are emptying boxes and tubs at a good clip. Envisioning the best educated guess of what should be here or there. The stuff on the benches is just boxes we are going thru. Very little of that will stay there.

Today, I must have worked on a dozen different things. You'd think it might be possible to work ONE thing to an end. But it is simply not possible. A few minutes into any project, it becomes necessary to use a tool I cannot find. Or else, I'll need a particular fastener which WAS here but was then moved .... somewhere else. Something will be found to be in the way. It might require the use of the "Slick" or a dolly. That will have to be located and moved to the site.

The whole project brings to mind the picture of a huge fishing net - like a trawler net. You can grab on anywhere you like - but you can't move any one section without dragging along all of the rest of it. And, you can't get out from under the thing. You can't run. Can't rush. Just a sustained progress is all you can hope for.



Gary

Wow Sean looks like you're living in hallmark Christmas card except for the bathtub here in Michigan we bury them standing up with astatue of Mary in them maybe in Alaska you all do something different he he haha ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

Thanks
Kurt

Gary, that's some big progress there! I hope you are not wasting the opportunity to get in the record books with the world's largest plastic wrap ball. It's all looking very promising now. Soon we will know you've settled in, not when the chips are on the ground but when you no longer sweep them up from the "new" floor.

FYI, just ordered from ENCO 20percent off everything and free shipping. Just till midnight. Enter CYBER then MONDAY in the promo area.

Kent

Thanks for the tip .... going there now ....

Gary

Well, that wasn't met to be. Or else - it was a typical Gary botch.

By the time I saw your post - they said it ended 11pm ET. I had about 20 minutes. I galloped around the site - trying to understand the prompts.

Got some stuff loaded in a basket. And ... gee .... I don't have my ID and PASSWORD tattooed on my wrist. Well ... I can request they find me in their records. Just tell them my ID ... No? ... then just tell them my Password ... No? Then how about my ID? Password? How about the ID?

I wasted ten minutes trying to type in CYBER+MONDAY .... it wouldn't take it. Then FINALLY we found some obscure thing saying you type them in seperately - and consecutively. Great opportunity wasted.

Cyber Monday.... I never would have known were it not for the 4532 emails I got from every web store I've ever clicked through!

It is very impressive to see the clear advantage in your thought and your new location has changed what you say and post. It is obvious that Kelly and yourself made a positive choice in your life and health. i wish both of you and your customer all the prosperity possible. A new vision BPS.......

Just being able to head down to the beach and watch the waves roll in is therapeutic all by itself, even if the water is too cold to swim in.

Now, having a REAL beach with warm water and actual sand and girls in bikinis and all of that just MIGHT have a certain additional level of attraction, I'll grant you.

Hi Sean,

We just have the skinny redneck girls with the piano keyboard teeth, two braided pigtails, cover-alls, and work boots. hehehe

Gary

Yeah....right...sure...

Shall I turn around so you can pull the other leg?