Tuesday, November 7, 2006

I've been busy

I made these...



... and yes, I am absurdly proud of myself.

Well, okay, I didn't actually _make_ the metal, but I did shape it. Hot metal, hammers, brute force. :)

Our friend Darrell, who is a blacksmith, opened his shop to some of his friends this past weekend, taught us the basics and set us free.

Neil made a Viking Era arrowhead replica. It's still unfinished.

Marcus made a knife. Sarah made a knife and a twisty Viking Era fry pan. Richard made two tools for gouging wood. Nancy also made S-hooks. Other stuff was made as well, but I only caught bits and pieces. The shop was very busy.

Darrell also teaches Blacksmithing courses. Go check out his website for more info.

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We finally got the front lawn leveled sufficiently and seeded. I think at this point, we're leaving the back yard damage until the spring and throwing money at it then.

Must get the spring bulbs in this week, and clean up the driveway so the snowblower guy can do his thing without impediment this winter.

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Some catch-up, upon rereading old posts:

I got busy, and neglected the green tomatoes. They turned red and I used them in the usual manner - pasta sauces. I feel most humbly lazy in the face of Anti-V's energetic posting of Green Tomato recipes on her blog for me.

The Verilux "Rise and Shine" light alarm clock. It's now been several weeks since we bought it and I promised a review.

It's OK.

The light bulb that came with it died relatively quickly, and replacements are quite expensive. I hope that isn't a normal thing for the life of the bulb. There's a strange 'whiney' noise that occurs when the lamp is first coming on....it can be quite annoying. And the time/setting display is quite bright, even on it's dimmest setting, and that can be kind of annoying.

But....

It's way better to wake up to then the jarring radio alarm. It's so much gentler. I don't wake up suddenly and swear at the lack of light outside anymore. It seems to gently and gradually push me toward wakefulness and when I open my eyes, I'm ready for it.

I'm not feeling particularly well rested... but I'm not feeling like my alarm has violently assaulted my senses anymore. And that's a good thing.


Karen

4 comments:

Diana said...

Blast. The picture isn't coming through on my computer.

I'll be curious to see how the seeded lawn does. Such a cliffhanger: Will it make it through the winter? Will they have to reseed in the spring? Or will it come through, like a champ.

Alda said...

Karen, do you use the lamp primarily as an alarm clock, or also in between?

I know that here in Iceland, people need to have them on for extended periods to get the proper benefit from it.

Do you notice a shift in your mood at all, or is it mostly that you wake up more gently?

cyndy said...

Wow! Your skills amaze me! How much fun to make those S hooks!

Your "Rise and Shine" alarm clock sounds like something I would love to own at this time of year.

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