Dig On This

     I got pictures. I have been busy with the bookcase wand stand. I also made a huge error, more on that a little later. Working with red oak is quite a bit different from working with pine. Pine is a much softer wood, so the Dremel cuts through it rather easy. Red oak is sturdy and solid, and very dense, and that density creates a whole new set of challenges, but it also brings some really unique traits with it when cutting into it. I would have to run the Dremel at a high speed to cut through it, but in doing so, I would also burn the wood, this created a rather interesting look to the piece, and actually adds to it. The first set of pictures are what it looked like after I ran a wire brush tool over it, to clean up the burn. Turns out, Elie liked the burn and wanted more of it.

     That is the left and right side after some clean up. Elie liked the burnt part so much, that she decided to make my life quite a bit easier. The original plan was to go in and clean up that roughness inside and smooth it all out. With her liking the roughness, I don't have to do any of that, I only had to go back in and add more burn back into. This is how they look now.

      It adds a bit more character to the symbol, and I think it's going to look real good once I stain it. One of the other things I did, was start drilling the holes and use some homemade dowel pins to connect the whole thing together. I didn't take any pictures of that, but it worked out a lot better than I thought it would, and I haven't even put the glue in it. I was able to get all the bottom holes drilled and filled, but when I went to the top, I had a snag. Turns out my drill was not charging, and I decided against my better judgement to use my high powered drill. It was a very bad idea.

     Yep, I screwed it up, quite literally. I went a little too far. I'm going to have to make a new top for the bookcase, but this will give me a chance to practice something I will need to perfect in order to get the wands to stay in place. Find the silver lining right. I do have an extra piece of wood, and this is the very reason I bought it. I will be buying a new cordless lower powered drill and do it right this time. In the meantime though. I did some test fitting with the top in place and the books in the case. This is what it looks like.

     It looks better than I thought it would, and it isn't even done yet. The books sit a little tighter than I had planned, but they have plenty of room to slide in and out of the case. I actually think the snug fit makes it a bit better. If something happens and the table or shelf the case is on gets bumped, they won't inadvertently fall out of the case. I am extremely happy with how this is coming together. I will be cutting the top out tomorrow, and hopefully won't screw it up. I still want to do the back with the radius on it. I will be radiusing the top as well, but maybe a little more drastic, to create more movement in the piece, and yes I know radiusing isn't a word, but I write the rules here.

     Now for a The Patchwork Knight update. I have at least two more chapters to write. I might be able to stretch into there, but that will all come as I write it. If it leads me to three, then three it will be, but I do see it as only two more chapters. I'm not quite sure when I'm going to write them, but possibly Friday, and maybe on the weekend. I will be busy going to work on the weekend, but I will try to keep my brain a little more solid this weekend, so that it isn't too mushy to actually do some creative work as well. 

     The mom update is next. She was able to stand and move with minimal assistance today, which in my eyes, puts her far ahead of the game. She is moving into a rehab facility tomorrow morning to start the process of relearning how to walk again. The surgeon put it at 6-8 weeks for a full recovery, but I'm going to go out on an uneducated limb and say that she does it in 4-5 weeks. The facility is very close to home, so she will in a way be half way there. That is what I'm telling her to look at it as. She wants to be in her own house and her own bed, but it's going to take some time, so the half way analogy might be helpful for her to understand. With the dementia and her short term memory being nearly gone, It takes a few times to get that point across. I've been sitting with her for a bout two hours each night, and I have heard the same stories about 400 times. I just go along with it, and pretend I haven't heard it before, or I guide her to how the story is supposed to go. She forgets and it changes a little from time to time. The worst part about all that, is that some times she knows that her mind is leaving her, and that sucks. It is the one thing she never wanted to happen. She wanted to go quick and not lose herself before she went. She does remember that I brought her tissue. They didn't have any in her room and she always thinks her nose is running, so she always needs a tissue. I brought a box in after the first day she was in, so she would have it. When she tells me that I brought the tissue in for her, it is a highlight to her day.

     It's time for Favorite Song of the Week, and this time I'm doing a cover, by a guy that is more known now for doing covers, than when he was in a well known Canadian band in the 90's, and there is a very good reason for that. The band he was in was called Downwhere, and they toured the world with relative success, but as most bands, they fell apart. Well this gentleman has quite the talent for singer, and he has qualities to his voice that you may find familiar. This is Marc Martel with the Queen classic, "Love of My Life".

     Like I said. you may have noticed that his voice has very similar qualities to that of the greatest voice in rock and roll, that of the great Freddie Mercury. I chose this cover because it really shows those qualities. His low and midrange are nearly dead on. Where he loses it, and it isn't in this video, is when he gets into his head voice. That's falsetto for all of you not in the know. He does a cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and when he hits those high falsettos, he doesn't quite make it, and then there is the attempt at doing Roger Taylor high notes. He shouldn't have done it. Anyway, Marc is a remarkable talent, and reminds me how much I miss Freddie, but it also gives me a chance to listen to these amazing songs in a whole new way. Check him out on his YouTube channel if you get the chance. His voice isn't a fluke, he shows of those Freddiesque qualities in other songs by other artists. It's there, It just isn't all there, because there will never be another like Freddie.

     That's all I got for tonight. I get to sleep in tomorrow, so I'm going to make the most of it. Yay me. Peace in and goodnight.