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.

Can I Do This

     I have to write this quick, because I have to shower and then get up to the hospital. That's right the hospital. More on that in a second, let's take things in order.

     As you know, Thursday started a new series of training at the new job, in the hopes that I will get the full time position. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting there. Friday was more of the same, but all of it was new information, which seemed to push all the old information out, so I was panicking this weekend as I was on my own but that's getting ahead of things.

     Friday night is the important part of this story, well, Friday evening. My mother fell and broke her hip. She didn't think it was that bad, but when she couldn't bare to walk an ambulance was called. I of course went to the ER, which is something I hate almost more than anything, and waited around to hear some news. They were going to do emergency surgery in the morning. That was all I knew. When my nephew showed up, I tagged him in, and I went home for the rest of the night, and worried about her, and the new job.

     I went in Saturday morning, because it would look bad calling out on my first official day, and there was nothing I could do other than wait around anyway. So work took my mind off it a bit. I got the call early in the morning that she was going into surgery. They wanted permission, but they were already in the surgical theater when I called back. About an hour later, I got the call from the surgeon. She had broken the ball joint of her hip completely off. They replaced it with an artificial one, so my mom is now the bionic woman.

     Saturday went on, I was able to forget about my mom, because I knew everything was ok, so I began the panic anew about the job. When you start each day doing what I'm doing, there is an amount of money on your list, that is the amount of money that is sitting around waiting to come back to the company. It's my job to get that number down each day. I did not do that. The number was drastically higher than when I started the day, and even though I had gotten through a lot of stuff, it still felt like failure. I was worried. I really began doubting whether or not I can do this job. It was running through my head all night, so much so, that I woke up at 2 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep.

     In the meantime, I visited my mom in the hospital and she was doing great. She couldn't feel any pain while I was there, but they have a pretty good drip of pain killers going on to take care of that. She was in good spirits, but she was wondering if she would ever walk again. The doctor told me, that it was a few days in the hospital and then she was going to have to go to rehab to relearn how to walk. She wasn't the quickest and sturdiest as is, so I can imagine that this is going to be very difficult on her, but she's a tough old bird, and she can do it. My nephew and I will be there urging her on.

     That brings us to this morning. I know I'm going back and forth a little, but it was necessary for good writing. I was sick this morning, sick with worry. I was fully ready to get fired or quit because I didn't think I had what it took to get this job down. I still managed to walk through that front door, greeted by the manager, and walked back to my little office, and was greeted by the overnight guy. He looked at me, and told me how great of a job I did on Saturday. I was blown away. He told me that he was amazed that I got through as much stuff as I did and that he told the manager as much. That lifted a huge weight off my shoulder. I still had my moments of panic today, when things couldn't hit my memory, but I made it, and I feel ok. I may just be able to do this job.

     With all this going on, I wasn't able to work on pictures or the bookcase wand stand, but I will have Tuesday through Friday off, to get things done. I hope to have an almost completed bookcase wand stand for you by Thursday.

     I'm off to take shower and then head to the hospital, and then it's pick something up on the way home to eat, because I'm freaking exhausted. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 64)

     The steady flow of Raiders had finally stopped. The trails were quiet and lonely again. I had aged quite a bit during this long trek towards the Kingdom. Not just physically but but mentally as well. Although I couldn't remember every fight I had had, or the faces that I passed along the way. I never forgot how this all started.  I never forgot that day in the forest when my father died, and how I ran to the village on his instructions and watched it burn to the ground. That fire remained in my heart and would not be quenched until I killed every last one of them and rid the Realm of the Mudwood.

     I only ran the horses at a trot anymore, there was no hurry to get to the Kingdom. They had sent their best at me, and then their second best and so on and so on, until they sent what they could at me, and I didn't flinch. I stayed my ground and took them all on, One and all. Every last one of them is lying on the ground somewhere behind me now. I didn't bother to burry them, I left them for the scavengers of the forest. The carrion birds had feasted for some time in the Realm as long as they were near me.

      I used my sight practically at all times now. I could see a large mass on the trail in front of me as I rode. It was 5 miles ahead. My sight had improved quite a bit with all the usage. I could see nearly ten miles in front of me when I pushed the limits of my ability. Even though there wasn't a Raider that could stand against me, I still rode forward with caution. The mass could be a trap set just for me. I searched the surrounding forest with my sight to see if I could see the golden hue of the Raiders, but there was nothing there. When I was a few hundred yards from the mass. I dismounted and tied my horse off the trail. I could make out details on the mass, and saw a brindle coat of fur. It was a tree lion, but it wasn't moving.

     I advanced slowly. Even though Tree Lions were known to be very gentle creatures, they were intimidating with their size, and I didn't want to scare a sleeping lion. As I approached I began to see why it was lying in the middle of the trail instead of high in a tree. It was lying in sand that was red from it's blood. It had long since dried, and flies had begun their feast on the carcass. The lion hadn't just wandered onto the trail and died, it had been killed. I could see lacerations from swords and arrow sticking from it's hide. Raider arrows. They had killed this majestic friendly beast. A creature that signified good luck when you saw it. I had twice seen them before and good luck followed. The Raiders that had killed this being of the trees hadn't received good luck, they had received my blades, long ago. There were no tracks leading away towards the Kingdom, they all lead to where I had come from.

      I took the time to dig a deep pit and drug the Tree Lions body into it, and covered it. A beast with such a pure heart shouldn't be left to rot in the sun. It should be honored. I stayed there over night and my anger at the death of the lion fueled that fire that burned inside of me. I would finish this, and I would finish it soon. The Kingdom was only a days ride away now, and I would see it by the nightfall tomorrow. I would finally release this fire on the Mudwood, and end their reign in this land.

I Got Paid

     I got my first paycheck today, in over 7 months. Well, it's direct deposit, so I didn't physically get it, but you know what I mean. It was a pretty good feeling. I nearly forgot what that felt like. Yes, I did make a very small amount of money with The Patchwork Knight, but it was never enough to really amount to anything. This can actually pay some bills. Once again, it's money coming in, instead of going out. Alas, it will be going out soon though, because it's nearly time to pay the bills.

     I do have some news. It's not official, but it looks like I may be moving to full time with this job, instead of just working part time on the weekends. The woman that is mentoring is moving to another position, so her full time job opened up. She gave me the heads up, and I put in my application for it. Yes, I still have to apply for the position, even though I've been hired to do it part time on the weekends. She brought me in for extra training today, and tomorrow, in the hopes that I will be the one that moves into the weekday full time slot. I'll just have to wait and see. I haven't heard anything yet, but they may be waiting to see how many candidates they get for the job.

     Speaking of the job, it is a lot of work. It isn't real hard, it is just a lot of it. It turns out, that the position that I am in now, was originally taken up by three different positions. They got rid of two of them, and put them all on us. Good news, they are eliminating another position soon, and putting all that work on us as well. Originally my position was only supposed to deal with returns. Returning product back to the manufacturers for refunds for the store, but now, we have to deal with that, as well as buy backs, stop sales, recalls, hazmat, and a few other things. Like I said, it's a lot of work, but I can do it, I just have to stay focus and keep learning the things I need to. It is kind of nice being in air conditioning the entire time. Well for the most part, there are some times that I have to go outside, but that is mainly for the hazmat disposal. That only takes about a half hour, depending on how much there is to do. Could be less time as well.

     Having to go in for the extra training slowed down my plans for this week. I wanted to finish up The Patchwork Knight, but that has to go on hold. Once again, I feel that there are two maybe three more chapters to write at this point. I also had to slow down my progress on the bookcase wand stand. The good news about that though, is that my plan for putting it together without screws or nails, may just work. I have been making the dowel pins and tried them out on one side of the bookcase, and it is working. When I do final assembly I will use wood glue to keep everything together. I can't believe that it actually worked. It does take a little more time than just screwing in a screw, but it will be worth it in the finished product. If I do it right, you won't be able to guess how it is really put together.

     My battery died on my drill yesterday when I was doing it, otherwise I would have finished all of them and had the mock up done. I did etch the outline for the Deathly Hallows on both sides, and I have to go in and get all that extra material out of there, but it is looking good right now. Once I'm done with that, I will use the mock up to get all the sanding done, so that all the seams match up right. I'm going to sand it while it's together, so that I can carve the whole thing as one piece as opposed to trying to do them separately and trying to get them to fit together. That is how I did it to start it out, and it looks pretty good, but there is some overlap that will be correcting by doing it all together. I'm real excited about how this is turning out.

     I don't have any up to date pictures for you, because it really doesn't look much different from Tuesday. Most of the work that I have done since then, is all hidden underneath. I'll try to get some pictures for Sunday of what the connecting points look like. I am working for the next three days, and Saturday will be my first day on my own, without my mentor, so I'm going to be pretty busy and exhausted, but I really want to get back to work on it tomorrow, at the very least.

     That's all I got for tonight. I gots to wake up early tomorrow, so that I can go to work, so it is off to bed for me. Peace in and goodnight.

I Can't Believe I Did It

     I have been writing this week, amongst other things, but writing in order to finish up The Patchwork Knight. I think the chapter I wrote today, may be one of the best one I have written. It is bringing everything together, and getting ready for the culmination of the entire story. The next chapter is going to be filled with action and an event that will be the final turning point in the story. Then it is all a matter of wrapping it up and putting a nice bow on it. I know that I have at the very least, two more chapter to write, but that could turn into three possibly four. I'm not real sure as of right now, so it will all be up to how the story takes me to the end. Nothing is changing from my original thoughts of the ending, it is just a matter of getting exactly where I see it, and that could be 2 chapters or 4. Either way, it is all coming to an end very soon.

     I also worked on the bookcase wand stand, and I'm pretty pleased with what I accomplished today. I of course got all the wood and most of the supplies that I needed yesterday, and began working on it this morning. I cut out all the pieces, then sanded them into shape, and did a mock up of the entire thing. I have to say, that it looks better than I thought it would, and I still have a lot to do to it. I have changed my mind about exactly how I'm putting it together. I was going to use screws, but I decided against that, because it will just take away from the appearance that I want, so I'm going to create dowel pins to put it together, and yes, I'm making them myself. It's not going to be easy, and I have to go out and buy a dowel rod that is the right size for what I want tomorrow, then I have to cut the pins to the right size. A little sanding will be in order to get them to fit right, but once I have them done, I can begin drilling the holes for it, and to a partial assembly of the bookcase wand stand. I say partial, because I don't want final assembly to happen yet, I still have things that I will need to do to it, while it is taken apart. Anyway, I got some pictures of today's progress. See for yourself, and let me know what you think of it.

     I only have the Deathly Hallows symbol drawn on at this point, and that is my next task. I have to begin etching that out. I need to do that will it is unassembled so that it is easier to get to. Once that is done, I can do that partial assembly I talked about. When I do that, that is when I can get to some serious sanding, and get all the lines to match up. Right now it is really close, but it needs to be better. I'm also going to shape those hard edges too. I'm not completely sure how those are going to look when it's done, but I'm going to let the wood talk to me. It will let me know what it needs.

     I am a little shocked that I pulled it off so far. I really wasn't sure I could do this, even after all the test pieces that I did, but it looks pretty good. I even began thinking of how much I would sell a piece like this if people wanted one of their own, and I figured with the cost of the material, and the time I put into it. I could probably sell it for $99. It seems like a lot, but when you consider that Universal is selling a small wand stand that is either made out of metal or plastic for $60, that only holds one wand. I think $99 is a steal. Plus this will hold all the books as well. What better way to show of your fandom than a bookcase that you can display your wand or wands on. Speaking of the actual wand stand part of it. I simplified what I'm going to do for that. I had this idea for a very complicated way of creating my own stand, and I'm still creating my own, I just made it easier, by buying a think piece of dowel rod, that I'm going to sculpt for what I want. It's not just going to be a straight stick going up in the air, I'm going to put some fun curve into it. I even have an idea of adding something else to it, but I'm going to keep that a secret for now. I'll let you know what it is after I've decided whether or not to do it, but it could be fun.

     To give you an idea of what the entire thing will look like when it's fully completed, I clear coated those smaller test pieces, and finally finished them up. Here is what they look like now.

     I learned a lot during this whole process, and I no a few things not to do when I finally get ready to clear coat the bookcase wand stand. I'm going to take my time with that and get it exactly the way I want it before I hand it over to Elie. As for that piece on the left, that will be given to her the next time I see her. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with mine yet. It's a little too big to use as a coaster, but it will serve some kind of purpose, once I figure out what that purpose is.

     That's all I got tonight. Peace in and goodnight.

I Dislike Writing These, But It Has To Be Done

Marisol Lopez

Ana Pinon-Williams

Jessica Montague

Debra Cook

Cynthia Watson

     This is the first list of the year. These women were shot execution style in Sebring Florida. Before I even finished writing this, because I wrote the names in as soon as I found them readying myself for tonights post. another mass shooting happened in Louisiana. Those victims are below.

Elizabeth Theriot

Keith Theriot

Summer Ernest

Billy Ernest

Tanner Ernest

     Those victims were from a more than common domestic violence shooting. I wish I could say that these were the first two mass shootings of the year, but sadly, I can't. There have been many others, these are just the first ones that I could find the names of the victims. As I have mentioned in the past, when I can find those names, I will always post them here for you to see them. They need to be seen, they need to be read, and they need to be remembered. You can find the viles that committed these horrible acts on several media sources, but the names are much harder and sometimes impossible to find, which is why I do this. When the media stops naming the viles that commit these acts, and only mention the victims, I will continue to do this. I hope that there will be a day when I don't have to, but the media loves sensationalism, and victims aren't sensational, they are sad.

     Since I have woken up at 4 in the morning during the work week, I was waking up before the crack of dawn on my days off, and I expect that to continue on during this week that I will have off until I start officially on Saturday at the job. I'm a little worried about screwing up, since this will be the first time I will be doing it by myself with no one to ask questions to. If I get in over my head, I have the number of my mentor and she will be available for questions, but I can always do the things I feel the most comfortable with first, and worry about the more difficult tasks until later in the day. She also said that I could always leave certain things for her if I forget. I'm going to try my best not to do that, but it is an option.

      I have not bought the wood for the bookcase wand stand yet. It has been raining most of the weekend, and I was worried about the wood getting wet and damaged. Tomorrow is supposed to be rain free, so I will be able to get that and the last few remaining things on my list that will help with this whole project. I will pick them up from my new employer with my employee discount. It's not a whole lot, but every little bit helps. I'm going to use a much more expensive wood for the final piece, so that little bit may just add up pretty fast to help out quite a bit. I have to go back over the measurements that I figured out and then like an idiot, didn't write down, but that may be a good thing, because I do think I'm going to have to change things as I go, but having a rough idea is better than no idea. I need to make sure I have enough wood for the job. I don't want to have to go back out for a single small piece.

     I'm also going to pick up the clear coat for the other two smaller pieces I made so that I can finally get those out of the way. Where I had them sitting earlier this week put them where my garage door dripped water on them. Fortunately I saw it happening and wiped them off immediately and got them in a safer location. I put a lot of work into those little pieces, and it would have killed me to ruin them just by having them sitting in the wrong place.

     Just in case you forgot, these are the two pieces I'm talking about. The left is mine, and the right goes to Elie as a small preview of what's to come.

     I'm keeping it short and sweet tonight, I hope to have some pictures of some progress on the bookcase wand stand on Tuesday, until then, peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 63)

     I was using my extended sight when I saw the next band of Raiders. They weren't heading for the Kingdom, they were heading for me. I stowed my horse in the forest away from harm and waited in the center of the trail.

     As the band got closer, I drew my swords and stood my ground. They stopped a dozen yards from me.

     "Ah, so it is true. The Patchwork Knight is alive and well, and coming to the Kingdom. We will be your escort."

     "Don't you mean prisoner?"

     "Call it as you like. We were told to bring you to the Kingdom. I suggest you throw your swords down, and climb into our cage here. We will take good care of you."

     "I have another suggestion."

     "What would that be?"

     "I don't throw down my swords, I walk over there, and kill you all."

     A large chorus of laughter erupted from the band of what appeared to be 50 men.

     "The rumors are true then. You really think you can kill all of us? We are the most skilled of all Raiders. We were sent here to take you alive. I don't understand it myself considering how many you have murdered, but those are our orders."

     "I don't think I can kill you at all. I know that I can. I gave your man a chance, so that he could tell you I was coming and for you all to leave the Realm. You didn't heed his warning, so I must do as I said I would."

     I entered the Euphoria and gathered the aether from the stone.

     "Yes, he told us the nonsense that you wanted him to pass along, and then we killed him for leaving his men like a coward. If you insi...."

     I had heard enough, and didn't allow him to finish. I ran at full speed added by the Euphoria and the aether. I was cutting through his throat before he could finish what would be his final word. I cut through the band that were standing two by two along the trail. I was half way through them before any of them know what was happening, and by the time the did, it was already too late for them. Some tried to fight back, while others tried to run. I gave them their headstart and finished off those that had the courage to stand and die with their weapons in their hands, then I ran each man down one by one. I made sure to spin them to face me, so that they could die with my face being the last thing that they saw. Even though it was too good for them, I gave them all an honorable death.

     I piled all the bodies up in the center of the trail. I counted 75 men in all. The horses had all run at the start of the battle but one cart had been destroyed in the as the horses began their frantic run to safety. I took the wood from the cart and placed it around the pile of bodies, to add kindling to the bonfire that soon would be.

     I lit the pyre and watched it burn until the sun went down. The thick black smoke rose into the air and would be a warning to all those who would come for me. The Mudwood was now sending war bands to hunt me down. It appears that the fight was now coming to me, instead of the other way around.

***

     The Mudwood did just that. They sent war band after war band my way. Blocking me from my final destination. No matter how many men they sent, it didn't matter. I cut each and everyone of them down, but it slowed my progress to the Kingdom. Some days I wouldn't even have a chance to move from my location. When one hourde was gone, another would be right on its heels. 

     This went on for longer than I care to remember, but I do remember. What should have taken a few months at the most, took decades. I was beginning to be an old man from this war, but I would see it through.

     The war bands began thinning in numbers. At first it would be 75-100 men per warband, then it was 50, then 20. The herd was thinning, but it still seemed that the Mudwood had an infinite number of bodies to throw at me. While the numbers of men began to dwindle, so did the frequency at which they would attack.When this all started. I was seeing nearly a war band a day for months at a time, but now, I had only seen one war band within the past week, and there were none on the horizon. 

     It was finally time for my final march to the Kingdom. It was too long in coming, but it had truly finally begun.