for the goarophilliacs

For those who are interested in following the healing progress of the fingers. Here's an update. While sitting in the hand surgeon's exam room waiting to be seen, I decided to make use of the time alone with my unwrapped fingers and snap a couple of pictures with my cell phone. I think I might have been too close. I am to go back in another week to see how we are doing. They are quite pleased with the appearance today. Took out the last stitch and wrapped them up again. So far I have watched 7 different people wrapp the same 2 fingers 7 different ways. Some seem to be better than others, but all get the job done. Til next time, here's how they look today.

Crafting Camp 09

Having finished the "Hoosier Cabinet" (thanks Mel for the identification) another restoration project waiting in the basement was a walnut chair that Georgia's mother had "antiqued" in the 60's or 70's. When she no longer had room for it, it came to our basement on Main Street where it waited for about 10 years, then roughly another 10 at our present location. In the meantime, several pieces of carving had been lost. In discussion with the Springfield Knellers, we decided that Blaine and Jude would come Monday - Wednesday and we would "craft". In addition to the chair we decided it was a good time to rebuild the bird feeder that belongs outside their window in Springfield, and we would carve a goose if we could borrow Rod's chain saw. In the many years we attended the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County Indiana, I marveled at the "chain saw artists". In addition, I always thought those large wooden geese where cool. Several years ago, Jeff had a bunch of oak log sections. Thinking of the wooden goose, I talked him out of one of them and brought it home to dry in the garage. Since carving was required to restore the chair, I thought it was appropriate to include the goose carving in the session. Although some pictures will be included here, my facebook friends will find more pictures there. We need votes. Since we broke off her head, we have the option of facing it forward or turned back in a more "resting" mode.. Please help us decide.

I picked up the boys Sunday evening. Monday morning we had local farm eggs, bacon, zucchini (that the boys brought along), and vidalia onions combined into an "omletty thing" which we cooked on the grill and ate on the deck. During these 3 days, I used up a bunch of coupons I had purchased last spring from the local boy scouts. Georgia, who was still in Indiana was a bit jealous as we told her that we ate at Dairy Queen, Texas Roadhouse, Subway.... Oh yes, we did squeeze in a visit to Lil Porgy's thanks to Jacqueline who had asked us to pick up some irises at Greg and Mel's; which is just down the street from Porgy's.. And the boys got to visit Aidan and Ava for a bit. That's enough about the food. Monday morning, we fired up the chain saws and started freeing the goose from the oak log. Obviously we couldn't all work on the goose, so we also glued small pieces onto the chair legs that I had previously "depainted" (see the chair in a pile.) The boys also brought their fishing poles, so some fishing was done to keep us from getting too bored from doing the same thing for too long. I think Jude caught over 20 fish and Blaine caught one rather large bass which satisied him. Tuesday, we rebuilt the bird feeder and found that compound miter joints are not as simple as the look (unless we simple severely missed something.) You can see the goose emerge from the log as the pile of sawdust grew. We assembled the chair on Wednesday. We cleaned up the garage and I told the boys they could fish as I worked on the head of the goose. Here's where the tale turns south. Several years ago, I bought an angle grinder which was adaptable as a biscuit jointer (the rage in wood joinery several years ago.) While shopping, I stumbled onto another was to get more use from the angle grinder. OMG.... something just wonderful.. a chain saw adaptator... talk about some power carving???? more refined than a chain saw and more "hungry" than a sander. We had used this little wonder on Tuesday and it worked well. We could get it into places too small for the chain saw. Then I took it apart and put it away... Fast forward to Wednesday morning. The chair is assembled and the glue is drying. The bird feeder is rebuilt and ready to go home for sanding and painting. The garage is clean and the body of the goose is coming along. We had "knocked off" the head, so had to make up a neck and do the more intricate carving of the head. So I sent the boys to fish, picked up the angle grinder with chain saw attachment (forgetting to screw in the handle for the left hand which keeps both hands safely away from the whirling cutting chain. You guessed it.. The boys hadn't even gotten their lines wet when I managed to thrust my left hand into the running tool of destruction. I got the bleeding stopped and wrapped up the 2 mangled fingers. Blaine came to check on my because he didn't hear the machine running. That's when I started hearing that line that would be repeated several times that day.... "are you OK???" The answer to that question is always relative. We pulled Jude away from the pond and went into Champaign to the emergency room. As we were getting in the car, Georgia called to tell us she was "on the road". Her goal was to get here in time to go with me to take the boys to meet their family. Today was root canal day for her. After the ER, the sent us to the hand surgeon (who had done my carpal tunnel release surgeries.) He looked at the fingers which were now being rewrapped for the 4th time. Looks like they will have to heal on their own.... there's nothing to put together.... As I am waiting between the assistant and the doctor with my hand unwrapped, Georgia shows up... think it pretty well grossed her out, but she held it together. Notice the insignia on my cap in the pictures while I'm holding the tool of the day. Now If you really want to see, scroll on down to some pics of my reformed fingers. I'm OK.... quit playing the guitar years ago.... didn't loose any fingers... just a small piece of my index finger distal phalanx.. and typing is really awkward. And for some time my dad will again be correct about the use of my left hand. (A really inside joke).

And one more project checked off!

With Georgia away helping her mother through eye surgery, I used the time to finish a project I started last fall. I have written a description of the project, but before we go to admiring the handiwork of man, here are a few shots at "natural" beauty that was eviden in the dew this morning. You won't see it if you don't click on the image and enlarge it.

The known history of this piece is as follows:
This "Hoosier Cabinet" belonged to the mother of Georgia (Walser) Gray, who passed it on to Georgia who passed it on to her daughter Beatrice Elizabeth (Gray) McPherson. Beatrice passed it on to her youngest daughter Nanette K. (McPherson) Wilkins. After moving to a smaller house, Nanette had stored it in her garage. The ladies who maintained it through those years, painted it; first white, then tan, then yellow, light teal and dark teal. During 2009, it was taken to the garage of Steve and Georgia (McPherson) Kneller with the goal of restoring it to functional form again. Georgia is the oldest daughter of Beatrice and Paul McPherson.

During it’s “yellow years”, the cabinet was on the carport turned recreation room of Paul and Beatrice. There is a set of 3 holes in a triangle in each side where Paul (Mac) had mounted a pencil sharpener. Although the cabinet is oak, 2 of the shelves and a partition are of pine plywood, apparently replaced at some point. Since it was painted, the type of wood wasn’t important. I (Steve) left it rather than replace the pine because I felt it represented the service this piece provided during those years. The back however was irretrievable and only a portion of the tambour (rolltop) was still present, so I replaced these parts with new oak wood. I decided to use clear paste wax for the finish, trusting it was most likely very close to the original finish. There is a hole in one of the metal drawers, the lid for the breadbox is missing, and the flour sifter is missing. I would love to be around when in another few generations, someone discovers this description glued to the bottom of the wide shallow drawer and fills in the blanks and decides whether to give it life again or end it’s service to family life. This piece is special to me because I grew up with one very similar which was painted white. The upper portion was last seen mounted above the sink in the “back room”.