The rest of the story

At Daniel's Prompting, here is the rest of the story:
I got home from school hoping to be there to load Lindsey's scrapbooking materials in her car. Instead I got home in time to get her call. For some mysterious reason, she couldn't get the key to turn in the ignition. I gave her the suggestion of turning the steering wheel to "unlock" the ignition and told her that I would drive up to doctor's office if I didn't see her soon. I thought "I better leave right now" as soon as I hung up the phone, so I did. I soon arrived in the parking lot just before Lindsey starting kicking her car. Within 1 minute I had the car started and we were ready to go.
I had forgot that Lindsey is an excellent direction follower. She knew to turn the wheel, but had never been told to turn the wheel and the key at the same time. So, now we have cell phones and Lindsey has a new direction to follow.
I am reluctant to post this because I love the way Lindsey attacks the world. I love her innocence and her confidence that I can fix almost anything. I will end this post by sharing with all of you that Lindsey once received a similar phone call from her mom.
Her mom was stranded at school because she could not get the key to turn in her car. Lindsey, George(her stepdad), and I drove to Lynne's school to try to fix the problem. The drive to the school was about an hour and we spent another hour trying to get the key to turn. This was not the same problem. It ends up that Lynne's gargantuan key ring had stressed the ignition to the point that I would no longer turn. The car had to be towed and fitted with a new ignition (Not a cheap thing). From then on Lindsey and her mom were very careful about the size of their key rings.

Step 1 completed

I have finally finished the first part of getting the nursery built-ins done. The silly thing is this isn't even going in the house and the little one may never appreciate it. Oh well, it was a good learning experience and will serve me well for a long time.

The legs and stretchers are made from 8/4 and 12/4 maple (20 bdft of each). I am really happy with how my bandsaw cut through the thick stock. The top is a butcher block work surface that is 24" wide and 8 feet long. It is 2 1/4 inches thick and weighs alot (it was really fun to get out of the car).

The left end has the vise. The vise is the part I am the least happy with. It was darn near impossible to get it even, straight, and square. In the end it is pretty close, but I will always know it is uneven.

I had to re-arrange the garage stuff to make everything fit. I was able to fit all the wood for the project under the bench. It gave it even more mass to keep it stable. I have the sheet stock standing up against the wall so Lindsey can hopefully park her car in the garage when the snow comes.

The next step is to prep the room, and then the real fun begins.

Into the Wild

I just finished re-reading one of my favorite books (if you read this for long enough you may notice that every book i finish becomes my favorite). Into the Wild is a wonderful look at life. I would say it is far superior to Wild at Heart and addresses many of the same ideas.
I had to finish the book tonight because tomorrow is October 1. It would have been Lynne's 60th birthday. I remember telling her and Lindsey about this book when I read it the first time. Lynne read it right away and then read it to her high school English classes.
I really miss Lynne and the house on Echo. I miss her cough and her smell. I miss coming in the door to a one armed hug because the other hand was holding a cigarette. I miss the constant pouring and making of coffee. I miss being told "you have to have gravy on it!" I miss little bowls of seasonal candy (especially gummy hearts at Valentines Day). I miss her smile when her nose wrinkled up and her eyes squinted. I miss driving her car to the airport to get Jason for the Holidays. I miss the whole family being together and the "hell" Jered and Jason would give Lindsey (they still do that and it is still hard to not join in). I miss apple pies, chocolate cookies, gravy, stuffing, broccoli and chicken. I miss 8 chefs in a kitchen built for 1 and loving every minute of it. I miss being told to "Go look at the garden" when first arriving and the hope for a quick return when leaving.
As the arrival of baby Ellis gets closer and closer, it seems impossible that Lynne never had the chance to be Grandma Lynne. It definitely would have suited her.

Amazing

As I unloaded wood from the truck today I thought how strange it is that these things that grow in the ground, give us shade, drop acorns in my truck and leaves on the lawn can be turned into furniture. My wood order was delivered from Charlotte. The wood is beautiful. Pics can be found an the baby ellis blog. Here is a picture of the "shop" and the maple that will become my woodworking bench. Only 186 working nights left!



PS: a 20 bdft hunk of 12/4 maple is very heavy and impossible to rip by yourself.

There's a giraffe in my driveway

I came home from school yesterday and tried to park in the driveway, but someone had beat me there. I could believe but there was a stinkin' giraffe right where I usually park. You will be sad to know that it wasn't a REAL giraffe. It was one of facsimile giraffes that Lindsey has collected. We have been looking for a new home for this guy because his old home is being turned into a nursery for baby Ellis. I will be laughing about the giraffe in my driveway for weeks to come!

The journey to belong

the need to belong is the driving force behind so many of my actions. I am blessed to have had places to belong that have not required much effort on my part. Even in the times when I was convinced that I was unwanted and isolated, I was eventually pulled back to the places I belonged before I made an unfortunate and life ending decision.
I just finished pictures of hollis woods by Patricia Reilly Giff. What an amazing story of one girls journey (I'll try not to ruin it for those who read it). This reminds me of the importance of loving the "un-lovables" and that we are never so broken that we can't be repaired.

End of Summer

I know that school doesn't start until September...
I know that summer has been a great time to rejuvenate...
But I am not ready to start back.
I really need to get going on school things so this year can have a smooth start, but I am not looking forward to my job this year.
I am excited to meet my new students. I am excited when I think about all the learning and growing that I will be apart of this year. I am not excited to bring all this stress back into my mind.
I am thankful for my job, but the responsibilities seem overwhelming.
All right, Physics, Astronomy, Webpage Design, here I come.

Fun Music

I was in Schuler Books a couple of weeks ago. I always wander through the music section. I heard this cd of guitar music playing and had to check it out. It is one of the best albums i have ever listened to: Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Empathy Sucks!!

I am getting frustrated by my empathy while at the same time I am thankful for it. There was a time, not too long ago, that i decided feelings were all worthless and just got the way of the truth. I didn't know what that truth was, but I was sure that they just got in the way. Unfortunatly, this meant all people we unimportant because any relationships involved feelings, and that was counterproductive. I am pretty sure that my interest in Physics was fueled by this belief. Thankfully God continued to seek me as a ran from him yelling over my shoulder to leave my alone.

I understand now that truth (and life) can only exist in relationships that deal with feelings. I wish that instead of being able to understand the connections between people's feelings and the actions/events in their lives that I could fix some of the broken junk. I wish I could sacrifice some empathy (heck all of it) for some action.

Celldweller

This song had captured my attention.

Events

Watching movies and reading books always affect me. Right now I am reading A Picture of Hollis Woods and I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Both things made me think about how events can make life seem impossible to deal with, but life just keeps going.

It is my hope that the brokenness experienced in life doesn't contribute to the shadows of life, but reminds me that there is a loving God. The shadows only exist because of the light of life coming from God.

I don't know if this will ever be seen by other people, it is so hard to capture thoughts and feelings in writing. This is good to do just for me.


Faith To Be Strong from "Carried Along"
Words by Andrew Peterson

Give us faith to be strong
Father, we are so weak
Our bodies are fragile and weary
As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead
Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn
Mend us up when we break
This flesh can be wounded and shaking
When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take
Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope
Father, we cannot see
How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom
And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe
So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we're torn
Give us faith, faith to be strong