Birthday List 2009

Some things that would make me happy for my Birthday:

Pick your least favorite nutty political figure & donate to a worthy cause they would despise in their name. Send me a note in the comment section about what you have done.

Give to Heifer International: Bees (I really like to give the gift of bees) Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark… Send me a note.
A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Give blood and send me a post card
1000 followers on YouTube

SpeedHut Jeep Gauge Package
Anything from my Amazon wish list
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
A set of ½ round molding planes from Matthew Bickford
A set of snipe bill planes from Matthew Bickford
Genetic genealogy testing from 23&Me
A card from each of my kids
Filson Wool Overalls
A red Arkansas Razerback red ball cap
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions!!)
Any 2ga. plugs really

I got a crazy amount of stuff done last night after work. I was uber productive!

  • Checked on and watered bee hives at work (2 in community garden)
  • Drove home
  • Checked on and watered bees at the house
  • Boiled burr comb (extra comb the bees build in the hive boxes) and turned it into wax patties for candles this fall
  • Cleaned up front yard.
  • Moved new table made from a tree trunk slice into the front yard
  • Added three orange feet to the table
  • Took out compost, garbage, and recycling
  • Browned sliced almonds for dinner salad
  • Shocked and treated hot tub
  • Emptied hot tub water (only water left in pipes/pump has been treated)
  • Pulled hot tub filters
  • Replaced tires on band saw
  • Installed Wolverine sharpening guides and chisel grinder in shop
  • Patched nail holes in trim of basement tool organization board and printing press break
  • Installed 2 GoPro mounts in shop
  • Put final touches on two hand forged workbench holdfasts each (one for the bench tops and one for the legs) for a couple of friends who are getting into woodworking
  • Worked on a couple of YouTube films
  • Applied a the first coat of Silver Tip Epoxy to a canoe paddle
  • Finished an Audio book
  • Updated my bee hive performance/health tracking journal

2019 News Year’s Resolutions:

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2018.  Well, if you want to hear God Laugh, tell him your plans…

Life was sort of turn upside down this year with continuing hip issues, an unplanned knee surgery, a job change, house rebuild craziness.  If you factor in my own laziness, stubbornness, and my A+ skill level of procrastination I did not get even half of my list ticked off. From that list of 50 Things, the items below are what I actually did get done:

Organize my chaos in the shop and basement. – Basement done!
Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
Fly my drones more
Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown
Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
Give some $$ to Heifer and MFS
Be involved in politics more: financially and with a time commitment
Finish the house remodel –  even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (shudder…)
Make.More.Stuff!!
Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
Take my wife on vacation

For 2019, I am going to keep it a little simpler:

  1. Work really hard to stay healthy and avoid any more orthopedic surgery
  2. Quit Twitter for good this time.
  3. Get on my bike
  4. Lose the extra weight
  5. Be a great engineer
  6. Make better and better YouTube videos.
  7. Read more
  8. Spend more time with Family
  9. Worry about the house less
  10. Finish and USE my shop to its fullest.
  11. Be happier and remove negative folks and situations from my day to day.
  12. Take some more classes
  13. Make more friends
  14. Be involved in my community
  15. Buy and consume less
  16. Simplify

Christmas List – 2019

Birth of the Messiah / Fat Man Redsuit Day is tomorrow.  There are some things on my list:

  1. ITMFA!
  2. For the Us Economy not to go insane in 2019.
  3. For the adults in the room to take the reins of the American political system.
  4. Healthcare for all to be a basic right.
  5. A little charitable giving:

Heifer International: Bees (I like to give the gift of bees) or Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark… – Success Got Bees!  Donation already sent off.
A little cash sent to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Go give blood and send me a post card
Tis best gift card

  1. Some stuff I am asking my wife and family for:

Filson Wool Overalls
Book: Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz – My Awesome Wife
Book: British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 – Nicholas A. Brawer
Really nice Ukulele build kit (Solid Koa Item # 5372) Link
A card or hand written letter from my sister and each of my kids – 2 out of three this year – Happy.
Pizza Stone for the oven – From MiL!
2ga. Ear Plugs: Amber, Clear/Red/Cobalt Blue glass double flair, Smoke double flair link -Gift from Santa
Kala U-Base Link
Shruti Box link
Rabbit suit onesie link
Genealogy workbook Link
Genealogy Fan Chart X2 Link
HMS Beagle Book Link My Wife Scored
Shave Soap Link From My Mom
Razor Blades Link Also My Mom
Classic (used) Gerstner “Journeyman’s” tool chest Link

I Have Had Better Weekends

This weekend was a giant cluster and I am glad it is Monday – those are words I have never said before. 100% first world boogie problems, I get it. My house is not on fire, I am not fleeing disease or a brutal regime, and no one is firing artillery or bullets in my direction. I get it, so please excuse my momentary lapse into the tiny issues in my own little world.

  • Ran out of ½ and ½ for coffee 1st thing on Saturday
  • Had to use my wife’s coconut creamer.
  • Was not happy.
  • Didn’t matter, spilled the coffee all over robe ½ way through the cup.
  • Said the F-word loud enough to make both dogs go find their mommy
  • Looked for a tool for like 40 minutes in house, basement, attic, and garage.
  • Still haven’t found it.
  • One of the dogs rolled in shit and then came happily into the house.
  • Same dog got on the couch.
  • I had to clean the couch
  • I lost my favorite fountain pen in the house somewhere while cleaning dog shit!?!
  • Went to yarn shop for my mother
  • They are out of a specific yarn she needs to finish a blanket.
    “Check back in a month… the dye lot MAY be different though…”
  • Went to grocery store and someone rammed the parking exit ticket-taking machine.
  • It was the only exit for cars.
  • Sat there for an hour+ – grumbling at “people”
  • Realized I forgot some stuff and had to go back to the damn grocery store.
  • Went to library to renew book (Chernov’s Grant)
    Found that I forgot to return a book 3 months ago
  • Have a $20 fine.
  • Opened Twitter
  • Read that The Cheeto refused to join the leaders of Europe for a 100th anniversary WWI Armistice tribute because of rain…
  • Got super worked up, hate Tweeted, raised my blood pressure, and then turned off the phone.
  • We cleaned the hot tub – up to my knees in 40 degree water
  • Splashed vinegar in BOTH eyes
  • A Normal coffee stand I frequent has switched to a bikini coffee stand.
    My “barista” was wearing pasties, dental floss and a shinny butt plug.
    She adjusted said plug absent-mindedly as she was making my coffee
  • I did not drink the coffee
  • I sent a joking text that super pissed my kid off.
  • Was not my intent.
  • Made a fire Sunday night
  • Set my phone top of the fireplace insert
  • Found it an hour later COOKED my iPhone! WAY to hot to even touch
  • Said very dirty words. Dirty.
  • Worked on tax receipts because THAT is coming up soon
  • Said some more dirty words about my own stupidity with the cell phone cooking.
  • New laptop won’t fit in my messenger bag – by a LOT.
  • Not buying a new bag!
  • Went to bed and read until I fell asleep and cracked myself in the face with above mention Grant biography.

The weekend was not total shit though:

  • I sign up for a blacksmithing workshop for making ram and dragon heads
  • There was lots of snuggling with my wife and the puppies
  • Got some of my Christmas shopping done
  • The hot tub is clean and ready to use
  • We are geared up for cold weather with plenty of firewood.

Things My Wife Has Said – Volume IV

My sweet, bubbly, kind, giving, gentle, well-adjusted, funny, smart, awesome wife has the best one-liners.  I have taken to writing them down and saving them like little jewels.   This is the fourth, though not the last, installment of Things My Wife Has Said:

  1. I was trying to be funny and I told my wife that I am sort of like an Uber driver: my beard gives rides for cash. She laughed so hard that wine came out of her nose. When recovered, she gave me $1 and said that she “expected change when her ride was done…”
  2. “Boys who buy their wives sewing machines get favors…”
  3. “Truffle (our female French Bulldog) is a Goddamn snuggle tyrant!”
  4. “Man buns are just comb-overs for hipsters.”
  5. I came home from work and went downstairs to check on how Stamps-With-Foot was doing on the bathroom paint progress. I found her naked, covered in purple paint, and listening to Tupac. When questioned about the state of things she said: “I didn’t want to get paint on my jammies, so I painted naked.”
  6. While out to dinner before seeing a a movie, my wife said: “You might be the Anti-Christ: Since I met you I eat pork, have condoned killing trees for a better view, and was singing along happily to Katy Perry this morning.”
  7. “There should be an escort service for puppies and baby piggies. You could snuggle and love them for an hour and the give them back.”
  8. “I don’t really like any Fructose Corn Syrup, but I really hate it when is high.”
  9. “What is wrong with you?! You bought $60 worth of Girl Scout Cookies into our house, left town, and I am on my period. What the fuck were you thinking?!?!
  10. While standing in the kitchen, very early and wearing a bathrobe: “A yawn is a silent scream for coffee.”
  11. “Budgeting is sexy.”
  12. “Do my boobs look too big in this shirt?” It was a trap.
  13. She went to the wax place on a Saturday and came in the house that afternoon with Vampirella arches above her eyes and asked: “What do you think of my eyebrows?” It was also a trap.
  14. I went snowboarding for the 1st time since hip reconstruction and I was forbidden by my wife to drop into the terrain park. When I got home I was questioned thoroughly. I was honest and said that there were no drops or rails or big air, but admitted taking small jump (more of a hop really) along one of the runs. I got “the look” and she made pre-tirade grumpy noises. I said quickly and defensively: “But I didn’t go into the terrain park!” My sugar sweet, tiny, gentle, accepting, loving, kind wife then said: “Huh?!, that is sort of like you saying ‘but I just got a blowjob from that hooker, I didn’t put it in her butt.'” Seriously, she said that. I was caught unaware, had no response, and couldn’t utter a sound in my defense, mostly due to the shock that those specific words had come out of her mouth at all and in that particular order….. She then hid one of my boarding boots for a couple of weeks.

Birthday List – 2018

My birthday is almost here. The big 45.  If I am super lucky and healthy, this is the MAXIMUM point in life that I can be before I am Middle Aged.  Seriously, if I live to be 90, I am just a few days from being 1/2 way there.

Like most years, I will be taking the day off from work, the next day as well and enjoying doing stuff that makes me happy! A haircut, brunch, an afternoon movie, steak dinner with my wife, cookies, etc… Below is a short birthday wish list in no specific order.

The #1 want for my 45th year on this green and blue rock: For the Adults in the room to take the reins of the American Political System

Things that would also be nice:
Heifer International: Bees (I really like to give the gift of bees) Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark…
A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Go give blood and send me a post card
Filson Overalls
A bottle of good American Whiskey
An Amazon Gift Card
Book: Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
New Propane Forge
Rounding hammer
1000 followers on YouTube
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
Genetic genealogy testing from 23&Me
Starbucks Gift Card
A card from each of my kids
New brown DocMartin Wingtipe – UK 8.5:  these or these or these
The 1-day or 2-day Rally School Course at Dirt Fish
Mavic 2 Zoom Drone
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions!!)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
A nice bottle of Porto

This weekend was full. I really need to stop working on my days off.

Welding Cart experienced a failed wheel/axle combo
I said dirty words and decided to replace rather then rebuild
Also decided to upgrade – just a little.
Sourced new cart and used a 20% off Coupon
Assembled new Harbor Freight/General Tools MIG welding cart
Recorded a video of whole experiebce for YouTube channel
Wired in a couple plugs and lights in the attic.
Worked on linocut of our dog Brodie and of a mountain scene print for two letterpress projects.
Wove a 9”+ pine needle coiled basket – because I can.
Made like 6 Instagram posts
Played Ukulele for a bit.
Recorded a couple of riffs and a drum track
Started building a podcast tool for website – slow going
Made a run to the city dump with a trailer load of building material/construction waste.
Mowed and edged yard.
Worked on the washing machine
called it names until it worked
Spent an hour looking for new Jeep parts that disappeared in the garage.
Said more dirty words – there is a theme here…
Found the parts
Installed front blinkers and driver’s side head light.
Completely failed at installing LED tail lights.
Threw a little fit.
Asked questions and then ranted on the Internet forums.
Packet the LEDs back up, returned them, and ordered replacements with regular bulbs.
Sat in yard and drank some Rose’
slept late (8:30) on Sunday morning
Cleaned backyard a little
Took Mom to lunch
Celebrated Mother’s Day
Took mom to nursery for flowers and yarn shop for some skeins of alpaca wool.
Installed new fender flairs on the Jeep.
Installed new Jeep bumper and re-installed winch
HUGE pain and took forever
Two band-Aids with consumed.
Wore good cloths while wrenching.
Wife caught me with grease on shorts
She made wet-cat noise and I got in trouble…
Organized and hauled out all of the recycling from house and garage.
Drank wine in the front yard.
Drank some more wine.
Binged watched season 2 of Westworld to catch up.

2018 News Year’s Resolutions:

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2017.  I did OK, but not great. I could blame it on my old man hip, the surgery, or the recovery time, but mostly not getting stuff on the list done was all me. All my own laziness, stuborness, or my A+ skill level of procrastination. These are the promises I made to myself that I kept:

Take a pottery class
Take a Blacksmithing class at the Pratt
Read 1 book every 2 weeks – minimum
Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
Make movies and post: Adventure, craftsmanship, and family.
Make Stuff!!
Ride my skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA more
Take my wife on vacation
Plant a spring garden
Fix up the front and back yards

The following is what I am committing myself to do in 2018:

  1. Organize my chaos in the shop and basement.
  2. Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
  3. Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
  4. Eat my veggies.  Seriously.  Salads in my future.
  5. Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
  6. Cut WAY back on sugar and carb intake!
  7. Lose weight – back to 175! and put on 5-7lbs of muscle
  8. Go to the gym 3-4 time a week – minimum.
  9. Box more at the gym and at home
  10. Write more: Blog posts, REAL letters, Thank you notes, fiction, and non-fiction
  11. Take more great pictures
  12. Fly my drones more
  13. Take at least a 45 minute lunch at least 4 days a week at work
  14. Show up to yoga at least once a week
  15. Take another pottery class
  16. Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
  17. Look into getting back into the judo dojo
  18. Sign up and compete in the Gambler 500 car race
  19. Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown
  20. Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
  21. Read 1 book every 2 weeks!
  22. Learn how to play the mandolin and banjo better!
  23. Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
  24. Build a skin-on-frame canoe for two
  25. Road and mountain bike
  26. Take the puppies to Lincoln Park for a walk at least once a week
  27. Ride the living shit out of my Single -Speed
  28. Bike to work at least 5 times this year (12 miles each way)
  29. Volunteer more at the Center for Wooden Boats
  30. Pay off all credit cards
  31. Go sailing in Puget Sound
  32. Turn some amazing and useful stuff on my lathe
  33. Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
  34. Make at least 1 movie a week for YouTube and post: Adventure and craftsmanship
  35. Monetize my YouTube account and increase my presence and standing in that community
  36. Lessen my Twitter and social media activity…
  37. See my kids and grandchildren more
  38. Be involved in politics more: financally and with a time commitment
  39. Work on my Genealogy database and organize all my info.
  40. Finish the house remodel –  even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (…shudder…)
  41. Finish the garage/shop/GROP build
  42. Make.More.Stuff!!
  43. Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
  44. Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
  45. Have two hives of healthy, happy bees
  46. Kayak lots!
  47. See my friends more
  48. Take my wife on vacation
  49. Plant a spring garden and have a really bountiful fall harvest
  50. Have an awesome Griswald-like Christmas light display!

I am printing this list out and pasting copies in my notebook, work planner, in the shop, at my desk at work, on the fridge, and in the basement above my warranty voiding workbench.

Christmas List 2017

I would really like for the fat elf in the red suit to grant me one little wish: For the adults in the room to take the reins of the American Political System. I would be good from there if that were my only gift for the rest of my Christmases. I already have a bunch of crap, so if you want to grab something, please first give to a worthy cause and send me a note about it:.

A donation to Heifer International: Bees (I really like to give the gift of bees) Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark… – My mom gave me some cash for the bees 🙂
A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Go give blood and eat some free cookies
Money sent in for Diabetes Research

These are also fine ideas:

Some time in a Tattoo Artist’s chair
Metal Collar Stays –  Santa dropped these in my stalking
An Amazon Gift Card
A sweet pair of these work shoes (UK Men’s size 8 or 42 in Euro Size)
Book: Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
Book: Bees of the World by Mitchner –  My wife is AWESOME!!
New razor blades
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
Two or three sets of Shoe Trees
Genetic genealogy testing from 23&Me
Starbucks Gift Card
Sweet new socks. – My wife Came through!
Coupon for The Art of Shaving
A card from each of my kids
Sign up for the 1 or 2-Day Rally School Course at DirtFish
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.  – My guys at work are awesome and got me a sampler pack
Porto (Cálem Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s). Again, my guys at work went all in and picked up a 10 year old Taylor’s that made me giddy with happiness.

Weekend in the shop

I got some serious crap done in the garage and at home this weekend:

Cleaned, swept, and put away tools for over an hour Saturday morning
Added wheels to my screw-clamp stand
Built a hammer stand – I have a lot of hammers
Organized 4 drawers on my tool cabinet
Organized a drawer for just camera mounts and cables
Hung 22 small blue U-Line organization bins
Cleaned off table saw
Installed new table saw blade
Re-tensioned bandsaw
Cleaned off bench for 1st time in MONTHS!
Put all the miscellaneous screws, bolts, and hardware in the proper organization bin
Sanded the carcass for a bathroom cabinet installation
Moved some angle-iron into the metal storage rack
Carried 2 of the 3 cabinet sections in the house
Cranked on the lathe to reduce the diameter of a dowel
Blew 30 amp breaker
Said the f-word at least 3 times
Took a look and original electrician did not fully terminate one of the “hot” wire legs, which led to the failure.
Said dirty words
Drove to Home Depot and back for breaker
Swapped out a blown breaker
Ran 75 linier feet of 12-2 Romex wiring
Installed 12 electrical boxes
Only dropped 1 on my head/face
Installed a couple of runs of CAT-6 ethernet cable for the PoE camera system
Jesus, CAT-6 is expensive!!
Moved some firewood into the house
Built and installed butcher paper roll noteboard on a cabinet front
Re-set wall clock
Worked on chipping hammer re-build
Shot a couple of videos
Sanded a couple spots on the jeep under windshield
Wished I had a bathroom in the garage at 3 different points during the weekend
Started on pizza peel build for Father-in-law

Birthday #44… F*ck I am getting old!

My birthday is almost here. I will be taking the day off from work, the next day as well and enjoying doing stuff that makes me happy! A strait razor shave, brunch, an afternoon movie, steak dinner with my wife, cookies, etc… Below is a short birthday wish list in no specific order. Just putting it out there:

Peace on the Korean Peninsula
For the Adults in the room to take the reins of the American Political System
Heifer International: Bees (I really like to give the gift of bees) Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark…
A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Go give blood and send me a post card
Money for Diabetes Research
Some time in a Tattoo Artist’s chair
An Amazon Gift Card
Book: Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
Book: Bees of the World by Mitchner
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
Genetic genealogy testing from 23&Me
Starbucks Gift Card
Coupon for The Art of Shaving
A card from each of my kids
Sign up for the 2-Day Rally School Course
An Ash Pack Basket (Sling-style harness)
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions)
A fine Anejo Tequila
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
Porto (Cálem Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s)

Weekend Activities

Seattle is in early summer full bloom. The sun is out and the temperature is perfect!  These conditions led to a really good weekend:

Slept had friends stay with us Friday night and Saturday morning
Big yummy breakfast
Picked three big bowls of ripe Lapin cherries
Ate a lot of cherries
Went over to my mother’s house
Took care of house projects for her
Had a yummy dinner
Nice bottle of red wine was opened and mostly consumed
Read American Gods aloud with Stamps-With-Foot before bed

Matt Talley Farmer's Market 07-2017 (2)

Matt Talley Farmer's Market 07-2017 (1)

Matt Talley_Cherry Crop_2017

 

 

 

 

Brunch with Friends
Went to the Sunday farmer’s market
Bought cheese and honey!
Went to the garden store
Bought a bunch of flowers for the yard
Walked the puppies
Planted flowers
Scattered weed&feed in the 1/3 of the back yard that is void of Ireland-green grass
scattered and raked grass seed.
Murdered dandelions
Picked up a mountain of puppy-made landmines 🙁
Mowed the yard
Installed new tire cover on Jeep spare
Put Jeep on the car lift – also now refereed to as “The Jeep Sex Swing”
Changed oil and filter
Only 42 more Oil Changes and the lift pays for itself!! 🙂
Lubed the chassis
Checked and topped off all the fluids
Made happy noises
Had a Coke and smile afterward while sitting in the shade
Printed out GAINT ’84-’86 Jeep Maintenance Manual
Let my internal OCD monster out to play
Custom labels and tabbed separators were made…
Added folders with Maintenance Manuals to shelf in the garage
Watered the garden, yard, and newly seeded dirt patch
More reading
Sleep

Matt Talley Changing oil_07-2017 Jeep (2)

IMG_3759

Matt Talley Changing oil_07-2017 Jeep (1)

Matt Talley Jeep_07-2017 (1)

Matt Talley Garden 2017

My Week in Review

This past week has been a week of mish-mash happenings:

90-day Post-surgery hip appointment: Could have gone better.
Fruit tree pruning
I built a lid for the compost boxes
A rat didn’t like my lid and chewed through the side to get at the worms in the compost bin
I said dirty words
Mounted 7 up-cycled cabinets in the garage
Finished painting 80 liner feet of 1/4 round trim.
Sweep and cleaned GROP
Organized some stuff into new shelves and cabinets.
Finished painting the corner shelf doors – 5 total coats of fresh paint
Installed the hinges and hung the doors on wrong cabinets
Said dirty words
Re-hung doors on the correct cabinet.
Scratched paint
More dirty words
Touched up paint
Finished corner cabinet install
Did some Physical Therapy for my Old Man hip
Mowed and edged the yard
Read a book
Made a few Instagram and Twitter posts
Amazon sent me a new tool!
Flew drone one afternoon after J-O-B
Planted the boxwood shrubs
Bought garden starts at Nursery: tomatoes, corn, squash, zucchini, peppers,herbs, lettuce, etc…
50+ hours at my J-O-B, hustlin’ to keep us fed and the lights on
Watched about 2 hours of NetFlix
Gave away a bed in our home office
Had to delver it to new owner
Drank some French wine
Worked on cedar log garden table
Bought couch/guest bed for the office/TV room
Braved the gauntlet at IKEA – three hours to pick up a pre-ordered couch 🙁
IKEA gave me a $50 discount for the trouble
Had to source clear glass Victorian-style pull knobs for the corner cabinet doors
Spoke to both of my children for Father’s Day
Heart Happy
Planted summer garden
There was some coffee drinking and puppy snuggling
Took top off of Jeep for the first time in 1.5 years
Started Raining the second I took it out of the Garage
Made grumpy noises
Had coffee and listened to a bluegrass jam session at favorite coffee shop
Watched a movie
Was prolific on Twitter and Instagram
Murdered some dandelions
Rode around neighborhood on errands in topless Jeep when it stopped raining
Made happy noises
Sent some J-O-B e-mails from home
Started reading American Gods out loud with my awesome wife
Went to bed to start it all over again on Monday morning

Matt Talley_garden_Seattle_2017 (2)

Matt Talley_Corner Cabinet Rebuild_2017

Matt Talley_garden_Seattle_2017 (1)

Getting Stuff Done Over the Weekend

We had a really productive weekend around the house – so much so that I to take an old guy nap on Sunday. In no particular order:

Organized and cleaned up shop from Garage sale two weekends ago
Took 10 boxes of good stuff to Goodwill
Bought and brought home cabinets and wine racks from Habitat for Humanity in Tukwila
Sourced and purchased some additional boxwood shrubs and mulch for the yard
Mowed the new sod in the yard for the first time
Took the puppies for a walk
Date Night: Burgers and a late 3D showing of Wonder Woman.
Cleaned house
Spent 1.5 hours looking for either one of my orbital sanders
Said dirty words the whole time
Sanded Corner cabinet doors
Shocked the hot-tub with chemicals getting ready for water and filter change
ad a couple of nice glasses of French rosé in the sunshine.
Made lid from up-cycled ceder fence boards and used hardware for the compost bins
Hung two paintings
Organized dining room
mounted 6 stringed instruments in the hallway
Installed new toilet seat
Ran the chainsaw a bit
Made some woodchips and used as garden bed mulch
Picked up 4 huge rounds of cedar from a neighbor who has a tree cut down to split for kindling
Took out trash and recycling – there was a LOT of the latter
Met new neighbor
Another walk with the puppies
Made a trip to CostCo and dropped more $$ that we wanted to
Paid $12 for a used plywood miter saw station – SCORE!
Drank lots of coffee
Murdered some dandelions in the yard
Paid some bills
Wrote a couple “Thank You” notes
Read a little
Didn’t sleep enough

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Stuff that my wife has said that leaves me speechless

Continuing in the theme of previous posts about the shocking and funny things that occasionally spew forth from my wife:

  • Laurel has started calling the Amazon Cart the “Gift Basket” then mumbling curse words under her breath, after accidentally buying everything that was in the “Cart.” Our Amazon grocery and regular Amazon stuff accounts got linked and she bought a ton of stuff, including a CB for my Jeep, a 20 gallon waste oil container for my shop, and a Ninja Blender.  We had no idea until stuff just started showing up at the house.  It was like Christmas in May!

 

  • We were waiting in line one night outside The Showbox in downtown Seattle, an iconic music venue right by Pike Place Market, and a guy walked by with a big strait ginger beard that would have made any self-respecting viking proud.  My wife and I have a deal:   She keeps her hair long and I don’t grow a beard.  I looked over at her as he walked past and said with a raised eyebrow, “That could be me.”  Without a seconds thought she replied, “It sure could.  You will notice he is walking alone…”  Point, set, and match.

 

  • I was standing in the kitchen doorway, unnoticed by my vegetarian-hippie-raised wife as she was delicately eating a strip of bacon and heard her say: “I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”

 

  •  While out to eat one Saturday night my sweet bride made a flippant comment about it “…being OK to miss the previews…” for the movie we were running a little late to because dinner was taking a while. I gave her the stink eye as I LOVE the previews and she said:  “Thou shalt not glare on date night if you want to sleep with a real girl tonight…” 

 

  • After I made a joke at her expense on the way home from the same movie, she snapped back, “It is mother-fucking date night. You have to be nicer to me.”

 

  • One evening after two too many glasses of wine, Stamps-With-Foot got a little sick.  It is the first time in like 10 years that this has happened.  She felt BAD and demanded I call the ambulance.  I said no, while holding her beautiful long hair up and out of the way.  She said: “I am dying.  Why won’t you listen to me?!”  I said: “I am sober and you are not.  You are not dying, but you will feel really crappy tomorrow”  Her reply was: “That seems plausible,”  which she said in a perfectly sober and lucid voice before returning to the continued hugging of the porcelain with nary another word about requiring emergency medical assistance.

 

  • She is hooked on The Get Down, a Netflix TV show.  She came sliding into the living room one Saturday morning as I was drinking coffee and snuggling puppies on the couch.  She dropped into a low martial arts-ish stance and started singing Kung Fu Fighting, made some chops and kicks in the air, executed a jump turn, and then vanished to continue her TV binge watching.  About an hour later she emerged and said as she walked to the kitchen, “I was born in the wrong decade.  I would have been a disco queen in the ’70s.”  No preamble, no justification, no reasoning, just a statement of fact.

What I Want Thursday – April 13th, 2017

Below are the things that I really want and that are present for me today:

To unclutter my life: less superfluous stuff
For my hip to be 100% and to never have to use crutches again
A wish for Brodie to be well and 100% cancer free
More time with my children and family.
Sunshine!!
Summer BBQs and cold rosé in the back yard.
For the basement (mostly the bathroom) to be done.
Hand-written letters – on actual paper – from my kids, friends and family.
A warm, sunny beach vacation
For the US Political system not to be dysfunctional and a little/lot less crazy

Stuff My Wife Says – Volume II

I have written previously about some of the things that have come up in conversation with my sweet, bubbly, kind, giving, gentle, well-adjusted, awesome wife. Well, with the passage of time I have… err… SHE has more to say on the subject. Enjoy:

  1. I was splashing my wife in the hot tub the other night and she yells “Onomatopoeia! Onomatopoeia!!” It is apparently her new “safe word”. My safe word is bacon.
  2. While Living in France, we bought a lot of wine that we brought back to the US.  Most of it is in the normal .75L size bottle, but there are some .375L demi-bouteilles, a few 1.5L magnums, and one 3L double magnum bottle as well.  Stamps-With-Foot has taken to calling the .375L bottles “Juice Boxes.”  I teased her that it is because they would fit in her lunch box.  She looked up at me with smiling, happy, dreamy eyes, then over at her 1984 metal Thundercats lunch box (really that is what she takes to work) and said, “Yes…  they would…”
  3. Long story short, I made a crude off hand remark about a lady who’s “carpet matched the drapes”. Instead of smacking me for being a misogynistic and sexist asshole, my wife looked at me with great annoyance and said sarcastically “Great, now I have to think about her snatch!”  I had nothing more to say.
  4. I failed to use my turn signal in moderate traffic while driving near limousine, France and lamented that I was being a bad/unsociable driver. Stamps-With-Foot said offhandedly while looking out the window: “Fuck that. This is France, do you know how many of these motherfuckers have cut me off over the last two years? Fuck them.” 30 seconds later she got all excited, bright eyed, wiggling in her seat with joy & happiness over a fortified Chateau we were passing.
  5. My lovely bride walked into the living room the other night with her phone and computer in hand while wearing mix-matched PJs. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she shot back with, “This is as sexy as it gets tonight, maybe all weekend.” Fair enough.
  6. We went out to my company’s winter event just after New Year’s and Stamps-With-Foot looked killer in a long tight velvet dress. As we were getting ready, she looked at me and said, “Tonight is a two drink minimum night”. I started to correct her and she stopped me, making it plain that she did not misspeak and that I was the Designated Driver for the evening.
  7. “I love puppies, diamonds, and PJs – in that order.” Not sure why she said this. It just popped up out of the blue one Saturday afternoon.
  8. Two months after the 2016 presidential election, I casually mentioned talking the “Bernie” sticker off her car window. She snapped back, “You will not touch it! I love that wrinkly old motherfucker and I need to hold onto the faith for a while.” Ok… Me no touchy…
  9. Our female French bulldog, Truffle, has a big personality and is super lovable. She is also pushy, selfish, sneaky, petty. During one painful week long interlude, she puked on my chest while I was asleep, pissed in Stamps-With-Foot’s car seat because we “made” her wear a sweater in 30 degree temperatures, tried to pee on my pillow because I had the audacity to move her from my spot at bedtime, puked on an antique wool Persian rug, took a dump on the front porch because the grass was wet, fucked up a couch pillow, tore the heart out of Brodie’s favorite toy, she chewed up 3 pencils, stole food from Brodie, and went all Cujo on a contractor working at the house. My wife looked at me one morning and said, “No more girl dogs. They are too much work. Just boy dogs – they can be gay though.” I had no words.

Christmas Vacation 2016

Christmas vacation this year was pretty good. I got great stuff Christmas morning, my mom stayed over Christmas Eve, and Stamps-With-Foot made a yummy Honey-baked ham for dinner on Christmas Day. I took the week between Christmas and New Year’s off from my J-O-B. The time was spent just hanging out with The Ruminator, finding a little adventure in the mountains, and getting some stuff done around the house and garage. My vacation this year looked like this:

Up at 6:00 Christmas morning and made coffee.
I got an XBox One and Battlefield 1 for I could play with my 40-year old adolescent friends online.
Got lots of other great stuff!
Worked a little in the basement on Boxing Day (the 26th).
My son, The Ruminator, flew in the day after Christmas.
Second Christmas morning with son on the 27th.
I put him to work that afternoon moving stuff in the garage and basement.
Pulled 4 circuits worth of wire in the garage.
Hung 3/4 of crown molding in the dining room.
Hired a carpenter to help with the finish of the crown molding and window install in dining room.
Hung pocket door and built last wall for bathroom downstairs with carpenter.
Installed structure in attic for chandelier installation.
Went to see Rogue One.
Loved it.
Snowboarding trip to Crystal Mountain in the Jeep.
The Ruminator rode really well
I am a fat old guy, but can still ride.
Owners rented the cabin we had reserved to someone else – insert grumpy face
Drove home.
Snuggled with wife.
Up early and drove to Snoqualmie for 2nd day of riding.
Glorious day in the mountains!
Watch a movie all together for New Year’s Eve.
Had family over on the 1st for long lunch.
Tried to edit snowboarding trip film.
Failed.
GoPro Studio sucks balls!
Serious online gaming session.
Brunch at Easy Street.
Got The Ruminator’s cracked iPhone glass fixed.
Picked up new kitchen floor tiles at Lowe’s special order desk.
Dinner with Nana.
Dropped off Ruminator at Airport.
Teared up in Jeep on the way to work.
Worked late first full day back to work in 2017 – an inauspicious start.

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Christmas List – 2016

Fat man in a red suit time again…

Gifts that Keep giving:

  1. Heifer International:
  2. A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
  3. Go give blood and send me a post card
  4. Habitat for Humanity
  5. Money for Diabetes Research

Books:
An Amazon Gift Card
Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
Bees of the World by Mitchner

Stuff:
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
Genetic Genealogy testing from National Geographic
Starbucks Gift Card
XBox One with head set and Battlefield1
A coupon for a Royal Shave at The Art of Shaving
A class or two at the Pratt Center in Seattle
French Bulldog cufflinks
Maybe a Woodcraft gift card
Letters from my kids – written on actual paper.
A 2-Day Rally School Course
The Apple Watch 2. Simple black band – Stainless Steel bezel
An Ash Pack Basket (Sling-style harness)
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions)
Tiffany blue silk tie and matching pocket square
These new bad-ass cufflinks

Booze:
A fine Anejo Tequila
Franziskaner or Paulaner German Wheat Beer
Hakushu 12 Whisky
A bottle of Fronsac or Canon-Fronsac (Château Lafond, Château La Vieille Cure, La Dalphine…)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
Porto (Cálem 2011 Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s)
Glenfiddich 21

Birthday list – 2016

In about 4 weeks I will celebrate the 14th anniversary of my 29th year.  I want cake (moist yellow cake with chocolate butter-cream frosting), snuggling, two fingers of a great scotch after lunch, lots of tiny cups of coffee all day, a nice glass of wine with a steak for dinner, laughter, and a few well thought out gifts. I will not be working that day and I plan to pamper myself with a haircut and a strait-razor shave.

Below is my birthday wish list for my wife, family and children.
Gifts that Keep giving:

  1. Heifer International:
  2. Doctors Without Borders/MSF
  3. Go give blood and send me a post card
  4. Habitat for Humanity
  5. Diabetes Research

Books:
Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenous Life
I could stand a Kindle Paperwhite
A volume on handplanes or a tome on traditional woodworking
Bees of the World by Mitchner
A Lost Art Press volume of The Essential Woodworker
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
James Krenov’s Cabinet Maker’s Notebook
Two Classic books on Shaker Furniture: here and here.

Stuff:
Forging class at the Pratt starting in October
Letters from my kids – written on actual paper.
A 3-Day Rally School Course
A bottle of Pre-Shave Oil from The Art of Shaving – Lavender
A couple of thoughtful cards
The iWatch 2. Simple black – the cheapest one
German Wheat Beer is always welcome
Zombie shooting targets
An Ash Pack Basket (Sling-style harness)
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions)
2ga. Dark Jade plugs
The AKcooltools Stainless/bronze Clamptite and the lg roll of stainless .041 wire
24 Provence lavender plants for my front yard
Tiffany blue silk tie and matching pocket square
These new bad-ass cufflinks
A Global Sashimi knife
Classic Cartoon DVDs (Wanrner Bros., Tex Avery, Bugs, Tom&Jerry, Loony Toons, Road Runner, etc…)
Christopher Ward Quartz Trident with black rubber strap

Booze:
A fine Anejo Tequila
Hakushu 12 Whisky
A bottle of Fronsac or Canon-Fronsac (Château Lafond, Château La Vieille Cure, La Dalphine…)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
Porto (Cálem 2011 Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s)
Glenfiddich 21

What I Want Thursday – June 9th, 2016

Below are the things that I really want and that are present for me today:

For my interior painting to be 100% done in our house.
For my Garage to be 100% built and finished.
More time with my children and family.
Summer BBQs and cold rosé in the yard.
I want to stick to my diet and workout schedule and not fall off the wagon and back into the cookie/café Mocha/lethargic/big-belly/back-hurting abyss.
For the Attic and basement (mostly the bathroom) to be done.
Letters – written on actual paper – from my kids, friends and family.
8″ joiner/planer, 15″ Bandsaw, New Dust collection system for garage
Christopher Ward Quartz Trident with black rubber strap
For the US Political system not to be dysfunctional and a little/lot less crazy

Mid-month Update – Jan 2016

We have a LOT going on around La Maison du Talley and I have had 12 texts and e-mails about different stuff, so here is an overall update:

  1. We have our garage permit!!  I did a victory dance when our contractor sent me the mail.
  2. Building is on hold for a bit though as we have an issue inside the house that has to be dealt with before ANYTHING else.  Looks like it will not be cheap, but it has to happen right now.
  3. The old garage will be clear as of tomorrow and ready for demo, but that has to wait on the house as well.  Dammit!
  4. Still don’t have an HVAC contractor for the house – 2 that can’t do the work until summer, one that won’t send a written quote, one in the running, one contractor that sent me a quote that is for almost the same amount as the entire garage build & double the next closest bid, and another that I am on the fence about – mixed reviews, but good pricing.
  5. We finally had the new hot tub cover delivered and it is fantastic: light, ridged, perfect color…  Stamps-With-Foot is stoked.
  6. Finished the movie (shot with a GoPro) about our cross country jeep trip, but YouTube blocked the audio because I used a snip-it of Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile, which is uber verboten.  I will edit it for sound this weekend – maybe some rockin’ blues and re-post with links.
  7. Sticking to my workout schedule and wrist is 90%+ healed from the break.  My gym has hung heavy bags and I want to start smackin’ them, but will wait for wrist to heal 100%.
  8. Still chubby 🙁
  9. Jeep is running great.  Front window seal is leaking a touch and need to unstick the odometer.  She will be getting an oil change and fluid check this weekend.
  10. The puppies/monsters are good, but they long for the Toulousian sunshine.
  11. I made three more bowls in pottery class and have decided to make matching food and water bowls for the puppies as my first project.
  12. My J-O-B is great.
  13. Really happy to be back in Seattle.
  14. Our furniture won’t be here until February.  Customs issues…
  15. Nana is good, her Seahawks are good. She wrangled 90 days of free HBO from Comcast, so she is happy.
  16. Stamps-With-Foot is happy to be going back to work.
  17. Looking forward to Date Night with my wife tonight at an awesome hole-in-wall Greek place in West Seattle.

Christmas list for Santa – 2015

I already have a bunch of crap, so my first request is that people give to a worthy cause and send me a note about it.  My three favorites and where our charity funds go:

  1. Heifer International:
  2. Doctors Without Borders/MSF
  3. Go give blood and send me a post card
  4. Habitat for Humanity
  5. Diabetes Research

Books:
Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
Theodore Roosevelt: a Strenous Life
A copy of Chris Schwartz’s The Anarchist’s Tool Chest GOT A SIGNED COPY!!  I have a fantastic wife!
I could stand a Kindle Paperwhite
Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America by Jennifer L. Anderson
A volume on handplanes or a tome on traditional woodworking
Twilight at Monticello
Bees of the World by Mitchner
A Lost Art Press volume of The Essential Woodworker
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
James Krenov’s Cabinet Maker’s Notebook
Two Classic books on Shaker Furniture: here and here.

Stuff:
Growler from West Seattle Brewing Co.
Letters from my kids – written on actual paper.
German Wheat Beer is always welcome
A fine bottle of Anejo Tequila
Porto, a good bottle of Porto – Tawny or Ruby.
a Beekeeping Smoker
Zombie shooting targets
An iPad mini – lots of storage (with this you can delete the Kindle)
An Ash Pack Basket (Sling-style harness)
Permission to buy a sweet Faber-Castell Classic fountain pen/Perfect Pencil set
Amber 2ga. Plugs
2ga. Dark Jade plugs
A longboard Skate Board
A handsome tweed vest – or two
Tiffany blue silk tie and matching pocket square
An Electric Violin
Brown Redwing Engineer’s boots
These new bad-ass cufflinks
A Global Chef’s knife, Sashimi knife, and bread knife
Classic Cartoon DVDs (Wanrner Bros., Tex Avery, Bugs, Tom&Jerry, Loony Toons, Road Runner, etc…)

Tools:
A huge antique pattern lathe found in a barn on a dirt road 🙂
A pair of 1/2 round molding planes
A Pair of Snipe Bill molding planes
A 1.75 – 3Hp SawStop Table Saw
A Grizzly G0602 Benchtop Lathe

12/28/15 UPDATE:
I had a great Christmas: A full stocking, books, beer glasses, stuff from my list (noted above), my family got great stuff, I got to see the kids and my grand-daughter, we were all warm and safe, and I gave a little to charity. I couldn’t have asked for or hoped for more.

My Village is getting a make over.

One of the issues we have had during our time in France is that our village has huge potential, but all the little shops and cafes dried up and left.  we have to get in the car and drive one or two villages over or into Toulouse to get  almost anything.  I have stood on my soapbox and bitched about it more than once.  Karma, it seems, has a sense of humor…

Just as we leave, a huge new shopping facility is being completed near the main Village traffic circle.  Every-time we drive by, there is something new and awesome going in and I start cussing.  Here is a short list of the shops that are opening JUST as we leave France:

  1. Picard: It is like a whole store worth of stuff from the Trader Joe’s frozen food section.
  2. Cheese shop that promises artisanal cow, sheep and goat goodness.
  3. A wine shop that is the French version of BevMo with a climate controlled cave in the store where they sell “The Good Stuff”
  4. An organic grocery store
  5. A bakery that has been woo-ed from another village that happens to be a national medal winning pâtisserie and boulangerie.  Dammit!!
  6. A real sushi restaurant that will serve both sashimi and maki.
  7.  A real gym, with squat towers, benches, weights, machines, etc…

I swear to the GoT gods, old and new, that if I drive by and there is a tool shop with chisels and planes in the window I loose my mind!  I am really glad all this is opening, but why now?1  Why did it all have to wait till we were leaving?  to make us have second thoughts about moving home to Seattle?

What I want Thursday – Birthday Addition 2015

In about 4 weeks I will celebrate the 13th anniversary of my 29th birthday and the current plan is to spend the weekend in Rome and Venice or Florence.  While there, I want cake (moist yellow cake with chocolate butter-cream frosting), snuggling, a nice glass or 6 of fine wine and lots of tiny cups of Coffee, laughter, and a few well thought out gifts. I will NOT work that day – just not going to happen – and I plan to pamper myself with a haircut and a strait-razor shave if it can be found.

Below is my birthday wish list – mostly for my wife, family and children, but feel free to peruse and suggest.

I already have a bunch of crap, so my first request is that people give to a worthy cause.

  1. Heifer International:
  2. Doctors Without Borders/MSF
  3. Diabetes Research

If you DO happen to maybe want to get me a little tangible token of your love and appreciation:

Updated after the occasion with strike-throughs for the stuff I got 🙂 

Books:
A signed hardbound copy of Campaign Furniture 
Theodore Roosevelt: a Strenous Life
I would like a signed copy of Chris Schwartz’s The Anarchist’s Tool Chest
Founding Foodies
Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America by Jennifer L. Anderson
Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan
A volume on handplanes or a tome on traditional woodworking
Twilight at Monticello
Bees of the World by Mitchner
Bees of N. America Santa got this book and two others for me early
A Lost Art Press volume of The Essential Woodworker
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
James Krenov’s Cabinet Maker’s Notebook
Two Classic books on Shaker Furniture: here and here.

Stuff:
A yearly subscription to Monocle Magazine My wife is Awesome!!  I have wanted this for YEARS!
Permission to buy a sweet fountain pen
Amber 2ga. Plugs
2ga. Dark Jade plugs
A handsome tweed vest
a large Isle of Lewis Chess Set I got this set after-the-fact and my wife is now playing chess with me weekly! Win-Win
Brown Redwing Engineer’s boots
A banjo mute Found for cheap in a local Toulouse shop
These new bad-ass cufflinks or these My wife had these made for me with a sweet message on the reverse.  Love her.
New House Shoes  My mom is cooler the yours!  She sent me these house-shoes and I have worn them almost every day since!
A Global Chef’s knifebread knife, and ceramic sharpener Another score from Mom.
Classic Cartoon DVDs (Bugs, Tom&Jerry, Loony Toons, Road Runner, etc…)

Tools:
A pair of 1/2 round molding planes
A Pair of Snipe Bill molding planes
A Grizzly G0602 Benchtop Lathe

 

Road Trip through Provence – June 2015

Our time in France is not forever and we are more than halfway through our stay here and have begun the logistics discussion for our return to the US: What goes and what stays, where we will live, timing, etc…

Since we are on the downhill slope, my wife and I have decided to get busy seeing the parts of France that we have put off visiting thus far. So, this past weekend we went on a “must see” tour of Provence: Arles, Avignon, wineries, food, ruins, castles, sights, sounds, sunshine, oh my…

Below is a short list of accomplishments and pictures from the weekend:

Toured the coliseum in Arles (20th largest in all of the Roman Empire)
Visit to the Arles amphitheater
Walked in the footsteps of Van Gogh
5 museums
4 churches
A fantastic Air B&B in Avignon
Tour of the Pope’s Palace in Avignon
Pictures galore
Drive to the wine region and village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Winery tours
Wine consumed and purchased
I may have taken some rocks from the fields…
Visit to the Point du Gard (tallest aqueduct in the Roman world)
4-hour mad dash home and restful sleep.

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What I want Thursday

Current ‘shit that I want/need list’:

For my mom to feel 100% better
To stop traveling SO MUCH for work
To stop eating so many carbs and so much sugar
For my wife to feel all better
A three day walk in the mountains
6 Days in Rome without my cell phone
To rock climb with my friends in the French countryside
About 15 hard cover books about beekeeping and cabinet making
Some serious cash to give to Heifer and MSF
To be 100% certain of what can and should be done with our house in Seattle: rebuild or sell
For my wife to finish some alterations and repairs for me
A slender dark grey Yorkshire cap
To stop worrying about our house in Seattle
A sweet tweed vest
A few pair of cordovan and black monk-strap wing-tips from Al’s Attire
A Filson medium travel bag.
A couple of belts
To start working out again in earnest and stick to it

Kitchen Island – Update

It has been almost a year since I built (with help from The Ruminator) Stamps-With-Foot a kitchen island and she has loved it (so I am told) and used the bejesus out of it.  I made a couple of additions and there are a a few observations:

  1. The wood I used as the base platform shelf was REALLY wet and I put 1/16″ spacing between the boards.  WAY too much.  I should have wedged them in as tight as possible because they have shrunk and now I have 1/8 gaps in a couple of places.  No big deal since it is tongue and groove, but I don’t like spacing that large.
  2. I installed an Arkansas Razorbacks bottle opener on one of the legs.  It was required.
  3. I had used a hunk of cherry tree trunk/firewood and turned it down as a lid/plug for the scrap hole.  I turned it too large since it was really wet and was bound to shrink/warp/crack.  My best guess is that it is done moving, so I put it back on the lathe and turned it down to size and changed the profile a little.
  4. The rolling pin is a great towel holder, but I should have/need to stop it from rolling – the towel slips off and onto the floor occasionally.
  5. I also originally finished the plug with walnut oil, but it gets handled a lot by wet hands and I had to oil it every couple of weeks.  This time I finished it with 3 coats outdoor polyurethane and then added a coat of wax.

 

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Matt Talley - Projects 2015_02

Matt Talley Kitchen-Island-France-2014-2-300x263

Matt Talley - Projects 2015_29

My workbench is DONE!!

I am about a month late in posting this – life and my J-O-B got in the way – but the Cornebarrieu Bench is done. Completely done! All bells and whistles added. It seems like it took me forever, but it fits perfectly in the shop and I started using the bench even before it was finished. I am very happy with the outcome and am currently working on projects that have been piling up all winter. Just in case you haven’t been following along for the past year and a half or so:

My GROP (garage and shop combo) in Seattle was too small for a proper joiner’s bench. I made due with a slim, high, wall-mounted work counter, a bolted on machinist-vise, Quick Clamps, and the top of my table saw. It worked – mostly/sort of – but was a pain in the ass a good bit of the time: I never once planed a board on a stable, solid surface. My GROP here in France is roughly the same size as the one in Seattle, but is absent the huge cast iron machines and saws. I have some room to move and finally have the space for a big, heavy, proper work bench as well as some time to build one – or so I thought.

It is an amalgamation of benches by M. Roubo, Roy Underhill, Chris Schwartz, and Bill Schenher. I am calling it the “Cornebarrieu Bench” after the small village in southern France where we live, where the lumber has been sourced, and where the bench was made and first used.

For anyone interested, here is a documented build process, build notes, and step by step guide – 115 steps – to build this beast.

Cornebarrieu Bench 2015  (30)_sm - Copy

Cornebarrieu Bench 2015  (31)_sm

Cornebarrieu Bench 2015  (29)_sm - Copy