More Fun With Power Tools

Woodturning class #4... bowls. One bowl, lots of shavings.

We turned green maple wood, so right now that little bowl is in a paper bag, surrounded by fresh wood shavings. I'll take it back to class next week, and clean up the outside. And... start another bowl.

In the meantime, I'm sticking to The Schedule:

Friday, 3/16: Garmin says 5.25mi in 59:14 (5 mi = 56:18)
Saturday, 3/17: 5 miles on the EMD in 67:36... better!
Sunday, 3/18: Garmin says 6 mi in 1:10:38. Ouch.

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:28 (5 mi = 55:44)
Wednesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:12 (5 mi = 56:38)
Friday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:05 (5 mi = 55:20)
Saturday: Garmin says 6.2 mi in 1:07:31 (5=54:30, 5.5=59:59)
Today: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:44 (5 mi = ? ... forgot to look)

As The Lathe Turns

Second woodturning class - learning beads and coves. We got to practice on a few pieces, and I now have a nice beginner's candlestick!

Results of my second time using a lathe

This is fun!

Catching up on that running stuff... despite the time change this week and losing an hour of sleep, I've actually looked forward to getting up to run. It's been unseasonably warm here, with morning temps in the 50s (and daytime in the 80s!). I'm sure we'll pay big-time for this, but in the meantime... I'm quite enjoying the quiet morning running.

Tuesday 3/6: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:01:xx (5 mi = 58:53)
Wednesday 3/7: Garmin says 5.5mi in 1:02:15 (5 mi = 56:35)
Friday: 5.5 dreadmiles in 1:05:05 (5 mi = 59:16)
Saturday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 59:47 (!!!!) - 5 mi = 54:14 (!!!!) - after lathe class, no less
Sunday: Garmin says 6 mi in 1:10:40 (5 = 58:50)... totally paid for Saturday's great run

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:36 (5 mi = 56:36)
Today: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:03:32 (5 mi = ? ... too dark to see)

New Month, New Skill

In my quest to learn or do something new each month, March is for... woodturning! I signed up for a Beginning Woodturning class through the Craft Alliance here in St. Louis. Our instructor is Bernard Voss. He's made some pretty cool stuff, so I'm excited to be learning from him.

Our first class was my first time ever to use a lathe, so... it was a bit intimidating at first. But Bernard had us all working away fairly quickly, and it was fun. Our first project? Mushrooms!

Yeah, I know. But you have to start somewhere, right? Besides, I think they're cute.

Today's run: Garmin says 7.5mi in 1:25:15. (5 mi = 57:08; 10K = 1:10:40)

The Joy of Creating

Start with some raw fleece:

Raw Bond fleece - from a sheep  named Poppy

Scour it, and drum-card it into batts:

Bond batts

Spin it up really thin:

Singles - spun on a Canadian Production Wheel (CPW)

Ply it:

Navajo-plied (to a 3-ply fingering-weight yarn)

Then knit it up into something:

Pattern: Buttonwillow Wrap, by Romi

In the meantime... catching up on that running-stuff:

Friday Feb. 24: 5.5 dreadmiles in 1:06:xx (5 mi = 59:45)
Saturday: 5 miles on the Elliptical Machine of Death in 75:41
Sunday: an ill-advised 10K the day after the EMD miles, slogged through in 1:13:19 (5 mi = 58:??)
Tuesday: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:02:xx (5 mi = 59:13)
Wednesday: Garmin says 5.25 mi in 1:02:02 (5 mi = 59:02)
Today: Garmin says 10K in 1:09:01 (5 mi = 55:55) ... improvement!

Fat-Butt Update

Sticking to The Schedule since my return from FL...

Wed. 2/15: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:05:xx (5 mi = 1:02:xx)
Fri. 2/17: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi =1:00:03... dammit); dog walk after work
Sat. 2/18: Garmin says 5.6 mi in 1:05:55 (5 mi = 58:00)
Sun. 2/19: Garmin says 5.3 mi in 1:00:54 (5 mi = 57:33); dog walk in the afternoon

This week:

Tuesday: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi = 59:22... FINALLY)
Today: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi = 59:57)

At some point I'll get back on the Elliptical Machine of Death as it seriously kicks my ass. Maybe this weekend.

Snap Back to Reality

It was quite hard to leave this...

On Sanibel

and having fun like this...

At Bert's for a late lunch on Matlacha (if you couldn't tell from the sign).

but I need to pay the bills. It was a hell of a return, too - I came back to SNOW, and actually had to clean it off my car before I could drive. Drove home at a speedy 35mph in third gear,  and tried to downshift rather than brake. Took almost an hour, but I got home safely.

Today I got up and got back on the dreadmill... 5.25 mi in 1:05:something (5 mi = 1:02:?). Just like riding a bike. And, another welcome home... I now have a telephoto lens:

Damn, that's a big-un.

This is the shot of some houses - on the next block over:

... and a stealth shot of Kaje from across the room.

This could be fun.

A Mid-Winter's Break

As much as I like the seasons in the midwest, I could totally do without winter. At least, a winter I have to interact with - I hate that sensation of snot freezing inside your nose as you try to breath, or of frost forming on your eyeballs. I prefer to maintain sensation in my extremities, too.

So - it wasn't a tough decision to take a trip to Florida to celebrate my mom's birthday. I arrived Wednesday, and of course we had to walk out to the Caloosahatchee that evening to watch the sun set.

Me and Mom checking out the river.

 

 

 

Sunset along the Caloosahatchee

Thursday I started the day with a run - it was wonderful to be in t-shirt and shorts again. After that, Dad was working on booking cruise stuff, so Mom and I wandered out to pick up dinner. And have lunch. We got 'stuck' with a table right next to the water at Parrot Key.

It would have been so easy to just walk down a dock and take a boat...

Dinner was blue crab dip, shrimp and corn chowder, caprese salad, and stone crab. Key lime pie for dessert, too. Good thing I went for a run that morning...

Eating my way through Florida

And today, Mom's birthday, we went out to Sanibel. Low tide was just before noon, so it was perfect for shell-hunting. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

Treasure-hunting

And, the birthday girl

Tomorrow, we'll see what the weather decides to do - possibly go out to Lover's Key and check things out there.

To catch up on that old exercise thing...
Tuesday: 5.25 mi on the dreadmill in 1:04:something (5 mi = 1:00:?)
Wednesday: travel!
Thursday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:51 (5 mi = 57:13)
Today: walked at least 3.25 mi on the beach (I had the Garmin watch with me)