Making it thrugh another year, '24-'25

[Old Greenhorn]

 In keeping with my habits of recent years I have started a new thread as of 17 May (Norwegian Constitution Day) to cut down on the size of each years thread. I just forgot during the last post on the other thread. I was preoccupied with other thoughts on this busy weekend.
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 So I was up and out earlier than normal for the hour drive up to the Grey Fox site, still not sure why I was invited and not knowing what to expect. I arrived and apparently our Office momager was cooking breakfast for anyone who was hungry over at here B&B for the weekend. As I had already had mine I opted to visit with some other folks that had opted out to get some things done. It was good to see all the faces again. I was asked a few times why I was there (in a very friendly and humorous way) and had to admit I had no idea why, they just asked me. Nobody cared, they were just happy to see me and we all caught up news on family things and life events.
 I drove the farm and looked things over. The big news is that the festival is making another major investment in the farm and wiring to whole 80 acres with fiber optics to provide cellular service and Wifi for the management, vendors, public safety etc.. Over the term of the initial contract it should pay for itself and the annual service charges will be less than we were paying for the ineffective (useless) wifi contractor we have used in recent years. This could be a game changer for us, making a lot of people happy.
 SO I stood there on the main road looking at a 700' trench from the main gate, through the site and up the hill, crossing over to the main stage. It's a pricey undertaking. When completed, it will have no effect on the farming operation and they will still get 4-5 cuttings a year, as normal. I spent some time helping find old buried markers for various setups. We have the whole site surveyed and buried markers for just about everything we set up, the stages, various tents, roads, buried cable boxes, etc. Sometimes it's tricky finding the markers.
 Most of the day was spent networking about jobs, changes, needs, improvements to solve previous year's issues, streamlining. It doesn't sound like much, but we all had a lot of details to talk about, there were many small groups handle their areas and switching from group to group to catch some time with another person and cover some points and have a plan. Everything was both extremely informal and extremely effective. I got a lot of questions answered and will go into the festival with a lot more confidence about what is going on and what the changes are as well as the managements intent.
 The only question I could not get and answer to was why I was invited to this meeting.  The best they could tell me was that they wanted me there and wanted me in the loop, and I was part of what they considered the core team. But I still have no idea why.  OK, I'll take that as an answer and stop asking.
 So I stayed for dinner, which was the right thing to do and after dinner, they had a short formal session explaining the changes in ownership of the festival and the 'new teams plan'. We all knew about the change in ownership, it was announced in January. The 'new owners' tare 3 of the folks that have been on the senior management team for several decades, so really they are picking up the torch and carrying it forward with the same goals, it's a good team.
 I left there around 8pm, got home by 9 and hooked up the trailer. I had a pop or two and went to bed in a hour or so. Back up at 6, out the door by 7:15 and at the show site before 8. Getting there a bit early put me in good shape, I had a great spot, they gave me a 20 x 20 and I could put my trailer behind the booth, but I did have to unhook and park the truck in the lot. No big deal. Setup took time, but went smooth and I was ready well before 10am. I was very pleased with the setup and had good neighbors. I knew  a couple of the vendors. Traffic was pretty good, mostly a steady stream of folks stopping in but never even close to crowded. Weather was great, sales were not. A few good conversations. Most vendors reported the same, nobody was really buying except the flea market stuff, that was selling well. I never covered my costs (but close), so yeah, it was a loser on paper. But I saw enough potential, that I will give it another shot. It[s not even labor day, a lot of the city folks have not settled into their summer places yet, there were a lot of college graduations this weekend too. So as I told the organizer that I thought this was just not a good show because of the folks who wandered through, but in other aspects it was a good show and those better folks would show up. So I will do it again next month. They run it the third Sunday of the month from May to September. I can't make the July and August dates, but I wanted to try it one more time before I give up on it, so I'll do June. I would rather do July, but that's Gray Fox weekend. So one more time, just on a gut feel.
 Packing out this time was much different and better., but not a lot faster. This time I took my time, just handling things in order and it was a heck of a lot easier with the changes I had made, I realized at this show I bring a heck of a lot of stuff and it just takes time. I have no mess in the trailer, it is ready for the next show now. Lat show the weather was cool and very windy and when I was done packing I was soaking wet with sweat and worn out.  This time it was fairly hot, more so in the trailer, and when I was done I was not sweaty, just tired. Everything fit on the first try, nothing was moved or redone, there was no improvising and I even had a tiny bit more room.
 So it was a 'loser' but I thought it a good show and setup and I will stick with it for another try. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
 But it's been a long weekend and I am tired, so I'm heading to bed early, I heard a rumor about someone telling stories on me, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to look into this, I'm too toasted tonight.
 Tomorrow is another day.

[doc henderson]

Well you are taking care of the stuff you can do, and there will always be the unknown and things you have no control over.  

[aigheadish]

I'm amazed at how much stuff vendors take to shows. I missed our big bi-yearly flea market this year but I see the amount of stuff people have to pull out of their trailers, vans etc., and I can't imagine the work. I'm glad it went smoother for your this time!

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Doc, we can only do the best we can do. Sometimes you have to go with a gut feel. so I will try this one again, at least one more time.
 Austin, you are right, especially now with the trailer, I have a lot of stuff and it finally dawned on me that there is no way I can expect myself to pack it all up in 20 minutes. It took about an hour and a half, and a lot of that was climbing in and out and walking back and forth to get the next pieces to pack. But I have very little 'dressing up' to do now at home, just one shelf where I got a little out of order, but everything fit properly and secure. If I had a helper that was just fetching and handing stuff into me in order, it might have taken half the time. But I had a very large booth, in fact the center area of it was pretty much empty.



If you look in that photo, you can see that I was trying for a U shaped traffic flow through it. On hindsight, I should have sprinkled some benches in the center area under the canopies. A lot of wandering folks never entered the booth, just looked from the aisle and kept moving, so they missed everything on the tables. You can also see that the trailer is more than a dozen feet away from the back edge of the booth and with the 20' depth on the booth, that meant a lot of walking during load up. That was a result of confusion when the first few of us puled in before the layout was clear. I'll move that up the next time.

 I continue to think constantly about the mix I bring and the wisdom of trying to sell $400.+ benches at a craft fair, but I keep coming back to that issue of crowds being fickle and you can never tell who might wander in. I think this one was a poor crowd, but a good show I thought. Being right on the main state road means that all the city people headed home on Sunday HAD to drive past if they were west of us. Watching the traffic during the day proved this. I talked to other vendors, and we are going to suggest they run it up to 4pm, instead of 3pm. We still had people coming in during pack out, so there is your sign. As long as the weather is good (yesterday was perfect) extending it an hour would be a good idea.

 I am starting to think that 'craft show' and 'crap shoot' should rhyme because they pretty much mean the same thing.

[SawyerTed]

A tip from a friend who made his living doing antique shows...

A little eye candy out front to get them to stop.  Then some big eye candy in the back of the booth to get them to come in and engage.  

I helped him set up his booth a time or two because his usual help, his wife, couldn't help.  I asked him why he was so particular about what went where.  That was what he said along with a bunch of other stuff, he talked a lot.  

[Resonator]

In retail sales there's a whole system they've developed after studying buying habits of people as to how they lay out the floor plan of a store. For example the milk coolers will always be at the back of the grocery store, because you'll have to walk through the entire store to just to get a jug of milk, and are likely to grab other products on the way through.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Res, this is on my mind all the time, but it's tricky because every show gives you a somewhat different foot print. To use your example, for me it's as if some folks walk by, see the big benches and tables out front and assume I don't have any 'milk'. They never go to the far end of the 'store'. But people who are really looking will come in and find stuff no matter what.
 Ted's idea is interesting and I may very well try some of that if I can figure out how. I have been putting the eye candy out front, hopefully getting them to stop and they do BUT not always do they walk in to look at everything. You can just see the corner shelf in the left corner of that photo. This grabs a lot of eyes and I had several people this show trying to figure out where it would fit in their homes. Happens every single show. But I still have it. It's one piece when I see folks looking it all over that I mention I would consider an offer on it. It's a pain to pack, takes up a lot of room and frankly is not my best work. I've been moving it for about 4 years now. But with al the attention it has gotten, it is still here.
 For this show I felt I may not have been a good match for the people who walked in, they were looking for flea market stuff, not crafted pieces. I believe that will change as the season goes on.
 I will also keep messing with how the booth is laid out. Most times I am too crowded, this time I had more room that I have ever had, so a new 'problem'.

[doc henderson]

maybe free stuff like tea/lemonade or business cards at the back.  sounds like the corner shelf attracts people in, so if it sells you have to make another.  all the little stuff that the craft folks want at the back, with one example at the front, and when they look, you can say there are a bunch back on the table so you can pick the one you like.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Good looking set-up. Yes, every show is different and each crowd is different. Around here some are more rural with big farmers looking at some shows and urban housewives in the next. The wives are the one you need to attract and when one comes with her husband by the arm and points and says "That is the one I want " you know you've nailed it. 

   There is no standard layout as you mention. Even the big department and grocery stores keep moving some goods around to see where they do the best and I am sure some are seasonal and sell better at the earlier shows than later ones and vice versa.

   Mine are more advertising than for profit although it is nice to at least cover expenses.

[Old Greenhorn]

More good points, and again, those vary every show by crowd type, weather, luck of the draw, and other intangibles. I don't know about give-aways, and any food stuff is probably not a great idea. But yeah, trying different things and reading the crowd are key. Business cards I try to have in at least 2 and sometimes 4 places. From my time doing trade shows I learned to watch their eyes, where they look, how long they look, and how close they look. If anybody spends more than 3-5 seconds looking at a particular thing I will offer up a off hand comment such as "those are made of Red Cedar, I cut that tree over in Woodstock 3 year ago." or some other non-pushy friendly remark. It's then up to them to start the conversation or not. Some folks don't like to talk, I don't push. One thing you cannot do is bury your face in your phone, that is a turn off and missed opportunity every time.
 Yes, some shows are good for making contact with your new client pool, this one was surely not that at all, But I did have a guy offer me a butternut log for free, so I may follow up on that. Other shows I get a handful of good potential contacts or references.
 I also consider the questions I get most often and try to find ways to make the answers to the big questions more easily available for the folks who would ask, but don't. I make posters, flyers, brochures (these help lot for future work) for those repeat questions. I keep a notebook at the show and write that stuff down when I see or hear it. One question I get a lot is "Did you make ALL this stuff yourself?"
 For instance I just came in from spending some time in the trailer checking the load, figuring out what was next and cleaning out the few things that needed putting away. I sat down and finished off my notes from this show and see in my notebook that I need better price/description tags for a few more pieces yet and I need a mushroom log information poster made up. So I will get those done today and they are ready for the next show. Keep doing little things and it all adds up at some point. I also identified some more room in the trailer and for this show in June, given the space I have, I will be able to bring one or two more large pieces I have never shown before. At least one needs to be refinished because with what I have/know now I can make it look SO much better than I did 4 years ago when I started. I haven't looked at the other, it's been wrapped and stored for 3 years.
 Just keep plugging at it and keep a stiff upper lip is my motto with shows.

[WV Sawmiller]

   When I go and get set up I sit on a bench and as people walk by I'll tell them "Come sit down and rest a while." Some just wave me off, others say "No thanks we are just getting started". others will say something like "If I sit down I may not want to get up" and sometimes someone will sit and talk a while. Yes - not pushy but friendly.

   Do you have room to take a Loginator and a log and show folks how it works and discuss the mushroom raising process? That may be a good way to generate interest and discussion. I get lots of people who see the fractal burning design on my benches and stop to talk about that.

    I like to bring the mill which generates a lot of discussion and even do some sample sawing when I can but that is a lot more logistics involved and I can't bring much of my other stuff to sell.

[Resonator]

I need a mushroom log information poster made up.

I can just picture it...

A dramatic action shot photo of the trusty side by side buggy loaded heavy with logs, roaring over hills through the rugged forest terrain with Tom at the wheel, a look of determination in his eyes...

Big, glossy, suitable for framing, and captioned at the bottom: Tom..."THE O.G. Mushroom Logger!"

[Old Greenhorn]

Well Res, as colorful as that sounds, your concept is a bit of an oxymoron. Any photo that includes my face cannot be suitable for framing. It's either one or the other.
 No this poster would have to be a simple explanation of what a mushroom log is and does and include that 3-d barcode that links to a full explanation on my website. I like your style though.
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 Speaking of the shows though, I forgot to mention that there was another fella doing that show Sunday whom I knew through my FD teaching days in another department. (Howards latest post on 'still making benches' jogged my memory.) He is also one of the key guys at a local major auto parts store where Bill has an account and I buy also, so I see him off and on a lot. He is making some signs, tables, and whatever else he can make with what he can get. He is just starting out and trying to learn to use epoxy, has gotten a laser and is working on that, and also doing fractal burning. So to that end, he is the first and only guy around here I know that does it. He also offered me a 'some sort of deal' on laser engraving as he learns. So I may get him to do some of my cremation urn tops as a test. I was thinking since he appears to be 'wood poor' that I might offer a slab swap for fractal burning. 
 So although I hardly sold anything at the show, making that contact is potentially worth more than one decent sale. As I recall, Howard met his fractal contact at a show the same way a year or two ago, isn't that right?

[Old Greenhorn]

I know that this is going to sound very similar to the tale some guy named Howard is spinning on another thread, however I can assure you that this is entirely and exactly as it happened and as proof I offer the fact that no other FF members are being abused, harmed, or even included in this story. It's all on me.
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Have you ever tried to give a house cat a bath? The last time I did (well, tried to do) that was over 50 years ago. I thought that was enough, but....apparently not. To say I was 'out of practice' would be accurate and fair.

So, this morning I get out of bed, groggy as usual and go to pee first, noticing my cat (the female of our two) is not sleeping in her spot on my bed, she is on the open windowsill. I giver her a little stoke on the head as I pass and notice she lots 'wet' in her hind quarters, but I am not at all awake yet. I go pee, comeback, dress, and grab coffee and head to my desk downstairs. I check the forum and start reading the overnight posts. Eventually my cat, we will call her 'Josie' or 'Jo-Jo' because that's her name, comes down. after a while she circles my chair and makes some bird noises like she always does and I drop a hand and give her a little stroke along her back and under her belly. At that point I realized my hand was 'wet'. Instinctively I looked at my hand and then smelled it. FUEL OIL! This can't be good. I jumped up and ran to the boiler room, the only place in the house she could contact it. Sure enough, there is a 3 pound coffee can that I use when I have to bleed the burner when the fuel get gelled in the winter. That can has sat there 10 years with no issues. The cats want (or wanted) nothing to do with it because of the smell. Somehow her butt wound up in that can and it was spilled all around it. She has oil all over her belly and rear legs and back. Maybe she and the boy were roughing it up and she got shoved or jumped near the can and missed. It's in a corner (or was).
 Whatever caused this, I have to deal with it. I had my second cup of coffee to get may brain working better while I mentioned the issue to my wife. I could tell she wanted nothing to do with 'fixing this' I should have never left the can there, yadda yadda yadda......
 So, the brain is beginning to function better and I realize this cat needs a bath for her own health and safety. She has only gotten out of the house once but there is no way I am doing this in the house. SO I go get the old porcelain baby bathtub, wash it out and out in some water. I set a piece of plywood across two sawhorses in the shop. The I get some dawn dish detergent and load it up. I come in the house and shuttle two pitchers of hot tap water out the the tub to make it tepid while stirring up the suds.
 Now comes the part I was fearing. I go up to my room take off my nice t-shirt and grab a grungy one out of the laundry as well as a long sleeve work shirt. I didn't want fuel oil on my nicer t-shirt.  It was at this time that I noticed the stain on my bedspread where she had laid during the night. It stunk of fuel oil also. That went off to the laundry today and is now put away for the summer. I grabbed two dog towels (we call them that because we always saved the old bath towels to clean our dog of rain, snow, mud and they had their own basket). We don't have dogs now, but we still use the towels now and then (Grandkids with muddy feet is one such use ). I also call my kitty and scoop her up and give her a cuddle. Like an idiot, I try to explain to her what's about to happen and why it has to happen. It's raining lightly outside as I carry her to the shop and as she has never been across the yard with me, let alone in the shop, she is on alert, FULLY. As I approach the tub, I am ready for what is likely to occur, but surprisingly she is mostly compliant. She is not happy about it (if I can gage by her vocalizations, which are loud and frequent), but she only caught me with a claw once near my jugular and I think that was an accident. So I washed her belly and hind quarters best I could, flipped her around and did it from the other side. I could not get her back very well, but I did the best I could trying to keep her calm and moving as quickly as I could. We were doing pretty well I thought.
 Here is where I realized I had not fully thought this out. Now that she is all sudded up, I had to rinse her. Well, that requires clean water and I didn't think of that. SO I had to take her out and put her down. The I took the tub outside, dumped it, rinsed it, filled it again, then got more hot water from the house again. Now I had to find the cat.
 She couldn't get far in the shop, she had never been there, so didn't have a plan. I searched and searched, calling like an idiot, as if she would come out. Got a bag of treats and rattled that around, no soap. Now I should note that I had a narrow search area because she was dripping off water and soap suds when I put her down, so she left a pretty clear trailer of wet spots. A blind drunk probably could have followed it, but somehow she backtracked and found a little spot in the corner behind my milling machine camouflaged by some ski poles, bar stock, and other stuff. I could not grab her. I had to start pulling stuff out to get to her and finally could get a hand on her. Again I was surprised that she didn't really fight me, she seemed to trust me, but was just scared. So I eventually picked her up and got her back to the tub, now she was also cover in all the dust that stuck to her wet fur. Back in the tub and did a bunch of rinsing. Finally taking her out and wrapping her in a big bath towel and giving her a good rub down. Then back to the house and let her loose. She immediately sought safe refuge and pretty much slept the rest of the day.
 She took it pretty well and doesn't seem to be holding it against me. Tonight she is back to her normal habits mostly, but she still stinks and her coat is still not right. I am going to have to do it again tomorrow. I don't have the heart to do it tonight. She was pretty good, but I know it was pretty traumatic for her.
 The last time I gave a cat a bath, I thought I did very well also, It only took me about 2 weeks to heal up, but I had very young skin in those days.
 Anything for a laugh and tomorrow is another day.
 OH, and I also started work on a new chair design, this one will either be sort of neat, or a total bust because I am reaching a bit. I got the major cuts and joint work started, now I gotta figure my next steps carefully. I also put some finishes on some other stuff in process.
 Th attic kiln hot 120° today in spite of the morning rain. High for this season has been 140°.

[WV Sawmiller]

[Nebraska]

Laughing out loud tears in my eyes.  That was funny. 

[gspren]

We haven't had a cat in years and don't intend to get one but if I needed to wash a cat in a tub I'd first get my welding gloves.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I guess it was funny. But I can do better.

I have to do it again this morning.

 I didn't do a good enough job for her and her fur is still matted in places and she stinks. It also seems she is a little more lethargic than normal and I detect a weakness in her hind quarters. I hope that oil isn't doing her much harm, but she can't seem to jump on to places she normally does. I have no choice.
 Yes, I did have the welding gloves handy yesterday, but here is the interesting thing: I think she somehow understood that she was in trouble and that even though what I was doing was not pleasant, it was necessary. There were very few claws involved even though the guttural moaning was pronounced to a spooky level, she took it fairly well. Again, this makes me think she is feeling very poorly and I am still concerned for her health.
 So I am gearing up to take another shot at this, but this time I will have two tubs for wash AND rinse. It tears me up to see an animal in distress, any animal.

Thanks Howard for adding the original artwork. I am certain that gives everyone a clear 'picture' of how it went down.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Sorry to hear your kitty is feeling porely. I wonder if she would she tolerate a sponge bath better?

[SawyerTed]

My wife is potentially a crazy cat lady.  We currently have just 3 cats, a 4th has taken residence at my daughter's house. 

Tom, Emily has given cats baths with varying degrees of success.   Based on my observations (because I only pet them when they jump in my lap), your JoJo is pretty tolerant.   

One of our long gone cats put Emily in the hospital with a pretty bad infection after she was bitten while brushing the cat.  Another time the health department wanted Emily to get rabies shots from a bite.   

So, I'd say if you have anything short of blood poisoning or a hospital stay, you're doing quite well.

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks Ted, In my experience, she has been very good. I know she is uncomfortable and off her game. I believe she knows I am trying to help. This is a first for me. The cats I have had since childhood (some were feral cats I rehabbed) were never this understanding and I surely got off easy. Today's session was interesting because now that she knew the routine, I was more than curious how she would react as I carried her out to the shop, SHUT the door and approached the tubs. She was a bit more clingy and at one point managed a little ninja move that got het front paws up over my left shoulder allowing a decent grip on my back (with the full claw, traction assist). This put us in a stalemate. I had given up long ago trying to make believe I could stay dry, but short of pouring the water over my head, there was no way to continue. So I decided to gently let her go on the floor, but as soon as she let go of my back skin to get down, I could re-grab her and continue. I had to do that a few times. Yeah, she was a tad more resistant today, but we did a better job and a better rinse. She didn't mind being bundled in the towel and rubbed down. Since it was a nice sunny day, we finished that up in the backyard and I let her sit in the sunshine and grass for a bit by herself. Probably not the best idea, because she then wandered under the porch, out of reach. But she was patient with me, so I returned the favor and let her explore for a while. Eventually I went in for her and she didn't fight when I picked her up and brought her in. 
 I find it remarkable that she don't run from me now. She is not exactly cuddling up to me, but she isn't running away either and allows me to give her a pet. I would love to know what is going on in her little brain. I know in my brain all I can think about is the oil and soap odor. I think I got a load of soap in my mouth during the struggle.
 She is back sitting by the screen door watching the chipmunks and birds. She didn't go find a hidey hole this time. Hopefully she has no ill effects from this whole thing, and hopefully it's over. Now I gotta go cleanup the shop and look for a dry shirt. I got as wet as her.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well Josie is looking better today. Her coat is getting back to normal and she only has a slight fuel oil odor about her. My concern remains about her health and I am beginning to wonder if the weakness I am seeing in her back legs was as a result of the oil run-in, or if the weakness was there and caused, somehow, her involvement with the oil. I am beginning to suspect to latter. All I can do is keep an eye on it and make her comfortable for now, which she seems to be.
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So after getting every thing cleaned up yesterday I got back to work on the new chair design (see the 'watcha makin' thread for details). It's always a challenge to work around live edges and get things to appear square and true. It's not all perfect, but it's the first time I've done this particular iteration, so I can fudge a little. I had done the seat back and seat miter cuts the day before as well as the blind spline mortise cut and made the spline from RO. Now I needed some legs. I had already used up most of the ones I made a couple of weeks ago and only had 2 pine, and 3 maple legs, not enough for a full set. So I grabbed some stock I had cut and dried 3 years ago for wheel barrow handles I never finished and made another dozen blanks. Oak and Maple again.
 Having now made at least a hundred of these legs I seem to be getting better. I have refined a process that works for me and although it isn't fast, it works pretty good. I managed to get the tenon cutter set so that it doesn't cut (hack) as poorly as it used to and the odd bumps and humps are minimal. I cut my leg blanks into just under 1.5" octagonal x 24". I have the 1.5" tenon cutter and I can run that on the leg and get a fairly round stub because it doesn't remove too much. Not great but pretty good. Then I sand the tenons round on the belt sander and test fit them in a 3.5" deep 1.25" bored hole in a block. It takes me about a minute and a half for each leg to make them fit clean. Lastly I touch up the tenon shoulder to make a smooth, clean, uniform transition between the tenon and octagon shapes.
 The whole process isn't as fast as I would like, but frankly just cutting and making the octagon blanks takes most of the time, not the tenon. If lumberjack made a pro-model tool in 1-1/4" I would buy one to try, but they don't. I may however try switching to 1-3/8 for a tenon diameter as this would save some sanding time. I might try that out when time allows. I usually don't sand the legs until I am ready to use them, just in case I decide to make a change or need to adjust something.

 Anyhow, I made the legs and drilled the holes and dry fitted it all to see what I had. It's not bad for what it is, but I ran out of time for the day. So today I will do a little more sanding on one leg to make the tenon longer (the seat is thick in that corner and not enough sticks through to cut off), then glue the legs. I have another routine bench I am working on, so I may fit those legs, drill and glue them also and have to units to trim at the mill. I can probably do some work on that cocktail table also today. I hope to get more done today, since I can skip the cat bath.

[doc henderson]

with children we worry most if they consume or aspirate a petrol product.  coating the inside of a water-based lung system is not good.  If she had tried to clean herself as cats do, she could have been poisoned.  maybe @Nebraska can comment.

[Nebraska]

I had a post with a cat cleanup suggestion that went wherever posts go when you are in a hurry replying and your technician wants you to go see the next patient she is bringing into the exam room. It was pointless to recreate when I realized it didn't go later on. I would expect that the effects from the ingesting fuel oil from grooming would be over pretty well by now. If it's injury from whatever athletic stunt she pulled to land in the container it could still be affecting her. Just my guess. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well catching up a little bit here: Frist Josie is coming along nicely and barely has a hint of ode de fuel oil No.2. She is back to behaving 'normally' (well, she is a cat so...) She seems fully back from her 'adventure'.
 Not mush else is interesting, just doing routine stuff during the day and never as mush as I'd like. The weather has been really nice, so I am content to enjoy it a little bit and no kill myself. Doing a little bit on a table and a rustic stool idea and also refinishing a table I made years ago and never showed anyone. I put that in the trailer finished yesterday. Saturday we had a fire in the yard and invited a bunch of neighbors and friends over and sat around talking until midnight. That was pretty nice and very relaxing. Went to my son's for his barbeque on Sunday and threw some horseshoes.
 Monday I didn't do too much that I can recall just piddled in the shop mostly.
 Today however was 'back to work day'. We were talking in one of the other threads about how 'some days it just goes that way' meaning, not like you planned or wanted. Yeah my plan was to go to the mill and trim some legs, then get back in the shop working on those. I got an early morning text from Bill asking if I could make him some 1x8's from the two hemlock logs he left on the mill. I could tell he needed them, so sure. I headed down around 9am and zipped off the first log...mostly. But when I got down to the dog board I was 6" in when the head stopped. I saw the blade guard was hitting the bunk. That ain't right. I checked and the head was at 1 inch. I looked closer at the blade guard, it's bent down on the leading edge. That ain't right, so I gave it a little push to see if it would bend up and it fell down into my hand, broke clean off.



 The other end bracket was fine. Now I know Bill mentioned he 'bumped' something with it during the winter but he checked it all and the mill was cutting fine so he thought it was good. Seems like every spring I have to spend a few hours doing repairs from his 'hot running' to get lumber cut. Last spring it was the debarker crash.
 Anyway, pulling that rail out to take it up to the shop for welding in no small task with all the rollers and such. I started on it, but didn't have the large wrenches I needed to get it off. SO I left my tools there, fixed the blown fuse on the lubemizer that Bill blew a month ago. I had to get tools and I had a short list of errands I had to do today in town, so on my way to town I called Bill and left a message about the issue and threatening to not allow him to run the mill when I'm not there.  He called me back and said he knew it was gonna break and had the welder skidded up to move down, so don't take it off. AT first we were gonna meet there and do it together around 2pm, then rescheduled to 4pm, then put off until 5:30. We got it welded and back together pretty quick and I finished off the dog board as a test. It cleared fine. He really needed that other log done so we zipped that one off also, he's happy, he can keep his carpenter working tomorrow.
 I'll go back in the morning and finally trim my legs. When I get back to milling I will put up a pine log and check to see how the mill is really cutting. I can't do that with hemlock, too much stress movement especially in small logs.. EWP generally lays dead flat, if it is cut flat. I may need to do the full blown alignment again. OH goody! I need the practice I guess.
 It's always something with a mill and I guess if you're not ready and willing to fix things, you should be doing something else. I suppose I could complain to WM that these things only take 2 or 3 heavy crashes before something breaks like others do, but I really don't see the point in that. I am just glad that so far, everything has been fixable and I learn something new every time.

 Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I can stick to my plan for a change, even if it's only for a few hours, I'll take it.