Mallets made of Walnut.
I turned another mallet recently, seen laying on its side in the picture above. I took from what I learned from the one on the far right and made the grip opposite in shape, wider at the pinky portion and narrower along the throat, which seemed better suited to the shape of my hand. The base at the bottom is thus heavier, and that seems to add an interesting balance to the whole thing that seems to want to make it fairly easy to swing. It feels like it is easy to reverse the direction of the momentum. I will have to try it with a chisel and see how it goes in action. Till then, I don’t know at all.
I need to list some of these up for sale eventually, but how difficult it is! They are my babies, every one of them! And the wood! So lovely!
Wind is gusting as high as 35 miles an hour outside right now, the temperature is 52.2F and it is 4:30 in the morning, mind! The forecast high for the day is 51. So, who knows where this is going to go? It sounds like it is raining right now. Without looking out the window, the weather map suggests that it is very true.
Missus is starting to do some workouts using the VR headset. She has found a program that she likes, and which makes it more like a game for her. It is really good to see her trying it out. I think she is fed up with the ‘getting older’ pains. I need to do the same. I need to at least put on my favorite 8-minute workout video and put an effort into that a couple of times a week so I can feel more energetic in the days. I feel pretty good for my age, I think, but I am competing against how I used to feel and that was never competitive as it was always diminished by the pain of joint inflammation. If that is going to be gone, then I need to take advantage and go into my second childhood with all the energy and vigor of a kid!
The wind is picking up out there right now. It is not gusting higher, but the run is stronger. It is great not to have that tree stood looming over the house now. I am assured by the way I took it down that had it fallen on its own, it would definitely have hit the house or one of the sheds. I managed to get it to come back first when it fell, shortening the length of the fall, then land in the exact corner between the house and the cottage. It was nothing short of miraculous how if it had fallen in any other direction or not shortened its reach, it would have clobbered something valuable. Now I don’t have to worry about it at all. And to think, our homeowner’s insurance policy threatened to cancel on us if we didn’t remove trees that were right next to the house and could not possibly have fallen on it because they were barely taller than the eves. They did rub their extremities against the roof, and that was what the insurance company brought up. Good grief! They never said anything about the huge tree further out in the yard!
One of the kids is coming down this weekend, and we are all excited to see his family, and him. It is not as often as we would have it that we do see him, but life is what it is. He has a good paying job in the oilfields of North Dakota, and it takes him away from the state for his shifts, and if he has to catch up around the house on his weekends, then we don’t see him for long periods. So, it is nice when we do!
We have not yet found a job for either of us that is appropriate. Missus has tried to find project manager work online, but the listings she has looked at are offering insane things such as $12 an hour or less. She was north of $35 when she left her previous work. We know she is worth more than that. She is looking for a hobby job, where she can just work part time, but also where she is valued for the time she is putting into it. $12 an hour or less is not serious. How can she be expected to be treated seriously? As for me, I am still in the position of not having experience for the last 20 years since I have been a stay-at-home dad. It is difficult for the job seeker to list that and expect anyone to think of him as a serious candidate at all. I have been doing DoorDash, and that is fun and something I enjoy just fine. But there are not a lot of orders in the area, so I have been cranking in like $35 a week so far. Also, not serious. I am under no threat of being able to afford food.
I have been informed that we are going to a couple of markets this month and in April. I need to plan and put together something for them. Hey! It would be easy to crank out some carver’s mallets! I would like something with the candles, and maybe some candle boxes, too. I also should be advertising my tree disposal service. (In other words, an open gate into a field where a person could drop a tree off in.) I would like more wood to consider using to make some furniture from. But I am also concerned about the mount of it that gets thrown into landfill and left to rot. That is uselessness, while I can make so much out of it that it is worthwhile to try to put it all to use in our fashion. Also, I would like to introduce the furniture making into the markets by April, since I have the opportunity. Now THAT would be a good job for me!