General Check In For Everyone!

[kaitlyn3837]

Pop in, tell us you are alive and well. Drop a line about the weather or what you have been up to!

Today I have the day off work! Got the lathe out of the box and on the table finally! Dropped a piece of spare poplar wood onto it to test it out. Only took me about an hour to figure out how to use all the bits LOL. I have never played with a lathe before so it's a learning curve for me. I look forward to getting my extra bits and tools to expand my skills and knowledge.

As for the weather, it's been gray and gloomy for days. I usually enjoy rainy days but I can tell it's starting to affect my mood a bit. Unfortunately, we are expecting snow on Friday night and Saturday morning. For those that are in the South or have been before, you know what that really means. For those that don't know, it usually just means ice. Then it means the ********* (forgive my french but it really fits the scenario) don't understand that their 4x4's go but that doesn't mean they can stop.

Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well and starting off the new year on a bright note! I appreciate this forum and all of the people on it who have helped me over the years to grow and learn. May the new year bring you all good health, success, and joyfulness!

 

[Fr_Tom]

Checking in here.

I had a busy few days with all the services Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I usually take the week off after Christmas, and the family piled into the Suburban on the Feast of Stephen (Dec. 26) to go over the river and through the woods to see in-laws. It was a long drive and too soon after all the services. I had not really caught my breath.

I am back in the office today catching up on phone messages.

Weather is drizzle, fog and 35 degrees or so. It is a little dreary.

 

[ontariopiper]

Alive and kicking here in SW Ontario. Watching an unseasonable rain fall all day, which promises to freeze to a skating rink overnight.

A quieter holiday season for me as I had a bit of surgery a few days before Christmas, but I'm feeling much more myself now and looking forward to getting 2017 started properly!

Hoping to have my new pipe room/man cave complete shortly so I can get on with some of the estate restorations I have piling up. Blog posts to follow!

 

[Lonecoyote]

Well, still alive here in NC!!
The weather today was damp and complete overcast and rain during the entire night. I've been restoring two pipes and making myself another corn cob. Kate, save the cob the next time you eat fresh corn on the cob. Dry the cob for at least 5 days before cutting the piece you want to use. You can do a slow bake twice but recently I tried a different way to harden and dry the cob....deep fry @ 360 degrees for one minute. Just check for any cracks after.  Deep fried made the cob harder, so far so good.  
Enjoy working with the lathe, take your time!! Allot of practice on scrap woods. Wear a mask and something that totally protects your eyes. Make sure all of your tools are sharp and look for and be careful of knots in the wood. It's all about the enjoyment of the craft. 
Have fun and be safe, Ted

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[Fazby]

Alive and kicking here.

Happy New Year!

 

[Jevverrett]

All is well here. Good times over the holidays. Work is over the top this year for trash bulk. Having fun breaking in my new castello this week. Also, I got engaged over Christmas. Figured that 7 yrs and 2 kids is enough to make sure it's not a mistake lol.

 

[Lonecoyote]

JEV, congratulations :cheers::cheers::cheers:
After 7 years and 2 children it's no mistake. That's called your soulmate. 
Good luck and a HAPPY FUTURE for you and your family. 


SORRY FOR GETTING OFF TRACK HERE. 


KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[arkansaspiper]

Marriage dose change some things tho idky. Just makes it diffrent.

 

[DrT999]

Also, I got engaged over Christmas. Figured that 7 yrs and 2 kids is enough to make sure it's not a mistake lol.

Best wishes and the very best of luck with that!

My sprained knee is still slowly improving, and it's time to work on the upcoming semester, with classes starting a week from tomorrow.

 

[Brewdude]

OK here, but high winds could put my power out tonight. And with nightime temps in the teens this does not fill me with confidence!

Hope to be on here tomorrow but if not........

:no:


No cheers,

RR

 

[nismo270r]

Still kickin' here! Kicking and screaming all the way back to work after the holiday break that is...I suppose I'm as ready as I'll be though. Classes start up both for me and at work next Monday, so time to jump back in the fire head first! :face:

Unseasonably warm weather lately, swinging all the way from low 60s down to below freezing...gotta love that mid-west weather. Just hoping if it gets cold, it just does it and gets it over with. Snow is a lot easier to deal with than interstates that turn into bobsled runs.

Happy New Year to all!

 

[leacha]

Checking in here from Colorado. Just unclogged my wife's drain in the bathroom.

 

[Richard Hester]

Checking in, still here in Iraq. I have four more months and I get a little R&R, looking forward to getting back.

Regards,
Richard

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Checking in from the Lonesome Llama Ranch....

Rollercoaster weather, headed into a week below freezing. Made a trip into the bustling metropolis of Sparta, MO today, exposed myself to humanity for a few hours, and high-tailed it back to the misty mountains. Seems my tolerance for people's BS has fallen into an abyss. I plan on working on that. Well provisioned and fortified, this bear is hiding in his cave for this bit of winter...........

 

[fsu92john]

Checking in from Orlando, where it's unseasonably warm but supposedly cooling off in the next couple of days. Getting ready to head back to campus after an enjoyable holiday break.

 

[kaitlyn3837]

Awesome! Keep it coming coming! It's nice to know how everyone is doing.

Congrats Jev!

 

[Eric Furgeson]

All is going well here thank you for asking. The weather has been below normal cold here the last few days and there is a pretty good wind blowing out there right now. I have not been up to much of late with the exception of reorgainizing my den/smoking room. Things are quiet at the Furgeson household. I hope everyone else is safe and well enjoying whatever suites your pleasures. Wishing you all a happy and prospuse year ahead.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Checking in from wet and soggy northern California. All is well. christmas went well, the girls got everything they wanted and then some, spent time with family, ate too much. This week has been wet, which is fine by me. Everyone else has gone back to school and work and I have the place to myself. When it rains like this I don't work so this is my true vacation. 6 hours a day to sit here and drink tea, smoke my pipes, fiddle with a guitar, take walks along the creek before the wife and kids begin to filter back into the house. It's presently 4 in the morning and the sliding glass door is open so I can listen to the rain coming down. Unlike most of the country, winter here is quite mild. It got into the low 30's for overnite temps last week when the weather was clear but now that the storms have moved back in the temperatures have crept back up and it's quite comfortable. The only negative going on in my world is that the local steelhead river had had wildly fluctuating flows from on again-off again storms and subsequent flood control releases so the fishing has been crap with high dangerous flows and muddy water. But, it should settle out soon and I'll resume my usual winter ritual of roaming the riffles in search of chrome on the fly. I'm trying to enjoy this and ignore the rest of the world for a short time. Soon enough the sun will come out and the valley will warm and I'll be stuck with another 10 months of work.

 

[Old Nate]

Had a nice relaxing Christmas both at work and at home. Took a few days off, spent time with family on all fronts (Wife's dad and step-mom, step-dad and mother, and my parents). Enjoyed seeing my oldest boy open all his gifts and try to open everyone else's presents as well. He just turned 2 so he loved every second of Christmas!

Weather is about to get cold here in Western PA and I'm fine with that. Supposed to drop into the teens the next couple days.

Go Steelers!

 

[AJ]

I enjoyed one of the best Christmas Holidays ever. My daughter and all of my 4 grandkids ages 14-29 came by for a nice visit Christmas Day. We had lots of great food and lots of fun. Our weather today is partly cloudy with the temperature hovering around 60 degrees. Come Saturday we are looking for a high of 30 degrees with snow. It should prove to be an interesting day with all those idiot drivers trying to navigate the snow covered roads. Lol!