A Fun Day on the Wall

Regan and I got a day pass at the RockHaus and had a fun time climbing. Tackled some overhangs and some climbs rated at 5.5 to 5.8. (and some with no rating at all) Tired tonight, but well worth it for the fun time we had. Let's plan a family climbing session for everyone next summer. Height is a little over 30' with 2 challenging overhangs. Maybe a lead climbing class is the next adventure we should explore.

A Few More Veggies From The Garden

We have had our first frost and there is snow in the foothills. (and it is only the 2nd of Oct.) We picked a few of the squah that were growing, and most of the onions. There are still lots of tomatoes and a couple of 15# zuchinis. It is a fun time of year, and we are enjoying the pears, apples, plums, cantalope, squash, and everything else that has grown. We also threw a hand full of wildflower seeds out on the back slope that have turned in to a beautiful display that we have been enjoying. Hope everyone else is having an enjoyable fall season.

If It's not Scottish (or Irish) .... It's Craaaaap

A while back, the Center was invited to have a booth at the first Cache Valley Celtic Festival. We accepted the invitation, and last week we spent the day talking about family history with many of the festival visitors. They had Highland games competition, bagpipes, Celtic dancers and singers and many clan and commercial booths. I was able to make a couple of presentations in the Opera House on family history. The whole day was filled with many exciting and educational events. BUT ... There was only one thing wrong with the day. Most of the participants were wearing their clan kilts....most of them except me. :(

After the festival ended and we packed up and went home, I started feeling a need to have a kilt. I had checked some out with one of the vendors at the festival, but he didn't have the tartan I wanted in my size. Needless to say, the next several days were spent checking out kilts on the internet, and mine arrived this afternoon!!!

For those of you who may not be Scottish or Irish, a brief word of explanation. The kilt is in the Irish National tartan. The little green things on the socks are called flashes, and the knife is really; a Sgian Dubh (knife). The black bag is a sporran which replaces the pockets that the kilt does not have. The kilt pin represents the thistle and a sword. I hope I have answered the questions you might have except for one, which we will deal with at a later time.

The kilt is very comfortable to wear, and I am looking for occasions where it would be appropriate for me to wear. Like the title of my blog says: "I'll Never Grow Up".

More Petroglyphs

A friend, Gary, and I went out this past week to do some work at the mine, and to search again for some petroglyphs in the mountains east of Nephi. We had searched previously, but did not have good gps coordinates. This time we had better coordinates, and also had some help from someone in Nephi who knew the area and the glyphs we were searching for.



This first glyph is the one from the Fillmore area which we had seen before. In the same general area is what is referred to as the "map rock" which contains coordinates for locating what some say is buried treasure.



The next two pics are the Nephi glyph. It was a challenging hike to the top of the mountain where this one was found. Challenging, but worth while! Some might say "Why in the world would anyone climb to the top of a mountain to look at some scratches made on the side of a rock?" But to view what someone carved many years ago, and to try and decipher the meaning, who put it there, and why in this specific location is part of the intrigue that keeps us looking for new sites. When you look at these glyphs, you see that they are not like any ordinary American Indian glyphs. This type of glyph is found in only 25 - 30 sites in the western US. I will try to post some links to sites that might explain a bit about them. Until then, Gary and I have our own theories as to their origin and when they were created.

Summer Garden

It has been quite some time since I posted anything to the blog, but today when we started to fix something to eat, I knew I had to show what we are having for lunch. Everything in the picture was just picked out of our garden. (except for the frozen spinach which we picked and froze a few weeks ago) This is when I think that maybe it is worth the effort. There are a lot of other things growing that we will post some other time. Bon appetite!

A Few More Beads

I'm still not sure what I am going to do with these beads or where I'm going with the whole thing, but I thought it would be fun to post a picture of a few of the latest beads I have made. I'm afraid that this is addicting. These are a little nicer, and it is fun experimenting with different colors, techniques and types of glass.

For those with inquiring minds, (and you know who you are) who want to know if I also made the penny, the answer is NO. .... just the beads. The beads are also actually all about the same size, the perspective makes the back ones look smaller than they really are.

Two Posts in ONE Day??

This may establish some sort of world record! (at least for me) TWO posts in a single day??

It is only 10:15 (PM) and i thought I would post a little about my latest adventure. For a number of years I have had the idea that I would like to try what they call lampmaking or flameworking. That is just another way of saying making glass beads. I have talked with a friend who has done a little work with glass, and I have noticed different books, catalogs, youtube videos about the process. (If you want to see how it is done, just search youtube for "lampmaking" or "glass beads" and you should find any number of videos about the process.)

I finally took the leap from thinking to doing. I found a small kit with a torch, glass rods, mandrels, bead release, marvers and a gas tank holder. Another stop at Home Depot for a bottle of Mapp gas, (hotter than propane) and I was ready to go. (After watching a few more videos of he process.) The first couple of beads were just for "practice" and then I got serious about it. After having a couple of beads fuse to the mandrel and break in the process of getting them off, I finally made a few beads that look halfway decent. It seems that each time I work with it, I get a better picture of what I am doing and what I need to do to make a decent bead.

If you will give me a little more practice time, I will start taking orders for specific sizes, colors, shapes and all. If anyone has a bracelet that they can hang a bead or two from, let me know and I will custom make some for you. My sweetheart has also suggested that they could be placed on a cord to use for a necklace. Just another thing to explore and play with to see what it is like and if I can actually do it.

Not a great picture, but it gives you an idea.
A different colored background would be better.


Any suggestions for the next project????

The Yak is Finished!!! (almost)

The yak now has 6 coats of varnish on it, the hatch covers are lashed down, the tie down cords are installed and the yak is ready to throw into the lake. All that needs to be done is to re-install the foot rests and the install the foam pads for the hip braces. I finished it up about the middle of January, and I''m thinking that I should have started construction in March 2009 so that the waters would be ready by the time I finished, or that I should have taken another 3 or 4 months in the construction.

I guess it will just have to wait for spring to come and for the ice to melt off of the local waters before I can go out. In the meantime, we have started work on a yak for Darin. A different model, and one that is challenging. The hull and deck are put together; and the next time we can work on it, we will fasten the hull and deck together and start fiber glassing the whole boat, top and bottom.

I have added a couple of pictures, and will add another one or two of the completed yak when I can get them taken in a way that lets you see what it really looks like. One picture was taken while the yak was still in the enclosed shelter I made so that I could apply the vanish without a lot of dust specks settling into the fresh , sticky varnish. The other pic is of my sweetheart paddling across the family room floor with the life coat and paddle that my children were so nice to give me for Christmas. Maybe now we will have to build a yak for her!! LOL

I am, giving serious thought to making a folding yak or one with a seal skin exterior (plastic or canvas) I think a lot of the challenge is just to make it. Later we will face the challenge of actually propelling it through the water and keeping it upright. (or learning to roll it or make a "wet exit" if necessary )