The Daily Bread(board)

Well I hope everyone’s week has flown by in a mostly uneventful fashion! (Don’t want it to be boring but nothing too dramatic is good right?!). Ours has flown by – there have been less missed trains and some work induced anger management required on my part and for Chris well he has been busy making stuff and learning to use some rather large tools which, imagine my surprise, he loves! I am still counting the fingers on a daily basis (all present and correct)! The week could have been a little more dramatic if Chris had eaten the peanut laden museli bar I put in his lunch box… He didn’t though! (Its not life threatening allergy levels but it would have made him sick!)

This week saw the crafting of a bread board and the beginnings of a mallet.

Breadboard
The breadboard – from the start to the finished product

Watch this space on the mallet front but its head is made of Jarrah – well known for its density and beautiful rich red colour.  I have seen it so far and it’s mallet’ish in shape but we’ll wait for the finished product until we give you a look-see!

A few of Sturt’s ex students have stopped by this week for various reasons – it’s great to hear what they are up to now. Other highlights include consumption of a Wham Bar (by Chris who was given it by Simon) – for those of you not familiar with UK confectionary… Imagine an exceedingly chewy pink bar made almost exclusively of a sugary toffee like substance that tastes like fruity candy floss which also features small pockets of sugary sherbet! Does wonders for your fillings if you have them! It’s one of those sweets (‘lollies’ in Australian lingo) that you had when you were a kid and when you come across them in adult life you pretty much lose it … and start raving about the last time you had one or the fact that you can’t remember the last time you had one or and my personal favourite reminiscing about how just maybe they were bigger back then?! Were they?! We will never know!!!!

Pub quiz update – ‘Timberbits‘ came fourth this time! (There was a joint third but still…) Improvement! Whether it was just luck or the team pulling together – time will tell. Last weekend we went to Towradgi Beach Hotel Food and Wine Festival. Scorchio!! Had some lovely food and gelato but no wine was consumed – mostly due to the risk of immediate dehydration. The festival was held in a car park in full sun on a day that was 30 degrees! Fun none the less, if not a little sweaty! On the way home we also managed to buy a rug from a shop that was closed! Good effort I reckon! Guy was unloading something from the van when we wondered into his shop – he did mention it was closed but encouraged us to look anyway! Said rug is made by Fab Habitat and is made from eco-friendly recycled plastic and is looking pretty snazzy in its new home.

This weekend sees some BBQ action! There is an event at the school – A Tools & Techniques Weekend and Chris, along with the other students, is going to be doing some shifts on the BBQ! Luckily Chris is a good chef and an aficionado of well cooked sausages! Personally I like them essentially cremated which I can’t help but feel is a little English of me! Maybe all English people don’t like their BBQ’d meat burnt but maybe that’s how it ends up a lot of the time? This is very stereotypical and I know many great English BBQ’ers but the fact remains is English weather does not encourage the fine tuning of BBQ skills so based on this argument alone there is a higher probability of BBQ mishap and unpredictably cooked food!

Gee some people go on don’t they… I hope you made it to the end this week! You can consider my ramblings over – unlike a face to face encounter hopefully there was no digital equivalent of nodding and smiling while backing out of the room slowly!

Until next time!

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Why so many bags…

It’s been a week of firsts…

First time we mowed the lawn, first time I had a huge spider run up my leg while gardening, first meeting of the neighbours, first splinter of the course (sustained on day one!), first time Chris has attended a talk from a nurse where finger loss was mentioned and the appropriate ‘digit bag’ was learned about (There was a discussion after about why there were so many bags?!) and of course the very first complete week of the fine furniture course! Good news – all Chris’ fingers survived the whole week! Actually I made Chris promise a long time ago when we talking about this course that he wouldn’t lose any part of any finger – not even just a little bit or else! I hope the seriousness of my threat will make him be more careful!? We will see – fingers crossed(?!) they all remain present and correct!

Class Photo
The Class of 2015 plus teachers – Neil and Pam

As you would expect the first week was a little admin heavy initially and day one saw the selection of a work space/bench, personalisation of a pigeon-hole for the year and the wearing of name tags!

The week has flown by and it’s been really good! Still got some work to do on catching trains on time and planning ahead so we actually have food in the house. The neighbours must already think I’m a little odd with the ‘spider related squawking freak out in the garden’ incident and then back I come from a run (to Coles the supermarket in Thirroul) with a zucchini and brocollini in one hand and a sweet potato in the other. Should have thought about it and took a bag!

Chris had some exciting goings on this week – he managed to take his Grandpas’ old Acorn plane made in Sheffield, England (Interesting fact – Acorn was bought out by Stanley by 1936.) and restore it so that he can use it! He managed to get a 0.02mm wood shaving out of it and that’s pretty darn good! There was also a reasonably successful inaugural pub quiz outing, the decision was made to name their team ‘TimberBits’ after one of the sponsors at school and they managed to come 6th out of at least 12 teams.

I have come to the conclusion that it’s going to be a fight for Chris to keep his fingers and/or clothes a normal colour – even in week 1 they have been blue (paint), purple (rust removal solution) and black/grey from slurry formed in the tool sharpening process.

Chris’ workbench has now been prepared (flattened, conditioned, oiled and waxed) and every tool has now been appropriately ground, flattened, sharpened, honed and/or tuned ready to go! The chisels are so sharp that you can wave it at your arm hair and end up with a bald spot! May the woodworking begin!!

Why so many bags…

Price shavings, heirlooms and good news!

It’s a rainy Sunday and this week we have made some exciting progress but before I tell you about that I want to stop and appreciate the fine tool purveyors we have had the pleasure of dealing with so far. Armed with a spreadsheet, painstakingly researched and cross-checked, detailing must and good to have’s Chris has purchased what is needed for his first term of his course from two companies which I can only assume are going to be like a home away from home from now on. The first being Carbatec where the guy greeted the news that Chris would be studying next year with glee. Carbatec’s Price Shavings magazine is little short of awesome! (WARNING – I am a big fan of puns, dad jokes and one-liners and don’t hold it against me but I work in Marketing!) I was won over immediately by the ‘shavings/savings’ situation but looking inside its full of advertising gold!

Also want to appreciate the fine services of Henry Eckert – importers of the Lie-Nielsen heirloom quality tools. These tools are beautiful – I have no idea what some of them do but they say they will last a lifetime – I look forward to them being part of our journey and perhaps even creating things that also last for our lifetimes and beyond! So… good news! We have found a house to rent… I haven’t seen it in person yet but it looks great. We went from nothing to sorted in three days flat even though apparently it was a very competitive process (who knows whether what the property people tell you is true or not!). By the end of Wednesday we were the chosen ones! Bulli here we come!

new house
A new house to make a home!

It will be a big change from apartment living and being in busy Bondi with its hipsters, glamourati, backpackers, coach tours and ever loyal locals. What are we looking forward to most…

  • enjoying the sound of nothing other than perhaps some over enthusiastic birds rather than waking up to the sound of horns and angry drivers at the roundabout or some crazy backpackers
  • being able to get out of the house without stepping over a fellow building resident passed out drunk in the corridor
  • if we forget something on the way out, not having to climb 2 flights of stairs to go and get it
  • having an outside space … an actual genuine garden
  • being able to hang washing out in said garden! (Sad or what!)
  • feeling like we are on holidays even if it’s just the weekend in the much more sedate Bulli!

We will miss Bondi I think but looking forward to a change. Not looking forward to the actual move so much! Best get my muscles warmed up!

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Happy New Year!

So this is the year – the year we quite literally start a fresh! Top of the list of things to do is move house! Relocate from sunny Bondi to perhaps an even sunnier Thirroul or Bulli!! I am a little nervous seeing as we have yet to find a house and we need to be out of our current place by the 29th. It’s not for the lack of trying but apparently there are not so many to choose from down that neck of the woods! There is potential of course that we are being too fussy… But let’s say for now that’s not the case and the perfect property will come up in the next two weeks!

Whilst we are busily denying the shortness of time on the moving front chris has been on a tool shopping spree – I have made it sound spontaneous but it was far from it!!! It was like a second Christmas last night with wrappings flying everywhere, Chris proudly setting out some of his brand new tools on display (before wrapping them all up once more… just for now… there’s still a whole month before school starts and a move to survive!)

At this point I want to thank both sets of our parents! We would not be able to embark on this new start without them despite our best attempts to save everything we can! We are budgeting pro’s but with tools, materials and school fees this new start was never going to come easy! You would think that once your children pass the age of thirty you can rest easy and enjoy the low maintenance phase of parenting! Oh dear – sorry guys! We do try not to be a burden but for your help with our new adventure (and for all that you have ever done for us) we are eternally grateful!

Happy New Year!