Breanne's Request

This Pinecone Vase got a second place award

This Redwood Platter got a third place award.

This Lidded Dish with Circles got honorable mention

This Box Elder Platter didn't win anything except positive comments

This wavy bowl impressed lots of people, but not the judges

This Spiral Cut Bowl with lots of bumps was an "also ran".

Earthquake in Christchurch

Our trip to New Zealand was modified because the hotel we were to stay at had not completed repairs.  We stayed outside of town and took a day trip into the city.  We were told that every building sustained some damage from small cracks in stucco to high rise buildings that would have to be demolished.  Here are a few photos of what we saw.

Buildings with wood frames and brick exteriors often lost the bricks but stayed standing.

A large part of the city center is fenced off because of the danger and demolition activity.

You see these braces all over town holding up buildings that are at risk of falling down.  I guess they'll be attended to later.  The volume of work to be done is hard to grasp.

Lots of movement.  Near this poll was a stone bridge over a river with huge cracks in it.

Many of these building will have to come down.

If you look closely you can see major cracks in this facade, like so many older buildings in town.

Even the mighty will fall - this one has to come down too - and many other high rises.

Want somemores?

I like the trees; unfortunately most indigenous trees have been removed from the island.  But a few remain and are protected.  This is the Kauri Tree and only a few remain.  The grain of this tree is really beautiful.  A few were knocked down in a storm 60,000 years ago and remained hidden in a bog until a farmer uncovered them.

 Here's something else

This Monster tree was in the botanical gardens in Christchurch.  You can see some papers wrapped around it.  We were in Christchurch one day after the anniversary of the 2011 earthquake in which 185 people lost their lives.  The papers are the names of those people with messages of love written on them.  I think the tree is a Eucalyptus.

New Zealand Scenery

Here is the Auckland skyline from the harbor

We crossed the harbor to Devonport, a suburb of Auckland.  At 5pm people pour out of the office buildings in Auckland and head for the ferries to take them to the many towns across the water.  They're usually very quiet places; nice to live in.

Kathy and I liked Wellington best.

We liked Rotorua least.  The city lies along the shores of a huge shallow lake; all sitting at the bottom of an enormous caldera.  Problem is there are geyser vents all over town.  The place stinks.  The night we stayed there I woke up and thought I was going to heave.  The smart people live out of town.

One redeeming quality of Rotorua were some of the sights to see; among them the Black Swan - pretty cool

More Pics of New Zealand

So Valentines Day was 23 hours early for us in New Zealand.  We had been told this restaurant was very good.  We had a delightful dinner and are just about to have dessert.

A day or two later our bus broke down; fortunately it wasn't raining.  Everyone walked down the road a couple of miles to a pub (not much of one).  Since there were 44 of us the owner was overwhelmed.  A local woman came in for a drink and ended up acting as hostess.  A couple of hours later everyone had eaten and a new bus showed up.  It was a hoot and no one complained about the food.

Later that day we stopped at a Jade factory in a town on the west coast of South Island.  The factory was interesting, the beach was really nice, but the ice cream was awesome.

You Wouldn't Know...........

You wouldn't know by looking at these two that this was the end of 25-1/2 years of working together. We sent out the last invoice, paid the last major bill, took a photo and locked the doors. Only thing left to do is sweep the carpet - so to speak. Feeling a little unhitched.

800 Miles

So, OK my goal was to walk 910 miles this year (2-1/2 x 364), but after two bad colds I had to revise it down. But I don't feel too bad having only walked 800, last year I walked 730. For 2012 I'll just keep on keepin' on.

I've been Published - I think

At the OC Fair this summer the clubs' fair coordinator asked me to write a description of how I made the pinecone vase, for use by the fair docents. So, I wrote a couple of paragraphs. After the fair he asked me to write more, and he got a couple more paragraphs. This went on for a few weeks. He would edit and challenge me on what I had written and press for more. Finally he said he wanted to publish the article in our monthly newsletter. So here's the link: http://www.ocwoodworkers.com/ww/upload/uploads/2011-11%20OCWA%20Newsletter.pdf

The article is at the end of the newsletter (page 7) and begins on the left hand column under the first photograph.

Kevin & Nerissa's Wedding

Kathy's brother Kevin and his fiance Nerissa tied the knot at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas last Saturday. This picture shows the happy couple as they exited the chapel.

You'll want to check out the photos of the wedding at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel's website under the name Bugh and the July 9, 2011 date.

For those of you who want start-to-finish details of our Las Vegas trip, here goes:

Kathy's mother Dodie joined us in Fullerton around 10:00 on Saturday morning for the car trip to Las Vegas. The trip went smoothly and, after a two hour stop at the hotel to check in and change into our wedding duds, we arrived at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel at 5:00 to see Kevin and Nerissa and their friends Ted and Dana emerging from a white limousine.

The wedding party proceeded to the reception room of the wedding chapel, and Kevin and Nerissa began signing paperwork at the front desk while Kathy, Dodie and I made our acquantenances with Ted and Dana. Nerissa's mother Pauline, dad Ernie, and other relations arrived, and the introductions continued. Soon family members were taking out their cameras and snapping photos of each other and of the bride and groom.

After the paperwork was completed, the Viva Las Vegas staff ushered us into the wedding chapel, which was furnished with a small theatrical stage and a set of pews. The chapel was dimly lit, except for the stage which was flooded with light.

An Elvis impersonator, dressed in the trademark white sequined jumpsuit, escorted Nerissa to the base of the stage, where Kevin was standing, and bounded up the steps to the stage platform, where he conducted the wedding ceremony with a Las Vegas-style panache and, from time to time, burst into songs of Elvis' hit tunes.

After the ceremony, Kevin and Nerissa exited the chapel to have their picture taken below the chapel's marque-in-lights that said, "Nerissa and Kevin."

Kathy, Dodie and I took this as our cue to exit, and we piled into our car and headed to Pampas restaurant at the Miracle Mile shopping center for the Brazilian barbeque that Kevin and Nerissa were hosting in one of the rooms that Pampas restaurant reserves for dinner parties. We expected to arrive at the restaurant before Kevin and Nerissa, but they knew a shortcut and beat us there.

Our dinner at the Pampas Restaurant was excellent. We all enjoyed the tasty main courses and sides and the great conversation. The newly married couple were all smiles and served us slices of marbled wedding cake. Afterward, we said our goodbyes and began the walk back to our car.

The next morning, Kathy, Dodie and I checked out of the hotel at 8:00 and hit the road. Thankfully, we encountered little Sunday morning traffic and arrived home by noon. Now, that's what I call a good road trip!

Kevin and Nerissa stayed over in Las Vegas and booked a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon for Monday morning. We'll be sure to ask them how they liked riding in a helicopter the next time we see them. The views of the canyon must have been spectacular!

Orange County Fair

Last Thursday I took three pieces down to the fair grounds. When I got there, all excited and stuff, I was really impressed with the entries (competition); especially one from a friend of mine - his is really fantastic. I figured I'd be hard pressed to win anything. This afternoon I got a call from our club president, who is forever giving me a hard time for winning stuff. He said my pinecone vase (from last November) had won first place in it's division. It also got Best In Show, which I think covers all divisions, and it won Jurors Choice (I'm not sure what that covers). Then he said the vase I made and gave to Roxanne (Brads daughter) as a wedding present, also won first place in its division. So, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

The fellow down the street won first place for the piece he entered. So, the guys on Skyline Drive did pretty well for themselves this year. OH HAPPY DAY!

Carl Ogren passed on June 11

I got a call yesterday that the funeral would be today, so I went. It was funny going back to that building and seeing so many familiar faces. David and Steven Ogren spoke about their dad and did an outstanding job. Levar and Afton Adams were there and looked great. Levar is 86; just had his third pacemaker checked this morning - doctor said he'd be good for at least another 8 years. I think a few people were pretty surprised to see me. I heard that the 4th ward reunion is next Friday in Orem - we'll be in SLC then - but I think I'll miss it anyway.

New Furniture

Kathy and I have been struggling with "what to do in the living room corner?" A few months ago I was also perplexed about where to put my many woodworking books and Kathy's important papers. It all came together in this piece of furniture. Four filing drawers and eight very large book shelves behind closed doors, a little bit of storage and a nice display area for my work. We're both very happy about it. Are we going to have a major photo opp this June? As in Family Photo?

IMIQUIMOD 5%

So, after having half my scalp removed on November 4th... then another spot removed Jan. 4th, my doctor decides to have me remove another superficial basal cell carcinoma using IMIQUIMOD cream. Starting on Jan. 11 I'm to treat the area 5 days / week for six weeks. After the first week I had sinusitus (Kathy had a bad cold, so I figured it was from her), but I was also experiencing nausea. Of course Nyquil and Sudafed can do that to you, right? The head cold went away, but my stomach continued to feel sour constantly; plus I had no energy to do much of anything. There were other aches and pains, fever & chills - blah, blah, blah. So, finally I got the paper work out that came with the IMIQUIMOD - well guess what - all of the above are typical side effects. I have 7 more treatment days to go - plus an unknown number of days before the toxins will be flushed from my system. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

So, for all those who have suffered days, weeks, and months of nausea - fever, chills or flu-like symptoms - bleeding, blistering, irritation, sores, swollen lymph glands, trouble urinating or any other allergic reaction - YOU HAVE MY SYMPATHY!

Bangor, Maine or Bust

OK, so I made to to Evanston, Wyoming on my way to Rapid City and then Sioux Fall, South Dakota. That'll be about 1700 miles for two years of walking. And that will be about half way to Bangor, Maine. A total of 3600 miles. So, should I go for it? Sounds pretty ambitious doesn't it. One day at a time.

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

Have any of you read this book? Kathy gave it to me for Christmas and I just finished it. Still thinking about what it means to me. Don't think I can remember so much treachery in one book before. Of course the good guys win in the end, but not before tons of death and destruction - yikes.

Coincidence?

So, the other day I'm talking to Jacque.... she tells me about how Raw Honey can help with allergies. I'm thinking Kathy has trouble with allergies, so, I go on a hunt to find raw honey in Fullerton (not an easy job). After several calls I find a guy who has a local bee hive and he, somewhat suspiciously, agrees to bring some to us. Somewhere in all this I'm talking to Nikki.... telling her I've been in a foul mood because of a homeowners insurance inspection that caused me to dispose of lots of wood laying around the house (I was NOT in a holiday spirit). Nikki said maybe we should go to a Holiday Play or something. Then my neighbor (woodworker guy, Don) asked me to take care of his dogs, Murphy & Lucky, for the second time in three weeks.
So, the guy with the honey shows up - he's very nice - gives us some honey - and suggests that we go see his daughter in the The Nutcracker, playing Saturday night at Fullerton College Theater. This is a local ballet school performing in conjunction with Cal State Fullerton's orchestra.
Somewhere in here I decided to put up our Christmas lights, and Kathy has begun to trim our Christmas tree. I'm slowly beginning to feel a little Christmas spirit. Then after taking care of the dogs, Don sneaks into my garage and leaves gift certificates for dinners and movies (notice the purality). So, we had a delicious chinese dinner and then went to see The Nutcracker. The performance was great. Turns out the honey guy's daughter played both Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy - and she was spectacular. Even though she attends Cal State Fullerton, she has been to New York and Boston (to name a few) to study ballet. Now it's Sunday morning and thanks to Jacque and Nikki and a little coincidence - It's Beginning to Feel a Bit Like Christmas - except that, at eleven oclock, it's already 78 degrees.
FYI, I've passed Salt Lake City (somewhere around Summit Park on I80) heading for Rapid City, SD. That's 692.8 miles (but who's counting?)

My Wife Knows Her Place

Last weedend Kathy and I were doing typical stuff, she in the house, me outside. We had discussed dinner and had decided to eat at home. Kathy usually prefers cooking to cleanup, I'm good either way; but the cook don't clean. That said, I came into the house about 6pm hungry and hoping to sense hot food; but nothing. Every once in a while (not often, you'll see why) I like to flex my masculin bravado. So, finding Kathy in the kitchen, I said, in my deepest baratone, "WOMAN, WHERE IS MY DINNER"? She turned with a sweet smile on her face and said, "Are you sure you're in the right house"? It took me several minutes to stop laughing.