REFORMATION SUNDAY 2017

This coming Tuesday, October 31, marks the 500th anniversary of what is called the Protestant Reformation. It all began because a teacher/ theologian in the Roman Catholic Church wanted to talk to the Church about issues he thought were corruption the true calling of the Christian faith.

Since this is a major event and anniversary for Protestant Christians our congregation, Christ Lutheran, had a big day. It included a special worship experience with hand bells, choir, and a special brass group from a college in Fort Collins.

A number of weeks ago Cindy and I came together with our church choir to start preparing music. Then this morning we were at church for two worship services and a special Lutherfest meal afterwards. That amounted to 6 hours. It has been a long time since we've been at any church that long.

Our Pastor Eric Ellert towers over everyone standing at 6'8

This Bible was printed in 1663. It belongs to one of the members of our church.
It has been in his family for generations.

After worship there was a brats/beer lunch with all the fixins. There also was a Reformation trivia game, a raffle for gift baskets, face painting and other things as well.

It was a full morning.

FALL ADVENTURE OF RUINS AND RAILS

Cindy and I felt the need to get out of town for a few days. Since we had both wanted to see the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde  National Park we decided to head that way. Since we were going to be driving to southwest Colorado we also decided to ride the Cumbres and Toltec  scenic railroad and see the Fall colors. It worked out perfectly.

Our first destination would be the Fall colors. Our dream train was going to take us on a 64 mile trip starting in Chama, N.M. and ending in Antonito, CO.

Our train uses a narrow gage rail best suited for mountain terrain.  The engine was 92 years old and did a wonderful job pulling out 7 car train.

The aspen were gloriously yellow and very stunning.

After a long day and a nights rest we drove further West to Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde was populated by ancestral pueblo  Indians  until about 1300A.D. when the small communities of cliff dwellers moved on. 

Our getaway was short and tiring but we are glad we went.

WOODEN GEAR CLOCK 2

MY project has been moving along but slowly. It's going slow for a couple of reasons. First I work on it a little bit here and a little bit there. So I'm not working 6-8 hours a day on it. It is not my job. Second I'm taking it slow because I want to get it right. I'm still enjoying it though so that is a plus.

I've reached the stage where 99% of the pieces are cut out. I'm now sanding individual pieces and just starting to assemble various parts.

I now have a scroll saw that allows me to do more intricate cuts like cutting teeth.

Just tonight I was sanding a particular piece and broke it in half. That means I will need to cut a replacement. And so it goes.

I have to file individual teeth once cut out. It takes time and a bit of patience.

Once I'm done with a piece I place them on the plans so I can keep track of what I've completed.

Will it work once done or will it be a piece of "art" hanging on a wall in the basement? Time will tell.

CALLIE THE CAT

Today we adopted a kitten.
For 40 years we have had cats. We love them. Finnegan, our last cat died in August last year. Since I was newly retired and we were going to be doing some traveling Cindy and I decided to hold off getting another cat. Well it was time apparently.

Cindy saw a 3 month old female gray tabby listed on the Dumb Friends League website. Once she mentioned that and asked if I was ready we met up and went to see her for ourselves.

As you can guess we fell in love and brought her home. She has been skittering around exploring, chasing toys and snuggling up close for some serious petting time. We are thrilled with her.

We really had a hard time picking a name. After scrolling over a great number of names we both agreed that she is cute. We will call her Callie.

WOODEN GEAR CLOCK

I am fascinated with clocks. Not the WalMart clock in the bathroom but those clocks that exhibit fine craftsmanship like grandfather and cookoo clocks. Even those medieval clocks that are still ticking away in clock towers in Europe.

While tooling around YouTube I came across videos of wooden-geared clocks. Others had discovered these clocks and videoed each step of their construction. These clocks that are totally made out of wood were designed by Clayton Boyer. His designs are just beautiful.

So after retiring I set up my shop, bought the plans and materials, and slowly began. Now I have to admit that I was nervous in the beginning. I have never done anything like this. Yet I knew I could do it and was determined so I read the plans through and began at the beginning.

Clayton Boyer says in his website that those making these clocks better be prepared for frustration and his is right. Here is one example.

Boyer uses Baltic birch for his clocks. I have never heard of it so I figured birch is birch. I bought birch plywood at my Home Depot store and got busy. I soon encountered splintering plywood while cutting out the pieces. If the pieces are not precisely cut the clock doesn't work. So I knew I was going to have to throw some pieces out and start over. Thus the frustration.

I finally decided that maybe there is a difference between birch plywood and discovered that there certainly is. Baltic birch plywood has more plys so it is much stronger than Home Depot birch plywood. I had to track down a place that sells what I needed and discovered it in Tennessee. I placed an order and they sent me what I needed. Since getting the Baltic birch I have recut a number of pieces with great results.

Cutting the teeth.

Splintered birch plywood. A waste of time. Different teeth broke off so this gear was ruined.

 I still have a long way to go but I will get there.

This is what it supposedly looks like when complete.

TOY CHEST

Some time back I decided to construct a toy chest for Matt and AJ's three children. After searching on Pinterest and Anna White's website I came up with plans. I really need detailed plans to work on a project like that. I am a sometime woodworker so my skills are okay but I am certainly not as skilled as brother Don or my Dad. They can look at something and know how to build it.

Anyway with plans in hand I bought wood and got started.
I really enjoyed making it. It turned out great. I painted it white enamel so handprints and pencil marks can be wiped off. Then inside the lid I spelled out the names of the grandkids, And I have pictures of the grandkids checking it out.
They will appreciate later when they are older.

Now it is on to a chest of drawers for Ben.

MONKEY PODS AND WILD CHICKEN S

To those in the know you realize I'm talking about Hawaii.
Cindy and I have been on Oahu for 5 days now. This is our first time here.

For the first few days we were inland at the Hampton Inn and Suites until our condo was available. Today is Monday and we got to our condo in the northeast coast yesterday.

The condo is very small but just fine for 2 of us. It is on the beach so what else do we need. Yesterday and a good part of today has been windy and gloomy and misting. Yesterday we didn't do a lot. Today though we decided to explore the North shore. The day started out gloomy and certainly windy but miraculously about midday the sky cleared and the sun came out for a while. We stopped at a Turtle Bay which is a very exclusive resort with golf course. We didn't realize there was a public accessible beach there. It is a beautiful spot. People were snorkeling, swimming, wading and running themselves there. We stopped and stayed for a time soaking it all in. We got a gelato as a treat. It cost us $10 total for each of us to get a single scoop. It is very expensive to live here I understand.

We stopped at Sunset beach where a few people were surfing while others swam.

Now to those chickens. All over the island WILD chickens roam. At first I thought some had gotten out of someone's enclosure but gave up that idea after seeing them all over. I finally asked someone "What's with all these WILD chickens?" The first Hawaiians brought chickens, dogs and pigs with them she said. The chickens at least are wild. People don't eat them. It is easier simply to get them at Cosco.

MONKEY PODS are trees that we found fascinating because of their look. Apparently the PODS they grow are a favorite of monkeys where they originally came from. These PODS are sticky and a real nuisance to deal with. That's all I know about them.

The time we had in Hawaii was relaxing. The weather was a mixed bag. Some really nice days but a fair number of windy gloomy days. We tried to walk the beach every day.

We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center which was just a few miles from the condo. It is a great place to go and learn about the different island nations in polynesia.

We also visited a beautiful Buddist temple and the natural beauty of Waimea Valley and falls.

If we ever go back we belief it would be Maui we would visit.

USS ARIZONA

USS BOWFIN

BEACH

WAIMEI FALLS

MONKEY POD TREE

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER

VILLAGE

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DANCERS FROM TONGA

BEACH WALKER

BEACH

WILD CHICKEN
EVERYWHERE ON ISLAND

KOI

BUDDA

BUDDHIST TEMPLE

BLACK SWAN AT TEMPLE

BUDDHIST TEMPLE AT VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES

VIEW FROM OUR CONDO

VIEW FROM OUR CONDO