Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
PS-About chiengora... it seems to me that different dogs would have different hair/fur. Some might be soft but others might be bristly.
On the fur-hair thing, I'm not sure. Marg says fur sheds regularly, pretty much at the same time, while hair doesn't. In common usage, they're synonyms, though. On an animal, there are often 3 types of fur; under, down, or ground, awn or middle, & long or guard. They're usually referred to as hairs individually since they are. So I don't know. Sloppy old American is so much fun.;-)
I'd never heard of chiengora either. A 'chien' is the French word for dog & you know what angora is. Someone stuck the word together out of the two, which is called a 'portmanteau' - a fancy way of saying it's a blended word in French.
I have no idea if dog hair really is a better insulator than wool, but am willing to take the lady's word for it. I do know that it's tough enough spinning long, scaly hair together & guess that short, slick hair would be impossible, so the point is probably moot. Maybe Pixie, our Jack Russell with poodle-like hair, will have it long enough to spin on her spring clipping. Maybe I'll see...
There are lists of portmanteaus here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...
They're interesting.
Some common ones are:
brunch, from breakfast and lunch
camcorder, from camera and recorder
chortle, from chuckle and snort (coined by Lewis Carroll)
ebonics, from ebony and phonics
faction, from fact and fiction
Jazzercise, from jazz and exercise
napalm, from naphthene and palmitate
skort, from skirt and short (as in short pants)
smog, from smoke and fog
freeware, from free and software
biopic, from biographical and motion picture
dramedy, from drama and comedy
Microsoft, from microcomputer and software
Verizon, from veritas (Latin for truth) and horizon
webcast, from Worldwide Web and broadcast
shareware, from share and software
freeware, from free and software
malware, from malicious and software
pixel, from picture and element
PS-The derivation of "portmanteau" is interesting in itself:====================================================
"The word "portmanteau" itself was converted by Carroll to describe the concept. "Portmanteau" comes from French porter, to carry + manteau, cloak (from Old French mantel, from Latin mantellum). In then-contemporary English, a portmanteau was a suitcase. In modern French, a portemanteau (or porte-manteaux) is a clothes valet, a coat-tree or similar article of furniture for hanging up jackets, hats, umbrellas and the like."
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmant...
====================================================
The back door is replaced! Curses on the previous owner (an appliance store owner!) for having a leaky washer that rotted out the original door, but it was nice to replace it with one that has a lite in it. The laundry room is no longer a dark hole!!! Seriously, I can't imagine why they didn't get a window in that door, but the problem is fixed now. I didn't even have to replace the linoleum in there. I was able to roll it back, replace the subfloor & put it back down so you can't even tell. Since I had easy access to the shop, I made up the jamb & threshold extensions in just a few minutes. Lowes only had exterior doors for a 2x4 wall & mine is a 2x6. (Who builds 2x4 exterior walls any more? I thought most were 2x6 since the 70's.) It all came out just as perfect as could be. It was also nice to be able to put in a pet door while the door was in the shop. It also came out perfect.
Jim wrote: "The back door is replaced! Curses on the previous owner (an appliance store owner!) for having a leaky washer that rotted out the original door, but it was nice to replace it with one that has a li..."Jim, can we hire you? You are amazing!
We should call you "Mr. Fix-it".
Marg is a lucky woman!
There's a young fellow in Glens Falls who, a few years ago, started a business with a little ad in the local paper. He advertised himself as: "Honey-Do Man". Now I see that he has a fleet of fancy work trucks. He has developed quite a business.
Of course, you're familiar with the line: "Honey do this, honey do that." In fact I have a note-holder which says: "Honey-Do List". It's in the shape of a miniature wooden hammer with a little clothespin attached to hold the notes. Gee, you could make them and sell them! LOL I wonder if it's patented!
PS-The note-holder mentioned above is something like this but mine is cuter:http://www.etsy.com/listing/31792072/...
PPS-Jim, have you ever thought about selling your craft items on Etsy?See: http://www.etsy.com/community?ref=si_com
"Etsy is more than a marketplace: we're a community of artists, creators, collectors, thinkers and doers."
Joy, I was a remodeler for 15 years, so used to do stuff like that for a living. I still have all the tools & most of the knowledge - what hasn't leaked away.;-)
Marg & I are so tickled with this project, though. I can't tell you what a difference it has made to have the extra light in the laundry room. We never knew just how much we hated it before. There is only 1 light in there & we removed the globe from it so we could use a 100w bulb. Even so, the only switch was by the outside door, so we had to cross the room to turn it on. We both keep doing double takes, thinking the back door must be open because of the light shining out, then grin with pleasure when we remember. Silly, I guess, but sometimes little things just mean a whole lot.
I can see where the Honey-Do guy would have a gold mine. Most people don't have a clue or the time to do a lot of the basic fixing around the house. I made sure all my kids had a pretty good set of tools & some experience fixing stuff. My daughter's boyfriend was astonished at her tools & how handy she was with them. The boys' girlfriends all seem to accept their skills & tools as natural, though.
No, I don't sell my stuff online. Folks don't want to pay what the stuff is worth anyway. Not to brag, but most of my stuff at least borders on art. I don't mass produce anything. I don't enjoy that sort of thing. Besides, online they're always looking for a deal. I've checked Etsy out before & it's about like Ebay & other places. I've seen really nice wooden bowls made out of rare woods not sell for super low prices. Ditto with flea & farmer's markets. Not worth it.
Jim, speaking of having more light in a room, after the big tree out front had to be removed, we realized that our living room is now much brighter. I can understand how it takes getting used to. There's a big difference.Thank goodness, Eddie is pretty handy around the house. I really appreciate that. When our son got married he complained about a figurine I gave them as a gift. He said: "We need TOOLS!". I guess tools can be more important than figurines.
I can understand why you don't want to sell stuff online. But how do you sell your wooden bowls?
Joy, I used to do art & high-end craft shows. For instance, I sold them at the Brandywine Museumhttp://www.brandywinemuseum.org/
where the Wyeths' paintings are displayed or Ladew Topiary Gardens
http://www.ladewgardens.com/
plus I'd put them in decorating stores, when I lived in Maryland. There was a big call for them there.
Here in KY, quite a few people do similar work & there isn't much of a market unless I get a business license & join the Craft Council, which I'm not willing to do. I don't mind the $75/year but I won't do taxes quarterly for a hobby. Makes it too much like work & I have a day job, which this will never be. So, I occasionally sell them to a store or two, when I get too many & the mood strikes. Sometimes I sell them to friends online when they need a unique gift, but I probably give away as many as I sell just to get rid of them. I don't make as many, either.
Jim, thanks for the links. Interesting spots. The Ladew Topiary Gardens are gorgeous! In fact, they're amazing! That's one place I'd like to visit.I agree that when a hobby becomes too much like work, it's no longer a hobby.
I lived near Ladew's most of my life & used to run around in it before it was state owned & open to the public, back when old Harvey was still alive. It really is a gorgeous place. He has the mate to the oval office desk & was friends with Lawrence of Arabia. It's pretty awesome to look around.
Jim, you were lucky to enjoy the Ladew property. You've made me curious. So I read some of the interesting info about Harvey Ladew.==================================================
"Harvey Smith Ladew II ... was born at his parents’ New York City townhouse on April 6, 1887. His family was financially comfortable thanks to his grandfather’s leather business."
"Harvey Ladew purchased the 200+ acre Pleasant Valley Farm from the Scarff family in November 1929..."
"Harvey Smith Ladew II (1887-1976) was an American topiary enthusiast, and a fox hunting enthusiast, who created the Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Maryland."
"A life-long bachelor, Ladew died in 1976 at the age of 89. Among Ladew's many acquaintances were T. E. Lawrence, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Somerset Maugham, and various members of European nobility."
ABOVE IS FROM:
http://www.ladewgardens.com/ABOUTLADE...
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_S...
==========================================================
PS-Below are more interesting facts about Harvey Ladew:"A self-taught gardener, Harvey S. Ladew (1887-1976) created 15 thematic “garden rooms” on 22 acres of his 250 acre Maryland property. As you stroll through the gardens, it’s hard to believe that one man, with no formal training and very little outside help, created such a magnificent, living masterpiece."
FROM: http://www.ladewgardens.com/ABOUTLADE...
"He had discovered the art of topiary in England in the 1920s when he saw a clipped hunt scene atop a hedge in Gloucestershire. From his trips to England and Italy he knew what sort of garden he wanted."
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_S...
I didn't really know him since I met him in the late 60's when I was about 10 or so & just a few times. I think he was bedridden or just sitting in a chair. I remember politely saying hello & then being shooed out to run & play. His 20+ acres of gardens were a blast. While I didn't appreciate it then (& wouldn't have been allowed to) the inside of his place is filled with fantastic antiques. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures to be taken inside.It was a great place to take out of town & other guests, so we used to go once a year or so. They also have a lot of events there. I mentioned the craft show, but there were lawn concerts & such, too. They've redone the old stables into a meeting hall & the lower part of the barn (it's a bank barn) has a cafe in it. The place got kind of run down for years while he was ill & then after his death it languished for a good decade or 15 years. They've done a great job restoring it now, though.
He donated part of his land to the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club, which is the southern piece on Pocock Road. About 15 or so years ago, the eastern part, which you get to off of 152 or Mountain Road, was turned into a polo field, but between them & the gardens is now a nature walk, I believe. I've walked through there taking pictures of the hunt & ridden through, of course. Very pretty place. If you ever do get down that way, you should stop in & see it.
Jim, it's great that you know the area so well. Good memories. If I ever travel that way, it would be a good place to tour. Looking at the map, I realized (after all these years) how relatively close Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., are to one another. The map area of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia is a bit confusing. Maryland shares a good bit of its border with PA.In fact, Maryland has a very irregular shape and border. It can be confusing to a newcomer. I found the following page of maps that demonstates that quite well:
http://geology.com/state-map/maryland...
We've been to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, and Cape May, NJ, as well as Wash.D.C. and the Lancaster area of PA and Philadelphia. When we visited Wash.D.C., we parked our trailer in College Park, Maryland. Of course we travelled through VA to get to FL. But we haven't seen much of Maryland.
The talk about Topiaries made me think of when I first read, Stephen King's, "The Shining." I thought it was fascinating; especially, about the plants.
Nina, I didn't read _The Shining_ but I think I saw the movie or clips of it. I usually avoid horror stories.I've been meaning to comment on the recent Netflix movies I watched recently (and also my current book), but I'm too exhausted from caring for my garden and getting the house ready for summer activities. The outdoor air knocks me out. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to it. It's supposed to rain anyway. So I'll be inside.
Eddie got a new carburetor for his boat. I'm hoping it will be more dependable this year. We hardly used it last year. It's an old boat but it's got a big cabin for a 19' boat. They don't seem to sell this style anymore in 19 footers, especially one as comfortable as ours. I like to have a cabin so I always have my portapotty with me and a place to change out of a wet bathing suit. Here's a pic of our boat:
Click to enlarge.I want to set up my inflatable pool but Ed is dragging his feet. Maybe I'll try to do it myself. Ha! Here's how it looked the last time we set it up in 2008:
Click to enlarge.Ah, the good ole summertime!
I don't remember much about The Shining but compared to the current horror stories it wasn't much of a horror. I think it was what launched the author's success. Fun to see your boat and pool. We once had a hot tub down off our deck. I even used it once on New Year's Day. We now have one in our solarium but we haven't used it in this place.
I'd like a hot tub but the cost of heating the water doesn't seem worth it, not to mention the cost of buying it and installing it. Then there's the maintenance. Eddie isn't into it. I used to use one at the YMCA pool but after a while I got tired of it.
I should probably see if Marg wants a pool like you have, Joy. I know she wants one, but I'm with Eddie, I don't want to do the maintenance, not to mention the cost.Yesterday was a financial disaster, anyway. A flat tire on my car led to 4 new tires. I hit a mat made of horse shoes with the mower & had to replace the spindle, blade & belt. (I'd just replaced the belt a week or two ago, but it got cut.)
Plus we decided we really need a locker on the back porch for gardening tools & stuff. We've been keeping them out at my shop or in the laundry room, but it's a pain & now that we can see in the laundry room... Anyway, we decided on a 4' wide, 2' deep, 7'6" tall locker. The frame will be treated lumber & the siding will be cedar 1x6 boards hung vertically. Since I'll never have to paint them, they'll be cheaper than T1-11 siding in the long run, about the same to start. I put in an order for them with my neighbor who has a saw mill & they should be ready by this weekend. I picked up the treated lumber yesterday.
I know I could buy a plastic one a lot cheaper (about 1/3 the cost) but we get 40 to 70 mph winds hitting the house fairly regularly & I don't think any store-bought, plastic locker will stand up to that nor could it be anchored well enough.
When the hot tub is great is when you have sore muscles, bad back or shoulder. Doesn't cure but does make you feel much better for the short term. It was fun when we were younger; had a little table in the center and places for wine glasses. A relaxing time under our hundred year old hedge tree.
Nina, that sounds very relaxing indeed!I can do the same thing in my bathtub! LOL It's cheaper... especially if I drink cheap wine. LOL
I may be away from my computer for a day. TTYS. Looks like good weather... if we're lucky.
That was a good one! I am off to ID tomorrow; scenery mostly like yours; blue lake, mountain rimmed; weather in the seventies warming to eighty three next week. Low's in the forties and fifties; Here in KS they are predicting over one hundred on Sunday and high ninties leading up to that. Glad I am leaving. I am presently reading, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog," by Muriel Barbery, Interesting but I have to keep stopping to look up definition of words.
I am in the house browsing on Gr as it is 97 degrees outside!!I am also sulking as I wen to the dentist earlies and have an abcess so--prescription time again! Does everyone have teeth problems as they age--or just some lucky people?
Still reading Hammerfall but will finish it this weekend! Have not done much reading this work--busy with a church volunteer project.
Here's hoping that abscess heals up quickly, Mary JL!Barb's completely recovered from her flu, I have next week off from work, and there's a major flea market scheduled in Fulks Run on July 4! So we plan to go up for some time visiting family. We'll be leaving very early Sunday morning, so as to attend church up there later in the morning. While we're gone, I'll be offline as usual, but thinking about you folks!
Hope you feel better, Mary JL. Yes, I'm having more tooth trouble. I have to get a crown on another back molar since it broke the other day. Left a shard sticking up that chewed up my tongue.Glad Barb is better, Werner. Have fun at the flea market. They have a big one hear me that I finally went to. I've never seen so much junk I didn't need!
;-)
Nina wrote: "That was a good one! I am off to ID tomorrow; scenery mostly like yours; blue lake, mountain rimmed; weather in the seventies warming to eighty three next week. Low's in the forties and fifties; He..."Have a great trip, Nina!
Mary JL wrote: "I am in the house browsing on Gr as it is 97 degrees outside!!I am also sulking as I wen to the dentist earlies and have an abcess so--prescription time again! Does everyone have teeth proble..."
Good to hear from you, Mary JL. Feel better soon.
I am so behind on my Goodreads messages (here at the group) about books and movies I've read or seen. Sooner or later I hope to catch up. I picked up a pile of books from the public library yesterday. I hope to dig into them soon. Right now I'm reading The New Woman: A Staggerford Novel. John Hassler always tells a good story.
I'm also in the midst of watching "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", a Netflix DVD. It's a film adapted from the book: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, an amazing true story about a paralyzed man who wrote a book using only the blinking of his one eye to communicate the story to a transcriber.
Werner wrote: ... Barb's completely recovered from her flu, I have next week off from work, and there's a major flea market scheduled in Fulks Run on July 4! S..."Good news about Barb, Werner. Have a good visit with the family. I might be offline too this weekend. There's so much going on. Happy 4th of July to all!
Yes, Nina, have fun in Idaho! Glad you get to go somewhere with cooler temperatures than 100 degrees.Ouch, Jim! I had a similar problem with a chipped tooth back in the late 80s (thankfully, they were able to smooth it off with an emery wheel). So I can relate --hope they get that straightened out pretty quick.
My main interest at flea markets is bargain books. :-)
Thanks, Joy! Happy July 4 to you, too.
Jim wrote: "Hope you feel better, Mary JL. Yes, I'm having more tooth trouble. I have to get a crown on another back molar since it broke the other day. Left a shard sticking up that chewed up my tongue. G..."Jim, I've been so busy that I forgot to brush my teeth today. Thanks for the reminder. Good luck with the new crown. That's an expensive procedure these days.
Ed's birthday is July 6. I bought him a rechargeable electric toothbrush. I have one. It's about time he got one!
Werner: When I go to a flea market or grarge sale, I head for the books at once!!One time, at our local year church fair, somebody must have cleaned out some bookshelves. I got 36 paperbacks for $18.00! 50 cents each is my kind of price!
Happy Holiday to All!!
50 cents each is my kind of price, too, Mary JL! :-)
This afternoon turned into a dud. A clamp slipped & my left index finger got chewed up by a Forstner bit, so is pretty unusable & hurt enough that I didn't feel like doing much. Marg is sulking because I wouldn't get it stitched. :(
We just got back last night from a weekend downstate. We had a great 4th with the family. Plenty of fireworks! We also attended the 80th birthday party of Ed's former teaching buddy. Great party. They had pool in a beautiful backyard setting and the weather was perfect. So was the food! LOL I enjoyed dangling my feet in the water.Jim, I'm sorry to hear about your finger injury. What were you doing when it happened? Hope it will heal and go back to normal soon.
Will look at your "latest projects" later, after we get settled back in. Travel is so disorienting!!!
Hope everyone enjoyed the 4th as much as we did! Now to recover! LOL
I was boring a hole in a piece of wood for the base of my next version of a spinning wheel. The hole was 1.5" diameter & at a 40 degree compound angle, so the bit was really tearing sideways at the board. I had it started pretty well when the clamp let go. I shouldn't have had my hand on there, I guess. Bad habit that usually works out fine when there is less angle. Oh well, live & learn, I guess.It's not too bad today. Typing isn't bad, but the cuts are right on the side of the middle joint of my index finger, so bending it hurts when I try to grab anything. I have some gauze wrapped around it to remind me to keep it straight. Marg wanted to splint it, but it's deep enough that I'd rather keep it moving & open some.
She's really mad at me, too. I shouldn't have asked her to help me wrap it up, but it was bleeding too much for me to do it myself. Probably cut that main vein again. I don't think it chewed up the bone or joint like she thought though. I don't have a lot of feeling left in that finger, but I think it would hurt worse now if I had.
Jim wrote: "I was boring a hole in a piece of wood for the base of my next version of a spinning wheel. The hole was 1.5" diameter & at a 40 degree compound angle, so the bit was really tearing sideways at th..."Jim, I don't blame Marg for being mad at you. If it had been me, I wouldn't have tried to treat something like that myself. I'm much too squeamish. Sounds like a bad injury. Be sure it doesn't get infected.
Several years ago, Eddie lost the tip of his finger when he hit a knot in a piece of wood while using a table saw. I wasn't home. He called the ambulance. Friends notified me and I arrived home to see him being rolled on a stretcher to the ambulance in front of the house.
I felt terrible because I had been nagging him to finish the trim upstairs. PS - The trim still isn't finished. :)
Well, it's looking pretty good tonight. No sign of infection & it's not bleeding much with the bandage off, so I expect it will be OK. Marg said she'd help me clean the fish pond filter tomorrow. We're both afraid that water might not help. She's getting over her snit.;-)
I got the rest of the lawn mowed tonight, but didn't try any spinning.
;-)
Jim, so sorry about your accident, and best wishes for a speedy recovery! (Hopefully it's much better by now --I'm only just now getting back to this thread.)Jim and Eddie's mishaps are examples of why I distrust power tools. I know the hand-powered ones can slice you, too; but I prefer being in total control of any tool that I use. I don't like the ones that have motive power of their own. :-)
Thanks, but the finger is doing fine. I've done about 5 hours of weed-eating (both with the little Echo 210 & the big Stihl) this weekend & it's still hanging together & looking good. You shouldn't distrust power tools, they're handy, but they will savage you if you do something stupid. I have saved a lot of hours without mishap. I guess I'm just a normal human & have occasional lapses in judgement - usually not the same one twice, though.;-)
Jim, you're right that power tools are extremely handy for getting a lot of work done that would take forever with hand tools. (That's why, out of the two of us, you're the one who makes beautiful bowls, and I'm just one of the many folks who admire the finished product!)
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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The word "chiengora" is a new one on me. (The article was intersting. Thanks.) I've heard of "angora" which is from rabbit fur. Years ago they wore angora sweaters. It certainly would be a novelty to have a sweater made out of your dog's hair. BTW, I thought dogs had fur, except for dogs like Maltese whose hair grows like human hair and doesn't shed.