Primitive UFO's

Dear Friends,
Thanks for finding me here again!

I've applied for a craft fair booth at Sunriver Art Fair in August. My next application will be for a Craft Fair in Corvallis. Both of these shows are pretty close by: I'll have to keep detailed vehicle records for tax purposes, and I will have a more complicated tax return than I have for years, and might actually GET a return: this year I'm paying federal AND state taxes. My status as an independent contractor really requires a better record of expenses that I can claim as deductions.

I haven't done much to protest the new administration, but i didn't buy anything February 28th, as part of an "action", I feel like this was not any kind of a statement with impact. Boycotts are just not the most effective, I don't believe the "Left" has those kinds of concentrated numbers that can make themselves known. Most people are just living paycheck to paycheck and don't have time, energy or faith in any systems for rebellion, and yes, a lot of people actually support the goals and agendas of this "elected government"

March 15th has been set as a day of action. There have already been massive, widespread protests, to denounce The Potus, Musk's destruction and to show support for Ukraine. One easy action any of us can take, is to mail a postcard to the Potus for March 15th. I doubt this will make the news, but please try to participate, its important that we use all available avenues to voice our protest.

I went to the Salty Dog Cruise AGAIN! I had a great time, met a bunch of cool people, saw concerts non-stop. I did not do any onshore excursions this time, as money was a little tight. Things were a little different on the boat this year, Dave King and Bridget Regan were NOT on board, as Dave is dealing with a very major health issue, felt kind of top-secret, I hope its something he can recover from and continue to perform. Nathen Maxwell is on the wagon, as well. I'm very proud of him, and likely following in his footsteps a bit, I've been cutting down on alcohol quite a bit, and taking a break for the rest of March.

Lil Mort will be playing an "Irish" set at Cowfish Dance Club Monday for St Patrick's Day, this means that I will sing a bit, in addition to my banjo duties
mostly covers of The Pogues
Rare Ould Times by The Dubliners
General Guinness
The Good Ship Venus (aka friggin in the riggin)
More Pricks Than Kicks by Shane McGowan and the Popes

I hope you're all thriving despite the world being upside-down right now.

❤️

(•‿•)ノⓗⓔⓛⓛⓞ(...

I drove down to Los Angeles, like a crazy man.  My mom is 86, and I haven't seen her since March.  I'm trying to spend as much time with her as I can, but obviously, while going through "hot chemo summer", I wasn't in the mood to hang out with family, drive them around town, entertain, etc.  Thankfully, I've tolerated the treatment pretty well, maybe I'll talk about that later, but 

I came into the shop last Monday, after my physical therapy (torn rotator cuff, shoulder injury, etc)  expecting to just say hi on my way out of town, but Thurman's hair was on fire about his upcoming show, in the Humboldt area, December 6-8.  He seemed very anxious about whether there were enough carvings, and that carved walking sticks were BIG sellers there, and they would sell out, but I remember he did this same show last year, and didn't sell much of anything, and almost got robbed, he said someone was trying the doorknob on his hotel room, luckily Ranger was with him and barked like hell.  ┗(`O ´)┛

But his anxiety about this show spread to me  (⩺_⩹)
This is something we recognize in the shop, Thurman tends to get pretty demanding about these road shows.
So I stayed and processed a mess of broom sticks, walking sticks, witch's broomsticks, as well as sticks for kids' brooms and hearth brooms. Really, this is what I normally do at the beginning of the day, but I leaned into it, and processed enough sticks that they probably wouldn't run out before I got back, and  when I returned, I could just start carving.  ヽ(^o^)丿
But I was also anxious to get on the road, and I left before three, using the coast highway, taking a little more time, and enjoying the presence of the mighty pacific coast, though it was pitch black and foggy as fudge by 5 pm.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Coos Bay.  I ordered General Tso Chicken, and I knew it would be a pretty large portion, enough to bring leftovers with me.  +_+
I stayed in Crescent City, California, at the Anchor Beach Inn.  I did not like their sign-in process,  There was a woman in the office, behind glass, but she instructed me to use a kind-of 'FaceTime' kiosk, there was a live rep on the screen, and the on-screen handled the registration
It was off-putting to me  o_O
The room was very leaky around the window, and the floor was WET, not damp, WET.  I worried a bit that if I didn't report it, they'd blame me for it somehow.  paranoid, huh?  so far, not a peep  (^^ゞ
Their "grab and go" breakfast wasn't appealing.  hindsight, I should have grabbed granola bars.  but the muffins looked gross.
so I had my general tso chicken   (´･ω･`)
The view was great in the daytime, but I was up and out so early, I just barely had enough time to see it at all.
The next leg of the drive was 11 hours.
I had dinner at Chili's in Gilroy,  I almost went to MODA PIZZA, but after waiting in line, it seemed like they only serve whole pizza, and that didn't fit my needs.  Chili's hit the spot.
I stayed in Buellton at the Motel 6 Tuesday night, with a not-so-grueling 3-4 hour drive to my mom's place, and the thanksgiving festivities
no complaints about motel 6.   not the cheapest, but dependable.  Right off the 101 freeway   (ΘεΘ;)
I got to Mom's at noon Wednesday   ^ㅂ^
Thanksgiving was great.  Seeing my Mom was great, seeing my siblings all in one place for a bit was great.  We had a great meal with a few guests, who brought great food   ヽ(´▽`)/
Friday, I rode my bike along the strand, not as far as I used to, I haven't been on the old bike much during hot chemo summer.
Well, I rushed home Saturday, taking highway 5 from L.A. to Eugene.  Fifteen hours on the road.  ugh.   (= _ =)

Thanks for finding me here again!

Hello Dear Friends

I hope you are thriving, happy, joyful and free 

Our election was not what I was hoping for, but I am not surprised.  I have opinions on the topic, of course, I just don't know if this is the right place to share, but I guess that is up to me, at least for the moment.  But for now, not surprised, but very disappointed, and concerned for the future.

I'll tackle that subject in another post, as I know, most people who find me here share many of my views on the matter.

I had my chemo port removed Friday morning, and I was back at work that day!  The removal (surgery) was not done in an operating room.  because the surgeon didn't require ultrasound imaging to guide the infusion tube, he was just pulling it out!  It only took him about 20 minutes, and I was awake the whole time.  I honestly felt fine immediately afterward, and didn't feel there was any reason not to work.  I just refrained from heavy lifting.

I did enough heavy lifting yesterday, as the shop got a shipment of broom corn.  it arrives on a palette, in a truck, and each bail is over 200 lbs.  I don't really lift them, I just roll them up a ramp onto the loading dock.  and some spools of wire that weight about 80 lbs each (those I did lift)

The broom shop is busy.  Thurman told me that we have a vendor in Vermont, called thirteen moons.  Their recent order sold out so quick that they made an extremely large order, the biggest wholesale order of the year, according to Thurman, and he said that if we do not make another sale THIS YEAR, we will still remain busy filling out this one order.
So big praise to 13 moons. 

I'm playing banjo with Lil Mort at John Henry's on Thursday, opening up for Billy Liar.
I've got a cabin on the Salty Dog Cruise in February, sailing to Jamaica this time.  Can't wait.

That's it for now.  

Love,
Mertz

 
Tree Spirit by Jim Nelson

I never met this 'Gentleman Jim'  I just see many of his carvings around the broom shop, and hear Thurman's stories about how this guy never called himself a woodcarver, he was just a sheep rancher, and he had a large family, and the kids would help him with finer details of the carvings, so he could kind of  establish an assembly line, Jim would carve the large, primary features, and the kids would carve in the hair, beard, eye details.

The Tree Spirit above is carved into sassafrass, an extremely durable type of wood with a tight grain that holds detail well.  Unf'ly, the shop doesn't get sassafrass anymore, but we are happy to use locally sourced sticks from conservation projects.

Another story Thurman tells is that Jim Nelson, being very humble, had started on a large piece for an exhibition, and onlookers were astonished to see how quickly the carving took shape, I think it was an eagle, Thurman said, and also that one of Jim's pieces was featured at a presidential library, I remember looking it up at the time, and not seeing anything, but the legend continues.

In my capacity, I'm kind of 'forced' to call myself a woodworker, I guess, as its the primary thing I do, processing sticks and doing the carvings, with a mallet and steel gauges. 

So here goes my step-by-step, using a Chunky Filbert stick (to carve on)
The stick should sit tightly in a vice, and I wrap the stick with a bit of leather, so that the vice doesn't leave marks (on the stick!).
So, above the eyes and below the nose, using a small V gauge
I do horizontal cuts with the mallet in my right hand and the gauge in my left,

The first step is to cut these horizontal lines, the top line will be above where the eyes will go, and the lower line will have a kind of undercut, to form a kind-of ledge that will be the bottom of the nose.  
Next, I get a 'flat' gauge

and, I do some reductive carving!  Removing wood around what will become a forehead and that nose ledge .  I'll use the 'flat' gauge to cut vertically
Then, I reach for a U gauge, to do round sockets for the eyes.

Notice how I try to leave on as much moss, lichen or fungi as I can!
My next cuts will use a smaller U gauge, to shape the eyes and nose, more-or-less at the same time
I start making vertical cuts upward, then turn to cut deeper into the eye sockets 

Easy peezy.
I'll use that same small U gauge to give him some forehead lines
he worries too much

I also do a vertical cut downwards, to make a kind of cleft between the eyebrows.
Then, I'll pick up my sharpest V gauge, to do his hair, 

I'll usually try to leave some bark between the hairs for a sharp contrast, but the bark will often fall off!  There are things about a stick that may defy control, they're WILD!  Our sticks are kiln-dried, but we don't do any sanding or lacquering or anything to them...
More cuts with the sharpest V gauge, to do his eyebrows, and some laugh lines
Then stay with that sharp V gauge, to shape the nose.

Noses are my achilles heel.  I want them to be sharp, as I see my old carvings and say 'flat nose, ugh'

Oops, someone got impatient and skipped ahead a bit, that's OK!
You can see he's got a kind of M shaped mouth.  M is for mouth.
I use the V gauge for the 'mouth line' in that 'M shape', then under that, i use a large U gauge to round out the area under the lip.
This frame shows that his mustache has already started to grow, as well.

The beard follows, and I'll give him pupils, and add more eye detail.  I don't have a bunch of kids to fill in the details for me, but that's OK!

This carving was on a Fiblert stick.  At the shop we get Viney Maple, Big-Leaf Maple, Hawthorne, Madrone, Cherry, Apple, Blue Elderberry, and more.

Our stick suppliers like to train honeysuckle vines to climb the trees, and that makes for some really beautiful sticks with spiral indentations.

The carved brooms and walking sticks are available at www.broommagic.com, and thru 'Broomchick' on Etsy.  That's the Shceumack Broom Company.

Thanks again for finding me here.
Be excellent to each other

Hello friends, neighbors, welcome, and thanks for finding me here again
I hope this finds you all thriving, happy, joyful and free.  

 
This is my Tree Spirit Carving  on Filbert 

 

 This was night #2 for the Vandals.  Warren did a similar walk around on their previous poolside performance, that time during their song I HAVE A DATE.

I was way down near the front, on the left side, trying to follow along...

CHEERS!

 I'm in Miami Florida with my son James.  He had his 28th birthday yesterday, and today, we will board the Norwegian Pearl for Slaty Dog 2023.





Uneventful Flight, that is a blessing.



James and I went to Mama Tried nightclub and played pool, downed a few beverages and listened to old school reggae and rocksteady records spun by DJ Boss Hooligan .  we talked to:  Mark and Amanda from North Carolina, Grant and Becky from Las Vegas, and countless other shipmates.

It wasn't a super-late night for us, I had been up since 4 am, and the travel, even uneventful, is still tiring.  Also, if I'm being honest, I didn't sleep much the previous 2 nights.  So Excite!

I'm excited to see Stiff Little Fingers, The Slackers, Flogging Molly,, The Interrupters, Gorilla Biscuits, and many  more.

We're going snorkeling in Belize, and visiting Mayan Ruins and pyramid in Costa Maya Mexico!

I'm sure I'll have some more pictures soon.

Ciao for now!

What's new, world?
I hope you're all thriving, happy, joyful and free, or at least on your way to be
I've been enjoying my new location, back in the Whiteaker Neighborhood again.  Taking care of 2 German Shepherds, Mila and Ranger, with frequent walks to the river and drives to the dog park, my truck is full of dog hair...

Broom Shop News!
I helped  my friend Scot get a job at the broom shop!  He's had a rough breakup with his husband, I was a groomsman for them, back in November of 2017.  :(
Scot's Mom, Muffy, came to visit at the end of July.  I went to Bingo at Sam Bond's Garage with Skkot Boyes, Scot Milligan, and Muffy.  I had Thruman pop by, to meet Scot and talk about getting him a job at the shop.
I didn't win any bingo prizes.


I went up to Portland on a Tuesday for to see the Flogging Molly concert, and, well....

On August 29, I drove up to Portland to see Flogging Molly, having no tickets, because Nathen is ridiculously magnanimous, always a great host and super fun to be around, and super complimentary of me, for some silly reason.
There was some light rain on the drive up, and that was refreshing to see after all the heat and smoke we've had.
I picked up my kid at their mom's house, (they've relaxed about pronouns) (....and they're not a kid anymore LOL) in Southeast
to see their first Flogging Molly show at the Roseland Theater in Portland.


First, I thought it would be a good chance for Atlas to see her grandfather, before he passes away, which could be anytime. He's officially been on hospice since mid-July.
So Atlas was very bright and effusive, talking to (my brother) Tim and her Grandfather


The show was, sadly, cancelled.
So, I stayed the night at my Dad's place, rather than drive late.


I drove home, worked a short shift at the broom shop, then met Dorothy at the Horsehead, and went to the McDonald Theater, where we got our VIP passes!  and saw a great show.  The Pirate Radio guys were there, and the Free Beard Guys, and lots of friendly people.




VANDOLIERS


THE BRONX  



FLOGGING MOLLY




So, THAT happened.

we saw Nathen for a bit after the show, but he had an early bus call


I've watched Thurman's Dog RANGER  over the weekend, once during August, then again this past (Labor Day Weekend) for 6 days.  So, I've had enough Ranger for a while.  I combed out some of her matted fur, and just used scissors to get out the clumpy ones that I could.  Lisa and I took her to the dog wash, but she really needs to be groomed!

Thanks again for finding me here, as always.

more good stuff to come soon.

Ciao Babe

Hello All

I hope this finds you well. Thriving, Happy Joyful and Free

I've moved to a new house, still in the Whiteaker area. Its an old house, by the train tracks. I'm renting an upstairs room, and its quite hot during these summer months.

My kitty, Apple, has started getting acquainted with the other aminals here: 2 cats and a German Shepherd.

Its still walking distance to the broom shop, and Wandering Goat Cafe.

There is a beautiful garden, and a small workshop that I'll be able to use (when the weather isn't too blazing hot) I'm hopeful that I can build a power carving station with a 'dust control' box in there.

I took Lisa to Jameson's 4th of July BBQ. She let Zak's little boy use her lipstick, and I thought it was hilarious. We will go to McNenamin's Kennedy School  location this weekend!  I'm really looking forward to that.  It will be my first trip out of town since my California trip in early April!  No, driving to Portland doesn't really count, exactly, but I've only been up there once during that time.

There was an unclaimed bike in the workshop area, and Lisa asked me to get rid of it.  I will give it to James, when we're in Portland.  Speaking of whom, James was down here Wednesday, to vend/run a booth, selling his stickers, t shirts, and stuff. It was an EDM show at John Henry's, and he didn't make as much money as he'd hoped.  (www.yowcho.com) but I was able to offer him use of the spare bedroom here.

Teren said the new venue on Main St in Springfield has a very tough row to hoe.  He said he did his level best to give them some solid (albeit unsolicited) advice, since he has some experience running a bar, and doing live shows as well.  The place is called The Spot, and they have started doing punk shows.  Right now, they are doing all-ages shows, because they are waiting on their liquor license.  It's a noble sentiment, but can be problematic.  As Teren said, "kids don't really have money to spend" and its close proximity to a high school is not really a benefit. Though I certainly wish them well, kids can always use an extra outlet for free speech and creativity.

I'm tending a garden at the broom shop, growing some strawberries, goji berries, melons, cantaloupe, squash, snap peas, lettuce and spinach.  and I'm working on the yard a great deal at my new spot, keeping me busy and active, despite the heat 

Pictures soon.