Hi Nick…I have two somewhat related questions. First, can an old dog learn new tricks? And second, as a beginning woodworker at 71, is it advisable for me, or anyone, to pursue perfection, or to simply seek excellence? As I see it, excellence can contain imperfections. A little tear out can be a humbling and beautiful thing, eh?
Feel free to expand these ramblings to realms beyond woodworking. And thanks for your thoughts.
Hi Nick. I decided at the beginning of 2021 that I would like to start playing guitar after a very long hiatus and since I didn’t have a guitar I decided I should use my woodworking skills and make one. I purchased a book on guitar making by Jonathan Kincaid and off I went. One and half years later I’m completing my 5th guitar (a telecaster, my first electric). Needless to say I’m totally hooked on guitar making. Good luck with your luthier endeavor.
As a workout enthusiast, I enjoy the low impact routines from Fitness Blender (originally a duo, now a team of trainers who record a variety of workout routines and post on their website). Also, making music through an instrument you created sounds magical! Hope you enjoyed the Chicago weather this weekend. You got here just in time for the warmth!
Thank you Nick for your thoughts—and I say that not only because you so politely answered my question this week :) Receiving these posts twice a week has become something I truly look forward to. Please keep it up, and I hope you enjoyed your (brief) time back in Chicago.
I’ve always loved the idea of moving around all the time. Even now, after a couple of decades of it, and as my family and I plan to buy a house and settle down, I still took the job that had a lot of travel involved. Like languages, new places and new people enrich your life, like nothing else I've found.
First, it’s beautiful listening to you speak of your lovely wife and your lives together.
Second, enjoying a hot beverage is one of my favorite things to do, especially after a long hike with my brother. It’s one of our favorite things, hiking somewhere and then finding a local coffee shop to relax and drink warmth. I love experiencing it through all seasons and I’d struggle w/o a defined change of seasons.
Third, aahhhhhhhh!!! I cannot get enough of Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s so beautiful and everyone I talk to on a regular basis is sick of hearing about it, I’m sure. It’s making me be a better person. I’m so connected to the beauty and spiritualism in the book. The meaning behind all of it speaks to me and echos in my mind and heart long after the pages are closed. I’ve always felt that I was an indigenous woman of North America in a past life and this book...means a lot to me. I know, I’m rambling now so I’ll stop. Thank you, thank you for this recommendation.
Thank you for your donkey thoughts! It’s so fun being a muleteer!
Hi Nick. Ed from Milford, NH here. Are you and Meghan heading out in the Airstream this year? My wife and I just got back from a 1 week local camping trip in our new camper that we have named Hayduke (from The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey). We had a great site on the shore of a local lake and got to see and listen to the loons every day and night. Aside from a slight leak in the hose to the fresh water tank and a defective CO detector (solved it the old school way - cut the wires - will have a new installed later) it was a great trip with lots of kayaking around Pawtuckaway Lake. Take care.
Thanks to the World Wide Web "Roborative-giving strength, invigorating". Spot on I would say.
Hi Nick…I have two somewhat related questions. First, can an old dog learn new tricks? And second, as a beginning woodworker at 71, is it advisable for me, or anyone, to pursue perfection, or to simply seek excellence? As I see it, excellence can contain imperfections. A little tear out can be a humbling and beautiful thing, eh?
Feel free to expand these ramblings to realms beyond woodworking. And thanks for your thoughts.
I love and look forward to these roborative e-missives :) What's a song that never fails to put a lump in your throat?
Hi Nick. I decided at the beginning of 2021 that I would like to start playing guitar after a very long hiatus and since I didn’t have a guitar I decided I should use my woodworking skills and make one. I purchased a book on guitar making by Jonathan Kincaid and off I went. One and half years later I’m completing my 5th guitar (a telecaster, my first electric). Needless to say I’m totally hooked on guitar making. Good luck with your luthier endeavor.
As a workout enthusiast, I enjoy the low impact routines from Fitness Blender (originally a duo, now a team of trainers who record a variety of workout routines and post on their website). Also, making music through an instrument you created sounds magical! Hope you enjoyed the Chicago weather this weekend. You got here just in time for the warmth!
Thank you Nick for your thoughts—and I say that not only because you so politely answered my question this week :) Receiving these posts twice a week has become something I truly look forward to. Please keep it up, and I hope you enjoyed your (brief) time back in Chicago.
I’ve always loved the idea of moving around all the time. Even now, after a couple of decades of it, and as my family and I plan to buy a house and settle down, I still took the job that had a lot of travel involved. Like languages, new places and new people enrich your life, like nothing else I've found.
As a much more eloquent lady once wrote:
My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.
I now wish to make my Coffee stronger, to match the feeling of this post.
Do you have any aspirations related to acting in plays ~ live theatre? If so, is there a character you'd especially like to play?
I've written a short piece starring Nausinous (the little-known son of Odysseus and Calypso) and Brutus (from cartoon Popeye fame).
Bravo to your use of the word Eyrie (British spelling). Aerie is what my husband and I call our home in the OC.
Ah, Chicago! Kielbasa, pierogies, and paczki, oh my! My Polish rellies lived in Calumet City ~ suburb of Chicago ~ when Al Capone called it home.
Thank you for rounding us Muleteers up and prompting laughter and good cheer.
First, it’s beautiful listening to you speak of your lovely wife and your lives together.
Second, enjoying a hot beverage is one of my favorite things to do, especially after a long hike with my brother. It’s one of our favorite things, hiking somewhere and then finding a local coffee shop to relax and drink warmth. I love experiencing it through all seasons and I’d struggle w/o a defined change of seasons.
Third, aahhhhhhhh!!! I cannot get enough of Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s so beautiful and everyone I talk to on a regular basis is sick of hearing about it, I’m sure. It’s making me be a better person. I’m so connected to the beauty and spiritualism in the book. The meaning behind all of it speaks to me and echos in my mind and heart long after the pages are closed. I’ve always felt that I was an indigenous woman of North America in a past life and this book...means a lot to me. I know, I’m rambling now so I’ll stop. Thank you, thank you for this recommendation.
Thank you for your donkey thoughts! It’s so fun being a muleteer!
Hi Nick. Ed from Milford, NH here. Are you and Meghan heading out in the Airstream this year? My wife and I just got back from a 1 week local camping trip in our new camper that we have named Hayduke (from The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey). We had a great site on the shore of a local lake and got to see and listen to the loons every day and night. Aside from a slight leak in the hose to the fresh water tank and a defective CO detector (solved it the old school way - cut the wires - will have a new installed later) it was a great trip with lots of kayaking around Pawtuckaway Lake. Take care.