Civil War Monument in the cemetery.
Maya's preschool teacher found this among some old Christmas ornaments, and was very excited to show it to me the other day when I was there to work with the kids. The date on the side is 1979, but may have been made at any time over a number of years as I never changed the copyright stamp that we used on these whistles. This one illustrates very nicely the design system I used in designing this and 5 other whistles -- all based on the basic "police" whistle. Mentally remove the upper portion of the music note, and you have a classic metal (or plastic) pea whistle. We used actual cork balls just like the originals. Blowing on the whistle causes the cork pea to rotate around inside the chamber, with the whistle noise stopping each time the pea passes by the opening. Check out the video/audio below.
We usually used the yellow nylon cord loop on the whistles as shown in the music note picture at the top, but for a while we tried using a key chain hook, but these did not sell as well as we had hoped. Below, you can see the opening in the whistle that is the key to the whistle. The whistle is a very simple musical instrument, with air blowing over a hollow space creating a tone. The size of the hollow space determines the pitch. If you take the lower portion of the music note above, and mentally place it over the Zwiggle body, you can see that the exact same whistle blank can be used for both pieces. More about Zwiggles
I, Charles Lounsbury, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make and publish this, my last will and testament, in order as justly as may be to distribute my interest in the world among succeeding men.The original, it turns out, was written by Williston Fish in 1897 and published in Harper’s Weekly the following year. He had intended it as a poetic trifle, but newspapers around the country had picked it up and run it as fact, often embellishing the language, until, Fish wrote in 1908, “this one of my pieces has been translated into all the idiot tongues of English.” Charles Lounsbury was the name of an old relative of his — “a big, strong all-around good kind of man,” but not, evidently, insane.
That part of my interest which is known in law and recognized in the sheep-bound volumes as my property, being inconsiderable and of no account, I make no disposal of in this my will.
My right to live, being but a life estate, is not at my disposal, but these things excepted all else in the world I now proceed to devise and bequeath.
Item: I give to good fathers and mothers, in trust for their children, all good little words of praise and encouragement, and all quaint pet names and endearments, and I charge said parents to use them justly and generously, as the needs of their children may require.
Item: I leave to children inclusively, but only for the term of their childhood, all and every, the flowers of the fields, and the blossoms of the woods, with the right to play among them freely according to the customs of children, warning them at the same time against thistles and thorns. And I devise to children the banks of the brooks, and the golden sands beneath the waters thereof, and the odors of the willows that dip therein, and the white clouds that float high over the giant trees. And I leave the children the long, long days to be merry in, in a thousand ways, and the night and the moon and the train of the Milky Way to wonder at, but subject nevertheless to the rights hereinafter given to lovers.
Item: I devise to boys jointly all the useful idle fields and commons where ball may be played; all pleasant waters where one may swim; all snowclad hills where one may coast, and all streams and ponds where one may fish, or where, when grim Winter comes, one may skate; to have and to hold the same for the period of their boyhood. And all meadows with the clover blossoms and butterflies thereof, the woods and their appurtenances, the squirrels and the birds, and echoes and strange noises, and all distant places which may be visited, together with the adventures there found. And I give to said boys each his own place at the fireside at night, with all pictures that may be seen in the burning wood, to enjoy without let or hindrance and without any incumbrance of care.
Item: To lovers I devise their imaginary world with whatever they may need; as the stars of the sky; the red roses by the wall; the bloom of the hawthorn; the sweet strains of music, and aught else by which they may desire to figure to each others the lastingness and beauty of their love.
Item: To young men jointly, I devise and bequeath all boisterous, inspiring sports of rivalry, and I give to them the disdain of weakness and undaunted confidence in their own strength, though they are rude; I give them the power to make lasting friendships, and of possessing companions, and to them exclusively I give all merry songs and brave choruses, to sing with lusty voices.
Item: And to those who are no longer children or youths or lovers, I leave memory, and I bequeath to them the volumes of the poems of Burns and Shakespeare and of other poets, if there be others, to the end that they may live over the old days again, freely and fully, without tithe or diminution.
Item: To our loved ones with snowy crowns I bequeath the happiness of old age, the love and gratitude of their children until they fall asleep.
Click on this link for some great pictures of The Teepee, and some of the classic 1950's stuff for sale therein.
Those little pieces vibrating around yesterday were chocolate chips! Above - painted a nice dark brown! Below - painstakingly glued into the appropriate holes in the cookie base.
To maintain balance for a nicely spinning top, I did 1/4 of a cookie complete with three chips, and an uneven edge. Then I rotated that quarter three times to complete the cookie, welded the 4 images together, and there you go! A perfectly balanced chocolate chip cookie spinning top. My favorite detail? The chips are made of slightly thicker wood so that they stick out from the surface a bit!
Oddly, the cookie monster theme for his birthday was based on his strong dislike of cake (or ice cream). Deanna baked a large chocolate chip cookie for him, but when it was served cut into wedges, he refused to even taste it, and ate three tangerines while the rest of us got fat!
We often use a vibratory sanding process to clean up and smooth smaller parts. A small motor mounted on the bottom of a hard plastic bowl has an off center weight clamped to the shaft. Since the bowl is mounted on springs, this results in the bowl shaking the parts around, smoothing them very nicely! I love this picture I took of some small pieces as they vibrated around.
They don't build them like this anymore!
I think this is the second nicest bathroom I've seen. Number one is still at The Madonna Inn. Picture below - guys pee in the waterfall at the right, keeping in mind that women may come in at any moment to see this unique urinal!
Back to the Armory.
Some quite interesting and creative things. As old timers on another era of craft shows, we noted that there were no booths with any walls - even people with paintings or photographs had them propped up on easels on a single table. Only about 6 booths made any attempt at lighting! It certainly would make set-up and tear down a lot easier, but for people used to a different style, it would take some getting used to. I think that next year, I'm going to try some of these local venues with my mechanical pieces. Will do on weekends when Cheryl is not away at some of the "bigger" shows, and see what happens. Lower cost, less travel, probably lower sales, but possibly a better percent return on the time and $ invested?
