An interesting day. To coffee and the farmers market, a small melon, carrots, cabbage, 3 pounds of Steve’s tomatoes. Safeway a bunch of green onions, burgers half off and some mayo. Garrets for three small screws and some canning lids.
Sally’s turned up a label maker and a plastic router dovetail jig for making drawers and such.
Home. On the way I stopped at Luis’ and cut him a check for the new truck.
I cooked up a 3 lb batch of potato salad. Potatoes boiled salted. 2 eggs in water I used to blanch the tomatoes. I blanch pealed and seeded the tomatoes in a bowl, pulling the eggs after a while done and set aside. The tomato meat I cooked down in an Emeril pan on low, with a star anise at the end. I strained the seed juice and added salt and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, tasty with cottage cheese on the side. It boiled down to one cup of concentrated sauce, jarred and water bath sealed.
Potato salad sauce of mayo, mustard, a dash of horse radish, Larrupin dill sauce, green onions, my own garlic, green olives, celery and the two boiled eggs diced. Good stuff.
I hand drilled and secured the truss rod cover with the three screws to the bass head.
I worked on the frets, making a hickory tool to hammer in the frets, it split after a while, dang. I tried cutting another of bone, it too split. The sixth fret is giving me trouble as it won’t go in and now is loose with damage on the fingerboard.
I need to find the little iron to steam raise the grain if possible, Then use superglue to close the gap. I need to make an iron or brass tool to securely hammer the frets.
I wrote up a bill of sale for the truck, Luis signed it, then pulled out an official version I will fill out later.
On the way, there is a fire across the 128 highway near the river, oh no, The fire trucks are coming. And it’s up wind from me. I hope they get it out while it’s still small, but the fire is raging visible. When I got home I collected my music instruments and jewelry creations in my old book of wizardry, stashed in the back bin of the new truck. Microscope packed, ready for Dad’s clock, the bass and Mary’s harp ready to grab with the laundry basket. I move the old truck so I can hitch the vardo, but the hitch is still on the old truck. I find the wrench and move it, but the ball hitch is too short to catch the nut thread. I ground the nut thinner to bind the threads for now. It will need a longer ball or to machine this ball back thinner to lengthen the threads. But this one is holding for now in a pinch to carry the vardo. Later it looks like they’re getting it out, with a bulldozer ready. My most valuable items are the things I made, instruments, and the family heirlooms, packed in my truck ready. I would miss my tools, but they can be replaced.
Wow, the threat of fire is a scary thing. It looks to be out, but I put a notice to ‘Wake me up!’ on the door.
8/7/2016
They got the fire out last night, good thing. This morning I headed to town for coffee and some chicken breasts. I pulled out the local farmers market bacon from the freezer to thaw before I left.
Back home, I cooked up a batch of my favorite Pasta y Fagioli, pasta and beans Italian soup. Chopped the bacon 5 slices thick cut small and fried it in the deep soup pan, grease mostly off and saved the bacon in the new glass bowl I bought at the dollar store. I fried up a small diced onion in the fat, carrots, celery, my zucchini from the garden, garden herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, tarragon, basil, oregano) and my garlic. Bacon in, TJ’s box O chicken broth, a glug of white wine to simmer. A can of strained O pinto beans, mostly with a few held back mashed to thicken it later. Orzo noodles in a separate pan of salted water, tiny stuff but it gets bigger, more than enough al dente, most added as the veggies are nearly done. Thicken with mashed beans, a little more salt and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. It’s a full pot, I sample a small bowl and still have 4 cartons for lunches, three frozen, one for soon. This is the best, bacon soup with everything good.
I worked on the ukulele neck piece of maple, squared the band saw and cut the angle I drew last week. Clamped together, I tried a plane but it wouldn’t cut it, belt sander, lapidary and finally a piece of long 50 grit clamped to the bench got it flat. The head seems short, but if I cut the neck to thickness it will work OK.
Next time cut the head extra long and trim it to size 19 centimeters as this one is. Once I take off near quarter inch from the head top and neck back this piece will be in proportion to the drawing.
I cooked up a batch of chicken breasts, cut smaller and lightly marinated in soy, my not hot curry powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, baked a while at 350, then broiled less the juices to a nice brown done but still juicy. I think I’ll serve this Tuesday to the lunch gang with potato salad and some fat ripe tomatoes my landlord told me about behind the pump house. Pears gathered a large bag mostly green to ripen.
Much done, not burned out, hurray.
8shotoflove8 