Poems, Knives & Soft Wood

Hi everyone,

Sorry I have not posted for so long. (Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated.) I have been my usual busy self, but I have occupied my spare time in pursuit of art. In the month of February, besides writing a cool poem called, "Feeling Froggy" for a local party, I have already completed two more pieces of my West Coast Art - and have loved every minute of the creation process. (I'll post the art soon.) Something that has been swirling through my "want to do" list is wood carving, and as of Feb 23, I tried it. In bygone years I have taken out my pocket knife and whittled, but prior to the day before yesterday, I have never tried any actual carving. I must tell you that the procedure is awesome!!! I want to push my style of West Coast Art to the next level and use wood as well as paper. The whole thing went something like this:

Early Saturday morning, while the house was quiet, I rummaged through some old things and laid my hands on a couple of ancient woodworking tools (that I had no idea what to do with). I located my x-acto knife and then procured a small chunk of scrap 3/4 inch thick cedar from my garage. Taking a deep breath, I drew a simple design with a pencil and began to cut. As the seconds passed, and the x-acto knife sliced along my pencil lines, I took courage. It actually looked pretty good! One of the old tools was a miniature version of a chisel and it effectively worked to clean out areas between the lines. In under an hour, I had a finished design!

A mid-day trip to the local House of Tools found me the proud owner of a new tool, and before I retired for the night, I had carved a second design in a scrap piece of 3/4 inch poplar! Are we having fun yet? Oh yeah!!

PS. I also put a set of multiple choice questions along the right edge. Don't forget to vote!

An Awesome Sailboat Adventure - In Progress!!!

Several years ago, Glenn Wakefield had a dream. He wanted to circumnavigate the planet earth in a small sailboat - alone! His dream would set him on a steady course to set a world record - well at least it is in progress. (But I think He will do it!)
According to Glenn, "The record I wish to set is to be the first person from North America to sail single-handed nonstop, west about, for which there is no speed record."
Any of you who read my blog and enjoy adventure, will want to check out Glenn's website. He is just about half way around the globe and I expect that he will complete his epic journey as planned. Glenn plans to arrive back at his home port of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in July 2008. Go Glenn!!!

Remembering President Gordon B. Hinckley

Virginia H. Pierce, daughter of Gordon B. Hinckley, made this sweet comment at his February 2nd funeral: (The first few minutes of the funeral service is music, and the entire broadcast is about 90 minutes in length. You can also visit the church's website for more info - ie. press releases, about the church, etc.)

Virginia H. Pierce said this about those who worked closely with her father: "There is nothing so touching to the human soul as to see men and women of great power extend private, thoughtful and quiet kindness."

In my life, President Gordon B. Hinckley has been a profound influence, leading me by example as well as inspiring me with the spoken word to try to stand a little taller and be a little kinder. While I have sometimes forgotten his wise council, I have also sometimes succeeded in practicing it. My small successes continue to give me hope.

Several years ago, when President Hinckley last visited our area, he took a few moments of his precious time to shake the hands of my son and a few of my son's friends. Over the years, I have observed Pres. Hinckley and greatly appreciate that kindness to my son as well as his many other influences on my life and the lives of my wife and children. I knew Gordon B. Hinckley as Prophet of God - a man to listen to and a man to believe. I will greatly miss him. In my own life, I wish I was half the man he was, yet because of his stellar example, I have hope to do better. I think that if I stand a little taller and be a little kinder, for a long enough period of time, perhaps I will get there too. Here's hoping! Now its time to go to work - one step at a time.