New DIY woodwork fun

A few months ago, we built a shop counter from pallets. It was my first experience building something in this way. It was also my introduction to using an electric planer to smooth the rough pallet planks. And I enjoyed the opportunity to drill pilot holes and bracket screws.

I see that I haven't got a photo on my phone of our finished counter. It looks really awesome. 

While not rocket science, it really helps to be shown the basics of wood working. 

This project created an itch. For more.

For Xmas, I got a jigsaw to go with the driver drill that I bought on special a year ago. 

My first project was to be a headboard but instead this weekend I made smaller-size trestle table legs, which are for chalkboard signs that will go on the pavement outside the kayak shop at the factory.

I made the first legs based on a set that I have at home. I watched a DIY YouTube video before making the second one and learned an improved technique to attach the hinges. 

The first of two.

I so enjoyed cutting the pallet planks to size, sanding them down and using my drill. I have three projects in mind that I aim to get to over the next 2 to 4 weeks. 

I find it incredibly rewarding to use electric tools, to work with the wood and to create something useful. 

Armed with a drill and a jigsaw, I can create almost anything. 

The books that I read in 2021

I had a pretty good year on the reading front. My reading was primarily fiction, as it usually is, but with some excellent non-fiction in between. There were a number of books (not shown here) that I started, gave a good go but then didn't finish. I'm thankful that a friend keeps me well stocked with digital ebooks so I can pick and choose. Most are right up my alley for a fiction escape in the crime genre.

I got through more audio books this year than I expected. I enjoy listening to audio books while driving longer-distance trips, cooking or doing other tasks with my hands where I have capacity to listen. While many of the audiobooks were the usual 10-14 hours in duration, I am really enjoying the punchy 2-4 hour short stories.

MY TOP FAVOURITES

I can recommend that you give these a read. 

• Run and Go Far because they are inspiring and motivating. You can read the reviews that I wrote on Erica's Run and Jennifer's Go Far. I am very proud to know these two strong, smart, kind, athletic and accomplished women.
• Entangled Life (about fungi) because it is unbelievably interesting, 
• The Midnight Library because it stimulates thought about your own life and choices.
• Becoming because it is a good read and also insightful.
• Troubled Blood because it is brilliant fiction. The story is superb, the main characters are awesome and the narrator is seriously talented (he narrates all the Robert Galbraith audiobooks). I've read or listened too all the Robert Galbraith books - love 'em - and always look forward to the next one. If you've never read a Robert Galbraith, start with the first one and work your way through the series.

Always a win with Jo Nesbo. I can't remember the stories of these others but I do recall that I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I've read a bunch of Fredrik Backman. Always good. 
The Woman in the Window - a bit in to the book I realised that I'd read it before. Well, I read it again.
This Wilbur Smith - my first ever Wilbur Smith! He crafts a really good story. I read it early in the year prior to Wilbur's passing. 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is higher in the literature heirachy than the rest here. A good story, strong characters and lots of thought into the lives and situations of others. It is a fiction story but could read like a real experience. Good review here in the Irish Times. 
I've read or listened to a lot of Jo Nesbo's books over the years. I feel like I know his flawed detective, Harry Hole.

The Little People was a quirky, creative short story and a good listen.

The Printed Letter Bookshop was probably my favourite in this pick just because it was a sweet, people story.

Crochet projects deliver joy

 I hadn't made a big, adult crochet blanket for some time but in June I decided to jump into making one as a wedding present for a dear friend. The wedding had been scheduled for early September so I had a deadline to work towards. My crochet activities this year had been somewhat sketchy (I hadn't been able to decide on 'what next') so this came at the right time for me to really jump into.

Settling on a pattern and colours is almost more of a challenge than making the blanket. I waivered between three patterns, tried one and bombed out on it and then settled on one with concentric circles. 

Of course, these 'colour-change' patterns appeal to me because of the colours and then I usually swear off them for a year until the next catches my eye. The symbolism of the circles (circle of life) and the rings are what sealed the deal. The rings can signify marriage, but I also thought of them as the rings of a tree - life, age, maturity, wisdom, and passing of time. 

 

The colour combination just happened and I chose the one colour - sage - before knowing that it was my friend's wedding theme colour.

The blanket progressed smoothly and I added a row every 10-15 days. I lost a week when I travelled to Jo'burg and my timeline got shaky, but a few extra hours got me back on track. I completed the blanket a week before the wedding and couriered it up to my uncle's house as I didn't have luggage allowance to take it with me on the plane. If this parcel has gone AWOL I would have been devastated. My courier delivered successfully and I picked it up when I arrived in Jo'burg.

My friend sent me a photo today with a message that reads, "We all love your blanket. It lives on our bed". Boom! A whole lot o' joy again to receive this.

For me, crochet has many rewards.

I work on projects at night while watching Netflix. It is zone-out time and by making something I can feel like series watching isn't a waste of time. I get to relax and be productive, which suits me perfectly.

The colours and patterns: there is joy to be found visually in these and seeing them come together.

Dexterity and focus: crochet is good exercise for the hands and it requires an element of focus - more with challenging patterns.

New skills: I learned a new technique to join the squares.

Making a useful gift for special people: this is the biggest appeal. It is a pleasure for me to gift a friend with something that I've made for them. Joy, joy, joy.

I trust that their love and marriage will outlive this blanket. It is the second time around for my friend and her husband. They are a good match and are good with and for each other. 

Around 64,284 crochet stitches went into this blanket and into every stitch I wove warmth and happiness and joy and love for these two special people. xxx

Local hiking in the Outeniquas

 After more than a year of living in George, this weekend I finally went for some proper hiking on the trails - not that far from home - in the Outeniqua mountains that I look at every day.

Most my my activities have been 'confined' to the lower trails and I haven't ventured much into the mountains, with the exception of an up-and-down of Vensterberg a few weeks ago. This is one of the most readily accessible of the '6 Peaks'.

It my friend Erica, who came through from Cape Town, with her friend Soriaya and two other locals, Simone and Daryl. We hit two of the six peaks - Vensterberg and Losberg.

We were dropped at the Sputnik parking at the top of the Outeniqua Pass and ended up covering 26.5km in 10h20 to get back home. It was a day of excellent hiking, excellent company, good luck with the weather and many excellent plant observations for me. 

The Watsonia flowers were out in abundance with colours ranging from pink to a peachy and others with white thrown in. I was after orchids and was rewarded by seeing six different types of orchids.

Orchids

We also saw many spiders - and their dew bejeweled webs. While I'm sure there were dozens of other species, I took photos of four of them.

Watsonias were out all over the place with different colour variations dominating in different locations. I enjoyed seeing them and marvelled at the abundance and eye-catching colours, but I didn't take many photos of them.

I did see some fungi. Coolest was two sightings of small, young Fan-shaped jelly fungus.

Aside from the great floral observations, this was much-needed, hiking outing with really good people.

We got lucky with the weather. Heading up Vensterberg, we got above the clouds and enjoyed blue sky and sun. We dropped back beneath the cloud and fortunately had very little rain or cold throughout the day.

Heading to the top of Vensterberg

Top of Vensterberg

Fun in the sun above the clouds.

A real blanket of cloud.

Photo by Daryl. Heading up to Losberg.

Top of Losberg

Top of Losberg. Photo by Daryl.

Clear below the cloud. That's the Montagu Pass on the far side.

We cam down that spur (you can see the trail) and then up the other side. A good dose of up and downhill.

Starting on Cradock Pass. Daryl's very sweet dog Shadow was with us. 

We walked for a section along the railway track and enjoyed going through two tunnels.

The vegetation and, in some places, cliffs along the railway track are very scenic.

After such a big day, which I haven't had in a very long time, I opted not to do George and Cradock peaks today with Erica and Soraiya. I've been too hesitant to put myself through steep downhills. I had a good day on Saturday and wasn't too worse for wear the next morning. But I figured that I'd rather stay good than load too much, too soon. A good decision. I've got friends coming here next week and the plan is that we'll do George Peak and Cradock Peak so I'll be more ready for it then.

A very good hike. A very good weekend. Onward into the week ahead and the remainder of the year.