Giraffe carving and Louise's count and cross stitch giraffe

Here are a few pics of our latest creations. My giraffe is carved out of basswood. I think it one of my best carvings to date. Tonight the man that runs the marina here in the park ordered a cane from me, my first commissioned carving.
While Duane was making his giraffe, I happened to be making mine. It is a detail on a counted cross stitch birth announcement I'm making for our (so far) youngest grandson. I think if it weren't for our projects we would be going nuts. This is the longest we have parked anywhere without touring and/or geocaching or anything! With Duane working three days a week we use our days off for shopping and other errands, then settle in doing our things. It's not as dull as it sounds. We enjoy working on our hobbies, and are making quite a few things for Christmas gifts. But after our whirlwind 11 month tour last year, we are longing to move again. O well, just another month and a half! I did make a new friend in the park, Maria Elena. We exercise together in the mornings and chat a lot. This evening we went out for pizza with her and her hubby Steve. They are fun to chat with. Later, Louise & Duane

The dock

This dock is at the park where I work. The winds on this lake seem blow all the time. We have been working on it most of the summer. Every time we fix it in one place it breaks at another. Now they want us to take all the boards off and reweld all the joints. The bad thing about that is, we can only do the work when it is calm, which isn't every often. This could take a while. The other bad thing is, IT'S HOT OUT THERE !!!!! on the water. The days that the wind is calm the heat is stifling. I'm getting too old for all this...lol. The good thing is that all the work and sweating has made me lose weight and I am learning to weld.

TIll next time

Duane and Louise

Eggheads

Bald guy bottlestopper
Bald guy
Horsehead cane

We're back after a short intermission. Notice the two eggheads above. About a month ago I shaved Duane's head. He got tired of paying for haircuts. Actually, I think he got impatient with waiting his turn. Also, he wanted to use haircut money for buying carving stuff. Be that as it may, I am just now getting used to him with no hair, and he's saying he needs a haircut! Also pictured is his latest creation. The head is carved from one piece of wood and mounted with dowel and glue to the cane which is made from vine-twisted sweetgum we found in our wanderings. You will notice a lack of baby Luke pix. Not my fault. We did go to Kilgore and I did get my grandma arms full of him and his big sis. We did take lots of pix. But they look pretty much the same as the ones posted, so the photographer wouldn't let me post any more. Before we leave for CA we will prolly make one more trip there and then you'll see something! Nothing much going on right now, just getting back to normal. This means we bike and walk, he works and carves, and I embroider. I don't post my work cause the things I make are for Christmas presents for people who read this. So, I will put them on after Christmas. I know, I know, you can't wait to see them, but you'll just have to suffer.

Basta por hoy! Louise and Duane

Meet the newest grandchild

Lucas Reid Buechter

Well, here he is, our new little addition to our growing family. Luke makes grandchild #5 and grandson#3. Cute, isn't he! Jeremy and Jennifer report that Allie is a model big sis, always wanting to take care of her little brother. We have not driven the 2+ hours to see him yet. Last weekend Jennifer's family was there, so we decided to wait until this Friday for a visit. Besides, we had company too. Daughter Stacy and her partner Carrie drove in from Ohio on Saturday for a visit. They stayed at Jr and Brandey's house, so we drove the 15 miles to their house for visits. While Jr and Brandey worked, the girls visited with us here. We had the usual family visit--full of good food, good conversation, and fun and games. HORSE basketball was the main outdoor activity, while Eucher (Midwest card game) and yakking dominated indoors. The girls left this afternoon for friends further south, so we are left to our usual mundane activities. We are laying low indoors this afternoon. Duane is napping now, but he'll probably carve after a bit. I intend to work on Luke's counted cross stitch birth announcement, but may get distracted by a good book. After supper will be our evening walk. He has to work tomorrow, then on Friday I get to fill my grandma arms with our new bundle of joy. Look out for some more pix!

Basta por hoy! Duane and Louise