Author: cabinart

Many New Things Learned in August

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. It was a month of lots of new information.

Victor Davis Hanson interviewed Dr. Steven Quay who explained the 5 different types of gain of function research, three of which are considered acceptable and two which are considered bio weapons. I had to listen over and over, taking notes, slowing down the podcast to half-speed in order to understand. Interview with VDH on August 5.
Dresser couplings (may you never need to know this): a brilliant simple device for repairing broken water pipes, available in plastic or metal. A dresser coupling also has “teeth” in the center, and this is why: it gives a pipe wrench something to grab onto while you use a second pipe wrench to tighten up the twirly ends.
Blueberry facts: A. farmers plant grass between the rows; B. they can be harvested mechanically; C. the plants benefit from sawdust.
Oregon facts (many of which I already knew, but maybe you didn’t): A. No sales tax; B. Everything I bought was less expensive than in California; C. Trucks (big rigs) can haul three trailers; D. The roads are lined with Wild Carrot, AKA Queen Anne’s Lace, in August; E. Many of their town names are copycats—Portland, Salem, Glendale, Albany, Dallas, Harrisburg, Jacksonville, for example; F. Although most of the state is small towns and rural areas, the 2 largest cities decide the politics.
Something very peculiar is happening with a book, Dawn at Mineral King Valley, by Dan Selmi. Trail Guy and I met Dan and his wife a number of years ago (5? 8?) when he was researching for a book about the lawsuit that prevented Disney from building a ski resort in Mineral King. I recently discovered that the book was published in June of this year, and I ordered a copy on eBay. I received an old paperback titled A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. What? I returned it, and ordered a copy on Amazon. This time I received a message that the book was out of stock. I ordered a third time from another seller and received the same message. I ordered from a third Amazon seller and received the message again. I ordered a fifth time (4th attempt on Amazon), and this time I received another copy of A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. This is truly baffling! When I worked out how to return the book, underneath the description of the book was this:In case you can’t read it, it says “There is a newer edition of this book” and it lists A Manual for Writers of Research Papers. . .” HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. Next, I need to compare the ISBNs on the 2 books. The Manual for Writers has ISBN 0-226-81619-2 Selmi’s book has ISBN 978-0226816197 (the 13 number version) AND 0226816192 (the 10 number version) Aha! Does the assigner of ISBNs have a problem? Looks as if Daniel Selmi has a problem. I certainly do, if I want to get the right book!**
Perler Beads are tiny plastic macaroni that comes in multiple colors with little molds. You arrange the colors on a mold, melt them into place with an iron, and get these items. I made the blue one which is sort of a coaster.
Do you know how much a gallon of propane weighs? 5.25 lbs., compared to 8 lbs. for a gallon of water. You’re welcome.
This is more opinion than fact, but I believe it is better to drive through the Central Valley on Interstate 5 than on 99. Other people believe 99 to be superior; they are allowed to be wrong, because it will keep more traffic off 5.
There are ice packs made from a gel that when thawed, can be put on your plants as fertilizer! They are called Enviro-Ice. My plants haven’t shot up as a result, but time will tell.
If you want to package things securely in a ziplock bag, close the seal until the last inch, squish out all the air you can, insert a drinking straw, and inhale like crazy to suck out the air. Then, while still inhaling, pull the straw and speedy-quick-like-lightning, seal the bag. (I KNOW you are dying to try this!)
The President and the Freedom Fighter by Brian Kilmeade was a wealth of new information about Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. I learned so much about both of these remarkable men and the War Between the States. (“Civil War” sounds to me as if there was a plot to overthrow the USA, when in reality, it was an effort to secede from the United States, not take it over.) My conclusion is that if everyone at the time simply acknowledged that slavery is sin, plain and simple, it would have ended and there would have been no war. (Can I get an “AMEN”?)

See you in September, maybe in about one week…

**I made a sixth attempt to order the book, this time from eBay. Instead of receiving the book, eBay sent an email saying the book was damaged in transit so it got returned to the seller, who, OF COURSE has no more copies!!

Projects Pending in a Lazy Listicle

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog.

Today’s post of pending projects comes in the form of a Lazy List. This is because A. Many details are unknown; therefore B. Details cannot be revealed yet, and C. I am busy!

A cabin sign (this has been pending for awhile because I was gone and it is too hot to paint and several other excuses which no one wants to hear)
Drawing lessons resume September 6
A mural on a bathroom at a county park
Some drawings for a new county building
A mural on a county library
A group show at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery and Museum titled Falling into Winter means I need to round up some appropriate pieces

Quick, I need to find a photo to reward you for completing this list.

I agree with this sheep about today’s blog in terms of excitement.

What a rude set of photos. Kittens make everything better, and they keep their tongues in their mouths too.

After tomorrow’s monthly Learned List, I will be quiet for about a week. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Sold in Summer

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog.

Sales have slowed down a bit, which makes me concerned for my sellers and their businesses. However, I remain both busy and optimistic with some new projects pending. That will appear in another post.

Sequoias, some poppies remaining from spring, one commission, and the rest was Mineral King, of course. No pencil drawings this time.

But, summer isn’t over, not in weather, nor the calendar. Of course, the calendar says September 21 is the beginning of fall, but everyone knows that Labor Day is the other bookend to Memorial Day, holding together those weeks that remind us of the beach, fluffy reading, swatting mosquitoes, fireworks, watermelon, road trips, cowering in the A/C, and a sense of NEEDING to be off work.

Thus we conclude another peek into the (seasonal) business of art.

Relaxing Time in Mineral King

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. By now you know that I go to Mineral King almost every week, balancing time up and down the hill, consistently showing you Mineral King things on Fridays. Because this is the World Wide Web, I don’t publish my schedule, or tell you when I am away. (Of course I trust you, Faithful Blog Reader, but who knows how many bad guys might be waiting to steal my beloved Fernando, a ’96 Honda Accord with 240,000 miles on it, while I am in Mineral King??)

We finally had a few quiet days in MK, without scheduled events, cabin neighbors*, broken water lines, parking troubles, and hordes staring at our cabin as they tromped past.

Here is a peek into a quiet few days with my usual commentary.

This is Hoopes Sneezeweed, an odd name for a flower that looks blown out even when newly blooming.

The split wood was getting low.

The Honeymoon Cabin, a mini-museum for the Mineral King Preservation Society, has new steps, thanks to super volunteer and MKPS board member Dan V. and his capable assistants. (Hi R and A! Sorry to have missed you.)

Random people enjoy fishing below the Honeymoon Cabin.

From left to right: hatchet, ax, bigger ax. Good tools for a somewhat peculiar and very practical hobby.

We walked up to Black Wolf Falls, which I think of as Monarch Falls because it is on Monarch Creek.

Trail Guy was ahead of me while I was oohing and ahhing over my favorite wildflower, Explorer’s Gentian.

There is a mining tunnel by the falls. I didn’t go in this time. Seen one dark dripping tunnel, seen ’em all.

This might be the very best Grass of Parnassus I have seen yet. It is the first time I’ve seen them at Monarch Falls. What’s up with that balanced rock? I resisted the urge to knock it over because I am very mature about such things. While in Oregon, I made a new friend who was struggling to knit this sweater. The instructions were ridiculous, so I found a way to make it for her without following a pattern. It is now on its way back to Oregon so my friend can have the joy of completion.

Please admire this beautiful arrangement of my tools, brought to you by Tool Guy. Oops, I mean Trail Guy.We headed up the canyon for an easy walk, and I got sidetracked by the light on this horse.

There is an island in Crystal Creek where it crosses the trail that is a little flower garden.

This is Sierra Gentian, a cousin of my favorite, Explorer’s Gentian.

Trail Guy led us to a spot where there used to be a cabin. I found this nail to be intriguing, because it is a modern nail next to a historic site. Besides, the light was good.

Can you tell that this is a man-made platform? There are no log cabin corners, but it definitely is a place where a cabin once stood.

How did Trail Guy recognize it while looking at this view? He’s just good that way.

I think these are called Common Madia. However, yellow flowers do tend to look alike. (Anyone know of a good Mineral King wildflower book?)

This is a tiny pink flower I have never seen before. The blossom looks like Wire Lettuce (nope, not making that up) but the foilage is clearly different, more like a shrub.

Thus we conclude another random ramble through our favorite place, Mineral King. (The road is very very terrible, in case you were wondering, but 4-wheel drive isn’t necessary.)

*We love our neighbors but it certainly is quiet without them around.

Mineral King

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, Chapter Four

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. “Day Four” refers to the number of posts in the series rather than to the number of the vacation day. And this day was definitely not a vacation day—it was a goodbye day and a 550 mile driving day.

I hated leaving. But over a week ago, I hated leaving home. Leaving is tough. Bye-bye, Beautiful Oregon.

This time I was prepared to see Truck Village, but still couldn’t get a decent shot. It is better to pay attention to the road than to the scenery when one is a driver.

The goal was 550 miles, in order to spend a night with a dear friend in a suburb of Sacramento. An audio book by John Grisham helped to pass the miles. He isn’t an author I enjoy reading, but it was perfect for driving.

I found my friend’s house without difficulty, following her directions rather than those of the unreliable Talking Lady. The next morning we took a walk, since I didn’t want to encounter commute traffic by leaving early. She lives in a pretty neighborhood with good walking routes available.

We had breakfast by her pool, which was such a welcome sight when I pulled in the previous evening.

As I was leaving her town, I saw this inexplicable road sign multiple times. When I asked her later what it means, she said, “Lookie?” Apparently she doesn’t know either.

I chose 99 for the route home, on the recommendation of family members who prefer it to The Five. I did not like it better than The Five, but enjoyed looking for the 2 trees that demarcate the center of California. This funny little landmark is between Madera and Fresno, a palm tree on the south and a pine (or fir?) tree on the north.

I stopped in Lemon Cove to get “cheap” gas, and felt compelled to document this. It is another angle of the scene in a recently completed commissioned painting. (Scroll down to “If This Ever Gets Returned in this link to see it.)

Thus we conclude our series of What I Did on my Summer Vacation. Next week we will resume our normal broadcast schedule. Wait. That’s not accurate. Next week we will resume our normal topics. Thank you for reading to the end!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, Chapter Three

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. Oregon is known for its blueberries, in the same way that California is known for our oranges. There are U-pick farms, so we chose one, took 6 buckets to fill, loaded up my grandniece and nephews, and headed out of the city.

Blueberry farmers plant grass between the rows, blueberries have no thorns, and it (usually) isn’t hot in Oregon, at least not hot in the way I am accustomed to.

In the afternoon, I went to another blueberry farm with my brother-in-law, this time just to glean. There I learned that it is normal to plant grass in the rows to hold down dust and allow for driving between rows during muddy times. I also learned that piling sawdust around the base of the plant is normal. Finally, I learned that they harvest the berries by a very specifically designed machine. I didn’t learn if you call the place a field, a grove, an orchard, or something else.

This is part of the haul. I filled many gallon ziplock bags and 4 salvaged berry boxes, ultimately filling up 2 ice chests.

Obviously, I had to leave the next day, because one cannot expect 2 ice chests of blueberries to just be fine indefinitely.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, Chapter Two

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. After our three days of work, we went to the beach. (Because I am involving other people in these posts, I am keeping their faces small and leaving out names in order to use good World Wide Web etiquette.)

Oregon was so beautiful that I did not even attempt to knit on the drive. Instead, I was a sight-seer who took these photos from the back seat. The only unfortunate part about sitting there was that the window was tinted. Otherwise, I was perfectly content to be a passenger after driving 800 miles a few days prior.

The beach was beautiful, of course. I hadn’t seen the ocean since October of 2019 and could have happily spent hours (possibly days) walking along the edge, sitting in the sand, listening to the sounds, absorbing all the blues and greens.

Since my sister and I had our mom with us, “long walk” was redefined and no one sat in the sand, but we all were very happy to be there.

That might have been the “vacation” day. The next day of the trip involved farm labor.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, Chapter One

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. Do you remember those terrible assignments on the first day of class in the fall (always the day after Labor Day—none of this ridiculous school attendance in August!)? I couldn’t think of a thing. Until age 11, we went to the beach for 2 weeks, but I never ever considered those other weeks to be a “vacation”. It was hang around the house time, and there was nothing to say about that uneventful sort of life. (I must have been so dull to not have told about days in the pool, trips to the library, or bikerides, and somewhat thick-headed as to have considered such unencumbered free time to be unremarkable.)

On my recent trip to Oregon, I took photos, and I have plenty to say about it, so this will be a series. I don’t know if it was a vacation or not; I certainly had a good time, but is it a vacation if one spends 4 days driving? Is it a vacation if one spends three days working on a garage sale and one day doing farm labor?

The sale was enormous – the garage, driveway, front lawn, front walkway, all covered with merchandise from about 5 different households. We were very organized, dividing things into appropriate categories, helping customers as if it were a department store, making friends, seeing old friends. Everything was priced and labeled by owner’s initials. Day One of the sale. We continually rearranged the merchandise for better attention attraction. (Note I said “merchandise” rather than “stuff” or “junk”. Stuff is the junk you keep; junk is the stuff you throw away.)

Day Two of the sale was significantly smaller, but just as tightly arranged. If you hadn’t been aware of Day One, you might think this was the only day.We had an enormous amount of jewelry, which was enormously popular.

The most commonly heard comments were: 1. You two must be sisters! and 2. Everything is in such good condition!

This precious child fell in love with this doll, and her dad made her offer a lower price than the marked price. I told her yes but on the condition that she name the doll “Martha”.

This bumper sticker cracked me up, and the customer gave permission to photograph it.

That was two days of work, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mineral King Without Me

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. Today’s post is photos taken by Trail Guy from last week and weekend. I was far far away at the time.

Some friends went with Trail Guy to Soda Springs. Do I spy my red pack??

Still green.

My very favorite wildflower, Explorer’s Gentian, is abundant right now.

Trail Guy went to Farewell Gap. This is the view from one gap to another—that is Timber Gap in the distance.

He met Charlie from Mammoth and Kentucky who was “bagging peaks”; this man came down from Vandever, which is the peak visible on the right when you look at Farewell Gap from Mineral King.

Fireweed.

Still green.

Still my favorite.

Still flowing—this is Franklin Creek.

Mineral King

Agreeable Customer, Disagreeable Weather

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. A swamp cooler doesn’t help in hot humid weather. When it is horrid out, I am able to paint a few hours before melting. So, I am thankful to have such an agreeable customer while working on his project in this disagreeable weather.

Because the sign is 20″, and will be outside, I am going to attempt to do this with my mural paints instead of oils. I might need oils for the detailed parts, but maybe the scenery can be accomplished with mural paints.

Rough start. I need a photo rather than the old sign. Good thing this is about Mineral King, because I have a couple of photos on my computer of Mineral King. A couple thousand.