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A Dove Tale

After spending any time reading woodworking magazines, the topic of dovetails inevitably comes up. Terms and phrases usually get repeated almost to the point of being cliche: “the sign of excellent craftsmanship,” “time-honored,” “the strongest joint,” “beautiful,” “difficult to master,” “intimidating” are a few. The reason they are repeated is because all are true—especially theContinue reading “A Dove Tale”

A New Project: Office Sideboard

Over the years, I have built many pieces of furniture for our home and others. The only times I actually used a pre-existing plan was for my daughters’ loft beds and the coffee table in our living area. I discovered quickly that much of the enjoyment of making a piece is the creativity involved inContinue reading “A New Project: Office Sideboard”

Perfect Imperfection

Over the years of building things with wood, I have taken two approaches. If the project is shop related, I only focus on functionality. Beauty is nice, but beauty takes time. Shop projects, at least thus far, are meant to make beauty easier, but I take more satisfaction in the way a shop project worksContinue reading “Perfect Imperfection”

Mannie Mania

When the breeder brought Mannie to us on December 30, he was around 11 weeks old and just shy of 12 pounds, a little large for a Mini Aussie of that age, but he was the largest of his litter. As the weeks went by he was adding ½ pound a day some days. WeContinue reading “Mannie Mania”

Whole 30 + 30

Thirty days have passed. On March 3 my third iteration of the Whole 30 ended; the question was how would the month afterwards (and going forward) show change to old habits or reversion to the means of the past. I am happy to say that one month on, some good things appear to be inContinue reading “Whole 30 + 30”

The Passion of Christ, A Good Friday Reflection

While I am reading Christ in the Psalms by Fr. Patrick Reardon, he is educating me as a life-long Protestant Christian of the two millennia of traditions, both Orthodox and Catholic, related to the regular praying of the Psalms and of their Christ-centered interpretation, in contrast with so much self-centered interpretation that we see today.Continue reading “The Passion of Christ, A Good Friday Reflection”

Whole 30: the Epilogue

On the evening of March 3, I ended the Whole 30 one meal short, but I was with my in-laws and had a half-glass of wine with the meal. Nonetheless, it was whole enough and has proved in the week since to be significant in a number of ways. First, I lost nine pounds andContinue reading “Whole 30: the Epilogue”

Half of a Whole (30)

I began the Whole 30 program on February 3, so I am now well over the halfway point. Aside from some logistics related to where I was staying for a few days, all has gone well, and I have stayed the course. My wife has added rice or bread as needed, but all in allContinue reading “Half of a Whole (30)”

Delight Shines in the Darkness

“Who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked … but his delight is in the torah of Yahweh.” In my previous post in this series, I suggested that Jesus as “the man” of Psalm 1 perfectly delighted in Yahweh and his torah. In Psalm 1, this man is not only positively delighting, butContinue reading “Delight Shines in the Darkness”

The Two Ways (Psalm 1:1-2)

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the torah of Yahweh, and on his torah he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). Psalm 1 introduces a major theme ofContinue reading “The Two Ways (Psalm 1:1-2)”