My last few posts have been rather grim, so here are some pictures of my new walking stick. It is entirely homemade, from a piece of wood salvaged from the forest floor on a hiking trail near here (which is not completely ecologically sound, I know, but hey, its a good cause). My brother helped me cut the ragged ends off it, then I stripped the bark off and sanded it, and my dad varnished it and scrounged around for a bit of rubber to stick to the bottom so it doesn't slide on smooth floors.
I'm really quite pleased with the result, which doesn't quite come through in these photos. I'm not very good at close-up shots, but the color here at least is accurate. And you can't see it, but there are neat looking insect burrow trails on the surface of the bottom half. So far I've gotten compliments on it from four or five random strangers, all at the VA, oddly enough. Or maybe its not so odd that vets would be walking stick connoisseurs; the US doesn't take such good care of vets that we're entitled to crazy things like houses, John McCain notwithstanding, but most vets here can at least get a cane!
To offset my bitterness about John McCain and his ridiculous wealth- and I really am trying not to rant about him so much, I feel like I have spent too much time being angry with his ignorant entitled attitude- here's a gratuitously beautiful picture. Its been raining loads, but my neighbor has these gorgeous lilies that seem to get brighter the darker the sky gets.
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3 comments:
That's a great looking walking stick you've made. Did it take a lot of time?
Gorgeous lilies. They look like they have declared themselves the queens of the garden.
And rant about McCain all you want. If anyone has the right to complain about his callousness and choice to sell out fellow veterans, it's you.
The stick took a few weeks, but that was mostly due to procrastination. The only part that had to take long at all was the varnish, which had to dry for a couple days in between coats. So it was really pretty easy; so easy, in fact, that I have plans for someday making another cane, one that is shorter and more lean-on-able. I think I might try making it out of plumbing parts- copper piping and a 90 degree pipe turn for a handle.
If I don't watch out, I'm going to turn into an artsy handicrafts hippie type.
Great article as for me. It would be great to read more concerning this theme. Thnx for giving this data.
Joan Stepsen
Gadgets and gifts
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