Now That's a Knife!

The internet is a funny thing. I mean, you go to research something and 6 hours later you have found The Red Hot Chili Peppers covering the Beach Boys here and you know that it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. Not that your time was wasted or anything.

However, occasionally even a blind hog can find an acorn. I'm not certain how I arrived at Modern Vintage Man, but I did. Tim and Matt are a pair of ministers from the upper Midwest and well, in their words, "We're awesome." After following their blog for less than a month, I have to agree, they are awesome.

These guys are always giving something away. A few weeks ago, they set out a series of internet tasks one must do in order to win the giveaway of one of the products they reviewed. I decided to play along with their game. I faithfully tweeted, followed, got all up in their facebook, commented and did a few other things that made no sense in an internet game, but heck, even possums like Nutella!

Imagine my surprise to know that I had won! Here is their post about my winning a CASE knife! I yelped out loud when I won and told Carla, "I just won a new pocket knife!" She responded in her own understated fashion, "Oh good, you were about to run out."

In a few short days, the friendly UPS man delivered a neat and tidy package to my front door. Inside that package was a little box.

What could it be?

Careful unrolling of the brown tissue paper revealed

a GIANT KNIFE.

I had no idea this thing was so big! And so beautiful!!!! I'm not sure if this is a knife I can carry every day, but I just might...in case I need to butcher something or do other delicate work of that type.

Here are a couple of pictures giving you an idea of the size. The comparison knife if my Case Junior Trapper, a 3 inch knife with 3 inch blades.

I threw in a quarter to give you some perspective:

And finally, here is my hand in the photo as well:

CASE knifes are known for their quality and being made in the USA. This is my second CASE knife and I am sure that it will become a faithful tool in my life. It is just beautiful with the bone handle and super shiny blades and the brass liner and pins holding it all together. Someday, perhaps it might belong to one of my grandchildren, just like I have my Grandpa Mayfield's pocket knives.

Here is a sample of my regular rotation of pocket knive (this is what I could gather up in less that 30 seconds)

Yes, I threw in the fountain pen because the written word can be sharper than any double edged sword!


Head over to Modern Vintage Man and give them a look. Perhaps you can find a gift or an idea for something for yourself.

On another note, my arm and shoulder and wrist and elbow are improving, so I have started replying to the mountain of letters that have built up this week. Keep an eye on your mailbox!

Delayed

Dear legion of reader,

I have a problem with my back, primarily with muscles in my upper back, neck and shoulder. This little problem means that I am having a really hard time holding a pen to write. I am getting better, but, I don't know when my ability to hold a pen will come back and allow me to write again. So, be patient. All of the letters I have received in the past week, will be answered. It just may take a while.

I have emailed a few of you. Even typing can be a problem. So, please say a little prayer for me to have patience and allow the healing to take place. I will write back, I promise.

I wonder if this had something to do with writing over 70 letters during February and March!

Back and well, it wasn't that long! Working on a book

Hi all, I'm back. I guess my hiatus was more of a hia...

I have a new project. My sister spent a great deal of time making a family tree for all of us in honor of our parent's Golden Wedding Anniversary. It turned out great.

Now, I am not quite of the older generation, but I am getting close to that stage, so I thought to myself that I really don't know stories beyond my own grandparents live's as they related to me. This family tree goes pretty deep and well, it would be a shame to miss out on stories that someone still remembers.

So I am on a quest for my family's stories. I have started writing to aunts and uncles and have asked them to write/type/record stories that they remember about their grandparents. I hope to weave these stories together with a little book my grandmother Helen Shannon wrote about 25 years ago called "A Western Love Affair" about her and Grandpa Cecil's lives in New Mexico and Colorado. Perhaps I can give a bit of honor to their memories and gather up a bit of our history.

I have no illusions of grandeur about this project, but I do have visions of capturing a bit more of my family's journey across America.

Wish me luck.

Notebooks

I probably have too many notebooks. But each one was purchased with a specific purpose in mind.

This is my log of mail received. It is a simple Clairefontaine Life Unplugged pocket size notebook.

I use this one at school to capture notes of what is happening in each class.

I keep a journal in a Quo Vadis Habana.

I'm keeping some Bible Study notes in a Rhodia Webnotebook.

And I use this humble composition notebook to keep lesson planning notes in.

I thought I would stack them up and snap a few photos of the notebooks I am writing in at the moment.

Sometimes I practice my handwriting -

I don't have a problem, do I?