The adventures of Pepe le Pooh and the Damn Shop Dogs

There I was, 10:30 at night, all by my lonesome with my head down pounding it out. The doors were open with a good little breeze flowing thru the shop. Fall has been thus far, toasty. The pups were out roaming in the field and they know mom doesn't want them out rolling in pooh, or something dead, or the dead somethings pooh. I'm still not sure what it is that makes them roll around in the most awful smells God creates. They love it. Mmmm, dead mouse on the ground. I want it on me. Mmmm, dead cat on the road. Yummy. Mmmm, dead fish, that's the best, get on me fish!

And then it came wafting in, no, streaming in and crawled up my nostrils all the way to the back of my skull. I thought of Loony Tunes and Pepe le Pooh.

This time Elly got a little more than she was looking for. Poor damn dog took one for the team right in the face. There she was foaming at the mouth with a very forlorn look on her face. And Betty who is not the model dog, somehow missed her shot. But, not to be left out, she quickly resolved that sniffing then grinding her neck and shoulder and rolling around in Ellys foam on the ground.

The odor then filled the whole shop, and did not go away. When I got home, it followed me, and when I got in the truck to come to work the next morning, it was there too. And I'm sure it is still on me, just like a turd you can't shake. The vinegar, baking soda and dish soap worked okay but they won't make it home for a day or three. Because, I really don't have anything better to do than wash the dogs.

Hence, my two favorite words to mutter every day: damn dogs.

The Best Stain in the World

18 months. It has been at least that long. I can't remember exactly when we started trying to figure this one out, it has been that long. This photo is missing at least 1 gallon, 3 or 4 quarts and twice as many samples than are here. No kidding. At $28 a pop for the quarts, $75 for each gallon, delivery fees, and weeks of staining, finishing, and staring at the samples and then chatting about tones, hues, shading, muddying, transparency, satin and matte over tea and cake, I think we might have a winner. It looks amazazing. Really.

A few years back, I was working at another shop which I won't mention cause we are in serious competition with them now (their shop is the best shop in the state and we are going for the 2nd best). I told Chris I needed a new blade to cut small trim on the table saw. A few hours later, he showed up with a brand new blade from a brand I didn't know. "Is this a good brand?" I asked. "Not sure, but it was the most expensive" he said. So, the more expensive it is, the better it is. Sure. That will make this stain the best in the world.

I learned something from Lorna and Leslie one day that I will never forget. They asked what hinges I was thinking of using for the office and I said whatever they wanted. They told me that was the right answer. For Leslie, that is the way to go. She knows what she wants, and there is a reason why. She knows her stuff.

Some days I wondered if it was worth it. I have never seen such attention go into one color. If this house doesn't get the blue ribbon, I'm not sure which one will.

Gridwork work

These columns (or pilasters) are one of the first designs Leslie gave us on Kelly's home in Park City. The mantle we built several months ago fits right between these two columns that sit floor to ceiling. I wish I would have taken more shots during the process.

I started with 3 pieces of wood each, with 3 different widths. Marlin set up a program to run the gridwork on his CNC for each panel after they were glued up flat. I made a sample for Lelslie 18 months ago with a router and a few jigs but there was no room for error. I was a bit nervous waiting for them to be done and Marlin ran them flawlessly. That's what you would expect from a $250,000 machine and one smart dude.

We brought them back to the shop and cut the mitres right where each joint on the glue up met, glued them together so each line continued around the mitre. It couldn't have turned out better. Each groove lines up perfect, which could have been a nightmare. We won't make any money on the mantles, they have definitely challenged me a bit, but I can't wait to get finish on this one.

Kevin has been in the finish room all week with the Laundry Room cabinets, and as soon as he gets out and we get our final nod from Leslie for the mahogany finish (which gets its very own post soon) it is finish time for all the parts that have been stacking up since January.

Rules to live by: Don't borrow stuff.

When I was a kid, my pops used to tell me that if I ever borrowed something from someone, I should always return it in the same or better shape than when I got it. I think this is why to this day I do not like to borrow stuff. That's all it really is tho, is stuff. But to some, those things are really important. Pops said if I borrowed a car to go to Mexico, and it broke down, it is my responsibility to repair the car even if it wasn't my fault.

That is crazy and ridiculous some might say. But, how could you ever make it right unless you did repair the car?

I grew up with a lot of things that were exceptionally nice. The burgundy Pinto (yup a Ford) which I always wanted to see how fast would go in first gear, was classy. My XJ-900 shoes from the Shoe Source were sweet in 5th grade. And my mountain bikes were always in less than stellar shape thru high school. But by the grace of our wonderful banking system and the Joneses next door, I learned to take advantage of the nice things in life.

A few years back, a purchase was made that makes life wonderful at the shop. Many folks coveted our new possession and wanted to touch it. It was lent out several times and this investment satisfied well. One day, it was returned in less than stellar shape. The borrowers did not pass the word along, and even tried to repair it with Wal-Mart goods. Not acceptable. You gotta be quick to pull a fast one on me.

Although, I don't harbour any feelings, I learned a lesson. Some people don't view responsibility the way I was taught. I look up to a few people in life who don't believe in entitlement and are high quality examples of responsibility. What I mean to say, is they take care of their shit. I guess you could say their integrity is enough that I would even go into business with them. And you know what, business is funny. It does funny stuff to people. I guess the lure of money does the same thing that money does. It tweeks people out.

My good friend Rob from Dixieland is one of these dudes that is strait. I can say I don't have to watch my back with Rob, and I would lend him my firstborn (and the Tacoma). My grandpa Jo is on this list too. He is the one that passed it down I'm sure. Probably beat it into my dad. And, he gets the nod too. He would have beat it into me, but I never really got caught being irresponsible. I just got lucky. It's funny to see how things change, 3 years after being in business with my pops. I'm sure he would love to take a big stick to me some days, but he has mellowed out. Yah, he even tries to calm me down some days. Good luck with that one.

I say we appoint a Responsibility Czar. He could drive a Pinto and wear XJ-900's. That would be funny.

Russian Hats and Czars

Okay, you can stop sending money now. Thats enough. Thanks. I have been so busy spending all the money you sent, I totally forgot about the little things, like this blog. Now you can see what I spent my new money on.

I appointed myself a bodyguard. He is my new czar. That word makes me feel so warm and fuzzy. Fuzzy like one of those Russian hats they wear when it's cold out. It's the new thing these days, all the kids are doing it. Everyone wants a czar to take care of business and I'm not sure what a czar is supposed to do, but I have one and he is stout. He is our new "Get S#$% done Czar.

Alan is my stout little brother. My little 250 pound block of muscle. Hey Alan, go move that heavy stuff. Hey Alan, this guy wants to beat me up. Hey Alan, will you feed my fish? He is the new addition to the shop, but not for long, he is in school and when he gets done, he is out. No more sawdust.

Alan is a good dude. I have never seen this guy mad. I have heard of it happening, only twice. Yah, he gets bent, but not mad. I would hate to see 250 pounds of mad. I think the only two times he got mad was at my other little brother and that boy may have deserved it then. But Alan never held a grudge. He is so quick to befriend and quick to forgive. And I laugh more when he is around. He is the best czar I have ever had.

This summer has been rough and without my new czar, I would have lost all humor in keeping my head down. If you don't surround yourself with people you enjoy, you will go crazy. So, go appoint yourself a czar, and get s#$% done. Maybe then you will have more time to worry about the important things in life. You know, like how to keep someone from talking to children about education, self improvement and all the other terrible things our kids have to face these days. What the hell is a czar anyway? Russian conquistador or something??