Shoe progress is slow but steady

We purchased an instructional DVD of Jason Hovatter’s for making Scandinavian Turn Shoes. Basically you construct the shoes inside out and then turn them to get a finished pair. Looked cool and the DVD wasn’t expensive, so we figured why not.

The DVD is really good production value and the instructions are clear. The only trouble we’ve had is with the tools. I’ve got a very basic set of leather working tools and, as with most “beginner” sets, they’re not very good. Jason gives alternative tools if you don’t happen to have something he recommends, but lacking good quality or even the specific tool slows things down quite a bit.

That’s not to say we’re not progressing, just doing it a bit more slowly than we’d like.

Skiving the edges with a crappy tool

Today was gorgeous out with a high of 60 and some decent sun in between the cloudbursts. We sat outside to do some of the whip-stitching. 

Enjoying the Bridge

George is so helpful

This one of my uppers with most of the whip-stitching done. I’m using a “wash out” bison hide with a dark brown cow hide for the soles.

The stitching is died deer lacing-strong yet stretchy 

Tomorrow we’ll sew the edges together to make a continuous upper, then move on to soling.

Bees and garden planning

Well, looks like the bees didn’t survive the winter. Not absolutely positive as we haven’t opened the hive yet, but no bees are being cleared out despite the warm temps.

I know this is common, but we really thought they’d be okay. We put up a hay bale wind break, left the honey super in place, and left them undisturbed. We’ll see what, if anything, we can learn from opening it up. Is there a term for an autopsy on a bee hive? I know an animal autopsy is called a necropsy...

In garden news, the snow has melted off the straw layer and I’ve actually seen some onion shoots leftover from last year. I’ll be doing onions again this year as the crop was great last fall and they lasted us until late January. Not too shabby. I haven’t seen any garlic shoots yet but that’s likely for the best.

I’ve been planning this year’s garden with the greenhouse in mind. I’ll be starting everything from seed rather than buying starts. We’ll see how that works out.

Thursday March 19 statistics

Rain and slushy snow this morning with a forecasted high of 39. Basically it’s yucky out.

Here are the latest Covid-19 stats from The Times Union website:

Total coronavirus cases:

•  3,074 in New York, including 20 deaths

• 9,345 in the U.S., including 150 deaths

• More than 218,000 in the world and more than 8,800 deaths. More than 84,000 have recovered.

Pretty bleak.

Snow all but gone

As you can see, the snow is all but gone now. Quite a contrast to several years ago when we were still snowshoeing around now.

Gorgeous out today with a high of 51 and lots of sunshine. The chickens, cats, and dog all loved it and are now conked out in front of the cooling woodstove. We won’t bother having another fire tonight.

Made chicken, black bean, tomato enchiladas today for lunch. It was so filling that a light meal of cheese and crackers was sufficient for dinner. That means leftovers tomorrow!

We’re maintaining isolation and it’s all “so far so good”.

When you have to stay home, make shoes!

We’re staying busy; one project is Scandinavian Turn Shoes. We found a local leather tanner and bought some oddlot finished stock. Now we’re trying to turn it into shoes.

Cutting out soles

 Cooper, of course, is supervising.

Don’t tell her she doesn’t quite fit

To the right are some of Chris’s oil paintings. To the left is my 4-shaft table loom. I imagine we’ll be playing with that stuff soon too.

Tuesday March 17 2020 statistics

Schools are closed, gatherings of 50 or more are discouraged (10 or more is Federal guideline), bars & restaurants are limited to take-out only.

Total coronavirus cases:

•  950 in New York, including 7 deaths

• 3,487 in the U.S., including 68 deaths

• More than 179,400 in the world and more than 7,112 deaths. Nearly 80,000 have recovered

Source: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Coronavirus-live-updates-Blood-supply-drops-15128515.php

And here on the homestead:

31 degrees F

A dusting of new snow though the warm temperatures and rain we’ve had over the last week have pretty much cleared the winter snow.

Figured it was a good time to come back

Been gone a while. No real reason, just not feeling a desire to put stuff out here. But now I want to document the craziness I’m seeing around me. Maybe years from now I’ll look back and say “no way that happened”.

I am, of course, talking about Covid-19 and the community response to it. In just over 1 week we all went from life as usual to stockpiling toilet paper?!? Kidding aside, on March 9 I went to BJ’s and Price Chopper to pick up corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and the usual weekly groceries. Everything was a typical shopping experience. Yesterday I went to buy flour, celery, and again, the usual weekly groceries and the store was picked clean. We wandered around just to marvel at it. The freezer cases were empty, TP gone, chips and snack foods decimated. Cleaning supplies wiped out too. The fresh fruit and veggie aisle had plenty though. We bought the few things on our list that were actually in stock but left without the majority of what we came for. Fortunately those items weren’t critical, just part of the normal buying rotation. We did go ahead and grab some fresh greens.

We’re not in any danger of starving. I’m willing to bet most of us have plenty of food in our pantries and freezers even if we’re not preppers. But the nonsensical nature of this astounds. Some may call me naive but I get to have my opinions and beliefs just like you do. And I believe this panic buying and hoarding is incredibly selfish behavior. Do you really need 50 frozen pizzas? Two shopping carts full of stuff? What happens next week when shelves are restocked? Will you buy 50 more?

We’re going to hunker down. Spend a couple weeks doing all the stuff we enjoy right here at home—make shoes, weave, throw a pot or ten. And enjoy the grilled tuna steak (from the freezer), rice (pantry), and steamed broccoli (from the fresh aisle) I cooked last night.

I hope you and yours are well and coping as best you can.