Holidays and absences [3]

bungobaggins wrote:Gets dark at 5 now. Fucking 5 pm. No sun the past two days. Cold creeping in.

I forget about this every year.

Forest Shepherd wrote:Well done on the cranberry harvest Dave, the cranberry jelly was particularly good this year at Thanksgiving.

In other news...
I went to Death Valley for a weekend of camping!

It was two days of hiking up desert canyons (and sand dunes), cooking over a fire, and enjoying the elements. A good weekend all in all. I can also say that I've been to the lowest point in all of North America. Lowest, that is, in terms of open-to-the-air natural plain sort of elevation. I mean obviously a mine-shaft can get you lower. The lowest point of the valley is 280 feet below sea level. It's a huge salt flat.

Dear Jason and all at No. 21, No. 34, No. 15, No. 87 and No. 61 but not at No. 18 until she gives back the bowl she definitly borrowed whatever she says.
Well here we are, cor what a lark so far, dont arsk ME about pumkins, still, no harm done. Im drawin a picture of where we stayed larst night I have put an X on our room where our room is. The weather -
'What are you doing, Gytha? We're ready to leave.'
Nanny Ogg looked up, her face still creased with the effort of composition.
'I thought it would be nice to send something to our Jason. You know, to stop him worryin'. So I done a drawing of this place on a piece of card and Mine Hair here will give it to someone going our way. You never know, it might get there.'
- continues Fine.
Nanny Ogg sucked the end of her pencil. Not for the first time in the history of the universe, someone for whom communication normally came as effortlessly as a dream was stuck for inspiration when faced with a few lines on the back of a card.
Well that about wraps it up for now, will fight wright again soone MUM. P.S. the Cat is looking very Peeky I think he misses his Home.
'Will you come on, Gytha? Magrat's getting my broom started for me.'
P.P.S. Granny sends her Love.
Nanny Ogg sat back, content in the knowledge of a job well done.
Magrat reached the end of the town square and stopped to rest.
Quite an audience had gathered to see a woman with legs. They were very polite about it. Somehow, that made it worse.
'It doesn't fly unless you run really fast,' she explained, aware even as she spoke how stupid this sounded, especially if you were listening in a foreign language. 'I think it's called hump starting.'
She took a deep breath, scowled in concentration, and ran forward again.
This time it started. It jolted in her hands. The bristles rustled. She managed to slip it into neutral before it could drag her along the ground. One thing about Granny Weatherwax's broomstick - it was one of the very old-fashioned ones, built in the days when broomsticks were built to last and not fall apart with woodworm after ten years - was that while it might take some starting, when it went it didn't hang about.
Magrat had once considered explaining the symbolism of the witches' broomstick to Granny Weatherwax, and decided not to. It would have been worse than the row about the significance of the maypole.
Departure took some time. The villagers insisted on giving them little gifts of food. Nanny Ogg made a speech which no-one understood but which was generally cheered. Greebo, hiccuping occasionally, oozed into his accustomed place among the bristles of Nanny's broomstick.

Forest Shepherd wrote:Christmas is nearly upon us! OH MAN OH MAN!  

Forest Shepherd wrote:I have like... no presents to give this year. I intend to get up early tomorrow and finish off the wood-working stuff I've been doing, but I'm definitely not shopping any more!

A couple years ago I made a pretty good bow and three fletched arrows for my nephews; but some fool had gotten them some crappy plastic-horror versions and so my bow wasn't really much to get excited about. I would have squeed myself if I got a handmade one as a kid!

Maybe I should stop making presents for them that I wish I had gotten at their age...  
They have some basic hand tools and a drill set so I've been putting together a make-it-yourself trebuchet kit for them from scrap wood around the workshop. I might not finish it in time, but oh well!