a busy day

In the photo at left, you can see continuing progress on my cherry wall hung disply cabinet, with the addition of the center stretcher between the top, bottom and doors. Like the cabinet sides this part is attached with dowels. It not only provides center support, it will be drilled with holes for shelf supports and provides a stopping point for the doors as they swing closed. Next will come the fitting of knife hinges to secure the doors.

Today, we had the annual Harvest Party at Clear Spring School. I set up with work benches and tools to make small wooden pendants and shavings from pine. Each class does some form of game to share with the other students, and the whole project is designed to direct the Halloween energy into something more manageable and less focused on costumes having nothing to do with the children's in school learning. All students will come dressed as pioneers or early Americans and it takes little more than jeans, a flannel shirt and a bandana to fill the bill.

This afternoon, and evening, I'll be busy with the Mad Hatters Ball, a fund raiser for the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, ESSA. I am one of those who would rather be in the wood shop than anyplace else, and I am grateful that if I ever have to attend an event where I dress up in a funny hat, I will at least have something to do there. As a founding board member, I'll be involved with set-up and clean up and will keep my camera busy in the meantime.

All hats aside, I am a shy person in general and would not dress up in a funny hat except that I believe that every child and every adult should have the opportunity and responsibility to engage in and support the arts.

On another matter, my daughter Lucy's organization at Columbia University has been named one of the most influential college charitable college organizations in the US for its work in Ghana. You can vote in the Classy Awards Here. Scroll down on the page and look for Engineers Without Borders in the category Most Influential College/Student Organization. Register and vote.

You can find a couple photos of the harvest party below. Each class provides activities for all the other students pre-k through 12th grades to enjoy.