The Weekend

I spent quite a bit of time in the workshop this weekend. After all, Christmas is a comin'.

Last week I got a call from my brother who was helping my Mom clean out my Dad's workbench. There was an old set of Buck-Brothers carving tools in a wooden box. We never saw my Dad carving, but he was a bachelor for many years and had taken up several hobbies during that time (painting-by-numbers for one.) Perhaps he tried his hand at carving? We never saw any, but who knows? The tools were in good condition, and my brother, knowing I do some woodworking, wanted to know if I wanted them? Sure, along with the electrical drill which was given to him by his father-in-law (my Grandad). They arrived late last week.

I am not much of a carver, but as you can see from the rosary box post I do some inlay-type work occasionally-but not with the proper tools in the past. Never again. I used my Dad's old carving tools on Saturday on a piece I am making for Christmas with amazing results. The right tools are indispensible.

Sunday I was working on another project which called for mortise and tenon joints. I haven't done a M-T joint in at least 14-15 years. I don't have all the fancy jigs and tools Norm Abrams has, so I make do. Making tenons with a tablesaw is a little hairy unless you buy/make the right jig. The last time I did it years ago, I used the tablesaw, but this time it wasn't feeling right. (I always follow my 'does it feel right' instinct in the woodshop.) So I cut the tenons by hand and chiseled out the mortises (with aid of a drill press). They aren't a perfect fit, but they'll do the job with a shim here and there-or maybe a peg.

My youngest son sat and talked with me the whole time in the shop on Sunday afternoon. I enjoyed just having him there. At one point I mentioned that if I did this all day long instead of sitting in front of a computer, I wouldn't be so fat. He laughed and agreed!

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This being Advent, we decided to try something new on Sunday nights. Mrs. Curley and I with the oldest two boys are going to read and discuss the Gospel of Mark. It went well last night, but we won't be done in four weeks. As my oldest son said, "At this rate well be in the middle of Chapter 2 by Christmas." But we had some good discussions. (i.e. Did Jesus and John the Baptist spend much time together as youths-did they talk? Something I would like to know.) We will probably add a couple nights during the weeks or extend the reading past Christmas.

Sunday at Mass our pastor preached on Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. (The following are my thoughts, not his-but were spawned by his sermon.) Many of us believe there are people (maybe lots of people) are in Hell. I would dare say that many of us consciously or unconsciously hope that people or certain people are in Hell. But I am not sure this is the attitude to have. Allowing for both freewill and God's mercy, we should hope all are saved. And, maybe we should be working harder for our own salvation (and praying for those in purgatory) than thinking about who might be in Hell.

Oremus pro invicem!