THROUGH WIND, RAIN AND COLD

Thank goodness for blue tarps!! This is the side porch of the bell shop where we grind steel and "treat" the sails in acid. In the last 10 days, just in time for the Christmas rush, the weather has been sold, rainy and windy. So... out came the tarps to cover the steel and to block out rain and wind.

NEW SAIL

We made this sail for a one dot bell for a Christmas order. Just had to post it because I thought it was so cute!

Septemberfest Guest Artist

So, this cute little artist named Geneva came by our booth at Septemberfest. While the adults were talking, she opened her spiral notebook and began drawing one of the bells hanging as part of the display. They all wandered off but in a few minutes, this young lady (maybe 6 years old?) returned, ripped the work of art from her notebook. She asked us both to sign, then she signed. Then she handed it to us as a gift and walked on.

Here is her work:

Labor Day .... and we ARE Laboring.

Yes, we are out in the Ole Bell Shop getting ready to head to Midland on Thurs morning. We already have orders for two 7 dot bells. Not sure how we are going to get them in the truck along with everything else, but.... we will be creative.
We are looking forward to seeing previous customers and to having a nice time at the museum. The folks in charge and the volunteers take very good care of the artists. This year will be a little different because of the work being done on the museum which is apparently going to create a totally new arrangement for artist locations, but I'm sure all will be fine.

The theme this year is Destination Space! See the link below.
http://www.museumsw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=116&Itemid=669


This morning, one of my tasks was to "paint" a batch of sails and put them in the "cooking" container so they would be ready for the trip to Midland. It occurred to me that a finished sail - ready to be attached to a customer's bell - has truly been handled more than any other part of the bell.
First, the copper sheets are cut into strips by Philip. This is a stack of copper strips now ready to be cut into sail shapes by me.

Here I was this morning cutting some hearts and Texas sails.

Next, I take these cut sails and file the sharp edges down, punch a hole and put in one link of chain. Then Philip solders around that hole.

The sails then come back to me. They are placed to soak for a couple of days in an acid bath, then rinsed in water. Then they are ready for the "painting".

 They are individually wiped down to dry them. Here are some leaf sails drying on the rack.

Next, they are rubbed lightly with a piece of sandpaper, then painted with the acid again.

Finally, they are placed in a container in layers of wet paper.

Here they sit for, hopefully, 2-3 days and "cook". This is our high-tech Rubbermaid container!

So, as I finished up the last batch for the morning - and maybe all that we need for the trip to Midland.

Summer Shows Are Finished!

Rockport was great, as usual! Because July 4th was actually on one of the weekend days, the town was packed and the show was BUSY!! We sold well and saw lots of old friends and customers. Thanks to everyone who came out.


A couple of customers sent us pictures of some of their bells. Both gave us permission to share with you.

A small child in this family apparently refers to these bells as "Tree earrings". Pretty appropriate, I think.

It's been a wet year everywhere. So much so that moss is growing on this bell. 

AN EVENTFUL DAY FOR WINDSONGS WORK SPACE

The day started early with the arrival of something new for the Windsongs shop.

Previously supply storage and bells being made ready to sell were held in the box trailer we used to pull behind the truck to go to all shows

But now, we had this spiffy "little" container brought it and placed just to the side of the shop.

It was interesting to watch how it was discharged from the vehicle that transported it.

I believe some shelves will be built inside and then its ready. We probably need to plant some bushes around the side facing the road so as to make it look a little more appealing?

SPRING SEASON BEGINS!!

Although bells have been leaving the shop frequently via the "Brown Truck" during the winter, the
Bellmaker is speeding up production to start getting ready for spring shows.  

What other things kept us busy during the first three months of 2015?

Philip landscaped the front yard area of The Little House.

We took a few trips - 1) Salt Lake City, UT (friends), 2) Pacific Grove, CA (friends) and BurkeVA (Jenny's family).

On the trip to Salt Lake City, UT. I attended a genealogy conference and visited the LDS Family History Library. I am researching all families. So far, no famous (or infamous) relatives have turned up. 

We binged watched the following TV series.

The Fall

The Killing

Miss Fridays Mysteries

House of Cards

Sherlock

I was at least productive while we binged watched - I started embellishing squares from those old quilts I own that are falling apart. I cut the squares apart, patched them, then embroidered, and added beads, lace, etc. Here's a few examples:

Hmmmm... not sure what to do with them now that I have done them, but I have plenty more to keep working on.

The spring vegetable garden is partially planted at this point. I am planting using the Keyhole gardening technique for at least part of the garden. I have tomatoes, peppers, squash, cukes, zucchini, beans and watermelon and WEEDS. 

 

In the process of gardening, we have discovered we have the racoons, many squirrels and at least one ring-tailed cat  living somewhere out here on the property. 

So, that catches you up on what we have been doing. Hope to see you all at the upcoming shows.

Still January and Cold

It's the end of January. It's been cold, really cold and then warm.... and now cold.
We've been working on bells, home projects (more about this in the next post) and enjoying the birds who hang out right outside the front door of Little House.

First, the Cardinals and Sparrows show up...

                                   ... then come the Dove

                                              .... and finally, the Woodpecker.
                          There is another one of these that comes around too. It is all only red;
                                                     no orange  like this one.

We have a Crow that sometime visits down in the pasture. We can see it fly down there, light in the trees and spend some time "crowing" and then flies off.  I guess it is just passing through.  

2015

The Holiday season has come and gone. Thanks to previous and NEW customers, we had a good selling season. Shipping went well - only a couple of glitches with bells having a hard time getting to where there were meant to be.


As for our actual holiday celebration? Well ....see below for what we did.

                                         All five little "angels" ready for Santa to show up.

It was pretty cold Christmas morning, but they had to try out the new swing/clubhouse/etc anyway.

And then your bellmaker opened his present from Carla and Jenny.

It was hard to take a picture of this DRONE in action, but there it is on the ground. He has learned to fly it pretty well now. Not sure what it will be used for, but it was a good surprise gift. 

So, now it's January. Very cold. Next thing on the agenda SHOULD be TAXES!!

Hope you all have a great 2015