Multi-Post

The Wife and I celebrated our seventh year of being married! Now, as most of you know, our track record for anniversaries has not been all that great when it comes to spending time with just the two of us. For several years, there was a family reunion falling on that date, and we met up with my folks and my sisters family and sometimes others for a day of fun and fellowship. Though enjoyable, they were not really anniversary celebrations.

One year my aunt Bobbi had surgery to try and remove the cancer that ended up taking her life. That year just plain sucked. The whole clan and then some were gathered at our house from that date until May 8th when Bobbi went to my folks house. She died two days later on her birthday. We didn't even bother with the anniversary, it just wasn't as important as what was happening.

A couple years ago my sister was getting married (on the 27th - happy anniversary to them!) and her wedding rehersal was on the our anniversary. It was fun, but not exactly anniversary fun!

But this year, the stars all lined up right, we had some dear friends watch our two kiddos, and the wife and I went to dinner! We ate at a Japanese grill where they prepare the food in front of you. Sort of a dinner theater. And the management comped us a glass of Sake. Our first experience with that beverage. All told, we had a very enjoyable time together! I hope we can do that more than once every seven years!

April 25th
The Sweet Pea turned TWO! She gets cuter and smarter every day. For her birthday, we made a red velvet butterfly cake that the Boyo and I decorated.


And following in the butterfly theme, I made her a stained glass butterfly to splash some color into her room.



She calls them "fly-fly's" and absolutely loves them. She also got some very pretty clothes and a whole tool box full of hair accessories! She is such a girl! (and she's got daddy pretty well wrapped around her finger)

April 27th

Dad came up for the third in a series of blacksmithing classes we've been taking together. He and Weasel found their dads old anvil, and great-grandpa Jacobs post vise, which dad brought up to get a reading on from our instructor. Our instructor identified the make of the anvil (it's a Hay-Budden) and told us that those were, and still are, some of the best anvils a blacksmith could use. This one is still very useable, so I'm going to put it to work!


I did a little research on it, and found out that it was made either in 1897 or 1900 based on the serial number on it. It's an oldie, but a goodie. I'm going to set up a little forge out in and near the shop and add smithing to my list of hobbies/business ventures. (I'll be learning to forge my own blades so that I can make all parts of the knives I sell)

If anybody has any old blacksmithing tools they want to donate or sell cheap, let me know!

Anyway. I'm sleepy now. Family are all in bed, I should probably get there myself.

More Later