zissou

Ohhhh, now, you're talkin! I'll give that a try...

I was just thinking that leather crafting is the first hobby in a long time that I've truly practiced it at length and noticeably improved. It's nice to look at a belt I just stitched and think of how much I've improved since I first started.

Thanks, Hollows. I'm going to make another that is the right size for me this weekend. I find it's a little bit of a challenge to size them, because I can't be exact like with a regular belt.

NC- If you don't flip the leather over at some point just before the belt hits the rings, the end winds up being flesh side out after it goes through the two rings.

Very clean work, schpacko!

I've been thinking about making myself a double ring belt for a while now, so I gave it a go the other day. I think the sizing is a little off on the first one. I could have gone another inch or two longer on the main part of the belt, and then shortened the reverse end.

The rings I'm using are rather hefty.

I thought I'd add a keeper at the transition. It works rather well, but it's a little difficult to run the keeper through all of the belt loops when putting the belt on or taking it off. It's not bad on standard jeans belt loops, though. I think it all needs a little adjustment!

beautiful shots, riff. Banff always looks so pretty. The nature nerd in me was surprised that the bark beetle damage to the spruce/fir forest isn't nearly as bad as I expected.

And dkatz! Taj fucking Mahal! You win.

Really nice bag, NC. I still put a little gum trag on the edges of oil tanned and give it a little slicking to keep the fibers down. Of course, if I use a sharp knife, there isn't much in the way of fibers...

Or, I just hit the edges with a tiny bit of oil and it gives it a nice aged look.

Thanks, robbie and beats.

I missed your earlier comment, Stefan. I'm sorry to hear things aren't going that well at the moment. Marriage is a tempestuous endeavour (for good and sometimes bad reasons), and I wish you the best, sir.

Another Roy x Cone crosspost:

The new house looks great, robbie! It seems like it will be a lot of room, yes?

Thanks for the great history update, entertainment. I really miss New England.

I'm glad your back is on the mend, markus. I'll agree that back problems are the worst.

Well, my class ended last Friday, which was a little sad, but also a big relief. There were folks in the class who had been through every class I'd ever taught!

I had been teaching them how to ID our native conifer trees each day, so I had a 'cone-test' (get it?) to see what they learned. They passed!

Then we did a fun little activity where we pair up, and the partner leads a blindfolded person out to a tree in the forest and lets them feel it. Then, we bring them back to the start, remove the blindfold, and see if they can find it. Amazingly, everyone found their tree.

We also spent some time each day working on nature journals, which we shared on the last day.

Even though class had finished, I agreed to take some folks on a wildflower hike the next day. It was pretty much peak wildflower season up in the mountains! Lots of purple Wasatch Penstemon.

And columbine, Indian paintbrush, etc.

A steadfast daisy growing out of the rock.

Here's my EDC for a day in the mountains. The only thing missing is my Motorola two-way radio with compass, altimeter, and weather radio.

Now that class is done, I just need to wrap up and then I am off work for a week or two. My daughter's school year starts in a few weeks, so I want to take her somewhere fun for a week. I'm leaning toward Great Basin National Park out in Nevada. I've heard it's stunning...

The new house looks great, robbie! It seems like it will be a lot of room, yes?

Thanks for the great history update, entertainment. I really miss New England.

I'm glad your back is on the mend, markus. I'll agree that back problems are the worst.

Well, my class ended last Friday, which was a little sad, but also a big relief. There were folks in the class who had been through every class I'd ever taught!

I had been teaching them how to ID our native conifer trees each day, so I had a 'cone-test' (get it?) to see what they learned. They passed!

Then we did a fun little activity where we pair up, and the partner leads a blindfolded person out to a tree in the forest and lets them feel it. Then, we bring them back to the start, remove the blindfold, and see if they can find it. Amazingly, everyone found their tree.

We also spent some time each day working on nature journals, which we shared on the last day.

Even though class had finished, I agreed to take some folks on a wildflower hike the next day. It was pretty much peak wildflower season up in the mountains! Lots of purple Wasatch Penstemon.

And columbine, Indian paintbrush, etc.

A steadfast daisy growing out of the rock.

Here's my EDC for a day in the mountains. The only thing missing is my Motorola two-way radio with compass, altimeter, and weather radio.

Now that class is done, I just need to wrap up and then I am off work for a week or two. My daughter's school year starts in a few weeks, so I want to take her somewhere fun for a week. I'm leaning toward Great Basin National Park out in Nevada. I've heard it's stunning...

Whoa, mama!

very cool! i'd like to take one of those classes!!

but the need for "bear spray" kind of frightens me...

Well, if it helps, I didn't have to use it There were plenty of black bears where we went for two of the days.

I teach field courses about nature in Utah. There are three- Mountains, Deserts, and Watersheds (wetlands, rivers, Great Salt Lake, etc.). I must say, it's a pretty fun job.

I've been teaching a class up in the mountains for much of the last month, and here's what I bring for a single day at high elevation (excluding clothing and food).

Osprey Stratos 18 with integrated 2L water reservoir

Zeiss binocs

Bear spray

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100 12MP camera

Petzl Tikka XP2

Mini Maglite

First Aid Kit

Sunblock

Emergency blanket x2

Waterproof matches

Waterproof topo map

Suunto Core wrist computer

iPhone

Field Notes

Rite in the Rain pen

Leatherman Wave

Benchmade 530

Motorola Talkabout T6320 with weather radio, altimeter, digital compass (no vis)

^New lives and good friends- I'll drink to that!

Congrats on the sale there zissou.

Glad that everything worked out in the end and that all the work you`ve put in it (thanks also for those update shots you always posted!) has come to an good end...

now lean back, have a beer, a nice cigar and just enjoy!

You bet Zissou! Enjoy August without any burdens!

Well, if you guys insist, I'll just have to!

In that spirit, my Roys and I spent the evening mowing the lawn at the old house for one of the last times, then I brought pizza to my good friend and her one year-old who were overwhelmed being on their own while Dad's away, and came home to drink beer and cut down renegade willow shoots while listening to the Black Keys. Happy times, indeed. So much so that I nearly shed a tear in my beer. I'm gettin' all soft in me old age!

Had to go back 12 pages to resurrect this thread - needs more love. 45RPM 10th Anniversary Fujimon hardware. Denim Ai dyed 24 times then overdyed with charcoal warp x charcoal top weft.

Never mind the buttons- let's see more of the denim!!

Oh, well done zissou, to sell in this market is a real achievement and I"m sure a testament to your great work. Good luck with the Aldens!

congratulations on coming to a decision! well you are right, with the terrible market out there, it would be hard to hold out till a better time. who knows how long that would take? im happy for you...and also jeaous about those aldens that you will be getting! : )

Thanks very much, Paul and ranon! I didn't want to say much more until this moment. The house is officially under contract! I'm overcome with an enormous sense of relief at the moment. It's been a lot of work and stress wondering if it will actually sell in a timely manner. Three months on the market really isn't bad considering the market we're in at the moment.

It looks like the shoes will be cigar shell longwings

And congrats on the great NYT review, Paul! You've inspired me to put on Ziggy Stardust and celebrate a little. In my Roys, of course!

ohh yeah. TG shaking it up!

I hadn't yet had my coffee, and I thought that was your post-wash photo for a second!

Now what the hell do I do with this thing?

Well, there's only one thing to do- tile your bathroom! Great story, sir. You are a clandestine preserver of the arts.

Chin up, TG... Maybe you can occupy yourself with daily RxC postings, and more of your gluten free plum pizzas? We'll get through this together.

Lookin great there zissou. I should have some pics up tomorrow. I hand washed mine today and they are currently drying.

Thanks, man. Looking forward to seeing yours!

Well, it seems we've come to an agreement on the sale price of my old house! It's not as good as I would have liked, but it's a terrible market, and it's time to just sell the house. Now, I just feel like going to sleep for half a day. And, buying those Aldens I've always wanted...

RoyxCone at a little over six months. They'll surely need a third wash once my class ends next week.

Mmm, wild raspberries ruined me for store-bought ones...

Little over six months. They'll surely need a third wash once my class ends next week.

^Looking great, Paul! Here's another Roy x Cone crosspost...

Still caught up in negotiations over the house, and trying to relax a little! Saturday started out the usual way, with coffee and pastries down at the bakery.

Class went great again yesterday. Historically, almost all of the mountains in Utah were stripped of timber and over grazed in the 50 years after pioneers first arrived. I'm not sure if you can tell in this photo, but the mountains were bare for many years. It's one of those cases where things just weren't better back in the good ol' days.

We had a forester spend the day with us and teach us about sustainable forestry. This is a photo of a hillside where an experimental clear cut was made in the spruce about 55 years ago. You can see how slow it is to recover. The rest of the hillside was logged using sustainable practices three times since then. The difference is remarkable.

Here we are measuring tree heights with our Biltmore sticks, and when coupled with diameter, we calculate board-feet of timber in a particular tree.

All in all, it was a beautiful day up in the High Uintas. The wildflowers were spectacular! This photo was taken at about 9,000 ft.

Back to today, just hanging out with Coconut the corn snake. We're taking care of him for a couple weeks. He's a very friendly snake, and always wants to crawl into our shirts. Time to feed him his weekly baby mouse!

Brave snake, smelling that denim with his tongue...

Still caught up in negotiations over the house, and trying to relax a little! Saturday started out the usual way, with coffee and pastries down at the bakery.

Class went great again yesterday. Historically, almost all of the mountains in Utah were stripped of timber and over grazed in the 50 years after pioneers first arrived. I'm not sure if you can tell in this photo, but the mountains were bare for many years. It's one of those cases where things just weren't better back in the good ol' days.

We had a forester spend the day with us and teach us about sustainable forestry. This is a photo of a hillside where an experimental clear cut was made in the spruce about 55 years ago. You can see how slow it is to recover. The rest of the hillside was logged using sustainable practices three times since then. The difference is remarkable.

Here we are measuring tree heights with our Biltmore sticks, and when coupled with diameter, we calculate board-feet of timber in a particular tree.

All in all, it was a beautiful day up in the High Uintas. The wildflowers were spectacular! This photo was taken at about 9,000 ft.

Back to today, just hanging out with Coconut the corn snake. We're taking care of him for a couple weeks. He's a very friendly snake, and always wants to crawl into our shirts. Time to feed him his weekly baby mouse!

Brave snake, smelling that denim with his tongue...

I hope you enjoyed your trip back to the States, Paul. I liked reading your updates.

My Roys and I made it through another day of class (photos tomorrow), so only one more to go!

I was enjoying the fact that I finally had an offer on the house, but am now feeling like I'm being nickel and dimed! On the one hand, it's a shitty market (four people saw the house in three months, and only one offer), so I feel like I should just unload it. On the other hand, I hate having to bend over and take one for the team. There are so many good reasons to just sell the house at this point, but I don't stand to walk away with much money at all from the sale. I hate decisions like this...

Very nice, hollows! I was thinking about making another backpack, but I'd need a heftier sewing machine. I think I wrecked mine on the first pack I made...

^Nice stitching!!

Man...where would one pick that up? Thanks Zissou!!

Edit: Found it!! You are the man!

Glad to help! Be sure to post photos. Your last wallet was great.