CitizenKate

Ooooooo.... exquisite! Kate

This is a spud launcher. Kate

Ohmygosh... that really brings back memories from the summers I spent in LaCrosse in the Blue Stars. "Bubbler? There are no bubbles coming out of that thing!" Kate

Ooooo.... nice! Kate

I think one possible way to promote leather work/art/craft (choose your favorite connotation), is to start teaching others. I live in a town of only about 50,000, and there are tons of opportunities to share my favorite addiction with others. Boy/girl scouts, 4-H, the local "free university", holding demonstration exhibits at the county fair... You don't have to be an expert, just share what you know. Kate

This is pretty similar to oatmeal. It has many of the same properties, and is made much the same way. But this is the first time I've seen a porridge mixed with chicken or beef stock to make a side dish for meat. Interesting... I'll have to try that sometime. Oh, and the saffron is out of the question - way, way, way too expensive here. ...Unless it's REALLY worth it. Kate

Totally agree, there. It isn't rocket science, and don't let anyone tell you it's a big secret that you need "insiders" or industry experts to sort out. There is plenty of helpful info out there from the people who run the search engines themselves. The more people know how to keep their sites strong in the search results, as well as keep their content relevant to those searches (which yields high quality hits), the better it is for them, too. Kate

Hi Chuck, Looks like you got the hang of the image posting mechanism. The saddle looks great, although there are others who are a better judge than me of how well it will function. Look forward to seeing more of your work! Kate

Ugh. Don't eat any of that within 2 weeks of your next angiogram! Kate

This is something that was sent to me around the last election time, a message from British comedian John Cleese, to the citizens of the United States: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A Message from John Cleese - British comedian: To the citizens of the United States of America: In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy). Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. 1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. 2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary'). 3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell- checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. 4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. 5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. 6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it. 9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar. 10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion. 11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater. 12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you like they regularly thrash us. 13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries. 14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad. 15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). 16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper china cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season. God save the Queen! ----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm sorry, I don't see the images. Need to make sure you hit the [uPLOAD] button after choosing a file to upload, then inserting it into your post by selecting it from the list of uploaded images (where it says "Manage Current Attachments"). Can't wait to see your saddles! Kate

Just taking a flippant stab at this, but most people around where I live usually (little disclaimer, there) use the term "motor" for a mechanical power source that is powered by electricity. "Engine" referes to a mechanical power source that is powered by fuel combustion. Kate

Oliver was one of my favorite musicals. I've got it in my collection, but it was fun to see that they had a reunion before Jack died. Not too many people into movie musicals, these days... Fun thread, Ray. I'm curious to know more about Bow Bells. Kate

Clay, is that miles to the gallon, or gallons to the mile? I also liked some of Eastwood's later movies, where he played characters that subtly parodied some of his earlier stereotypical characters. My latest British favorite has been Rowan Atkinson, who is famous for playing Mister Bean. Here's a YouTube sampler from that series: Mister Bean goes to the swimming pool Mister Bean escaping from a parking garage He also starred in the movie Johnny English, a parody of the Bond movies. I laughed until there were tears in my eyes. The hole in the floor scene from Johnny English Kate

Having been born in the UK, I've always had a fascination for English culture, especially all the various speech accents from one region to the next. In the States, the regions are pretty large. In the UK, one little village could have it's own particular flavor of English. I actually don't think of Dick Van Dyke when I think of a Cockney, but rather Jack Wild, the child star of the '60's who played the Artful Dodger in Oliver. I believe Jack actually was a Cockney. And what about the play Pygmalion, or the Broadway version of it, My Fair Lady? Oh, and please tell my fellow Yanks what a "shooting brake" is. (Don't know if I spelled it correctly...) Kate

Nice, Ed! Those are getting better all the time. Kate

If I had been run off by every person who ever had a differing point of view from my own, I'd be a recluse by now. I happen to like being in a place where people challenge each other to see things differently. Kate

It's called talent. That is something you evidently have in abundance. Kate

Gorgeous work, as always, Tina. I always look forward to your new posts. Kate

Perhaps you are thinking of DuPont Corfam. (Here is a Wikipiedia article I found on the material.) Kate

That is CUTE! Kate

Heheh! Let me guess... he was commissioned to make these for someone from Texas, no? Kate

The best thing I've tried so far for easy edge slicking is Bee Natural Leather Finish. I don't know what's in that stuff, but I just rub on a little and just a few quick wipes later, I've got slicked edges. I also use other wax finishes in a pinch. They work, but take a little more effort. Kate

Very nice work! I'm curious to know how you did the white coloring for the card backgrounds. It looks exceptionally smooth. Kate

Okay, so it looks like we're talking about mostly tooling leather to start out, a considerable amount of stitching, and being able to punch holes and set rivets. Are you interested in much as far as carving and stamping? Kate