Handstitched

G'Day and Happy New Year About a week or so before Christmas we had some extreme weather. It got to 47 degs C on our back verandah in the shade, not sure what that is in degs F , pretty dam hot. So it must have been around the 50 deg mark in the direct sun. We only had one chook left that has been giving us regular eggs, but the heat was just too much for her and she didn't survive the heat. She's had plenty of shade and water , I gave her watermelon etc. but still too dam hot for her. I'll get some new chooks when this weather starts to cool down. Christmas was good, a LOT cooler, plenty to eat and drink of course, and leftovers that will last for a few more weeks. I did our regular grocery shopping last week, I only do it once every two weeks , but after all the ham and turkey I've been stuffing my face with, I had a greasy burger for lunch, not healthy, but nice I hope things improve for you and your Daughter . I have been treating Dad for some cancerous thingies on his back , using some strong creams etc. but they have to have dressings on them so I have to regularly change the dressings. Take care, HS

Yep, I made one more visit . Everything is set, and ready to go, I've got everything I need for Chrissy . Had my last market for the year on Sunday 15th , But I now have house work to catch up on, eek . Anyway, whatever you do and where ever you go, have a safe and Happy Christmas to you and yours. HS

I used to work around cattle branding marks, but not any more, when making belts for example, I keep the marks in , you don't get branding marks on vinyl HS

This topic has been very well covered, but the one I have has interchangeable bevellers , from #1 to # 5 , but I seem to keep using the #5, however, I have also learnt to increase or decrease the pressure when bevelling , saves having to keep changing blades for different applications, I do have quite a few other Tandy, and Craft tool bevellers that can use, but I'm just lazy , lol

Yep, right where the leather goes around the buckle , or the stitching has rotted , or the horse has done something really 'stoopid' breaking the tack...but thats for another thread. HS

After all the years of hand stitching and machine stitching belts and other items, I have never had one break as a result of perforations in the leather. Interesting topic too HS

Back in the early days, I just practiced a lot on lots of veg tan scraps just to get the feel of the stamps , carving knife etc. A lot of what I learnt came from books, Al Stohlman mostly, but also just trial and error , doodling on scraps . But when I finally go the hang of it, and it looked good, that was it, I was hooked , 19 years later...... HS

G'Day again, Yep , the 'refreshments' will be flowing my friend In fact, I found a rare treat that I haven't had for over 20 years, 'Newcastle Brown Ale". I was searching on line and found a bottle shop ( liquor store) in the northern suburbs of Perth that stocked it.So I bought a case of it online, it arrived in just over a week. I had to 'test' some, of course , tasted great Dad enjoyed a drop or two as well. It wasn't cheap as its very hard to get here in Oz , but its rare treat. I'm saving the rest for Christmas . Its still made in the UK , but Heineken now owns it. Everything is in place , sausage rolls, mince pies , prawns ( for me) ham , turkey, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake , brandy for the pudding, and cake . All I need to do is cook it and eat it. January and February are sorted for meals I'll be doing the last few markets for the year this weekend, but won't be staying long as its getting hot now, I don't want to leave Dad on his own for too long either. He is so far so good, , touchwood, I'm making sure he drinks plenty of fluids , eat plenty of fruit etc. I might be able to squeeze another visit on here before Christmas . Stay safe HS

Dam , that sounds tasty I'll be doing Chrissy a bit different this year. Last year I did a turkey and small ham but I had so much food left over, too much , theres only two of us and Dad isn't a big eater, so this year, I've got some turkey drum sticks , and I'll get a small ham, and maybe some turkey breast , for sandwiches etc. I picked up some cooking ideas from 'Nigella' on the TV yesterday. She put her turkey into some home made brine (?) with an assortment of herbs, spices etc left it overnight, . and put a mix of butter and maple syrup on the turkey before roasting, ( I won't be going that far) and she par boiled the spuds, added some semolina to them ( never seen that before, but I'll try it) and roasted them on high in goose fat, I don't have goose fat , but I can get duck fat, but they looked dam nice and crispy . . The ham will be done the usual way, in the oven with pineapple and glazed cherries and a ham glaze , that Mum made a long time ago. Its mostly sugar so its preserved well in the fridge, I also have a jar of Her home made piccalilli, the last one 2022 vintage, in the fridge Tastes absolutely yummo , goes well with ham .When I'm feeling brave enough I'll try to make some myself, I found Mums 'secret 'recipe' in among the gazzilion cooks books thats she accumulated over many years. Its a long process and the house will smell like a giant pickle for about a week , lol , but it will be worth it. I'll still be making a heap of sausage rolls and mince pies ( fruit) , theýre easy to make and freeze. Just in case I don't get here ( public pooter) before Christmas, have a Safe and Merry Christmas to you and your family HS

Al Stohlmans holsters pattern book is a great book to have ,I enjoyed making some of them , even just for the experience and for show, but no too many people are interested in the 'western style holsters' these days, and not to go too off topic, but gun laws are very tight here, and here in the west of Oz, they just got tighter. HS

Reminds me of the song '"Ten Green Bottles Hanging on the Wall "...... Try singing that after a few whisky's . HS

I was born in Haverhill, Suffolk , and there was a US airbase not far away from Haverhill plus a few others. Even back then, they were still on alert as the air raid siren used go off , scaring the shite out of me. Something I'll never forget. HS

Yes, I've seen that. I had thought about going down the 'jewellery path'", earrings mainly , but with so many jewellery stalls at some markets I decided not to bother. HS

Thats one hell of a waist line HS

The horse rug client sent me a message last week asking me when I will be home to pick the rugs up, I told her, haven't heard from he since I did these rugs back in June, I checked the invoice. HS