Clothespin Break Update

Dateline: 20 September 2013

These oiled-and-waxed hardwood clothespins are air-curing.

Boy Howdy! I sure am an optimist!

A week ago I wrote that I hoped to have assemble-your-own, "Classic American" clothespin kits ready to sell on this day. Well, that aren't happenin'. Not yet.

It turns out that bootstrapping an heirloom-quality hardwood clothespin company into existence (in a tent in my side yard) is taking longer than I anticipated.

But I'm making good progress. The kits are coming together nicely. They're going to be a unique product. I'm pretty sure people will be very pleased with them. Here's a picture of bags of selected clothespin halves that will be part of the kits...

(Click picture to see an enlarged view)

In addition to getting the kits ready, I'm working at milling out a second production run of clothespins. I'm doing it all myself now that my son is in school, and I want to get it done while the weather is still good. Cold autumn rains will be here soon, then snow. You know that old saying... Make your clothespins while the sun is shining.

So I'm putting in a lot of hours, but I'm enjoying myself. I've been a woodworker for years. I love to work with my hands, and tools, and wood. Woodworking outdoors, under a tent, with the sides up on a sunny day, is much nicer than working in my crowded workshop. 

Keep an eye on the Classic American Clothespins web site. I'll  be getting that together soon. I'll be posting prices there too. But the price for clothespin kits there will be more than the introductory price I'll be selling them for here at this blog. The introductory price per 20-clothespin kit will be $20 each. They will be on sale here for 5 days, or until they are all sold, whichever comes first. Then the kits will be available at the clothespin web site for the higher price. If you want advance notice of when I will be selling them here, be sure to sign up for the Planet Whizbang newsletter.

Other News....

I'll not be blogging regularly again until I get this clothespin business up and running. But I'll post a little weekly update (on Friday), like I'm doing now.

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Futureman 

Goes To The Hospital

Futureman at the emergency room

It's always sad to see a baby or young child in the hospital, but it's especially disconcerting when it's your own child, or grandchild, as was the case with my grandson, pictured above.

Marlene and our daughter-in-law were shopping at WalMart when Futureman got sick and threw up. That's understandable. I was at WalMart a couple weeks ago and I felt like throwing up too (WalMart has that affect on me). But Futureman quickly developed a high fever and Marlene took him out of the store while his mother went to get some Tylenol.

As Marlene was holding him he had a seizure. It's a freaky thing when a child has a seizure. Fortunatly, Marlene knew what was happening. The same thing happened many years ago with Futureman's father. It's called a febrile seizure. When a baby's temperature rises too high, his brain short-circuits. That's my non-technical explanation.

Marlene took Futureman back inside the store (to a Subway restaurant) and asked them to call an ambulance, which they did. The 911 operator was asking all kinds of questions of the one employee who called and another woman employee said, "Just tell them to get an ambulance here quick!" Then she said, "I'll drive him to the hospital myself if they don't get here soon!"  In other words, they really did a great job responding to the mini-crisis.

The ambulance came and took Futureman and his mother to the hospital. Marlene caught a ride to the auto dealership down the road (where our car was being worked on), then headed to the hospital.

Everyone was home a few hours later. Futureman looked tired but was in pretty good spirits.

He's fine now. We took a hike down the creek behind our house yesterday. Futureman doesn't actually hike, but he likes to ride in a backpack carrier that Marlene bought at a yard sale.

One of the absolute best parts of making clothespins in a tent next to my house (and running the Planet Whizbang home business) is that I can spontaneously stop what I'm doing and spend some time with my grandson. The home business is necessary to pay the bills, but spending time one-on-one with my grandson, and other grandchildren to (hopefully) follow, is far more important to me. Speaking of which.....

An Engagement

My #2 son (of three) has asked his girlfriend to marry him. The happy couple, pictured above, are planning a summer 2014 wedding. 

Dave Ramsey

(Again)

Last winter I paid to send my two youngest sons (with their girlfriends) to Financial Peace University. They really enjoyed the classes. Now my oldest son and his wife are going to FPU, and I'm downright pleased about it.

Dave Ramsey is a great communicator and he has a lot of good financial wisdom. I think his Financial Peace University program should be taught in every public high school and to all US military recruits. But, alas, that will never happen. It will never happen because the teaching is overtly Christian.

We can't have anything Christian in the government schools anymore, and, from what I hear, Christianity is becoming less tolerated in the military. The secularists are running the place now and they say it's an establishment of religion, to teach overtly Christian principles in government schools. But the man-centered religion of secular humanism is perfectly okay.

Anyway, it has occurred to me that if a lot of Americans took Dave Ramsey's advice, if they bought only what they could afford, and didn't go into debt, the American economy, and the industrial era, would crash much more quickly than it is. 

Game Cam

Son #2 set up a game camera in the swamp out behind my parents place, which is 3 miles from here (he is buying the house and property from me). The land has a lot of deer on it, and the buck above is the one he wants this hunting season. 

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See you back here next Friday. Maybe I'll have Classic American Clothespins to sell by then. :-)