How Much Ya Wanna Bet?

You have all asked about Rick selling his wares. He will be doing that eventually.

He is working on setting up an Etsy account. 

He will also be doing a couple of other things that as they occur I will share. Right now we are trying to figure out Etsy, photos, business cards, tax info and the like. He will in time. He has a lot more things to make. Inventory you know. He is working on a coffee table right now.

Then he will do some easier things like some cutting boards because those sell easily. 

So as soon as he is selling I'll let ya'll know.

He is getting damn good though isn't he? 

The one with the expoxy (blue one) was a scrap piece of log. 

He was holding it when I went out to his shop. I asked why he was just staring at it like it was precious or something. 

He said he wanted to think about what he could do with this piece. 

Too small he said. Then he smiled and said I know - I will build this up with epoxy and because it's not level it will have movement. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about but he was giddy. And then he turned around and put it on the lathe. That was my cue to leave. 

The wood is placed into this plastic bowl and taped in place with duct tape. He mixes and pours the epoxy in the bowl around the wood. It goes of course where there is no wood. It it held in place with another plastic smaller container. The whole thing then goes into this "pot" that looks like a pressure cooker, I think he calls it a vacuum pot. I know it takes out the bubbles in the expoxy. It is a few days of work in and out of the "pot"  just to get the epoxy with no bubbles and to cure. I saw each step and I told him that watching wood porn has sure paid off and back into the house I go. I know why he is showing me this and I don't want to know so I leave.

Usually when Rick has something in the pressure pot or curing somewhere he begins to work on another piece. He got a free microwave someone was throwing out. I didn't understand why it was needed in his shop when our microwave is just a few feet inside our home. He laughed at me and said it was to dry bowls not for food. HUH?

Apparently the wood must be very dry. He weighs the wood or bowls, puts them in the microwave and weighs them again. He writes down the weight and does it again. This continues until its weight does not change, meaning it is dry. It's a whole thing I find oddly interesting. That has taken days to get the right amount of moisture out of the wood. All I know is that even a small bowl is several days of work or longer. He had me watch this man he watches on YouTube who does this for a living. The man explained how to charge for your work. 

Hours of labor, materials, etc. Sometimes a very small bowl will cost more than a larger one and I just didn't get why that would be. That is why he's been showing me what goes into them. Ah, I get it now. I don't want to because I can see I am going to get sucked into helping him in some way? 

I know that is why he is showing me so much. I've been to this rodeo before. He wants me to help with some of this. Wanna bet?  When I said as much to him, his tongue goes to the side of his mouth and he smirks and says, "Nope I don't want you to be any part of this!"

Yea sure, and I'm 5'6" tall!

Oh Margaret I don't want you to have to do anything, he says. 

We are not working together anymore, he says.

Margaret can you use your nice camera and take some photos for Etsy?

Margaret can you see about a website and designing some business card?

Hey Margaret think I ought to have a spreadsheet for abc or xyz? 

Yesterday I told him I changed my name and I wouldn't answer.

He just laughs. 

Why or why do I have to be with a creative man who can do nothing else?

Why must I be the brains and he be the talent? Argh!  (yea I laughed too when I wrote "the brains!" ) 

Monday morning as I was feeling like I got hit by the chemo stick I walked into the kitchen where he was cleaning the stove (he doesn't do this people!) wiping down the counters and I saw that he had washed dishes AND cleaned off the island. (this is major you just don't know it- Oh he does dishes but never cleans up the kitchen!)

I went over to him as he was rinsing a lid at the sink and I just gave him a big ole bear hug from behind and kissed his back. 

He says,  "so cleaning the kitchen gets me affection but building or making something from nothing doesn't?"  

I laughed and said, "the way into my pants is housework baby not bowls." and I walked away. I heard him laughing as I walked down the hall.