At Home This Year

I'm missing friends this first full weekend of February.  For the past ten years I've been setting up my trade shop at the Kansas Muzzleloader's Association annual convention - at first in Great Bend, for a while in Hutchinson, and, for the first time, in Topeka.  My interest in living history has never waned - I'll return to convention and events at some point, but my appreciation for my family and some family events is primary this year. 

I have three more opportunities to watch my son play basketball, and I'm not going to miss any moment of those games.  It was pure pleasure to watch my niece perform in her play and to attend her birthday party today.  And I had the chance to spend the evening with my nephew - now a lawyer and a fiance to a soon-to-be deputy district attorney- to celebrate his birthday.  I don't feel I've missed much by not attending convention this year. 

Besides, I didn't abandon my friends at the convention...I made some benches for them to raffle and help keep the organization going. 

I have been making these "traveling" benches for a while now.  They're simply made; it's just a bit of sweat equity.  With a drawknife, spokeshave, tapered reamer and cutter, and plane, the bench top is planed and the legs are friction fit and can be tapped out easily so the bench breaks down for easy hauling.  I believe the above benches are numbers 32 and 33.