My DaD.

So sad to hear about this forest in flames! I have many fond memories of hiking and camping there as a child with the Girl Scouts.

Welcome to the grove!

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Okay, so share please: what was the coolest new thing you learned there?

Dad was an architect and master-craftsman, creating beautiful works of stained glass, custom oak furniture, tin ceilings, etc. while restoring his Victorian style home in Woodhaven, NY.

He taught me that a well lived life is one spent creating works of beauty for the world.

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He also liked to remind us that we cannot possibly think on our feet if all we can think about is how much our feet hurt!

Dad always encouraged his daughters to quit any place of employment that worried about women's clothing more than their ideas and skills. He said, "No reasonable employer will care what you wear on your feet, as long as you can think on your feet."

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Dad always encouraged us to study well and strive for mastery, focusing on one thing at a time, and taking time to do things with care, because: "If you don't think you have time to do it right the first time, what makes you think you'll have time to do it over, later?"
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Maybe, but they loved the old one, and it was not much different in terms of dimensions. Just color and material.

How deep do you think they need it to be?

Beautiful work. I like the oak best because it looks almost as if it would crunch under foot. The ginkos are my second favorite, but I'd prefer them in their autumn yellow. (Maybe that's just the season.)

I still remember all the land-line phone numbers (they were just called "phone numbers" back then), and a number of those lines still exist, only nobody answers them anymore because of all the robocallers.

Hard to describe -- like trying to convey the flavor of milk to someone who has never tasted dairy. I would describe it as a cross between perfumed flowers and cantaloupe melon.

First batch complete: 8 cups of joy, awaiting fresh-baked bread.

10 cups of firethorn tea, waiting to be processed into jelly, tomorrow.

I always love the rich color of this jelly - almost fluoresces.

For print, that is.