my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

i had been suspecting it for close to 2 weeks, although Лена kept saying that she was simply very, very late… will never forget the look on her face coming down the hallway. super excited, couldn’t be happier. 🙂

later start, and again shortcut the process by using another blank – this time a Trail Buddy III. to accelerate the handle build, used buffalo horn that i left rough and uncontoured. managed to also polish up a number of other knives during the day plus clean up a couple more in need of handle repairs. finished at the shop then picked up Лена and we were on the road a little after 1 pm for the long drive back. stopped at a new Russian market in the suburbs on the way in, Лена happily finding a number of things she was missing. back home, another great weekend, and a couple of new pieces of art on the wall.

up early and at the shop ready to go a little after 8 am. found a Golok blank Mike had saved away along with a nice piece of spalted red and black maple burl big enough to serve as handle scales for my project. filled the hollow pins with moon glow powder that i brought for the occasion, then got some help with grip shaping and edge grinding. meanwhile, picked up Лена midday and we moved to another spot in Escanaba that was marginally more acceptable. wrapped up my knife with time to spare, but didn’t start anything else. cleaned up at the motel and skipped the event dinner, as we instead ate at a Chinese buffet as it was the only spot in town with sushi. caught an early showing of the new Ice Age movie, then back to the hotel to relax and finally get a decent night of sleep.

left early afternoon on the long drive up to Michigan’s U.P. Лена joined me for the never ending drive, that finally did end at an embarrassingly bad motel in Gladstone. i stopped in the Bark River shop for some quick hellos, then caught a late dinner with Лена at a diner in downtown Escanaba.

crazy busy day, but my flights were painless and i was actually home a little early. crossed the street for the renowned Taste of Chicago, but generally found it very underwhelming. back home and booked a trip to catch the US pole championship with Лена in Manhattan in late September.

met up with Elizabeth after work on the waterfront and grabbed a nice dinner at a random seafood restaurant. unfortunate that Jeff was in Pittsburgh, but was good to spend some time catching up. as always, too long between visits – hopefully will get down to FL later in the year with Лена for a visit.

drove out to the DZ early hoping to not again get stymied by the weather. super hot day, but clear and not too windy. didn’t start jumping until around noon, ended up collecting jumps 1, 2 and 3 for the year. my first 2 4-ways weren’t overly impressive, but did a 20 point 2-way to end the day. drove home, skipped watching the fireworks and instead took the Red Line to Dave & Buster’s for a little bit of childish fun. hit the mother lode as one of the games we were playing malfunctioned and continued to spit out tickets for 30+ minutes until we got tired and had it unplugged. nice dinner, train ride home, and finally in bed for a little sleep.

met Ramon at O’Callaghan’s to watch the Euro Cup final. Spain looked impressive, bet Germany would have given them a better match though.