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David has finished carving! WOW, look at the spoon below!Reprinted with permission from David Western's blog , all material 2009, David Western --

With all the carving done and the eyes inlayed, its time to make our spoon nice and sexy! A needle file gets into all the tight spots and cleans up any rough areas without leaving behind a bunch of sanding grit. This is important if I discover I need to go back to carve some more as I won't have to worry about sanding residue dulling my knife blades. When I am absolutely certain that all the carving and filing is done, I break out the sandpaper to finish smooth areas such as the bowls. This is actually a difficult and time-consuming time in the whole spoon carving process as any scratches or bumps and lumps which get missed will show up like nobody's business when I apply the finishing oils. Thankfully, the Tour de France is raging on tv at the moment and I can take out my nervous energy doing a bit of sanding while the Schleck brothers hammer their opponents on the Alps.

And here he is!! The Left Coast Eisteddfod lovespoon is completed and is ready for the really exciting bit...the finishing finish!

I'm going to go with Deft brand clear Danish Oil as my oil finish and will give it 3 or 4 coats before following up with a nice application of beeswax polish. Here we go! I use a cheap little pig-hair brush to really ladle out the first coat of oil. I want good coverage and for the spoon to really soak it up, so I'm not afraid to really splash it on. This is the time when any sanding errors will leap to the forefront, so I've got my fingers crossed that I found everything before now!

WOW! Get a load of this! This is what 150-plus-year-old walnut looks like when the finish treatment is applied! This spoon is going to be a stunner! Man, what I wouldn't give to get my hands on a few more pieces of this magnificent timber. Sadly, this is almost the last of my supply so there won't be too many more spoons like this! So if you want to see how this spoon looks fully 'dressed' in its new coat of oil, stay tuned for the next blog! And please, if you enjoy quality craft, art, music and written word, please help support the Left Coast Eisteddfod with a donation today or buy your tickets to attend the events ! Any and every amount is gratefully received and you can be there to participate in the drawing to win this spoon!

Reprinted with permission from David Western's blog , all material 2009, David Western --

I'm getting really close to finishing the dragon. I've only got the eye left to inlay and some touch up work on the head and neck and the spoon will be ready for a final 'once over'. To do an abalone inlay, I glue the piece in place with a dab of white glue and let it set for a couple of hours.

When the abalone dot feels good and firm, I run around the edge of it with a very fine razor knife to scribe the line I will use as my grounding boundary. When the scribing is done, I use a small chisel to pop the dot off the wood.

Next up is the grounding. In this phase of things, I level the surface for my dot to sit on and try to get it so that with the dot in place, a little less than a 1/16th of an inch of abalone remains proud of the surface. I do a careful dry fitting to make sure everything is in order before I commit to glueing it down. Nothing says disaster like having your abalone sticking up!

Although it gets a bit messy when the excess glue seeps out, I don't worry about it as long as everything still fits properly! While the glue is wet, I wipe off the excess so that life is a bit easier later when the glue hardens up. Having big lumps of hardened glue on the wood surface is hard on the tools and my patience.

When the glue has set, the dot gets filed down and softly domed to more resemble an eye. As I mentioned in an earlier post, abalone and mother of pearl both make very, very noxious dust when they are sanded and filed. If you are inclined to try your own abalone inlay at home, please wear a good dust mask or respirator and try to work outside where the dust stands a better chance of vacating your personal space!!

The dragon's head is now pretty much done and all that remains is to give him a good final sanding and touch up any little areas I'm not completely satisfied with. If you've slogged it through these months of blogs, then you won't want to miss the next installment when I start applying finish to the spoon and this beautiful piece of 150 year old walnut flashes into spectacular life! Ok, so it's not a nail-biting final round of American Idol or a scintillating episode of Big Brother, but I guarantee it will be exciting in its own peculiar way!!

And please remember, time is a tickin' on the August 21 kick-off of the Left Coast Eisteddfod...the reason for this spoon's existance. Get yourself to the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon and get tickets to win it at the event!

Two months after being selected at the Hay Festival as the Oxfam Emerging Writer of the Year for her first novel in English, Twenty Thousand Saints, Fflur Dafydd has had yet another feather in her bow by being chosen to participate in the Iowa International Writing Program at Iowa University, the US' premier centre for creative writing, which was established in 1967. She will be in residence for six weeks, starting on 1 September. .....more HERE .

Today marks the start of Welsh Month at Portland Central Library. We set up our display case in the foyer this morning and Posters and fliers are on display. We hope to display posters at all 18 Libraries in the Multnomah district and anyone who wants to help us with that is welcome to download and print a pdf of our library poster from the panel at the bottom of this page.

Events will include:-

Wednesday August 19th

Enjoy Welsh language poetry with John Good . John was born in South Wales, into a house where the Welsh language was spoken. Over the past twenty years, he has given bilingual presentations on Welsh culture, sharing poetry, music and literature. Wed Aug 19th 12-1 p.m. ADMISSION FREE.

An assortment of materials available at the Library on Welsh poetry can be be found HERE

Purchase or listen online to John's "The First Fifteen Hundred Years of Welsh Poetry" HERE

Thursday August 20th

As part of the program authors Niall Griffiths and Chris Keil will be presenting a reading/Q&A session at the library on Thursday August 20th between 12 and 2. ADMISSION FREE

For more info and to rsvp if you will be attending go to this page:- Welsh Month at the Library All three of our guests will also be appearing and giving presentations as part of the daytime program at the Left Coast Eisteddfod .

Meanwhile here are excerpts of interviews in which author Niall Griffiths, explains his passion for reading and writing:

Get Your Welsh Month Link or Poster Here To view a larger image click on the thumbnail above or here . If you live in the Portland area please feel free to embed the code below on your blog or website. The image links to the Americymru Welsh Month at the Library webpage. If you would like to print a copy for display at your local library, download the .pdf here <a href="http://americymru.ning.com/events/welsh-monthcentral-library"><img border="0" src="http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/data/media/0/0/Ning_Media/blogs/0/288_blogs.jpeg"/></a>

How did I get to be 56? Where did the last 20 odd years go to?I could say I am in my very late 20's but I don't think that will fool many people for long.Still I reckon myself to be in better shape than a lot of ladies my age, mostly due to the physical activity we both put ourselves through on a daily basis.Grey hair notwithstanding of course.But hitting a "50" year makes you ponder your mortality just a bit I think.I got together with my current husband when I was 40. That was 16 years ago. In another 16 years (and boy have the first lot gone quickly!) I shall be 72. Sorry, but that is just a bit scarey.Thanks to all of your for the birthday wishes by the way. I may have a wee dram tonight to celebrate.Off now back to the barn where my husband is dealing with a pony who has come back today from a loan home. We thought he was fine till we looked at his feet. My husband is an equine podiatrist and is livid at the state of them. The pony suffers from laminitis. Its an inflammation of the hoof laminii caused by a variety of reasons, rich grass being one of the major causes. It is controllable and the people assured us that they were quite capable of caring for the animal. Well they might have been but the farrier that has been doing his feet cetainly wasn't. The toes of the front hooves have been cut back to the bone, the animal is lame and it will take some time for that to sort itself out. He can go out on soft ground but on any sort of gravel or concrete he can hardly stand it and will have to wear special boots again. Whe he left here he was 100% sound and ridable.Just goes to show that you can't get it right all the time when it comes to rehoming.

Amidst all the talk about the Obama health plan little has been heard recently about one of the truly burning issues of the hour. What about the flesh-eating slugs?????.... MORE HERE

just got back from a great weekend in New York , saw Mike at 2 shows , he can still rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was fun runnig in to so many Welsh at the shows and on the street ,youcan't keep Welsh a part ,we like to have so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aeronwy Thomas-Ellis the daughter of Dylan Thomas passed away suddenly on Monday after suffering from cancer for some time.Aeronwy worked tirelessly on behalf of her father's memory and was responsible for keeping his memory alive particularly in the 70s and 80s. Her brother Llewellyn died in 2000 and a younger brother Colm lives in Italy. She has two children Huw and Hannah.We first met Aeronwy and her husband Trefor at the London Welsh Club in London a few months after we had taken on the restoration of 5 Cwmdonkin Drive which was the birthplace of Dylan. She agreed to help us in any way and to be our house inspector when the work was finished.Over the next three years she visited on a number of occasions and officially opened the house to the public on what would have been her father's 94th birthday last 27 October.In unveiling a new plaque on the wall of the house to 'A man of words' she said that she was overwhelmed by the press and media interest in her family (pictured with us at the unveiling).Last year she followed in her father's footsteps and toured the States with Swansea poet Peter Thabit Jones and opened the Dylan Thomas trail in New York.Aeronwy was a small lady with a dry sense of humour who inherited her father's looks and poetic ability - we will miss her support and friendship.Her funeral will be at 1.30pm on Thursday 6th August at Holy Cross Church, Motspur Park, Surrey

WalesOnce upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael, look what I've made."Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance? inquired Michael, still confused. God explained, pointing to different parts of earth, "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot and the Antarctic down there will be a cold spot. Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and arid while this one will be very cold and covered in ice." The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to an unusually shaped land mass and said, "What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's Wales, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful lakes, rivers, sunsets, beaches and rolling hills. The people from Wales are going to be modest, intelligent, and humorous and they are going to be great sportsmen, singers and poets. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, and high-achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace." Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about balance, you`ve given them everything, a perfect land God? You said there would be balance!" God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the neighbours Im giving them