The box of Meranti is proving to be very fun and challenging. There are so many pieces and sizes to pick and choose. Soon after the flat head Citizen and Gnome, I immediately started on the glued two piece to carve another Giant Gnome. And in tandem another single piece Gnome, albeit smaller and shorter.
The Gnome population suddenly is booming! Maybe they should have their own hamlet instead of crowding Gigglesville.
Gnomie-wood? Hahaha….
Three weekends ago, we had a pesky intruder coming into the dry kitchen whilst official pet number one was away at the garden terrace. Normally when Rooney stays in the wet kitchen area, guarding the entrance to the dry kitchen, the squirrel would not venture close.
Hubby bought a bunch of bananas and it smelled so fragrant, the pesky intruder must have caught a whiff of it and daringly came in to help himself to the banana! The audacity of him.
And not once or twice it came but thrice and each time, I had to chase it out. Twice out the window and once out the door to the wet kitchen. I guess we can’t leave the door or windows open and unguarded especially when there’s fruits on the kitchen counter.
The inevitable has happened! The long chain of constantly going into the Candy Crush Soda’s Daily Bonus finally snapped on the iPhone. I guess I was too fast to click when the phone was just connecting, thus the 358 days streak was broken! Boo hoo hoo…
Upon realization, I was slower with my actions for the iPad and thank goodness, this one’s record is still intact, at 560 days. Phew.
Back to Day 1… boo hoo hoo.
After the completion of the Giant Gnome, I began experimenting with the new Meranti wood. And I find its density to be in between the balsa and basswood that I have been working with all this time. It is rather nice and different.
The balsa, despite being too soft and porous, and sometimes comes off easily in chunks if I apply a little bit more strength, has its plus points I must say. After all there wouldn’t be 128 Citizens of Gigglesville, a handful of Superheroes, Gnomes and Monuments to show.
As for the basswood, it is rather hard and needs more effort to carve and shape. So far, I have only three finished pieces with this wood type: Halloween Owl, Dinky the Dinosaur and Giant Gnome.
Now the Meranti wood is something else. Soft yet not too soft, and hard but not so, it is rather easy to work with. Within one hot Sunday afternoon at home, I carved up two familiar characters but with slight variations. A Citizen perched on a tree and a Gnome with a super tall cap. The only thing with this wood is the depth. The width is fine but lacking depth, so the two finished pieces have rather flat heads. That’s why it’s an experiment.
Next project in the pipeline is glueing two Meranti pieces together to give it depth and let’s see how this will turn out! Another Gnome in the making before I plan what new species or character to come out with. With the workbench in place, I don’t mind a drop in my social life as I stay at home nightly to work on my carvings.
Three weeks after my diagnose of Infectious Colitis, I started on probiotics supplement to strengthen my innards. And I am not sure whether it can work because I felt the biggest battle in my tummy on a Sunday night.
Now the thing is, the reaction could possibly be from the spicy Kimchi fried rice that M2 cooked and I tried some. It would be rude if I didn’t at least try a little of her first time attempt. So a little I had…
That night, I felt as if there was an epic good versus evil bacteria battle in my tummy. The abdominal cramps were not just the worst but the ‘worstest’ ever. No word can describe the pain, that’s how bad it was. To add to my misery, the backache also kicked in and painkiller I popped didn’t help at all. Surely it can’t be the probiotics as it’s supposed to be a good thing. I can’t imagine what I would go through had I ate more Kimchi fried rice. Shudder…
I have been very, very careful with what I eat and to suddenly experience this awful pain looks like a major setback to recovery. Looks like I may have to have another round of antibiotics. Sigh…
It took me awhile to figure out what should I carve out of the four inch basswood block and finally I decided it should be a Gnome, a Giant Gnome. I felt that to do a Citizen, on this big scale, it would be a ‘waste’ as most of the wood would be shaved off to shape a Citizen.
Citizens generally are shorter, averaging about 26mm, compared to a Gnome that is about 50mm except for Gnome 2 who is 43mm. The Gnome’s height especially the cap is determined by how much balsa wood is left without wasting any of the wood upon carving.
If I had a 50mm piece left, it is better to carve a Gnome than to carve two 25mm Citizens because it’s just too short and hard to hold. So in essence, Gnomes came about because I did not want to waste my precious balsa wood.
This chunky short adorable fella definitely stands out from the other three Gnomes.
And Gnomes will also grow in numbers like the Citizens of Gigglesville. Maybe they should have their own hamlet. Gnomesville? Hmm…
I didn’t expect my workbench to arrive so soon! It was ordered only on Sunday and arrived two days later. The other two items (for Rooney and M2) which were ordered earlier are still being processed. Nonetheless, this is another box of happiness. Work space has shifted from the living room to the terrace that Tuesday night itself. So exciting!
We came across the strangest thing last weekend. Marimo Moss Balls. These things are deemed as pets, can you believe it? It is not a plant but algae.
And we bought two of them, naming them Pete and Kate Moss. Heheheh… not very creative but such apt names. Pete and Kate will stay in their enclosed glass jar for now to settle in before we transfer them to a mini aquarium that we have to suit their size. The medium-sized aquarium vacated by the crayfishes a while back is just too big in relation to these half an inch in diameter aquatic furry balls.
We gave up on pet rocks and pet water because they are not fun after the last crayfish went to pet heaven and since then, the medium-sized aquarium has been rather lifeless. The spot it’s at now will be perfect for the mini aquarium to be, for Pete and Kate don’t like the sun too much.
Now these Marimo Moss Balls are strange yet fascinating things. We were told we can even keep them in the fridge because they like a cool, if not cold, environment. After all, they are from Japan. They will also have babies and one can even travel with them. If I read up more on them, I am sure I will find more fascinating information.
Well, it will definitely be interesting with Pete and Kate in our home as our new pets.
Angieneering 
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