We're back

[Harry]

The beer is currently being filtered, I will be done with it shortly.

Mike, My wife teaches Martial Arts and the place where that is done is called a dojo. She is a second degree blackbelt in Ju-Jit-Su. My youngest daughters fiancee is a blackbelt in Karate and also uses her dojo for classes. They do an all access deal where students can go to any of the classes offered. They dont make any money but it pays the rent and insurance and the Wife gets a lot out of it, she teaches as young as 3 and those classes of little ones are packed. The parents all have loads of praise for the improvements they see in their kids from gross motor skills to confidence and even grades at school since she makes them bring their reportcards in each quarter and stays on them.

To touch so many lives in such a positive way is a great sense of fulfillment for her.

[mite5255]

"To touch so many lives in such a positive way is a great sense of fulfillment for her" Very true Harry, you should always , if you can, give back, or just pay it forward, the feeling that maybe you've helped someone that can never pay you back is awesome.

[F.C.]

I'm back.

Very happy to see the lot of y'all still here. Last I heard from you fellas was, "you got friends here!" Suffice to say my ordeal (for the most part) is over. Divorce took a full year to end. I was hand to mouth that entire time barely hang'n on to this mortgage. I managed... barely. Still dig'n out of the hole the ex pushed me in. Each day, though, is a new day with yet another issue to deal with but those, too, are come'n about with less hardship. Anyway... Y'all miss me any? HAHA....

Haven't done squat with the foundry this past year because of the ex's attorney try'n to glom onto any money it makes and give that half to my ex in the divorce settlement. I wore them down by simply not doing a damn thing, and blaming the ex for running off that bear sculpture's investor. Our two oldest boys turned against her for it. I tried to get them to ease off her but they didn't. What she did and how she did what she did they said was despicable. She made that bed... it's hers to lie in.

So.... what's up with everyone here nowdays? Anybody get'n jiggy-wid-it out in the sand doing castings? Enuff with the grumbling about the past... let's hear some creativity and technology goin on. Any noobies on board? I'll be casting here shortly (just got my sand reconditioned and covered in the bin). Been dink'n about doin wax carvings for patterns to cast in aluminum. Nothing for pay, just purging myself after that year long hardship I endured. Wasn't just the divorce, moreso the accident I had with a couple deer July a year ago. Been a long recovery... but I"M BAAAACK!! Tough and ornery as ever. There's a lot to be said about shovel'n sand... it'll give ya muscles and fine tune yer innards due the exercise involved. Even the surgeon asked me in the trauma unit what I did for a living. I asked why, and he said, "I've never seen a man your age with as much highly toned muscles throughout your upper torso like you do". I told him it was daily exercise combined with an insane addiction to sand casting bronze and aluminum. I don't get sick because of the zinc fumes I inhale, and the exercise augments the amount of work that's involved in pack'n and manipulating sand and packed sand molds... plus pour'n metal, finishing, etc., etc. Labor of love...

I'll post pics when I clear my deck and get pack'n sand. If not this weekend, early to mid week next.

Cheers, fellas.

Frank

[latzanimal]

Glad your back Frank!

[F.C.]

Thanks, Latz!

[Jammer]

Hey Frank, good to hear from you. It's been a slow year for most of us. I've got everything packed up to move back to Ohio. Our closing keeps getting pushed farther out, they won't be happy until we're moving in the snow.

[mite5255]

Good to see you back Frank:-).......snow, what the hell is snow Jerry, I'm led to believe its fluffy white stuff that I've never seen lol lol...first month of spring and its 100f here

[F.C.]

I feel your pain Jerry. Been try'n to sell this property for over a year so I can move on and not deal with all the bitter memories. Actually been try'n to sell this place for the past 10 yrs. I've fired virtually every realtor in this town who tried their best to get me to give this place up for little to nothing. One actually spent an entire year and more telling people my in-floor heating was dysfunctional... and would cost a butt load to fix. FYI... I don't have in-floor heat. Another accidently cc'd me in an email to another realtor stating she'd guarantee I'd take a low ball offer 'cause I'm out of state, have another mortgage, and she's insured no-one would buy the place for what I was ask'n for it. This is the shit I've dealt with since I left here back in 2009. Now, since the surprise divorce, I'm back try'n to sell again. This time I've enlisted aid from another realtor who's a husband of one of my cousins in the next county. He's been very instrumental in getting me showings and telling the "truth" about this property's condition. Hopefully, this place will sell soon.

I need to get free from here.... badly.

I'm planning on re-settling further upstate where more interest is of public arts. Realestate there is equal in value to this county w/plenty of vacant homes to select from. If that don't pan out, then I'll likely head north and lock back into a region I know I can survive in and profit thereby.

Good luck with your sell and move, my friend. I'll be more attentive to this site now that the bulk of my nightmare has subsided.

Cheers,

Frank

[F.C.]

WOW!! The silence on this forum is remarkable. Isn't anyone casting? I've been hamstrung the past year due several life "issues" and lately dealing with selling my place and finding a new location to move into. Minor setback of late, but still... seems odd the rest of the membership here have all but ceased being active as well. I've got a project "in progress", small scale, artsy type which I'll be pack'n sand for in the next couple days and casting in aluminum. A gift, as it were, for a couple people involved in Eastern Star (a woman's group associated to the Mason Lodge I belong to). Have a few other wax patterns I carved I'll be casting in aluminum, too, which I hope to turn a buck with through a couple motorcycle clubs I belong to. Gotta do something creative while I stew over selling this house and figuring out where I'll be relocating. I'll post pics soon. Meanwhile, how'bout the rest of ya chime in and give me an update on what y'all been up to!! Let's get some motivation brew'n in this place again!!

[F.C.]

Let's see if I can post a photo or two: I'll try this and see. More to follow if this works.