Been weeks I know...

It has been weeks since I posted & truly I have not missed it. I do love blogs and blogging, I just needed some time away after my seven weeks in New Orleans. Business has been good and the family is great. The honey bees have been working hard & I look forward to honey harvest in a few weeks.

I am starting a kitchen renovation in Durham on Monday. Kevin Osborne & I have a challenging 10 days to complete the project while the clients are out of town. I am dependent on suppliers for the cabinets and flooring, so part of the time will be "hurry up and wait" for delivery trucks. Here are a few before photos:

Shelley & I spent most of the weekend with four other home schooling couples in a planning retreat for Lighthouse Christain Homeschool Association. It was good spending time with other home schooling moms & dads and planning a year of events and strategies for the folks in and around Wake Forest, NC.

Hinton Kitchen/Bath Renovations right before Christmas.

We started this kitchen renovation on Wednesday. We tore out the counter tops, back splash and sink. Wednesday afternoon we were to fabricate the tops out of Meganite (a solid surface material). The freight company dropped the ball and by Thursday morning the product was still in Atlanta. R&L Shipping has had a bad week as far as I am concerned! Yesterday morning they shipped the pallets to China Grove, NC where they would be by 2:30pm yesterday. My associate Kevin contacted R&L to verify the order was on the manifest, it was according to the company computers. Kevin drove the diesel truck and 20' to pick up the order and save time. After 3 hours driving he found the order in the China Grove terminal for R&L Shipping...one small box full of adhesive. The large pallets were still in Atlanta...

4 tanks of diesel fuel..................$250.00

Pizza for a family with
no kitchen.................................$40.00

A shipping company
that delivers on time..................PRICELESS

An update: We finished the fabrication on Saturday morning and spent most of the day installing the new counter tops, new sink and new faucet set. It looks great! I'll post photos soon.

It has been a very busy week here. Work, family, honey bees and on top of it all, I am now taking a few classes at N.C State University. In the midst of all of that, I just did not have time to blog much this week, I have not even kept up with my normal bloglist daily read. All will return to normal one day, in the future, to what ever normal will be then.


My brother runs the Peachtree Road Race each July 4th. Here is a picture from his latest finish. A big thumbs up indeed!

simply begging...

For those of you who know me, you know I have several
careers. I am a pastor/general contractor/beekeeper. The GC role feeds my family. It is difficult and scary at times, but somehow, we have never missed a meal and the bills are paid. I have a business partner Harry Polk. He is my friend. He also owns a small construction company. As sole proprietors of two small companies, Harry and I have found it advantegous to work together on many projects. We have a simple agreement, when I am the GC, he is my foreman, when he is the GC, I am his. It has worked for almost four years. We have not made a large profit, but we have managed to grow each company little by little, very slowly.

On Thursday, we were working on one of Harry's projects. We were at the end of the day and finishing a roof to avoid a coming sleet/rain storm. In the end, Harry took a serious fall. Even as he was in severe pain, he did not think of himself...he worried only about his family and their future. He was rushed to Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. After a few hours in ER, he went into surgery. He will survive! He sustained a broken left femur and two broken wrists. The leg should heal fine, the wrists are still in the air. He will return to surgery on Tuesday and then a long hospital and rehab stay.

I do not want his family to suffer a huge financial setback! His health insurance will cover all health care, but he did not carry disability or workmens comp on himself. So, I am asking for the help of ALL my friends all over the world. I believe the family of faith can work to help the Polk family in the next few months. I want to raise as much cash as I can and pass it on to Harry's wife Kristie. The construction projects will not stop, as I will step in and bring them to completion, but the monies for Harry's weekly draw will need to be spent on subcontractors to complete the work.

I am asking all my friends to send some cash my way. All donations will pass through the account of my small church and will be tax deductible. 100% of the cash will be given to the Polks for household expenses. Send any and all donations to:

The Carpenter's Shop
6135 Huntsboro Rd
Oxford, NC 27565-7546

~OR~

Paypal account: carpentersshop@gmail.com

I do ask that you will pray for Harry, Kristie, Braelyn, McKenzie and Ta-Ray.
If you are in and around Durham, NC, Harry and Kristie can be found in Rm # 6105 at DUMC.

Blessings2u,

Jimmy

FollowUp: Shelley set up a blog regarding Harry's recovery, check it out.

Busy for a Friday...

Off to teach an American Government class today and then on to check on several construction projects. The weather has been temperate for January thus, it has been great to be outside. For those who love honey, I am working hard to planning for the spring honey flow. If all goes well, we should have an additional half a million bees flying before April.

$8Hotdogs,$9Beer,$17Malaria treatment...

Chris Seay


In 1987 Shelley and I had a decision to make. We wanted children, but we had to decide the kind of family we would create. At that time we were both working and had a combined income of about $50k per year. Shelley's career was in transition, it was about to move into a very lucrative place of high volume sales with increasing commissions. I was building a construction company with my father and looking for my first full time ministry position. We wanted to build a strong family. One that would prepare children for a time and place that Shelley and I would never see.

After many late night talks, much prayer and individual soul searching we came to a conclusion.
The best way for us to build a strong family was for Shelley to become a full-time wife and mother. We knew our income would be cut in half when she came home. We also realized that if I moved into full-time church ministry, the income would be limited for years. We truly felt in our hearts that if we made this sacrifice, we would not regret the outcome 25 years in the future.

We now have two uncommon daughters and a family that has grown up together in many ways.
Our income has been less than in 1987 and it may never be more. The fact is, the last three years have been the toughest we have had in the financial sphere, but the greatest we have experienced in spiritual and personal growth for each of us.

We made the decision to be a one income family. We do not believe it is a mandate from God for all. I do hope that if you have attained some level of financial security, you will not allow USAmerican consumerism to influence who you are or who you will become.

Quick Catch Up

Saturday was our first day selling at the Wake Forest Farmers Market. The crowd was good and we sold all but 1.5 quarts of the honey we took with us. Many candles and several bars of soap were purchased. We are looking forward to this Saturday;)

Another hot and busy week is shaping up in the work department. We are now framing a large post and beam porch. The heat was draining today, but we had a good rain this evening. The forecast is for more of the same the rest of the week.

I love reading the book of Proverbs, I always learn something each time.

Mystery and Progress

Thursday evening I returned home from a long and hot day to find my mailbox and post destroyed. Being in a rural area this is common. Farmers pulling wide and large machinery would not notice hitting a wood post. It would shatter by momentum of mass alone. A state contractor was mowing the shoulder on Thursday afternoon, an "accident" could have taken place with the large mowing arm. The last possibility would be a wayward auto. Here, the ingestion of "demon rum" would be needed as we live on a very straight road just after a four- way-flashing-light intersection. If it was a car or pickup, they have a ding in the paint this morning.

Saturday morning I was up and out early to purchase the needed materials for new mailbox and post. The "local" bigbox is about nine miles down the road in Henderson. I was in and out in ten minutes and my pocket was $91.00 lighter. I hate paying $91.00 dollars when I make a mistake, it hurts worse when there is an unknown reason for my spending. The new post will be bright safety red with a black jumbo size mailbox. The brass address numbers from the previous post survived. If you are ever in the area, sitting at the intersection of Salem and Huntsboro Rd, turn north, we are the driveway with the bright red mailbox post with the big black mailbox. Drop by for a visit, we will add some water to the soup;)

Just for your information. Kiddliwink Apiary will be selling honey, bees wax candles and honey based soap at the Wake Forest, NC Farmers Market starting Saturday, August 18. Come join us, get a sample and support local sustainable farms.

(HT: To Shelley for getting us in the farmers market)

Hot & busy...

Hot, that is the main word for things on the east coast at the moment. To beat the heat we have been stepping out on job sites at about 6am, working until 1pm and running for a cool spot. We return to work around 4-5pm and work until darkness and exhaustion kick in. Lots of work and heat at the moment, but all is well.

I am still working on Sweet Lie posts..see ya later!

Rambling...

We started a new construction project this week. At this moment all I will say about it is that it is very HOT outside, but I could be laying asphalt as a highway contractor.

Shelley writes about the kids.


Everybody, drink lots of water and work steady......

Finis...the stone, the mortar, the iron, all silent.

Today we finished a project we have been working on for several months. The stone porch/patio you see was carefully built my me, my business partner Harry Polk and Russ Creech. We used NO sub-Contractors on this project. We did all the work from start to finish.

Last fall, the french doors you see were not there. There were two windows and lots of brick. We removed the windows and several tons of brick, installed a roof support system then installed that beauty of a door unit. We returned this spring to add the porch/patio.

All the concrete, block, and stone were touched by our hands. The wrought iron railing was manufactured and installed by our team. The stone, block, mortar and sand came from here. The white cap stones were made here. The Buckingham Blue slate was gathered from the property, but was mined in the hills of VA. The energy, skill and creativity came from a well of God's grace deep inside. My hope and prayer is the McNish-Connelly family will experience great joy and God's blessings as they enjoy this new space.

Liquid Gold

Saturday was extracting day. Early in the morning I went out to check my stores. It was eight supers with over 400lbs of spring honey. I knew it would take lots of work and most of the day to move the honey from the comb to storage buckets in my kitchen. The eight supers were stacked on each other to form a tower that was almost six feet high. I rocked the super tower to check the weight and decided it would be to much to move by dolly. We moved them one box at a time into the kitchen. I then removed the wax cappings with a special electric knife and placed the frames in the extractor; a quick spin and the liquid gold flew into the barrel, down the sides to the convex bottom. From there a "gate" on the front of the barrel is opened and the honey flows into a mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth. This straining will remove any bits of dirt, pollen, or bee parts left behind. The strained honey is stored in a five gallon bucket until needed for jarring. The process was repeated again and again until I worked through all the supers. My wife Shelley worked along with me as we processed the honey from comb to people food.

Along the way, you get honey on your hands and on the floor and on the work surfaces. As we would finish with a super, we would clean a bit and move on. At this time Kiddliwink Apiary is a micro-company, so we use the equipment that is on hand. That means we have an old two frame hand crank extractor, an ancient electric capping knife and the rest of the processing utensils come from our kitchen. For all of these reasons it takes a bit of time. By 4:30pm I was almost finished.

I stepped out on our back porch to move the last two supers. I removed a cover, pushed back a plastic bag and saw hundreds of bees. Several hundred bees had found an opening after I had tilted the super stack earlier in the day. I now had two supers with 60-70lbs of honey and two hundred or more bees in my house. I had visions of bees flying all over and the family being stung. I went to my bee equipment, grabbed my smoker, filled it with wood chips and started a good fire. I closed the smoker and puffed the bellows until I had good rich smoke pouring out. I was going to smoke the bees in the top box down to the bottom, grab the top super, extract it and do the same for the remaining box. There were two problems with my plan: 1. The smoker would fill the house with rich wood smoke. 2. The last box would hold ALL the bees, still in the house.

I then called for Shelley to find a spray water bottle and a fly swatter. I sprayed the bees as they climbed to the top and Shelley swatted them. I did NOT want to hurt these girls, but I had no options. Shelley was a trooper. She entered the fight wearing a light summer dress and a pair of flip-flops. I would squirt and she would swat. After a 10 minute fight I grabbed the top box and moved to the kitchen. Shelley stayed behind and continued the fight. After it was all said and done, many of the bees ended up "escaping" and we worked to shoo them outside. By 6pm we were finished with the "hard" work. Gravity and time would complete the straining. At this time we have five gallons still straining from the extractor. We could "rush" this along by heating the honey, rendering it thinner...it would strain faster, but it changes the flavor and kills many of the natural nutrients and immune builders in the honey.

All that to say this, Kiddliwink Apiary now has spring honey in a limited supply. If you are in the Triangle call us at 919-690-8487. If you are in another part of the world, leave a comment.
Pricing is very simple, $12US per quart, $7US per pint and $4US per 1/2 pint + shipping and handling.

FOLLOW-UP: Our first sell of the season was yesterday, July 25. A friend purchased 1/2 gallon of spring honey.

It's all in "know how".

Mostly Cajun has something to say about experience. Many times as I am working with a client, they are amazed at "how easy" something I may do seems. What they didn't see were the years it took to learn "how". The info I have learned regarding construction has been passed down to me by very talented and capable men, all but one of them (my father) are gone. I owe them all a debt of gratitude.

It has been a busy week here in Granville County. The weather has been good, so work has dominated the days. Nights have been busy with the family: our oldest daughter graduates from HS this month, so plans for ceremonies, parties and invitations have been the priority. We are also taking care of animals and house for friends on a spring family holiday. In the midst of all this, life goes on. The death of Jerry Falwell has highlighted the thoughts of many american christians.
Will Samson has a great post at willzhead, take a look and let me know what you think.

Another view by Dan Edelen.

A different take by NoVa Dad.

BibleBeltBlogger chimes in.

Hello Dolly!!

I met Sharon last summer. She asked my company to build a deck on the home she had just purchased. I did not meet her husband at that time. Six months later, her husband Phil called me. He hired my company to put a new mud room on the back of his house.

Sharon and Phil are from Massachusetts. That is a long way from rural N.C. (Now, I have never really pronounced the state name correctly. I pronounce the word MASS-UUH-TWO-SITTS. I spell it correctly, after looking it up) They bought a small horse farm in Oak Hill. That is about 6 miles south of the Virginia border. I have enjoyed working for them and getting to know them. Other than a strange accent, most folks would think they are N.C. natives.

Sharon and Phil have dogs. They love their dogs. They have four dogs. Three Boston Bulldogs and a West Highland Terrier. The three bulldogs are kinda cute, while the Westie tags along with the rest. One of the bulldogs is named Dolly. She is 70% blind. She was abused as a puppy and rescued by Sharon and Phil. Dolly is VERY afraid of thunder and lightning.

Last Thursday by company was putting a new roof on Sharon and Phil's house. Sharon was outside picking up the brown wrapping paper from the roof shingle bundles. Dolly, the blind bulldog was outside with Sharon. I was on the roof with my crew working. We were making all sorts of racket on the roof, including the crash, bang, boom of hammers and pneumatic nailers.
To a little dog it sounded like thunder. Dolly was frightened, she ran away from the loud noise, into the woods. She ran until she was lost. Sharon noticed Dolly was missing. She called for Dolly, with no response. Sharon went inside the house to tell Phil.

At that point an all out search began for Dolly. Sharon, Phil and the neighbor Eddie walked the property and called for Dolly. They did this for hours. They drove up and down the roads around the property, hoping to catch a glance of the lost, blind Dolly. This went on for hours. Again and again they called and looked. Dolly was gone. The day was growing late, the sun was setting. Sharon and Phil were heart sick and heart broken. Dolly was gone.

My crew and I finished the day and went home. I was sad for Sharon and Phil and for Dolly. She was God's creation and loved deeply by her owners. I prayed for Sharon, Phil and Dolly.

On Friday, I arrived at Sharon and Phil's farm about 6:30am. It was raining lightly. Phil was up and had been looking for Dolly. Dolly was gone. Sharon was so heart sick she was in bed, and stayed there all morning. Every half an hour or so, Phil would get in his truck, put the three remaining dogs in the truck with him and go look for Dolly. Dolly was gone. This went on all morning. Sharon and Phil were very sad, that is an understatement, they were mourning.

At 12:15pm the roof was almost finished. I was cleaning up on the ground. Two members of my crew were nailing down the cap strips. Phil was gathering the three remaining dogs to go look for Dolly once again.

A car drove into the farm yard. The driver was wearing a camo hat and a camo shirt. His words were simple, "Did anyone lose a dog?" He got out of the car. He was wearing camo pants, camo boots and a camo watch. This was a spring Turkey hunter. He picked up a moving object from the car. It was a dog. It was a Boston Bulldog. It was a blind, Boston Bulldog named Dolly.
Dolly was not lost anymore. Dolly had been found.

The Turkey hunter was named Darren. He had been turkey hunting all morning. He had been tracking a turkey 1/2 of a mile behind Sharon and Phil's farm. Darren had seen a small, black and white animal in the woods. He thought it was a cat. As he walked closer he saw it was a dog. He then realized the little dog was walking in circles. He saw the dog was blind. He spoke to the dog. She began to shake and whimper uncontrollably. He picked her up and gave her some water. Darren then began to drive the country roads around the one square mile of land he was hunting on. The first road was the road were Sharon and Phil have their horse farm. The first house Darren chose was Sharon and Phil's house. Darren gave dolly to Phil. Phil danced a gig of joy with Dolly in his arms. Phil took Dolly and Darren in the house. Phil showed Dolly to Sharon. Sharon jumped out of bed. Sharon and Phil had a party of celebration with Darren. Bud Light and crackers were the party food. Joy was in the house!! Dolly had been found.

$68,000,000,000

According to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, the ag industry in N.C. benefits the state with total income of $68,000,000,000. The ag industry represents 20% of the state income and provides over 17% of the employment.

With those kinds of numbers, agriculture should be a top priority for the General Assembly. Instead the "leaders" in Raleigh have given hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives to companies such as Dell Computers and Google. These companies will come to N.C., suck up the tax breaks and bail at the first sign of shrinking profits.

Meanwhile, the small to medium farmer in N.C. will attempt to hold on to family land, turn a profit and even transition his farm to a new food crop, if he can borrow the money to keep going. If he should die, his family will face huge federal and state taxes. Many will find it necessary to sell the farm to pay theses taxes. The land will be sold into private hands, much of that land that borders metro areas will never be used for producing food again. Some of the land will be logged and then houses or commercial construction will move in.

Things must change!! Farmers should farm!! N.C. should continue to lead the nation in agriculture production, not development. The N.C. General Assembly and the Governor should top playing kissy-face with big name comapnies by handing out money, and start loving on the N.C. Agriculture Community by helping them flourish. If they want to know how to help, ask a farmer who is attempting to make a living this spring and summer.

Day dreaming...

I was working this week on a farm in north Granville County. It is almost in Virginia. This part of the county is moving toward the mountains of western Virginia, the land lifts and falls as it ambles its way toward higher ground. The farm is covered in hardwoods. Huge oaks, maple and hickory dominate the landscape along with beautiful ornamentals planted 20 years ago.

The farm was purchased in the early eighties by a business man looking for a haven. For more than twenty years he has patiently built and planted, molding the contours of earth and wood together. Fences are well maintained and set with a flair for space and color. Weaving across the pastures as a seam follows fabric, traveling along each fold as the pleats of a ladies skirt. The foundation on his home was laid 18 years ago and the structure was completed 18 months ago. Each piece of the house was crafted by the owner, from siding to window frames, stair treads to mouldings, flooring to cabinetry. It is clear the owner has a love for wood and stone, earth and sky.

Needless to say, the owner is a private man, not given to showiness. He is not a braggart nor a snob. He has built a place of peace and beauty. The land is peaceful, it speaks to you to come and sit-a-while. The owner is not perfect, I would not call him a peaceful soul, nor would I call him bad. He is an enigma who wraps himself in the beauty of his farm and home.

The weather the last few days has been gorgeous, The sky yesterday was a deep sky blue, the clouds puffy and white, the air warm with a cool chill on the edges, the sun not burning, but warming. A perfect day and place to day dream. I always dream BIG. Nothing small nor trite makes its way into my day dreams, only the large and out of reach. Hope is always the foundation, looking to tomorrow for what may be. It is captivating, but sometimes not useful.
God wants us to live in the now, with hope in HIM for the future. Hope, He knows the way. Hope, He has the answers. Hope, he will make the dreams come true. Hope His will is in some of those day dreams. Hope, that regardless, he cares for me.