Buenas tardes or good afternoon from Costa Rica
Well, my friends I am back in the shop with renewed vigor and a better understanding of what is most important in my own life.
Just to give you an update on what has been happening since the meltdown of Christmas 2014. As you know things didn't go to well for me regarding projects in the shop which caused a drop in motivation to work in the shop. Over Christmas my in laws came to visit, which was a good break for me. Then in January, the pastor of the church I am currently helping went on vacation for the whole month, so I took over the duties of pastor for a month, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I love preaching God's word and working with people regarding spiritual matters. My wife and I also started a men's and ladies bible study for the church, which has been going well. Along with that we had another visitor come mid January and stay through the 3rd of February. He is that man that I was hoping would bring down my new espresso maker, which never made it to his house on time and so I had to cancel the order. Someday I will have a good espresso maker. My friend and I were able to do a lot of cleaning around the house with junk and garbage that had accumulated. We burned it all in two days. May I just say burning is an incredible way of getting rid of stuff rapidly with little waste left behind.
Regarding another update, coffee, I had finished my harvest o my coffee beans and got about a pound and a half. I haven't gotten my rotisserie motor for my gas grill yet, another package that didn't arrive on time for my friend to bring it down. That one though he is going to mail to me. Anyway, if you remember my post on shucking the parchment from the dried coffee bean I was planing on purchasing a cheap blender and file down the blades. Well, my wife reminded me that we have an extra blender that no one is using so I filed down the blades and threw in the beans and put it on the slowest speed possible. Low and behold it worked perfectly, removing the parchment with out damaging the beans. Now I have a load of green coffee beans to roast. On the subject of roasting, as my friend and I were cleaning I was able to go through some boxes filled with stuff, I have three big Stanley construction boxes I had bought in the states and brought them down here, Basically they were junk holders. As I was going through them I found my Presto hot air popcorn popper, which I had used in the past to roast coffee beans. I plugged it in and it seemed to be running fine so I threw in some beans. You can roast about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of beans in it. You have to keep stirring it while it is roasting and some how seal the opening where the popcorn comes out once it is popped. It roasts really fast, in about 1 to 2 minutes and you are at the second crack. I still want to try the gas grill method to roast at a slower pace. The coffee has a strong fruity flavor to it so I mix it with some other coffee to tone it down a bit. Right now I am enjoying a delicious cup of fresh roasted, fresh brewed, French press coffee. Life is good my friends.
So getting back to the point of this blog, woodworking (although maybe I should change the title to wood working, pizza [that is a whole other story], and coffee shop in Costa Rica), I find my self back in the shop with a new project. What I said in the beginning about learning what is most important in my own life applies to the new project. My wife deals with a lot of health problems and we like to take a more natural approach to that. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those who are against all modern medical treatments and such, it is just we like to try both with a lean toward the more natural approach. So my wife has been, with the help of some dear friends, delving into using essential oils to help her health. I have been using them as well with great results. I figure if I have a choice between a synthetic drug and a natural one where both work and produce similar results I will use the more natural one first. So my wife was wanting to get more involved with the oils, but as usual there is a cost. So the money I had planned to use for the espresso machine went to help my wife buy the oils she needed. Now she has a bunch of small bottles that need to be kept out of direct light. Hence her request to me, "Honey could you build me a carrying case for my oils." And so the project began, which also means the shaving horse and the rocking chair will be put on hold. The money I had set aside for the wood for the shaving horse and the seat of the rocking chair is now tucked away and being assigned to a different task, which is a birthday get away for my wife and I at the end of March, her birthday not mine, although I do get to benefit in this present also. It has been two years since we have had a time away to ourselves with out any work or kids around. It is not that I don't love my kids, I am crazy about them, but everyone who is married needs to have time alone with their spouse.
So here is the moral of the story, if I can put it that way. The last few months of 2014 found me in the shop quite a bit, maybe more than I really needed to be. Woodworking is a hobby for me not a profession. And so it needs to stay there. My first passion is for Christ, then my wife and family, then my church, then my job (which happens to be in the church), and then my friends and hobbies. So woodworking for me needs to stay in that spot. If it tries to move up in the order of things I must say no. To allow that would put things out of balance, and it is when things are in balance that true inner peace comes about. So you see, in my life, when I put the needs of others before my own, I find great peace and contentment. The biblical definition of love that Christ put forth is that love is sacrificially giving with out any expectation of gain or return. You don't love in order to get. You love in order to give.
Well, my friends that is where I am at on my journey through this life and world. Tomorrow I will give an update with photos on the project at had and explain more of what I will be trying to accomplish.
Take care and God bless
Mark Hynek
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