Focusing on Habits

Rough night. Didn't sleep too much and I think I woke Mary a couple of times. Thought a lot about Sting. Played with Dave Matthews Band at Atlanta for the NCAA Final Four concert. I'm currently read his book "Broken Music: A Memoir". How he was able to compartmentalize parts of live. How he went for mastery though habit (the things we do everyday and every week become habits). There is a lot for us to learn there.  

I just finished "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" Charles Duhigg and originally though it was to preachy and was offended by the religious references. I want to share my desire to change some of my habits. Starting with posting here. I plan on using this forum to share about (in no special order) my health and CLIPPERS, my woodworking progress, photography, my exploration of Mu and Zen and my cooking experiments.

Now I need a habit and a system. Added Amazon Affiliate Program and Cross Posting to Facebook.

Resetting my life

A lot of thing have been happening in Will's life lately. My health as gone to shit. I've started using a cane to help control my balance. My talking has become increasingly difficult for my to articulate at a speed that feel normal. I'm weak. I have taken a 30 day leave of absence from work and I'm not sure it helped. I still feel about the same as when I started. I started a new treatment regime and am take Perdinsone by mouth instead of IV. This was the recommendation from the second opinion I got from Johns Hopkins. They seem to agree that I have a condition called CLIPPERS and this it the standart treatment. So much fo me and my health. I happy to restart this blog but am curious where it will lead and how it will fit in with my life.

Spoon Carving with Jögge Sundqvist

I'm back from a week of being bathed in wood carving. Specifically, spoon carving and more specifically spoon carving in the Swedish style. There were 11 of us including Drew and Louise Langsner, the hosts and Jögge Sundqvist from Umeå, Sweden over for here for near a month giving classes.

I want to be sure to mention that Country Workshops is a first class place. The shop facilities are great. Huge selection of tools selected to fit the needs of the styles of wood craft taught. While the lodging was shared and rustic, it definitely fit with the whole character of the week. The food was superior. Louise does a magnificent job of creating a feast at every meal. Lots of goodies from her garden and from neighbors. Local food lovers rejoice.

It was so nice to immerse into an environment where there was so much energy devoted to spoon making. I'd divide things up into four themes. Spoon carving technique, spoon design, materials and something that is a bit harder to describe but for now we'll call it meaning.

Spoon Carving Technique

Jögge hollowing a spoon bowl with a bent knife.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I remember


Jögge and his father Wille are cultural treasures in Sweden. Jögge studies

Smooth sanded spoons

Spalted Maple with ripple figure

Birch spoons, near spoon from birch from UofI arboretum, likely exotic.

Also birch, near spoon River Birch.

The spoons are of the last few weeks production. I do work in a rustic leave the knife makes on the wood style and also a sanded smooth finish. These are of the latter. Buffed and waxed with a fine luster. The maple spoon really look great finely finished. I am looking for so wood that will led itself to a rougher finish. Fresh, I doo have a lead on some Honey Locust.


My Spinal went uneventful. Probably worked too much around it and took it too lightly. It will be a week or so before I'll have the results. Many of the tests are not usually done locally and have to be sent out by the lab. It seemed as I escaped the headaches usually associated with spinal taps but yesterday and today splitting headaches. Of course the walking into the tree headfirst causing scalp bleeding might have something to do with it.

Wish me luck

This morning I go in for a spinal tap. My neurologist really is interested in confirming what this is that I have.

I've been making Rakasu Rings for a while. Let me now if you could use one.

It has been awhile

Reset.

I have be diagnosed with a brain condition which goes by the acronym of CLIPPERS. Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontinocelebellar perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids or CLIPPERS for short. Most of the cases, of which there are only a few, show on MRI involvement of the pontine, a small midline structure deep in the brain. My involvement is only in the cerebellum, which connects with the pontine.

Here are some pictures that show my brain.

Post Contrast T2

It doesn't look like much but the symtoms are pretty rough. Fortunately they are not so bad as to prevent me from working. Sometime I should write down the whole affair. Brain biopsy, cancer workup, full body CT and multiple lumbar punctures. Turns out that steroids are the treatment and they worked originally. Then after 4 months I went 6 weeks without a treatment and had a relapse and now have to basically start over. 

Anyways, enough for now about my brain. Been in the shop some and have some spoons that I have to photograph for the blog.

"Confession of a Buddhist Atheist"

Snow. Calling for up 7" more. Yups. May have to crank up the snow blower.


I just finished Stephen Batchelor's "Confession of a Buddhist Atheist" and am impressed by his writing style. Flipping back and forth between his life experience and the writings of the Pali Cannon, he presents a compelling narrative. I, like him, am compelled to acknowledge that I am certain about nothing. Really anything. My world view is dependent on my circumstances, the conditions that have already arisen. Given different circumstances, I would have a different world view. This is ennobling. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.