lauriesue.com

Yesterday, was a day for Laurie Girl on the Go to spend some time with her nursing friends, Sandy and Susan. First stop was Cerritos College to see the end of year woodworking and manufactoring exhibit at this year’s Student Appreciation Day.

Years ago, when I first moved to Long Beach these new friends and home owners decided we should take a wood working class so that we could be handy around our recently bought homes that were in major need of repair. What were we thinking? Woodworking is hard and takes years of practice. Plus they were teaching us how to make things not repair things. The class was loads of fun. I’ve learned to really love the wood and have a deep respect for the craftsmanship in every table, box or cabinet I saw.

Being a new member of the blogging community. I neglected to remember my camera so here is a photo of the my only fully completed project from my class. A beautiful “push stick” made out of cherry.

For those of you who might not be familiar with a “push stick”, it is a tool used in the wood shop to push the wood near the saws so as not to put your vulnerable fingers near the menacing teeth. If you could have only seen the moldy piece of raw wood from which this stick was rendered, you might have a greater appreciation for the hours of cutting, sanding and oiling it took to bring it to its luminous finish. For the moment I use it as a trivet in the kitchen and think fondly of those days in “the shop”.

It was wonderful to be back among the men and woman, surrounded by nice people who had such pleasure in their art. Their pieces of craftsmanship put my push stick to shame. We ran into a former class mate who had built a 4 car garage next to his house and converted it to a woodshop. Although he stated he didn’t spend enough time in the shop, he had two beautiful jewelry boxes in the exhibit. Ahh…to be there again was great.

Maintaining my persona as “Girl on the Go” the nurses stopped at a uniform shop for much needed new nursing outfits then a quick stop at TJ Maxx for a new bathing suit. I hadn’t gotten the memo that swimming was on the agenda for the day. We headed to Susan’s for a dip in her pool. It was a great way to beat the 100 degree heat wave.

The evening ended with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Fish Company. Last night’s dinner choice was crab stuffed halibut with a mushroom cream sauce. Could have been something I had gotten in New Orleans except with a different fish. Tasty, fresh and cooked to perfection, plus they held the lemon which made me really happy.

Wow, what a day. Thanks nursing friends for a wonderful adventure and helping me discover what size clothes I wear.