I am so excited to be getting to close to being finished with Idaho. My plan is to drive him to Idaho on the 15 of of the month! Last night I worked in the shop until 10 PM hoping to finish. But I still have to clean about 40 wires and straighten out his leg as the vice has been a bit hard on him. His feet also need some work. 
After work I spent a total of 6 hours in the shop today , cleaning
wire and welding, grinding , welding and more grinding. If my shop mate and not been tired from a long day at work I might still be at the shop working. I no longer weld if I am alone. ;-(
Done for today, I’t time to take a take a break, get a bite to nosh on and maybe have a beer.
Just another couple hundred wires and this bird will be ready to fly east!
As you can see I out lasted the bird!
Cleaning wire and welding one wire at a time. Idaho is a day closer to being finished. I think I will let him sit on display for a week or two while I make plans to get him to his new home. 
of cleaning wires and then adding them to Idaho. Brad took a short video today we ill get it uploaded later. 
This weekend Peter and I went to Prosser Washington. We had planned to go to the fly in but we just had too much to do. We did enjoy the annual wine gala and art walk and the company of good friends.
We did manage to stop off for lunch at the Horse Heaven HIlls Salon for some fish tacos and a Dark cherry stout, I have been known to make the 3 hour drive over and back just to have one dark cherry stout and yes it is worth the 6 hour dive . Whitstran is also always on my list of places to stop for lunch and to have a nice cold beer, The HIghlander is my favorite beer at the Whitstran it is a scottish ale. . We only made it to three wineries this time around but we did came home with more wine to share with friends!
I was super happy to be able to drop off Rosie to her new home.
This was our seconds time staying at the Cozy Rose Inn and it was so delightful. We have already booked our next stay!
There never seems to be enough time to see everyone we want to see. So for those of you we missed this time we will see you on the next trip to Prosser. XOXO
Here is a photo of Rosie in her new home. 
With the warm weather the past week I have only been working in the shop couple hours a night. Idaho is coming along nicely! I am guessing I have less than 500 wires to clean and weld to have him completed.
Yesterday I decided to take a bunch of mix match scraps and put them together I am pleased to introduce you to Rosie.
Happy Independence Day!
I was invited to a couple BBQ’s but I really just wanted to work on getting Idaho finished so that I can deliver him to his new owners later this month! The wire I am using is recycled and is covered in soot ( which for some strange reason is not showing up in this photo. I have spent countless hours cleaning the wire before I weld it to the frame. This is not a lot of fun! 
This is how I am cleaning the wire. Tomorrow I am going to try soaking some in vinegar to see if that helps. I used to use vinegar to clean my pennies when I was a kid so I figure it is worth a try.. 
All this time in the shop would not be possible as if it were not for my good friend Brad Isley. He has volunteered to be my assistant / babysitter( as I not allowed to weld on weekends without having someone on site). I guess catching myself on fire last year upset a few more people than just me. 😉 So, thank you Brad for spending time in the shop with me , thank you for for helping cut wire and for taking the photos.
Here is todays updated progress photo of Idaho. .
I have been making art out of old world war ll Holitzer missile container cases for almost five years now. It is wonderful when I find people who love them and want one in their garden. 
I had friends over for wine today and since it was so nice outside we wanted to sit out back. I needed a table so I filled my Native Stone Concrete pot with corks and put a piece of glass on top. If you are interested in concrete items give me a shout!
