Good morning all. After a horribly depressing session of breakfast whilst listening to NPR I’ve decided to keep today’s post pretty light. That is why today, rather than talking about Freedom Day, I’ll be talking about something that really matters, the fact that Ima Wizzerd!

If you’ll recall, a few months back, Zaxxon was having a hard time with life. I was well into my obsession with Harry Potter at that point, so it seemed only logical that I should use magic to cheer him up. He and I had had a conversation about HP and at some point talked about needing wands. It was then established that a wizard, or witch, could not make their own wand, but it had to be made for them. Preferably by a friend who would craft it out of love for their friend. Seemed reasonable. Our conversation was one of those between friends that probably would have never gone anywhere. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ideas for a t-shirt that never gets made, the fantasizing about a trip that never happens, and so on. But Zaxxon was in a bad place and my boss was out of town, so why not. I’d never really made anything from wood, though.

“It’s cool,” I thought, “if I screw this up, no one will be the wiser and Zaxxon won’t be disappointed because never received his wand that he did not know existed.”  So, I set about making a wand. Taco Planet, Dave, and Little Miss Cotton saw what I was doing and decided to make wands for each other as well. Granted, all we really had to work on was tabletop belt sander. No lathes, hell even the Dremel wouldn’t charge up fast enough to use it. I did manage to find a few tiny files that worked out pretty well for detail work, and of course a little hand sanding was in order to finish it out. I found a bottle of silver wood glaze to make it sparkle magically. A little stain and some waxed black linen thread for the handle and Voila, the Ash Wand:

Zaxxon was ecstatic when he got it. He never suspected a thing. It didn’t hurt that it came for his birthday, either. He knew I had sent him something for his b-day, and he scolded me for sending him something. I seem to recall him telling me that he was going to send it back to me. I assured him that he would not be sending this one back. For one, I can’t use the thing. I made it. Second, it has got his initials in the handle. His wand.

After he got his wand, he set about to make mine. Luckily for him he works for the Forest Service and given the number of wildfires he was close to, he had contact with guys going to all sorts of forests with all sorts of trees in them. The world was his oyster when it came to wood selection. But the only flaw in his plan was no power tools. He tried twice to literally whittle me one with a knife and sand paper. Both broke. Needless to say, he was frustrated with wandmaking. I told him not to fret. Then an idea came to us. He was supposed to be going to Austin to visit some of our old friends very soon. But of course, Ironwood Chris lives there and he is a cabinet maker. Why not have him help out? He has an entire wood shop full of power tools.

So, he went to Austin. And wands were made. Plural. Not only did Zaxxon make one, but ol’ Ironwood took to the idea and made me one as well. I hear the protests already.

“Two wands?! You can’t have two wands!”

Yes. I know this. But maybe you’ll stop interrupting and let me finish my damned story. Thank you. Where was I? Oh, yes, the dual wands. So, they decided that they’d each make a wand and let me decide which one I wanted. Or rather, which one wanted me. Seeing as how the wand chooses the wizard after all. But, I could not have them yet. No, Zaxxon had another trick up his sleeve. There was a man who made t-shirts who he had to see first. Weeks passed. And the t-shirt was finally completed and he mailed me the whole lot. Two wands and a custom made t-shirt. I got the package on Friday. Wanna see them? Okay. First, behold the Cherry Wand:

Next, behold the Walnut Wand:

And of course my badass new t-shirt:

The only problem now is that I can’t decide on a wand. I had expected one wand to just stand out as my wand, but no they both have their own personalities that have pros and cons. One is heavier and wields more authority, while the other is lighter and fits more comfortably in my hand. It is like one is for the battlefield and one is for the classroom. Picking between them is going to be rough. I’ll let you know which one I end up with.

Well, that’s enough silliness for one day. I’ve got to get to work now. I’ve articles to write, and Physics to tutor, and gear to pack up. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. More soon. ~SC