I managed to paint a name on the bow of my yak yesterday. Once again I turned down beautiful weather to finally get the yak closer to being considered complete. I used black electrical tape to form a working medium on the bow. I then used a stencil and pin to indent the pattern of the letters into the electrical tape. I used a razor edged craft knife to carve out the letters. That was fairly delicate work and required a lot of patience, the CBC Radio 2, a beer and some sweet incense but it was worth it. Once the letters were carved out my daughter and I carefully filled them in with black Tremclad using some small fine bristled brushes. I had to go to a movie in the evening (X2, an awesome movie for those who love fantasy/sci-fi) so I left the second coat to Lydia. She's my 9 year old right hand. You should have seen the look on her face when I asked her to be responsible for painting the second coat: it was both excited and worried. Growing up is always a challenge. Well, she did a great job. The letters filled in nicely, with no runs. I showed her how clean the letters looked this morning before she went to school. She left for school feeling pretty good about her work. Next thing I know she will be wanting to build. Can't wait for that.

Only 16 more sleeps to go!

Robert N Pruden