Dear Diary

Just Life

Learning Swift

Photos

The Journey

Things I Learned

: ๐Ÿšด๐Ÿผโ€โ™‚๏ธ From my ride yesterday evening, sunset over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg PA.

: Back from an extremely enjoyable 20 mile ride with Mozzie, our first ride together on our new bikes. โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿšฒ My bike ๐Ÿ˜Š. Jamis Renegade S3. Purchased from local bike shop on Tuesday and loving it.

: โœจ I am feeling oddly good about things/life at the moment...which is a strange way to feel...I kinda โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ•๏ธ Wasn't able to take the bikes home yesterday, but we picked them out from a local bike shop โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ“ I love a "productive" journaling session where I start with a problem at the beginning of writing โ€ฆ

: Our trip to the Aquarium also coincided with his last day of 3rd grade :-)

: ๐Ÿ  Had a great evening yesterday in Baltimore, MD at the Aquarium's member night - a simple trip that โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿšฒ Hoping to get a bike this weekend and excited for the Summer ahead and the rides that I'll be able โ€ฆ

: โŒ› Back to tracking my time (personal, work, etc) with Toggl and I'm thankful for it. I've missed the โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ“บ Starting to watch Silo.

: My bit of sunshine lately.

: ๐Ÿฅก thinking Chinese for dinner tonight.

: On the verge of something, unsure if it’s going to be a good or bad thing. Maybe falling over โ€ฆ

: I dig it.

: Quick prototype of an idea I had: a key pack to wear around your neck. Keys stay secure in the main โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŽง Poolsuite FM in the headphones. Bulk prepping and working on some new products ๐Ÿ˜Š

: Death and Taxes.

: Leather dye samples drying for what may become a relationship with an interior design firm…

: โ˜€๏ธ Happy for the sun shining today!

: Remember “speed dial”? Those were good times.

: My take on the classic Field Notes โ€œPony Expressโ€ leather pouch. Easily holds 3 notebooks and even โ€ฆ

: โ˜๏ธ Cloudy but focused (trying to be).

: โ˜• First sip. Never gets old.

: ๐Ÿ“บ Have been enjoying Perry Mason on HBO lately.

: Slowly shifting away from the m.b feed and to using RSS entirely. Also slowing shifting to posting โ€ฆ

: Made a mini leather briefcase.

: Pony Express…

: Back in my woodworking days I used story sticks to record various notes and markings for projects I โ€ฆ

: Latest custom leather project shipped out to my customer in the UK ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง - a pipe case, complete with a โ€ฆ

: Pro-tip: stop reading/watching the “news” for two-weeks. At the end, if the world is โ€ฆ

: Just found out I mixed two leather orders, one should have had the buckle the other should have had โ€ฆ

: Feeling clear about things at the moment, which is nice :-)

: Planned to have a workday today but am too tired from the week…rest day it is.

: Learned about keyboard haptics in iOS on the latest episode of Cortex. Enabled and I kinda like itโ€ฆ

: โš”๏ธ Time to conquer the list.

: ๐Ÿ˜‘ Way in my head lately. Eager to get through this personal chapter of life.

: Ritual โ˜•๏ธ

: Together.

: Hit a good stride with making these leather oven mitts. Can now make the pair for my client, and get โ€ฆ

: Throwback to when Mozzie and I would walk more often, usually local nature preserves, state parks, โ€ฆ

: โ˜•๏ธ Whole bean in the hopper.

: Leather oven mitt - a first of its kind from my workshop. A few items to address on the next one but โ€ฆ

: A train engineer doing his engineering. Taken while at East Broad Top Railroad last Summer.

: Leather cut and laid in a way to resemble tile.

: โœจ Some nights I have to stay up later...a feeling I just kinda follow to see where it goes.

: ๐Ÿง  Have been formulating a lot of things in my mind lately, working out details, thinking ahead. Lots of custom leather projects in motion, but believe I may have also hit a semi-good stride with a writing project that I've been putting off for t ๐Ÿง  Have been formulating a lot of things in my mind lately, working out details, thinking ahead. Lots โ€ฆ

: Zip.

: In the past I used to a actively seek solitude. Now it is my life, and so I actively seek the โ€ฆ

: Summer weather, and the storms that come with it, will be here soon - or so I keep telling myself โ€ฆ

: Secure.

: ๐Ÿ’ป Mostly admin type work today. Necessary evil.

: ๐Ÿง˜โ€โ™‚๏ธ Eventually, maybe in a few months, I think I’ll be at a good flow with managing โ€ฆ

: Catching up on several things: making more business cards, sending out more New Year cards (better โ€ฆ

: Woke up with the urge to write And so I have done so. Or at least started to. I am not currently at a point, like I was last Fall, โ€ฆ

: Unplanned, but have been up and productive since 5am. Kinda how I used to be. I’m sure โ€ฆ

: In my ears this morning.

: Monday!

: ๐Ÿ’ก So many thoughts and ideas running through my head at the moment, moving so fast I can't grab any โ€ฆ

:

: But firstโ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿชš eager to put this Pax panel saw to use!

: Making dowels.

: ๐ŸŒช๏ธ It is very loud in the quiet of my mind. Calm is in the future, something I am striving towards, โ€ฆ

: Routine.

: ๐Ÿชต looking forward to tomorrow, later this morning, when I will embark on my first woodworking โ€ฆ

: For a project I hope to start and finish tomorrow :-)

: A post I posted earlier does not seem to have hit the timeline, a problem I seem to have lately with โ€ฆ

: The texture of handcrafted. Folded edges of a better-late-than-never New Year card I made, printed, โ€ฆ

: My nine-year-old is traveling to Florida for 14 days. I made him a notecard for each day, with a โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ˜” Sometimes, when I am least expecting it, I feel a deep sadness and there is nothing I can do but โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ’ญ One day soon, maybe this weekend, I envision myself making my usual French press and then sitting โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ—“๏ธ Next two days planned. This week is my last big push to get caught up on most of my work, making โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿˆ Enjoyed doing nothing for a few hours today and watched the Chiefs v. Jaguars. Will do a bit more โ€ฆ

: Clicker press on my workbench! Dad came over to assist with lifting it (150lbs).

: ๐Ÿต Some quiet time before a busy day tomorrow. Lots of positive updates to share eventually, mostly โ€ฆ

: Woke up after sleeping for two hours. Not in a good rhythm at the moment. Making a list of things in โ€ฆ

: Impatiently waiting for my Goulet Pens order to be delivered today ๐Ÿ˜

: Made the notecards Iโ€™ve always wanted but could never find. Will be fun to use :-)

: Deciding.

: Finished S2 of White Lotus yesterday and Slow Horses today. Thoroughly enjoyed both!

: I โค๏ธ print.

: ๐Ÿ—“ This week is back to the grind. Spending today prepping for the week and quarter ahead. Eager for โ€ฆ

: Can’t sleep. Continuing White Lotus S2.

: โœ Leather product ideas are flowing, really excited about the focus for 2023. I made a significant โ€ฆ

: Ready to go!

: Merry Christmas! Up early today finish wrapping a few gifts.

: Feeling good about the status of things. All customer Christmas orders complete and delivered, my โ€ฆ

: Never gets old.

: My stacked morning routine as of late. Completed top to bottom. Typically accompanied with two cups โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ‘ last working weekend of the year!

: testing, testing. from MarsEdit 5 micro post…

: โ˜• Coffee, rain (was hoping for snow though!), focused work.

: Giving serious thought to adding a sewing machine to my leather business in 2023โ€ฆ

: Preparing parts for final Christmas orders.

: ๐Ÿ’Š Increasing vitamin intake for the new few weeks, specifically C and Zinc.

: ๐Ÿ“š Books ordered from a local-ish bookshop (hour drive). Planning to make a trip in the near future โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŽ„ Christmas music, coffee, wrapping gifts.

: ๐Ÿต Tea now, then sleep.

: ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ Exhausted. Looking forward to a short break on Sunday!

: Considering a Playdate for myself, trying to be more intentional about simple ways to “have โ€ฆ

: Santaโ€™s bag.

: โœ Despite the insane work schedule this time of year I am keeping with my morning writing routine. โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŒง Rain today, which I find myself enjoying more and more lately (which is new for me). Also new is โ€ฆ

: For 2023. A planner and a โ€œDo Workโ€ notebook. I started using the do work notebook this year, helps โ€ฆ

: Beautiful scenery on my drive to deliver a leather order in Maryland.

: All sides stitched. Next lunch. Then stitching the bottom to each. 2,334 stitches to go.

: A nice post-card to go along with each Christmas order I ship out this month. A simple handwritten โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ’ญ Felt affection in my dreams last night. Slept longer than I should have as a result.

: ๐Ÿ“บ I shouldn't, but I need a break that isn't sleeping: watching Slow Horses S2E1

: Custom version of one of my best sellers. I see a lot of zippers in my future. Shipping this one out โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ˜€ Planning to take "off" the last week of the year...looking forward to it!

: From today to Saturday I will be completing 4,214 stitches (by hand) on a massive leather project.

: Also, today is day 40 of no alcohol (none!), and man do I feel good!

: Joining the 4am club for a few weeks.

: One of eight total leather bins (18โ€x12โ€x12โ€). Will deliver all of them to my customer in Maryland โ€ฆ

: May be “leaving money on the table” but I just ended my holiday leather sale early, โ€ฆ

: Third time is a charmโ€ฆI hope.

: ๐Ÿ˜ž Holidays feel much different with the divorce being finalized, feeling rather blue today. That โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŒ‡ This morning I am happy to report that I was up early enough to watch the city around me transform โ€ฆ

: Next up: black leather dye.

: ~3.5 leather sides cut into smaller sections, then cut into final parts.

: Starting my largest project to date. These hides will be transformed into 8 very stylish and very โ€ฆ

: Appreciate being able to do this with sites, especially those that abuse ads and popups.

: I am currently working to make several positive changes/improvements in my life, one of them is โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ’จ Since we've started having consistent days in the 30's, I open a window every morning and crack โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŽ„ Christmas orders have me in "the zone" from 8am to midnight most days lately, with breaks for โ€ฆ

: Handcrafted.

: โ˜• I do love the morning coffee ritual.

: Personalized.

: Dead simple but entirely intentional: space for phone, space for notebook (can fit up to 6.5โ€ tall), โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ’ป Admin type work first: emails, print shipping labels, reply to marketplace messages, etc. Once โ€ฆ

: In ear headphones have started to bother my ears, more so than usual lately, so upgraded to โ€ฆ

:

: Another leather order for local delivery ๐Ÿ˜Š

: Guess I’ll just get up and make coffee. Abruptly woke up at 3:45…no luck falling back โ€ฆ

: Time to cut

: Mixing what I think may be my signature leather dye color.

: Success :-) Leather box for the hand cut cigar matches that I make.

: A lot of my leather orders are the same two products. Taking some time this morning to make โ€ฆ

: ๐ŸŒณ The mild Autumn weather continues! Sitting outside with my coffee this morning.

: Leather orders for local delivery today ๐Ÿ˜Š

: โ˜• enjoying my coffee on this rainy morning.

: ๐Ÿ’ก I love waking up and starting the day with an epiphany. Sleep is fascinating.

: ๐Ÿค” 32โ„‰ outside, 77โ„‰ in my apartment without the heat on...the climate control inside has been โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ“บ Watching the latest episode of Andor with Mozzie.

: ๐Ÿ‚ Thankful for a morning that feels more appropriate for the season. Down in the 30's, first time in โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ˜Š Happy with today. Small amount of progress made across many different projects, no major โ€ฆ

: Time to make some business cards.

: ๐Ÿ‘ Typical Monday so far: BUSY!

: ๐Ÿต Tea to bring the day to a close.

: ๐ŸŒง Rainy Sunday morning - quite possibly the best!

: ๐Ÿ“– what a day. exhausted at the end of it, as usual! spent some time reading to my 9-year-old this โ€ฆ

: โ˜• Coffee now, thankfully, while publishing a few thoughts elsewhere, then wrapping up a client โ€ฆ

: Made time to make a new leather cover for my Bible. This is my own mix of leather dye.

: โ˜ Thankful for the cloudy day today...will make it a bit easier to regulate the temp inside :-)

: ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ what a day!

: Customer wants a no-frills case for his phone and calendar. Made a mock-up, love the simplicity of โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿƒ The quiet before fully starting one's day...

: Looking for a distraction of sorts, trying to figure out Mastodon.

: โ˜• Coffee and writing, favorite time of my day.

: ๐Ÿ›Œ time to rest.

: ๐Ÿ’ป a bit of writing

: ๐Ÿฅฑ tired but still a few more things to get to before oh so wonderful sleep.

: Everything has been signed.

: Much needed fresh air!

: Day two of sitting down to write/process the changes I (and my family) have gone through over the โ€ฆ

: Belts!

: I knew she would be signing paperwork soon, thought I was prepared, but getting the call from the โ€ฆ

: Evening walk.

: A peek into my current cluttered evening/workbench. Yes wine and yes the Charlie Brown Christmas โ€ฆ

: In addition to California, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, Washington, and Florida, also shipping โ€ฆ

: Sending out a few belated birthday cards ๐Ÿ™ˆ

: Itโ€™s that time of year: switching to my fall/winter ink ๐Ÿ–‹๏ธ.

: Day in the life, 1:53pm Harrisburg Pennsylvania USA, at my workbench getting leather orders out.

: A bit of whittling for cigar matches to go into a nice leather pouch. Oh how I have missed making โ€ฆ

: All things are connected. And there is really no such thing as a โ€œnewโ€ day, since today brings with โ€ฆ

: Looks like tomorrow (today) is Ultra delivery day โŒš๏ธ exciting!

: Painting leather today ๐ŸŽจ

: Step 1: make a silly hair-on bracelet.

: Materials for a few ideas I need to get out of my head.

: Doesnโ€™t hurt to try. Making my own stamped business cards. (I blame/credit @annahavron for this โ€ฆ

: Black on black on black.

: Been enjoying the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Also enjoying the black leather case for it, obviously :-)

: iPhone delivery later today. Made two new Autumn themed leather cases for it. Iโ€™m calling the black โ€ฆ

: Iโ€™ve become a bit obsessed with edge work lately.

: Leather for belts! Who wants one? ๐Ÿ˜Š

: A few other in-progress leather projects: two phone sleeves (one black the other brown) and a dog โ€ฆ

: Quite the day today, lots in motion and making good progress!

: A custom take on my forthcoming Field Notes sized leather casesโ€ฆthis one is a bit taller to hold the โ€ฆ

: Both colors have been popular for leather projects as of late.

: Up at 3:45 this morning. Tortured a bit by my dreams.

: Leather gift tag, which will be used again at Christmas :-)

: Very productive day today. Finished these three leather projects. Thrilled with how they turned out!

: โœˆ๏ธ

: Phewโ€ฆthe mid-afternoon crash has been very real the last few days. Body and mind feel absolutely โ€ฆ

: This macbook air (m2) is…amazing…

: Lucy is joining me overnight in the apartment. First time sheโ€™s seen where I live now.

: Another idea, another test.

: In the works.

: My cousin (on the left) flew into Philly from Cali for a quick work thing yesterday. My brother โ€ฆ

: I enjoy the entire process of making something, especially the end when I wrap it and tie it off โ€ฆ

: Very happy with how these cigar cases turned out. Clientโ€™s groomsmen will hopefully enjoy them โ€ฆ

: I am in the process of completely redoing my leather work website and Iโ€™m excited with the refreshed โ€ฆ

: I donโ€™t usually work in bulk, preparing leather parts ahead of time, but an order of cigar cases for โ€ฆ

: Long story short: tried iPad OS as my “main” OS for the past year, have hit too many โ€ฆ

: โ€ฆnot quite sure how I missed _Westworld_โ€ฆ

: Throw back to my days of woodworking with my oh so lovely hand tools. Made this mallet originally โ€ฆ

: Beta version 1.0 complete. Will share more photos tomorrow.

:

: Looking forward to making tonightโ€™s dinner. Some of the ingredients: shrimp, garlic, fresh lemon โ€ฆ

: Concept in progress.

: Brain is currently exploding with ideas.

: I do have a thing for being by outside while it is raining. The wind, the sound of the rain, the โ€ฆ

: Happy Friday! Iโ€™ve got another batch of leather Summer โ€˜22 mailers going out next week. Fill out the โ€ฆ

: I am officially at the point where I print out the emails/newsletters I want to read. And I kinda โ€ฆ

: For reference, and for anyone who is interested, the leather camera wrist strap I made for @miraz โ€ฆ

: Kinda have that vibe in my head, but also based on the excellent humidity in the air and the heavy โ€ฆ

: Time for the best part of the day: first sip of coffee.

: A bit abstract but I enjoyed designing and making this classy leather wallet. Hand dyed royal blue, โ€ฆ

: Made a leather walking pouch of sorts. Belt loops on the back so I can use it with whatever belt I โ€ฆ

: First time in a while Iโ€™ve had to tape one back together. May need to make an appropriately sized โ€ฆ

: Latest creation.

: Love this current feeling I have, been a while since I have felt it, after sitting on the beach all โ€ฆ

: Good sleep last night!

: Absolutely thrilled with how this project turned out. Hand-dyed royal blue veg-tan cowhide exterior, โ€ฆ

: Extremely unusual Sunday morning for me.

: Obsessed.

: Blue is definitely a popular color ๐Ÿ’™

: Been dragging my feet on this and Iโ€™m not sure why, waiting for the โ€œright timeโ€ (thanks for the โ€ฆ

: Working on a variation for one of my existing leather designsโ€ฆexcited ๐Ÿ™‚

: Another device sleeve, this one for the clientโ€™s iPod Touch 7th generation. Love the simple contrast โ€ฆ

: Have been a member of the 5am club so far this weekโ€ฆa goal Iโ€™ve been working towards for over a โ€ฆ

: The process of creating something never gets old. The end result is also pretty darn incredible to โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿท Wine from Austria ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น tonight. Looking forward to this oneโ€ฆand really liking the label!

: In the process of making a simple leather gift to include in a mailing later this week or next week. โ€ฆ

: Experimenting.

: Leather projects completed recently. Red phone sleeve, green wine tote, and black โ€œbinโ€.

: Have some snail mail ๐Ÿ’Œ going out for my leather business in early May (next week already!). If youโ€™d โ€ฆ

: I was served โ€œthe papersโ€ last night. I havenโ€™t read them yet. I am first focusing on doing things โ€ฆ

: Friday evening

: Wrapping up three leather projects later this evening. Need to make dinner first. Opening a bottle โ€ฆ

: Severance ๐Ÿคฏ

: Finally finished reading: Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad โ€ฆ

: I wanted to get up early but not quite this early.

: more and more lately I am feeling way too connected. Further refinements to iOS notifications and โ€ฆ

: Ready for delivery!

: Tired but brain is too active to fall asleep.

: More leather belts in-progress!

: Finished these yesterday, wore them yesterday too! Extremely happy with how they turned out. 1,000 โ€ฆ

: Loving this combo. Turned out well, client is happy ๐Ÿ˜Š

: Extremely excited about this project. Parts cut out, stamped, and dyed as of now. Will hopefully โ€ฆ

: Another purse finished.

: This morning: coffee, Bon Iver, leatherwork.

: Caught up on sleep! The data matches with how I feel. Refreshed!

: Tonightโ€™s wine. Obscura Petite Sirah 2018.

: Not shined, but better. Eyelets are a good improvement.

: Idea to execution is too much fun! Turned out exactly how I imagined and functions as expected. โ€ฆ

: In-progress experiment.

: Oh yes.

: Sipping while making dinner (brown sugar bourbon pork chops with potatoes and Brussels sprouts).

: Think we hit 73 degrees today. Great to get out! Yesterday wasnโ€™t as warm, but still warmer than โ€ฆ

: Could go for a thunderstorm right about now.

: Time for the afternoon (late afternoon) cup of coffee. What a week!

: Simple.

: Dinner!!

: Wandered out for a cup of coffee. First two shops were closed already (only 2pm), third shop was a โ€ฆ

: Enjoy working with this leather. Still veg-tan, so checks that box for me, but drum-dyed, so removes โ€ฆ

: Quick case to hold various โ€œsalesโ€ related items. Leather samples, business cards, card reader, โ€ฆ

: My momโ€™s last day working at the church her and my dad helped plant 23 years ago. Theyโ€™ve been part โ€ฆ

: From a walk this afternoon after church with my brother and his 2 (almost 3) year old. My 8.5 year โ€ฆ

: From yesterday morning. Like old times.

: Working on a leather case/roll of sorts to hold various aspects of meeting with folks when โ€ฆ

: Will finish telling this story later It had rained, and now was cloudy. And windy. Some days I enjoyed this type of weather, others days, โ€ฆ

: I do prefer early mornings.

: RGB

: Will be officially announcing my leather goods website here in the coming days, complete with a โ€ฆ

: The crisp air felt amazing.

: A new favorite part of my day: putting on a jazz album, opening a bottle of wine, making dinner.

: Sitting down to read through a magazine. This is amazing. And something I need to do more often.

: Last two leather rose arrangements Iโ€™m offering for Valentineโ€™s Day.

: Another leather rose dressed up.

: Made this as a birthday gift for my grandmother who loves to knit ๐Ÿงถ

: Leather roses all dressed up!

: Tonightโ€™s wine, plus progress on the Valentineโ€™s Day leather rose floral arrangements I am selling โ€ฆ

: He got to spend an unplanned night with me in the city. He loved watching the snow fall.

: Sort of a whim purchase, Xbox Series X ๐ŸŽฎ. Primarily for me to do a better job at doing something โ€ฆ

: Tonightโ€™s wine ๐Ÿท

: 10 questions for the new year I went through this list a few years ago in my journal, way back at the beginning of 2017. Going โ€ฆ

: Oโ€™ snowy nightโ€ฆ

: Rushing out, so briefcase in a bag is how it needs to be!

: Current priority is to catch up on sleep, early to bed and late to rise. Probably another day or so โ€ฆ

: Smiling on the inside ๐Ÿ˜Š looking forward to what 2022 has in store. Also a sneak peak of another bag โ€ฆ

: Here we go.

: Another project I finished last week. Client loved it ๐Ÿ˜Š

: Leather belts I finished last week.

: Die Hard ๐ŸŽฅ, Manhattan ๐Ÿฅƒ, and chipping away at the final Christmas leather orders (which will be โ€ฆ

: Finished another tote. Will be delivered to my client later today. Happy with how it turned out! โ€ฆ

: Hardware!

: Pocket lined with flannel and zipper installed. Then stitched closed.

: From one year ago today. Project in focus in was hand carving a picture frame from walnut wood. I am โ€ฆ

: Took a power nap today. First in a long time. I do try to listen to my body when it says โ€œIโ€™m โ€ฆ

: Leather roses being delivered to a happy client later today.

: Wine tote I finished making last week.

: Thereโ€™s something special about a rainy Saturday.

: My late night.

: On tap for today: make 15 leather roses start the cross-body leather purse ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿป

: Time for that afternoon cup โ˜•๏ธ

: Reading material that has arrived recently. Although, I find myself studying the ads and article โ€ฆ

: Giving Hello Fresh a try. First four meals arrive tomorrow.

: Got to bed before midnight last night. Highly recommended.

: Looking for a specific colorโ€ฆ

: Samples!

: Finished another wallet ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป will be delivered tomorrow.

: Flurries โ„๏ธ

: Sometimes I really regret looking back at journal entires.

: Giving up on looking for gift boxes from a reliable [looking] source for leather roses. Odd size I โ€ฆ

: Finishing up a prototype this morning while Home Alone is on in the background.

: Manhattan and figuring out what to watch for an hour or so. Not quite sure how to process the โ€ฆ

: Some nights, like tonight, I really miss my dog. I should have said good-bye to her before leaving โ€ฆ

: Curated birthday gifts for my dadโ€™s birthday party after the turkey today. Blizzard of Hops IPA, โ€ฆ

: Giving in. Up at 4:30 used to be my norm. Time for coffee โ˜•๏ธ

: Sleep is tricky to catch tonight. Always the case when I get to bed at a responsible time (i.e. โ€ฆ

: Coffee and working on a design for a clientโ€™s crossbody purseโ€ฆnew projects are always exciting to โ€ฆ

: Time to tame the week.

: Lately Iโ€™ve been setting reminders to โ€œeat breakfastโ€ and โ€œeat lunchโ€. Otherwise I get so caught up โ€ฆ

: My new โ€œexternal brainโ€ from Leuchtturm1917.

: Coffee is especially good this morning.

: 22 square feet of possibilities.

: Days are going too fast lately. Way too fast.

: Working on things that need to be worked on. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince playing in the โ€ฆ

: Very happy with how this leather cigar case turned out! Black dye is ๐Ÿ”ฅ

: Good morning!

: Definitely thinking wine with dinner tonight.

: Love starting new leather projects.

: Time to paint.

: Sharp!

: Sun is shining today!

: Think for Christmas I may make myself an apron. Accident waiting to happen!

: Mondays are the hardest. Christmas music, tea, and making leather roses to help sooth my mind.

: Very happy with how this wallet turned out. Also happy with the dye job as-well, โ€œChocolateโ€.

: Coming soon

: Another one completed, with an action shot ๐Ÿ˜‚

: another tote completed.

: Like old times.

: First up this morning was math and typing lessons with Mozzie.

: Working remote all day today, bag is packed accordingly!

: Sopranos.

: I am still praying we are able to work things out. Family day yesterday, short getaway to โ€ฆ

: Need to finish the edges yet, but made a quick leather business card holder.

: Iron and Wine ๐ŸŽถ Coffee โ˜•๏ธ Stitching up a client project ๐Ÿงต ๐Ÿชก

: Much needed after this week. A short break.

: Insane day ahead. Early start should help though. TGIF!

: Working remotely for a few hours (i.e. not from home).

: Third usable prototype complete.

: Strange year for me in that I am out of the loop regarding Apple rumors and such in advance of the โ€ฆ

: Reading material arrived in the mail today. Magazine is a bit late but will still be worthwhile.

: Yesterdayโ€™s prototype was a success! Tweaking the final design a bit but it is a beautiful handmade โ€ฆ

: Working on a prototype.

: Looking for spiders

: Still have finishing work to complete but wanted to share. Thrilled with how this one turned out! โ€ฆ

: Feeling very alone today.

: Lining a pocket.

: Making another leather bag and am in love with how this color turned out!

: Iced americano.

: A happy customer: โ€œit turned out exactly how I imagined!โ€

: Off to deliver my first paid commissioned leather product. This little pouch was sized specifically โ€ฆ

: Sick with a cold and craving soup and a hot cup of tea.

: Replaced my 2004 Honda Accord with this 2021 Hyundai Sonata SEL. Feels like going from a โ€ฆ

: I do miss my dog. Enjoy seeing her when I can.

: One of the best parts of my day is when the timer goes off for my French press ๐Ÿ˜‚

: Did not have a good day today. Hoping tomorrow is better.

: Love that I am still finding sand in my sandals.

: Where/how I begin most days.

: I have been haunted by good memories the past week and I donโ€™t know how to make it stop.

: Made one for myself.

: โ€œSinginโ€™ donโ€™t worry about a thing โ€˜Cause every little thing gonna be alrightโ€ฆโ€ ๐ŸŽถ

: Bananas happy with how this bag turned out!

: Another preview.

: Preview.

: Each morning for the past few weeks I have been taking my coffee and iPad out to a balcony that gets โ€ฆ

: Iโ€™ve been working on a website to eventually sell made-to-order leather products. The hardest part โ€ฆ

: Next up, this project has been ready for assembly for a while. Excited about this one!

: Finished!

: Still need to get the strap on but this is the general idea.

: More importantly, coffee is ready!

: Experimenting. The โ€œfinalโ€ pair will be pink and will have a strap across the top. Making them as a โ€ฆ

: Finished my first leather bag yesterday. It was a gift, probably going to make one for myself ๐Ÿ˜€

: Went to the pool today.

: Starting the next project.

: Tuesday ๐Ÿท.

: Still roasting.

: Making Fatherโ€™s Day gifts. Each will include two Field Notes notebooks.

: Something I want to get better at is planning things for Mozzie and I to do together on the โ€ฆ

: Late night work, wine, Mad Men. Happy Thursday evening!

: Roasted coffee for the first time in a long time today. The smell took me back to my workshop, โ€ฆ

: Have built a lot of furniture in the past few days. This couch was the most involved but no issues. โ€ฆ

: Survived another day. Glass of wine called for.

: Tomorrow, well, technically today, I begin moving into my new studio apartment. I am eager to make โ€ฆ

: From our walk yesterday

: M.b community, small life update: Iโ€™m moving into a studio apartment on June 1st. Will share details โ€ฆ

: The sun is shining now but I enjoyed my early morning walk in the rain.

: Guys, I made a leather rose ๐ŸŒน

: Day job work thing at the moment. Get the sense that Iโ€™m having my bloodstream injected with โ€ฆ

: Recent leather projects completed: strop (cherry wood, knife carved handle) and hexagon leather โ€ฆ

: Man. What a week.

: Leather bow tie gift tag ๐Ÿ˜

: Doing my best to avoid all responsibility today.

: Pouches!

: Today is haircut day (first cut in 13 months) and iPad Air delivery day ๐Ÿ˜

: Tonight, today, calls for another.

: Haircut is next. Been over a year at this point.

: While warming up to publishing more I will be dusting the corners of my blog, and turning the heat โ€ฆ

: Going to be writing and publishing to my [mostly abandoned] blog pretty soon. I have a lot to say, a โ€ฆ

: Starting another notebook. Not able to pull from my full collection, so using another one from the โ€ฆ

: First time dying a leather project and very happy with how it turned out!

: Shaved my 18-month beard off today.

: Another case/wallet completed.

: Coffee.

: Leather projects completed recently. Several more in progress. Canโ€™t help myself.

: Briefly coming up for air. How is everyone doing?

: The idea is coming together. Will hopefully finish it today or tomorrow.

: Mozzie (and Lucy) helped me pick out a new notebook last night. He liked seeing all of the different โ€ฆ

: Stitched a wallet into what will eventually be a sleeve or pouch once everything is put together.

:

: Time for some more coffee.

: Miss him during the week so I always look forward to our weekends together.

: Idea in the back of my mind today: print โ€œnewsletterโ€ sent via snail mail instead of online.

: Prototype

: Daft Punk in my rotation for today.

: From our walk earlier today.

: I need a massage. Deep tissue. 90 minutes. Please.

: I have made three of the large size of this idea, this guy is a smaller variation. Perfect for 2-3 โ€ฆ

: Two new notebooks to fill up.

: Made a little chapstick holder thingy for Mozzie.

: Walk around the Pennsylvania Capitol complex earlier today. I see it weekly and never tire of the โ€ฆ

: Made this for a friend today. Hand cut and stitched. Heโ€™ll use it for cigars, lighter, and cutter.

: Excited to make something today. Not sure what it is going to be, but thatโ€™s part of the fun.

: Drove around with Mozzie last night, he wanted to see the city at night.

: Decent amount of snowfall.

: Starting a new notebook today.

: The last week has been the hardest. Out of my element and so much to write about. My family is โ€ฆ

: Strange day. Seems like an appropriate evening to watch a Harry Potter film. And pour another glass โ€ฆ

: Adding this single-bevel Goosewing Hewing axe to my set of tools.

: Beginning to write out my reflection of 2020 and goals for 2021.

: Final day in the shop for Christmas gifts. Well, technically not, but this is the last big push.

: Gladiator โš”๏ธ ๐ŸŽฅ

: Almost finished making Christmas gifts!

: Frame progress!

: Let the festivities begin ๐Ÿป

: Birthday roast for my mother in-law.

: The experimentation phase.

: Todayโ€™s list: make a picture frame finish bird feeder First, a warmup exercise of cutting the end โ€ฆ

: Making progress on the bowl.

: Sunday roast

: Also, sawed through this 8.5โ€ diameter log to get at a section that will be split and then turned โ€ฆ

: Split this log and carved handles for garden tools. Christmas gifts for my wife and grandma.

: Coffee scoop finished.

: Chipped away at my mother in-lawโ€™s coffee scoop today and Iโ€™m happy with how it is coming along. โ€ฆ

: What a week. Glass of wine now to close out the billable portion. All day in the shop tomorrow and โ€ฆ

: Tomorrow I shall finish carving a coffee scoop out of this lovely piece of cherry. That and a โ€ฆ

: Do not underestimate yourself.

: One thing a challenge will alway reinforce for me is that I donโ€™t do very well with deadlines ๐Ÿ˜‚

: Scarf completed for Mozzie ๐Ÿงถ

: Tomorrow is another day. Iโ€™ll be a pedestrian on the sidewalks of the city for my every once in a โ€ฆ

: One benefit to hand tools is a mask is usually never needed.

: Lots of time in the shop today. Time lapse here. Massive progress on my dadโ€™s Christmas gift. Should โ€ฆ

: Blank page.

: A dilemma that I struggle with daily: Iโ€™m a dad. Heโ€™s 7 years old and I donโ€™t know what Iโ€™m doing.

: Have never been one to adjust how much I eat on Thanksgiving (or any holiday). Just a little bit of โ€ฆ

: Trying out Ray Donovan.

: Time to call it a night.

: Provision can easily be taken for granted.

: Tonight: Dominic Hentall Primitivo IGT Puglia 2019

: Small batch roasted as part of my dadโ€™s birthday gift.

: Didnโ€™t ask for this capture but Iโ€™m glad to have it.

: When Iโ€™m on the border of something I watch Youโ€™ve Got Mail. Never quite sure why, but Iโ€™m drawn to โ€ฆ

: Cozy

: Looking forward to winter this year, which is very unlike me. I want to appreciate the season for โ€ฆ

: My 7yo’s energy never seems to fade. Go go go from the moment he wakes to the moment he goes โ€ฆ

: Happy with how much shop time I scored today! Hereโ€™s a quick time lapse of my time.

: Roasted

: Anything is possible.

: Wine for tonight (Dave Harvey 2018 Columbia Valley Syrah). And some knitting ๐Ÿงถ while watching The โ€ฆ

: Not enough shop time this week. Tomorrow though, tomorrow should provide a few much needed hours.

: Certainly have a dependence on my morning coffee routine. Just about the only part of my day that is โ€ฆ

: Headache today was insane. Still lingering unfortunately. Tea and trying to do nothing this evening.

: Made another scarf for another stuffed animal ๐Ÿ˜‚ ๐Ÿงถ next one is for a human.

: Train I made for my nephew. Heโ€™ll open it on Christmas Day.

: I use paper notebooks and the day one app for journaling. Something I appreciate, but also dislike โ€ฆ

: Adze. Excited to put it to use!

: A change is needed.

: Tonightโ€™s wine: Scott Peterson Rumpus Syrah 2019. So far so good!

: Rainy

: Spooky

: โœ… update mute list on new phone โœ… finish micro scarf for Mozzieโ€™s raccoon โฌœ๏ธ finish brotherโ€™s tool โ€ฆ

: Getting the hang of this, sorta. Need to get better at starting and finishing (the ends) ๐Ÿงถ

: Guess I should call it a night.

: Arrived

: Roasted

: iPhone day…๐Ÿคช

: Finished watching season one The Wire. Thoroughly enjoyed every episode. Will continue onto season โ€ฆ

: Reluctantly for sure, but she does wear the scarf I made her.

: I say do over, please.

: On that note: I am dreading Wednesday. Another glass of wine and episode of The Wire to keep it at โ€ฆ

: Elderly seems to be defined by old age, and what is that but a number? Old age, old soul. I am โ€ฆ

: One tool tote is finishing (24 hours between coats)… Which means I can get started on the โ€ฆ

: Foggy.

: I have always believed that one cannot force art or creativity…it just needs to โ€ฆ

: Personal bind of sorts is in the forecast for this week, but so are some good things, like finishing โ€ฆ

: First knitting project complete ๐Ÿงถ not sure if sheโ€™s a fan of it though ๐Ÿ˜‚

: Inflate the balloon. Let it go. Watch it pop.

: Watching The Wire.

: Handle carved and a through mortise chiseled on each end piece. The time lapse video of this project โ€ฆ

: Good morning!

: Puzzling. Everything in life right now is absolutely positively puzzling.

: Roasted today. Costa Rica ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท . Eager to try!

: Dovetails cut and fit today on the tool tote (using chisel only, no saw). Tomorrow: handle, sand, โ€ฆ

: My first apartment had a stoop that allowed for plane watching on final approach into Harrisburg โ€ฆ

: Now watching Hunt for Red October (in honor of Sean Connery) ๐ŸŽฅ ๐Ÿฟ

: Falling asleep, Dreams are near.

: Coffee. Need coffee.

: Astonish me.

: I donโ€™t usually drink coffee this late…

:

: Empty house today made it easy to concentrate. Mondayโ€™s are typically my longest workday of the โ€ฆ

: Windy out there today.

: Rum, neat.

: Dreary day today, but my state of mind was full of sunshine.

: To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo…

: Extremely happy with the progress on this tool tote (cherry wood). Tools used up to this point: axe, โ€ฆ

: Scheduling my October newsletter to publish later today before I talk myself out of it. You can get โ€ฆ

: Watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ๐Ÿง™โ€โ™‚๏ธ๐ŸŽฅ

:

: join me in the car. personal reflection on vulnerable writing ๐ŸŽ™

: Weekly roast.

: Had the thought yesterday so I called my grandma. She loaned me this Learn How Book (published in โ€ฆ

: Axe sharpening this morning!

: Made pizza for dinner tonight. Tasted great!

: The Pennsylvania Capitol Building (The Forum in the foreground). Taken October 24, 2016.

:

: Starting the next Christmas gift. This one is for my brother.

: Park at night.

: Empty.

:

: Roasted.

: Now reading A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity by William Coperthwaite ๐Ÿ“š

: Fall colors around the Capitol complex.

: Gold iPhone 12 Pro ordered for le wife. Also ordered two MagSafe chargers and wallets. Eager to โ€ฆ

: Beta version of the cold frame ๐Ÿ˜Š will build a more solid version next year.

: Attempting a cold frame around our small greens and such this winter. Framed out the lower portion โ€ฆ

: First, a little food tray for squirrels and chipmunks from the scrap wood ๐Ÿชต ๐Ÿฟ

: Starting the next Christmas gift ๐ŸŽ„

: Bank truck complete ๐ŸŽ„primary tools: axe and knife and a little bit of saw work.

: Finished the toy train last week and very happy with how it turned out. โ€œThe little engine that โ€ฆ

: Taking shape.

: So much Iโ€™d like to write. But it is life and we all go through things.

: Good morning โ˜€๏ธ

: a day in the life. Beginning to work on another Christmas gift. Harrisburg PA USA 4:09pm EST. โ€ฆ

: Wheels and axels.

: Finished reading Another work is possible ๐Ÿ“š

: Weโ€™ve been getting our meat from a local farmer for a few months now. Steak on the fire seemed like โ€ฆ

:

: Hiked today๐ŸŒฒ ๐Ÿฅพ

: Tehran via Apple TV+ ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

: Quick DIY paper towel holder.

: Making wooden toys today for Christmas gifts. Queue Christmas music ๐ŸŽ„ ๐ŸŽถ

: There is something oddly satisfying about turning scrap wood into dowels.

: The finished beans.

: First roast. Fingers crossed.

: Manhattan. Been a Monday.

: One more.

: Mute.

: Another coffee scoop. This one is for my dad.

: Always learning.

: Carved a ladle of sorts. Not perfect but useful. Included a comfortable spot for the index finger โ€ฆ

: Molding planes needed for a Christmas gift Iโ€™m making for the in-laws.

: Stitches out.

:

: Currently 45 degrees (F). High is 66. Autumn is here ๐Ÿ‚

: Random, made a coffee scoop for our ground coffee.

: Looking for chipmunks ๐Ÿฟ

: โ˜•๏ธ

: New notebook today. Olympic National Park from the Field Notes National Park edition (series E).

: Everything is practice.

: Split.

: For the record, I successfully carved the bowl of a wooden spoon yesterday. Doing so last week is โ€ฆ

: Lighter week this week…looking forward to it.

: Reminder to self: โ€œTrust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. โ€ฆ

: Harry-Potter-soundtrack kind of day.

: Coffee tastes exceptionally good this morning.

: Meh. Six stitches.

: Sliced my thumb pretty bad today. Mindfulness is key when using a razor sharp knife, and I wasnโ€™t โ€ฆ

: Allergies have been off the charts the past several weeks. Ready for a break, hopefully soon.

: Coffee.

: Step 1: make a club.

: Another closet/shelf project complete!

: Is it “safe” at this point to try out WatchOS 7 beta?

: In the carving phase of a project. Nothing fancy. More dowels.

: The best way to start is to start.

: Productive shop time today. Cut 42 walnut blanks (to carve into dowels) and selected and cut a โ€ฆ

: Power went out overnight. Led to 4am wanderings and a strong reminder of the single point of failure โ€ฆ

: Watching Jason Bourne. A classic movie (for me), and an incredible book!

: Tomorrow is the last Friday of the month and I actually have a newsletter to send out. First time โ€ฆ

: Quick project: wanted a simple solution to organizing the smaller things on my desk. Version 1 โ€ฆ

: Mini-mallet for Mozzieโ€™s 7th birthday.

: Had an idea. And I think it will work. Will chip away at it tomorrow.

: monday.

: Red oak shavings.

: To be a dog.

: Enjoying the cool morning temps.

: A home for the pencils.

: โœ๏ธ

: Choosing a new notebook to use as my “daily driver” is always enjoyable. I try to match โ€ฆ

: Went for a walk this evening and stumbled upon a neighbor getting rid of cherry wood (and heโ€™ll have โ€ฆ

: Monday.

: Today is a day of not doing. And I think it is needed. Maybe tomorrow will be the same.

: Ok, August is the month I will actually send out a newsletter. Pinky swear.

: Eager to head down this rabbit hole.

: Beginning to enjoy cloudy days as much as sunny days.

:

:

: Sometimes I have the thought to just keep driving…

: Best laid plans and such ๐Ÿ™„.

: Finished one, starting one.

: Shelves are finished! Hung using hand carved walnut dowels (always experimenting ๐Ÿ˜Š).

: Mini railroad ties.

: Onto the next.

: Shelves are finished!

: First go at setting and sharpening my crosscut and rip handsaws.

: Hand carved dowels and the rabbet for the back of the shelves turned out well!

: Living in the not knowing.

: Laying out the placement of fasteners on the back of a shelf. They wonโ€™t be seen but it is important โ€ฆ

: Current project is making four floating shelves. One of the โ€œfeaturesโ€ is a lip on the front. I โ€ฆ

:

: Making dowel rods for a current project. Sometimes I go down a rabbit hole. This one made me think โ€ฆ

: Not related to anything going on as far as current events are concerned: change worth fighting for โ€ฆ

: The rest of this weekend will [hopefully] be restful.

: A recent fancy woodworking project was a paper towel holder :-) Part of it is a round base - time โ€ฆ

: No promises, but at the end of this month I may send out a newsletter. The idea was to send โ€ฆ

: I had a dream last night, and in that dream I was talking about dreams…

: Amazing how quiet things are with filters doing the filtering.

: More quick shelving in the workshop. Made my own fasteners instead of using screws.

: Fancy feet.

:

: Rewatching Mad Men.

: First mallet is 99% complete but wanted to show how it turned out! As usual, only hand tools were โ€ฆ

: More bread.

: Additions to the preverbal tool belt.

: Good morning

: Mallet is coming along!

: Sunset in the workshop.

: Onto the next woodworking project. Using dowel rods for a portion of it…so I made one. And it โ€ฆ

: Workbench is ready for use!

: Workbench is coming along…The top will go on tomorrow!

: Shoulder plane gives a perfect fit.

: One more cup of coffee to go along with the final work task of the week. Have a production โ€ฆ

: Not perfect but not bad. First go at curves with hand tools. Mozzie will paint it as his gift for โ€ฆ

: Practicing my scales.

: Many people die at twenty-five and aren’t buried until they are seventy-five. Benjamin โ€ฆ

: This will be fun! (cc: @rnv).

: I hate Mondays. Garfield ๐Ÿ’ฌ

:

: Custom solution.

: It worked!

: Next small woodworking project is a simple stand for the lids that otherwise lay at the bottom of a โ€ฆ

: Meh.

: Finished!

: Shooting board is coming along well. Removable fence is a success!

: The option to mute keywords in @gluon is phenomenal. Thank you @vincent ๐Ÿ™

: Made some shavings in the shop tonight.

: Finished making the bent earlier this week. Essentially a saw horse, a companion to the saw bench โ€ฆ

: Starting a new notebook - Yosemite National Park from Series A of the Field Notes National Parks โ€ฆ

: Tenons!

: Made a drawing bow today. Will help with laying out curves.

: Have a few shop projects in the works. Finished the first, which is a saw bench. All hand tools. All โ€ฆ

: Finished the Easter gift for mozzie yesterday. All hand tools. Happy with how it turned out. (Same โ€ฆ

: Wrapped up Ozark S3 last night (still moved by the mental illness aspect introduced) and now โ€ฆ

: Spent the day here.

: Practicing.

: Really been cleaning out my rss subscriptions the past few weeks.

: Found the problem, and then fixed it!

:

: Good enough!

: Did what was necessary to be with friends tonight.

: Progress!

: Making a place for everything.

: One day soon the sun will shine again!

: Starting simply this morning.

: This morningโ€™s soundtrack ๐ŸŽง.

: She digs the new blanket.

: Chamfer!

: Brew day today.

: Her afternoon siesta.

: Finally!

:

:

: One more cup of coffee is required before the morning comes to an end.

: If you had one shot, or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted One moment Would you โ€ฆ

: Thinking tonight may be the night I settle into watch The Irishman. Will need to make sure Iโ€™m โ€ฆ

: Bright out there tonight.

: Have the place to ourselves. Much needed quiet for both of us.

: Work tip someone recently shared with me. Stand up. Stretch. Take a walk. Go to the airport. Get on โ€ฆ

: Busy but good weekend. Ended with a trip to the Pennsylvania State Museum and an early birthday โ€ฆ

: 4 stumps successfully removed. Exhausting but rewarding work. Relaxing before our dinner guests โ€ฆ

: Cut down three very large, overgrown, bushes today. Tomorrow, stump removal ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿผ

: Quiet house for a few more minutes.

: Been a day. Time for a Manhattan.

: Started a new notebook today. Will be used as a โ€œhit listโ€ for the must do tasks each day (I pull โ€ฆ

: Went for a hike today. Helped to clear my vision on a few things Iโ€™ve been wrestling with.

: Typing up the February issue of my newsletter. Only my second one but I really enjoy the process. โ€ฆ

: I leaned into a project yesterday (Saturday) and made this. Will be used to start seeds for our โ€ฆ

: The subtle glow below.

: An unusually quiet afternoon (for now).

: Still learning the intricacies of blot.im. Enjoying it very much (especially the lack of interface โ€ฆ

: The Human Spirit aaronaiken.me

: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8).

: Together

: Work presentation I’ve been working on for a month or so is finally finished, delivered, and โ€ฆ

: Stuck and cannot escape!

: I need a break.

: Hiking hurdle.

: He lost a tooth at dinner tonight. Double gap!

: Starting a new notebook today.

: Getting that anything-is-possible-on-a-Spring-morning feeling right now.

: School night and such, but in the mood for a movie. Watching _Clear and Present Danger_. May need to โ€ฆ

: L’Enfant Plaza station (from our trip to Washington D.C. in September of last year).

: Tired him out with hike today.

: Quite the spectacle arrived in the mail today.

: She snores so loud ๐Ÿ’ค

: Had a few breakthroughs this week on a major work project. Made a lot of progress and should be โ€ฆ

: What a week, what a day.

: Could have been used to scale a fence, or something eight feet tall, but I used it instead as the โ€ฆ

: Came across this โ€œWhy Blog? copy while looking for something on the WordPress.com site via the โ€ฆ

: One more cup of coffee should do it.

: Not much space…

: Lots of tea today, with honey ๐Ÿฏ

: A runny nose is pretty darn annoying.

: I used this notebook as a journal when I was 13. I was starting 7th grade at a new school, and โ€ฆ

: Tea wisdom

: Starting a new notebook today. Cool and clean, white and silver.

: Not much rest today. Stained two shelves I made for our dining room and did ~80 cuts for storage โ€ฆ

: Project started and finished late this afternoon. Will hopefully start another one tomorrow.

: Balance

: The evening ended on a very chilly note, but this tea provided much needed warmth (with a good โ€ฆ

: Substack looks interesting. Guess I’ll try it out.

: First, I need another cup of coffee. Second, still figuring it out.

: Wellโ€ฆ

: My interest in doing more myself is rising…testing my brotherโ€™s miter saw before purchasing โ€ฆ

: His attachment was real…

: I use the first 750 words as a way to clear the floor, process things, think on things, get my head โ€ฆ

: Jellyfish in the steam!

: Plain yet grand.

: Influx of house projects this year requires an actual workshop, so a new Field Notes notebook was โ€ฆ

: Time for my lull.

: Getting things done and succeeding.

: First batch is fermenting ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿผ

: Contrast

: Quiet Friday evening. Tinkering, writing, and watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

: The night sky above…

: We still have our Christmas wreath on the front door, a plant that continues to provide a wintry โ€ฆ

: Poor Lucy is sick. Crawling on her belly, trying to get comfortable.

: Well crap. Decided to see what the fuss is all about with @blot. I now have tomorrowโ€™s distraction.

: Hide. My goal for every cord in the house.

: This weekend I will change the oil in both of our cars and brew my first batch of beer. Looking โ€ฆ

: My spot in the house. (Two different operating systems sharing the same trackpad and keyboard thanks โ€ฆ

: Time to reflect on the day that has passed.

: Temp is going up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit today. Full sun. All windows on the south side of our โ€ฆ

: Sight (and a photo from our hike yesterday): โ€œDad! Look at the fish!โ€

: Enjoyed this brew last night at dinner with my dad ๐Ÿบ. No One Likes Us, We Donโ€™t Care Unfiltered โ€ฆ

: Tea wisdom.

: Open / Closed

: I do complain about her neediness, but she is a really good pup. Very loyal.

: Why? Please allow up to 10 business days for unsubscribe requests to be processed.

: Just finished writing the first email for my “newsletter”. Will send it later today and โ€ฆ

: I’ve been too busy lately and I don’t like it. All thoughts are distracted thoughts. I โ€ฆ

: Really enjoying this running thing. After testing out five different pairs today I landed on a pair โ€ฆ

: Watching the sopranos always makes me hungry.

: Today is definitely going to be a “need more coffee” day.

: Grateful Log for January 23, 2020 Close to a full night of sleep despite working too late โ€ฆ

: I have a lot of work to get done today, but first, I must write (here and elsewhere).

: Eesh. Right AirPod just slipped out of my fingers and into my coffee…๐Ÿ˜ฌ

: Grateful Log for January 22, 2020 Breakthrough on a project at work. A โ€œhopefulโ€ feeling, about โ€ฆ

: โ˜•๏ธ

: Working later than usual to stay ahead of a few things. Calls for a class of wine or 2 ๐Ÿท.

: Grateful Log January 21, 2020 Good night of sleep. I think this tweak in my back is going away. โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ’ค

: How I Use the Drafts app for Task Management aaronaiken.me

: I enjoy being โ€œforcedโ€ to keep things simple. Encourages higherย quality.ย 

: Attempting to use Mars Edit for a long post Iโ€™d like to publish with images and such. Publishing โ€ฆ

: Too Young to Write Yesterday morning, after the first church service, I was told by a family member, who did not mean โ€ฆ

: Go Packers ๐Ÿˆ ๐Ÿง€

: Spent a good amount of time writing a blog post about how I use Drafts for task management. Just โ€ฆ

: Appropriate for todayโ€™s weather โ„๏ธ

: Using Shortcuts and Drafts to Journal I’ll do something more in-depth later, or plan to at least, but for now here is a peak into โ€ฆ

: A part of my morning pages is jotting down three things I am thankful for, a habit I started when I โ€ฆ

: Doc told me I should add some cardio to my daily routine…just went for a light jog and โ€ฆ

: Wind is gusting at 37mph. The sound of it whipping around our house is awesome.

: I find that I put off doing that which I actually want to do. I’m not sure if it is fear or โ€ฆ

: Sheโ€™s always sleepiest after being groomed.

: Accomplishing things My first new pair of glasses since 2008 were scratching very easily. Too easily. So I took care of โ€ฆ

: Do unto others…

: Leaning into procrastination.

: Apple Watch battery indicator issues persisted after resets, unpairing, and returning it to factory โ€ฆ

: Do More, Hire Less For several years I had the mentality of spending money to hire contractors and such to do things โ€ฆ

: My Apple Watch (series 5) battery has been at 100% for 24 hours…not charged during that time โ€ฆ

: This weekendโ€™s project: fresh coat of paint on the walls and ceiling in our family room and down the โ€ฆ

: I am not an overly โ€œhandyโ€ person, but do look forward to a good challenge and always enjoy โ€ฆ

: Freshly fallen โ„๏ธ

: Shouldn’t eat Pringles on a school night.

: The strange reality of having time I am in the midst of experiencing something crazy, and something I personally have not experienced โ€ฆ

: As I used to say, back in 2007, โ€œGoodnight, world.โ€

: Worth it.

: Times like this when I think to myself: You only live once.

: Haven’t used either in a very long time, maybe 6 months or so, but finally got around to โ€ฆ

: A film from 5,000 years in the future. An ad, but I enjoyed the creative perspective.

: Reading “Iowa” in relation to the presidential election makes me want to rewatch The โ€ฆ

: My monthly newsletter I want to write more in 2020 than I did in 2019, and I want to publish more in 2020 as-well. The โ€ฆ

: Season 1 finale of The Morning Show ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

: Happy New Year ๐Ÿฅณ ! This may be the last, or second to last, Manhattan of the year. Also, posting a โ€ฆ

: My beard is to the point that I need actual things for it. Getting combs and a brush from Kent, an โ€ฆ

: Overdid it with Christmas related stuff, as predicted, and am now sick. Taking the forced down time โ€ฆ

: Coolest sweater.

: Setting out a plate of cookie crumbs and an empty glass of milk. Mozzie has always been a very โ€ฆ

: Frantically running away from the last decade, confidently walking into the next My mind is getting into reflection mode, which is a natural state for it to enter this time of year. โ€ฆ

: Now watching…

: This pup

: WiFi: OFF Do Not Disturb: ON

: Today is a recovery day from the past year and advance recovery for the next week, although โ€ฆ

: Somehow made it to Mozzieโ€™s ice skating lesson today. Really happy that he is happy when he is โ€ฆ

: Manhattan. Iron Man 3. Friday night for me. Cheers, folks.

: M.b family! Howโ€™s it going? Been a minute. This time of year becomes way too busy due to the โ€ฆ

: Really need to come up for air soon.

: Frozen ๐ŸงŠ

: Have time set aside today to begin writing my โ€œhow I use Draftsโ€ blog post.

: Full moon ๐ŸŒ• tonight is impressive!

: Thoughts on the TV shows I am currently watching The Mandalorian (Disney+) I really want to like this one but it lacks a lot of depth right now, and โ€ฆ

: At the end of some days, even days when I was with mozzie all day, I feel like I didn’t do โ€ฆ

: Sheโ€™s sleeping through the season 1 finale at SEE ๐Ÿถ ๐Ÿ’ค

: ๐Ÿ˜

: A rare moment.

: Evening.

: Moz and I with Santa ๐ŸŽ…

: Alright. Finally working my way through marvel movies. But, sleep calls.

: Some thoughts on when enough is enough Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough land. Not enough bedrooms. Not enough freedom. โ€ฆ

: How does one get the word out about something without selling their soul (to social media or search โ€ฆ

: Windy out there today!

: 5:30am - “Thankfully the water is going to boil soon for the coffee.” 6:01am - Pry my โ€ฆ

: Wine and brainstorming to conclude the “productive” portion of my day.

: I use Drafts for a lot, pretty much everything actually. Here is my current list of Workspaces.

: She annoys me a lot, but she is also pretty darn cute.

: Have been successful with this layout for a while now. Mostly use spotlight and triggers/shortcuts โ€ฆ

: Church was definitely going to happen this morning, but then we all slept in.

: ๐Ÿ“š Reading page is updated

: Getting Back to Stillness (Another copy and paste from my journal). And that mindset of stillness is something I remember โ€ฆ

: Manhattan ๐Ÿฅƒ and For All Mankind ๐ŸŒ™๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿš€ to conclude the Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ day festivities.

: Manhattan ๐Ÿฅƒ and continuing to read The Martian ๐Ÿ“– ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿš€

: A brief look at my writing experience thus far With writing on my mind I have been thinking about my relationship with the practice over the span โ€ฆ

: A Use for Coffee, A Use for Tea What I need more than anything right now is coffee, and not for its effects, but for it alone. The โ€ฆ

: A literal copy and paste from my journal entry today where I start to flesh out what to do next, with a focus on my passion for writing I’m glad I am not spending any time on anything “productive” or meant for monetary โ€ฆ

: 'Dickinson' on Apple TV Plus has surged ahead of its other launch shows in popularity Travis Clark: The series, starring Hailee Steinfeld as the 19th century poet, recently broke โ€ฆ

: Hanging with Moz.

: The Secret to Enjoying a Long Winter Jason Kottke: Itโ€™s comforting to know that warmer weather and longer days are waiting for me in the โ€ฆ

: SEE.

: Taking it easy.

: Enjoying Dickinson on Apple TV+.

: Quick LEGO sesh.

: Really need to spend some time figuring out my home “officeโ€ situation (just a desk in our โ€ฆ

: Things I want to write about but haven't gotten to yet my current use of Drafts being so excited about getting an Apple Watch the past year and some of the โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ“บ ๐Ÿ‘ป ๐Ÿ–Š now watching Ghostwriter.

: ๐Ÿ“บ ๐ŸŒ“ ๐Ÿš€ now watching For All Mankind.

: Frosty โ˜ƒ๏ธ

: There it is.

: Eh. Just when things seemed to be going so well… Shoulda known.

: ๐Ÿ“บ ๐ŸŽƒ Now watching It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

: Going with the flow.

: Wine o’clock ๐Ÿท

: Standing out.

: ๐Ÿ““ Dear Diary for week ending Sunday, October 20, 2019 Monday ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธTook a family walk today, which we thought was a good idea. Turns out that it โ€ฆ

: Tomorrow is the 21st of October already ๐Ÿคฏ๐Ÿ˜ฑ

: ๐Ÿ“ท Some shots from our day trip to the National Museum of Natural History yesterday dinosaur ๐Ÿฆ– ๐Ÿฆ•

: From earlier today.

: Desk for the morning.

: Back to the drawing board: freelance writing (with a heavy emphasis on IT Project Deliverables). โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ“š Beginning to read Halloweโ€™en Party by Agatha Christie.

: Maybe it is laziness as I get older, or maybe it is wisdom, or maybe it is just a better perspective โ€ฆ

: Being a parent ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ

: ๐Ÿ““ Dear Diary for week ending Sunday, October 13, 2019 Monday ๐Ÿ Picked up a very appropriate leaf on our morning walk today. Autumn is definitely in full โ€ฆ

: Sunrise colors.

: The sun is out today!

: It may be time to start growing a beard. Or at least letting it grow out more than I usually do.

: Peaky Blinders.

: Time to think is priceless.

: Coffee break with Mini Motorways.

: Obligatory ๐Ÿ

: ๐Ÿ““ Dear Diary for week ending Sunday, October 6, 2019 Monday ๐Ÿ˜• Unmotivated start to the week, unfortunately. I am constantly at a adjusting and making โ€ฆ

: A great rainy day.

: Micro.blog has been extremely unresponsive on the web and also the iOS app. I think I can still post โ€ฆ

: First sip of coffee…โ˜•๏ธ

: Just found out that my ITIL instructor passed away on Tuesday. He was only 43. He did all of my ITIL โ€ฆ

: Raining today and very cloudy. Simply means that plenty of coffee will be consumed โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿ™‚

: Realistically our final day of warmer weather for a while.

: ๐ŸŒ™

: So torn right now. I always end up doing too much at once, and always end up feeling like I cannot โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ““ Dear Diary (week ending Sunday, September 29, 2019) Monday โ›…๏ธ The mornings this week were all typical for this time of year, but once the afternoon hit โ€ฆ

: Wondering how it is possible that I have not heard of author John le Carrรฉ. I will begin with Call โ€ฆ

: Early sky.

: Up early, for a Saturday, to take a random quick trip into Washington DC.

: One of these days I think I may make a pretty dramatic move. May even surprise myself.

:

: storm chasing with a Phantom Flex 4K. The best shots from two years of storm chasing jammed into 3.5 โ€ฆ

: Coffee weather.

: Late walk.

: Ran out of hours yesterday, so completed day 2 and 3 of the 100 days of SwitftUI challenge today. โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ› cc: @handy

: September 24th.

: ๐Ÿ‚

: Toward this goal, I completed day 1 of 100 days of SwiftUI.

: Expanding on my generic post about a โ€œbig life changeโ€ Allow me to get personal. Okay, not too personal, but at least hear me out with a crazy goal that I โ€ฆ

: Work. Legos. iPhone. Trains. Hiking. and more legos. Dear Diary for week ending Sunday, September 22, 2019 Monday In the forties (Faranheit) when I woke โ€ฆ

: Ten things I learned this week, ending Sunday, September 22, 2019 The exhaust fans need to be turned on to exhaust things, and where those switches are located is โ€ฆ

: Stairway to…

: In preparation for a massive life change [I am hoping and planning for] in four years, I want to โ€ฆ

: Yeah, High-key Light Mono is swanky for sure!

: creativity is unpredictable, and it simply takes time.

: I have been thinking about a few different blogs that I want to start writing. But I’m going โ€ฆ

: Wandering ๐ŸŒพ

: Lucy soaking in the rays.

: Mozzie favorite part of iPhone delivery day: new boxes to play with ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‚

: iPhone 11 Pro Max successfully setup. Minor delay with using my iOS 13.1 beta backup…but good โ€ฆ

:

: Delivery day!

: The journey of my iPhone 11 Pro Max so far.

: Simply begin.

: New Lego set!

: The iPhone 11 and iPhones 11 Pro Daring Fireball: Thereโ€™s also a shortcut that not many people know about, but when you show it to โ€ฆ

: Make someoneโ€™s day today: compliment them for something.

: Down to 51 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. Autumn ๐Ÿ‚ is quickly approaching!

: Evening sky.

: Awesome.

: Just realized that I am using three separate systems for tracking things that need doing. Apple โ€ฆ

: Finished for the day. Picking a game to try in Apple Arcade.

: Trying to figure out Plan C.

: Now reading ๐Ÿ“š Rising Sun by Michael Crichton.

: More work/productivity apps need to offer this level of notification granularity. This is in โ€ฆ

: Recovering.

: I think I may be a nomad at heart, currently stuck though.

: Eesh. Long end to a long week.

: iPhone preorders complete โœ…

: โšก๏ธโšก๏ธ

: Mural on the side of the coffee shop I go to when visiting the office.

: Yep, not sick anymore. Canโ€™t seem to fall asleep easily before 11. Or after 11 apparently.

: Being sick is the absolute worst. But, being forced into downtime is appreciated. I don’t get โ€ฆ

: Ten years old today but she still looks and acts like a puppy ๐Ÿถ

: Tea and reading before bed. Slept with the windows open. Feel rested!

: I appreciate when days move quickly, but not so fast that they are a blur.

: Had a few things that I wanted to write/process since returning from our trip. I wanted to write โ€ฆ

: Been fascinated lately by bugs. This guy is joining me with my cigar tonight. Wonder what he will โ€ฆ

: From our walk this morning ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŒธ

: Today, at some point, I will check my email (first time in ten days).

: A magical place.

: Beginning tomorrow, the next twelve months are going to be insane (and good, when they are over). โ€ฆ

: Now watching ๐Ÿ“บ: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

: Sunday afternoon naps.

: First thing I tend to do upon returning from a trip, even before unpacking, is planning the next โ€ฆ

: Sunset colors.

: ๐ŸŒพ

: Evening ingredients.

: En route โœˆ๏ธ

: Contrast.

: ๐ŸŽก

:

: Cloudy ๐ŸŒด

: Long day of work and travel. Wrapping up work in the hotel room now, then reading to bring calm to โ€ฆ

: Working through the list.

: Tea and reading before bed.

: Found this photo in my camera roll (no clue on what it is). Accurate depiction of how the last week โ€ฆ

: My upcoming time away from the daily grind and routine of life is very needed, as it is every year. โ€ฆ

: Accessing Triggers/โ€œAutomationsโ€ in the iOS Shortcuts app on my iPhone running beta 6 is lost on me. โ€ฆ

: Experimenting with nighttime iPhone photography with long exposure (6 seconds on this shot) and โ€ฆ

: Thinking a book and a bit of bourbon to bring the day to a close.

: ๐ŸŒˆ

: Listening to the birds as they wake up.

: The sun following me on a long drive through fields of corn earlier this evening.

: Little friend stopped for a photo during our morning walk ๐Ÿธ

: Took my tea outside tonight to watch.

: Drama in the sky.

: Another Indiana Jones film for the weekend.

: Painting in the sky.

: Current setup: Cigar ๐Ÿ’จ Manhattan ๐Ÿฅƒ Netflix ๐Ÿ“บ

: Clouds at night.

: The Autumn ๐Ÿ‚ like feel of today calls for tea this evening.

: Life has been a blur lately. Really looking forward to our vacation coming up. Unplugging (for the โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿ”ฅ

: When process trumps common-sense.

: Alright, iOS 13 Public Betaโ€ฆlet’s see what you’re like.

: Apologies in advance if bugs arenโ€™t for you, but these guys are spending a late work night with me โ€ฆ

: Hershey Park this evening with the family. Had a fun time!

: Finished the Gemini notebook, so need to start a new one. Mozzie helped me pick and he chose the โ€ฆ

: More coffee should do the trick.

: Movement ๐ŸŒง (@macgenie)

: In the back of my mind recently, fighting to reach the front: do not abandon your passions for โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿถ

: โ˜•๏ธ

: Channeling Don Draper.

: Photos from our hike yesterday.

: Donโ€™t overthink it.

: Work location for a bit.

: This kiddo is back from the beach ๐ŸŒŠ so we were back to our walk this morning.

: Lots of coffee today.

:

: Had a great time today at the Pennsylvania Barn Smoker!

: So necessary โ˜•๏ธ

: Starting to watch Stranger Things S3.

: Taking a moment, then Iโ€™ll get back to it.

: Storm rolling in.

: Power nap โœ… Time for coffee โ˜•๏ธ

: Today is Wednesday.

: So this happened today ๐Ÿ˜‘ lost my AirPods. Backtracked everywhere I went today, which was minimal. โ€ฆ

: Now reading Unless It Moves the Human Heart by Roger Rosenblatt ๐Ÿ“– ๐Ÿฅƒ

: Went to the library today ๐Ÿ“š. Kind of on vacation this week.

: This box!

: Beautiful day today.

: Moon.

: Decided to go into the office today (not this building, but nearby).

: Up and at it!

: Should have known. Can only ever watch three episodes of the walking dead. Wrapping up season 8 now.

: Long awesome family evening. Late work night. Late cigar and bourbon ๐Ÿฅƒ now.

: A lot of times I feel like the answer I am looking for is on the tip of my tongue.

: Several fun things to mention: new Reading page new On This Day page (hat tip @cleverdevil - โ€ฆ

: Antsy.

: Busy morning rushing around but still made our walk this morning. This jet stream was heading out to โ€ฆ

: 9 years old but still looks like a puppy ๐Ÿถ

: I’m usually a fairly confident person, but today is one of those “life crisis” โ€ฆ

: From our walk earlier this morning.

: I find it interesting that when I really need to focus or process an idea I reach for pen and paper.

: Called it quits for now.

: Took a walk in the rain this morning. Oddly refreshing.

: Power nap ๐Ÿ˜ด now time for coffee โ˜•๏ธ

: I love how drastically weather changes โ›ˆ

: Something about clouds.

: Sun is hiding.

: Flowers

: โ˜•๏ธ Good morning! Work to do this morning but then have the rest of the day off.

: Seemed like an appropriate cigar for today.

: โ˜•๏ธ Todayโ€™s coffee so far

: Enjoyed, as usual, listening to this weekโ€™s @monday episode with @macgenie and @danielpunkass. Re โ€ฆ

: Grand finale from our backyard last night ๐ŸŽ‡

: I know, I know, another picture of Lucy ๐Ÿถ in her bed. But honestly, why does she always look so โ€ฆ

: Going to get back to doing this every day โœ๐Ÿผ

: With a solider this morning โ˜•๏ธ

: Knew I was onto something: ending your work day at 3pm

: Finished reading Death on the Nisle by Agatha Christie ๐Ÿ“š

:

: Sunday๐Ÿ’ค

: Good trip to Gettysburg yesterday. M isnโ€™t at the point where we can do too much more than 2.5 miles โ€ฆ

: Walked with a pirate this morning ๐Ÿดโ€โ˜ ๏ธ

: Why I Track my Time I have always tracked how I spend my time. Whether I was doing it to track time for a future invoice โ€ฆ

: Another beautiful day!

: Part of my new routine, which I will write more about later, is a 7am walk with my 5yo.

: Oh snap, Stranger Things 3.

: Time to give focused thought to a realistic daily routine that I can actually stick to and that โ€ฆ

: Full sun right now and pushing 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Paradise for me.

: At any rate, first cup of coffee finally in. ๐Ÿถ โ˜•๏ธ

: Need to get on a much better and consistent daily routine. Already running out of time this morning โ€ฆ

: ๐Ÿค” Thinking about: going back to TaskPaper (and wondering if I can use Drafts on iOS and MacOS along โ€ฆ

: โ€œHey dad! Whatโ€™s this?โ€

: โ˜•๏ธ Good morning! First cup of coffee for the day.

: Really enjoyed this weekโ€™s @monday episode with @macgenie interviewing @jgmac1106. I am afraid to go โ€ฆ

: Been unsubscribing from email newsletters/promotions as they come in. Only keeping subscriptions โ€ฆ

: New goal: plan tomorrow today.

: Finally some time to take a minute…

: 2 hours of sitting in the sun reading _Death on the Nisle_ by Agatha Christie. Good for the soul!

: Went for a walk/hike today. Trying to be more intentional about planned family activities on the โ€ฆ

: Email is a necessary evil for sure: for work, keeping in-touch, etc, but it really isn’t too โ€ฆ

: Really enjoyed listening to the latest Core Intuition episode. Especially re the use of email and โ€ฆ

: Something that continues to seem unbelievable: I’m a dad.

: Work hard, play hard. Worked harder, play harder.

: Storm rolling in โ›ˆ

: Coincidence? @macgenie @jeremycherfas

: Work is done for the day. Time to relax for a bit. Major wins in that the various automations I put โ€ฆ

: Yeah, think I’ll have another cup.

: Afternoon coffee - so/always necessary. Also, my favorite coffee mug from one of my favorite places.

: Crazy late night of automating a few things. Mostly successful! Time to rest :-)

: Had a good afternoon hanging out with my dad. Sat on the back porch drinking brews and talking. My โ€ฆ

: Complain less, do more.

: Apparently a power nap is needed.

: Ok. Friday evening. Time for a beer, cigar, and The Walking Dead. Cheers!

: Pay for what you believe in Like I mentioned before, when I planned to start blogging again I seriously considered going the โ€ฆ

: Ceiling of the main rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol building.

: Appreciate this. @macgenie - Curating the Micro.blog Discover Timeline Our goal is to start โ€ฆ

: Just made my own business expense tracker using Drafts -> Shortcuts -> Zapier -> Airtable.

: Constantly trying to keep my “today” todo list realistic. Meaning, a list of things that โ€ฆ

: Finally getting to the morningโ€™s first cup of French press coffee.

: Feeling the same. Very happy to have discovered the community here. @mroutley - Consolidating my โ€ฆ

: 80% of his allowance money goes towards new LEGO sets, and Iโ€™m okay with that :-)

: Took work outside, grabbing some vitamin D with Lucy ๐Ÿถ

: Going with a shorter username for my micro.blog profile, just first and last name initials. Too โ€ฆ

: The problem with watching The Walking Dead, in my experience, is that I find it difficult to โ€ฆ

: Blogging I plan to start writing and publishing online again. For the past 12 years, this has been an โ€ฆ

: Do people still say good morning? If so, good morning! If not…good morning!

: Hey now, what’s up micro.blog community!? I am excited to be here and happy that I have found โ€ฆ

: Guy stuff.

:

:

: Not my final thoughts on the Undercrown Maduro, but my initial thoughts: need to try it again. First โ€ฆ

: Saturday night.

: Looking forward to enjoying this @thecrownedheads CHC XVIII. Purchased at the Crowned Heads event at โ€ฆ

: Looking forward to this beautiful @drewestatecigar Undercrown Maduro. Will be smoking it live โ€ฆ

: Thoroughly enjoyed this Padron Black Label No. 89 2018 @taaexclusive. Delicious! Have you tried it โ€ฆ

: Tonightโ€™s lineup. Happy #fuentefriday everyone ๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿฅƒ . . . . #fuenteisfuente #cigar #arturofuente โ€ฆ

: Dark, cold, and windy. But the cigar is still lighting up just fine :-) Hitting record for this โ€ฆ

: My favorite Instagram family! Whatโ€™s up!? Just a quick note before the day gets away from me to say โ€ฆ

: What is up my party people? Been a minute since I posted anything here. How are you doing!? In the โ€ฆ

: do what is important first do what is important first โ€œwhite cloudsโ€ by Jรถrg Angeli onย Unsplash What is the first thing you โ€ฆ

: Intending to do something worth while requires drastic action Doing something worthwhile requires drasticย action doing things differentlyโ€ฆby rawpixel onย Unsplash โ€ฆ

: Thoughts on change, art, science, and trees Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger onย Unsplash Why do we do things? No, not that. Why are things done โ€ฆ

: Work after work ingredients.

: She asked where I was from. “San Andrรฉs,” I replied cooly, taking a sip of my Bogotรก โ€ฆ

: The fire crackled. Her laughter drifted into the star filled sky, rising with the smoke. The night โ€ฆ

: Was having a rough day so needed something easy going like this @joyacigars Cabinetta. A true modern โ€ฆ

: Late at night with a @punchcigars Rare Corojo. The soft breeze whispered in my ear, and danced โ€ฆ

: Something special about how these two paired: @davidoffcigars Year of the Rooster and 23 year โ€ฆ

: For those late night inspo sessions, I prefer the Late Hour by @davidoffcigars. Churchill was โ€ฆ

: Smoking @ajfcigars and drinking coffee…doesn’t get much better than this! Cigar from โ€ฆ

: That one time with a @davidblanco007 NINE, @TroegsBeer Impending Decent, and the company of a good โ€ฆ

: Friday - bring it.

: The Hoyo La Amistad, a colab between @AJFcigars and @hoyocigars, pretty darn close to absolute โ€ฆ

: A very enjoyable cigar! The Angel’s Anvil 2017 @taaexclusive by @thecrownedheads. Enjoyed โ€ฆ

: I loved everything about the Leaf by Oscar (maduro). First of all, unwrapping the tobacco leaf โ€ฆ

: Good afternoon! Iโ€™ve never had one that let me down. New World by @ajfcigars puts on full display โ€ฆ

: Still thinking about my time with this Romeo Aรฑejo #cigar by Romeo y Julieta. That “dark โ€ฆ

: Enjoyed this Insidious Maduro by @asylum13cigars. Very smooth, good construction, combustion, and โ€ฆ

: Good evening! Thoroughly enjoyed this HR โ€œHirochi Robainaโ€ by Cubanacan…a first for me and โ€ฆ

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: Saturday feels.

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: Snowing today, so hereโ€™s a picture before the snow arrived. Also, I am excited to let you know that โ€ฆ

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: Be Instead of Do, Who Instead of What Be Instead of Do, Who Instead ofย What Photo by Nick Karvounis onย Unsplash When kids are kids, โ€ฆ

: Mornin.

: Sunday.

: ๐Ÿ’จ

: Yes, yes, and yes!! Yes, yes, and yes!! I, too, am avoiding the โ€œnumbers gameโ€ and am working to find my community in a โ€ฆ

: Donโ€™t mind if I do.

: Say No To Other People. Say No To Fear. Say No To Other People. Say No Toย Fear. Ray Hennessy onย Unsplash Yesterday was a Monday. Well, โ€ฆ

: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ

: I have created an early riser. Which is good for later in his life, questionable at the present โ€ฆ

: Remote Work Refinedโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠA Short Personal History Remote Work Refinedโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠA Short Personalย History I have alluded in the past about my goal of finding โ€ฆ

: Snowy day simplicity ๐Ÿฅƒ

: Morning things.

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: On a mission.

: Friday - bring it ๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿป

: Donโ€™t mind if I do. #nofilter #iphone7plus

: Coffee in the evening kind of day โ˜•๏ธ

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: Thankful for the warm seat. Enjoyed this Alec Bradley Sanctum earlier today.

: Salut.

: Thoroughly enjoyed this classic (for the first time) in the company of @lindsayaiken.

: Stronger than I usually go to, but this Romeo is one I will try again (most likely after a meal ๐Ÿ˜Š).

: Ready for a trip.

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: Enjoyed this Oliva Serie V Liga Especial lancero yesterday.

: Private lounge smoke - Seรฑorial by Josรฉ Blanco.

: Thinking about 2018 - and doing something about 2018.

: Relaxing by the tree with a dram of Johnnie Walker (thank you @billhitz0220). Merry Christmas!

: Kicking off Christmas weekend with @starbucks Christmas Blend โ˜•๏ธ cheers ๐ŸŽ„

: …and to all a good night.

: Work hard, Play hard. I usually combine the two.

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: lindsayaiken let me out of the house ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‰ Cigar and work.

: Coffee and pancakes.

: Cigars and coffee.

: Good morning!

: coffee with aaronโ€Šโ€”โ€Šgoing where the money is coffee with aaronโ€Šโ€”โ€Šgoing where the moneyย is Good morningโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠIโ€™ve never viewed myself as someone who โ€ฆ

: Take your passions seriously.

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: Yes, I have a โ€œhoodyโ€ on ๐Ÿ˜ฑ and yes @mozziedean is holding a flip phone โ˜Ž๏ธ

: Coffee shadows.

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: Coffee Chat with Aaronโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠDaily Gratitude Coffee Chat with Aaronโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠDaily Gratitude Good morning, and Happy Thanksgiving to those of you here โ€ฆ

: Ladies and gentlemen - you may drink. Salut.

: Up at 4am because Iโ€™m too excited to sleep. And my alarm went off ๐Ÿ˜‰

: Happy National Coffee Day - did you celebrate??

: Cheers to the weekend!

: Hey now - so I donโ€™t think I have mentioned this yet here, other than in my bio, which you probably โ€ฆ

: Messy hair don’t care. Traveling with my family is the best.

: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ

: Time to think.

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: The wind down ๐Ÿฅƒ

: Time to begin.

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: Best way to start the day.

: The idea life.

: Good morning! Here’s a shot of today’s daily log in my #bulletjournal. โ€ฆ

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: With a stray ‘i’ in there, practice is what I’m doing ๐Ÿ˜€ Relearning cursive ๐Ÿ–‹๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

: Saturday’s plans. Fingers crossed ๐ŸคžCheers โ˜•๏ธ

: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿ’ป Up laying awake in bed at 3 with ideas and such running through my mind. Gave โ€ฆ

: Blank pages.

: Good morning! Trying out a new weekly spread. Lots of white space. Some areas boxed, others free. โ€ฆ

: Had a great time celebrating Mozzie’s great grandmother’s birthday ๐ŸŽ‰ ๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

: Morning rituals - the secret to a successful life. Start where you are and with what you have and โ€ฆ

: I’ve noticed lately how yellow my photos are just by the nature of where and when I typically โ€ฆ

: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ It is always a good day when you get to start a new notebook ๐Ÿ˜€ [Leuchttrum1917, โ€ฆ

: Good morning โ˜€๏ธ My morning routine is simple. French press coffee. Setup and plan my day in my โ€ฆ

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: Day is finally planned. Hoping for a successful end to the week. Have a great Friday! ๐Ÿท is just โ€ฆ

: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ ! Two things: 1) new link in my bio โฌ†๏ธ. Check it out if you don’t mind BECAUSE โ€ฆ

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: Good morning my party people โ˜•๏ธ ๐Ÿ““ ๐Ÿ”ซ Weather report: feels like -2. Um. Florida here I come โœˆ๏ธโ›ฑโ˜€๏ธ

: Good morning! โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿ““๐Ÿ’ป

: Working from home this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to see my 2017 Bullet Journal โ€ฆ

: Sometimes I just can’t help myself. With the ๐Ÿ“š or the ๐Ÿท. #wineglass #harrypotterbook โ€ฆ

: Could do this for hours. #calvinandhobbes #wineoclock

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: Let’s the the holiday season started ๐ŸŽ„ ๐Ÿท Cheers!

: Starting to read 80/20 Sales and Marketing ๐Ÿ“š What book are you currently reading ๐Ÿ“–?

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: Good evening friends! A beautiful evening here in Harrisburg. What’s on tap for your night?

: Cheers, my friends. Enjoy your evening! . . . Manhattan made with @makersmark

: Exploring ๐ŸŒฒ

: Good morning ๐ŸŒžโ˜•๏ธ . . . #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire #futurebillionaire #youngentrepreneur โ€ฆ

: Happy Halloween ๐Ÿ‘ป ๐Ÿช ๐Ÿ˜€

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: Today was a cloudy day here in Harrisburg so I took the opportunity to capture this shot of the โ€ฆ

: Good morning โ˜€๏ธโ˜•๏ธ๏ธ Comment below if you are drinking coffee right now ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿ‘ . . . #laptoplifestyle โ€ฆ

: We took out a bunch of trees at our house today…Mozzie had to help :-) I hope your day was โ€ฆ

: Good evening! Enjoying a cup of joe and traveling magazines :-) What are your plans for the evening? โ€ฆ

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: Took some time a few weeks ago to sit back and relax with a cigar. In this particular photo I was โ€ฆ

: Quick update on Mozzie since so many of you expressed concern last week. He is doing much better โ€ฆ

: That one time I sat Mozzie inside a jet turbine…๐Ÿ˜ฌ โœˆ๏ธ . . . #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire โ€ฆ

: Pocket lint of a 3 year old…I have a few words of wisdom for you based on this, but I’d โ€ฆ

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: Good morning! Time to begin conquoring your day :-) . . . #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire โ€ฆ

: One of my favorite things to do with Mozzie is read books with him ๐Ÿ“š. Especially when he requests to โ€ฆ

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: Cheers ๐Ÿป How was your day? . . . #familyman #successtips #successmindset #successcoach #successstory โ€ฆ

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: Night in the hospital with Mozzie. He’s had a rough evening and is attempting sleep now. Just โ€ฆ

: Quality time with this kid this morning ๐Ÿ‘ Drinking milk ๐Ÿฎ eating apple ๐ŸŽ jacks and reading books ๐Ÿ“š โ€ฆ

: Good evening, my friends. I hope your Saturday has treated you well! What awesome things did you do โ€ฆ

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: Coffee and doughnuts…so necessary :-) Double tap if you agree ๐Ÿ‘Š ๐Ÿ‘Š And have a fantastic day! . โ€ฆ

: Mozzie and I had a lot of time together this weekend since @Lindayaiken was galavanting around NYC. โ€ฆ

: Determine what makes you happy and then get to work making that happiness happen every single day. โ€ฆ

: Lucy enjoying a cup of joe with me :-) Enjoy your day!! . . . #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire โ€ฆ

: #musthave @starbucks while traveling :-) . . . #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire #futurebillionaire โ€ฆ

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: Perspective is everything. The table I sit at each morning is not normally as clean as I crop it to โ€ฆ

: Read to take two for the road!

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: Family photo sesh yesterday with @julianabirdphotography - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Srsly. If you are โ€ฆ

: Today is Mozzie’s 3rd birthday…and as you would expect to hear, I can’t believe โ€ฆ

: Had an awesome family day, accompanied by our good friends at @starbucks โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿ‘

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: Good morning โ˜€๏ธโ˜•๏ธ For those of you that would like to become early risers, here’s a pro-tip โ€ฆ

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: Good morning โ˜•๏ธ๐ŸŒŠ Make today great!

: Traveling with a 3yo can certainly be challenging, but I am enjoying the extra time with this little โ€ฆ

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: Family photo outtake ๐Ÿ˜‰ Why do I work so hard? For more and more time with my family. What’s โ€ฆ

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: #aikenstarbucksselfie

: Thinking, writing, strategizing, and enjoying a cigar. ๐Ÿ˜€ #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire โ€ฆ

: Cheers my friends! Enjoy your evening ๐Ÿ˜€ #laptoplifestyle #youngmillionaire #futurebillionaire โ€ฆ

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: Satisfied We Are Not โ€” And Thatโ€™s Ok Satisfied We Are Notโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠAnd Thatโ€™sย Ok Photo Credit: Negativeย SpaceI am rarely satisfied. And if you โ€ฆ

: 7 Awesome and Productive Things To Do When You Are Sick 7 Productive Things To Do When You Have theย Flu Photo Credit: Krista MangulsoneIt happens to all of โ€ฆ

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: Don’t mind if I do! #tastycigar #cigarlovers #loversoftheleaf #cigarians #cigarcartel โ€ฆ

: Now #smoking an Ezra Zion Cigar Co. All My Ex’s #cigar. Thanks to @ftb.melanie and โ€ฆ

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: Excited to start using Field Notes again! They are part of a change I have made to how I capture and โ€ฆ

: Excited to get started with 712 more things to write about! #writing

: #starbucks run with Mozzie and Lucy.

: Never too late for Christmas cookies. ‘Tis the season :-)

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: Thoroughly enjoyed all of family time this morning!!

: Boom!

: Enjoyed this cigar with the best father in-law around!

: Becoming a big fan of Nat Sherman cigars.

: Enjoying a “successful move to production” cigar from one of my Domino developers.

: Home from taking my ITIL CSI exam. I unofficially know that I passed. Relaxing for a few minutes โ€ฆ

: Practice exam for my ITIL CSI cert. And a cigar. Of course.

: HCC Roaming Friday! Cigar with Manhattan. Always perfect. @harrisburgcigarclub

: Kicking back with the in-laws.

: Still working but have finished the manual labor of the day so kicking back with a cigar :-)

: Many thanks to @lindsayaiken and my incredible in-laws for facilitating this quick break. Much โ€ฆ

: HCC Board Meeting #1. @harrisburgcigarclub

: First cigar since returning from vacation last Saturday.

: A happy second 25th to this beautiful girl, @lindsayaiken!!!

: Closing out the day, beautiful evening!

: Enjoyed this Cubanacan this afternoon. @cubanacanlawrence @harrisburgcigarclub

: This guy has class.

: Good times.

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: Not a huge Gurkah fan but thought this picture was captured well.

: Hard work always pays off. Excited to be home to spend the day with Mozzie and @lindsayaiken.

: Received this in the mail today…..

: Successful implementation tonight. Now enjoying a Blanco Nine and a Manhattan. Work hard play hard. โ€ฆ

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: Enjoying the new Tobacco Company lounge. Beautiful setup. @harrisburgcigarclub

: Had a late implementation this evening. @lindsayaiken said “you had a long day. Go have a โ€ฆ

: View walking out of the office this evening.

: Missing this little guy. Left the house before he woke up. Getting back home after he went to bed.

: “Standing Guard” - very clear that @lindsayaiken is behind that door.

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: Maybe we’ll read a book!

: Took the team out for a field trip to the farm show.

: So necessary.

: Discussing what the zoo sent us.

: Cozy car ride.

: Lucky cigars.

: Reading books with this kiddo.

: “board books are for babies. I’m reading James Patterson.”

: Hanging out with Lucy.

: One of the best pictures from the Thompson wedding #thompsonwedding121314

: Lucy always finds the most comfortable place to sleep.

: Drinking coffee. Planning tomorrow.

: Hot chocolate with @lindsayaiken and Mozzie!

: Excited to see grandaddy carving the turkey!

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: Waiting for mom.

: Boss.

: Good morning!

: Another excellent Harrisburg Cigar Club board meeting in the books! @harrisburgcigarclub

: Another late work night. Another website launching :-)

: Random perspective from my drive to the office.

: One of those nights. Going to be a long one.

: Fun day at Hershey Park last weekend.

: Yes please and thank you.

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: Fresh Starbucks Italian Roast whole bean.

: Me and The Lucy.

: Coffee makes the freezing rain melt away. Well, that’s my theory.

: How to handle traffic on a Friday afternoon.

: Hanging with this hombre.

: One of yesterday’s “working on a Saturday” cigars.

: On mornings like this it is good to ask: why do I live here?

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: Actually been a while since I’ve had starbucks. Which made this cup of joe quite amazing.

: Been a while since I’ve played, but I’m going get this guy back into playing condition โ€ฆ

: Tonight’s vino. Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon.

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: Appropriate weather conditions for Christmas Eve.

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: Working on my presentation for tomorrow’s MT class at HACC. this calls for coffee!

: Quick walk with Lucy.

: Walk with the family :-)

: Romeo y Julieta Reserve

: How to drink coffee.

: Fall is dangerously close.

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: Pretty awesome stuff going on at Highland Brewing Company.

: Much needed. #cigar #wine #biltmore #asheville

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