In spite of the wind and snow Andy started this bonfire with just one match and a three-inch fatwood stick. He still hasn’t lost his touch.
What about you? Do you have any skills you’re proud of?
One Match
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Not really.
By the way, what is ‘fatwood’?
Do I have any skills I am proud of? Where to start? There are so many. Except I am not really proud of what I can do – I just take my skills for granted. Granted by all those good fairies round my cradle.
However, the fire lighting fairy clearly got herself into a cinder because, unlike Andy, it sometimes takes me two matches to light one candle. As to my lighting a fire – well, let’s just say where there is a lot of smoke one lives in hope. And yes, echoing Evan: What is fatwood? Some sort of cheating device to impress Andy’s love interest and the rest of us?
U
Evan and Ursula,
The fatwood I buy Andy as a Christmas present comes from the stumps of longleaf pines. It’s saturated with resin and is used as fire starters. It is impressive that he needed only a three-inch piece of it.
I can still cook up a tasty and nutritious meal!
My trick for starting fires with one match is to fill a plastic bag or paper bag partially with dry twigs and pinecones and a piece of paper, surround that with larger twigs or kindling, and a couple of pieces of dry firewood.
“Jack of all trades, master of none,” I can’t think of any one skill that I’m particularly proud of. One thing that I am quite skillful at, procrastination, I’m not particularly proud.
I was curious about fatwood but the answer has been written…like Ursula I have a number of skills that I just take for granted. Some learned from childhood, others acquired over the years of my current life!
Maybe it is a man thing…
In the last few weeks I have been attempting to master making scones (I think you call them biscuits, although we have biscuits they are more similar to your cookies!) With the help of foodlovers forum I got a variety of ideas but I never have enough cheese for their best ideas. However, this morning in a few hours I’m entertaining some overseas (cruise ship) family and so I ran up a plain batch this morning…
I think they will pass muster, they look good and ones I tested were also good!
(family aren’t exactly mine anymore, my ex-DHs’ – also will have ex-DH here, will just cope!)
What is a DH?
I knew fatwood didn’t grow around here.
ex-DH – ex dear husband…
Actually I’m back from a full on day with said people and I am really loooking forward to some peace and quiet. Glad they are back on the high seas in their big ship cruising away from Auckland and away from having to have them around…
But of course ex-DH lives less than 20mins walk from me, but he only comes occasionally nowadays. I can cope with him in small doses 🙂
Rummuser,
That’s definitely a skill worth having!
Mike,
Your fire starting idea sounds like a winner. I’m not sure why some people think being a jack of all trades is a bad thing. It sounds very practical to me.
Cathy,
For me it’s not being proud of some of my skills, it’s more delighting in some of the ones that took a long time to learn. When I’ve partially mastered something it means I can go on to the next step and build on what I’ve learned. It’s like watching a garden grow.
I’m glad the visit went reasonably well. A full day is a long time.