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Saturday, July 24, 2021

Found, in the last place I looked, and other adventures

St. Patrick's Day was four months ago, and the search for my Erin Go Braugh pin out of mind and memory, at least until the same time next year.



I put up for sale on eBay (I've finally mastered the correct spelling) a charming little wooden bowl I traded for at an art show in Atlanta. I used the bowl to capture odds and ends set aside.


Honestly, it takes more pictures than I have to show the artist's work making the bowl. Inside and out, up and down, all the imperfections of the tree's knot. I used to pitch in extra buttons, safety pins, rings I quit wearing and:


Back in the eighties, my staff came back from lunch with that little pin, for the boss who forgot to wear green on the day. It's missed few St. Paddy's since then. Perhaps only the last couple of years. It is safely stored with my earrings and not to be overlooked again.

The camera sold on eBay and I packed it up for shipping today. But first I opened the little access door to remove the battery. Lithium ion. A little pressure did not cause it to pop up. A little wiggle with the tip of the letter opener did not move it.

On to google to find a remedy!

First I learned the battery probably had swelled, a common problem with Nikon original equipment batteries. So, get something thin to slip in anywhere and ease the battery up a bit. Then needle nose pliers to get it up some more and finally, every day pliers to haul it out.

I accomplished step A, and prayed the needle nose's were out in the shed. And they were, in a box, encased in rust and almost immovable. They started life in my dad's tool chest, a hundred odd years ago. I left them on the porch, and came back with paper towels, a protective piece of cardboard and the can of WD-40.


This is after a good scrubbing with my trusty toothbrush tool. They worked well enough to slide out the battery. I must buy some steel wool to finish the job.

37 comments:

  1. I hope you get a really good price for that bowl, which I find singularly beautiful. We have one made from a burl and we are very fond of it, and would hate to part with it.

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  2. Well done you.
    I get so frustrated when my recalcitrant hands will not allow me to do quite simple jobs. Fortunately I am often more stubborn than stains.

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    1. PS: I adore that bowl, and my fingers itch to run over its glorious curves.

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  3. I am so lucky in that my across-the-street neighbor makes beautiful wooden bowls, some with the gnarls and knots and even bark in them. Or on them. I have several and I do cherish them.
    And I cherish my needle nose pliers, too which live in a toolbox that rests upon the hot water heater.
    What a lot of work to get a camera ready to pack!

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  4. Hari Om
    Trusty tools are priceless... Glad things are moving - in every sense! YAM xx

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  5. You went to a lot of trouble to get that battery out!

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  6. Such a conscientious seller. The buyer should appreciate this care.

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    1. Liz, I worry the whole transaction will be voided by the buyer over little things like that. I've sold a long time on eBay and it's not the friendly place it used to be.

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  7. Love that wood bowl. Full of character and one of a kind!

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  8. That's a gorgeous and unique bowl. I'm no good at removing batteries. (or putting them in correctly)

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  9. very nice bowl. one of my glass bowls showed up on eBay once. I did not buy it back.

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    1. Our woven clothing shows up from time to time. Linda has a constant search and used to let me know.

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  10. I have a German woman friend who swears that spraying on WD40 helps her arthritic knee. Maybe it does, but I don't like to think of the carcinogenic effect on her skin.

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  11. The bowl is lovely, and good you managed to coax out the battery of the camera.

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  12. Cuimhnigi a Luimneach...Remember Limerick!
    Gorgeous bowl...I covet it!

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  13. You’ve been busy. Love that bowl! Good job with the battery.

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  14. Needle-nose pliers are my favorite besides a hammer, Tools that make life wroth living! Lovely bowl, looks to be a wild thing, not quite tamed into bowldom.

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  15. The bowl is truly beautiful. My husband does some wood turning and loves to get wood with a burl in it to work on. Isn't it nice to have a tool that was your Dad's, not to mention that older tools are usually better made!

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  16. That is a beautiful one-of-a-kind bowl. Your move will be light after all the sales you are executing.

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  17. Gorgeous. I too have a glorious bowl made for me by the last of my gentleman callers, I love the feel of it and looking at it. I treated grandgirl and her partner to a hand carved cutting board when we were away. It was expensive but I know they will treasure it for a lifetime(s). Something about wood.
    XO
    WWW

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  18. It's a pretty bowl but not something I would buy. For odds and ends gathering I buy ceramic that I can wash up with the rest of the dishes.
    I never bothered about wearing green for St Paddy's day, but since finding out I have 2% Irish in my ancestry, I have bought a tiny pair of green leprechaun earrings to wear each year.

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  19. A beautiful very individual bowl. Won't you miss it?

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  20. I always find wood bowls very beautiful and your's is no exception. Those needle nose pliers were very rusty. Funny you mentioned them today as I had to find mine too in order to try and fix the lock on my mail box. Fortunately mine weren't rusty.

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  21. Those pliers (why is it plural?) have have had a good run.

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  22. Wow, that was quite an operation to remove the battery. And how fortunate that your dad's needle nose pliers were still around after all those years!

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  23. Hope you sell quickly and get a good price! It is lovely and unusual!

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  24. The bowl is beautiful. I still believe your pin will turn up. Sweet Cheeks is good at finding things. Perhaps I need to send him to you.

    Love,
    Janie

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  25. Unique and beautiful bowl. I'm sure it will be gone quickly.

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  26. What a really interesting entry. I'd keep the bowl and off the plyers. :) LOL

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  27. That wooden bowl is really gorgeous. Your approach to selling books is good, $1 take it or leave it.

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