Here's where my talent really comes from...and we all thought it was from mom!

There has been an amazing recent discovery in my family. My dad is crafty. Seriously. We've all known that he has many, many talents including, making siren noises in the car while everyone looks around for a cop, telling great stories he swears are true but are really just well told un-truths, and we all know he has an amazing singing voice that can undoubtedly be compared to Pavarotti and a more mature Josh Groban. Little did we know that my dad is on his way to being a master carver. Seriously! Who knew?? We all knew that my mom is a very crafty person. She was and is always into something like sewing, painting, making cards, cake decorating, etc. but wow, my dad is an artist, too.

It all started out with a visit to the home show a few years ago. A former dentist was demonstrating a modified dental drill making intricate pieces of art. He was carving amazing designs into wood and of all things, ostrich eggs. I can just see my dad there now, "That's pretty nifty. I can do that. Excuse me Mr. Ex-Dentist sir, where can I get one of those machines?" Actually it took a few years to decide if this was a hobby suited for a siren sounding, singing railroader. So last spring he and mom went to a free class on the whole process and he was hooked.

Now after a day of battling with vendors and managing employees for Union Pacific, he rushes to his make-shift studio in his garage. 40 to 60 hours are spent on these one-of-a-kind delicate carvings. Gone are the days of TV watching, leisurely puttering around the house, and wondering what he'll do when he retires. He's found it folks. He's an egg carver.

Oh and this is what happens when you find a passion that involves hours of tediously making microscopic marks into egg shells...you get a little loopy and send these kind of pictures to your daughter--who by the way is pretty proud of her dear dad, even though he's a bit, well...the pictures say it all.