Last month I wrote about how I had just committed to narrowing my focus down to three passions: music, writing, and woodwork - Sound, Script, & Sawdust. The thing that finally got me to dial in on what I wanted my life to look like going forward were not the words of some self-help guru or the latest life hack from a productivity coach. It was this poem. It was these simple lines by David Whyte that started me thinking on where and to who and to what I gave my time. I'm willing to bet his words will resonate with you too.

You must learn one thing:
the world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.

We are closing in on the completion of my forthcoming album, Blood in the Honey. This month we finished tracking all of the instruments, and we'll be recording vocals in the coming weeks.
3 days after Christmas I'll be onstage at Collins River BBQ in McMinnville, TN where the set list will definitely include some of the new material.

Here's a piece of one of those tunes, Adalaine:

I've been busy with some edits on my book project, Chasing Twain, a travelogue/memoir about rowing a wooden rowboat down the Mississippi. The second sample chapter is nearly complete, and we are working with an agent to tighten up the proposal in hopes of placing the book with a publisher.

You can read a short overview of the book included in the submission here.

I'm really excited to be getting started on this farmhouse style pedestal dining table. The first photo is my initial sketch for the pedestal. The next picture is a 3D rendering of what this beauty will look like when built. Stay tuned for shots of the real deal!

Rarities, Oddities, and Recommendations

Star Wars fans will like this. So will wooodworkers. And woodworking Star Wars fans doubly so. Daniel Logan, the actor who plays Boba Fett is also apparently a wood carver. He recently made this wooden storm trooper helmet.
One of my favorite accounts on Instagram these days is A Map A Day (though they usually post more than once a day). If you like maps and map related trivia and anecdotes you'll want to follow .
Back in April, rapper/slam-poet NoName performed on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts. In addition to great writing and a laid back delivery she is backed by a badass band. Do your ear holes a favor.
Richard Campanella, a professor at the Tulane School of Architecture, recorded a series of short videos for Louisiana Humanities covering the historic geography of New Orleans. This one details city's "Neutral Ground" (the local term for a street median.)
One of my favorite books I read this year was C.E. Morgan's All the Living. Less than 200 pages, it's a story about desire and grief set on drought stricken Kentucky tobacco farm. If you're a Cormac McCarthy fan then C.E. Morgan is for you.
Finally, I watched a pretty eye-opening documentary last week. I swore off meat and (most) animal products 3 years ago to combat my diabetes. This film, What The Health , confirmed for me much of what I have read since making that life changing decision.

Thanks, y'all,

Trapper Haskins