The Corner Piece

Winter Shop Time

Here's a look at a couple of things I've got cooking.

The first is a bookcase for our living room. It' similar to other stacked bookcases I did a couple of years back. I actually had a couple of pieces of leftover cherry plywood, edgebanding, and hard maple from that project. This needed to fit large scrapbooks that didn't have a home; we'd long since ran out of shelf space for these.

The mitered corners of the plywood are strengthened by these maple splines. I applied an oil/varnish finish followed by wax. I think it's the absolute best way to go on cherry, below.

I made room between these two chairs. Not sure where the small table that was here will go....

The other thing I've been meaning to get to is finishing the lower area of my tool cabinet. I had cut a couple of grooves in the shelves in anticipation of adding some small drawers and just never got around to it - until now.

I cut some scrap pine to fit the grooves. The grain in the uprights runs the same way as all the wood in the cabinet to account for any wood movement, below.

A central divider was added between the uprights. I'll end up with space for two long narrow drawers in the center and deeper ones on either side, below.

A spot or two of glue on these pieces will hold them in there. I milled up some scrap pine and red oak for the drawer parts. I'll use it as an opportunity to practice some dovetailing.

 

 

 

Winter 2012 New Beginnings

I've been away from this for quite a while.

As time goes on, my focus has shifted much more on my career and has left little time for other pursuits.

One of my goals for 2012 is to find a better balance; to re-establish links with the things I really love to do.

Let's catch up a little....

Wifey and I took a Carribean cruise last fall aboard the Carnival Freedom. This was our first time together on this line. We were very impressed with the overall experience. Over a span of 8 days it took us to Antigua, Tortola, St. Thomas and Nassau. We had never been to Antigua and to Tortola only once. We ferried to Virgin Gorda and had a great time there swimming in the caves and soaking up the sun.

These tidal caves were a lot of fun...

We are scheduled for another cruise in March, stay tuned....

I have managed a little hobby time out in the shop over the past few months. I built some display cabinets out of some locally sawn Florida Sand Pine. It is a lot like Southern Yellow Pine with a lot more sap!The wood and overall feel of these cabinets blended well with their surroundings.

Above, the empty cabinets are more recent than the opposite side from earlier in the year. This is a front side view.

 

Above, this is a back side view. I think overall these fit in really well here.

One thing that this project incorporated was a full set of drawings I did with Google Sketchup. This is a free, 3D drawing program available online. There are great tutorials on how to use it, very intuitive. I think learning to design this way will have many benefits down the line. It certainly made the process easier once I got into the shop.

Several times I went to the computer and printed a new view of the cabinets with a new dimension that I discovered I needed during the build process. It made it so easy to pull up the view, add dimensions, and print a shop copy. This is something I'll add to how I do things at work as well.

The Holiday season came and went, ho-hum and Bah Humbug. No need to delve into all the reasons associated with my feelings on the subject, just read these archives for all you need to know. Wifey and I managed to be crazy busy during this time anyway which is just as well. I'd much rather celebrate what's important, together on a beach without all the other distractions and stress of the time. We'll have our time together soon....

So , that's all for now. Hopefully I'll try to update this more often, we'll see. I've got lots of ideas for this year that I plan on sharing. More adventures to come as well!!

Peace out.

 

 

 

 

Milestones

Last Saturday marked our 17th wedding anniversary. Where does the time go! It was also my brother's birthday; we were married on his 30th birthday.

We have a November cruise coming, can't wait!

I should be back in the shop in the next couple of weeks, weather is just starting to cool off (a little).....stay tuned!

Check this out - hilarious!!!

 

Labor Day Weekend 2011

Where did the summer go?

It occurs to me ,when I stop for a minute, that we spend way too much time looking forward to the next thing. The whole work to live not live to work thing.....anyway.......

I have a lot more responsibility with my job than in the past and it weighs on me. It's been a year in this role (already) and just when I think I've got it down I realize all that I still don't know. It's not a complaint, I really like what I do. I just never could have imagined the level of concentration and commitment it would take to do it. I'm beat..... 

I have a 3 day weekend. Yesterday was spent doing nothing but crashing on the couch and making some food with Wifey working a closing shift. We'll actually have two days off together this weekend so that's a plus. Our Sunday's (our only reg. day off together) over the summer have been great. We usually relax by the pool, today I'm not sure the weather will cooperate. 

We've started talking about time off for the upcoming year. It'll pretty much run the same way as before, a week off in March and a week off in November. We both get more time than in past years so we should have long weekends peppered in as well. I'll probably need a break around my birthday.

We're thinking of taking a Carnival cruise, something we haven't done. We've been reluctant to go on that line only because they appear at times to be a little low end. I guess that's not really true especially on longer itineraries. We'll see. They are heading to some places we haven't been so that's a plus - stay tuned.

Yard work and side projects have taken a long hiatus......a few months of upcoming cooler weather seem to somewhat coincide with a slower work schedule. We'll see what that brings.

 

 

Dominic Iandolo November 19,1954 - July 30,2011

Sad news that's taken me a little while to write about.... My brother in law died a few weeks ago due to a sudden rupture of an aortic aneurysm. He went to the hospital in the morning suffering stomach pain and never made it out. A shock for everyone in the family.

He was married to my oldest sister for 28 years. They had 3 beautiful children together; two grown daughters and a son who just turned 16. Really tough on them......

I probably hadn't turned 10 years old when he first entered our lives. I hardly remember a time when he wasn't around. It was like having another big brother for sure. I remember him taking me to see the Red Sox play at Fenway in 1986; an incredible year for Boston sports. We saw Phil Niekro pitch against Roger Clemens - I'll never forget it. We always talked sports. Didn't matter what the family occasion was we talked Sox, Celts, Bruins and Pats..... 

I spent that first week in August in NH going through all the stuff that you go through when something like this happens. My family has been through it all too often over the last couple of years. It never makes any sense so I stopped trying. You just got to live for today and spend time doing the best you can with those that mean the most to you.

Gonna miss ya Dom....

Turning 40

I turned the big 4-0 at the end of June and am falling apart like the warranty is up! LOL! Check out the clip on turning 40 - just hilarious. The other clip is perfect too!

CAUTION: these clips are at least a PG-13........

 

 

 

 

 

Summer 2011

Well......I don't seem to post as frequently as before. Things change but I plan on keeping this going with the ebbs and flows of a busy life. For a while now my work life has been my main focus balanced with the moments I can steal with Wifey. I think it safe to say we are in the same boat.

My home shop projects have taken a back seat, I have one lingering piece to finish. Over and over I make the mistake of taking on things that I shouldn't. I have gotten better at this, I just have a hard time telling a friend "no". Add in the summer heat - you know the story. I've had a few requests for things down the road which is when the next project would need to be.

I've been slowly getting the yard work fiasco under control. Just hard to spend money on something I've come to loathe.....

Wifey and I went out to Vero Beach a couple of weeks ago for a long weekend. It was a nice way to spend my 40th birthday. Last weekend was the July 4th holiday which I really think has always been my favorite time of year. It was a lot quieter here than New Hampshire a year ago!

We are now entering a long stretch with no real plans for a getaway. Work will be busier than ever the next 3 months so I won't be around much anyway. Labor day is a long weekend and we're thinking of time off in November. I think I'll need it by then!

BTW...... a lot of great new music out right now. Check it out!

 

 

 

Bound for Glory

I love this.......

 

 

Spring Update

Yeah, I'm still here...... 

I've been pretty well swamped at work and to be honest it doesn't leave a whole lot of time or energy for much else. It's a constant battle to keep work and everything else balanced. I do think it's getting better, I spent time in the shop this morning something I haven't done in a month. It needs to be a continuing trend.

It was good to get my hands on some long lingering projects that I'm trying to get through. Every year I say I'll stay out of the shop during the warmest months - yeah right!

The same can be said for yardwork, what a disaster......ggggggrrrrrrr!!!!! I did manage to get a fresh coat of paint on the house a couple of weeks ago - exciting!

Wifey has stepped into a new role at work recently; I'm so proud of her!! A small down side is that we only have one day a week off together but we see each other a lot more during the week.

We have a long weekend booked for my birthday in June. Something to look forward to!

How about a little music eehh? If you're a fan of rock and roll, and not the freakin' garbage in the top 40 or on radio, then look up Joe Bonamassa or how about these old guys: