Workout

Just to let you know, she wanted to workout at the same time as me.  This was not forced on her.

"Daddy, it's heavy!"

Condo Environmentalism

Living in a condo/apartment has made us have to make some compromises.  For example, we're limited on being able to grow a garden.  Container gardening is an option but isn't always easy to accomplish.  We've started to want to do more with our waste.  Recycling has become easier as we figure out space to temporarily house the stuff.

Our latest success is a compost bucket.  We've been wanting to try to reduce how much of our waste ends up going to a landfill.  Food trapped in plastic bags doesn't really do much in a landfill but if composted, it will break down in as little as a few months and provide nutrition for potted plants or flower beds.  I found several how-to's with a web search and decided to try this one.  I went to our local hardware store and picked up a bucket.  For the soil/sawdust mixture, I use soil right out of our flower bed and pine litter (unused) from our cats.  It's been a day since it was put together so I don't have any results yet but will post more as it progresses.

Mother's Visit - #1 of 2011

My mom is coming into town tomorrow.  Whenever she announces her intentions to visit, we start discussing what I will get done while she watches the kids.  They take up most of my time.  Many of my projects and some of the cleaning gets put off as I put out fires all day long.

What's on my list for this visit?  Cleaning, trying to finish an entertainment stand I started a while back, and possibly a bookcase or two.  We'll see how much actually gets done.

What People Throw Away

I feel guilty when I look in the garbage.  I look in my garbage and think about stuff I should be composting, recycling (although my wife is good about grabbing that stuff), or just the fact that I'm adding to a landfill somewhere.  I also look at the stuff other people throw away, not to the extent of opening bags of garbage but more of glancing at it.  Many times people throw stuff away that stumps me.  There was the photo album (made me wonder who throws away an album or why it was thrown away), the Christmas tree still wrapped in lights and ornaments (I collected a couple), or the case from a technical school with books, IDs, and tools still in it.

Then there are the times that I find something neat and it just makes me want to look at the garbage even more in the future.  I've mentioned the table I found and refinished, but in the past I also found an old steamer trunk, a rolling metal tool chest with stuff inside, our coffee table, and multiple DVD's, CD's, and books.  I'm especially proud of having salvaged multiple fresnel lenses from big screen t.v.s that people have thrown away.

My latest find?  A gas mask!  It's in good shape but needs to be cleaned.  It's got leaves and dirt on it from sitting on the ground near the dumpster.  My first thought was to use it for a Halloween prop or costume (you have to admit, gas masks are creepy).  My wife mentioned it would be great for a zombie apocalypse.  I think she may have been mocking my taste in movies...

To Do List 2011

There are many things that didn't get done (or even started), but on the positive side I did finish some.  Others were done more as an experiment or as a way to test things yet still accomplish something.  (I know experimenting is a way to learn and practice but I hate to waste material that I had to buy.)

1. I found a table near our dumpster one night.  I looked at it and all the parts seemed to be there.  The legs were off to one side of the top and skirt.  In the pale light, I could guess that the colors were not the best.  We needed a much larger table, so I brought it back to the shop and found that it was in good shape.  It just needed to be put together and refinished.  I painted the legs and skirt and the top was sanded, stained and refinished.

2. I built a stand.  It originally was meant to hold our son's Moses basket but when we no longer needed it, we moved it outside to use as a plant stand.  It currently resides in our bathroom because all our succulents are on it safe from the cold spell South Florida is experiencing.  This was the first project that I really wanted to look nice since it would be inside for a while and I wanted my wife to like it.
3. While my wife was pregnant, she did some work from home.  She wanted to be able to work in our bedroom away from our firstborn but with our room being a tight fit, we couldn't put a desk in there.  I made a desktop that could be clamped to her nightstand.  It created more space for her work laptop, mouse, and monitor.  This was the first time I got to use my router.  I also tried to do curves.  It remains to be stained and finished.  It may eventually turn into something else.

 Other things went unfinished or not even started.  We tiled the main living area of our condo several years ago but I still need to finish the molding in the kitchen and the room dividers.  We need to clear stuff out of the garage that got stored there when our first child was born (so we can get a vehicle in there during hurricanes or so I can use it as a shop the rest of the year).  Then there's the whole list of projects that I would like to do just for the fun of it or because I think they will make our home nicer.

So that being said, here is my list of projects that I am commiting to do in the year 2011.

1. Bookcases:  We've got a ton of books in boxes in the garage and in our bedroom to protect them from the kids.  I'd like to build some bookcases that have doors on at least the lower half.
2. Entertainment stand:  Again something with doors.  I love my DVD collection just as much as the books.  When our first child got old enough, she figured out how to take out the DVD and now we've got lots of scratched movies, not to mention the possibility that she may damage of the electronics.
3. Floor:  Finishing the molding and dividers first, then moving on to steam cleaning the carpets and refinishing the tile (to make it easier to care for).
4. Storage:  This is a multi-project statement.  Since we've moved here, I haven't been happy with various methods of storage that we have done for lack of better ideas/time.  The closets, pantry, garage, laundry room and cabinets (kitchen and bathroom) are all places that I get frustrated with.  I know there has to be a better solution that we can create for each room.  By the time we sell this condo in the future, it may be organized as well as a ship.

There are other projects, such as the cat litter, that I'd like to do but these will be the only ones I'll commit to.  During this coming year I've got a wife, two kids, pets and a home to take care of, along with the possibility that I may be starting my own business.  That's a lot on my plate but next year is the Year of the Rabbit!

Links In The Chain

Here's some links that can be used as great inspiration.  These are only a few that are out there but are some that I keep going back to.

Dave Lowe Design, the blog
Dave Lowe does his own illustrations on his other site, Paraabnormal, but his blog is a great inspiration for inexpensive props for Halloween.
Make Magazine blog
Based on a similar concept to their magazine, this blog is a collection of projects that are a little more technical in nature.  It covers a wide variety of topics, from clothing to electronics.
Propnomicon
The blog writer creates and highlights props built based on the H. P. Lovecraft mythos.  The props are always detailed and realistic, great inspiration even for things outside of Lovecraft's stories.

Candlesticks

I made these candlesticks probably a year ago, but only recently bought candles for them. I decided that using them for Halloween was as good a reason as any to buy cheap candles for them.

Their construction was simple. I bought two different sizes of furniture legs and a square piece of molding from Home Depot. I drilled a hole into the center of the molding to fit the screw that was on the end of the leg. I applied a small amount of glue to the leg and screwed the leg to the molding. After the glue dried, I drilled a series of holes in the end to accommodate the candle. I applied several coats of stain until I was satisfied with the color and put a coat of polyurethane on it to seal it and to keep the wax from sticking.

There were several things I learned from doing these.

1. The molding had a convex center. The drill bit kept slipping off center. I used a nail set to make a divot to then drill into. 
2. I don't have a drill bit or anything that could make a hole for the end of the candle. I drilled one deep (about an inch) pilot hole then went back and drilled multiple holes, starting with a shallow large hole and going smaller the deeper I went. 
3. As the candles started to near the bottom, it occurred to me that these are wood and there wasn't any guard to keep them from burning when the candle got to the bottom. This time, the candle wick fell over into the wax as it neared the end and put itself out. Also, I haven't tried to clean it out yet but the wax has filled the hole. This could be potentially hard to deal with. 
4. Cheap candles drip a lot when in a slight draft (just keep turning the candlestick to get drips on all sides). Really got the look that I wanted.

In the future I may explore other shapes.  I'd like to see if I could make a large floor candelabra but may have to hold off because of the kids.  Maybe I'll try a wall sconce.  In the future, some of these may be made as gifts for friends.