Check out my NEW blog

Yeah, so I never update this one....but I'm starting a new one dedicated to cycling and hiking and general adventure stories and pictures. With summer coming, I should have plenty to write about - plus it gets me back on my bikes, and gets a camera back in my hands.

I hope you enjoy reading it as I will writing and shooting for it!

See you there!

Check out "In it for the long haul" blog here!

Time for a break.

I'm getting that restless feeling again. The one that comes on every 3-6 months, that makes me not want to get out of bed on the five (or six...sometimes seven) days a week that I get paid to do so. The one that makes weekends and the few hours I get to spend with the girls before they go to bed way too short.

I think everyone has been here. It's nothing new.

I know what to do when I get this feeling. I get outside. I take a day off work to spend with my family. I ride my bike, or work on a project around the house. I say "no" to things I don't want to do, or things that will interfere with any of the things I value in life.

So, this weekend when the girls where napping I went for a hike. It was a cold day, but it was sunny. The brisk wind and sun on my cheeks was great. I even took my radio along and had a conversation with my dad while I hiked. I couldn't have been happier.

On Monday I asked my manager for Wednesday off, so I could have some time for myself. I have a few appointments to take care of in the morning, but when I get back home Lauren and the girls and I are loading up and heading to the Children's Museum. It should be a good day with the family, and a day to recharge before jumping back into it.

Plane Watercolor

I recently have been gathering...I won't way collecting...but gathering old tools for a woodworking project I might take on in the spring. One of the tools I have acquired is an old Stanley Bailey No. 4 plane. It's old and made of wood and brass. I took some time to get to know it, and painted it for fun (and practice) one night.

Today's episode of "This New House

We moved in 6 weeks ago, and I'm just getting around to finishing up the bulk of my little projects. The first weeks were filled with the essential projects...kiddie-proofing the entire place, setting up furniture and shelves, insulating the garage and attic space, digging ditches around the house where the settling has caused ponding around the foundation, and just trying to keep everything running smoothly.

Well, now that all the initial "break in" period is over on the house, I have been able to work on the small upgrades we've had planed. The first being the counter top extension that the builder hopelessly flubbed up a couple of times before we just told them to stop trying and that I'd build it myself.

Here are some photos:


I built the frame using poplar for the front and side skirt boards, and laminated 3 1x3 planks to build the leg with. The backside and hidden side skirt boards are made out of pine - because it was cheaper.


I used the Kreg fastening system. They are the fastest and strongest way to join wood together that I've seen. It's basically a jig that you drill a hole with, then use screws to attach the wood. You'll notice in the photo the holes that look like they are angled - that's the Kreg "pocket hole" where the screw goes.


I took the laminated stock I made down to my dad's shop to do the leg. He built a jig for his table saw to taper it on two sides. This photo shows the frame (the skirt boards and leg) in the basement, ready for paint.


And here's the finished project. My dad, again using his expertise, helped me cut and laminate the top. He really did all the work on the top since he had the tools and technology to do it. It turned out great!

Some detail shots:

Frampton Comes Alive

I went out at lunch today to run a few errands.  I usually don't listen to the FM radio, I'll listen to my amateur radio to see if anyone has anything good to say.  This morning, though, I was annoyed with the same old stories from the same old guys, so I turned it off and turned on the FM.

I was tuning around and I stumbled across an old familiar tune.  I knew as soon as I heard the bass line who it was and what the song was.  It was Peter Frampton's "Do you feel like I do?"  I loved this song, and the album "Frampton Comes Alive". 

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In the family room my parents used to have a record player hooked up to a stereo system.  Somewhere between my mom's Kenny Rogers albums and my dad's Beatles and Quiet Riot albums lived "Frampton Comes Alive" – an album that pictures Peter on the cover with his awesome 70's hair and neon glow.  I remember when I was just started to get interested in music, I would dig through the record collection and listen to this album.  I was especially interested in the guitar technique, one which Frampton pioneered, which allowed him to "speak" the chords with a special device that went in his mouth.  He'd play a guitar lick, and manipulate the sound with his mouth – in effect, talking with the guitar. 

It wasn't long until I got my license and my first car – a hand-me-down pickup truck from my dad.  Of course, I had to hook up a stereo, and when I got the CD player plugged in, Frampton, Hendrix, and the Beatles were there to jam. 

I can vividly remember sitting in my truck one weekend while my dad was cutting or bailing hay (which we used to do a lot when I was a teenager) sitting in the late fall sun, listening to Frampton's eerie "Dooouuu youuuuu feeeeeel………..lyke Eii dooooo…" from the guitar.

Who was that kid?  Am I still him?  It seems like a lifetime ago – so long ago that I don't remember what I wanted to do, or what I wanted to be.  I wonder what I'd think of myself if I met me back then.  I know for a fact that the kid in the pickup truck never thought he'd have a wife and twin girls waiting at home every day.  I don't think I even thought I'd live past 20 years old when I was a teenager.  It was unfathomable.  But here I am, and I'm thankful for the little things that spark up old memories - from something as simple as a song.

Old machinery pictures

I found some photos of my dad's antique machinery tonight and decided to post some up.

1 year gone by

October 16, 2006 was a crazy day.  I went to work in the morning like every other day before.  I sat down at my desk and started working.  I knew in the back of my mind, though, that today felt different.  Today something big was going to happen.

It was a Monday.  Turns out that it would end up being one of the best days of my life, because it was the day you two were born.

You came to us late in the afternoon, all puffy eyed and purple colored.  I remember when I first saw you I was scared.  I knew you were in good hands, as the doctors at Clarian North are top notch, to say the least, but as a dad I was helpless.  All I could do was stay with momma and hope that you'd be fine. 

I remember the nurses telling me to come over and see you, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't work, so I just watched them work on you from where I was.  There were about a million people in the room at the time, anyway, so I couldn't get much closer.  They eventually brought each of you over to me and your mom before taking you upstairs to get you into your room.  Even though we'd only known you a few minutes, I already missed you.

Once momma was put back together (literally), and into her room, I came down to the NICU to see you.  You both looked pretty good, and the nurses said you were doing very well.  You were hooked up to all kinds of things, but the nurses said most of them would be gone by morning.  I spent a few minutes looking at each of you through the thick plastic incubators they had you in to keep you warm, and went back upstairs to settle in with momma.

I didn't sleep well that night.  For one, I was on a fold out recliner thing in momma's room, which was not very comfy.  It was better than not being there with my family, though.  I also didn't sleep very well because I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened.  I had become a dad.  I had new responsibilities and obligations, and new people to get to know and love.  Unlike some people's outlook of having a baby being the end of their "single" life, I felt like my life was just really getting started.

A year later, looking back, I wouldn't change a single thing.  We've been through a lot this year, with moving out and into the apartment, our house getting ruined and rebuilding, and learning all kinds of new things. I'm still trying to master the art of changing diapers without making a mess, and how to get soap out of your hair without drowning you.  Daddy doesn't have hair, you know…so I'm no good at washing yours.

So girls, even though this post is late, happy first year.  It's been the best, and I can't wait for many, many more.

Love, daddy.