The Salad Days

The Kids' Drawings

Joel — 2010-09-07T08:33:30-05:00

On the left is a drawing that Sean did recently. I've annotated it with indentifying tags for each element. He walked me through it, and told me what everything was. On the right is a drawing Carter did - both figures are supposed to be me. She drew the arms and legs all fuzzy because she said I have hairy arms and legs. Heh.

First Week of Kindergarten!

Joel — 2010-09-06T12:43:06-05:00

Last week was Sean's first week of public school! We were so nervous, but it's been going great. The night before his first day, he started talking about how scared and nervous he was, and how he didn't want to go. He started saying that he was going to miss the bus on purpose. We were really worried that when the bus pulled up, he was just going to flat-out refuse to get on it. But then, that morning after breakfast, he shocked us by getting super-excited and happy. He was practically dancing at the end of the driveway while we waited for the bus. Once it got here, he got right on and sat right down. That first day when we picked him up, he couldn't stop talking about how much he enjoyed his new school!

Haircut

Joel — 2010-09-04T09:01:54-05:00

The kids sometimes like to set either Lori or I up in a chair so they can pretend to style or cut our hair. This particular time, they got pretty serious about it. Once I got tired of sitting on the floor, they moved on to cutting the bear's hair.

Carter's Turn

Joel — 2010-09-04T08:54:22-05:00

Carter finally got her turn to drive the mower the other day. Look at the grin on her little face! She nearly crashed into just about every obstacle in the yard, but she had a blast. She loved to head straight for Mom, who would pretend to dodge and run away.

Garden - Typical Haul

Joel — 2010-09-04T08:49:34-05:00

This is a shot what is a 'typical' weekly haul from the garden. It's been consistently this much every week for about the last five or six weeks. As you can imagine, I am drowning in produce - especially hot peppers. My freezer is full almost to overflowing with bags and bags of hot peppers. I need to decide what I am going to do with all of them. Going to pickle some, make some salsa with others, make a chile, and after that, I may have to get creative. Any ideas?

Jackson's Landing

Joel — 2010-08-17T14:41:53-05:00

Just some cute photos from a trip we took to Jackson's Landing on the weekend before last. The weather was perfect, but for some reason there was absolutely nobody there. We had the whole place to ourselves, right up until right when we were getting ready to leave. Weird.

Lathe Project - Bowl

Joel — 2010-08-17T14:37:41-05:00

Here's another project I've been working on using the lathe - a small bowl. I actually started this project several weeks ago, but have been sidetracked by other projects in the meantime. So it isn't really any further along yet than you see here. All I've done so far is rough out the shape of the outside of the bowl. But what I like about these pictures is the before-and-after effect. You can see how much of the wood blank gets turned into shavings even from just this first step. It was fun to do, so far. But I can tell I've got a lot to learn. I kept getting 'catches' with my gouge. I don't know if that's because of my technique, or because my chisel was starting to get dull. I've sharpened all of my chisels since then. So once I start working on this bowl again, I'll have a better idea where the problem was.

Marble Machine

Joel — 2010-08-17T14:31:59-05:00

I haven't posted anything about it yet, but I think a lot of you have heard about it already, as Sean talks about it constantly. He and I have been building a modular marble machine based on plans from this site. It's taken a long time, and it still isn't finished - but it's definitely in a 'playable' state right now. Next time you're visiting, ask Sean if you can see it. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to oblige!

Sleepover Pics

Joel — 2010-08-17T14:25:01-05:00

Sorry it's been so slow here lately - I was having some trouble with my web host, and wasn't able to post anything. So expect a small burst of posts over the next day or two, as I get caught up. Here's one to start - some pics from a sleepover last month.

Lathe Project - Pens

Joel — 2010-07-31T11:58:15-05:00

I've been noodling around on the lathe at night over the last week, and here's what I've made. These are pretty fun to make. They're a good project for someone new to the lathe, because they are pretty easy to make, and I can take one from a raw blank to a finished pen in a single evening. Plus they're a good way to use up some small offcuts of figured wood that I can't really use for anything else.

Kepler Discovery

Joel — 2010-07-27T13:40:30-05:00

There has been some buzz in astronomical news lately about Kepler, which was a program I worked on at SwRI (my last job). Kepler is a space-based telescope whose mission was to search one area of the sky over a long period for rocky, Earth-like planets. I've been very anxious to hear how its mission was going, and today I say this article - which totally made my day. Here's an excerpt that did it for me:

"...the results so far of the Kepler mission heralded a Corpernican revolution. Just as Corpernicus revolutionized astronomy by publishing data that the solar system rotated around the sun, rather than the earth, so too the data from the Kepler mission would lead to another scientific revolution. Rather than planets like earth being unique or an uncommon occurrence in the galaxy, they in fact are plentiful."

First Try with the Lathe

Joel — 2010-07-26T07:54:48-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, I tried the lathe for the first time. Wasn't really trying to make anything specific - just following the book I've got, and tried practicing with several different chisels and techniques. When I was done, I sanded it and gave it to Carter to play with. Planning to try to make a pen next - might start on it tonight.

Workshop

Joel — 2010-07-26T07:36:19-05:00

Over the past several weeks, I've re-arranged, re-vamped, and cleaned up the workshop. I added mobile bases to everything, so I can reconfigure the shop for whatever activity I'm trying to perform, and then park all the tools tightly in the corner of the shop when I'm done, which leaves most of the garage free. Two weeks ago, I finally got my review at work, and my raise was retroactive, so I got a nice little unexpected bonus that I used to finally get the last three major tools my shop was missing - a planer, jointer, and lathe. Now I've got every big tool I should need for a long time. I finally got all my clamps collected together and hung in one place on the wall, which is a lot easier than the digging around through cardboard boxes and desk drawers that I was doing before. I also finally did some work on the router table. I bought the lift almost a year and a half ago, but didn't get around to starting to build the table until just recently. The only things left to finish it are to install the router in the lift, and a dust collection port, hook up the electrical safety switch, and assemble the mobile base. The other big thing I did this past weekend was to build a bench for the lathe. It's not quite finished - I still need to add a face frame and drawers for my chisels, chucks, and the like. But it's still useable right now. I built the top from three layers of 3/4" MDF, banded with hardwood and topped with laminate - so it's super-heavy and super-strong. I also added another 150 pounds of sand to the bottom of the bench (not shown - I did that right after I took this picture), to make sure the whole thing is rock-solid and vibration-free.

Status of the Garden, July 2010

Joel — 2010-07-26T07:20:39-05:00

So, mixed - but better - results again this year, so far. This year I smartened up and starting fertilizing everything once a week, with excellent results. Here's the rundown:

Bulb onions, garlic, cucumbers: bust - last year it was too much rain that killed them. This year, it was too little. Next year I will plant them closer to the house so I can reach them with the hose.

Tomatoes: Success! We've eaten a few dozen of the cherry tomatoes already, and several of the larger tomatoes are only a few days from being picked.

Hot Peppers: Unmitigated success! Growing several varities this year, to see what I like best - Jalapeno, Serrano, Pablo Ancho, Cayenne, Hot Banana, Thai, Anahiem, and Chili Red. I've already had to start pickling the jalapenos - they are growing way too fast for me to keep up with eating them, even when I give a bunch away.

Vacation Hike #5: Diana's Baths

Joel — 2010-07-24T13:26:19-05:00

On our last full day up north, we took the kids to Diana's Baths. For those who have never been there, it a huge, sprawling series of pools, falls, and rocks that is a very popular family spot. It's a little over half a mile in, but I ended going out-and-back twice - five minutes after we got there, Carter claimed she needed to use the potty - which was all the way back at the parking lot. But once I got back, the kids and I built a little dam out of rocks and sticks, to block a tiny waterfall and try to get a pool to form behind it.