07/28/10 | Site Update
Mini Labradoodle Puppies born July 25, 2010
My mother-in-law’s dog Blue Belle had her highly-anticipated 2010 litter of mini labradoodle puppies on Sunday.
Five females and three males. Wide range of colors. We’re excited to see them in a few weeks when we travel to Michigan.
07/20/10 | Site Update
My latest project for the Mrs. is finally finished and in place. I was “commissioned” (i.e. told) to make a set of bookshelves for our family room to store kids books and toys. After a few solid years of keeping toy clutter to a minimum, this piece should make a nice addition to the home office. It’s a pretty tall piece. As you can see from the photo, I can’t see the top of it, which means it’s REALLY tall.
It is constructed out of oak and stained a few different colors to match existing pieces. It took a really long time and was a beast to finish. Lots of crevices and nooks. Also the local humidity doesn’t help on dry times.
Anyways, here are a few photos of the project. As always, I wish I had taken more to document the process.
Bookshelf Step 1 - Cut a whole lot of wood
Bookshelf Step 2 - Route dados into the sides
Bookshelf Step 3 - Fasten the fixed shelves into dados
Bookshelf Step 4 - Apply first coat of Gunstock stain
Bookshelf Step 5 - Apply 2 coats of Red Oak stain
Bookshelf Step 6 - Fill with loads of toys and books
06/08/10 | Quote of the Day
In the car on the way home from the grocery store yesterday, we drive over a speed bump on the way out of the parking lot. Riley dramatically flails her arms in the back seat and says, “Spencer! Mamma is driving crazy! You better grab your Uh-oh bar and hold on!”
Thanks Aunt Britt… ;o)
05/31/10 | Site Update
Here is a quick video that pretty much sums up our Memorial Day weekend. Swimming, splashing, goofing and exhaustion.
Memorial Day Weekend 2010 from Chris on Vimeo.
05/25/10 | Site Update
I was looking through a gigantic “pile” of digital photos. It occurred to me… There are some priceless expressions in here just waiting to be displayed. So, I pulled together the best 100 expressions that truly got to the core of emotion. In doing this exercise, I realized how expressive my kids are. I often overlook that fact. I also realized that my daughter is an absolute clown when she mugs.
(Note: Click on the image below. After the large image loads, you may have to zoom in to see the full scale collage.)
05/25/10 | Site Update
Been a while since I’ve posted anything. I have a ton of photos, but such little time. Here are a few sketches I drew of my niece’s teachers, as a gift for teacher appreciation week at her school. My sister asked if I could still draw caricatures, because she wanted unique gifts. I nervously accepted (it’s been a VERY long time since I’ve sketched.) They were a huge success. And before you ask… the answer is NO.
04/05/10 | Site Update
Came home the other day to see that a squirrel had figured out a way to get into our window feeder. While the fit was a bit tight, I think he enjoyed the peace and quiet. The funny part was when I tapped on the window, he didn’t know which way to escape and looked like firefly caught in a jar bouncing off the walls.
03/04/10 | Site Update
I just finished two more cutting boards. They are made out of Maple, Walnut and Bloodwood. I ran across some Bloodwood at a local shop and I couldn’t pass it up. It is such a beautiful wood with very deep orange/red grain. The photos taken against the red walls in our kitchen accent the tone.
Below is a photo of one of the boards that I finished in February for a coworker. He had seen some of the boards I made over Christmas and commissioned two boards from me. He said, “I’ll buy your next board sight unseen.” So when I finished and delivered that board to him, he said “This turned out great. I’ll take the next one too.”
They were both made out of walnut, maple and cherry. This one turned out really nice. The lines stayed clean, the grain patterns were exceptional. I experimented with the thickness of the board. While it was a pretty heavy board, the proportions were great. I’ll try a few more thick boards in the future. They are really impressive in hand.
I am planning on beginning another commission for a coworker soon. However, Caryn (my project manager) has suggested I switch gears and build her some oak bookshelves for the family room. I’m hoping to start that project this weekend. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
02/09/10 | Site Update
Here are a few photos from the first phase of Snowzilla 2010. More on the way tonight. Estimated 30″ snowfall, with 10″-16″ on the way tonight. I know you Michigan folk think we’re sissys, but this is huge for the D.C. area.
02/04/10 | Site Update
I dug this video out of the archives while dumping data from the video camera.
This is what happens when your one year old challenges you for alpha-male position of the household. And you all thought he was innocent.
Violent Children from Chris on Vimeo.