I am a software engineer in Vancouver, WA, USA during office hours. The rest of the time I may be found fishing, kayaking, playing with my dogs, doing community theater stuff, playing board games, gardening, working on classic cars, tinkering with tech, making photographic art, or building things in my garage. I have a lot of interests, and this blog is my personal journal.
I’m hoping we will be able to get the Airstream out for more trips this summer. We keep meaning to, and every year something seems to stop us. While camping at Deception Pass I got the idea of making a sticker wall for places we’d gone. I picked up a couple stickers there, and then I went on Etsy and found stickers for the other significant places we had visited in the trailer already. I placed them on a plexi sheet and riveted it to the inside skin of the door of the trailer. I also mounted my US Map of states visited down below.
I positioned them this way so they would be visible with the screen door fastened to the door, which is how we will see them inside the trailer.
I also wanted to be able to easily remove them and put them in another trailer if we ever upgrade, or just keep them as souvineers when our travelling days are over.
My favorite part is the (WA)nder sticker, which I just ran across and knew I needed to have, for all our trips around our home state. I hope over the next few years we can pack this thing full.
I had a nice weekend relaxing in the woodshop. Lots of little chores waiting to be done.
I bought a set of sturdy casters for my mobile bench (as well as 3 other sets for the other mobile stands). It rolls super smooth now!
My goal is to have everything mobile, and at the same level, so any of them can be pushed together to make room for working on bigger projects.
Sherry gave me a cabinet that got water damaged when their water heater broke and flooded the garage. I removed the water-logged bits and added plywood to get it back to shape. That’s going to be my new paint/finishing cabinet. Right now that stuff is everywhere!
It passes the Navi inspection
That was some good practice using the table saw. Definitly getting more comfortable with it. I thought this was a good time to build the push stick and push block for safer table saw use.
And then the final project was to move the vise. The vise has been mounted on the back corner of my stationary bench, which was fine in the old house, but completely unaccessable in the new layout, and I’ve been tolerating it for 8 years because I don’t need it often, but it’s frustrating when I do. So I removed it and mounted it to a piece of plywood that can be clamped to the bench when needed, and stores under the mobile bench when not being used.
And while puttering around, I organized my sandpaper into these nice plastic containers leftover from Dave’s shipping labels. He went through enough of them at Christmastime to organize my sandpaper perfectly.
Next project, the extra fancy paper tray! And I picked up some hardwood to do a little intarsia project with. Oh, and I have a nice set of hinges coming to fix the somewhat saggy wings on my miter saw stand, and when I do it will get the upgraded casters too. Also, I’m going to clean up the garage shelves and remove some of them to make parking the woodshop tools out of the way easier. Lots to do in the woodshop!
We dove in and bought an Oculus Quest 2, the first wireless stand-alone VR Headset, a few months ago. It has been a fantastic source of entertainment through the Covid Winter. We have been playing a lot of AMAZING games on it – Moss, Red Matter, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, I Expect You To Die, Beat Saber, and VR Fishing, just to name a few.
Tonight I was playing in RecRoom, which is a social app with games to play within it, and experiences to have with the many other people exploring it.
RecRoom has a cartoony asthetic
Sorry these are dark, but it was at night – ON THE TITANIC!
In RecRoom there is a Titanic simulation, and I love the Titanic, so I have gone and experienced it several times. Tonight I was hanging out on the bow when the Iceberg hit (you can see us heading right for it in the second pic), and a kid dressed like the Captain ran up to me and said “We’re going to sink! You have to get in the lifeboat! Follow me!” and led me to the lifeboat. Then he rounded up everyone else he could find and tried to get them in the boat. Some got in, some ran off. One guy wouldn’t get in without him, but he said he was the Captain, he had to stay with the ship. So we saluted him as the water rose up and our lifeboat floated free. It was very dramatic!
So I was on the lifeboat with a couple kids, we were all watching the ship tip up and break apart. Neither of them spoke english, in fact I couldn’t quite place what they were speaking. One of them broke out virtual pizza, and they brought me a slice, then they broke out bottles to drink and handed those out, so we enjoyed a virtual picnic while watching the tragedy unfold! It was weird and wonderful, and surreal.
When it was over we got back on shore and (my avatar is distinctly female) a boy ran up and said ‘How old are you?’ and I said ‘really old’, and he asked ‘Like, are you over 25?’ (like that’s REALLY old) and I said ‘yes, way over. How old are you?’, and he said ’12! So I suppose you have a boyfriend?’ and another kid interrupted and said ‘Dude, don’t ask that, what are you doing?’ and turned around and shrugged at me like ‘Kids, what are you gonna do?’ The whole thing cracked me up. I just wanted to share, it was just a fun, silly experience, and everyone was nice and having a good time.
I do not know much about weaving, but my friends in 4H do, and when one of them said they needed some pin looms for the kids to use to learn weaving in the new Fiber Arts Workshop they were organizing, I thought that sounded like a job for my new workshop. And also an excuse to go buy a drill press.
I set out to make 15 5.5 inch pin looms. I started out by taking 1 x 2s and ripping them in half on the table saw, then I cut them on the miter saw, using a stop block to make them all axactly the same, and cut the 60 sides I would need.
I glued them together using this neat frame clamp, but I had to bring them inside and do it on the dining room table, because it was too cold out in the garage for the glue to set. Then I drilled a hole in each corner and glued in an oak pin, to help hold them together if the kids dropped them, which is sure to happen. I sanded it all smooth so hopefully nobody gets any slivers. To sand them, I created another little jig on my bench that I could set them on to help hold them still while I sanded without risking having the sander whip them out of my hand, or sanding my fingers.
Then, using a guide clamped on my drill press table I used the template from the website, printed on heavy cardstock, to drill the holes in the correct positions, and the guide on the table ensured they were all in a neat line on each side. Then I just had to gently tap in about a million wire brads. The pre-drilled holes made them go in nice and straight without splitting the wood. The benchtop jig was again handy for keeping the frame still while I tapped away.
And in no time, it was done:
I was happy to be able to do this for the 4H club. I think its such a great program and helps the kids learn all kinds of life skills in addition to the animal care and craft skills, while having fun and making friends, of course. And I know the club would be hard pressed to have paid for these looms at a retail price, especially since they didn’t get to do their Christmas Tree Sale because of Covid this year. They cost me less than $20 and a bit of time, and I got to use ALL my woodshop tools, including the table saw for the first time(!) and I got practice using stop blocks and guides, I got practice creating a thing and then figuring out to make 14 more of them in the easiest way possible, and I got the satisfaction of a job well done.
Also, the last time I worked in my woodshop was when Barclay was sick, I finished staining and finishing the Garden Bench. He liked to come hang out with me in the garage and sleep on the floor because it was cool, even before he got sick. I didn’t really feel like getting back out there without my buddy. Then Christmas came and Dave was using the shop for his toy business, so there was no hurry. This was a nice little project to do to warm back up to it all.
I couldn’t have done this without the Weekend Woodworker course teaching me to think about jigs and stop blocks and things like that. I have owned my miter saw for about 20 years, building stuff on stage and around the farm, and not even once did I ever thinking of using a stop block! So the course has already made me a better woodworker, and I’ve only done three projects! I can’t wait to proceed to the next one!
Navi has handled losing Barclay better than we have. She quickly realized ALL the toys, treats, and attention were hers (well, some goes to the cats, but they don’t count). She was a little scared going for walks alone without her gregarious big brother by her side, and the first few walks she spent slinking around with her tail down. I tackled this by taking treats and a clicker, and clicking whenever she saw something scary. The idea was to teach her that 1) those things get her rewards 2) quit looking at the scary thing and look at the person with the treats. That has been working really well, and she is getting much better at walking on a loose leash too, because I’ve been clicking for that as well. She’s getting more confident and likes going on a walk to sniff things and get treats.
Since it’s Christmas season we are getting lots of deliveries for her to bark at, so she’s happy to have a job. When she’s not barking at the front window, she is under my desk or trying to get pets from me while I’m trying to work. She comes up and lays her head on the desk next to me to get attention. So cute!
She’s a good girl.
Lately she’s been getting snappy about having her nails trimmed, so I am working on training her to let me use the dremel on her nails. It’s so much easier to train one dog than two. With two dogs, the other one is always trying to nose in on the other dog’s training time. Now we only have to worry about cats.
I love our big tandem Jackson DT Kayak. It is stable and fun whether it’s one or two of us using it, but it is HEAVY, weighing in around a hundred pounds. We have a set of Hullivators, which is a hydraulic lift setup that comes down on the side of the Flex to allow us to load it at about shoulder level, then the hydraulics help lift it up onto the roof. Still, it’s a dicey maneuver for two folks with old back injuries, and, I guess, old backs! Worse, there is no way to take it out by myself. I always have to have Dave help me launch it, and come pick me up.
So in my continuing effort to get out on the water easily, I finally located a single jetski trailer, and got it setup for the kayak. I’m hoping this will allow us to get it out more, easily launching and retrieving it without hurting ourselves. Of course, just like the last boat I bought and never used, I’m buying this at the end of the season so I probably won’t get to try it until next spring unless we get some spectacular November weather. Maybe. A couple years ago I spent the most wonderful fall day on Battle Ground Lake. Maybe I’ll get lucky yet this year.
So far, because of Covid, fishing being suspended, lockdown rules, and toxic algae at the local lakes, I have only got the kayak out ONCE this year! And they are talking about doing another lockdown because the covid numbers are getting worse. Might as well just write off 2020 and hope for a better 2021.
I’ve put off writing this for a few weeks, because I’d like it not to be true. As mentioned in the last post, we cut our vacation short to rush home because Barclay was ill. He had pancreatitis. He spent three days in the hospital, and then got to come home with lots of medicine to take, and we were able to care and love on him for a couple days, but it got worse, and we had to rush him back to the emergency vet in the middle of the night. The next day they gave us bad news, it had gotten much worse, and we had to let him go.
Barclay was such a good boy. He was mellow and easy going, so clever, and sweet, and loving. He was also a real pest, a prankster, and had a sense of humor. He loved to do bad stuff to get attention, but it was never too bad, and he got lots of attention either way. He just loved to interact. He was confident, and carefree, and loved everybody he met. He gave big slurpy kisses. He slept in the tub, but he liked to sneak up on the bed before I came to bed and lay on my pillow, where he would get cuddles before retiring to the tub.
Barclay was our ‘back up eskimo’ to help soften the blow of losing our sweet Alki. They overlapped a couple years, and he did indeed soften the blow. He was really a special boy. We loved him lots. We met Sherry at a training class where I was so surprised to find someone else who had two eskimos! We became a big happy pack, doggie sitting for each other and going to the dog park, or just hanging out. I know Scott and Sherry loved him lots too. He was a lucky dog to have so many friends.
Our ‘backup eskimo’ With his buddy ChesterSheepherding lessons!Keeping me company at the toy store. At the indoor puppy parkGrowing up fast next to AlkiWith his buddy, JackHiking!With Sherry, and Sake and SitkaAt a friend’s birthday party!Roughhousing with his new sister, NaviAirstream CampingHelping work the wrinkles out of my first backdropPlaying with baby KiwiAcrobatic Stickball!Not usually a lap dogJust chillin’ on my deskThe PackThat time he ate my new Fluxx DeckSnuggly on my pillowHikingStickball!Mr Smudgy FaceStepped away for a second, came back to find him taking over the sewing machineIn Stevenson, on the riverSlurpy kissesWalked in to find him sitting on the kitchen table, like that’s just a normal thing you doHaving a man to man talkRecovering from his ‘summer of seizures’Snow day!Standing on the end table, totally not up to something…Busted stealing a napkinMy sweet, happy boy
Barclay was super smart, and while I was training him, he was often training me! Usually he would have us well trained before I even realized it. He had stretched out his bedtime cookie (originally a reward for coming inside) into 3-4 cookies at bedtime!
For almost 13 years he was my Best Boy. The house seems so empty without him causing trouble and stealing things out of the recycling bin, or getting up in places he’s not supposed to be up on. Life with him was a constant surprise. He made us laugh all the time. Sweet Navi now has to get used to going for walks without him to give her confidence and take all the petting from the neighborhood kids.
Barclay was truly amazing, so full of joy and life and laughter and love. His passing has left a huge hole in our lives. Rest in peace, sweet Mr Barclay.
In October we decided we needed a vacation from this miserable year of lockdowns and Covid, and scheduled a spot that was recommended to us at Deception Pass. It is an area we haven’t explored, and thought it would make a nice getaway. We arranged for Scott and Sherry to watch the dogs, and made our escape.
After all the wildfires, the trailer needed a good scrub.
We had reserved a spot that was supposed to have a great view, but t the last minute I realized that we might be hard pressed to last a whole week on one battery, even with LED lights! So I asked the ranger when we checked in if we could upgrade to a spot with electricity, and she found us one. It turned out to be a super tight back-in, on a corner and downhill, but Dave managed it perfectly as always.
Cell Service required some contortions…
Although you can’t tell through the trees, there was a bit of a view of the lake, though it was so foggy it didn’t really matter.
It was too foggy to even see the bridge everyone is always on about
It was a very ‘boaty’ place, which I was quite enjoying, because I have a thing for boats right now. It’s a phase I’m going through.
Saw this neat toy on the street in LaConner I thinkCleared up a bit by afternoonMaking faces 🙂
We were having a pretty good trip. I had actually packed well and we had food for breakfasts and dinners without having to go hunting around, so we could enjoy lunches out and about.
The next day we went to Port Townsend, which involved a Ferry ride.
Port Townsend was also BoatyWe had a nice lunch with a view of the water
We were waiting in line at the Ferry dock to go home, when we got a call from Sherry that Barclay was not feeling well. He had been throwing up, and looked shaky. We discussed it and decided to wait and see. But by the time we got back to the trailer we decided he should go to the emergency vet. So they tried to do that, while we packed up the trailer, thank goodness for having a simple setup, cut our vacay short, and headed home.
Continuing my weekend woodworker course, I just finished the Harmony Garden Bench.
This presented a few challenges along the way, one being that although I tried to build it accurately, it came out jagged as all git out after the assembly was complete.
Nothing a LOT of sanding couldn’t fix…
Then I wanted to stain it walnut color. But although I planned to wipe the stain off quickly, it took longer than I anticipated to get around all those slats.
I finished it off with a few layers of poly, and it looks very nice. I wouldn’t do it again, but this one turned out very nice, and was a great project to learn on.
The next project in my woodworking class is a bench with many slats, all of which need to get cut on the miter saw. After the patio table I had realized how inconvenient it was to have to clean stuff off the mobile bench every time I need to use the saw on there. So before starting the bench, I wanted to build a miter saw table, on wheels so I could move it out of the way when not being used.
I saw people in the woodworking group building this one from https://www.bitterrootdiy.com/easiest-diy-mobile-miter-saw-stand/. It looked straightforward, and even though I couldn’t find the folding shelf brackets locally, I decided to pay the very reasonable $3 for the plans.
By Saturday night I had a decent table done. One important criteria was I wanted the saw height to match my existing mobile bench height.
By the end of the evening, after brainstorming ideas, I was sitting out on the floor next to my new bench, trying to figure out how to hold the wings open. I finally went inside and started watching videos for inspiration.
I had watched quite a few when I found Steve Ramsay’s shop remodel video, where he showed his miter saw table, which was similar, but had a simple hinged prop support for the side tables. Tah dah!
The props were made of scrap wood, so the are a little short, but they work, and they are solid. I’m happy with the solution. Now I’m finally ready to get to work on the bench!
Steff Does Stuff! 