Thursday, September 27, 2007

Isaac's First Night at Awanas


Isaac started Awanas last night. Our little baby boy. Our bundle of joy ... he's now a 'cubbie' in Awanas. Before I wax hyper-nostalgic about how fast Isaac is growing up let explain what Awanas is for the uninitiated. Awanas is a club for kiddos pre-K through 12th grade that teaches children the bible and Christian values in a fun setting with games, songs, activities, outtings and the like. It is somewhat comparable to RA's (all the Baptists will get that) or even Scouting (if Scouting was coed).

Now for the waxing part... I can't believe haw fast Isaac is growing up! I'm so excited for him to be getting involved with Awanas from the beginning, but I'm just a little sad to think of him passing yet another milestone in his life. It really did catch me off guard when Cheryl mentioned he would be starting this year. Man, where are the brakes? This ride is going way too fast!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

High Speed Photography

Have you ever had one of those evenings where you had occasion to be out on the road and got to see an amazing sunset only the realize that you’ve got no way to capture it! Yes, gone are the days when life was slow enough to be able to enjoy these things from your porch. Those days are gone along with the days when people like myself could just enjoy this kind of beauty without feeling a compelling urge TO capture it, store it, blog about it and generally abstract the entire event! Ahhh, ‘Modernity’!

I actually don’t normally see driving as a photographic endeavor, but this sunset was particularly stunning. I had my phone in my hand so (without looking away from the road any more than I did to notice the view in the first place!) I snapped a quick pic.

Now I can share it with you! Aren't you glad you don't have to go outdoors anymore to enjoy these things. ...You're welcome. No... thank YOU.

Special Delivery

Julia is a consummate explorer – always into something! This box was sitting in the garage empty the other day. I got a big laugh when I looked up from what I was doing at my work bench to see her sitting in the box, clapping her hands and having the biggest time with nothing but an empty box.

Knowing this, I suggested that for Christmas we just get stuff for ourselves and give the boxes to the kids as their gifts! I bet that Julia and Isaac would really love a big box from a band saw or a new tool cabinet. Cheryl didn’t seem to go for that though!

House Hunting

The hunt has begun! We made some preliminary moves toward getting into a bigger house last spring which ended in our realization that we had a lot of work to do on our current home to be able to sell it for what we want. But this summer we managed to get a couple of the bigger items out of the way – namely redoing some of the wood siding on the gables. Now the new siding is still awaiting painting, but after that, our biggest jobs are just about done!

The Hunt began in earnest when Cheryl came upon a house near our current house that looked great … on paper. The right number of rooms, interesting layout and a good price. On inspection, though, it turned out to be much less attractive – smaller, flooring issues, and really looking like it would be a ‘project.’

Now as we continue to look at houses, we are starting to get the bug! Even I’m getting a bit more excited at the prospect of being able to get the computer out of the bedroom and have a master bathroom with a big tub (one of our ‘deal killer’ requirements!). We’ve seen a few that we like, but are most excited about a new build that would be just a little bit further down 35. We’ll see.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Overheard at the Landes House

I used to keep a blog on Yahoo and they had a special area where I could put up quotes and other short snippets. I often used it to put up the funny things that our kids would say. We had a funny one last night so I think that I'll start the "Overheard..." up again right here.

Last night Isaac earned a spanking. It hadn't been a particularly awful 'transgression' and Cheryl's pop wasn't delivered with full force. Isaac started to wimper but realized that it hadn't really hurt... and said so!

Isaac: " ... that didn't really hurt."
Cheryl: "Oh, really."
Isaac: "Wait, I mean it did hurt! It did ... OWWW!"

Saturday, September 08, 2007

A Big Weekend at "Ankle" Matt and At. April's

We've hit the road this weekend! Off to Houston we are - we're staying with Matt and (the very pregnant) April this weekend. April has a baby shower that Cheryl is going to on Sunday, so we made a whole weekend of it. It has been great fun.

Julia is getting old enough to to really enjoy her extended family. Ma is here as well and has enjoyed being with her grand-daughter. And her uncle Matt got some good practice time in on life with a little girl! He's already pretty great with the kids but she gave him some extra special lovin' today. She's normally bouncing off the walls and rarely slows down enough to sit, much less to sit in your lap. But after her nap today, she agreed to sit in his lap and watch football!


Isaac has also had a big day. Not only has he had the extra attention of Ma, Matt and April, but we had a big first today, too - Isaac got to hold a snake for the first time. Uncle Matt found a snake (non-poisonous, of course) in the yard while mowing and gave it to Isaac to "play with." He was enthralled to say the least. Mama even enjoyed the event (if not the snake!) After a little while we had a first of our own - "Can I keep it?" Uhhhh ... no, sorry. We did let the snake go soon after. I'm sure it was almost as happy about that as Cheryl!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Bug Hunter


Isaac and I were doing something in front of the house when Isaac spotted a bug. Not just your run of the mill, insect-y, little bug but a big, slimey creepy crawly bug. To be honest I couldn't tell you if ti was a slug or a snail sans shell, but it was cool. You should have seen us both hunkered down in the driveway as cars are driving by giving us odd looks! But, it was cool. We got his "bug keeper" that At. Phil sent and kept him in there to show Mama ('cause we know how much Mama likes creepy crawly bugs!)

I really enjoy these times when I get to see, encourage and share Isaac's enthusiasm for the world around him. It helps me remember just how interesting everything really is.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Back To My Woodshop


Gettin' Jig-gy
Joe showed me how to make this jig for drilling the peg holes. The wood block on the drill bit keeps it from going too deep.


Gut Check
The moment of truth is when you slide the bins in that the cabinet was made to hold... they fit. Whew!


Almost There
It is assemble, nail holes puttied and sanded. Now for the trim!

Things at work have settled a bit lately and I've found the time to get back into the garage to work on some projects. One of these projects is a toy bin area for Julia's room. Sadly, I haven't been using my garage workshop much lately, but this project dates back much further than the summer. We had big plans early on for Julia's room and a few of them (the ones I was in charge of) never came together - wall cut-outs like we did for Isaac and this toy cabinet. But, I'm back at it now.

This project is unique in that it will mark the first real 'cabinet' I've done on my own and in my own 'shop.' I've done a lot of projects and even some pretty big ones, but none like this where the finished product will be a nice piece of furniture. A few years ago, I started hanging out with my friend Joe at his shop (he does woodwork). We built the pantry that stands in the kitchen now. But that was built at Joe's shop - with a sizeable bit of input, labor and know how from Joe. Since then I've assisted him on 3 or 4 entertainment centers and even an on location install. I've been learning from the best! Joe did come in and give some input on this project, to be sure, and for that I'm thankful.

Some details: The cabinet is around 36" tall, 14" deep and 28" wide. It has an off-center divider and adjustable shelves for both sides. It's made of 3/4" furniture grade plywood with hardwood trim and nosings to hide the the front edges of the plywood. At this point the cabinet is almost done. It needs a back piece to be cut from 1/4" ply and all the hardwood trim. Once that is done, it is off to the painters. It will be painted at Joe's dad's shop where he has all the gear for a professional finish. (I have no plans for installing a vented paint room!).

I'll post on it again when it is done!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Crossloop is Cool!

I do a fair amount of Tech Support both on and off the job and let me tell you it can be grueling.
  • "Are you on the desktop?"
  • "Yes."
  • "Click the blue button."
  • "I can't see any blue button."
  • "Are you sure you are on the desktop?"
  • "Yes! I'm sitting right here!"
  • "You're sitting?"
And so it goes. 90% of my time is spent trying to figure out what they are seeing! If I could see their screen it would be so much easier, but up until now that would have required a significant amount of networked software. Until Now!

I was introduced to a wonderful piece of free software the other day! Crossloop. It is a tiny download. It install in seconds and is brain-dead simple to use. Case Study: Cheryl called me from home at work with an odd question about MS Word. We couldn't figure it out, so I said, "Hey, click the blue & green circle icon and tell me what the numbers are in the box." I opened CL on my machine and typed in the numbers. Bingo! In 5-10 seconds, I'm looking at her screen and controlling her mouse and keyboard and Cheryl is amazed.

If you're a little intimidated about whether you could actually work this, here is the test:
  • Can you "double-click" an icon?
  • Can you read up to 12 numbers aloud?
If you answer yes to both, you're in good shape! See you on-screen soon!

BTW - this software will now be a mandatory install for any family members calling me for tech support! :-)
Get Crossloop at: http://www.crossloop.com