Needed our own

I mentioned that I had painted up the Cornhole game for the office. Had so much fun painting and playing that I had Candy order one for us.  We found them online at Wal-Mart on sale for $88.00 and free shipping.   With tax, it came out to $94.00.   It would take me all day to build one, probably cost me more in materials and time.

I headed over to the shop this morning to begin working on the game.  I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled the boards our of the box.  The one we ordered turned out to be a better model than the one the office ordered.   This one used better materials, was better constructed and was already sanded and ready for paint.

I opted for a fairly simple paint design and again used colors that I had on hand.  I was able to get two coats of urethane on and will apply another coat tomorrow.   I am sure we will be using these on the Fourth.

More Stuff

Got some catching up to do.  Been super busy at work, as always and I am not complaining.  I have really been lazy on my walking as of late.  I did walk to work and back on Monday but found excuses the rest of the week to not do so.

We have been eating raspberries like crazy around here.  Candy likes her with her cereal in the morning.  I like mine with ice cream.   I had planed several plants last year and the year before.  They all came back and we have and are having a full harvest.  I also have blueberries and black berries but they are not ready yet.  Most likely another week or two.

This raspberry plant has had all kinds of new starters coming up.   In a couple of years we are going to have a very nice garden of berries as long as they can make it through the winters.  Each year I have covered them in mulch to help to not freeze the roots.

Today was our company picnic.  We had a great turn out and some really great food.  This year it was on the far north end of the Springs and the food came from Rudy's BBQ.   We got to play some corn hole.  It is a game like horseshoes, but with corn feed bags.  I am thinking about making up a game for us.  Candy will sew up the bean bags.  We have a great spot in the backyard to play.  With my creative skills I think I can make the platforms look pretty cool.  I may do this tomorrow.  We will see.  I need to get out and walk and I have been thinking about going fishing again.

After the picnic I headed over to the shop and was looking for something to do.  Candy had shown me a video of a humming bird water fountain.   I didn't have what I need to make it, it also requires a pulp with electricity and I am pretty much tapped out outside on outlets.  One of these days I need to run a power line under ground up to the back of the yard.  This would give me a few more options on things I could do.

I did have an old ashtray stand that I had picked up.  I think my Dad gave it to me on one of our last visits.  It was in pretty rough shape, rusty and dirty.   I took the grinder with my wire brush to it.  cleaned up all the rust and then started painting it.  I used what I had at the shop.  Painted the base in a brass color and then the rest in silver.   Painted the handle red so that it would hopefully attract the Humming birds.  Well this is the finished product.  Came out pretty nice.

Back Home

Greetings all, been a couple of weeks since I posted anything. So let’s see since my last post I have been I Florida, Kansas and Colorado.  I spent the week in West Palm Beach and then over to Tampa.  Then I flew over to Wichita KS, and spent the fourth of July with family.  Had a couple of days off which was nice.

Had a great time visiting with the Family and even got a little work done around the house for my parents.  Both the boys made it this year and brought their girlfriends.    We ate way to much food over the weekend and on the Holiday.  Shot off a bunch of fireworks.

One evening we all went out to dinner at Connie’s Mexico Café.  This is a favorite of most of the family. After being on the road for nine days I was glad to be back home.  

Yesterday we headed out and did some fishing.  Went back down to Brush Hollow and then over to Florence for some lunch and a little more fishing.  I didn’t catch anything but we had a great time.  Took Pebbles with us and she had a blast.  She was chasing Chipmunks and Rabbits.

Today I worked over at the shop and made up another birdhouse.  Not sure what we are going to do with it.  Used some old fence wood that I had and top that my Dad had picked up when he was out garage selling.

I did some watering and pulled weeds.  Cleaned up my mess from the project today as well as the last one I was working on.   Man it get's dirty quick from the sawing, sanding, grinding and so on.

I started laying out my next project.  I am planning on making up a large flower cart.  This should be pretty cool when done.

When Doves Cry

It was sad to hear that Prince had pasted away last week.  I am sure we will hear more on what happened in the weeks to come.  We used to dance out ass off, to his music in the 80's.  Seems that 2016 has already claimed several artists.

I started keeping my Fitbit in my front pocket, when I remember.  The band broke and I am to cheap or lazy to order another one.  I had a decent month, but I need to really do more and be consistent.

According to the tracking log I managed to get 134/miles logged.  In May let's hope to seem more days over six miles than below.

I was on the news two weeks ago.  Actually I wasn't on the news, but a photo that I had taken was on the 10:00 PM news.   I was able to capture the two baby owls, sitting beside each other.  I sent it in and thy showed it and had my name listed.

Last week I was in Washington, DC. for a conference.  The weather was nice and warm.  I stayed downtown so that was fun to be in the middle of all the action.  When I landed in Denver it was cold and raining.  This soon turning into snow.  As a matter of fact it is snowing now and has been most of the weekend.

Friday and Saturday I wen't to town cleaning and downsizing.   Went through all my closets, drawers and got a couple of piles ready for the garage sale.  Yes we are planning to have a garage sell in a couple of weeks.   We are painting the upstairs bedrooms.  We have finished one and are now getting ready to paint the office.   So we are cleaning off the shelves and will move the furniture tomorrow.

I had to get a break from cleaning today so I headed over to the shop.  I cleaned.  Then I set my attention to an old pencil sharpener.  Candy picked this up for her sewing room.   I cleaned it all up inside and out and then taped it off and painted what was black, pink.   It looks pretty good and am sure it will get lots of use.  Once we are done filling holes and painting I can make some new holes and hang this on the wall.

I have been collecting cuff links, specifically wrapped cuff links.  I usually by them in lots on eBay.  I can get them for about $7.00 a pair and estimate that they will re-sell in individual sets for about $20.00.

I have been wearing cuff links most days at work lately.  Last week when traveling I wore them each day.  I had been keeping them in a drawer with my watches.   I wanted to find another way to display them and this is what I came up with.

I already had the piece of ceder, it was in the scrap pile.  The pipe I had bought for another project.   I sanded down the wood, then cut a piece of pegboard the same size as the wood.  clamped it on and then used the pegboard holes as my template for drilling the holes for the cuff link studs.  The template worked great and made easy work of ensuring everything lined up.

I stained and sealed it.  Added felt to the bottom and then added the pipe to hold my watches.   The really came out nice and now I have some idea's on what I would do differently next time.

Candy is cooking up bacon and eggs for dinner.  Mmm smells good.  I am ready to eat.

My Last Day

Well today did not go exactly as planned.  It is my last day of PTO and I was expecting a shipment today.  Unfortunately the weather did not help my cause.   I have purchased a 20ft. steel shipping container and it was supposed to be delivered today.  We had a blizzard and it closed several of the highways.  It wasn't bad at our house but Denver and the east side of town got hit pretty hard.  Now we are looking at tomorrow as it is supposed to be nice again.

With having the day off, I needed to find something to do so I spent the day finishing up my bathroom medicine cabinet.   I couldn't use the same light fixtures so had to go to plan B.  All in all it came out pretty nice.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.  I am actually thinking about selling this piece.

Stripping

I made my way over to the shop early Saturday morning.  I was thinking about making up another tiller wheel flower but didn't have all the parts I needed.  I cleaned up a little and once I had things looking pretty good, I started another project.

A year ago I had picked up an old medicine cabinet.  I can't really tell you much about it.  I think it is probably about forty or fifty years old.   I thought the lighting and the hardware on the front for holding soap and shaving cream were pretty cool.  My plan was to restore it at some point.   It was originally white, but someone had painted it red. It has been sitting under my work bench since I bought it, just taking up space.  

So this weekend I pulled it out and starting taking it all apart.  It came apart fairly easy, I couple of the screws took some work to get out.  Once I had it all apart, I started stripping the paint off.  I covered the cabinet in paint stripper and let is set.  The other hardware pieces I used a wire wheel to strip off the paint.  It took me all day just to get the cabinet stripped.  It required a couple of applications of stripper, along with the wire wheel and lot's of sanding.  I took the cabinet and all the hardware back to bare metal.

I returned Sunday morning and did some final sanding on the cabinet.  Blew all the dust out of it and then wiped it down with a rag and alcohol. 

Took the cabinet outside and sat in between two saw horses.   Sprayed a couple coats of primer to cover the bare metal.  In between coats and waiting for it to dry I worked on cleaning up all the other hardware.  

I made pretty decent progress today and even started to put it back together to see how things fit.  Still have work to do on the shaving cream holders, lighting and pull handle, etc. before I can take it apart again and start final painting.

Busy

Busy day today.  I got up and took Pebbles for a walk through the meadow.  We had an electrician out as we were having some power issues in the kitchen.  Once he was done, we headed over to the shop as I had a couple of fence panels that had blown down.  Fixed those, then had to go get the Ranger from the mechanic.  Had to replace the alternator and battery.  Joy, Joy!.

Ran by the grocery store and then came home and cooked some chicken on the grill.  Frozen bag of vegetables and some toast. It's whats for dinner.

I spent some time on my quilt table and just about have the top finished.  A few more area's to touch up, but it looks pretty good.   More to come as I still have a lot to do.

Gotta Keep A Runnin

I was talking with my mom and my sister on the phone.  Conference us all together, that was a first.  Need to get us all setup with video, it would be more fun.   It was great to catch up and I get to see my sister next week.   Really looking forward to hanging with her and the family.

Work is super busy, but that’s not new.  I have some serious travel coming up through the rest of the year.  Looking forward to it as it will give me a chance to spend some time with our awesome team members.  I need to do it more, but it is tough.

I was perusing through my older post and I what I learned is that I need to get out and take some pictures.  I used to be so good about it when I was hiking all the time.  I need to get back start doing both again.  If I would get my ass out and hike, I am sure I would find something to take a picture of.

I started a new project this last week.  This has been a challenge but fun and worth the effort.  Back in the day, talking 20+ years ago, my parents gave us an oak dining room table.  I think they had it while I was growing up, so it’s at least 40 years old.  We used it for years; I even sanded it all down and re-stained it at one point.  Well long story short it was time for something new .

About six months ago we got a new table and chairs and the old table has been down on the garage taking up space.  I couldn’t get rid of it.  We have had it so long and I knew I could do something with it or give it to one of the boys. 

As luck would have it, Candy turned me on to barn quilts.  Google it and check it out.  So I figured I could use this table to make a barn quilt table.  Yes I am so original.   So this is my adaptation of the Lemoyne star quilt block.  I drew out a couple of ideas on paper so I could figure out my placement and colors.  

I will say working with a larger medium is a bit more of a challenge.  

First thing I did was to take the table over to the shop and take it all apart.  I pulled the top off the base.   This table used to expand and you could add two leafs to it.  I glued it together so now it will just be a round table.  I then took my sander with some 80 grit sand paper and sanded the top and all around to remove any stain.  Once that was done I blew it all off and then wiped it down with a cloth and rubbing alcohol to remove any remaining dust or dirt.

I used a string, stick pin and pencil to draw out the outer edge. Then used a tape measure, yard stick and a long piece of trim wood to draw out the lines.

I applied white paint that we already had in the garage.  This is the paint that we used to pain the kitchen walls.  It was still good and I have enough so why not.  I painted table with two coats of the white and let it dry.  Then I brought the table home and placed it on our dining room table.

I drew out my design using my tape measure and pencil.  This project requires a little math so be ready.   Once it was all drawn out, I started adding my colors.  This project goes a little slow as you have to tape off each area and apply several coats.  This only allows me to get one or maybe two squares done  a night.  Now I know where the term “waiting for paint to dry” came from.

Labor Day Weekend

I cheated and got an early start to the Labor Day weekend.  I took PTO on Friday so we could go to the State Fair.   We left the house at 10 AM and stopped and met the boys at the office.   We had a quick breakfast together at the greasy spoon next door.

On the way down to Pueblo, we stopped in and visited the Corvette Center.   I have my car there having some more work done to it.  Will probably be another few weeks before it is ready.  So while there I asked if they had a scrap pile I could dig through.   They did and I scored on some pretty good scrap for my yard art.  Picked up a cam shaft, several brake disks and some other assorted parts.

The Fair was nice, we were there at 1 PM.  Found free parking close to the gate.  Did the tour, animals, 4H, arts, midway and several food vendors.  All in all I think we spent 4.5 hours there.  Had a good time.

Saturday we spent a good portion of the day at the Auction House and then the Flee Market.   I scored some pretty decent deals, of course more stuff to make yard out of.   Picked up an old jack, old detonation meters and the coolest item was my X Ray On warning light.   I think it came out of the airport because they were also auctioning off old school bag/suite case scanners.  Didn't need them, but the light was cool.  The light flashes red when it is plugged in, the light inside makes the red lettering glow.

I was going to build another flower for the yard with the jack I picked up.  Instead I decided to use up the denotation  boxes I snagged.  I bought 4 pieces, two denotation boxes, one amp gauge and another box like the denotation boxes, but labeled with heating.  They were a buck a piece.  So I decided I would make a box to hold them to go along with the X Ray On warning light.

I cut the wood, then holes to hold the control boxes.  Screwed it all together and hit it with some yellow paint.   I used scrap wood that I had saved and yellow paint that I already had on hand.

Added the control boxes and the amp meter once it was dry.  I think it looks pretty cool.  I have no idea what I am going to do with it.

What's next

I have two projects in mind.  I need to get going on another penny, nickle or dime bowling ball project started.  I have three of them at the shop, waiting for me to do something with them.  

This trunk was fun and being that I had to tape it all off, to paint in the green stripes, it really got me jazzed about doing a couple of Barn Quilts.  Who knew there was such a thing.  Candy had introduced me to them a couple of weeks ago.

I am thinking about doing four of them all at once.  Each one will be 4ft x 4ft, all will have the same design and colors.  I have a couple of ideas where I can hang them when done.  Either on the fence or one on each of the sheds and two as gifts.   Seems like it would be fun and if I have buy paint, might as well use it up.

Something Old, Something New

Well it's finished.  This was a fun, but long project.  The hardest part was the removal and clean up of all the hardware that I stripped off the old trunk.  There was over 160 rivets that I had to grind off to remove all the hardware.  Once it was all off, I took the wire wheel and knocked off most of the rust and dirt.  Then bead blasted each piece, primed and painted.

The box is made of premium pine panels.  I got them at HD and then cut everything to size and glued and clamped it together.  Instead of using screws to hold it all together, I drilled holes and used wooden dowels.  I would insert the glue in the hole and then nail in the dowel.   Sanded and then sanded some more.  Cleaned it all up and then applied two coats of golden oak stain to the top and bottom.  Once the stain dried, I taped it all off and painted in the green.  Why green? It's what I had from the wheel barrow project.  I also painted the inside of the box green.  Once the paint dried, I then applied two coats of urethane.

With the lock being brass I decided to use these gold looking decorative wood screws.  I have to say, overall I got pretty lucky as the colors work really well together.

For now I have it sitting in the living room.  I plan to give it my Mom if she want's it next time we go back or they come visit.

Trunk Update

I didn't get a chance to work on the trunk this evening, but I did run over and take a couple of pics.  Also gave me a chance to see how the urethane looked now that it had dried on the lid.  I still need to urethane the base.

I sat it together with the lid on and then place a couple pieces of the hardware on to see how it was going to look.   If I don't screw anything up, I think this will look pretty decent when completed.

Update

Where does the time go?  I have been so busy with work and everything needing to be done at home, that I have neglected to provide any updates.  Thankful to be so busy.

I mentioned that we were on KS. for the 4th of July.  I brought home a few goodies.  When I was there last Memorial Day my Dad and I started on a propeller and he finished it up after we left.  He gave it to me when we were home for the 4th.   

I did some sanding for final shaping and then  applied polyurethane and then taped off the tips and painted them yellow.  It came out really nice.  I have it in my office at work standing in the corner.  Looks really good.

For the 4th of July we had homemade ice cream.  My   parents made up a batch of cherry vanilla.  It was awesome!  The old ice cream maker was on it's final legs and we ended up having to hand crank towards the end.  It finally blew craps, but got us what we needed.  I brought home the bucket and turned it into a fountain.  I used steel pipe and fittings and a pump.  I lined the bucket with a 3.00 plastic bathroom trash can.  I cut it down to fit and it works great.  

We started with it in the backyard but then moved it to the front garden by the wheelbarrow I made.  

I am so ready to head out on PTO. It's just around the corner.  We are heading up to the Hoh rain forest and Olympic National Park to do some hiking.   I have 7 routes planned out for us and we should get about 40+ miles in,  We are staying on the Sol Duc river and I have been reading about the baits and methods of fishing the river. Looking forward to catching a steelhead or 

Weekends Over

The last two days have been pretty busy for me.  I was in Boston, Wednesday through Friday.  Got home late Friday afternoon.  Made the drive back from Denver through the traffic.

I hope to be getting my vette back this coming week. I am excited, but nervous as well.  I checked on it last week before I left town and they were finishing things up.  So it should be ready this week.

I spent most of the weekend working at the shop and getting everything cleaned up so I would have room for the vette.  I had brought home some items from Kansas that my dad had given me.   I needed to do clean up on some of them.   He gave me a steamer trunk that came over on the boat with my Moms family.   It was trashed and not possible to restore.   I spent about a day, removing all the hardware and plan on making a new trunk, using the hardware.  This time it will have a flat top, so it can be stacked on as well.

Someone had tried to do some work on the inside of the trunk.  I found roofing paper used for the liner, but I did come across some very interesting sacks.  I have searched on the web and can't find any information on the information on the canvas.  They are pretty cool, they were used as lining.  The whole trunk was lined with this material, but this was all that was salvageable. 

I took a truck load of crap to the dumpster.  Got everything put away and swept.  Looked good when I was done and should have no problem getting another car in.  I fired up the Model A's and let them run for while.  I even finished up the shelves I have been working on for Eric.  Didn't come out, quite like I wanted but they will work.   I will get a picture tomorrow.

I also need to get a picture of the propeller I have been working on.  I had started it on Memorial day weekend with my Dad when we were visiting.  He finished it up and I brought it home over the 4th.  I have spent several hours sanding on it and have some cools ideas on how to finish it off.   I plan on placing it in my office.

Keep on Trukin!

I guess it has been a couple of weeks since my last post.  Last week I was pretty much a loser as it
relates to getting my distance in.  I came up with an excuse every morning on why I couldn't walk to work.  We have been super busy at work as well as dealing with some growing pains from our most recent acquisition.  I can understand the frustration and at the end of the day, we may have moved a little quick.

I have to say I have a blast out of making stuff.   It is easy to do and the end results are so cool.  From the penny ball I made with Candy's Mom's bowling ball, to the latest piece of yard art or my latest creation.  This project was actually a request.  Eric asked me if I would make him a steam-punk bookshelf for his Birthday.

I had been cruising on Pinterest looking at ways to refinish old dressers.  I don't know why, but that is what I was doing and found some cool ideas.  When Eric asked me for a bookshelf it got me started on some ideas.

In the shed we had an old dresser for one of the boys.  It used to be full of books but Eric came and got them about a year ago, probably longer than that.  When he mentioned what he wanted, I finally noticed/remembered that is what out there.  I got home of Friday evening from work.  I walked in the house and directly to the shed.  I pulled it out and took out all the drawers.  I got Candy to help me carry it all around to the truck, in front of the house.

I drove it over the shop and unloaded.   I started out by working on the top shelf and removing all the screws holding it in place.  Took my wooden mallet and knocked it off.  Then I measure all around from the bottom to just above the top drawer.  Took my saw and followed my lines.   Then I placed the top on shelf on the bottom drawer.  It fit great! I was so happy.

Pulled it off and sanded around the top to clean it up.  Ran a bead of glue around the drawer base and then put the top on and then clamped it down and let it set for the night.  the whole process took me about 45 minutes.

On Saturday, Candy and I went and picked it up.  Candy had suggested that I decoupage it with cloth.

  I had never used cloth before, but I didn't see why not.  I was hoping to find some cloth with gears or clocks, but ended up with a world map fabric.   Candy cut the fabric and ironed it.  I covered the top with decoupage and then we applied it.  Pushed out any bubbles and let it sit for about 30 minutes.  I then applied three coats over the top with my last coat going on at 1:30 AM in the morning.

Sunday morning we ran out to Lowes and picked up some steel pipe and fittings.  I also grabbed the wood I will be using for the shelves.  Brought it home and put it together and then placed it atop of the drawer to see what it would look like.

I still have work to do.  I need to stain the shelves and clean up the pipe.  I still have a few items for finally assembly to ensure it will hold together and hold the weight.

After I took it apart, I sprayed a coat of sealer on the top and drawer face.  I used a whole can and I could still use some more.   As it was drying it looked like it might rain,  I carried it in the house and once dried I added the drawer handles.  Guess it will sit there until next weekend and I will try to get back at it and finish it up.

What I have been up to.

We are so busy at work.  I think it is a good busy, but sometimes I wonder.  Spend cycles on things we shouldn't, but they are necessary evils so we have to.  Blessed and thankful to be busy!

The weather has been crazy around here this last week.   We have had Hail, Rain, Sleet and Snow. On the North end of town, we received up to 9 inches of penny sized hail.  Glad I missed that!  The hail caused the highway to close as they needed to bring in the snow plows to clear it.  On the news this evening they reported that we live in what is called hail alley.  It runs from Cheyenne WY to Pueblo CO, so all along the Front Range.  We get more hail storms than any other state, but not the most damaging.  So there you go!

I also see that tornado alley is also in full swing.  Tornados are touching down in OK and TX over the last few days.  Been there done that when I lived in KS.  I think I will stick with the hail.

The Lilacs are in full bloom.  We were lucky that the hail didn't destroy them.   In addition to the big bush, I have also transplanted a few starters and they are taking off.   

Robinson Lilac Bush

Robinson Lilac Bush

I Have already written about my Horse Haim Wheelbarrows.   I have finished two of them and they look great.    Looking forward to building a few more.  Well I have two wheels left, so I guess two more.

Horse Haim Wheelbarrow

Horse Haim Wheelbarrow

Candy asked to make her a shelf for the laundry room.  She wanted something Steampunk, well I came home with the picture below.   This is an old wrench, a steel gear and an oil filter cover.   This is what I had lying around, so this is what I ended up with.   She really liked it, and I do to.

Steampunk Wall Vase

Hames

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Busy around here mowing and cleaning up the yard.   The Lilac tree is days away from being in full bloom.  I can hardly wait!  My transplants are also in bloom.  I will get some pictures shortly.

The humming birds are here.  We have had one feeder up for them, today we cleaned up the other two and filled and hung them.   Saturday I mowed and turned the sprinklers on.  I had two heads that I had to replace but doesn't look like I have any broken lines.

I am in the process of making more wheelbarrows.  I found 5 sets of Hames on Ebay and they arrived last week.   I took the wire brush to them and then gave them a quick blast in the blast cabinet.   Cleaned them up, then primed and painted them.   The balls are brass and not painted.   I was surprised how well they cleaned up.   They came out looking great, and will make great handles.

I had some green paint, so I painted the outside of the wheelbarrow green and then sprayed sealer on the inside of the box.   I cleaned up the wheel I am using and painted the rim and spokes.    I should be able get it finished up next weekend.

Just to cool

I am pretty excited about this up-coming project.   I have searched the web trying to find something similar but haven't yet.   This piece doesn't have any name or markings on it and I wonder if it might have been hand built.  It looks to me like something you would find in gas station/mechanics garage back in the day.

It is all metal and the glass globes are pretty cool.    Not sure where we will put it yet, but looking forward to giving this piece an overhaul and bringing it back to life.   

Yard Art

It was raining on Sunday so I couldn't work in the yard.  So instead I decided to try my hand at some yard art.  This also gave me a chance to play/practice my wire feed welder.  

The base is made from an old screw jack, that I bought at a flea market.   The stalk and limbs are old s wrenches and the flower head is two motorcycle gears that I picked up.

I have to say, this came out pretty nice.   I have enough stuff laying around to make more, but will have to figure out something new for the base as I don't have anything else to use.

I have some other ideas for projects and can use the practice welding.

I brought it home and put it in the backyard.   Candy seems happy with it, so I guess it will stay.

General Store Hardware Cabinet

I mentioned that I had picked up a new toolbox.   It appears that this piece was probably a parts drawer in a general store. I snagged this at the auction a couple of weeks back and have been migrating my tools over.

I took some liquid gold to it, and cut felt for the bottom of the drawers.  I think this is going to work out awesome for what I want to use it for.  It fits great and so far most of my tools fit.

From what I can tell it was made by  Riverside Hardware Cabinet Farwell Ozum Kirk & Co. St. Paul Minn. I have only found one other like this on the web, except it was bigger with 220 drawers.

In the picture the white tabs are labels, these are the only drawers I have used so far.  I will have lots of room to grow.

In the picture below, if you look to the right middle you will see some gas masks hanging on a hook.  I have plans to make up some steampunk masks.