Happy birthday, Tyler!
May 31, 2011
May 25, 2011
May 22, 2011
So I’m done with the headboard except for the two to three coats of polyurethane I’m going to brush on and I thought I’d get the nightstands done next. That way I can brush on the urethane on all and not worry about stirring up the dust that would stick to the finished products.
I actually worked on the first part early this week. I cut 1×4′s down to 1×2′s and glued them together to make 2×2′s. You see, Menards doesn’t carry 2x lumber in hickory. I stated this in an earlier post about the headboard. And since I’ve only got 8 clamps, I could only glue up two legs at a time: four clamps each on two different legs, and each night gluing up two more legs (the glue has to dry for 24 hours according to the label).
Today was cutting on the table saw. I cut the 2×2 legs of the nightstands to be even on the glued sides – approximately 1/16th of an inch off each side 8 times. Then I cut the 1×6′s that are going to be the sides, front and back at the top. I also cut a simple rabbet joint that will accept the ceramic tile that will be the top of the nightstand, as well as a simple rabbet joint for the back end of the nightstand. After cutting them out on the table saw and making sure the rabbet joints were clean using a Dremel tool (well, the Menards version of a Dremel tool!), I dry-fitted the parts to make sure they were a good fit. Then it was glue the pieces, clamp them and then run two screws into the back side of each one. I drilled a 1/2″ hole about 1/4″ deep and then continued with the pilot hole for the screw; after the screw is in place, I glued a plug to cover the hole. Right now, the plugs stick out but they’ll be sanded later. Lots of stuff to do before then.
And now… the photos:
May 20, 2011
A man was flipping through channels when his wife sat down next to him and snuggled up.
She asked, “What’s on TV?”
He said, “Dust.”
(And then the fight started…..)
May 16, 2011
May 12, 2011
So now the headboard is assembled and stained. It looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself. It’s in a modified (my own version) Shaker style. I like it and most importantly, Casey likes it. I have yet to put multiple coats of polyurethane on it, but I’ll probably hold off on that until I get the “matching” nightstands done. There are a few details that have to be worked out yet, but I hope they look as nice.
May 8, 2011
What a great vacation! In the past, we have always gone with at least one other person and usually it’s with a group of other people. Those were very good vacations, but this one was great… well, except for Sunday!
On Saturday we had driven to Chicago and done some shopping before checking in to our Park-Sleep-Fly hotel. The hotel had a party in the game room, which we were close to, but it ended around 10pm. The room was clean but not fancy – who needs fancy in a room you’re going to sleep in one night?
Sunday morning at 4:30am, we were on the hotel shuttle to go to O’Hare Airport and begin our journey. We went through all the rigamarole without incident and the plane took off on time. No problem… until we got to our connection in Dallas. There was bad weather so we were in a holding pattern hoping that the weather would break. Well, after 45 minutes of waiting we were running out of fuel so we were diverted to Abiline for fuel. We refueled but no one left the plane, then about 20 minutes after the refueling was complete we got the go-ahead to get to Dallas. However, when we got to Dallas it was 20 minutes AFTER our connecting flight was to take off; turns out the connecting flight never left. Ouch. As soon as we got off the plane, we went to the service counter and rebooked – we couldn’t get in to Cozumel until the next day so we rebooked to Cancun. We got the last two seats on the 4:20pm flight to Cancun (the 2:00 flight was already booked to capacity). The flight to Cancun was uneventful; even going through customs was a breeze. We got on a bus/taxi for Playa del Carmen in hopes of making the ferry to Cozumel. We did, but not after having to wait an extra hour for the ferry to dock (we waited at Senor Frog’s!). The ferry was easy, then we got a taxi to our resort, the Cozumel Iberostar. After a quick check in we looked at the clock – it was 11:55pm. What a LOOONG day, but we did get there!
Monday was a lazy day. We were so tired from travel the day before we decided to do a whole lot of nothing. We ate a late breakfast and went out by the beach and watched the waves roll in. Then we had a few drinks and watched som more waves roll in. Then we ate lunch and went back and watched more waves roll in. More drinks, more waves. It was a nice relaxing day. We met a very nice couple from Pueblo, CO, Glen and Carlie. What a great thing that was for us! They had been to this resort five times in the past and let us in on some ins and outs of the resort. On their advice I rented a scooter (a Honda Beat), more on that later. We also got a few sights to check out from them. Then more waves, more drinks and eventually dinner and later to bed. A nice do-nothing day.
Tuesday, Casey had scheduled a morning dive with a local dive shop and I had scheduled to pick up the scooter, including helmets. After I picked up the scooter, I wanted to get a feel for driving it so I drove it around what is called the “Big Loop”. I didn’t really stop at any place along the Big Loop, just drove it at near the top speed of the scooter (which was about 40 mph) and it took about an hour and a half. I’d definitely recommend getting a scooter on Cozumel to see the sights – it’s an easy and fun way to get around. There was plenty to see in passing, but I made mental notes as to where to stop the next day when Casey was with me. I actually got back to the resort before she was in from the morning dive. After talking over our options during lunch we went on the 15 minute scooter ride to what the locals call “Bob Marley’s”. Great view, cold Dos Equis and great company… not only Casey, but Glen and Carlie happened to be there. So a number of waves and a couple of cervezas later, we were feeling great – not buzzed or anything, just mellow. Then it was back to the resort because we had a reservation at one of the resort’s restaurants at 6:30pm. Later we went to the bar and just chilled. A great end to a great day.
Wednesday, Casey went to the workout room while I took the scooter in to refuel (only $4 for all the riding we did). Then, it was back to the resort, pick up Casey and we went on a leisurely ride around the Big Loop. We took our time on the east coast. Not because there was a lot there, but the beaches and the views were incredible. We didn’t stop at Bob Marley’s but went on past. Did I say the view was incredible? They were! We went on up and eventually stopped at another place recommended by Glen and Carlie: Coconuts. It is a bar and grill with an adjacent hotel. The hotel is unique because there is running water but it is hauled in – no pipes; also, the electricity is from a generator – no wires. Pretty cool place because of the view, though. It is set on a small jutting of rock not big enough to be a peninsula. But it was a small cliff and the view was absolutely breathtaking. After a cerveza or two, it was off down the road. We eventually wound around to San Miguel, the biggest city on Cozumel and quite a tourist area – it’s where all the cruise ships land. We were mildly disappointed walking around the shops. After the events of the day so far, the city was kind of a let-down. So we hopped back on the scooter and went back to the resort, just in time to hop in the pool to cool off. After we went back to the room and changed for dinner we decided to go to the dock and take pictures of the sunset, well it was cloudy but it was still a nice sunset. Then off to dinner and back to the room. We had to pack as we are leaving the next day.
Thursday, the last day (sigh). Casey wanted to work out again, and I needed to refuel the scooter because we had to return it full. I rode into San Miguel (about 20 km) to refuel while she worked out. I got back just at the right time to return the scooter. We then ate because we wouldn’t get much of a chance to eat until much later. The return flight and customs entry were very routine. We got back to Chicago at about 10:30pm. We had set up our Park-Sleep-Fly to stay at both the beginning and the end of our trip, so we wouldn’t have to drive home so late at night and risk falling asleep at the wheel. Again, the room was clean and nice but not fancy.
Friday it was pack up and take off for home. We did stop at TigerDirect and picked up some “toys” – more on that after I figure out my toy, and Arnova 10. When we got home, there was a mountain of laundry and a very limited menu but we managed to eat! All in all it was a GREAT vacation!
