Probably the biggest blank slate of our whole home is the back yard. The previous owners didn’t do anything with it but let their dog use it as a huge toilet and let their seven kids dig holes in it. It’s bordered by a huge, gray cinder-block wall, and an ugly, decrepit blue wooden fence and is covered with tons of annoying gray pea gravel (the kind that sticks in the tread of your shoes and tracks in all over the house). One of the first things we did was build a brick retaining wall along the length of the block wall and plant vines, with hopes that some day before we sold, we wouldn’t have to lay eyes on that boring, concrete again. It sure did the trick!
A view from the NW corner looking EA view from the NW corner looking SStarting to lay the drip system lineTom finishing the drip system lineOur fresh supply of paver bricks for the new retaining wallThis is what happens when an engineer builds a retaining wall...everything must be straight, square, and level!Tom loving life after only finishing the first quarter of the wall!Maria contemplating just how long it will take to transport 9 tons of dirtMaria filling in the rest of the retaining wall with dirt and compostThe younglings ready to plant!The first four, already starting to grow only two weeks after planting!Beautiful coverage in no time!Shot of the rest of the vinesWe decided to install an arbor around our gate, the vines love it!
Well, this project proves that I don’t learn my lessons, or that Scott and I are cursed any time we work together on a project! This behemoth dining room table is over 5′ on each side and features a tabletop that’s 2-1/2″ thick! Needless to say, the sucker weighs a ton! It was another job where I would build the thing, then Scott would finish it. The problem was that for a 4+ foot square table-top, you’re not going to find Alder plywood anywhere, so this became my first crash course in veneer….and probably my last! After final assembly and sanding, the hot, humid days started to make the veneer bubble, so Scott and I spent days injecting superglue into the bubbles, stamping them down, and covering up the needle marks. It was miserable. The finish job was no walk in the park either. We had zebra stripes, in the tint-coat, more veneer bubbles, tape residue, you name, we had it. But luckily, after weeks of fuss, it’s all over and out the door….and it doesn’t look half bad either!
View of unfinished table with veneered topView of grooved, solid wood edges made from two 6" wide, 2-1/4" thick laminated planksTom injecting veneer bubbles with superglue, while Scott makes things even more "distressed"!View of legs, also veneered plywoodScott spraying on the lacquer toner (makes you want to take a deep breath, huh?)View of finished legs (wipe-on stain with lacquer toner)
Detail of finished grooves and edgesThe beautiful result (note distressed markings and darkened grooves)
After a month of bouldering and strength training at our local gym, we returned to Hueco to test our mettle. This time we spent only two days in the park and two nights in a nice cozy hotel room! Nothing says good bouldering like a great night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast at the Village Inn! Anyways, the first day was spent on the general access North Mountain, while the second day we enjoyed a guided tour to the East Spur.
Maria on her favorite roof again "Nobody Gets Outta Here Alive" (V1)Maria throwing the heel hook on "Nobody"Tom working "Nobody"Maria (if you can see her) on "Baby Martini" (V5)Tom dangling from "Baby Martini"Maria on her "warm up" high-ball "Stink Foot" (V0-)Garland looking intense on "Udder Destruction" (V1)Maria peeking over "Udder Destruction"Another angle from over to "udder"John throwing for the ridge on an unknown problem
We tried again to keep with tradition by getting a tree and baking cookies, only this time, Hexus ruined Christmas! Or so I like to think. As soon as we brought in the tree, he was all over it. At first it was kind of funny, but later when he had some alone time, we came back to the house to find that the bottom half of the ornaments had been scattered all over the house. After replacing them and seeing the same result the next morning, we decided to move them all to the upper half of the tree…which didn’t work either. Again, Hexus managed to knock off a great majority of them, so finally I removed all the bulbs and left only our keepsake ornaments at the very crown of the tree. Then, Hexus proceeded to start chewing and yanking on the lights, so after only about 5 days, our tree went from fully decorated to no ornaments and a blob of lights at the very top, which we never turned on for fear the cat would electrocute himself…thus Hexus ruined Christmas!
Maria trimming the treeHexus helping out as usualHexus spreading some holiday cheer!Hexus now hiding for fear of Maria's wrath!Us infront of Hexus' soon-to-be play thing!
This project was Maria’s Christmas present and has become one of my favorites. I’m not sure how I came about the design, but I thought it would be fun to try and make something small and incorporate scrollwork. The outer base is solid cherry, while the inner scrolled piece is 1/4″ poplar placed on top of a mirror.
Profile view of shaped edges and birch Shaker pegsView of front with reflecting image (the light poplar inlay was cut using a scroll saw)
