Family Reunion 10 Oct 2009

Yesterday was the annual Bingo game at my Aunts house. I believe a great time was had by all. I brought a bunch of scroll saw projects and they were quickly gobbled up as bingo prizes. We saw family we have not seen in a long time. The picture on the left is all of the family that showed up. The picture on the right is my mother, my wife and daughters and our new son-in-law. The little guy on the bottom rights is not ours, but the wife did want to steal him and bring him home with us. Both of our lovely daughters were able to make it this year and they both had a good time. I had a cousins daughters-daughter attach herself to me for the day, made me an honorary Grandfather for the day. Come to think of it, she did this last year too. That young lady has great taste! She was nice enough to share my lunch with me, apply lip stuff to my lips 4-5 times and generally be great little girl. Kinda reminded me of the days a long time ago when I had 2 little girls around the house. My mother came up and spent the week-end with us. Our oldest daughter and her husband came up and spent Friday night and stuck around till late Saturday night. We BBQ-d steaks on the grill for supper and just had a great week-end all the way around. Today our small house should get back to quiet again. I had a Master Chief, Jimmy W. Bowen, who used to say about his family and guests, "Nice to see them come, nice to see them go." I do so understand his sentiment. Its great to see everyone and have them come and visit and its good to get things back to nice and quiet. Well, with craft shows starting up the first week in November I have to get busy in the basement the next couple of weeks. Time to go make some sawdust. DUI Help Florida

Earrings and Pendant Combos

Here are some pendant and earring combos that my wife and I have made in the past few weeks. The wood is black walnut planed down to about 1/4 in thick. These are finished with a bees wax that my wife spends a significant amount of time polishing to make look just right. We are hoping these sell well at the craft fairs. We will be making more out of cherry and mohaghany if these sell ok. DUI Help Florida

tap hole maple lamp

This style lamp is one of the reasons that I got into woodworking in the first place. I used to watch my Grandfather make these lamps. He enjoyed making these and the clocks I have previously posted. He had such a good time making these. I retired from the US Navy in 1999 and immediately moved back close to home and bought a house. This house has a nice unfinished basement that was quickly turned into a wood shop. It all started with a visit to my Grandfathers house and One simple question. I asked Gramps if I bought a few woodworking tools would you show me how to make these lamps. Of course he said yes. The next day I made a trip to Home Depot and this is how it all began. It started with a cheap table saw and a sander and now has consumed a large part of my basement. The lamp in this picture was made for my sister Lea and the cradle was made for my grand neice, her granddaughter. These were both made several years ago and were posted on my previous blog but are worth bringing back out and showing off. The lamp is made out of Maple and the holes you see in it are where someone put a tap in the tree to make maple syrup. DUI Help Florida

Turkey Time

Well Thanksgiving is just around the corner. For me that day starts the official holiday season. My official holiday season runs from thanksgiving until January 2nd. This is 2 months that I am officially allowed to act like a kid.

My wife and I are making these turkeys for craft shows and for the famous family reunion bingo table that takes place next week-end. I am getting excited about this as well.

I saw my first tootsie-pop turkey as a teen at my Dads house. I believe my step-mother said someone in her family made it for her. As I got into woodworking I managed to made a copy of the pattern, modify it to suite my needs and here they are. They are easy to make.... relatively easy to paint and fun to look at, and fun to eat. Who knew turkeys could be so sweet. DUI Help Florida

Parking SIgns

I live in an area that is very much an equal rival between the Boston Red Sox and the New york Yankees. I was inducted into the Red Sox Nation in part because of my oldest daughter and My wifes father. I don't think I really had a choice. My daughter is one of the biggest Sox fans around.

I found a template for the sign and used Microsoft word and some nice scrollable fonts to make these signs. I have cut several to see how they sell at the upcomming craft fairs.

I also need to apologise for not updating this blog more than I have. I really enjoy doing this and I will try to update more often. I have actually had friends and family call and e-mail me asking how come I have not updated this. Trust me I have not given up the scroll saw.

We are getting ready for our annual family reunion next week-end. For those who are new to my blog, we have a family reunion where we play bingo. Each family member is supposed to bring 3 or 4 items for the bingo table. for the past several years my stuff has gone quickly. There are great for my ego and heklp me get more motovated to start getting heaviily into the craft show mood.

For those following baseball, botht he Red Sox and the Yankees are in the playoffs. Enjoy the games. DUI Help Florida