Thought Distillery

This weekend brought a couple of long-promised projects to completion. First was plumbing up some microirrigation in the greenhouse so that peppers and basil can thrive during upcoming vacation. Later on Saturday, I joined Katie to run in the Mid Summer’s Night 5K Run. Katie and crew performed awesomely - couch-to-5K was a resounding success! As for myself, I always find it difficult not to push myself when others are ahead of me. That combined with only one other guy in my age group helped me finish with a blue ribbon. I certainly did not expect that with my very modest 25+ minute finish, but it does feel good nonetheless. Finally today I cut loose with the shop-vac, sucked some cobwebs in the garage, ran some wire, and installed a keyed garage door opener. Bulky wireless transmitters don’t cut it for bicycle-only living so this should be really convenient. Here comes the photo evidence:

Greenhouse Microirrigation

Greenhouse Misters

First Place: 30-39 Year Old Men (out of 2 finishers)

Keyed Garage Opener Switch (left of the downspout)

At long last, my coffee table is finished. About one and one half years ago this project was started and actually saw really good progress until all the cutting and fitting was completed. For months it sat waiting only for some sanding and finishing. Unfortunately, this is the phase that I like the least. I basically feel incompetent at wood finishing and for some reason in my head this seems like a frivolous exercise best left to the reader. Of course in reality I didn’t do too bad of a finishing job and gee golly it actually looks a heck-of-a lot better than raw unsanded wood. Now I can start thinking about that desk I’ve been wanting to build. Look for a post about that probably sometime in 2010.

Craftsman style coffee table of cherry and finished in a blond shellac.

Update: here are some photos of the jig I put together to guide the table top on edge in order to cut the underside bevels.

Some comment spam is so zany you just can’t help but share it with everyone. After searching for Aunt Mary’s and getting very benevolent results (dog rescue, quilt shop, yarn store, etc), I figured it was safe to share this without advancing the spammer’s cause. Get your shoes and socks on people, it’s right around the corner:

Aunt Mary’s is THE place! Where else can you order some delicious Yummy Fun Bags, have an ice cold PBR or tasty glass of wine, hear an awesome band, find the perfect gag gift or birthday card, relax on the most comfortable sofa anywhere, visit with locals and out-of-towners alike at the new counter/bar, and even get to tell Adam and Josh that they truly suck at Whilrwind? Where else? That’s right, this is the ONLY place on Earth. No, there is no other place. You’re an idiot if you think there’s another place like this anywhere. An idiot! Now go visit Aunt Mary’s!!! (Oh, if you’re not 18 years of age, Rocky won’t let you in)

[Edit: it turns out that Aunty Mary's actually IS right around corner - see comments below. Everything is real, even Oz! Or am I just dreaming?]