Odds and Ends

June 2001

I built this picnic table. Deb got the plans from the internet at WolmanizedWood.com. We used redwood and added an extra board to the tabletop to make it a little wider. We think it turned out real nice.
	Deb's dad convinced her that I needed a table saw in order to do all the things she wants, so she bought me one. Next, I'm gonna tell him to convince her I need a router... If you figure in the cost of the tablesaw and the time I put in to it (at a programmers salary), this picnic table cost us about $2000!

Deb's been wanting a screen door for the cabin so we can look out at the view from inside without worrying about flies mixing with our breakfast. Our problem was that the cabin door is 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall and the door handle sticks in too far passed the door frame. We had just decided I needed to custom build one when she found the BugOff Instant Screen distributed by Wolf & Moon Products. It's a screen that hangs from a tension rod with weights on the bottom edge, velcro on the sides and a split down the middle held closed by a couple sets of flat magnets. We can take it down when we close the door and roll it up for storage.

The only problem is sometimes the wind is more powerful than the magnets. I'm thinking about adding another magnet to the bottom of the door frame to help equalize these forces.

We've been looking for a washstand to put in the bedroom and haven't been able to find one that would fit quite right. Again, we were beginning to consider me building something custom. While I was busy at Lowes picking up the new tablesaw, Deb discovered a cool little work bench meant for gardening that fits perfect. The price was right - I could not have built one for less.

The Damrons gave us another truckload of bricks (we owe them a friday nite dinner or two) that we plan to someday use to build a BBQ grill. Meantime, Deb found a good temporary use for them. We need to build a shelter for the firewood for those rare days when it rains here. We put pieces of wood on the top to keep the kids from climbing on it because it's not all that sturdy. But at least now I can separate the kindling from the logs. We just need to be careful of critters hiding in amongst the wood.

I call it the rat condos.

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