PW is Afloat

The Drill - Tool or Toy?

I'm going with Toy. The kids and I made a bookshelf for the basement today with some plans we picked up from a nice couple, Jan and Gary Bloom, at the home school convention this weekend. They had the neatest booth at the convention. When you entered it you felt like you were entering a cozy library. They had several of these shelves full of wonderful vintage books.

Gary gave a talk (really, a demo) on putting one of these together. Both he and Jan have such a heart for not only books but children.

Anyway, it made for a fun afternoon with all three kids helping. It'll be nice to get our books out of the boxes and on the shelf. Some sanding and staining first, of course.

Thanks Jan and Gary!

Ran across an oldie...

The kids thought this was funny. So, up it goes!

Looks like someone's turning 5 tomorrow!

That must explain the traditional birthday balloon barrier to party central.

It Starts

After last year's stop motion film project I decided to attempt something easier. (Just about anything else is easier). I've had my eye on these Busker Street Organs for a while now, and finally decided to send away to John Smith for a copy of his celebrated 20 note Busker Organ plans. I have to admit that I don't know much about how these things actually work but the more I learn the more fascinating they are to me. I made one of the pipes (B flat) the other night and was thrilled that it actually gave out a little toot for me. Laura said it was even in range! Amazing. So I've made a couple more. The whole thing will take a long time to complete but I'll post pics as the saga continues.

I'm just hoping that all this work will justify the purchase of a derby, a white, striped shirt, a tie and a monkey.