If there’s one thing which you’d think computers and software had solved by now, it’s photos. There are so many different ways to organize, share, and safekeep photos out there that you’d think one would get it right. Failing that, perhaps it would be easy or simple or pretty straightforward to use a combination of two or more of these products to meet all your needs. Alas, I have been unable to find one.

I did find $1.77 and a VTA token in the couch, though

So far, I’ve gone through Picasa (now...
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

It’s come around again, that fine day where we go around pinching people if they’re not wearing green. Ostensibly, this is because… yay Irish people? Or something. All I see is another opportunity for college-aged kids to drink heavily (not that they particularly NEED a reason) and exercise good-spirited stereotyping. That said, I’m wearing my St Patrick’s day shirt:

To top that off, it’s the same one I’ve worn for the last…. 7 years? Something like that. Heh, I think I’ve only worn it 7 times, too :-)

ANY WAYZ!...
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What’s the best thing to do on a rainy day? Okay, what’s the next best thing on a rainy day, besides “stay at home and drink hot cocoa, curled up on the couch, binge watching whatever thing is hot on Netflix right now”?

That’s right, indoor outing! Cora and I took off to go have some fun at the Children’s Discovery Museum while Shanin was out of town. But boy, was it busy! Everyone else had the same idea. That didn’t stop us from having a good time though!

To add...
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I’m making a bench for shoes, both to store them and for sitting on to put them on. I’ve decided to use stuff that I already have as much as possible because I have it and want to get rid of it (and to save money). I’ve also decided to do a bunch of hand work, partly because I want to learn and partly because I don’t have an alternative in some cases. Any rate, I’m just kinda making it up as I go along, but the top and shoe rails are going to be beech, stained with the ebonizing...
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Second take of a fox bookmark, this time for Shanin. I think I really like this, though there are a few screwups. For more details about the build, find them here!

Do you like that Slurpee?

Why “Kiss Box”? It’s based on this book that Cora likes: The Kiss Box

Purpleheart box, mitered and glued together. Used splines to hopefully add strength to the joints, though the purpleheart really glues up well. The splines and the top are made from leopardwood, and the bottom is made from Macassar ebony. The edges of the box have been chamfered just a little to give some interest.

The box feels very solid and has some heft to it. The top stays on with friction in two orientations and just fits nicely in the...
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My first inlay project, made from padouk and wenge. I had to make my own 1/16” slice of padouk and 1/8” of wenge; got those by resawing on the table saw (not recommended! Note to self: get a band saw). Cut out the inlay pieces from padouk, traced them onto the wenge blank, and used my Dremel tool to make a recess which was deep enough. Then glue in the decorative piece, sand a little so the sawdust gets into the glue to fill in any gaps, clamp, and sand down once it dries. As...
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I found this recipe at the Keeping Up With Mrs. Smith blog, a site with a bunch of really good looking and exciting recipes. One thing which wasn’t mentioned and that I discovered is that this makes about five pints (or, in my case, 10 8-oz jars) of jam, so prepare for that! Tried some of the leftover I had to put in my fridge and it is quite tasty!