"All these things I should keep to myself
But I feel somehow strangely compelled...."

- Neil Finn, Sinner

runsamuck volunteered (or was volunteered, I was never quite clear on that) to fix up Avalon's teacher's backpack bin/rack over the kid's spring break. He tightened all the loose joints, gave it a new coat of paint - which his friend who works at a hardware store donated - and installed all new hooks and handles on it. Avalon is doing her "pretend I'm a kittly - meow" pose. For some reason, the kids can't bring their backpacks into the classroom (takes up too much room, maybe), so all the teachers have either boards with hooks installed, sets of plastic bins, or these sorts of things.

He's told me between this and sanding all those damn horseshoes for 49'er Day, he thinks he's done his volunteerism for the year.

Backpack bin
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
11 April 2009

For some reason, most of the magazines that wind up in the bathroom are my spouse's, and while I'm not into sports and I don't do woodworking, occasionally I find really interesting articles. Popular Woodworking this month (a gift subscription from my father) has an article on Greene & Greene, brothers who developed their own particular style of the Art & Crafts movement in California. They designed homes and also the furniture that went with them. One of their homes, Gamble House in Pasadena, is open to the public. I've been on one of the tours many years ago, and it really is amazing. It all looks like it could be a giant-sized puzzle and every piece fits together perfectly. As it says in the article, the wood just begs to be stroked.

Article: Greene & Greene: Awakening of a Style

Online Slide show: Greene & Greene Masterworks (actually a pdf file)

The Gamble House website

There are a few of these Arts & Crafts style bungalows a few blocks away from me in downtown Huntinton Beach, but smaller and I don't think the interiors are as period, since people still live in them.

runsamuck helped Gareth put together this airplane. Or is it a boat?

senoritafish's LJ stalker is avphibes!

avphibes is stalking you because you are good at bowling. They are also getting with your significant other!

Somehow I don't think so. Although I do appreciate being on her friends list, I can't think there's anything of much interest here for her. And I don't think runsamuck is her type. Heh. I'm grateful I made the list for getting her mix CDs (with little samples of her artwork, which is charmingly twisted), and I wish I could send her something in return, but I can't think of anything she'd like. One of John's boxes? Although I haven't "paid" for the last thing he made for me, for a friend....

( the last box he made for VT's anniversary... )

Or I could send her a kid. I made 'em myself...

Just kidding. Sorry megthelegend, I'm recycling your joke.

Whee! John got a commission for one of his boxes! VT's anniversary is coming up, their fifth - which is wood - and she remembered John made little boxes. Her husband had admired some handmade ones on their trip to Italy, but declined them as being too expensive and ornate.

I brought in some that he had made recently with different kinds of woods. She wanted a dark, plain box, about 4"x6"x3", and finally decided on bloodwood. She advanced him $20 for materials, since that's considered an exotic, and he doesn't have any on hand. It's larger than he usually makes, too. It has to be done before the 15th, so that'll keep him busy in the garage after I get home from work for the next couple of weeks. He spent last evening drawing up plans for it.

Beth also wanted him to make a spoon holder for a teaspoon of her mother's; she wants to keep it on her desk at work. That'll be a gift though, for all the medical crap she's gone through lately.

My project this weekend will be to actually plant a bunch of gladiola and dahlia bulbs I was given at my garden club meeting Monday night. Plus some succulent cuttings someone left at work. Angus and Gareth have both said they want to help, too. Any excuse to dig in the planters for them. Maybe I'll actually cultivate some interest in gardening in them. ;-)

Edit: You can see the finished pieces here:

Box - Bloodwood prooved too expensive, so it was changed to cherry.
Spoon holder - bloodwood and cherry, made from scraps of both.