A 3rd Birthday, Mooses Mandatory

We celebrated O's 3rd birthday a little late since I was away for every weekend in March, and it was a good thing we did, because as it turns out, I needed the extra time. You see, we decided to throw her a little party. When I asked her what she wanted to do at her party, she only asked for one thing: a pinata. OK, that's great. What kind of pinata, sweet pea? A moose pinata. (pause) Really? A moose pinata? Yes! All right, one moose pinata, coming up. Who needs sleep anyway?

Before and After: Dresser for Woodland Themed Nursery

I can no longer recall what the ad on Craigslist said, exactly. It was something like this: Small chest of drawers, old, well loved but still useable. Needs some TLC. 39”W x 36”H x 17”D. Free. Two things about that ad caught Anne’s eye: the dimensions, which would fit perfectly into our baby’s room, and the word free. The attached pictures revealed a shabby yet charming little piece of furniture, with some interesting trim on the front. She asked if I thought it was worth grabbing, and although I was dubious about its condition, I agreed to pick it up on my way back from dropping off the trash and recycling. When I saw it in person, I immediately realized that it would have looked right at home amongst the junk I just got rid of. The frame was busted, the drawers were pulling apart and the top was curving up at the corners. Still, I was there, and my wife liked the style of it, so I threw it in the truck and took it home. Upon arrival, I quickly pointed out all of its deficiencies, tucked into a corner of the basement and promptly forgot about it. After all, the baby was not due for months, so I had all of the time in the world to peck away at it. Fast forward one year later--the baby is here and ready to move into his own room. The dresser? Still in the basement. Past time to get to work.

26 Songs

This is my bad-ass crayon logo.

Have you noticed the little '26 Songs' tab in the menu bar up above there? That is a link to my original songwriting project, where I challenged myself to record one original song every other week for a year. Well, the songs are written, that is not the problem. The problem is finding a quiet hour or so where I can record one, convert the video, upload it and write a blog post about it. But even though I am behind schedule, the music is still pretty good. Check out the opening lines from my latest one:

The last time that we spoke
Was in a haze of whiskey and wood smoke
You asked me which way the wind blows...

You want to know what my answer was? Which way the wind really blows? Then click on over and give it a listen.

Building a Play Kitchen from a Chair

Let me start off by saying that this is not my concept (I wish I was that brilliant). I originally saw it when Apartment Therapy covered a blogger from Hungary named Kata and I filed it away in the back of my brain as a novel take on the DIY play kitchen. I always thought I would have plenty of space to build a big one out of an old entertainment center or something. Wow, was I delusional. Not delusional, exactly, more like uninitiated. I had no idea how quickly a room can get filled with play apparatus. A craft table with two chairs, an easel, a doll stroller, a shelving unit to keep the small stuff in check (theoretically), this month's cardboard box project, a Little People farmhouse and a couch that some poor visitor may actually have to sleep on someday all lead to a 'cozy' play space. So as I contemplated building O. a kitchen for her second birthday, the idea of a using a small chair suddenly seemed to make a lot of sense.

Time for a Facelift, part two

 The trim is all done and painted, including the soffits and the brackets. All of the horizontal pieces are flashed. The outlet and faucet are disconnected. The babysitters are here. Time to re-side the house.

The Birth of the Snow Queen

The Birth of the Snow Queen

One misty winter day, the benevolent and all-knowing goddess of the forest looked down upon the lower world and saw that her people were adrift and leaderless. They milled about the woods, pining for guidance and direction. The goddess decided that they should have a queen, and thusly set out to make it so. She summoned her most able troll servant and they began to create the Snow Queen.

He labored mindlessly under her most perfect guidance and soon the Snow Queen began to take shape. The goddess decreed a figure of three sections, comely yet unadorned so as to remind her subjects the value humility and the dangers that can come from a love of frippery. 

When the Snow Queen was complete, she dismissed her troll and looked upon what she had created, and called it good. She then sang a song of unparalleled beauty, the notes of which brought the Snow Queen to life.

When her life-giving song was sung, she made the following proclomation:

"People of the forest, I have watched from on high as you wandered throughout these woods, bemoaning your confused state. I have heard your cries and come down to give them answer. Behold your shining light in the darkness. Behold the gently rolling path that always aims homeward. Behold--your Snow Queen!"

With that, she ascended back to her cloud palace, content that her people were no longer adrift but wondering if they would accept their new queen. For the people of the forest were an independent sort and did not always go in the direction which she wished. Later that evening, she had her answer. The forest people slowly emerged, bearing the traditional welcome gifts of dried grass hair and a Cerulean Shovel. 

That moment marked the beginning of what was to become known as the Winter of Deep Content, the likes of which this forest had not seen since ages beyond reckoning, and the forest and its people hummed with happiness.

The End

Time for a facelift, part one

When we built our house six years ago, I always knew I wanted to do more with the exterior. Trimless windows and vertical siding were okay for starters, but it left a lot to be desired in my mind. This past summer, after watching the paint peel from our south-facing wall again, we decided the time was nigh upon us. That's right, I said nigh. You know shit is about to get real.