Vision

 

Some people may not be able to see anything more than a stack of wood, but I see our new kitchen. Today was day one of the remodel and I cut, labeled and positioned most of the pieces needed for each cabinet into it's assigned pile. Not having done any large projects lately, I was a bit nervous pushing the first sheet of plywood through the table saw but after a few minutes of generating dust all nerves fell to the wayside and I fell into production mode. 

 

 

Let's hope I can still count to ten after the project is done.

Jury Duty

I received a summons in the mail last week to appear before the presiding judge for the city of Lakewood. Out of the 30 applicants the lawyers chose seven of us to sit in the box and I was lucky juror number 7. The case involved the defendant getting arrested for possessing tools that "could" be used for burglaries. He was caught hiding/prowling near a bank and a coffee shop wearing all black clothes and a paint ball mask. He also had a small flashlight and a small crowbar (aka cats paw) in his possession. He told the arresting officer he was hiding in wait to scare his girlfriend when she arrived to pick him up. Make note: it's 5am, very dark and the girlfriend, whom he couldn't recall the name never showed up. Our job as jurors was to determine if the defendant "intended" to use the crow bar for a crime. I thought it was a slam dunk before we went back for deliberations,but several questions came up and as the elected/volunteered Foreman I did my best to keep everyone on track and keep the ball rolling when it got too quiet. A few of the jurors had some doubt in there mind about a guilty verdict, but focusing on the evidence and not on assumptions eliminated the grey area. We talked/deliberated for about 30 minutes and finally agreed on the guilty verdict.  We dropped the hammer on the dude!

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

 

After my cross race today I got cleaned up and did a supply run at Lowes for my outfeed table and side extension. After moving stuff out of the garage I went to work. The outfeed table is actually my assembly table raised a bit with a few 2x4's and it saved me a bit of work making one. The extension on the side is pretty basic, but effective. I didn't want to spend too much time and money on anything because it'll all end up in the landfill after the kitchen is done. All the sheet goods will be purchased this Friday and will sit on the saw horses with a couple verticle 2x4's supporting the middle.

Fort Steilacoom Cross

Today was the first SCX cyclocross race and I decided to only do one race. I entered the Cat 4, 45+ Masters. My goal this year is to finish each race in the top 50% instead of the bottom 30%. I missed my goal today by 3 riders. 33rd out of 60. Bummer! Maybe next week in Sammamish?

 

Here I am looking fresh before the race,

and doing the normal thing during the race. Sucking as much air into my lungs as I possibly can.  

 





Anderson Island

 

 

Our Aunt Janet and Uncle Mike have a very nice little cabin on Anderson Island and they needed a little help making some racks for the firewood. Susan found a simple, yet effective design on Youtube so I made two of them at the house and another one on site. They also needed some minor repairs to the deck so we knocked them out as well. It's been a while since I stayed over night, but I can still remember sitting on the deck first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea waking up for the day ahead with the mountain right in the middle of your view and the sounds of the forest are all around you. You can't buy that for all the money in the world.

 

Shelf

I've been working with wood since the 7th grade and I won't tell you how old I am, but Junior High was a "very" long time ago. Anyway, Susan wanted a small shelf for her office and I put the final touches on it after getting back from Anderson Island today. I hope it works for her.  This is a small task compared to what I'm about to take on. Our kitchen cabinets are 40 years old and having a company, Lowes, Home Depot or any other cabinet shop make them would cost us 10 to 12,000 dollars. My goal is to make, finish and install them and replace the floor for less than 6K. Wish me luck. 

MFG Cyclocross

This past weekend was the first of many official cyclocross races of the year. I decided to sign up for the normal two races for the day, but instead of two Cat 4 races I signed up for the C4 45 + and C3 45+. Not because my lap times have gotten faster, I just wanted more track time. What a mistake that was. My lower back flared up on the last lap of the first race and I thought having a race in between my second would give me time to stretch it out and prepare for seven more laps of pain. Didn't happen! I was nothing more than an obstacle out there and everyone was blowing by me so fast it made me feel like I was dragging a car tire. It may have sucked being out there, but it really shows you how fast these riders are and reminds you of your place. On the bright side, I kept my wheels and body vertical throughout the day. More pain this weekend at Fort Steilacoom.

Champs!

Our friends, Russell and Karen Ivy held their annual "Ivy Triathlon" yesterday, but it's not your typical Tri. It constist of Frisbee Golf, Horse Shoes and Ping Pong. Frisbee golf is an individual event and then all the names are put in a hat and two are pulled at a time identifying the partners for the second two events. Pictured below are you Horse Shoe Champs for the 2012 year. Yay!!!! This was their 25th anniversary for the event and the we had plenty of people attend.  

 

Bike Rack

I got tired of fighting with my bike on a make shift stand, so I decided to put my skills to work and make one that suits my needs. I cut a 2x4 down to width/thickness and stuffed it in the end of my Table Saw extension.
I grabbed more material and did more cutting, sanding, gluing and screwing and ended up with the below picture. The bike sits on two saddles and the vertical arm locks the steering wheel in place so it don't turn on me. The triangle shape piece on the bottom rest against the top of the water bottle cage and prevents the back end from dropping when I load my bags on the rear rack. It worked out better than I hoped and only costs me a little time and a few engineering brain cells. I better pace myself. 

Labor Day Cyclocross

Every Labor Day, Team Double Check host's the first race of the season and this year we held it in a training area on Joint Base Lewis McChord about 3 miles from the house. My brother Hank came over from Spokane with his youngest boy Josh and they each participated in the days event. Hank and I did the Cat 4 Masters and Cat 4 men's. I was holding my own during the first race until I flatted on the last lap just before the pits. But  I didn't just flat, I sliced my sidewall on something a ruined my tire. Bummer! I have two new tires being delivered late tomorrow and plan on prepping the bike for Sundays race after work. The second race was going well too. Hank let me pass him during the second lap when he went down several yards ahead of me. I think he fell at least three times and I joked with him about taking some dirt home in a jar versus on his jersey. : ) I was staying in front of the old speedster until the guy in front of me went down and decided to take me with him. The fall took the wind out of my sail so I cruised the rest of the way in. I did get another battle scar out of it though and my legs are showing signs of a veteran cross rider. 

Cuts and bruises. It's all part of the sport. 

Here I am sucking as much air as possible into my lungs

and Hank's not working hard enough. 

Although he did pick up a few scrapes of his own. 

I'm hoping to have a video of the race done shortly.