Spring Break

Hard to imagine Spring Break started off with a few inches of snow! So much has happened since then. I hurt my back carrying the bench I made, so Naomi got to learn how to use the snowblower. She did a great job! The girls were with my parents for a couple days. We had dinner with Pish, the lady who I made the bench for. Naomi said her house is one of the few she would feel at home in. 

On Tuesday I left Naomi at home without a car and had lunch with my parents and the girls. Then I took the girls down to Appleton to stay with family. We had a great time. They drank a ton of bubbly water, spent time in the hot tub, played foosball, and really enjoyed themselves! On Wednesday we all went for a hike along the Fox River at the 1000 Islands conservatory. Amélie was very impressed with all the mounted animals and we saw a bald eagle and a sugar shack. Syrup was done for the year after a disappointing season. On the way back we got to visit a Dutch windmill, imported from the Netherlands. Cool that a Dutch community is nearby.

On Thursday we did some shopping and had a great dinner with the Mitchells. They set up an Easter egg hunt and we flew kites. Nice to have an on time dinner after eating just before 9pm the previous night. On Friday it was back to Grammie and Grampie's for lunch. They are working hard on a bathroom remodel. Saturday was a bit of down time. Much needed. Got the garage door fixed too. Other than a wipeout on her bike, Naomi had a busy but good week. 

Finished up another cutting board.

I'm happy with the final result.

Naomi and the snowblower.

Fun lunch!

So big.

Dutch windmill in Little Chute.

Easter egg hunt.

Finishing the Bench

This has definitely been one of my most difficult and complex projects. Nice to wrap it up this morning. Putting the parts back together and taking pictures. Don't have a good spot for the pictures, so I guess I will use the workshop. Tomorrow we will have dinner with the client, but I don't want to deliver it quite yet as I would like the finish to cure a bit longer before transporting it, and it's also nice to enjoy it for a bit. 

Started building a portable composting toilet. Just a cedar box for a 5 gallon bucket. Winging it. Scraps from TNT. Hopefully it will work as I did not think through the design. Also met with a friend who can do the plumbing for a sink and toilet downstairs. Bought a fridge yesterday (will pick it up in a few weeks) and some tiles for the wood stove. Found a new door into the garage but it opened the wrong way. So close. Lots of projects in the pipeline. Garage door spring broke, but I was able to take it apart and order a new one. Great design!

The girls had a good week. Amélie got to take care of the neighbor's cat and she is great at it. They didn't fight too much. I got a bit sick and so did Amélie, but we had a nice afternoon with just the two of us on Wednesday as they had a half day. Abigail got to play with a friend - first time here in the US. Naomi is very busy at work as this is her registration period, but she is managing it. She has a fun week lined up while I take the girls down to visit family for spring break. Back to winter, which is strange, but the ski hill is closed. Bummer. They really had a rough season. 

Broken spring - inside the housing. So nice. No special tools needed.

We made a fruit salad!

Finished up a cutting board with the help of my friend who has a laser.

Family Visit

We had a really nice time this weekend with my aunt and uncle. Went for a nice hike yesterday and made some tasty pizzas for dinner. Lots of great dessert - Naomi's apple pie (which was better after the freezer than fresh) and a cheesecake from Pat. They left after a fresh sourdough bread breakfast to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with my parents on their way home. 

I ruined the food processor by trying to put the chaga in it. A piece got caught between the blade and the side of the bowl, scraping a groove into the plastic. I will need to order a new bowl. Ruined the chaga too, although some of the bigger pieces should be salvageable. I will try it with a meat grinder. Everything else seemed to go wrong that day too. Problems with the bench. The biggest one was that the lid wouldn't open - the armrests were in the way. Had to change the shape of the lid. I think it looks better now though. Always nice to turn mistakes into improvements.

Managed to turn out a couple cutting boards this week. Built a jig to put in juice grooves. Nice to have the first project wrapped up from the new shop. The girls have been getting along well, except for a bit fight about the cat. Our neighbor is on holiday for a couple weeks, and Amélie gets to take care of his cat. Abigail barged in and scared the cat and they fought about it. Since then, the cat has warmed up to Amélie, and all went well except for her locking the key inside the house. I had to break in with a credit card. Luckily that worked!

Tricky to get the curved corners right for the juice groove.

Amélie noticed the chipmunks woke up! There was a crocus at school too. Must be spring, even though it's snowing at the moment.

Whoops.

Making progress! Just needs to be plugged, sanded and finished.

Chaga

It's been another unseasonably warm week, so I figured it was time to finish up the new trail on our land with my dad. The snow is pretty much gone around here, but there was still quite a bit of icy snow left on the road, so we got partway in and got a bit stuck. Left the car on the road and hiked in. Finished up the trail. Even found some chaga. 

The girls had a birthday party yesterday. The day before a bunch of kids went home sick, and they came back early too. Luckily Naomi was 'working from home' and was able to pick them up. Naomi's students are on spring break so she didn't have any appointments. Kind of a bummer that the girls weren't up for any skiing. This is probably the last weekend to get out there. Sure didn't make good use of those season passes this year!

I made some really good progress on the bench this week. Started a couple cutting boards as well. Really happy with how it's coming together! Should be able to get it mostly done this week, if not all the way. Probably won't deliver it right away so we can enjoy it for a bit. 

Something different for the lid.

Always a good feeling to get the parts assembled.

Chaga.

Winter's End?

Midweek we got a blowing snowstorm. It got cold. For two whole days. Now it's back to spring and the white stuff is almost gone. Who knows, maybe that's it for the year. The schools took advantage of the rare storm and made it a snow day on Wednesday. The first one for the girls. They even closed NMU. 

I made a lot of progress on the bench. Making a lot of mistakes too, but it takes some time to get back into it and get used to using the new machines. They sure are great! The drum sander saves me so much time. Easy to change blades on the table saw, but still need to get an insert for the dado stack. Working with a sled for now. 

On Friday my parents came up to get the girls. So nice to have some time to ourselves! Did a bit of shopping yesterday and took a nice walk along the lake. On Friday Naomi scored tickets in the President's Box at the hockey game. That was a lot of fun. Last week the four of us went for a walk by our house to check out the artificial ice caves. 

Leaky hydro plant feeder makes for cool ice scupltures.

Progress on the bench.

Fun at the hockey game.

Beautiful walk along the lake.

Enjoying time with Grammie and Grampie.