Dave....Why do you need your scuba gear???

Do you plan on going under?

Sometimes even Dave wants to cry...

8pm and Dave's digging up the septic tank.

Induction Ready-er

I told Erin we couldn't afford a new ottoman...

Brrrrr....

Teenage room decor

It's getting close

Yew under black glass.

The first four

From a new bow I'm making. It'll do I guess.

Cold out

Yesterday it was 7 degrees when I woke up. Today it was nine. With a two hour delay, the kids slept in front of the fire last night. Myla joined them. Probably because the furnace went out and the rest of the house was 50 degrees this morning. Gotta love life around here!

New outfeed table

Shop upgrade time!

Nothing like it.

(That beer after a hard day's work I mean.). Happy New Year everyone!

Waiting for the go-ahead.

Believe it or not, we're at the ages now where they need to be woken up on Christmas.

Lucky Squirrel

Alcohol...

...Because no great story ever started with someone eating a salad!

Dueling Desks - Updated

Erin has had these on her wish list for a while, but they're finally done!

Both desks are bookmatched cherry that was cut down two years ago.  The main part of the tree was used to make the shelf behind the couch.  Leftovers made Marlee's bed and now these desks.  My old phone with a scratched-up lens does not do the grain justice, but the grain in the crotches is amazing.

The request was for a clean, simple desk.  The natural edge was left on the front of the desk as well as the keyboard tray and the computer shelf.  Nothing is supported from the floor.  The 23" LCD monitors go on the wall, but I'm missing a right angle HDMI connector to make it work.  (Who would make a super thin monitor with the connectors coming straight out the back instead of down?)

PS-Post updated because for some reason the email option is deleting all of my text between photos.  Uhg.

Homework desks

Remember the cherry tree we harvested 2 years ago? Well, there was the shelf in the living room and now there are bookmatched homework desks. A couple more coats to spray and we can install. New monitors showed up today. Should be good to go for homework over the holidays!

Ice Storm Yesterday

Lost power sometime during Sunday night. Had a heck of a time finding a path out of our neighborhood to get to work. But ice is always cool looking:

Heading Home

More pictures to come on the blog, boarding in Amsterdam now.

Day 4 - Wurzburg

Today we ventured out on our own to Wurzburg.  We loaded into Crystal's new car, set the nav system, hit the autobahn, and cruised along a little over 100 mph.  Target of the day was The Residence.  It's big.  It's fancy.  The English tour didn't start until 1500.  So we headed into downtown and got some lunch.  Every town in Germany is in full prep mode for what must be some serious outdoor Christmas markets.

Walking through old town Wurzburg looking for lunch.

As it got closer to three, we headed back towards the Residence and took some pictures.  First out front, and then as we walked through the gardens.

Inside, the place was amazing.  I managed only a couple of pictures of the grand staircase from the foyer before I realized there was no photography permitted.  The rest of the palace was much more impressive.  I highly recommend it.  And don't forget the little chapel which is not part of the main tour and admission. It's mind boggling.

 

 

 

Looking up the main staircase.

Once we made it home, it was time to face reality.  Reality meant that John and I had run through his beer supply.  So it was time to shop.  I like shopping for beer in Germany.  Grab a case, and start dumping in 1/2 L bottles of whatever sounds good.

And then it's time for our nightly Scrabble challenge.  After 4 nights and 7 games , Crystal still leads.  Although tonight Erin was the first to clear all 7 letters for a 74 point score...that made up some ground.

Day 3 - Bamberg

Bamberg is less of a medieval walled city and more of a city of fancy buildings and palaces.

Here you see the rocket surgeons trying to make the telescope work.

At least everyone was in good spirits despite the cold.  We actually had snow that afternoon.  Bavaria is definitely a place for scarves and hats.

View from St. Michael's.  Bamberg and the surrounding areas have a peaceful feeling.

And finally, a wonderful dinner with only adults at a local brewery.  Here was the dessert sampler that the ladies shared.  The waiter enjoyed talking to me in Spanish after I messed up early in the evening with the wrong language while ordering.