Everything Old is New Again

Despite the inclement weather and threat of snow (or very cold rain), Cherise, Andy and I went to Woodinville for the 30th April Fools Parade. I'm happy to say that it hasn't changed that much and still has a wonderful small town feeling despite the fact that main street is now surrounded by development. We watched the parade, waxed nostalgic, caught the candy doled out, waved at the firemen in their impressive trucks, and sang the Falcon's school song with their marching band. It was a lot of fun. We also picked up a large quantity of Woodinville Weekly's featuring our 30-year-old picture of Cherise and Peter as clowns. After a lunch at Red Robin and some shopping at Hanna Anderson and Osh Kosh we headed home with a tired Andy asleep in the back seat. All and all, very worth going.

Guitar Workshop Begins Tonight

Peter (Gaffney) bought Tom three guitar making books for Christmas (huh?) and began talking with a couple in Fremont who makes guitars and holds two-month workshops in guitar making. At the end of the workshop you are holding your very own hand-made guitar. Since Tom was already familiar with making a musical instrument (Peter's base fiddle) and then helped Hakim make his Andalusian mandolino (with some helpful advice from Rick Davis, Running Dog Guitars, www.vtguitars.com, who holds the workshop and who had stopped by Tom's shop to pick up some tools and wood), it isn't a big stretch that this should be his first adventure after shutting down his business -- wood, tools, stuff being made.

So tonight is his first workshop and on Saturday he begins to build. It's a big commitment (every Thursday night and Saturday afternoon for two months) but he is committed. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Easter With Andy and Sylvia

Easter on speed. That's what it felt like with a candy-loaded Andy hop, hop, hopping down the bunny trail -- or the small foot path of our condo as it were. Always her laid-back self, Sylvia took it all in with amusement or should I say bemusement (there's a difference isn't there?). The Easter bunny left a basket of candy at our house too, but a stern look from mom told me not, I repeat, not to let one morsel of chocolate enter her son's lips. So I ate the yellow Peeps and left the rest for Tom.

Here are a few pictures from Cherise's camera of our happy little Easter. (The sleep-deprived parents are taking the pictures and so are absent from the photos but I assure you not absent from the Easter celebration.)

Old Clowns Make New News in Woodinville

I admit that it was I who saw the cover of the Woodinville Weekly while visiting Dr. Marxen's office and saw the paper's cover (in color) announcing the March 29, 30 year anniversary, of Woodinville's April Fools Parade. I waxed nostalgic about that first parade and how simple our pleasures were then. I remembered our neighbor Carol Edwards deciding to start a newspaper in her garage and then holding a parade through town. Anyone who wanted to walk down mainstream was invited to participate. Cherise and Peter dressed up in their matching clown outfits (that I had made for the previous Halloween), put their banty chickens in their doll's buggy (complete with hay and chicken wire) and strolled down main street to a first prize, blue ribbon win. The chicken did indeed lay an egg. Rural Woodinville was a wonderful place to raise children. Surrounded by berry farms, horse ranches, and surrounded by woods it was a pretty fun place to be as a kid. Then I remembered the photos I had -- somewhere -- of that first parade, wrote the Woodinville Weekly on a whim about them and then sent them to the editor on her request.

Great Spring Skiing, Bad Break

In tribute to our new freedom, Tom suggested on Monday morning that we skip out to Crystal Mountain to catch some of the last days of skiing before end of season and the lifts shut down. So leaving work concerns behind we headed to a beautiful few days of new powder snow and sunshine. The afternoon we arrived, we decided to cross country ski and Tom rented telemark skis so that he had the ability to actually make turns instead of shooting straight down hill on his old skis that have no edges. All went well until the very last turn to the Alpine Hut when he fell on a narrow, steep path that, though somewhat treacherous, leads right to the Inn's door. I opted to walk, but at the last moment as he was heading down the path he took a hard spill and really hurt his shoulder and back. Though his injuries were still tender, Tom managed to ski hard all day (we simply didn't want to quit the conditions were so perfect) and decided to take his telemark skis out for the last run of the day. He fell so hard that he had to take the chair down and is still pretty much bedridden and in pain as I write. I told him that it was his body's way of enforcing rest. After all of the heavy lifting required in moving stuff out of his shop, the back had just about enough. The skiing was its final blow.

We have no pictures from our trip but it was absolutely beautiful with new snow all the way down the mountain. The weather forecast is for snow every day this week. It is hard to believe that it is Spring in Washington! Let me say that people were in a very good mood on the mountain.

Excerpts of article in Metropolitan Home, The Life Aquatic

Photo: John Granen

At 2,200 square feet and three floors, Barry and Candice Peterson’s floating residence— designed by architect Tim Carlander—is large by houseboat standards and boasts nearly 900 square feet of outdoor living space, including a generous rooftop deck reached by a spiral staircase from the upper, public floor. Bedrooms, encased in glass, are at the water level; there’s even a full basement for storage below decks.

Photo: John Granen

In the kitchen, upper cabinets with aluminum-framed diffused-glass doors by Häfele echo windows framing views of Gas Works Park. Lower cabinets and the prep island feature zebrawood doors and thick limestone countertops.

To view the houseboat, visit Metropolitan Home online - copy and paste this link -- http://www.pointclickhome.com/metropolitan_home/articles/life_aquatic

Post on Neu Woodworks in Eat Lake City

Parting Out in the Norwegian Grotto - A cabinet shop.

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Eric Hvalsoe and I stopped by Neu Woodworks in Ballard on Monday afternoon. The longtime cabinet maker was retiring (more or less) after more than 30 years.

For sale was a lot of machinery, and some interesting pieces of hardwood.

Below, Eric fell in love with a somewhat ancient 12 inch Craftsman planer, though he didn’t buy it. At least, not yet. That’s Eric with Thomas Neu, the cabinet shop’s owner.

Personally, I liked the eight foot tall band saw. Maybe it was nine feet tall. I dunno. I think my head just surpassed the bottom of the upper wheel. Luckily, this bandsaw was already sold.

The winner, however, went to a pair of tiny sawhorses.

(In the morning, I’ll go out and take a photo of them. Then this post will be complete.)

End of an era

Tom (otherwise known as Pops or dad) has sold his building and is moving on. In the past week and one-half we (friends and family) have been helping organize, move, give-away, sell, and dispose of a lifetime of machinery, tools, office equipment, personal items and the like. It has been a bumpy ride but by the end of this week we will be turning the building over. It is sad that this old Ballard building that was built in 1924 will be demolished, making room for a huge apartment complex. Anyone who has been to Ballard lately will see that much has changed here and it is only a matter of time before industry is pushed out to meet the demands of close-in, affordable housing.

Tom now shares his office with me and Neu Ideas Group. I've been fielding calls for Neu Woodworks for the last two days and I can say that Tom receives a lot of calls in a day. I don't know how he's managed without administrative staff all of these years! Much of the calls and emails are for people wanting -- no begging -- for Neu Woodworks to work on their project or home. Some of these calls stem from this month's Metropolitan Home featuring Neu Woodworks' work ("The Life Aquatic" March 2008). In just the past week, I've come to appreciate the stellar reputation my husband has in the industry and his total dedication to quality in his craft.

Tom was featured yesterday in a post on the web about his closing his shop. (Link to that article on my next post.) I think people are nostalgic because the shop was such a gathering place. It seems that every time I stopped by during the day, there was someone working on their own project, guys chatting, etc. It seemed to me to be a modern version of the old West's saloon (alcoholic beverages accepted!).

Tom plans on completing current and upcoming projects, taking on special projects, and pursuing his own interests such as small wooden boats, furniture, and guitars to name a few. Just recently step son Pete Gaffney hooked Tom up with local guitar makers (leutiers) who visited the shop interested in salvaging some of the shop's wood pieces and picking up a machine and tools. Tom also just helped Hakim finish his Andalusian mandolino, using the books Pete on guitar making he gave him for Christmas. Thanks Pete.

Thanks to Kelly, too, who worked alongside her dad packing 25 containers of tools, clearing rubble, fielding calls from potential buyers of tools and machinery, selling the Laser, withstanding unbelievable amounts of wood dust, and lending her emotional support (during an emotional time for her father).

Thanks also to everyone who helped -- to Wade Cooper (Woodcuts), Dave Anderson (lending his shop for interim work), Hakim and Mike for the heavy lifting, Merve for staying on to finish a major installation (today) and Dave and Debbie Rutherford for their support and hard work. Did I leave anyone out?

Tom and I will be keeping our businesses, working alongside each other out of the same office (we'll see how that works out!). But we plan on doing some traveling in between. Our first trip is to the southwest - meeting friends in Las Vegas, then traveling to the Grand Canyon, and from there to San Diego where we will board a cruise ship to Victoria and returning to Seattle by Clipper (from there we just walk home). I hope this will be just the start of some interesting and fun adventure.

Signing off.