Recumbent Snoopy Bird House

Here's the classic recumbent Snoopy on his dog house.  Having completed my first Snoopy bird house, this one went much smoother. I reduced the size of the door a little and did the bottom (3/4 inch pine) a little differently. By removing the two front screws, the bottom will hinge down for easy clean out. The rest of the project is all made of 1/2 inch plywood.  The ears were cut from one piece and then split so they are mirror images of each other.

Completed:  9-28-11.

Snoopy Bird House

Here's the World War I flying ace in his Sopwith Camel.  "Curse you, Red Baron!"

I have been thinking about this bird house for several days, and finally decided to take it on.  I looked up images of the WWI flying ace online and free handed something like this one from memory.

I cut it out, assembled it, primed it, painted the roof, and sketched out Snoopy all in an afternoon. Then I set it aside to dry for a day. 

Here's the bird house ready to be detailed.

After it had dried, I got some new paints and finished it up.  Next spring, this should make some birds a new home. 

I am visualizing some new houses even now. This was fun.

Completed: 9-25-11

Our New Floor

God gave us a new floor. Last week I recieved a check from the school district for my sick leave. I was not expecting that. I thought I had already received that compensation, so it was like new money to me. So, we have been needing a new floor for years, just didn't have the money. We went to Lowes and picked out a laminate floor.  Today, a Lowes installation team installed our new laminate floor in about five hours. Chris and April are the owners, and Frank 1 and Frank 2 are their helpers. They are from Guatamala. They were all fast and efficient workers. Glad I let Lowes install this great floor.

Frank 2 with the last piece going in.

Kitchen/dining area

Entrance Hall

Half the grandkids

This is Henry, Sarah, and Eli.  At the present, they are half our grandkids.  Missing are Bryce, Spencer, and Arthur. However, little Sarah is getting a new little sister in November. In the picture they are at the pool on Labor Day, 2011.  Sarah likes the big slide.

And a little child shall lead them --- God

 An  atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her  and said, "Do you want to talk?  Flights go quicker If  you strike up  a conversation with your fellow passenger."

 The  little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"

 "Oh,  I don't know," said the atheist.  "How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly.

 "OK,"  she said.  "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question  first.  A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a  deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse  produces clumps.  Why do you suppose that is?"

 The  atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it  and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."

 To  which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after Death, when you don't know crap?"  She went back to reading her book.

Rocking Foot Stool

Rocking Foot Stool

Today, I made this rocking foot stool. It works great. Now, I can put my feet up and rock at the same time. I saw something like this at the Mast General Store in Greenville. I didn't stop to examine it. I saw them at a distance as we were leaving the store. But, I did a search online and came up with some ideas. So, this is the result of my thinking. I made it from materials I had on hand. The rockers I cut out of a piece of treated 2x6. The verticals I split out of the same 2x6. The top and bottom cross members were cut from 2x4 treated. The berber carpet was cut from a piece I had left over from carpeting the computer room.

Suryia and Roscoe

Roscoe and Suryia

Suryia, the orangutan, and Roscoe, the Blue Tick dog, are unlikely friends that live and play in The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) , Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  You can see a video and read all about their friendship at this site: http://www.suryiaandroscoe.com/index.php