GO SEAHAWKS!

What's New?   As we look toward the horizon we see Valentine's Day looming in the not too distant future. While there are lots of nice gifts that you can get for your sweetheart we think some great wooden kitchen utensils would brighten up the day. Just think how cool a set of wooden spoons in a vase would look. Add a few flowers for color and you'd have a Valentine's Day that will never be forgotten. Of course you know that we sell hard maple, hand made in America, wooden kitchen utensils at our Woodn' Wares store, www.runnerduck.com/woodnwares.htm. Just a thought in case you were fresh out of ideas :-)

Other than that there doesn't seem to be a heck of a lot going on in February. Ken's crashed his little electric R/C airplane and is in the process of rebuilding it. A combination of wind and inexperience landed it in the top a very dense row of cedar trees. Thanks to some great neighbors he was able to salvage all the expensive electronic controls and motor. The next attempt at flying will be in a big open field with no wind and no trees.

In the continuing saga of the PT Cruiser a Helix Power Tower was installed in the base of the throttle body to increase the horse power. Also a cold air box intake filter was installed to make the engine breathe better. Both of these changes should increase the horse power and improve the mileage. There is definitely an improvement in performance but we haven't run enough gas through it to see what the mileage would be.

This month we are going to install a dual exhaust system that should improve performance and mileage even more. Stay tuned for more updates.

If you get an email from a friend that you are not expecting that has a file attached to it, Ask your friend about it before you open the attachment. It will be time well spent if the attachment is a virus.

This months site came from Ken's brother Ron, www.blabberon.com. No that's not the web site, that's Ken's brother's web site. The one Ron sent is a lot cuter than that ;-)

If you want to put a smile on your face and just feel really good than this week's site is the one for you. You got to love animals to get the most out of it but anybody should feel good after visiting www.cuteoverload.com. Be warned though that your face may start to hurt from smiling after a while. Don't just pick your favorite but visit all the different animals, they are all cute in their own way.

Egg Shell Mosaic Candle

I made this candle with Valentine's Day in mind but you can decorate them for any occasion or just to make a pretty candle. They are easy, fun and a great project to get the kids involved in.

Here's what you'll need:

• Fresh Eggs
• Clear double backed tape
• Waxed paper
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• A Candle
• Clear tape
• Sharp craft knife
• Tweasers

Crack open a fresh egg and save the shell and pull out the inner membrane.
Wash our the shell and let dry.
For the heart pattern cut a heart out of a piece of paper to fit on the side of your candle.
Cut a piece of waxed paper a little larger than your heart.
Tape your paper heart to the waxed paper.
Turn the waxed paper over so the paper heart is on the bottom and tape the waxed paper to the cardboard.
Apply overlapping pieces of double backed tape over the heart pattern.
Using a sharp craft knife cut out the heart shape through he double backed tape. Try no to cut too deep, it will make it easier to remove the tape.
Press the double backed tape heart pattern onto the side of the candle. Carefully remove the waxed paper leaving the double backed tape on the candle.
Break the egg shell into small pieces and place them onto the candle following the outline of the double backed tape.

One word of caution, place all the pieces with the outside of the egg shell to the outside of your pattern. If you don't they will color differently.
There are two ways to color your mosaic, one is to use colored Sharpie pens. The other way is to die the eggs before you crack open the egg. The advantage of dying the eggs is that it's quick and simple. The advantage to using colored pens is you can make many colors to give it a real mosaic look. Either way they look great and are a lot of fun.

Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Projects or Kids Only Eggs.

We haven't had a musicians joke for a while so here you go.

Subject: Musical Emergency

Last night at rehearsal the oboe player, who constantly sucks on her reed during rests and between selections, inadvertently inhaled and swallowed her reed. I immediately called the emergency room and asked what I should do. Without hesitation the nurse said: "Use a muted trumpet instead."

The Tempos want to wish their piano player, Wayne, a happy retirement. Last Wednesday he retired from his day job and is now looking forward to good time with his wife Sarah who retired on the same day. Now he should have more time to arrange new charts for the band. He has really gotten into arranging for a big band and his songs are fun to play. Way to go and best of luck Wayne

Check out The Tempos music from our "Swing Set" CD on line! That's right, you can listen to The Tempos anytime just by going to their web site. The music files are MP3's and some are as large as 9 MEG but we think they are well worth the download. If you like traditional old swing music then you will probably enjoy our CD. Just go to www.runnerduck.com/tempos_cd.htm and click on any song title.

The Tempos big swing band is available for hire. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic sixteen piece big band be sure to contact kennyb@runnerduck.com. We perform all over the Seattle area for all sorts of events.

Album Pick of the Week

"The Greatest Songs of the Fifties"
By Barry Manilow

"Amore"
By Andrea Bocelli

This Valentine's Day how about the gift of music? Valentine's Day is nearly here, and we have the perfect, romantic gift for the music lover on your list, Barry Manilow's latest, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, and Amore from Andrea Bocelli. Both of these CD's are very romantic and believe it or not very listening. Surprise your sweetie with one or both of these great albums.

CLICK!

Be sure and visit the RunnerDuck Music Store for great savings on just about anything.

Conservation begins at home but you can do a lot at the office to help also. We've talked in the past about turning out lights in your office when your not in there or in conference rooms when you leave. That helps a little but in the over all scheme of things it's not world class savings.

To make a bigger impact work with your facility people and janitorial services to make sure that all nonessential lights are turned off over night and during weekends. Before I started talking with these people I'd come into work and half the lights in offices and conference rooms were on. Now the janitors turn them off as they go through the building while making their rounds.

Just think if everybody did this, now that would be world class savings!

If you have a conservation tip please send it to kennyb at runnerduck.com and we'll post it in our newsletter.

RSS News Feeder One of the best ways to get our newsletter is to have it delivered to your door step. Actually it would be delivered to your desktop! Highlight the XML link (right click and drag over it), select Copy and paste it into your newsreader. Or just paste http://www.runnerduck.com/runnerduck.xml into your newsreader. A good free news reader is Awasu and you can download it at www.awasu.com. Don't know what this is all about? Check out our little tutorial HERE! JOKE OF THE MONTH Terry Bradshaw, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Stealer's flag in the window. "This house is yours for eternity, Terry." said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here." Bradshaw felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3 story mansion with a blue and white sidewalk, a 50 foot tall flag pole with an enormous SEAHAWKS flag, and in every window a blue Towel. Bradshaw looked at God and said, "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro quarterback, I hold many NFL records, and I even went to the Hall of Fame." God said, "So what's your point Bradshaw?" "Well, why does Matt Hasselbeck get a better house than me?" God chuckled, and said, "Terry, that's not Matt's house, it's mine." GO SEAHAWKS!!

   THIS WEEK'S FREE RECIPE

Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to marilyn at runnerduck.com. We'd be happy to post your favorite recipe on our Kitchen site or in our newsletter and give you credit.

     Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out the New recipe at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store.

(CLICK)

Snacks are a good thing. They are easy to fix, fun to eat and don't require much clean up. This cookbook is full of great snacks.

Matiqua from Novara Italy reviewed this cookbook and wrote the following: "It's very simple: I can't resist finger food, nibbles and the like. When I am confronted with a huge plate of something I feel overwhelmed, so I definitely prefer small bites. This book has got what I need: 200 recipes for gorgeous nibbles and small bites that will make you drool as you flip through the pages."
"The book has a strange "chunky" format, it looks a bit like a brick and it sticks to the essential, so there is no introduction, no glossary, no introductory chit chat about the recipes, BUT there is a gorgeous picture facing each recipe and the more exotic ingredients are explained in notes. You open the book and you find the table of contents (nibbles, cold, hot, sweet and the index) and then, straight away, the first recipe."
"In short, this is a simple, down-to-earth guide to wonderful food, both for special occasions and for everyday treats. Yum!"

The RunnerDuck web site is hosted by

If you are looking for a great web hosting service with fantastic support check out www.fastwirenetwork.com. If you mention that you heard about them from RunnerDuck you will get a "Duck Deal". Just ask about your Duck Deal when you sign up.

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WOOD PROJECT PLANS

DOWNLOADABLE & MAIL-DIRECT
WOODWORKING PLANS

Download WOOD Store® woodworking plans directly to your computer and start building in just minutes! OR, we'll mail them to you, your choice!

CLICK!

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PROJECTS

Windsor Chair Rockers

First off you are probably going to say "shouldn't the name of this project be a "Windsor Rocking Chair"? Well before you get too excited and let this project scare you away, we are only making the rockers for an existing chair. We had a swivel rocker that didn't fit well in our house so we gave it away but were left with nothing to rock on. Marilyn's sister Susie especially likes to rock when she comes to visit. We had a really nice Windsor chair that would fit the ticket perfectly if it only had rockers.

At first glance this looked like a pretty simple project but as you'll see there is quite a bit to it.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2" X 4" X 8' spruce
• 1/2" X 4" X 4' MDF
• Stain
• Varnish
• (4) #6 X 1 1/2" flat head wood screws

The following tools were used on this project, click on any one of them to find out more.

T-Bevel Sliding Square -

Mini Tri Square -

Forstner Bit Sets -

Pattern Flush Trim Router Bit

First a couple disclaimers. We used spruce because it matches the wood on the existing chair. The rockers are probably not as curved as you might like them. If you want a larger curve you'll have to get wider wood.

The very first thing to do is decide how long your rockers will be. Our rockers are 31" long.
Cut two set up pieces from scrap wood. I would not suggest starting out with your finish pieces. Make sample pieces first and the move on to the real thing.
Another thing you might notice about my rockers is that they taper on the ends. This allowed me to make them out of a 2" X 4" and still work. I sort of like the look but a typical rocker would be full width that whole length.
The rocker bottom radius on mine is 50" and the top radius is 73". If you were making a rocker with the same with the full length than you'd use the same center of the radius and just reduce it by the thickness of the rocker.
To mark the radius I used my kitchen floor and a string. Tile floor makes a nice grid when you are laying out a large radius

It's best if you can find a string that doesn't have too much stretch. Hold the string steady and lay out your lines.
Cut as close to the lines as possible, remember this is on a scrap piece of wood.
Place the chair on top of the rockers to get a feel for where they should sit. Mark the centers of the back legs making them about 1/8" closer to the inside edge. This will allow for the angle you'll need to drill to accommodate the legs.
Set the angle of the legs in relationship to the top of the rocker using a T-Bevel Sliding Square:

Mark a line on the side of the rocker in line with the leg.

To see the rest of the instructions for this project go to www.runnerduck.com/rocker/windsor_rocker.htm.

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If you have a project that you would like to share please send us an email and we'll help get it published in the RunnerDuck review. We are looking for woodworking, gardening, crafts and kids projects so send us your thoughts at kennyb@runnerduck.com.