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| Welcome Back
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Welcome Back:
Hey look at this we are back on schedule. It's been a pretty crazy April weather wise. We broke a record for the latest recorded snow shower in history for the Seattle area on April 20th.  For us it's like spring is having a really hard time getting started.
We were also very busy taking care of some lingering business. We finally sold our home in Kirkland, Washington! We took a bath on it price wise thanks to all the doom and gloom from the media but having it gone is a lot better than maintaining two house payments.
Another thing that's been hanging over our heads is trying to get our boat down to Oak Harbor Marina here on the island from Bellingham, Washington. It's a 48 mile trip and the boat is in need of some repairs so it was dicey as to how the trip would go. It turned out that we hit a dead calm day and made the trip in six and a half hours with no problems.  Our boat is now safe and secure only twelve miles from our home.
Things are really coming together here on the island and life is good. We hope your lives are going good as well.
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| Wood'n Wares |
Mother's Day is just around the corner and speaking from experience we know that mom would love one of these beautiful hand made, hard maple, kitchen spoons and other utensils. Our friends Bob and Jean who make these wonderful wooden kitchen utensils in their little wood shop in Montana. Most items ship within a day or two but if Bob is out of something it can take a week or more to get your order. Order now and beat the rush!
Check out all the great kitchen tools by going to, www.runnerduck.com/woodnwares.htm. |
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| Wood Plans |
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| Woodworking Tools |
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| What's New? |
Gas is in the news as it steadily climbs to new heights. Of course diesel is even worse than gas. Here in Washington State they reduced the perceived price of diesel by half! Yep they are selling diesel by the
half gallon. Now instead of a sign showing $4.25 a gallon it says "Diesel
$2.13", now doesn't make you feel a lot better.
Speaking of fuel prices, Ken's brother Ron and wife Lolli took their annual spring break vacation to the desert's of California two weeks ago. They stopped in Panamint Valley for some ice and groceries but not gas, here's why:
Ouch! We haven't heard of any gas higher than that.
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| Site Of The Month |
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A lot of our readers are woodworkers or married to a woodworker. We have been getting a great woodworking tip every week since 2003 and got to thinking that we should share that information.
Woodsmith Tips are great little woodworking tips and tools that I've found helpful on many projects. You can go to their web site and look at each weeks tip, going back to 2003, and you can subscribe to receive the weekly tip in your email.
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Marilyn's Corner |
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Driftwood Ship Mobile
Now that we live on an island we have access to lots of drift wood. It's always fun to find things to make from driftwood and these driftwood ships are just the ticket. They are nice because they use small pieces of driftwood which is easy to bring home from the beach.
Here's what you'll need:
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Driftwood
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Toothpicks
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Bamboo Skewers
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White Glue
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Colored Paper
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Drill
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Upholstery Thread
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Cotton Fabric
Drill a small toothpick size holes in the bow of the ship for the bow pulpits and the stern just for looks. 
Drill a small skewer size hole in the middle of the ship for the mast.
Cut the sails from cotton fabric to fit the mast then glue to the mast using white glue.
Cut a skewer for a boom on the bottom of the sail and glue it in place.
Cut out flags from colored paper for the top of the mast and glue. At the same time glue a piece of thread to the top of the mast.
After the sail glue is dry glue the mast into the ship.
Cut and glue toothpicks into the holes you drilled in the bow and stern of the ship.
Tie each ship to a length of driftwood, one on each end and one in the middle.
Tie a piece of thread to the middle of the driftwood to hang your mobile.
Find a prominent place to hang your mobile and enjoy. These would also make a great Mother's Day present.
Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Craft Egg. |
| The Tempos Big Swing Band |
| The Tempos are getting ready for their summer concerts. If you are interested in seeing and hearing The Tempos keep an eye on this column for performance dates.
Right now they are scheduled to perform at the Early Ford Picnic and Car Show at Bellevue Community College June 1st from 11:30 to 2:00.
The Tempos
News and CD of the Week
"Big Swing" features fourteen great swing songs from the 40's and 50's. If you love the old big band swing music we think you'll enjoy this CD. It's the kind of music that makes you just want to get up and dance, you do remember how to swing don't you?
The only place you can get this CD is from our web site. Go to www.thetempos.com and click on the "Click Here" at the top of the web page or click the album cover.
CLICK HERE.
If you'd like to get a taste of this CD just go to The Tempos web site. When you are at the Tempos web site click on the horn valve button that says "Hear our CD". Then click on the song titles to hear a little bit of each song.
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.
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| Joke of the Month |
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This months joke came from Annie U. Thanks for the laugh!
Mad Wife Disease......
A guy was sitting quietly reading his paper when his wife walked up behind him and whacked him on the head with a magazine.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"That was for the piece of paper in your pants pocket with the name Laura Lou written on it," she replied.
"Two weeks ago when I went to the races, Laura Lou was the name of one of the horses I bet on," he explained.
"Oh honey, I'm sorry," she said. "I should have known there was a good explanation."
Three days later he was watching a ball game on TV when she walked up and hit him in the head again, this time with the iron skillet, which knocked him out cold.
When he came to, he asked, "What the hell was that for?"
She replied......."Your horse called." |
| This Month's Free Recipe |
 Mush Cake
Despite the funny name this is a very good dessert. Serve it with fruit for an added treat.
Ingredients:
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1 1/4 Cup Water Boiling
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1 Cup Quick Oatmeal
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1/2 Cup Salad Oil
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1 Cup White Sugar
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1 Cup Brown Sugar
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2 Eggs
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1 teaspoon Vanilla
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1 1/2 Cup Unsifted Flour
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1 teaspoon Soda
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1 teaspoon Salt
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1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Pour Boiling Water over Quick Oatmeal.
Add Salad Oil, stir well and cool.
Beat White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Eggs and Vanilla together.
Add Flour, Soda, Salt and Cinnamon.
Add the Oat mixture.
Pour into a greased and floured pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes.
Topping:
- 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted
- 1 Cup Coconut
- 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Milk
Mix together and spread over the Mush Cake.
Put under a broiler until bubbly and light brown.
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.
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| Cookbook of the Month |
| Great Cakes:
Over 250 Recipes to Bake, Share, and Enjoy by Carole Walter
(CLICK)
Carole Walter has had a love affair with baking since she was a child. That passion has flowered into a professional career that has taken Walter around the world to study baking and the culinary arts with renowned chefs in Austria, Denmark, France, and Italy, as well as in the United States. For twenty years she has been sharing this wealth of expertise with her own students, and now she shares it with you.
With Carole Walter at your side, you will be able to achieve professional results every time. Her clear instructions and invaluable tips will help you avoid the common pitfalls that every baker, no matter how experienced, faces from time to time.
Many of the cake recipes in Great Cakes can be baked in under an hour and don't require frosting or filling, yet they are attractive enough to serve to company. Here are recipes for Old-Fashioned Pound Cake and Streusel Lemon Torte, Chocolate Marble Cheesecake and Italian Purple Plum Cake, and more -- over 250 recipes in all.
You'll also find an array of basic butter cakes, jelly roll cakes, coffee cakes and cheese cakes, as well as cakes that have fruit, nuts, and vegetables as their main ingredients. Once you've mastered the basics, you can go on to fillings, frostings, glazes, and toppings for glorious results.
A complete compendium of cake recipes, this is the only cake baking book you'll ever need, the one you'll use again and again to make simple yet utterly delicious cakes for your family and friends. Great Cakes is more than a "cookbook" -- it's a baking course between two covers.
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| Woodworking Project |
WOOD PROJECT PLANSDOWNLOADABLE & MAIL-DIRECT
WOODWORKING PLANSDownload WOOD Store® woodworking plans directly to your computer and start building in just minutes! OR, we'll mail them to you, your choice!
CLICK!
This Months Woodworking Project
Shop Memory
As much as I hate to admit it I am getting older as are many of our readers. Along with getting older are some aches and pains we never had before and of course a tiny bit of memory loss, OK a lot of memory loss. While this generally is not devastating it certainly is frustrating. They say that if you can't remember where you put your car keys that's normal. If you can't remember what the keys are for once you've found them you could be in trouble :-)
This month I'd like to talk about some tricks I've learned (if I can remember them :-) to reduce that frustration when working in your woodshop.
One thing that is really maddening is when I leave my compressor turned on. The motor only runs until the pressure is reached and then shuts off. When I shut down the shop for the day it's easy to forget that the compressor is still plugged in. Of course the next thing that happens is at three in the morning it fires off and wakes everyone up. To solve this problem I made up a little doorknob hanger that says "Compressor" and I hang it on the door when the compressor is turned on. When I leave for the day I see the sign and turn it off.
Along those same lines you can create a shutdown list and post it by the door. You might include things like "Turn the Heat Down", "Turn Off the Coffee Pot", etc.
Another memory jogger I have is a white board with all my projects and To Do's listed on it. I also jot down things that I need. Then when I need to go shopping I can transfer those items from the list onto my shopping list.
Be sure to erase that part of the board once you've transferred the items or you may be buying them again :-)
I keep a notebook, actually I keep several. I have a small notepad for writing down dimensions as I'm working. I keep it handy for just about anything like when someone calls and leaves a callback phone number. It fits in my shop apron so it's always at hand. My larger notebook keeps project ideas that I clip out of magazines and shop tips that I'd like to remember. A three-hole binder works well for this. The next time I'm thinking about a project idea I have it for reference.
Cutting something wrong is not only frustrating but can be costly. The most frustrating is when you are making a final cut on something that has had lots of other work done to it like mortis' and precision cuts. To help prevent making a mistake the old adage "measure twice and cut once is good" but I carry it one step further. I measure once, go back and check my drawing to verify the dimension and measure twice more. It slows me down a little but it sure helps avoid mistakes.
Another very frustrating thing is going to get a tool from your tool rack and it's not there. You know what tool you are looking for and you know you have it but it's not where it's supposed to be. I like shadow boards as long as you are diligent about putting your tools back when you are done using them. While they are called "shadow boards" they can come in many forms. Pocketed drawers are one form of shadow board.
I discovered a cleaver way of making shadow boards by using a camera or copy machine. Take the tool you want to place on the shadow board, scan a copy of it, or take a photo, and print it (full size), cut out the picture of the tool and glue it to your pegboard.
You now have a dedicated location for that tool and you'll know when it's gone missing by just looking at your shadow board. You'll also know exactly what the tool looks like that goes in that location. This is especially helpful when someone else comes into your shop and "borrows" a tool that doesn't get put back.
I hope these ideas help a little bit and if you have some hints of your own that help with short term memory loss in the woodshop I'd love to hear about them and post them on my woodworking web site.
That's about it. We hope you liked this project. If you build it and your friends ask where you got such a clever idea, please tell them that you got it at RunnerDuck.com.
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If any of you have wood projects to share I would be happy to put it into a format for our newsletter. Just send me an email at kennyb@runnerduck.com and lets see what we can come up with. Thank you! |
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If you want to talk about something just drop us a line to kennyb@runnerduck.com any time, we like to talk about most anything. We are always looking for content for our newsletter so if you have something to add we'd love to publish it, assuming it meets our strict family oriented requirements!
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We can be contacted at kennyb@runnerduck.com.
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