What's New? We went to Cirque du Soleil - Varekai. WOW what a spectacle! We have never seen anything like it in our lives. The costumes, the music and especially the acrobats were absolutely incredible. Like anything these days the tickets are expensive, the parking is expensive and difficult, the crowds are huge but in this case it was all worth it.
Cirque du Soleil has several shows that travel around the world, each with a different theme. This show was called Varekai. The word Varekai means "wherever" in the Romany language of the gypsies the universal wanderers. This production pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those whose quest takes them along the path that leads to Varekai.
Something else that's new is more additions to Ken's PT Cruiser. You can see all the changes on our PT Cruiser web page, www.runnerduck.com/cars/cruiser.htm. We've added woodgrain panels to the interior, chrome headlight and tail light rings, old style rear view mirrors and a chrome antenna bezel. Next is the dual exhaust!
DigiTalk
Did you know that you might be missing things on pages that you often visit on the Internet? The way most web browsers work is they load the web page that you are visiting onto your hard drive. This makes for faster opening of the web page the next time you visit it. The bad news is that the web page may not refresh to what's actually on the Internet, it will only open up what's on your hard drive.
In Internet Explorer under the "Tools", "Internet Options" tabs the Internet Options window will open. Under the "General" tab you'll find "Temporary Internet Files" with an "Settings" tab. Click that tab and select one of the options under "Check for newer versions of stored pages". If "Never" is checked your web pages will never be updated unless you select the refresh button on the toolbar each time you load a page.
I have mine set on "Automatic" and seems to work pretty good. To decide which setting will work best for you right click on each option and select "What's this?". It will give you a description of each option.
Good luck and good surfing!
SITE OF THE MONTH
We like to blow our own whistle from time to time and we've been making some upgrades to our web site that we think you'll like. After several weeks of work we've completed a major upgrade to our "Projects" page. For those of you who have visited it you know that it's pretty slow loading because of all the project pictures. You've probably also noticed that it's not easy to find any particular project.
Well we've created separate pages for each type of woodworking project. We have a page for landscape, garden, wood shop, home decor, etc. On each page are projects only related to each title. So if you are looking for "toy" woodworking projects just click on the "Toy" egg.
We hope you like this new format and will be doing more of it on our Kids Corner page and others. Just go to www.runnerduck.com and click on "Woodworking".
Another thing we added to our web page is a new hit counter at the bottom of the home page that shows where all the people who visit our web site come from. It's sort of fun to see what parts of the world everybody links in from.
MARILYN'S CORNER
Designer Thongs
Summer's almost here and thongs are in. Of course you wouldn't want to wear just any thongs so dress them up to make a fashion statement!
This simple project is fun and will get lots of compliments on the beach or around the town. Have fun, make them colorful and make a statement.
Here's what you'll need:
A pair of thongs
Cloth of different colors. The thinner the material the better they look.
Pinking Shears
Cut pieces of material 1" X 7" using pinking shears.
Tie them around the straps on the thongs keeping them close to one another. Use a square knot to keep them in place.
Mix the colors any way you like.
That's it, now how simple is that?
Make several pairs of different colors and have a great summer!
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.
Kids Stuff
Click!
Spring into fun with our huge selection of kites, outdoor games, sandbox toys, and slumber bags in our Sports and Outdoor Play Store.
The Tempos
News and CD of the Week
Tomorrow, June 4th The Tempos will be performing at the Annual Early Ford Picnic at Bellevue Community College. This is always a great event with hundreds of wonderful old and custom cars, food and of course great music. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy a fun time kicking tires and listening to The Tempos. July 6th we'll be at the Burien Concerts in the Park and August 27th at the Hiram Chittenden Locks in Ballard, Washington.
You can get more detailed information on The Tempos web page www.runnerduck.com/jobs.htm. We hope to see you there!
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
"Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake
Oh my, how did I ever miss this CD? This is about the most fun you can have listening to a CD and what a great way to introduce your kids to the world of jazz!
Some of the greatest musician in the history of jazz are on this CD singing a number of children songs and fun to dance to songs. This CD just makes you smile and glad that you enjoy jazz.
Catherine from Greenville, South Carolina writes, "This music oh so wonderful. It is very high energy and fun. The kids don't really care that this a "jazz" album- what they do know is that they love the music and it makes them feel happy. Don't waste your money and insult your kids intelligence and your ears with the what sells as "kids" music, get them something you can both enjoy. Our favorites are the "Doodle" song and "Potato Chips." Worth every penny and then some."
I can't agree more, this is the BEST!
CLICK!
Be sure and visit the
RunnerDuck Music Store for great savings on just about anything.
CONSERVATION TIP
Here's a little tip to keep your lawn greener without watering too much.
Mow your lawn short the first time of the season. This is a good opportunity to weed and feed it. It gets more sunlight to the base of the grass and your lawn will be much greener later on.
Now the conservation part. The rest of the summer mow your lawn higher like about 3" to 4". Let the grass clippings mulch into the grass. This will help keep the moisture from escaping and will require less watering.
Oh yeah, remember to water in the early morning or late evening. If you water mid day a lot of it will evaporate and not even get into the soil.
If you have a conservation tip please send it to kennyb@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
The Tempos singer, Diane, sent us these jokes and were just too funny not to pass on. The main subject is "Old Folks Are Funny Too".
Bad Food
A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa. "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.
But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."
The Doctor
This old man in his eighties gets up and puts on his coat.
His wife says,"Where are you going?"
He said, "I'm going to the doctor."
And she said, "Are you sick?"
"No" he said, "I'm going to get me some of those new Viagra pills."
So his wife gets out of her rocker and puts on her coat.
He said," Where are you going?"
She said, "I'm going to the doctor, too."
He said, "Why?"
She said, "If you're going to start using that rusty old thing, I'm going to get me a tetanus shot."
Married
Bob, a 70-year-old, extremely wealthy widower, shows up at the Country Club with a breathtakingly beautiful and very sexy 25 year-old blonde who knocks everyone's socks off with her youthful sex appeal and charm and who hangs over Bob's arm and listens intently to his every word.
His buddies at the club are all aghast. At the very first chance, they corner him and ask, "Bob, how'd you get the trophy girlfriend?"
Bob replies, "Girlfriend? She's my wife!"
They're knocked over, but continue to ask. "So, how'd you persuade her to marry you?"
"I lied about my age", Bob replies.
"What, did you tell her you were only 50?"
Bob smiles and says, "No, I told her I was 90."
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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THIS WEEK'S FREE RECIPE
Hungarian Honey Cookies
This recipe was sent to us by RunnerDuck reader Bob. He writes, "This recipe was brought from Austria Hungary in 1908 by my grandmother. She got the recipe from her grandmother so it has to be at least two hundred years old. These cookies keep well and are great for mailing to servicemen. (No shortening)
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon of soda
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 5 egg yolks (You'll use the egg whites later.)
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup of honey, warmed
Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl.
Add Eggs Yolks and enough warmed honey to make a medium stiff dough.
Roll out to about 1/8 inch thick on a floured board.
Cut out in 2 inch rounds.
Brush with slightly beaten egg whites and dip in a mixture of Cinnamon and Sugar. You can add some finely chopped Nuts if you like.
Place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned at 350 degrees F.
We made a batch of these cookies and had a hard time handling them once they were cut into two inch circles. We think part of the problem was not rolling them out on a floured board.
Also be sure to use a greased cookie sheet, we tried Teflon and they stuck.
Also there are a little sticky from the honey but they really do taste good.
Bob continues, "I think that you'll be surprised how good they are. As I stated they keep very well which means that you can bake a batch ahead of time for the holidays. These are without a doubt my favorite cookie"!
Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to marilyn@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.
COOKBOOK
SUGGESTION OF THE MONTH
"Big Fat Cookies"
by Elinor Klivans
(CLICK)
Order this book now and get it in time for Father's Day and make him some big fat cookies! Cookies aren't just for snacks anymore, they make a great dessert as you'll see in the fantastic cookbook.
Joanne Yoon from the University of California, Los Angeles reviewed this cookbook and wrote, "
What I love about this book is it creates big, soft, and delicious cookies. The sweetness is just right, so that it never feels like you're being overpowered by sweetness. If you bake it right, it turns out quite chewy on the outside and very soft and gooey in the middle.
Surprisingly enough, I have baked ALL her recipes, from natural cookies to sandwich cookies to dipped cookies and they were all delicious! I have tried cooking with The All-American Cookie Book and BIG FAT COOKIES book had far less fats and oils and more pure ingredients - butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. The other recipes from different cookbooks were more complicated and seemed to detach from the home-made style of fresh ingredients."
"I started out as a beginning cook with absolutely no experience in baking cookies, and a month later using her cookbook, I am able to make awesome cookies that have been a hit between my friends, family, and relatives."
"This is a great book!"
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!
PROJECTS
Picture Shelf
Well once again I ran out of time on this project and didn't quite get the finish for the newsletter but at least you get a good idea of what it looks like. This is another one of those projects that will change depending on what size your pictures are, what type of molding you choose to use and other factors. I'll just show you how I made mine and you can go from there.
Picture shelves are a cool way to display pictures as opposed to hanging them on the wall. It makes it easy to rearrange the pictures when you want a different look.
Here's what you'll need:
Molding, your choice of style
1/2" X 6" X 8' oak
Glue
Headless nails
There are a number of different ways to make a picture shelf. I started with one idea and sort of adjusted it as I went. I'm still not completely crazy about the ends but it works OK.
To get an idea of how it would look and how things would fit together I made a mockup of the shelf only about 10" long. It really helped work out some of the issues.
Start out by cutting the top and back of the shelf. My top is 43" X 3 1/2" and the back is 43" X 3 3/4".
Glue and nail the back onto the top. I clamped mine also while the glue dried.
Cut a piece of 2" X 4" X 12" to make the supports. I marked the end of a 2" X 4", 2 13/16" on the bottom and 1 13/16" on top. I drew a line between the two points. Using a T-Bevel Sliding Square, I aligned it with the marks. Using the T-Bevel as a guide I set the table saw blade to that angle.
I cut the 2" X 4" at the angle lengthwise.
Cut this piece into three 4" lengths.
Equally space, glue and nail the spacers between the back and the top.
Cut the bottom front piece using the same angle as the supports, 44" X 1/2" X 2 3/8" width from point to point.
Glue and nail this piece onto the supports.
Cut the molding 44" long.
I glued the molding onto the bottom front piece and the standoff's without any nails. The glues are getting so good these days that you shouldn't need any nails. This is just a decorative piece and not load bearing.
To see the rest of this project go to www.runnerduck.com/curtain_rod/curtin_rod.htm.
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.
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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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