What's New This Week? I asked Marilyn the other day "how is it going?" She replied "so, so". Well actually she replied "sew, sew!" She has spent the week sewing the bridge cover for our boat together. This has turned out to be quite a project but we are almost done.
Ken will install the cover hooks this weekend and put the cover on. With fingers crossed we plan on it fitting perfect. Next she gets to start on the cockpit cover. This shouldn't be as bad but still lots of sewing. With any luck we'll have a picture of the completed project in the next couple of weeks.
Today we are going to the Lord Hill Farms Fall Craft Show in Snohomish Washington. Rumor has it that this is a pretty good fair with all the displays being inside old barns and out buildings. That's a good deal because it looks like the rains are going to hang around all weekend.
If you are interested in checking out this craft fair it's at 12525 Old Snohomish-Monroe Road in Snohomish Washington. It runs today from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM and tomorrow from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The good news is that it's free!
I got the following email from Glenn but it didn't have a return email address. It you recognize it please resend you email with a return address. "If you provide your e-mail address, I'll send you the modification I've made to your Plywood Carrier."
DigiTalk
While it's still a few of years away we are starting to make plans to build a house at our place in Sandy Point, just northwest of Bellingham, Washington. We've been looking at house plans on the web and stopping by modular home manufacturers to get an idea of what might work for us.
This past week we bought House Designer 6.0 by Better Homes and Gardens. It is a really neat software package that easily lets you design your home. You can furnish your home, wallpaper the walls, add landscaping and much more.
In the 3D mode you can do a walk through of your home. It's very cool to actually look at the rooms with all the furniture in place to see what it will actually look like. We're still playing with it and will probably tweak our design many more times but it's very easy to modify.
If you are looking to design a home or do some major remodeling this is a good program to use. It's very intuitive and the training videos are pretty good. You won't have enough drawings to build a home but it sure is a good start to give to an architect. It will even let you price out the materials although we haven't given this feature a try yet.
Home Designer Suite 6.0, $84.99 US.
SITE OF THE WEEK
This week Dave L. found a marvelous site that we felt we should share with everyone. It's a melding of serious art and woodworking. Livio De Marchi was born in Venezia and has worked in many different mediums but found wood to be his favorite material because it gives him a vitality which other materials do not.
What's so interesting about his work is that it reflects real life. While with some artists you have to stare at their work for a while and hope the message comes to you, Livio just recreates reality.
How about a full size Ferrari F 50, life size Mercedes 300 SL Seagull, aprons, hats and coats. They are all marvelous and all unbelievable. To see Livio's wonderful work just go to www.liviodemarchi.com and enjoy!
Thanks Dave for this great site. If you have a site you'd like us to share just send it to kennyb@runnerduck.com and we'll give it a look.
MARILYN'S CORNER
Drying Rosemary
Fall is here and it's a great time to cut rosemary for drying. The drying rack I've used was built by Ken and you can see the instructions on how to build one for yourself in this week's woodworking project.
Here's what you'll need:
A rack to attach the rosemary to.
Fresh rosemary branches.
Cut the branches and bundle into small groupings, tie and hang over a drying rack. Our drying rack lets the air flow all around.
Once the rosemary is dry there are a lot of things you can do with it. Here are a few:
Strip the needles off the branches. Package them in air tight jars. Use them in cooking recipes.
Use whole branches in your bar-b-que for smoking. Soak whole dry branches in water for 10 minutes. Place on top of the coals while cooking your food. Keep the lid down on your bar-b-que to hold in the smoke.
Use broken up branches or only the needles in a winter potpourri. Mix rosemary, cedar chips, cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices. Use whatever combination smells good to you.
Throw branches on an open fire in your fireplace. Burning rosemary will fill the room with a peppery, foresty fragrance.
Use whole branches in your smoker. Soak the branches in water for 10 minutes then place them in the tray with other smoker chips. It's great when smoking Salmon.
Place whole branches or needles in your bottled vinegars and oils.
Those are just a few ideas. I'm sure there are many more but this should get you started.
We hope you enjoy Marilyn's Corner and look forward to all the fun things she brings you each week. If you have a fun project that would be suitable for our newsletter we'd love to share it with our readers. Just contact marilyn@runnerduck.com and we'll do the rest.
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
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It's Baby Safety Month at Amazon.com. Click on the above banner to go directly to the savings for Baby Safety Month.
To make it easier for you to take advantage of all our great Baby Safety Month offers, we've put together a complete list of every offer included in this special event. Along with offer details, we've also included the promotional codes you'll need to receive your discounts at checkout.
The Tempos
News and CD of the Week
The Tempos had their first rehearsal of the fall season. The band takes a break from rehearsal during the summer because a lot of the guys take vacations. Since we hadn't played together for a while we sounded pretty rough for the first few songs. It's amazing though how quickly things fell back into place. We are now ready to perform for your next event.
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 thetempos@runnerduck.com. We perform all over the Seattle area for all sorts of events.
Album Pick of the Week
"Anthology"
B.B. King
Yesterday one of the all time great blues artists turned 79 years old. That's right B.B. King is just one year away from the big 80 and going strong. I've loved his music for years and I hope to keep hearing him for years to come.
For the novice fan on a budget, this CD is an excellent primer from one of the giants of modern electric blues. It completely duplicates 1998's single-disc Greatest Hits and expands it with an additional 18 songs--all of them gems. This is a must have for your music library!
CLICK!
Be sure and visit the
RunnerDuck Music Store for great savings on just about anything.
NEW!!
DOWNLOADABLE & MAIL-DIRECT
WOODWORKING PLANS
Download WOOD StoreŽ woodworking plans directly to your computer and start building in just minutes! OR, we'll mail them to you, your choice!
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JOKE OF THE WEEK
This weeks joke comes to us from Rena R.
I Just came across this exercise suggested for seniors, to build muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, so I thought I'd pass it on to some of my friends. The article suggested doing it three days a week.
Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.
With a 5-lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax.
Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb. potato sacks. Then 50-lb. potato sacks, and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb. potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.
After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks; but be careful!
Thanks Rena, it's hell getting old ;-)
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CONSERVATION TIP
It's getting late in the season but you still have time to seal up your home a little bit. Check the caulking around the windows and doors. If it's coming out the clean it out and put down a new coat of sealer. Check the door seals and do the same. If you wait until winter it's a lot harder to get out and fix them and many sealers don't like to cure when it's really cold.
Remember, a little preventative maintenance now will save your money in the long run!
If you have a conservation tip please send it to conservation@runnerduck.com and we'll post it in our newsletter.
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THIS WEEK'S FREE RECIPE
Hot Potato Salad
When you think of potato salad you envision pulling a big bowl out of the refrigerator. This week we have a different twist on the classic. You serve it hot! Try it, you'll see that there is more than one way to skin a... woops serve potato salad.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 to 3 Pounds Potatoes
- 4 Slices of Bacon
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1/3 Cup Prepared Mustard
- 3/4 Cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Grated Lemon Rind
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Parsley
Cook, peel and cut up the Potatoes.
Fry the Bacon and crumble.
Sauté the Onion in the bacon fat. Blend in the flour and Mustard.
Add Water, Lemon Juice, Lemon Rind, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt and Pepper.
Stir until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until thickened.
Add Potatoes, Parsley and Bacon.
Toss!
Now serve it up and see what your family says about this new way to serve potato salad.
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. Just drop a line to marilyn@runnerduck.com.
Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out the September recipe at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store.
COOKBOOK
SUGGESTION OF THE WEEK
"Potato Salad: Fifty Great Recipes"
by Barbara Lauterbach, Reed Davis
(CLICK)
If you like our recipe then why not try fifty more? These potato salad recipes have received rave reviews. One person who bought this cookbook had this to say, "Even if you are an "occasional" cook, this book is fantastic! Most potato salads could be a meal.
The information in the chapter called "The Basics" is invaluable for creating superb potato salad. After trying eight recipes, Barbara Lauterbach's "Potato Salad" will be a mainstay in my kitchen." That sounds like a pretty good endorsement to me.
PROJECTS
Ladder Drying Rack
If you noticed above Marilyn was drying this week's project on a ladder drying rack. Well guess where she got it? Yep, here are the plans to make your own drying rack. Drying flowers is a popular past time and this folding drying rack will make that hobby more fun. It can easily be folded for storage or bent into a ladder for both drying and spring shade in the garden.
Click on the picture for a bigger view
Here's what you'll need:
- (2) 3/4" X 6" X 24" Cedar. Fencing scraps work great.
- (1) 1" X 4" X 30" Cedar
- (2) hinges
- Glue
- Nails
Cut four 1" sides 1 3/4" wide and 30" long.
Cut ten 3/4" rungs 3/4" wide and 24" long.
Build the two ladder sides by gluing and nailing the rungs to the edges of the sides. Space the first one 3" up from the bottom and evenly space the others 6" apart all the way each side. Attach the top and bottom rungs first and square it up before adding the remaining rungs.
Lay the two sides end to end with the rungs facing down. Make sure that the 3" space to the bottom rungs are at opposite ends.
With the ends butted together screw a hinge on each side. This will allow the drying rack to only fold in one direction.
You can put a hasp on the other side to hold the ladder straight no matter which side is up.
You can lay your drying rack between two supports like saw horses or tables or put in a couple of eye bolts and hang it. In the spring you can use it in the garden to provide some partial shade for new plantings. It also folds to make it easier for storing.
We hope you enjoy this little project and put it to good use.
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.
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 projects@runnerduck.com.
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