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Welcome Back
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Welcome Back: You've heard of the Witches of Eastwick well we have the Scarecrows of Coupeville! Every October, in preparation for Halloween, the people and businesses of Coupeville have a contest to see who makes the best scarecrow. It's always fun to see the different creations people put together. This year's theme is "The Cows Return to Coupeville".
We closed out September with a stellar week of weather. We had full on sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. October is starting more like you'd expect in fall, wind, rain and lower temperatures. It's all part of the cycle that keeps Washington green.
We got some good responses from our readers regarding our new column, "Our Environment". Be sure and check it out below and we'd appreciate hearing from you regarding your ideas on making this big ball we call earth a better place.
Ken and Marilyn
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| Wood'n Wares |
Wood'n Wares Cool Kitchen Tools
Bob and Jean's wonderful wooden kitchen utensils are hand made in their little wood shop in Montana. If you've ever cursed those splintering old wood spatulas you have then you need to treat yourself to something grand. Give one of these beautiful hard maple utensils a try and you'll never go back. Also Wood'n Wares Spoon Oil will keep those wooden utensils looking great for years to come. It also works wonderfully on butcher blocks or other wooden kitchen products.
Get your order in for Spoon Oil by going to, www.runnerduck.com/woodnwares.htm. |
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| Wood Plans |
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| Woodworking Tools |
Rockler Specials
Rockler always has great specials, here's the latest!
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| What's New? |
The adventures on our little sail boat, "Lil' Dipper", continued this month. We finally found a used outboard for it. It's a 1992, 8 HP Mercury and it runs great.
 As we mentioned last month Lil' Dipper is a sail boat, row boat and motor boat. Now it's really a motor boat with the addition of the motor. It zips right along and should work really well when we want to go crabbing next season. We haven't been crabbing in Penn Cove since we moved here but we are looking forward to it next year. We saw a lot of crab hauled in this year and anticipate the same next year. |
| Site Of The Month |
In case you haven't noticed the United States is in the middle of a presidential election. This process has been going on for what seems like an eternity. If you've heard any of the commercials or any of the "debates" then we're sure that you've been overwhelmed with "facts". As we all know when listening to politicians there is some truth and a whole bunch of spin. We watched the vice presidential debate the other night and by the time he said/she said finger pointing was done I don't think either one of them has a very good record. Fortunately this is a good place to check all of the facts and find out what's truth and what's spin. FactCheck is a non partisan source that independently goes out and check the facts and then reports on their validity. If you are interested in better understanding what the candidates are saying go to www.factcheck.org and get the facts. |
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Marilyn's Corner |
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Tripod Stand
Sometimes the simplest things turn out to be very nice. This little stand is simple to make but looks quite elegant. You can use it to hold up all sorts of things but I use it to hold a seashell with an air plant in it. Here's what you'll need: Three Sticks Raffia A small pot, seashell or possibly a glass ball Cut the sticks to the same length. Strip the bark off of the sticks, or leave it on depending on the effect for which you are going. Tie the raffia tightly around the three sticks about 1/3 of the way down from the top.
 Spread out the legs and there you have it. Get creative and use different kinds of materials for different effects. Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Craft Egg. |
| Our Environment |
As mentioned above we had some great comments and stories from our readers. As we said last week we were looking for ideas that help protect the environment and get plastic out of the waste stream. Not only did we get some good ideas but some really funny stories about people who just don't get it!
One of my favorites came from Don D. who wrote: "Another thing you might want to consider when using the bags. You should probably attempt to monitor the person packing your groceries. Once, when we got home, all of our groceries were packed neatly in the cloth bags, nestled inside their own plastic bags! Several times, the groceries were tossed into the larger cloth bags in a manner that crushables like grapes were mashed against cans with sharp edges. This is probably a result of inexperience with packing cloth bags and will pass with time, but bears watching in the short-term."
One that I encountered was a checker at a store that started to put the items into a plastic bag. I told her that I wanted them in a paper bag so she took the items out of the plastic bag, placed them in a paper bag and then threw the original bag into the trash, Doh! Like I said some people just don't get it.
Now for a positive story. We received the following from Bernie and found it inspiring.
Hello Kenny,
I have worked at many large chain stores here in Minn. I am appalled at the amount of waste they have. Retail work is exasperating!
I also work at a small clinic as the cleaning/maintenance person! Yep, just me. I started about a year ago and noticed they had garbage pickup 4 times per month. I thought this was a lot and I set boxes out next to our wastebaskets, for recycled paper. Along with the vast amounts of cardboard I take the recyclables home with me. If there is too much to put to the curb, on the next trip past the recycling center, I drop off my load. I am very proud to say, that our garbage pickup is 2 times per month. With a little more "subtle" hints, I am hoping to get the garbage pickup down to once per month. I think we should all do our part to help our earth, after all it's the only one we have!
Just doin' my part,
Bernie
Thanks Bernie, that's great! Please drop us a line with your stories be them good or bad experiences at kennyb@runnerduck.com.
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| The Tempos Big Swing Band |
Fall is here and the summer concerts are over. We hope you got the opportunity to get to one of our concerts. Now we'll start doing more indoor concerts and events. If you are in the Seattle area and interested in hiring a great band The Tempos are ready to perform for you. Just drop a line to kennyb@runnerduck.com
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. |
| Joke of the Month |
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This months joke entitled "And Then the Fight Started....", came from Ken's brother Ron,
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace
expensive....so, I took her to a gas station.
And then the fight started....
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After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social
Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.
So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver
hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social
Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too'
And then the fight started.....
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My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.
My wife asked,' Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old
girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those
many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.' 'My God!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'
And then the fight started.....
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| This Month's Free Recipe |
 Sweet Pickles
Cucumbers are in season and what better way to fix them than to make them into sweet pickles? This recipe came from Ken's aunt Marie.
Ingredients for each quart of cucumbers:
- 2 Cups Cold Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Coarse Salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Pickling Spice
- 1 teaspoon Alum
- 2 Cups Sugar
To each quart of cucumbers add 2 Cups of cold Vinegar, 2 Tablespoons Coarse Salt, 1 1/2 Tablespoon Pickling Spice and 1 teaspoon of Alum.
If 2 Cups of water doesn't fill the jar add more water, seal and let stand for at least 3 weeks.
Open the jars as you use them. Remove and wash the pickles in cold water. Slice them and replace in the jar.
To each quart jar add 2 Cups Sugar and 1/4 Cup Water.
Seal and let stand in the refrigerator. Shake a couple of times a day until all the sugar is dissolved.
And there you have it, some of the best sweet pickles you'll ever taste!
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| Cookbook of the Month |
| "Pickles and Relishes"
By Andrea Chesman
Click!
While our pickle recipe is really good you may find some others in this cookbook with 150 different recipes.
David Adams from Pleasant Grove, UT reviewed this cookbook and had the following comments: "I found this book in the local library several years ago. I read it from cover to cover. I just had to buy it! The front part of the book covers theory in detail. I learned all about fermenting pickles (full sours and half sours, etc.) There is information on making your own sauerkraut. Most of the recipes are for non-fermented pickles. There are recipes covering a wide variety of vegetables. An excelent book for both recipes and basic information on both fermented and non fermented pickles. I have tried many of the recipes."
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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
BBQ Referb
BBQ Before
We have a bar-b-que that works good but looks really bad. It has wood wings on both sides and a wooden handle across the front. All of them were faded gray and growing moss.
It was time to do something but replacing it was not an option. With the BBQ season slowing down it seemed like the perfect fall project.
We had just been replacing some cedar deck boards and had some left over 5/4" X 4" boards. They would be perfect for making my wings a little bigger.
5/4 decking boards are radiuses on the edges so I rounded over the ends with a router bit to match the edges.
I stained the boards and finished them with a good outdoor varnish before I screwed them in place.
I drove four small nails in the bottom of each board to keep them off the bench while the varnish dried.
The original design had screws going down through the boards into the metal supports. With the longer pieces they would not have been symmetrical if I lined up the screws with the original holes.
Instead I added a couple of 2" X 2" pieces to each side and screwed into the wing boards from the bottom. This made for a much cleaner look.
Next I made a new handle for the top. I just happened to have a nice piece of "scrap" birds-eye maple that was 1" X 1" X 30".
I routed a 3/8" wide X 1/4" deep slot down the middle, lengthwise.
I used a 3/8" round-over bit along all four edges to make it easy on the hands and give it some detail.
I drilled holes for the screws and counter bored holes for the heads so that they'd be recessed.
I made new standoff's for the handle using 1" dowel's cut to 3" long. I drilled a hole through the center of each one to clear the original screw.
A little stain and varnish and it was good to go.
After I got the new wings and handle on, the BBQ looked so bad that I painted the lid with high temperature paint. It now looks better than new.
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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! |
| Free Rockler Catalog |
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Get a Free Rockler Woodworking Catalog by clicking on the link below
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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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