A blog about outdoors, food and other handy projects.
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Tuesday, July 06th, 2010
11:47 AM
I was first introduced to the site Knock-Off Wood from an old friend who built her own bed!! I couldn't believe that - so I went to the site and started looking around. The author of the site has a 3 year old, so a lot of her projects are kid-related. I found the cutest little play kitchen, and the second I saw it I knew my niece Carolynne would love it (and she does)! I have a long list of things I'd love to build from that site, and hopefully I'll get something else done before the end of summer.



I am lucky enough to have a mother who has just about every tool imaginable and a house to work at. Apartment living in the city is great and all, but not a lot of space to do DIY projects like this. I am also very new to power tools, so it was great to have my mom there to help.

I was able to have the local Lowes cut down all the pieces for us. The plans were really easy to follow, so we already had the cut list handy. Also, the scientist in me had me prepare and draw out different cut lists for the optimum utilization. The guy at Lowes thought I was doing a school project because I had so many papers/diagrams.

We had decided to not make the fridge because it seemed very large, and we were unsure whether or not Carolynne would have enough things to put in it - it also saved us some cash. So we only were making the stove and sink. We decided to put a door under the sink as well to serve as a mini-fridge/cabinet. Luckily the two designs were identical, so all we had to do is make the same thing twice! Here is what we started with:



I don't have many in process photos but here is what I do have:






We used the same paint as the wall in this picture



And the final product(s):



The final pieces were far from perfect. The door sticks, the shelves are crooked and they are both a bit wobbly - but I think I did a really great job for my first woodworking project! And our most important customer, Carolynne, thoroughly enjoyed them - so I guess that's all that matters. Here she is baking us some cupcakes:



The cupcakes were very tasty ;)! You can see on the edge of the oven we added a magnetic dry erase board. My mom bought magnetic spice holders and added things like rice, pumpkin seeds, beans and pasta and then glued them shut - which I thought was great!! We also found some artsy fruit stickers that we stuck onto a magnet and cut out.

It was a great project, and I'm pretty sure at least for the next few months - she'll put it to good use.



Monday, July 05th, 2010
8:09 PM
A month of summer has already passed, can you believe it? With the weather here in Boston - I sure can! I think we are getting another heat wave. I wanted to take a look back and see how many activities I've been getting done. I have done 4.5 out of 12 - roughly 37%. I'm right on target for getting my list done this summer!

In July - I hope to go kayaking and to see Thompson Island. I can probably get to the Astronomy Night as well. I may not get to building a hobby table, as that's really time intensive. Oh and I also want to go to Provincetown - as Dave has never been to the Cape!

The official checklist for Summer 2010 (Updated 7/5/10)
  • Kayaking on the Charles (or in the bay)
  • Hiking at Purgatory Chasm
  • Build kitchenette for Carolynne
  • Take a Schooner ride
  • Build a hobby table and/or bed and/or desk :P
  • Blueberry Picking/Pie making
  • 14 weeks of CSA tasty food making - *ongoing*
  • Astronomy Night @ BU
  • Sailing in the Chesapeake Bay
I also want to visit most of the Harbor Islands (at least 3):
  • Camp on Bumpkin Island July 4th weekend
  • Thompson Island Trek
  • Georges Island Tour
  • Lovells Island
  • Grape Island
  • Peddocks Island
  • Deer Island

Links

Please see my new page up top with a lot of links to waste even more time on!



Thursday, July 01st, 2010
8:48 PM



This past weekend I was one lucky girl. I was invited by Dave's parents (top left) to sail aboard Transition for a weekend sail to Baltimore, MD and back. How could one say no? Although I never sailed as a kid, I believe that its in my blood. My parents (specifically my dad) sailed BC (before children) quite a bit, so some of his sailing bug must have gotten in me somehow. My grandparents even lived on a sailboat when they retired! As an adult I have been able to sign up for lessons here on the Charles River, and have found that I absolutely love it! When I first started dating Dave, and found out that he grew up sailing - I knew he was a keeper! So, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. R. for sailing and teaching Dave to sail as well!!

Anyways, on to the trip! We sailed from a marina in Rock Hall, MD into Inner Harbor Baltimore, MD. We stayed overnight and then sailed back to Rock Hall. On the way to Baltimore, there wasn't much wind - so we ended up motoring most of the way. I had never sailed into any major city, so it was really neat to see the city from the water. On the way in we saw the buoy that marks where Francis Scott Key wrote the Start Spangled Banner (small pic up top), and Fort Carrol - which I've renamed Bird Island (pictured bottom center), and the Domino Sugar sign!



Once we arrived in Baltimore, we walked around the Inner Harbor. Inner Harbor is a cute area of Baltimore that is all around the water. They have their science museum and their aquarium, along with a few historic ships and even an old lighthouse! We actually happened to be there during the 30th anniversary of the harborside development, so they had quite a few activities going on. We saw a sand castle competition and a live band (which we could hear from the boat!). We visited the U.S.S. Constellation (pictured above) and we were able to see them shoot a cannon- which was really loud. I had to keep correcting myself from saying U.S.S. Constitution (the boat in Boston) - but it was really interesting to see the ship. We continued around the harbor and visited the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. It was neat to see this type of lighthouse (sorry no picture), as I'm so used to the traditional lighthouses we have down the Cape.

After this we went to Fells Point (another neighborhood) for dinner and dessert. I had gotten both recommendations from reddit.com and they were both great. We at dinner at Peters Inn - and it was delicious. It's a bit off the beaten path, but highly recommended. We followed dinner with some tasty organic gelato at Pitango (pictured above) which is also very highly recommended!! If you are ever in Baltimore, definitely go to Fells Point - the neighborhood is very adorable. They have cobblestone roads and many row houses (I kind of have an obsession with row houses).



Above is our view from the boat into Inner Harbor - can you believe that?? The tall building in the center is the World Trade Center, the bright lights below is a shopping mall and a concert. The blue lights on the left are part of the visitor center, and if you look real close above that you can see one set of lights from Camden Yards. If it wasn't so darn hot- it would have been great view to enjoy!

I don't have many pictures from the sail (yes I said sail!) back home, as the boat was unstable (I don't have my sea legs yet), and I do not trust myself with Dave's camera or my cell phone. We sailed atleast 95% of the way back - it was GREAT!!! We hit two milestones for Transition - we not only hit mile 600, we hit 10.2 knots!!! We were heeled (tilted) over quite a bit for that stretch and it was exhilarating! It absolutely made the trip! During the slower stretches, I was able to get two pictures from the sail.

 



I absolutely love that picture of Dave. He really is steering the boat, too! If your curious, the flags flying on the picture above do have meanings, the top is the Maryland flag, the middle stands for B (for Barbara- Dave's Mom) and the last stands for D (for Dave- Dave's Dad).

I had a great weekend, and I have a great sunburn to go along with it! I was happy to at least get some sailing in this season, as Dave and I did not renew our membership up here in Boston - although I'm highly considering getting a late season pass for at least a month to go back out.



 
 
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