This is not the Kubb you are looking for. . .

Yet another custom kubb set.  A good friend of ours with tendencies towards the Dark Side requested R2DKubbs so that the Force may knock them down.  

I promise to post the finished product, complete with Death Star King.  This set offered some new challenges and lead to some neat discoveries about Valspar cabinet gloss varnish, Killz primer and sharpie markers.  

More Custom Kubbs: Purple!

This set of kubbs went to my sister Catherine.  An artist friend of ours made a king for her so she requested some purple kubbs to match.  

My daughter was not satisfied with plain purple kubbs.  Too boring for her Auntie.  So I let her work in our artist friend's folk art pointilism style using different sized dowels dipped in paint.  This technique let a 7 year old turn out a pretty good looking end product.  

Once again, all the fun paint colors and clear top coat came from the recycling center.  If you live in the Fort Mill area, holler before you project.  I love finding the right home for stuff.  

Vi the supervisor. 

This is definitely not a DIY blog

A year ago my sister Catherine moved into the neatest apartment ever. It was the top
story of a 1850's house.

The stairs to her bedroom were so narrow we couldn't get a twin boxspring up them.  The bedroom itself was more like an equilateral triangle. Catherine may be my baby sister but she is still too old to sleep on a mattress on the floor.  We needed a very low bed that could be easily assembled on site.

So I searched online for simple platform bed plans. I chose one by aeray on instructables.com
http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-easy-low-waste-platform-bed/

I like this plan because it is cheap, sturdy, easy and lends itself to repurposed lumber.  Plus, the whole thing broke down into a stack of boards that could fit inside a VW Bug.

Our guest room has a box spring and a mattress. I saved my children's mission style crib to reuse as a headboard and footboard. All I needed to do was build the frame.

In a fit of procrastination I decided to build a full size version of Catherine's platform bed.

I wasn't able to use any recycled or cull lumber for the project but the total cost was still only $35. My Home Depot bill would have been $25 if I remembered that I already had a new box of 2" screws in the garage.

The legs needed to be high enough to house the great storage bags I found for my horde of quilting fabric.

I measured twice. Honest!!!

I have to jump to climb into the bed. I'm 5'7".

My daughter looked like a cat climbing an iceberg.  She couldn't get on  the bed without using a chair.

Son and husband think its hilarious.

Dog is huffy.  She does not like having to work for a nap.


The good news is that the bed is sturdy enough not to groan as a family of four uses it as a vaulting horse while laughing hysterically at dear old Mom.

Do I cut the legs down and find different storage units for the quilting fabric? Mt. Bedrest just needs to lose five inches to be the same height as the bed in the master bedroom. It is easy enough to unscrew the legs and trot them down to the chop saw.

My husband likes the bed as is. I'm not sure if this is an aesthetic comment or if he is simply enjoying my chagrin.

Do I build a night stand that doubles as a set of stairs?  Is this a great chance to go funky chic?

I could toss the box spring. Its too big to store. I don't like this option though. The box spring is only five years old and hasn't really done anything wrong. It should stay in service.

Stay tuned for the Saga of Mt. Bedrest.

Custom Kubb Sets

This is the first in a series of custom kubb sets.  Catherine was going to visit a good friend of ours and requested a cow spot set.  

Here is where I get to brag a bit.  The clear coat varnish, primer and all the paints for this set were snatched from the jaws of the landfill at my local recycling center.   The king came from the cull bin at Home Depot.  So this set is tons of fun with a bit of good karma mixed in.  

My mistake or learning point in this project was using high gloss enamel latex paint for the base coat.  This meant that it took four coats of black high gloss to fill in the spots.  

And Again

I may be behind on my blog but at least I know why my cats breath smells oh so foul.

Confessions of a Geronimo Stilton Addict

It's okay to read what your kids read.

We watch their tv shows so we know whats going on in their lives and what cultural influences (sass talking Disney Channel Piffle) they are being exposed to. Right? Why not read what they read? It's not a control issue. You don't have to read every single book they touch. Read a few. It's discourse.  Something to talk about outside of the family rigmarole.

Reading what they read will show them that this is such a good story that mom and dad like it too.  It will also help you find books that go beyond Captain Underpants, Tinkerbell, and other sacharine serieal books that are marketed for their covers than for their content.  

Once upon a time it was librarians and teachers that made book recommendations.  I remember my mother going to the public library one summer and asking for a recommended reading list.  

Now it is the publishers telling us what is a good read.  They use shiny covers, gross body parts, princesses and talking mice. Sometimes they are right. There are some fun series out there.  I should know, I have read and currently own 35 Geronimo Stilton books.  

I am a Geronimo Stilton addict. I confess. They are cute and I love them the way I love Italian soap operas.

I don't want to knock book series. As a writer, I'm trying to launch one.  As a reader, I love them. I like slipping into a familiar set of characters and setting. When I'm stressed out and need a little escape, I turn to my favorite series for night time reading and comfort. Way healthier than eating Nutella straight from the jar.

As a parent, I like a good series of books.  It is hard to find that next chapter book for my Third grade son.  I have to pick 12 off the library shelves, sit him down at a table, make him pick three, then present those three to him again at home.  Once he latches on to a book, he devours it in a few days.  

Pyrrhic victory. Hurray he loved the book. Boo . . . we have to go find another one.

Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.  

If he strikes on a series, I have at least three or four books before we have need start the hunt again. Sometimes I am sneaky and space them out. Currently he is into Nathanial Fludd, Beasteologist by R. L. LaFevers. But there are only four books in the series so far. I'm doling them out.

My daughter is in First grade and almost ready to read chapter books on her own. She will read the first page of every chapter when we read something on her level. Our favorite series are Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline, Roscoe Riley by Katherine Applegate, Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows, and Clementine by Sara Pennypacker.

As a middle grade writer, I love anything by Kevin Henkes. He is a wonderful story teller, lots of heart and empathy without being sacharine. Junonia and Olive's Ocean are two of his recent chapter books. He also writes two fun picture book series featureing Chrystanthemum and Lily.

The kids and I are always looking for the next great read. Any suggestions?  

If you are crazy wookies busy with reality and life, here is a blog that can help find good books for your young reader:

http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2012/01/timeslip-tuesday.html

At Last . . . A Random Line on a Friday

I'm getting ready to head out of town with the family this weekend.  This is what eight baby turtles in transport looks like.

Peggy, my ever patient Science Time partner, will be turtle sitting.  Maybe next year the babies can hibernate outside like their mama.  Four big rubbermaid bins takes up a lot of realestate in my office.

Before I head out of town, I wanted to share a random passage with you from C if For Centurion, Chapter 4.  I have never thrown a birthday party for a third grade boy before so I interviewed Annie to find out how its done.

According to Annie . . .

Party games are not cool after First grade.

Don't serve fruit punch after Second grade.

Ponies are overrated because you only get to walk in a circle, the turns are short and they plop on the lawn.

Clowns are never OK. Clowns are bad.

Magicians are fun in Kindergarten but really creepy in Fifth grade.

There has to be food. Pizza works, tacos are good but tuna fish is strange.

Science programs are neat only if they involve animals.

Science programs are awesome and legendary if something escapes in the birthday kid's house.

Pinatas allowed but no faces or animals after Kindergarten.

I hope this taste of Annie logic helps you plan your child's next party.  Have a great weekend.