Finally Went Fencing

We suited up.

 

 And we were like the Three Musketeers . . .or maybe the Five Musketeers ;D
 
 But the instructor was giving Blanche an unfair advantage--well, at least that's what I thought.
And then, when he finally told me to stab her, I felt a little funny lunging in toward the kill. . .
at first ;D
 

 But before we started stabbing away, we had to warm up with a few "Simon Says" games and the losers had to do pushups...a lot of them, and I know...from personal experience :(

 
Then we did some limbering games and the instructor had us face off against each other.

We were paired in teams of orange and blue. And,it was a night filled with fun activity at the Northwest Fencing Center in Beaverton, Oregon.

Book Trailer - The Viking Princess - Coming Soon

http://youtu.be/WmflKBjZCNY?list=UUIt0EKLYjrbM_FRnPP1JXdw

Valentine's Wreath

I've posted this one before but thought I'd do it again because it's super simple to make a Valentine's Wreath.

All you need is a form.

If you don't have one, you can even use a piece of cardboard.

Wrap it in ribbon - it can be pink or red...

Then start adding confectioner's hearts to the form, with a little glue.

Then wrap the wreath either in pink, red, or white feather boa.

Tie a ribbon on it. And, wah-lah! Valentine's Wreath :D

DIY Stairs

Okay, I know I brag about my husband's woodworking skills but, come on, the guy's an IT computer geek. He's not supposed to be a handyman...but, believe me, he is.

You have to remember that our house was built in 1890. So, even though I'm not so good at math, that makes it well over 100 years old...okay 125 years old (I used the calculator ;D) but, if he weren't handy, we'd be in trouble. 'Cuz a house this old, always needs something...a nail, a screw, a new floor...yep, and even new stairs.

So when he ripped out the stairs leading into the "new", old, room upstairs, I got a little worried. But no fear, look what he rebuilt...

So, he still needs to fill the nail holes and sand and varnish the steps, plus he has to add a little quarter-round at the edges, but these babies turned out beautiful!

And once he gets some Varathane on them, they're going to be breathtaking...at least for me, and not just when I'm walking up 'em ;D

Okay, so this photo is not such a different angle . . . but I tried.

And I'll post another picture when they're finally finished. But, now, the room is on the final finish countdown...for real!

VALENTINE'S DAY IS COMING

It's EZ to make something fun and "cute". And all it takes is a few sweethearts.

Here is how I did it.

And it's a tasty way to show a little love.

A thread stand for all the sewers out there

Here's another gift my hubby worked on over the holidays. He took the wooden slats from an old futon that had been thrown away and started putting them together in an entirely different way.

He wanted to make a gift for a woman who loves to sew and has way too many spools of thread laying around the house. So he drilled some holes in the slats, and started putting dowels into the holes.

He measured, cut and drilled away.

And here's the finished product.

And here's side view.

Recycling, reusing and repurposing

Lars is willing to go dumpster diving . . . if it's for old wood that someone has thrown away. Yes, he'll knock on their door and ask if they mind if he hauls away their wood. And since they have to be by the weight of the dumpster, they are always willing to let him have it.

Then my hubby brings home the wood and cuts it up to repurpose it into something beautiful.

He took this old wood and glued it together to make Christmas presents.

Then he put a clear Varathane on them and let them dry. This wasn't a stain, the wood was what made the coasters so beautiful. Then he had to make coaster stands.

And he measured, cut and glued them together.

And we wrapped them up and gave them with a bag of coffee and a mug or two.

It was a perfect way to reuse old wood.