27 February 2008

Butcher Block



My mom, during one of her many pilgrimages to Northpark Mall, fell in love with a butcher block, at Anthropologie of all places. She came home grinning because, apparently, I'm going to make one for her. J and I were immediately sent to the mall to photograph the one there. It was a complete mess, looked like it had been assembled by three-year-olds, cost just under a thousand dollars, and was so stupidly put together that the end-grain top was already pulling itself apart. I explained to her what was wrong with it (a butt jointed frame around the top, unfortunately her favorite detail), and set about designing this one. I'd love to make it, all I need is a jointer, a thickness planer, and table saw. If any one knows where I can access said tools in Dallas, they would make my mother very happy.

22 February 2008

Carving the Cradle


cradle

J took this a couple of weeks ago in Silsbee. Tien did an excellent job supervising me. Now Buibe, Louise, and Figgy supervise in shifts while Tien plays in the bushes.

07 February 2008

My Neighbor



I drove through east Texas today, from Dallas, and saw this on 69 somewhere south of Tyler. Let's hope these neighbors can work things out before the cannibalism begins.

05 February 2008

Baby Mocs




During our Silsbee interlude I've been hacking away at a piece of pine that blew down in the back yard during hurricane Rita. It rained today, however, so I wound up inside where I made some baby moccasins out of some old sheep skin I had left over from a rug I made years ago. I'm hoping they'll work for a 6-9 month old. The weaving they're sitting on is a hand-woven cotton blanket with a traditional Lanna (northern Thai) pattern.

03 February 2008

Cambodia Photos

We have so many photos from Cambodia, that I just couldn't decide what to put on the blog. This makes deciding a little easier.

02 February 2008

Back in the USSA



We never feel more like criminals than when we reenter the US. I have the stupidest reaction when I see immigration. I actually get excited. I think to myself, "Hooray, won't my country be so happy to have me back." Of course that's never the case. Suddenly no one will help my pregnant wife get overweight luggage off the conveyor belt while I am in the bowels of the Seattle airport, seeing our cat through his inspection by TSA, and aren't I an idiot for not immediately understanding that TSA approval is the same as clearing him with Customs. Everyone who's been awake for 22 hours knows that sort of thing.

This flight across the pacific was by far the most interesting I ever hope to have. Since J is pregnant it meant I was pretty much in charge of everything: bags, cat, customs, and making sure she had eaten and was comfortable. But despite unforeseeable things like a shin jarring landing in Taipei and 23 hours spent in what seemed like jail in a Taoyuan City hotel ("those transfer passengers attempting to escape will be escorted back to the airport by the border police and placed on the list of undesirable persons"), and a missing bag (the one we paid an extra ฿ 3,900 for) we made it back, and have been here in south-east Texas for a whole week now. In another week we'll be up in Dallas.