Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Burning oil


So a couple weeks ago I was surfing the internet and came across a video of a guy making a olive oil lamp. So I watched the video and found it interesting. He took a piece of wood and using some coals to burn a depression in it. Then he used a knife to carve the outside of his bowl. I of course thought, "I could make one of those it 5 minutes" on my lathe and put some decorations on it. To make it work you find and place two stones that fit together pretty well. Place a wick in between and then fill the bowl with olive oil and light the wick. Today I taught a woodturning class and I made a little bowl. I placed some decorative lines on the outside rim and I put a spiral pattern inside under the rocks.  The bowl is made from a piece of cocobolo wood. This is a dense oily wood with really nice colors. The bowl is only about 3 inches across and around an inch deep. It does have fairly thick walls, but I wanted it to be strong and able to handle some abuse. It holds about an ounce of oil and so far has been burning for 5.5 hours. I estimate it should burn for at least another hour. This was a fun little project. I imagine the oil will seep into the wood which will help the bowl to continue looking good for a long time to come. I think I will make my next one from a lidded box that way I can use it for storage of the stones and extra wicks. 



Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I got a new phone



Well, the wait is finally over. I finished my 2 year contract and broke down and bought a new phone. I have been wanting one of these since they came out. Yesterday I bought one. I hooked it up to my computer (Mac) and it synced all my contacts, calendars and book marks. so now I can carry all that stuff around with me. Last night at the woodturning meeting I was able to pull out my phone and check my calendar for dates. I have really been wanting to be able to do that. After the meeting I came home and Miles and I went for a walk. We walked 3.12 miles and I have a map showing the route we took. This is the coolest thing ever! I did download some games I have a driving game and a motorcycle riding game. Of course now I have to fight the kids off for my I phone. I really like having the internet in my pocket. I can send emails surf the web, look at the weather radar. I can't believe I waited so long to get this. 

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Walking with my Wife

Tonight Tami and I went out for a walk. Samantha and Miles started out with us. They walked the first 2 miles and then we dropped them off at the house. Tami set a fairly fast pace. She has always been able to walk faster then me :-) But thanks to all my running lately I was able to keep up with her. After we dropped Samantha at home we walked about another 2 miles I am thinking we walked about 4 miles this evening. It was very nice walking and talking with her, this is something we are going to start doing on a regular basis. It was nice walking at night and seeing the Christmas lights on the houses in the neighborhood. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The smell of Christmas


Well, our Christmas Wreath arrived. We ordered it from Chloe next door, she was selling stuff for a school fundraiser. Ethan was all excited to open the box it came in. He was a little less excited when he had to pose for a picture with the wreath. Now we get a hint of fresh cut pine every time we walk past.

Merry Christmas
 



Monday, December 1, 2008

Setting up the tree

Here Ethan is putting up the tree. Last year the picture taking ended up in tears. Today after Ethan finished school we set up the tree. He was very excited to do this. I told him we would do it yesterday but we were very busy and had to wait till today. I then made him wait till after he finished school.  Then we had to eat lunch. Finally I took pity on him and we set up the tree. I put the lights up on the house on Friday and we had a fatality. Frosty didn't make it. He was an inflatable 8 ft. decoration and the seams have stretched out over the years. He would have been 6 this year. We are trying to find a replacement. I like to keep the outside decorations fairly simple. I can set them up in about 15-20 minutes and would like to keep it that way. I love those net lights yo just throw on the bushes. Did I mention I was the first one to have my lights up on my street. We have several hand made ornaments on our tree. These are my favorite ornaments. Each year they go up on the tree I think about the person that made them. I am going to post the names:
Tami
Samantha
Ethan
Dan Long
Jon Lockerman
(Thank you all:-)
I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Have a very Merry Christmas




Friday, November 28, 2008

Outback Distance Classic


Or what I did Thanksgiving Day

I got up early and drove over to the race location. It is very nice when the race is only 5 minutes from the house. I ran in a 6k (3.728 miles) I finished in 45:46 with and average pace of 12:41 per mile. I may not be very fast but I was out there running.  There were 1,619 people running in the 6k and another 2,012 that raced in the Half Marathon. We all started at one time, this made for a very busy start. It took me almost 2 and 1/2 minutes to cross the start line. Everyone proceeded up San Jose Blvd. and then turned and started running back in the neighborhood. At the one mile mark the half marathon competitors turned left and we went to the right. It was nice being out and active early. I did well in the race and felt good when I finished. Everyone was still asleep when I got home. 

I did most of the cooking for Thanksgiving dinner. We had Turkey and Ham. I made Green beans and homemade mashed potatoes and rolls. For desert I made Pumpkin Pie. Samantha made homemade whipped cream. It was very good on the pie. After dinner we sat around and talked for quite a while. It was a very nice evening. After everyone left Tami helped me finish cleaning up in the kitchen. Miles got some ham which he really liked. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was good also. 

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Brick

Yesterday I did my first Brick workout. This is a triathlon training term. I rode my bike 3 miles to get warmed up and then ran 2 miles. My legs felt like bricks when I first started running. It was interesting to run after riding my bike. After a minute or so I settled into my usual slow pace. I am still doing the run/walk thing.  I am at a 12:30 per mile pace. It is not a blazing pace but it is faster then I have ever run before, and I am just happy to be out there. 

Tomorrow I am doing the Outback 6k race. I figure this is a good way to start Thanksgiving Day. I will have a write-up after the race. 

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Longest Run so far

This morning I did my longest training run to date. We ran 6.74 miles. It took us about 90 minutes. We ran along the St Johns River this morning and then over the Main Street bridge and into San Marco. Then we turned on River Road and ran down towards the river. We ran back over the Acosta Bridge and into Riverside, and back to the Yates YMCA. It was pretty cold this morning. I bought some new running pants last night and got to wear them this morning. They helped keep me pretty warm. I looked at some gloves last night but decided not to get them. I was sure wishing for them this morning. Well maybe next time. 

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Working out

You got those shoes now wear them...

I have been training for my half marathon. Saturday we did our group run. We ran/walked 5 miles. We ran along the St. Johns River, then over the Main Street Bridge. Then we ran along the river in front of the landing and down to the Yates YMCA. This took us over the bridge thingy to cross over the railroad tracks, but underneath the Acosta Bridge. We stopped for a drink of water and then continued to the Fuller Warren bridge. We circled around and ran back to the "Y" had another water stop and then ran over the Acosta Bridge. After crossing the bridge we ran back to the starting point. It was a nice run, the weather could have been a little nicer. We had a few rain showers and there was wind. I was afraid my hat was going to blow off while crossing the bridges. 

Sunday morning I went to a spinning class. It was a good work out. The class was almost full. Class lasted a little over an hour with some stretching exercises at the end. The music was good and there were several songs I had not heard before. The instructor set a good pace and kept everyone moving. 

My running shoes and Biking shoes both got the workout this weekend I am putting some miles on each. I ran 11 miles this week. The spinning classes are like going 10-12 miles so I figure I rode 22 miles this week. I also spent some time in the pool, so it was a very busy week for the exercise. Now to take it easy for the rest of the day.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Just training

Last night I went to the "Y" to run on the treadmill. Since it was raining I didn't want to run out in the rain. I did however go and run 3.1 miles. I am starting to figure out the program on the treadmill. It has a setting for a 5k on it. It starts with a walk to warm up then you run, I have to take some walk breaks. Then you cool down by walking at the end. The bad thing about it is you can see all the other people running on the treadmills. Some of these people are very fast. I just keep telling myself that at least I am there. I did my 3 miles last night and was happy to have completed that distance. A couple of months ago I would not have been able to do that. I have to work on getting some pictures of me actually training now.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Busy day

Today was another busy day. I went running early this morning with my training group. We did 4 miles today. We ran down in the Ortega area. It was a beautiful morning. The course took us across the Ortega River. We even got stopped by boat traffic. After I ran this morning I drove over to Woodcraft where I was teaching a bowl turning class. The class went well and my students made some pretty good bowls. I turned a small zebra wood bowl. For dinner tonight we went to Woody's Bar-b-Que. normally I like this place a lot. Tonight the iced tea was terrible. The french fries were over cooked, they were crunchy. I gave them to the kids so that wasn't such a bad thing. And the service was pretty slow. After dinner we came home and just watched some TV and played on the computer. Just a nice evening. 

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Training Run & Lost keys

Saturday morning I was up at 5:30 am to go for my group training run. We were scheduled to do 3 miles. The second mile was a timed run to sort people into pace groups. I woke up to the sound of rain and the temp was in the mid 50's. I came real close to calling it a day. However I was good and drove to the beach in the rain. The closer I got to the beach the better the weather was. I got there and we did our 3 miles at a slightly slower pace then usual. The group was very large but that will change. I did my second mile in 11:41. I am happy with my time I would like to improve that but only a few weeks ago I wasn't running at all so any time is great. 

After I finished my run I was walking back to the car and realized I had lost the key. I thought I was going to have to walk the whole course again to find it. I stepped back on the course and heard a woman asking a group if they had lost a key. I was very happy to see it was mine. I thanked her and asked where she found it. She said down by the fire station which was the turnaround point. I would have had a long walk finding it. As it was I only had to walk about 100 feet. 

There is another group training for the full marathon. They ran with us and then they did another loop of 4 miles. I think they did 16 miles last week and this was a recovery week for them. I am still impressed with the milage they are doing. We will eventually build up to 14 miles a few weeks before doing the Half Marathon in February. Lots more training to come and I need to figure out a better way to carry my key.

Halloween and such

So for Halloween we walked around our neighborhood a bit, and then we went over to my brothers house. They have been working on it for a week. They moved all the furniture and put black plastic up on all the walls. You can see it was painted as well. Then there were the decorations. They started out in the yard and continued through the house and through the yard back to the front. The kids got their candy on the back porch. There were several people in costumes joining in on the fun. It is the best haunted house I have ever seen. 
 Here is another picture of Our Dog Miles
I can imagine miles saying how did I get myself into this. 



This is Tami, Samantha, Ethan, Chloe and Miles All dressed up and about to head out to get some candy.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Home Again

It is good to be home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. It is bad when you need a vacation to recover from your vacation. I have no idea how many miles we walked but it seemed like a lot. Last night after we got home and had dinner I went to the "Y" I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and then swam 300 meters. This morning it was back to school for the kids. Ethan wanted to take a couple more days off. He was very disappointed that he had to do school. Of course it only takes him about 2-3 hours to complete so he gets off much easier than if he was in regular school.

Here is a picture of me coming into the finish line of the Pumpkin run last Sunday. The picture was taken by the times union

Thanks Laura for sending me the link.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

M&M World

So today we went to M&M World. We looked all around, then we went into the bathroom and they had a small stall with feet sticking out. 
Here is a picture of Ethan. It looks like this M&M is holding his head.

Here is Tami, Samantha and Ethan standing in front of the Green M&M.


We also went to Wonder World today and had a great time there. It is a hands on museum. They have a Roller coaster simulator. Tami went on it with the kids. This thing spun all around and even went upside down. I was surprised when Ethan went on it and actually had fun. Tami said she had fun as well. And she rode it about 6 times with the kids. We went to Outback for Dinner tonight and then back to the hotel. Our legs are still trying to recover from all the walking. 

Disney








Yesterday we went to the worlds largest gift shop. I mean Disney world. We had a good time and stayed at the park all day. We stayed till the fireworks show. When we were getting ready to leave they were having trouble with the trams. It was quite entertaining. We rode a lot of the rides and did a lot of walking around. We rode the Pirates ride and the jungle cruise. We went on the Carousel of Progress. The kids really liked that. We went to Buzz lightyear's and Stitch Great Escape. The Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, was a lot of fun. We rode the magic carpet and went in the Swiss Family tree house. We rode Goofy's roller coaster and Ethan even liked it this time. We did the Mad tea cup's and the and we all rode the Carousel horses. We were pretty tired when we got to the hotel. This morning we woke up to cold weather. We really got lucky on the weather. Today we are going to go to the Wonder Works museum 

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Pumpkin Run Race Day

This morning I ran in the Pumpkin Run. It is a large race there were probably 800- 900 people there. I did the 5k (3.1 miles) portion of the race. They also had a 10 mile course. The race is held at Evergreen Cemetery . It is a large very old cemetery. We were able to run the whole race on their property. Of course it was a couple of loops around. But that just let me see the leaders of the race a couple times.
I am standing right in the middle smiling. I was pretty far back in the pack waiting for the start. When the gun went off everyone started working their way to the start line and then running once they got a little room. 
Here you can see one of the pumpkins that was lining the course. There were lots of them around. And they were giving them away after the race. I even saw one guy carrying one out on the race course. 

I was really close to the finish line at this point. I was very happy to see the line. The weather was kind of cool this morning. Of course I warmed right up as soon as I started running. Tami and the kids came out to support me in the race. Tami took all the pictures. This was the largest race I have done so far. I had fun doing the race and was very happy to complete it. I was very impressed with the people who did the 10 mile course. We were sitting at the 6 mile mark watching, Most of the racers looked to be doing very well. I have quite a ways to go to get to that point. First place sports ran the race and they did a very good job. They even posted results for the race about 15 minutes after people were finishing. Everything was very organized. They had trophies that were passed out about 20 minutes after that last finisher. 









Saturday, October 25, 2008

Morning training Run

This morning kicked off the Half-Marathon training.  I got to the "y" early and they had a check in and then you got your book and training log and a shirt. After some brief speeches we went for our run. We ran along the St Johns River on the river walk. It was a little breezy and misting slightly. The city was shrouded in low clouds so you couldn't see the tops of the buildings. There were a few boats on the river. It seemed the city was just waking up.  We only ran 2 miles this morning. A month ago 2 miles would have seemed like a very long way to run. This morning I was actually able to run and talk most of the time. For this program (Galloway Program)we Run for a minute and then walk for a minute. This give the body a chance to recover during the run. The program has a 90% injury free rate. I am all for that. I am still getting into the swing of things. Next week they will divide us up into our pace groups. I am looking forward to doing this program and I have already signed up for my Half Marathon to support the Donna Hicken Foundation

Friday, October 24, 2008

Pumpkin Run

Today I went to pick up my race package for the Pumpkin Run on Sunday. This race is run in a Cemetery and they have pumpkins lining the course. I will be running in the 5k (3.1 miles) part of the race. They also have a 10 mile distance. I will have another post after finishing the race. Anyway in the package was a t-shirt more race flyer's a sample of coffee, an energy bar and an energy drink mix. As I was leaving 1st Place sports with my packet I thought, "I am a runner now." I have completed my first race and signed up for my second. I know about how long it will take me to complete the course. I have been doing training runs. And I am training for a half marathon in February. In fact I have a short 2 mile training run tomorrow morning. Of course the distance builds each week until we hit 14 miles in January. The most I have ever run so far has been 6 miles. I can't wait till we run double digits. 


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ear Plugs

So 2 weeks ago I was doing a wood turning demo at the Home and Patio show in the Woodcraft booth. The guy from across the aisle came over and asked me if I could make him some ear plugs. I said, "I have never made those before but give me 15 minutes and I will make you some."  I ended up making him a set and a set for his girlfriend. So the next day we go to Tijuana Flats for lunch and 2 of the girls that work there have then. I ask for the dimensions and go home and make them each a set. As it turns out the day I am going to deliver them is Jamie's birthday. (pictured left) She was very happy to get them. Since it was her birthday I even put them in a small turned box. These ear plugs a fun to make and don't take much material. I am planning on making some more and have some designs in mind. The hard part is the measuring they have to be an exact size. Every one has different sized holes and Jamie's are different on each side. Of course that is the good thing about making them custom is I am able to match the wood ad make them any size needed. (Photo Credit: Ethan)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Running and Riding

Tonight I went for a ride with the kids and the neighbors. We did a mile at a slow pace enjoying talking to the neighbors. Then We dropped them off and the kids and I did another mile. Then I dropped them off at home and did another mile by myself at a faster pace. I then went home and put on my running shoes and shorts and did the run/walk thing for another 2 miles. So in all I did 5 miles around the neighborhood. It was a nice evening and as I was running the full moon was coming up. It really made for a nice evening. I got home and did a little stretching. I was thinking I only ran 2 miles tonight but a month ago that would have been a lot. Now it is just a short run. I am hoping to get a spinning class in tomorrow and then run again the following day :-)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

First Race 5k

This morning was the day of my first race. I ran a 5k(3.1 miles) Me and about 1,000 of my closest friends. There were a lot of fast people running. My goal was to finish and get a time. I am training for a Half marathon in February. So based on my finish time I will be placed in a pace group for the rest of the training. Tami and the kids came out to cheer me on. Then nice thing about this  race was it looped around the shopping center. I was able to see them a couple times during the run. 




This is me at about the half way point and also finishing. My official time was 39:04 but my elapsed time was about 30 seconds less. Because so many people were ahead of me at the start it took a little while to actually make it up to the start line. There were actually people behind me when I finished so that was a good thing as well. 

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Hurt Shoulder

Today I went to the doctor to have my shoulder looked at. He said I had torn a small muscle in my shoulder. This is going to cut into my paddling for a while. I have to do some Physical therapy to strengthen the surrounding muscles. The weather is just starting to get good for paddling. Also I had wanted to start swimming more.  I will have to wait and see how the therapy goes to see what I am able to do. My Running and Cycling are going good. I will just keep at it. 

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

New Cycling shoes




Yesterday I went to the bicycle store to look at some shoes for spinning classes. They had these Nike shoes that I liked. I did try on 3 other pairs of shoes and liked these the best. Then the guy told me they were on sale 40% off, well that decided the issue for me. They even installed the clips on the bottom of the shoes for me. Today was my first chance to try them out in a class. They clip in without too much trouble(I am sure it will take a little practice) To release your foot you just turn your heel out to the side and it pops free of the pedal. The soles are very stiff which supports your weight. And since your feet are attached to the pedals. Your foot is able to push down as well as pull up on the pedal. So you can get a full stroke all the way around. I need to play with the adjustment of the clip on the bottom of the shoe. It is pretty close to being in the correct position but I think a little further back might be more comfortable. 

2 pair of new shoes in a week. I currently own more shoes then I have ever owned at one time in my whole life. I currently own 8 pairs of shoes. Most of them I only wear for certain activities Like my work boots I usually only wear when I am using my chainsaw. Running shoes, Riding shoes, my Keens and Teva's for around the water. My flip flops  and my slippers to keep my feet warm in the winter and my old tennis shoes. Plus I have a pair of dress shoes that are too tight so I try not to wear them too much. 

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

riding in my neighborhood



I decided I needed some pictures of me riding my bike. I got Ethan to bring the camera outside and had him take a bunch of pictures of me riding around in a circle while he took pictures. A few of them actually came out. You gotta love digital. My bike is a Anodized Red 3 speed townie kind of beach cruiser. You sit up nice and straight so it is pretty comfortable. The bike is not built for speed. One of my favorite blogs call this style over speed
I am wearing my flip/flops which are always comfy I just love riding along wearing these. Of course the shorts and t-shirt are nice for October weather. 

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Training Run

Last night I went out for my 30 minute training run. My goal was to do 2 laps around the neighborhood on the 1 mile circuit. I am still doing the run/walk thing. I was able to finish in 26:14 or about 13 minute miles. Not an earth shattering time but it was my fastest so far.  I have started training with a group. We are doing a long run this weekend. We are getting ready to run a 5 k in two weeks so they are kind of tapering down off the training. I may have a class on the day of the race that remains to be seen. Fortunately you can sign up the day of the race. If I am unable to do that one than I am planning on doing to Pumpkin Run. I may still sign up and do that one as well. I will have to see how the training is going.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

new Shoes



These are my new running shoes. They are New Balance 1224's I actually bought these at a shoe store for runners. I bought them at First Place sports (Baymeadows Store). They were quite busy on the Saturday afternoon when I went in. But they got to me pretty quickly. Then they fitted me for my shoes. The guy (Thanks J J) that helped had me walk around so he could look at how my feet hit the ground. Then he measured my feet. Then he went and got 3 different pairs of shoes. I tried them all on and was able to go walk on a treadmill for a few minutes. I also walked around the store. This was the best shoe buying experience I have every had buying a pair of shoes. Yesterday I took them out for the first run. The kids and I are doing the run/walk thing trying to build up our endurance. These shoes were very comfortable right out of the box. I also bought some fancy new socks. I ran 2 miles and other then being a little winded, My feet felt great. I am looking forward to putting many miles on these shoes. Did I mention I am training for the Half Marathon in February?

Monday, September 29, 2008

Beef Stew

Tonight we had beef stew for dinner. This is the ingredients in the pressure cooker. The beef is in the bottom and I had just poured in the veggies. Publix has these small bags of mixed potatoes. They are all grown in Florida(yeah!). I really like the purple ones. They turn a little brown when you cook them but they still taste yummy. There is also carrots in the pot and in the other pot is some rice. I was going to take a picture of dinner on a plate but got too busy and forgot. The kids cleaned up the back porch and set up the table w/umbrella and even a screen give us a little privacy it was so nice. Plus my Mom came over for dinner tonight. 
The pressure cooker was my Grandmothers. I love using this thing. I am able to cook the beef stew for a total of 18 minutes and the beef just falls off the fork. I can't imagine cooking it any other way. Plus each time I use this pot I am reminded of my Grandmother. My Mom still talks about this pot from when she was growing up. I have many more good meals to look forward to making in this pot. Actually both pots on the stove came from my Grandmothers kitchen. And the recipe came from Tami's Mom. Just keepin' it in the family


Saturday, September 27, 2008

Running Along

Today I started my new training program. I am going to run a Half Marathon in February. Today we ran/walked 6 miles. We walked 1 minute and then ran 1 minute. So we ended up walking 3 miles and running 3 miles.  It took a little over an hour to complete. My legs are a little sore. Hopefully tomorrow they wont hurt too much. I have to teach a class at Woodcraft.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Fall is here

Fall is here. I am usually sad for that to happen but this year is a little different. I bought a canoe last year and I have been spending time out on the water. I have been doing some camping out of the canoe as well. I spent several nights camped out on rivers last winter and into the spring. Eventually it got to hot and I had to wait out the summer. Fall is here and I will be able to start camping again. 

Last night was the first night it was cool enough to sleep with the windows open. We were running the exhaust fan in my shop which pulls air through the house. This morning it was just a little cool inside. I have not had to turn the fan back on yet. It is quite comfortable inside the house with just the ceiling fans and what breeze is blowing though the house.

Monday, September 22, 2008

ear-o-dynamic

So the other day the kids and I were taking Miles for a walk and it was windy. Miles had his ears folded back tight against his head. One of the kids said he looked aerodynamic, then the other one said no ear- o- dynamic. I wished I would have taken a picture of it. But I did think it was a great play on words. 

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Small Box Elder Vase

This is the finished vase. It is only about 4 inches tall and about 3 inches in diameter. It is a shame that the piece had a crack in it and I had to reduce the diameter and size. The wood is very pretty. Of course the shavings looked good around the bushes. 

Friday, July 4, 2008

Boxelder


This is a picture of some shavings from a piece of Box elder I was working on. This wood is very soft and comes off in nice ribbons of colored wood. I usually sweep the floor as soon as I finish a project but I have left it for a couple of days since I like the colors so much. Today is the day that I will put the shavings out as mulch. The second picture is of the piece mounted on the lathe. It is too bad the piece had a crack in it and I had to make a much smaller piece. I will post a picture of it in the next post. Stay tuned,