More House Progress

Pouring the footings.


















Laying the block foundation wall.

Name That Tune

I entered a woodturning competition last week sponsored by our local Woodcraft store. I actually won best design.

I turned this wall hanging several years ago for Kathy to hang in her piano studio. I decided to enter this piece because it is so unusual. It is made from two segmented open-ended bowls. The woods are hard maple and black walnut. I then cut the bowls into fourths and reglued to get the wavy effect. I used a scroll saw to cut-out the musical notation.

Can you name the tune?

Home Improvement Progress

Thought I would post a few pictures of the construction progress. The footings took forever because I DUG them by hand. Check out that pile of soil. The deck is coming along nicely.

Ethan and Papa Ray

I finally got to meet Ethan. He's my newest little buddy. It was so much fun to have the grandkids around for a week.

Chesapeake Bay Fishing Trip

I took the Varsity and Venture scouts on a high adventure canoeing to False Cape State Park and then we went fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. We caught 30 Spade fish and they're mighty tasty.

In the picture (l-r):
Nik Dubsky, Ray Knighton, Adam Henshall, Matt Gillis, Jordan Green, Samir Valencia, Josh Hardt, and Todd Anderson.

Welcome Ethan!

Ethan Benjamin Brewster was born on June 17, 2009. What a cutie!

The Temple

I need to share with you all my wonderful weekly adventures to the Washington D.C. Temple. It is 86 miles round trip and it is the highlight of my weekdays. I can't imagine not going each week to have all of the great experiences I get to have. I really thank dad (Ray) for being such a good provider so that I am able to do this. I have worked in pretty much all of the areas, but I think my favorite place is working in the Own Endowment area. That is where the brides and those that will be receiving their endowment for the first time go. I love seeing their faces as they take in all of the wonderful blessings of the Temple. I am working as an assistant coordinator now so I get to see first hand how they organize the workers. There is so much inspiration that goes on as they work to find enough people to serve in the different areas.
Although there are missionary couples called to serve in our Temple, the number has been cut back quite drastically so the responsibility falls on the members that live in the area. Unfortunately we don't have as many as we need and sometimes different areas have to be closed so that other areas can function. I loved the talks on the Temple (back to back talks this conference) that help us to remember the great blessings we can give and receive. So this is my prayer that we may all strive to go to the Temple as often as we can and benefit from the great blessings that are poured out to us as we serve.

Pebble Pilgrimage

On Saturday, January 31, 2009, I had the opportunity to play the famed Pebble Beach with my son Benjamin. The weather conditions were near perfect.
I enjoyed driving the coast and 17 mile drive with the top down.

A view of the fifth hole redesigned by Jack Nicklaus.
Benjamin putting on the sixth green.
Looking back at holes 17 and 18 from the 7th tee box.
Standing on the 7th green looking out at Monterey Bay.
Looking from the 8th tee across to holes 9 and 10.


My most memorable moment in the round was making a sand save for par on number 17. It was great fun playing with Benjamin and being able to spend some time with Karen, Caleb, and Joshua.

Golf

Okay, I am going to prepare you for golf, golf, and more golf coming soon. Ray golfed Pebble Beach Country Club today and it is only a matter of time before you are inundated with pictures and stories of his noble triumph (or something like that). Just a friendly warning!

Foxy!!

Nana nothing, look at that foxy man! Can you see why I fell madly in love with him??

Foxxy

Our engagement photo. Nana was one hot peach craft item.

The Christmas Clock

I decided to make Nana a clock to go in her piano studio for Christmas. The clock is set into the body of a twenty-inch tall treble clef that is mounted on a music staff to scale with a sharp and an eighth note. The clef, sharp, and eighth note are dadoed to receive the lines on the staff. The notation is done in walnut and the clock face is done in hard maple and walnut. The face is divided into 12 sectors with each sector representing a step and 1/2 step in an octave. The half steps are done in walnut and correspond to the "black" keys on the piano. The clock face was laminated and then turned on the lathe. The back of the face was tenoned with the lathe into a routed mortise on the treble clef face. The clock movement was mortised into the back of the clef. It was a fun project and will hopefully help Nana's students learn some music theory.