Whatever the equivalent of scrooge is, I tend towards that with Halloween. I don’t know why but the holiday brings the snark out in me in spades. Whatever that mixed metaphor means. Boohumbug;)
Monthly Archives: October 2009
My Bride Now Homeschools the Now 4 Year Old
Jessica is presently in the other room schooling the 4 year old. How did the girl turn 4?! Blows my mind. Anyway, she’s being schooled on greater than and less than and I think she’s got the concept down. It tends to really register once you put the lessons in candy form. Fortunately its autumn and the season calls for candy.
Next month I hope we can teach her pie charts with real pecan pie.
I Learned Something Today
During my lesson I was teaching in adult Sunday school I said, “I was talking to this lady on the phone. I don’t know she was a lady, I don’t know about her personal choices…” yeah, what I learned was that you shouldn’t say that out loud no matter what you’re thinking IN your head.
The Right Tool for the Job
Today on my lunch break I picked up a DeWalt Jigsaw for the wall project. Its one of many saws that I have in my arsenal now. I have found that each new (major) project requires a new tool, and usually that tool is a different saw for a different job. I wish I could explain that, but its just the way project have been so far. I can’t wait for the next project because I’m running out of saws to buy, and a band saw is looking really attractive. <-- that's a joke. If you need to cut long or wide pieces of wood into certain shapes a table saw does wonders. I used mine tonight to help trim some 2x4's down to the right size for one part of the posts on the stairwell wall. The blade can be adjusted up or down, the gate helps hold the wood to the right width, and it can even be used in a semi-router like fashion to cut grooves in the wood (which I did). The table saw was the first saw I bought once we moved into this house. I also have a miter saw. Miter saws are amazing because you can use them to cut very exacting lines and angles. Cutting boards to the perfect length is a cinch with a miter saw. Cutting wooden flooring, long boards, and trim is a breeze. The miter saw is awesome. I picked mine up for my 29th birthday on Amazon.com reconditioned for $175.00. Suggested retail was well over $500.00 I'm proud of that deal, and I'm proud of the fact that I got such a solid saw. Its the perfect tool for some jobs. Along with the miter saw you need a small hand saw called a coping saw for working with trim. A coping saw will help cut out the back of a piece of trim to make sure it butts up to another piece of trim and fits snuggly. The miter saw is massive, powerful, great for precision straight lines, but the coping saw can cut rounded corners, flex to follow contours, and fits in smaller spaces. Its the right tool for the job when you need to manage trim. I also have a hand saw for cutting boards. I don't use it a lot, but I have it. The Christmas tree gets this tool because I don't mind sap getting on the hand saw's blade. Along with the hand saw comes the hack saw. A hack saw can be used for cutting metal. It has a bow shaped body with a thin steel blade that attaches to both ends with very tiny teeth. Its perfect for cutting steel pipes, nails, bolts, and in a jam - wood. I have two hack saws. A full hack saw, and a special saw that is designed to allow the tip of the blade to fit into spots that a full hack saw wouldn't like. Great tools. Another saw I have (but needs to be replaced due to age) is the scroll saw. My mom gave it to me. I'm sure that if it were reconditioned it would work another 10 years easily. Its great for cutting out intricate patterns from thinner sheets of wood. I know it cut out various Christmas ornaments and various other things when it was in its prime. I'm not sure I can use it for the wall project, but I did try to use it to cut Cattan pieces. There are other saws that would be fun to have: I would love to get a reciprocating saw (AKA, saws-all). Amazingly the saw can really cut a lot of things at funky angles with very little loss of control. I borrowed my friend Wayne's for the wall demolition. The jig saw I picked up this afternoon was perfect for the job I need it for. I have tested it out and I love it. Its the right tool for the job. I have found that the right tool for the job is pretty important. I'm learning that to use them right it takes discipline. My friend Dave O'Hara was (and maybe still is) fond of saying, "When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail." I'm beginning to think that in life there's a lot of nailing I've been trying to do when it was time for me to wait for it to be my turn as a hammer and let the other tools do their jobs. I get excited. I want to nail. But a season of waiting is a good season - it lets other tools shine. Other saws may be just right for the job at hand and I'm smashing the materials to death. The right tool for the job may not be me. I want to be used by God - I just need to wait to let Him choose the time, the place, and the tool in my toolbox. Maybe it will be a radial arm saw!
32
Thirty-two is feeling like a hockey puck in the face of my youth today for some reason. That is all.
Wall Project So Far
Check out the photos of the wall demo and some of the restoration/rebuilding/remodeling up at Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randypeterman/sets/72157622540194686/show/
Things I’ve Been/Done for Longer Than I’ve Been Married
This last Saturday the 3rd of October Jessica and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. I’ll be honest: there are very, very few things that I’ve done for 11 years.
- I went to school for more than 11 years.
- I Lived in Carson City, Nevada for more than 11 years
- I have been a Christian for more than 11 years
- I have generally had some form of (nasty or better) facial hair for more than 11 years
- I have played the Piano, Drums, Bass and Guitar for more than 11 years
- I have been able to ride a bike for more than 11 years
- I have now been able to drink alcoholic beverages for more than 11 years (by 8 days before our wedding)
Other things I have done for a long time, but not quite 11 years:
- Work for Alt-N Technologies: 9 years
- Lived in the Denver metro: 5 years
- Had Abby as my daughter: 7 years
- Had Evie as my daughter: almost 4 years
Its been a good, amazing, trying, growing, awesome, shocking, changing, unplanned, over-planned, under-planned, more estrogen than testosterone, prayerful, blessed 11 years. And I can’t wait for whatever the future holds besides my bride.