Somewhere around the seventh- or eighth-grade I learned to sew. It was part of art class. There were these pillow kits that came with fabric, a pattern and few tools. I’m gonna call them tools, okay? We did get to choose from a few kits, and luckily there was a skateboard. If I had to …
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The Rock Band Guitar Whammy Bar Fix. I broke down and bought Rock Band 2 and the instruments off of Craigslist for my 10-year-old. The ad warned of “Broken Whammy Bars”. To me, “Broken Whammy Bars” is an opportunity. I can crack open an adult beverage, sit at my workbench, tinker, and come up with my whammy bar fix. I …
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Many of you know that Pete and I have been friends for a long time. Since second grade, in fact. While we met in Florida, we’ve lived at opposite ends of the country for the past 30 years or so. I guess that’s good in some ways. Trouble. As in, that’s what happens when we’re …
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I’m writing this as I prepare for another weekend of camping with my family—this time we’ll be tent camping at the Boy Scout camp, so no popup camper. As my kids would say: “Awww frowny face emoji.” But, we’ll still be loading up the van with enough stuff to eat, sleep and entertain the six …
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I like the smell of gasoline. And bondo. And fiberglass resin. Also oil. There’s probably more toxic substances that I enjoy smelling, but I can’t recall right now. Maybe my short-term memory has been affected. My better half doesn’t like any of those smells. It’s probably because she knows about VOCs. That’s “volatile organic compounds” …
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Open the door. Keys. Phone. Sunglasses. Coffee mug. Mail. Dog leashes. That’s all the stuff you drop on that one table, shelf or in our case…the planter. More on that in a moment. Everyone has this place, right? Where you come inside and drop everything. Like I said. Ours is the planter. Now our planter …
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In 2011, I bought a popup camper that needed some work. Well, let me start over. More than a few years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to make some memories for my kids by taking them camping. We did the tent camping thing. It was fun for them. They loved it. …
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I’m in a never-ending battle with basement and garage storage. I hate clutter and stuff lying around on the floor. You know the drill, a place for everything and everything in its place? Yeah, that’s me. But it’s been so hard to get that going in my basement… UNTIL NOW! Meet my DIY 2×4 shelving. We …
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“EXTERMINATE…EXTERMINATE!” Ugh. I shudder. The shrill, modulated cheap voice effect screams from my television. “EXTERMINATE.” For those of you who don’t know Who, then the Who I refer to, is the Doctor. Dr. Who. I don’t mind it, but there are these robot things that yell “exterminate” all the time—those I can’t take. My kids …
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My daughter and I share the love of creating. While my version of creation might have me covered in woodchips or grease, my daughter is keen to painting, coloring and modeling clay. I guess, in a way, one could call us “Makers.” But I’ve always envisioned a “maker” as someone who is building circuits, programming …
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