Cheryl found a recipe for a gourmet dinner which we just had to try. Fancy eggs on toast, with ricotta cheese topping. Delicious! The kids loved it. I was sad because there was nothing left for my lunch the next day.
As part of the Summer Education Experience, the kids went to the Gardens armed with their sketch pads and cameras, ready to capture the views either on paper or on digital flash.
I was able to join them for lunch, just long enough to eat and snap a couple photos of my own.
Aren't they cute?
The boys and I are doing a little handyman education this summer. We don't spend an incredible amount of time each night working on it. I've found that keeping our sessions short keeps their interest sparked and avoids the parental frustration of teen-aged attention deficit disorder.
I had tossed this workbench together a couple years ago, just to have a place to stack things on (and under) in the garage. It was mainly composed of scrap 2x4s, with some leftover 1x4 whose original purpose is long forgotten.
Their first task was to take the workbench apart and then re-assemble it. I gave them a quick talk about how to mark the wood so they could remember how it is supposed to be put back together, then let 'em at it. They did OK for a first time. Only got two boards out of place.
Then it was time for a little critical thinking. Literally. I asked them to analyze the workbench and figure out what was wrong with it. How could it be improved. How it rated insofar as stability and usefulness is concerned.
And they sketched up some improvements.
Interesting ideas. Cross-pieces for stabilization. Wheels for mobility. Pull-out drawers for usefulness. Looks good to me! So the rest of the project is going to be incorporating their ideas.
First up was a bit of stabilization. I'd slapped 2x4s on the sides near the bottom to keep the legs from folding up under pressure. But connecting the cross-pieces to those braces wasn't going to be easy, considering they were mounted sideways, with the 1.5-inch edge up. It would be necessary to switch the bracing so that the 4-inch side was facing up.
So the boys took a scrap 2x4 and trimmed it to size, then screwed it into place. Looks great!
Had a little bit of trouble on the backside, since the drill kept bumping into the rear board. But Adam persevered.
That was all we had time for tonight. Tomorrow we'll cut the cross-pieces and see how stable it becomes.
1 comment:
the dish looks great! How about the recipe?
And it looks like the boys are doing a great job in the shop.
good for you and them.
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