3.13.2026

Doing more wood work this afternoon - planing... 

Jim had to put a new bit on the molder and then cut the side pieces...

Planing the wood...

Precise measuring...

Our few days of warmth are over and the forecast is for 1-3" of snow tonight, with a little more to come on Sunday.  I went and ran errands this morning so we could just stay inside and watch it snow.  It is snowing as I write this and our exposed gravel on the upper driveway is already coated...

High 35.9/Low 29.7 - snow in PM

3.12.2026

It was a busy day, but we accomplished a lot.  Jim had a follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist in the morning.

In the afternoon, he has back to wood prep in the shop...

Gluing pieces - he will use these for the 45° angled side blocking...

Gluing more...

In the afternoon, we went to a granite shop and walked through a huge warehouse of pieces.  Literally the first piece that we went to was the one we decided to get.  It's Absolute Black leathered granite.  The color looks great with our Corian and the finish will be maintenance free.  I'm so excited!

Afterwards, we went to Lowe's to get more paint for the frame and ended the evening with dinner at The Local.  

The high temperature was in the wee hours and dropped throughout the day.  We are actually forecast to get 1-3" of snow tomorrow!

High 56.3/Low 30.4

3.11.2026

We've had a couple days of 60+° days and our snowpack is sadly disappearing.  But there's still plenty left right now.  We're getting some rain right now, so that will make it go away quicker too. 

Jim working on the bandsaw today - he has it working but the pedal brake still isn't working perfectly, so he'll investigate more another day.

It's working now and Jim is able to use it...

Doing some planing...

Jim has been turning and painting the steel frame every day.  He has a little more to do but is out of paint, so we'll get more tomorrow.

Jim made the blocking pieces that he'll use to attach the side cabinetry, and is getting ready to attach them...

Blocking done on this side.  I always love to see things come to life!

High 57.6/Low 33.3 - some rain in evening

3.10.2026

Jim wanted to use the bandsaw to cut the glued board, but when he went to use it, it didn't work.  So plans had to change and he had to troubleshoot that...

Using the table saw instead...

Jim did a lot of investigating, getting out his manual and taking out one of the electric panels.  He finally realized that it's the foot pedal that was stuck and not working.  So - whew - he won't need to troubleshoot further and it works!  He still will probably oil this part and it may have some sawdust blockage that he'll investigate.

High 69.1/Low 33.7

3.9.2026

 

Raise your hand if you're running low on energy today!  Definitely me.  🙋

Jim was back in the wood shop this afternoon, straightening wood...

Continuing to glue more wood together for the side blocking...

Clamping...

Even though we still have probably a foot of snow on the ground, it got to over 60° today, so Jim sprayed off my crunchy car...

Then cleaning the gunk off my parking space...

High 64.1/Low 29.1

3.8.2026

One of those fun jobs of the time change is changing the clocks.  We have a couple difficult ones - this one above the hutch and the grandfather clock.  Thankfully, Jim does both! 

In the afternoon, Jim was back in the wood shop.  These are pieces of cherry that he bought over 30 years ago in Ohio and we moved here.  He's gluing pieces together to make blocking pieces for the cabinet...

Putting them in the clamps for drying...

Planing pieces...

Before he headed down to the metal shop to work out on the elliptical, he did more painting of the steel frame...

High 49.2/Low 37.6

3.7.2026

You know that extra hour we were gifted on November 2? Bad new - time to give it back. Ugh - we were hoping that the powers that be would have fixed this issue and we could just settle on one time.  But here we are again.  

In the shop today, Jim showed me the template of the countertop sitting on top of the frame - going to be amazing!  I'm planning on storing some bigger kitchen appliances inside this cabinet.

Jim got his work table all cleared off so that he can begin the painting process on the cabinet frame.  

He's painting this in stages - base painted...

Continuing to work on wood prep...

Time to get ready for church.

High 39.6/Low 32.8