Stranded in Ohio

You know that you are an Oregonian stranded in Ohio if....

You pull up to the gas pump and sit there for an eternity because you have no clue how to operate the pumps and you don't think you should have to pump your own gas anyhow.

You drive around lost because there are no mountains and all the cornfields look the same.

You wonder where all the drive-through espresso stands are.

Why is farm-raised Atlantic Salmon the only salmon in restaurants?

Doesn't anyone recycle?!?

No fireworks stands....

Hmmmm, people hate the outdoors and try to climate-control everything as much as possible.

No Thai food?

What is with this humidity? I don't have gills!!!!

The Fire

The fire burned within me

I burned within the fire

I was the fire

The angry coals fed the rage of the flames

It challenged me

I felt the need to overcome the natural fear

There was a problem

The fire needed a part of me

Payment as it were

I had to leave something important

So I left you to burn

You, who had lurked in the back of my mind

You who had haunted my dreams and waking thoughts

You were the source of my torment

And I left you there

In the flames

You were completely consumed

You belong to the fire

The fire belongs to me

Making a Bench

I wanted to do something special for my hubby on our anniversary. We had been wanting a bench for our mudroom, but it needed to be an odd size and therefore custom made. I hadn't done any woodworking in over a decade, but I thought I could probably do this.

I went to Home Depot and got some poplar and had them cut it there with their radial arm saw. I ended up with four 2ft long boards, a dowel, and a bottle of Titebond III.

When I got home, I knew that I wanted to make some dado joints, but didn't quite know how that I was going to do it. Cue in my Father-in-Law who said that he had a dado bit for his router. Cool! He even had a special table and fence that he set up for me.

I measured and marked out the cuts and then cut the dados.

After the dados were cut, I drilled and countersunk some holes and assembled the bench with woodscrews and the TitebondIII.

I filled the holes with the dowels so that the woodscrews didn't show, then I finish sanded everything. After staining the bench with a light colored stain, I used a spray lacquer to add a durable finish. Volia!