Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Projects with Life Changes


























I have been posting some of the housebuilding progress and life changes during the time I wasn't updating the blog. Hopefully I can stay more current through the rest of 2011.



We wanted a breakfast bar on the pony wall between the Kitchen and Nook, so I started with a cardboard mock up and Lynna approved. We worked with Dieter's cabinet shop to find a good piece of Cherry, which was cut into 3 pieces, then edge glued into a nice bar. I mounted it the same way I had done all our previous bars.(I used 1/4" angle iron that could handle some dunderhead trying to sit on it!) . Once the bar was up, I was able to install the appliance garage cabinet Lynna wanted.



One of life's great inequities is the short lifespan of our canine companions. Our jolly old dog Sunny was a character. A Border Collie/Pointer mix, & a dog genius, always examining the world around him, learning as he went. He could open doors & unscrew bottle caps. Like many herding dogs, he would bare his front teeth in a smile. Last Summer, Sunny was nearly 15 y.o. & well stricken by age. He could no longer race about but still enjoyed walking with Lynna & would poke around the yard while she gardened. He spent evenings sleeping at my feet in the study. We were unprepared when he passed away June 15th, 2010. We both missed him greatly & our other dog, Peaches was lost without her buddy. She got very clingy & refused to go out in the yard unless I came along. She would lean on me while we walked the yard. Within a week we were at the Humane Society Pound & rescued a 4 y.o. male German Shorthaired Pointer.

This friendly bundle of energy had been spoiled by two successive families who gave him little training or exercise, let him free feed into a typical obese pet, then dumped him at the pound when he became "to rambunctious". A female Shorthair was part of our family back in the 60's & 70's. This guy was amiable & seemed trainable, so we added daily work sessions, walks & obedience class to our busy lives.


Nearly a year later, Gunther (we call him Gunny) has made great strides, with diet & exercise his weight came down from 80 to 55 pounds, his behaviour is much improved with only a few things chewed along the way. He sticks to me closer than a shadow, likes to hang out in my workshop(where he eats sawdust & chews scraps at every opportunity), Peaches is back to her old self again, & the cat has accepted Gunny into the pack.