The New Henry Workshop

The other day Henry and I sat down late at night to watch a bit of televison before bed. Mom was out of town in California and it was a guys weekend. That being said, neither one of us is much for monster truck pulls or pro wrestling so as we scrolled through the Tivo options I fully expected Hen to vote Curious George or Clifford (whom Henry calls "Clippard") the Big Red Dog. Much to my surprise Henry stated that he'd like to watch "that Yankee show with the tools". I've been watching this yankee show for years and truthfully, I've always been alone in that endeavor. As sexy as Norm Abrahms is, his screen presence can bee a bit akward. Once past his trademark plaid shirt and goofy safety glasses however, most discover that he is the god of wood, and his shop is the temple every tool guy goes to worship.

Henry and I cuddled up on the couch and watched Norm go through part one of his "How to Build Kitchen Cabinets" series. Hen never twitched. He watched with admirable attention until the credits rolled, afterwards, he looked at me and said "I like that guy, he's nice".

A few weeks later as part of the ongoing saga that is our home remodel, I enclosed a covered portion of our dilapidated deck to form a bit of a temporary shop to house my tools prior to our next remodeling phase. Each night I've been going into this makeshift space to try and make heads or tails of all my tools & supplies and each night Hen wants to be a part of the action.

Tonight Henry and I ventured into the "shop" to sort and clean but as I looked at all the tools, set up for the first time since we left Sugarhouse nearly 3 years ago, I had the itch to build something. I looked at Henry, who was playing with a MatchBox car and said, "do you want to build a speedracer car?" He was on board without hesitation and so we began. I grabbed a few scrap blocks of wood, laid out a simple design, flipped on the bandsaw and started cutting away. Each piece I cut was handed to Henry to sand, which he did with great anticipation.

After all the parts were cut and sanded, I took a minute to show Henry how to glue all the pieces together. He hopped up on a Home Depot bucket and spread the glue with his finger before I began clamping the pieces together.

After letting the glue dry for 10-15 minutes (which was painful for Henry) I took out an old dusty carboard box that I received from Meg's grandpa, Jack Dale. In the box were a bunch of wooden wheels and wooden axels that he used to make children's toys. I've had the box for 6 or 7 years now and have waited until I could use them with my kids. Henry and I picked out a few wheels and found the matching axels and began marking, drilling, and tapping them into place with just a touch of glue. Once he car was complete, we grabbed a can of black spray paint and gave it a coat. We waited. Then waited some more. The wait was killing us both. We finally brought the car out to mom for the great unveiling.

He lifted it up proudly displaying his new "speedracer car" that he and dad had built. It may not have been part one of "How to Build Kitchen Cabinets," but it was the first of many joint projects to come in the "New Henry Workshop". Next time, perhaps we'll both be in plaid.

-Kev

Transformation

When we bought the land we affectionately refer to as the Proper "D" it had upon it a failed structure originally built to hold the elements at bay for an old RV. At 9,000ft the word elements includes anywhere from 24" to 5o+" of snow and though we all like our snow light and dry, it becomes quite destructive when it's wet & heavy. Having bought the land in late fall of 2006 we didn't have any time to shore up the damaged building and after one more winter it was beyond repair.

Beginning in summer of 2008 we began removing the failed structure with the intention of converting it to a usable bowery type structure. Big Al and I worked a day cutting all the poles too the new desired height, installing over 75 metal brackets specially designed to tie these pipes into one ridgid structure.

Afterwards, Teag and I, and later Brian Manecke would haul nearly 8,000lbs of rock by hand to form a partial retention wall on the uphill side. To the right is a shot of Teag and I next to 2 of our 2,000lb stacks of rock.

We then set four 250lb beams across each set of 5 poles. Attached 16 triangulation brackets and drilled over 90 half inch bolt holes through the beam. We broke 4 drill bits in the process and ended up drilling the last 15 holes with a broken bit.

Following the truing of the beam we began setting 18 trusses across the length of the beam. One by one the building began taking shape.

After sheathing the structure on the following weekend, Mike Landheim takes a well deserved break in a hammock. (Far Right)

A few weekends Later the whole family headed up for a marathon work weekend to try and get the structure ready for winter. Hammers we flying, compressors were umm compressing I guess it was a lot of fun. We roofed, trimmed, welded, painted, and stained until we were tired, sore, and in need of a shower.

It was especially nice to have Nate back home. Nate had never seen the property except in pictures. He left just before we bought it in 2006. It was great to see him back in the saddle again. The final product was something we can all be proud of, especially if it's still standing next summer! We've all decided to do less next year as we'd like to have more of a leisure summer. I'm sure we'll still sneak in a few projects, I don't think Big Al and I will be able to sit still the entire summer knowing there is work to be done.

Below is our group shot taken at completion. (well sort of, we have to go up in a week or so to install triangulation cables for the winter) From Left to Right, Steve, Nate, Teag, Me & Pa. This is our "Hero Shot" I guess. We pickled the beast.


We'll keep you posted on the future developments of our mountain getaway. Until then, let it snow, and knock on wood.

Mr. McSill & His Organic Loot

Henry has had multiple nicknames over the years. He used to be Sill which was short for silly. Then we churched it up a bit and called him Mr. Sill. Now, because he was born on St. Patricks Day we threw a "Mc" into the mix for the most recent Mr. McSill.

Mr. McSill digs plants, especially the ones that produce fruit or vegetables. From a very young age he has been up to his knees in gardening. Every morning he wakes up and askes if he can "check the mato's". This year, he has had a bumper crop of home grown organic veggies which he is so proudly posing next to. Strangely enough he digs eating most of them too.

He shares his hard work with the neighbors and gets just as much joy out of watching others eat as he does eating the veggies himself. You will oft hear him say "these are sooo delicious!" before popping one into his mouth.

Here's to Mr. McSill, & the harvest season. We all hope there will be many more to come.

Uncle Natey is home!

Yeah! Uncle Natey is finally home. Over the past two years that he has been gone on his mission in Micronesia, he has achieved Rock Star status with all of his nieces and nephews. Uncle Natey is the only one left that is not married so he still loves playing and roughhousing with the kids and they sure have missed that. Yesterday, he came home and there was quite a party at the airport waiting for him. He came home to three new nieces and nephews that he had never met before. Danyn, Thatcher, and Spencer, below...

Henry has been so excited that for the last week every morning when he wakes up we asks "Is TODAY the day that Uncle Natey will be home?" Nate served most of his mission on the island of Chuuk (which we pronounced incorrectly as "Chook"). In his prayers Henry has said every night "Please bless Uncle Natie on his mission in Chook." So when we were in the car yesterday on the way to the airport Henry says, "I sure can't wait to see Uncle Natie and Chuck when they get home." Apparently Henry though Chook was a person this whole time and expected him to come home with Nate yesterday. It cracked us up.

The kids were all decked out in the "Chookese attire" yesterday in honor of Uncle Natey. I think now that the kids have the island wear, we need to make good use of it and head to Hawaii soon!

Welcome Home Nate, we have missed you and we are so glad to have you back.

First Day of Preschool

Today was Henry's first day of school. Well, technically preschool. This is his third year at West High's daycare/preschool but now he is officially a big kid. There isn't even a diaper changing station in his room anymore. That is BIG.

He was so excited to get back to school to see his beloved Miss Linda that he was up at 6 am this morning, ready to go. Eight o'clock couldn't come early enough. I have struggled having him in daycare (even part time) but I am so grateful for all the wonderful teachers there. It has been a great experience for us and how can I feel bad when he is chomping at the bit to go back?

Farmer Henry and Summer Veggies

This is Farmer Henry enjoying corn. Granted, this corn was purchased at the Farmer's Market and graciously given to us by Rich and Kristl. But Henry is enjoying it even though it didn't come out of our garden. You have never seen a kid more excited about growing his own food than Hank. This love was fostered at a young age by Grandma and Grandpa who always grow grape tomatoes. I'm sure he has some of my dad's gardening genes as well. My dad is the only person I know that might rival Henry's interest in gardening. Last year when we moved into our house, we grew "Henry's tomatoes" in our front flower bed (yes, it was a little white trash, but oh well).

This year Kevin and I decided that since we have a big backyard full of dirt we may as well make the most of it before we landscape and plant a big garden. Henry has been enthralled. The first thing he asks when he wakes up from his nap is "Now can we go out to the garden?" He eats as many cherry tomatoes as he can stuff into his mouth and then helps me pick peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and whatever else might be ripe at the time. The kid's favorite snack is a cut up green pepper or cucumber from the garden.

The garden has been good for me as well. I have been having to plan my meals around fresh veggies and I have discovered some great recipes. We have SO many tomatoes that once they come on I am going to have to hone my canning skills...hmmm I know I should be excited about that, but it sounds hot and tiring tonight. Good thing grandma has a killer salsa recipe.

The picture below is up at our property. Henry and Maisie planted a garden of their own outside the play cabin. Henry will tell you they are only blossoms, but they will surely turn into something delicious with a little water and sunshine.

Henry with the first squash and zucchini of the season. The sweet taste of victory!

The Dreaded Swim Lessons

Henry looks really happy here, doesn't he? He was a big talker yesterday..."I'm going to go under the water and swim like a big boy." That was moments before his last swim lesson. Confident and ready to go.
This was the result once his teacher actually submerged him. It was all downhill from there. In order to pass level I the students have to be able to master a set of skills and I don't think Henry mastered even one of them. He won't put his face in the water, he won't let go of his death grip on the teacher, and he won't jump in to his teacher without mom or dad having to push him. So much for my visions of him swimming under water by the end of this summer. Level I here we come...again.