Spring is always such an inspiring time of the year for me. The bright sunshine and longer days never fails to evoke in me a feeling of rejuvenation and excitement for what is time to come in the next months. So last Spring we started a garden on the deck.
One of my daughter’s favorite books of all time has got to be “The Gardener” By Sarah Stewart, Illustrated by David Small. The story takes place during the Great Depression and centers around a young girl with a passion for gardening. Her parents’ strained financial situation forces her to go live with her uncle in New York City until they achieve some stability. In the busy and sterile, concrete jungle of New York city, she finds a way to bring gardening to her uncle’s apartment building. He shares her love of gardening to her uncle and the customers to his bakery. The story is presented as a series of letters written home from our protagonist, over the course of a year. It is a beautiful and heartwarming story and the illustrations are stunning.
Feeling inspired, my kids wanted to start a garden on the deck of our house. So in March, we began researching, planting seeds, flowers, trees and started our own little garden. Everyday brought new discoveries for the children. There was always something that was sprouting, new colors to see, new scents to take in and something tasty to try. All of this continued into the fall!
sweet potatoblueberriesVietnamese Mai Flower
Overall, it was a memorable and fun experience for them. Happy Spring everyone. Go outside and plant something.
Tis the season to get organized. After countless searches around the house for our keys, ID badges and wallets, it was time to put an end to the madness. We needed a key rack.
I did a quick search online for ones to purchase and I was just never thrilled about the look of any of them. A while ago, I purchased a board of english brown oak that I was originally going to use for some shelves but ultimately felt that it didn’t quite fit the dimensions of what I wanted for the job……. it would make a perfect key rack though.
The hardware for the wooden key rack.
Originally I was planning on buying some brass hooks to insert into the wooden key rack, but ended up findings this gold plated one on amazon and felt like it would go well with a wooden base.
English Brown Oak is interesting. It’s actually not a different species of oak at all. It is a species of white oak, that succumbed to a certain type of mushroom species. While dying, the mushroom produces an acid, which turns the wood into a milk chocolate to dark brown color.
The Delta planer working on some cypresscypress shavings
After giving the board a quick run through the planer, I cut the pieces down to size. I knew that I would want a small compartment on this board to keep mail and knick knacks. I was fortunate enough to purchase this old school Delta planer for only $300 on Facebook marketplace. It is built like a tank, and weighs a ton, but has been reliable so far. This little beast is 1hp and as a result requires a 220V outlet. After carefully researching online, I found the appropriate extension cords to run it from the garage to the driveway so all of the shavings could be brushed into the forest.
Using a router, created a slot for the mail compartment. I also used the router and chisel to create the insert for my metal hardware.
I also used the router to chamfer the edges. This was absolute necessary to prevent the wood from chipping and cracking in the future. This wood was already quite dry and brittle, so chamfering would prevent it from splitting or cracking if it gets dinged on the edge.
On the back of the key rack, I decided to use key hole shelf brackets. These would be more than sufficient to support the weight of the rack and everything it would hold. I used a portable drill press and a Forstner bit to drill out the holes for the keyhole inserts. They slotted nicely. I predrilled the holes to make sure the wood would not split.
The Milescraft drill mate is an incredibly useful little tool. I haven’t been able to justify the space for a drill press in my workshop, and the miles craft drill mate makes me glad that I never got one. It is portable, easy to use and allows me to drill perpendicular anywhere. Definitely check it out if you’re considering purchasing a drill press.
After gluing everything up, I gave the key rack a nice coat of danish oil and bees wax. Oak is quite porous so this drastically changed the color of the whole project to a nice deep rich chocolate color.
The glue up. The gold plated hardware was fixed in place with epoxy. (Make sure you cover the hardware prior to using any adhesive to make the clean up easier)The finished product.
Overall, I was really happy with how the project ended up. No more searching for keys and wallets!
Happy Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays everyone! Stay safe, Be Healthy, and enjoy your time.
WAY NORTH 