Puttering in the Study

Reading to the boys

Got in yesterday evening from our anniversary trip to Dallas, and spent some time reading to the boys in the study.  Read the graphic novel Batman Returns I just got in Dallas all the way through to Grayson, and Froggy's Halloween to the twins (shown).

Grayson's Pumpkin Patch field trip

On Friday Grayson's class went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch in Bullard, Texas.  Jamie drove, and said they had a great time.  Grayson now wants to plant pumpkins, which sounds like a good idea to me.

Halloween 2005

For Halloween this year, Grayson traded in the Buzz Lightyear costume for Batman.  Parker picked a fireman, and Collin finally decided Mickey Mouse would be okay.  They trick-or-treat-ed at the courthouse before coming to my office.  We then did downtown, and the First Baptist center, both of which were lots of fun.

Cardboard train

Cardboard boxes are just the best.  Grayson made a train out of one I had left over recently (its twin is the space shuttle in my workshop).  Complete with door on the side, and opening in the bottom so he could drive it around (note the Fred Flintstone mode of propulsion). 

TAMU-Commerce Homecoming

two weeks ago I took Grayson with me to my alma mater, Texas A&M - Commerce for homecoming (it was East Texas State when I was there).  I took along copies of the carrier books to participate in a book signing that they had at the student center.  It was the first time I'd been there is at least six years, I think, and the campus has changed quite a bit.  I probably spent more time on the marching band practice field than anyplace else there, and it is completely gone - cover by new dorms and a new student rec center. 

I know I probably bored Grayson silly, but I had a great time walking him around the campus, and he seemed to enjoy checking out the other books for sale at the book signing.  We also went out to the tailgate party, where he rode a mechanical bull and tried to hit a target with a baseball to dunk someone.  We then went to the game, where he laid his head in my lap he was so tired (and hot) and Derryl Peace, the alumni director was nice enough to invite us to sit in the press box, and have drink and some popcorn.  He eventually perked up, and seemed to enjoy the band's halftime show.

We left after halftime, and Grayson was asleep by the time we hit the city limits, and slept the whole two hours until we got to Longview, where we met Jamie and shopped for Halloween costumes, before going to Chuck E. Cheese's as a reward for Garyson being so good at school.

Restaining the front doors

One problem with wood doors is that they have to be refinished periodically.  But I sure didn't expect them to need refinishing after a year!  Our front doors were stained red mahogany (same as the adjacent study) and varnished with spar polyurethane shortly before we moved in last spring, and by this year they had already lost most of the varnish, and faded to dull tan wood - they essentially looked like driftwood, or unfinished old doors on a mission church.  Not that that's a bad thing, but it just wasn't what I wanted.

In between coats of stain on the study ladder (which was just a few feet away from the front doors) I sanded the doors down, restained them with the same red mahogany, and put on two coats of spar polyurethane.  Next time I'll probably sand them down a little more aggressively to get a more even coat of the stain, and do several coats of the varnish, steel-wooling in between, but this is pretty good for a first time, I think. 

Study ladder

Just got my newest toy - a 5 3/4' rolling ladder for the study.  About a quarter of my shelf space is contained in the top two shelves, which require basically a six foot ladder to get to.  Instead of getting a rolling ladder system which would prevent me from putting chairs in corners, and put a unsightly brass rail across the fireplace, I got a "pulpit" rolling stepladder from Putnam Rolling Ladder.  It has four steps to a standing platform at 36" off the ground, with metal handrails, and a book platform in front (hence the name "pulpit")  It rolls on four wheels but once you step on it it sits down on the floor, so it's plenty stable.  And it's very easy to work from, since you can stack book on the pulpit and roll them around - no balancing on a stepladder with an armload of books.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get it in any wood but oak, so even though I stained it with the same red mahogany as the rest of the study last weekend (didn't trust the manufacturer to get it dark enough), it still look relatively zebra-striped compared to the cherry bookcases and paneling.  I am putting rub-on polyurethane on the steps and platforms, but after spending a solid day last weekend staining this beast, I am not in the mood to steel wool and rub any more than I have to.

It is a big hit with the boys - Collin and Parker love to climb it to get books off the bookcases, and with the handrails, they can get up and down easily.

The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

Just finished reading this on the Palm, and really, really enjoyed it.  I needed a good potboiler while on the plane to and from California, and this really fit the bill.  In the vein of The DaVinci Code, and the plot is quite similar to American Treasure, but the setting on Princeton's campus is just captivating.  The writing itself is beyond just being good - it is phenomenal.  I really enjoyed the characters and particularly the budding romance between Tom and Katie.  I did have trouble with the time shifting from the past to the present a bit (a key point in following the love interest story), but I may have just missed something due to flipping on the PDA.  The story (and the writing) did get away from them a bit towards the end, but they pulled out a really nice ending.  I don't know if there is a sequel planned, but I'm hoping there is.  I'd like to read a little more of this.