The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey

There's a game on? Also, a Red Letter day!

Ah, but you see, the Ravens ensured that I wouldn't have to watch football this year. But this morning I did get rolling on the first shelving install (the new five-foot wide unit), following shopping... Lexi always has to "help", but actually through most of this process today she was a good girl, and slept on a chair in the library. I unloaded all of those shelves into stacks in the guest bedroom, then hauled the shelves downstairs. I'm going to make use of the white one in my storage room, for paints and such. The brown one is a…

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Brian Bilbrey

Another weekend gone

Also this weekend, I baked cookies, and made an army's worth of chili. I used the last of the summer's freezer-reserve tomato sauce, a couple of pounds each of ground turkey and ground spicy italian sausage, and mixed red kidney and black beans. Heat and chili powder added. Yum! Sadly, the cookies are almost gone... I got the second coat of white on the shelving today. A small roller with a smooth-coat cover, and a gallon-size rolling grid solved the problems I was having with painting. I still have to decide what to do next: Poly or no poly. I'm…

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Brian Bilbrey

Finishing in Stages

The woodshop isn't big enough to build everything, then finish everything, then put everything in place up here in my office. SO ... I've assembled the first set of shelves (which was done by the end of last weekend). Since then, I've been applying finishes. Four days of finish, just for the shelving backs. A coat of the dark teal, knock down the grain, and recoat with the teal. Coat once with satin finish oil-modified water-based polyurethane, sand with 320 grit, and recoat with the poly. The backs are stunning, but not photographable as standalone objects. You'll see what I'm…

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Brian Bilbrey

Two Thirds Gone

The weekend, that is. Woodworking, Tops Gear, and Skyrim, again. This not-in-school thing is pretty fun! I'll try to post some pix of furniture progress tomorrow-ish. * * * Our condolences to the family and friends of Sergeant Chambers: Sgt. David J. Chambers, 25, of Hampton, Va., died Jan. 16, in Panjwai District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device while on dismounted patrol.

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