I enjoy being an uncle...

Patrick is really into stories right now, not even from a book, but just any story someone's willing to tell him.  Today at lunch he was asking his dad for a story from when he was a baby.  I couldn't resist, and told him he was actually born with no legs, and that we had to sew legs onto his body.  'Patrick, you know that line you see  around your waist sometimes when you change your clothes? That's the seam where Grandpa had to attach your legs'.

Patrick replied, 'No, papa's already told me that story'...

I tried again.  'You're right Patrick, you were actually born without a face.  We had to transplant parts of Grandma's dogs onto your face.  You know why Kira doesn't have any teeth?  We put those into your mouth.'

Patrick replied with an emphatic "No!".  'Patrick, do you like chasing cats?'  Yup.  'That's because you're part dog'.  You could tell he was just a little worried...  Man I love being an uncle.

Ho hum

Well, it was too good to last.  It seemed like we had a couple weeks of gorgeous spring-like weather, only without the rain.  I got my fence engineered, plans drawn, and materials purchased a few weeks ago.  I knew I was cutting it close, looking at the forecast, but was shooting for a Saturday with 30% chance of light snow.  I figured we might get a skiff if anything, and certainly not enough to cancel my plans.  Besides, I was going to rent a gas-auger to drill post holes to save me some time...  This is precisely why 30% chance of light snow turned into this...

So, instead of putting in Tommy's first fence (and getting us one step closer to getting another dog...  for Tommy), we spent the day cleaning up from the storm.  

Helpin' out Don & Janet next door.

Tommy's pretty good about keeping his mittens on.

It took another week for most of this snow to melt, bringing us into this weekend which forecasted rain.  I figured it would only be a light drizzle in the AM, and I could dig post holes in the afternoon.  But oh no, it poured all weekend, ending in snow Saturday night.  We'll try again next weekend.

So, with the weather delays, we've just been hangin' out.

Fixing light sabers.

Taking photography lessons.

And catching up on chores like getting our haircuts at Grandmas.

 Wait for it.

Better hurry Grandma - we're out of candy to bribe him.

And we're out.  Part of me understands why some parents might let their son's hair grow out like a hippie or a little girl's.  You'll thank me later son.

Remember this fire?

I smelled the pungent smoke from it for days.  Turns out it smoldered all the way into the ground, and through the main roots.  I meant to snap a picture before it covered up with snow.  If it's still a nice little root-shaped void in the soil when the snow melts I'll put up a picture.

Tom the Tool-Man Bakker

Tommy enjoys Home Depot more than the McDonald's playground.  There's all sorts of items at child-height he can reach like razor-knives, sharp screws, and splinter-inducing lumber.  Tom's got a bunch of toy tools, including a super-cool toy chainsaw and angle-grinder (Katie calls it a sander - snicker snicker), but followers of my blog know that his favorite tools are mine because they're made out of steel and have real motors.

Tommy sporting a nice scratch on his chin after running into a wooden store display (not to mention whatever's smeared all over his face & nose).

After careful consideration, we ran to HD to use some Christmas gift cards and picked out a 1/4" impact driver. I'll be taking some time off from remodeling through January/February, and might build a fence (so that we maybe can get a dog...).  The thought of driving screws with my 1/2" drill (about 6-7 lbs) makes my wrists hurt sitting here, and my Harbor Freight cordless is nearing end-of-life.  So you see, a 3lb 1/4" impact driver made perfect sense - Tommy agrees.

He may look like Grandpa Tom - but fortunately he has a cuter smile...

Did you feel the earth stop turning -

For about 30 seconds this weekend?  I stumbled accross a new way to build a fire that I've not encountered before - a swedish torch or swedish stove.  I'll let you check out your own youtube videos, but there's a few ways to make.  I chain-sawed an old stump, and Tommy & I enjoyed a nice little fire on Saturday.

I was dismayed that somehow cadets failed to teach me about every form of campfire, but elated that the magic was somehow new again.  The top of the log makes a nice platform for cooking in a pinch.