Lighthouse Operational

 11 Jul 23:

The lighthouse id finished, but if we'd read the Warning placard before we started, maybe we wouldn't have. Luckily the squirrels can't read and don't wear hoodies or sandals.

Our good friend Paul IV taught us a lot about carpentry, passed along from his Dad Paul III.  Lumber can have surprisingly sharp edges, one thing they liked to do was to ease the sharp edges of a piece, like we did below. We used a 1/8th inch roundover bit on a DeWALT compact trim router, and we also ran over the surfaces with 120 grit sandpaper. to take off any grain fuzz left behind If power tools are not handy, you can flatten the edges with a hammer, and Paul would do that on some new build furniture just to give it a vintage feel, years of loving use, passed down generation to generation. 

Bruce approves.

There was a bit of family conversation over how long it would take the local hooligans to find a peanut on top of the swing and ring beam. The answer? About 9 minutes. 

Backyard Lighthouse

 05 Jul 23:

We're building a small playset for the Grand, that we'll call the Lighthouse. The heat index was well over 100F when I sat down next to Skipper to admire my progress...

Did you notice the skewed handrail? Skipper did while I was attaching it. Did she say anything? No. She waited for me to sit down and see if I noticed. I did. Then I fixed it. Skipper still firmly planted in the shade.

Then we added a flagpole, which is a remnant of a Sunfish boom that we used as a flagpole at the end of our Florida pier. It is a remnant because half of the boom snapped off during Cat 2 Hurricane Sally. We brought it with us, along with the flag bits, which are stored until we can create a suitable display.

Smithfield Light

 26 Jun 23:

New lighthouse going up, are maybe a playset for the squirrels. For those keeping track, we're supposed to be repairing a Catfish and Sunfish. But the weather is perfect for marine construction.

Could be another spare bedroom for Webb...