I just finished my first class at The Sawdust Shop (452 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale, California). I had a wonderful time learning wood turning from Phil Roybal. Each of the six students made a basting brush and a small bowl. The class was not without incident – several bowls went spinning across the floor when the novice turners made a mistake. However, I was pleased with my own results and plan to continue studies in woodworking.
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson
Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews
Last night, my husband John helped to run the light board for a community theater group presenting the short play “Christ in the Concrete City” by Philip W. Turner. The production was by the Saint Andrew’s Players, directed by Melita Thorpe, and was held at dusk in the garden of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (Saratoga, California). It was an interesting play, at times disturbing, and a fun evening.
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson
Filed under Church, Home & Family, News & Reviews
Over 150 years ago, our part of San Jose, California, in the neighborhood of Willow Glen, was a marsh – an extension of the Guadalupe River. In the 1860s, Frank Lewis built the Lewis Canal to drain the marsh that gave Willow Glen its name to create rich farmland. Still today, the land shifts season by season under the houses that cover it, often causing wall and foundation damage.
John and I spent a long time in the last few months working with contractors to get our 1930 home more-or-less level, adding several beams to support soft spots. Our house (which was built on what was once a chicken farm) was raised and given a new foundation after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 but it has shifted since. This summer, several other houses near us have been raised entirely so that new foundations could be built under them. Mostly the rebuilders take the opportunity to add new rooms to the home, enlarging it at the expense of the surrounding garden. Modest old bungalows become homes that will sell for much more.
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson
Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews
My husband John has been designing model train open source hardware for many years – as I have written about before. Recently, at the urging of fellow enthusiasts (or “Train Nuts” as their wives call them), John brought out his first retail product – the DCC Brakeman. The DCC Brakeman is now for sale for $6.99 at The Train Shop, 1829 Pruneridge Ave, Santa Clara, California, (408) 296-1050. (The first version sold for $6.25 but everyone wanted him to have a weight added, which costs a little more.) Some assembly is required.
The rule of the railroad used to be that “When a train stops on a main track, flag protection must be provided.” This little electronic guy is about one inch tall. He represents a flagman with a red lantern – as a visual aid to protect model trains when switching from fouling the main line. He is used in DCC (digital command and control) model train operations – about which you can find out more at the Operations Special Interest Group. He wears a baseball cap which says DCC. The little man’s front says Brakeman and his back says Safety First! (“Safety First” has been an American railroad industry motto since around 1910.)
Details on the DCC Brakeman are on John’s website: spcoast.com.
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Images Copyright 2012 by John Plocher
Filed under Caboose Project and Other Trains, Home & Family
In my April 2012 blog entry called Douglas Fir Discovered, I presented the first installment of the story of creating my husband’s new office in our 1930 Spanish Mission style home in Willow Glen, California. So far, we have:
The work is being well done by the Willow Glen Floor Company. We have also had them address several areas where the oak floors were scratched or there was a board cracked. To finish up, we still need to:
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher
Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews
My son Paul turned twenty recently, with much celebration of the life milestone – no longer a teenager! Paul has been camping at the University of California Alumni Association Lair of the Golden Bear family camp since before he could walk. As usual, his first birthday celebration was a chocolate Lair Cake in the dining hall. His final party was last night at the Melting Pot restaurant. The big present was a violet and white deep carved crystal vessel by Celestial Art Glass which he fell in love with last month at the Palo Alto Clay & Glass Festival.
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson
Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews
One of my favorite rocks is granite, of which there is a large amount in my home state of California. My favorite individual granite stones are those which show more than one pattern or color – indicating that the rock underwent a complex formation process. Dikes cutting through a stone are more interesting to me than rocks of homogeneous color or texture. One of my most enjoyable experiences at family camp last week was sharing individual stones with my daughter Jessica. She has always been fond of rocks but since she took a geology class at CMU during her last year, Jessica is even more enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson
Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews
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