Now We're Getting Somewhere

Well, after a couple of years of backwards progress, Chloe is finally riding like we know she can!  2 blues at Indy in her first walk/trot/canter show...and more on the way!

Too Many Mooviez

So our DVD/BluRay collection has grown to exceed our available storage capacity...

Instead of buying more overpriced junk shelves, we decide to build our own.  Moby agrees to supervise...in between naps, of course.

I measure the space we have to work with, load up SketchUp, and draw out a set of shelves.  We elect to go with a self-supporting design instead of mounting them to the walls.  Now it's off to Home Depot to buy a pile of maple boards.

I built a cross-cut jig for the table saw to guarantee square cuts.

And turn that pile of lumber into a bunch of shelf-sized boards, uprights, and rear supports.  As an added bonus, no fingers were lost in the production of this furniture.

The shelves and rear supports will attach to the uprights with dowels.  This means holes, and lots of them.

After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I came up with this contraption, which allows holes to be drilled square to the boards quickly and consistently in the same location and to the same depth every time.

It still took a couple of days to drill all of these holes.

The hand drill worked ok for the ends of the boards, but it would not work for the uprights.  For that, I needed a drill press.  Because I had no place to put a drill press, I built a cabinet to hold it.

I drew up plans from a picture I found on the Intertoobz in SketchUp and went to work.

Now it's time to go to work on the uprights with the drill press.  I use a 1/4" Forstner bit, which makes very clean holes without damaging the wood.

More holes...

Now that we have all the boards to the right length with holes in all the right places, it's time to make the wood smooth.  I started off using saw horses...until a couple of the uprights vibrated off and fell on the asphalt driveway.  Then I bought a Black & Decker Workmate to hold each board as I worked on them.  Best $40 I ever spent.

I started with 100 grit on my small hand-held orbital sander and went through all 36 boards.  Then did it again with 120 grit, 150, 180, and finally 220.  This took three weekends working about 4 hours a day.  The results were excellent, though.

Next was assembly, which only took a couple of hours for both sets.  Only three shelves are secured with screws, which are covered with hardwood plugs.

I also made feet with rounded corners to be barefoot-friendly.

For a finish, I went with boiled linseed oil.  Just apply with a rag, then wipe off the excess after 20 minutes.  This will take 6-7 coats applied over the course of a week.   The smell brings back memories of oil painting with Nana.

Here they are after two coats.  The feet are being finished separately and will be glued on once all of the coats have been applied.

Gratuitous Dog Pimpage

 Moby in the waning days as Master of His Domain.

My nose is cold.

What the hell is that thing doing in my house?!?

I think I'm safe back here.

Zzzzzzzz...

 Can we come out and play?

 Tug of war

 Let's cut out the middle man and chew on each other.

 I have no idea what all this white stuff is or where it came from, but it sure is fun!

 I'm so happy I could just pee all over myself!

 Yes, I really do sleep this way!

Bestest friends ever

Yes, she's multi-talented

Here's Chloe horseback riding. She just won 2nd place in her first show.

Chloe's Singing Debut

I'm such a stage mom...

This gets rather long and drawn out, but you'll get the idea after the first few verses (but you should at least go thru 5).

Griffis Family Xmas Wish List

After lots of reminding (OK, I was nagging), I finally got Tony's list. So here are all of ours:

Chloe
DVD - Kung Fu Panda
DVD - Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian
DVD - Horton Hears a Who
Mini trampoline
Disney Princess stuff (check with us first)

Tony
Winter jacket
Weed Eater (electric)
Jeans
Sweatshirt - Dolphins, Braves, Gamecocks (XL)
Rain gear for work
iPod
Dale Earnhart Jr 88 Amp Car: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_103044____SearchResults

Jenni
Book - The Other Queen (Philippa Gregory)
Programmable crock pot
DVD - Dark Knight
Coldwater Creek gift card
Portable CD/MP3 player like this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=sony+D-NF340&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

Jackie

Sweat pants and sweater (for warmth) Walmart or K-mart brand is fine, are usually sold close to a set. Size S

Boom Box – preferably battery operated and big enough to be heard.
this or this (preferred, not too expensive )

AFGHANI CYMBALS (finger cymbals)
Brass MC-800
http://www.saroyanzils.com/

Plant stands – If possible, something that can be built, kind of like shelves.
Pyrex small measuring cup – maybe 2 cups
Steak knives

DVD Movies (these are for me and Brian):
Wanted
Hancock
Hulk (new movie)
Ironman

And a partridge in a pear tree.



Christopher

Magnet letter for refrigerator
Remote control car - cordless
Pants 5T
Shirts 5T
Thomas the train DVDs
V-Tech games for 5-6
Mittens

DVD Movies:
Wall-E
Monsters, Inc.
Kung Fu Panda
Horton Hears a Who
Lion King


Brian
Dress shirts for work 15½ (neck) – 32-33
Dress Pants 38x40
Gift Certificate to JCPenny
Gift Certificate to Home Depot

Baby's got BUMP!

Don and Renee and Ronnie Wish List

Here is what we have. Renee and I are trying to get out early this year to get this done. Apparently, if you wait till the last minute and have something specific in mind, you will have a hard time finding it as inventories are so low. The stuff that seems expensive is, but this list is for Renee as well.

Famly:
All in one color printer on sale at New Egg- Example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828102317
Dark wood TV Trays such as these:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3077123&clickid=body_rv_img
A globe
Video Game for PC: Spore
Indoor outdoor Thermometer such as:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/182/4033/117.html


Ronnie:
Star Wars Legos (He already has the 2 $20 ones)
Shark Tooth Necklace
Nerf Machine Gun
Nerf Wii game
Indiana Jones Wii Game
Kid's DVDs coming out (We already have Kung Fu Panda and Walle):
Horton Hears a Who

Renee:
New Robe - Medium to heavy weight that ties on the inside as well as the out - may be best as gift certificate she can choose
Cardigan Sweater - Long and Loose - Not Green or ugly please
George Foreman 360 Grill
Rome: Seasons 1 & 2 (Don't mind having an archival copy)
Book: Why We Suck - by Dennis Leary
Maternity Clothes Gift Cert. at Kohl's
DVD:George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya


Don:
Surround Sound Computer Speakers
Nice Wood Sea Salt and Pepper Grinders - Example: http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=745653
Irish Robe Sweater or Cardigan
or
Irish Gandfather Shirt, XL, Wide Atlantic Blue Stripe:
http://murphyandcompany.stores.yahoo.net/glenorirgran.html
WWII Issue Sweater:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/215/3748/105.html (or a facsimile)
Bat Man: The Dark Night
Sports Authority - Parka

Rain, Rain Go Away...

Come back in August when it's 95 degrees and we haven't had rain in a month!

This is after a different storm (that's Beargrass Creek, in case you didn't know):

And more...

This is what it usually looks like:

Yeah, we've had a few sprinkles

Check out these pics of Cherokee Park today...yikes!

Our new ride

I forgot how to drive during our last snowstorm a couple of weeks ago and slid the Cobra into a curb at about 5 mph. The result was one mangled front wheel and a front-end in serious need of realignment. It was then that we decided we really needed a new car that was more adept at handling inclement weather and was more of a family car. I would rather chew glass than own a full-blown SUV or mini-van, and most sedans are too small. Looking at the available options from nearly every manufacturer, we decided to go with the Subaru Forester. It's a small SUV that drives like a car and gets decent gas mileage (20/27). I was ready to buy a brand new 2008 when I came across a 2007 model with 13,000 miles on it. I went to the dealership to check it out and couldn't believe that it was a used car. If it weren't for the odometer reading, I would have thought it was brand new. The price was right, too - $2,000 under the blue book value and about $5,000 less than a new 2008 with the same options. So we bought it and drove it home last night. Here are a couple of pictures:

Brian, Chris, and Jackie Wish List

Brian

Amazon Wish List

Jackie

1. Tall Candle Holders
2. Plant Stands
3. Beret, Scarf, and glove set (cream color)
4. Crock Pot
5. Make-Up Kit this or this.
6. Celine Dion Perfume
7. The Wizard of Oz (Widescreen DVD)
8. The Reaping (Widescreen DVD)
9. The Mummy (Widescreen DVD)
10. Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer (Widescreen DVD)

Chris

1. Home Depot 50 Piece Power Tool Set
2. Home Depot 18-Piece Tool Box
3. Race track
4. Fire Truck
5. Clothes (3T-4T)
6. Shoes (Size 9-9½)
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
8. Charlie Brown TV Specials (we have all the movies)
9. Classic Christmas Movies
10. Shrek Movies

Don, Renee, and Ronee Fox III Wishlist

Ronnie Fox III
New Bed Sheets/Comforter – "Transformers” or other Ronnie Fox themed
Pants - Husky Size 8 with adjustable waist-band
"Bumble-Bee" Action Figure from Transformers or other “Transformers” items

Renee
5/8 " Right and Left X-ray markers with initials that can be found at:
http://www.pjxray.com/cgi/home.php?aid=g&cid=19
White Nurses Shoes Size 9
Phantom Tickets

Don
Fancy Man Wallet
Chardonnay or Merlot Wine Kit
DeWalt Cordless Drill Set as seen by Brian Rapp at Home Depot

We all like the Wii
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Super Mario Galaxy
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
Nintendo Wii Zapper

The Griffis family in the news

The Courier-Journal snapped this picture of the Griffis clan at the Thanksgiving Parade in Louisville.

First Post!

All set up and ready to go. Feel free to post anything that's going on with your family. Include pictures when you can.