it's amazing just how busy you truly are when you have kids.. during the memorial day weekend i decided to take the entire week off to get some "stuff" done around the house.. and i use the term "stuff" very loosely. first off, i'm restoring an old pre-WWII cabinet that is very complex.. and second, i decided to buy baby girl a playground and surprise her for her birthday. my typical schedule was up at 5:30am, have breakfast at my favorite hole-n-the-wall mexican restaurant, and then being working around 7am. true to form.. it was the first hot spell we've had yet. everyday was in the high 90's with no breeze and no time to relax.. working about 15 hours a day. the cabinet is something that i've had for years. it was originally my father-in-laws but he left it behind when he moved out so i kind of inherited it. it's a BEAST. solid oak and the techniques the used to build it aren't practiced very much any longer. being a very novice woodworker it tested my ability and patience to the maximum. here's what i started with.. here's another pic after i started the disassemble.. i don't want to post anymore pictures until i have the final product.. hopefully soon. as for the playground.. here's the sequence: day 1 day 2 and that's 7 yards of pea gravel. and finally.. day 3 baby girl LOVES it. she was at grammys house during the build and she had no idea she was getting it.. it was a total surprise. now i can't get her off of the thing ; ) NOTE: im'm going to enclose the treated lumber boundries with cedar to match the wood on the playground.. it's gonna be gangsta.. here's a couple pics from her tea party.. all dressed up.. they had a ball! make a wish.. and one of my favorites.. wallE mama's birthday is this weekend so i'm not sure if i'll be doing any racing.. i've been riding though.. back to my old ways. it's amazing how quick you start to see improvements.. thank gawd. -out surFy