Patriotic DuckThe All American RunnerDuck Review
April 12, 2008
 Welcome Back
 

Welcome Back: Well we did it again, we're coming to you a week late. It must be an island thing. As we adapt to island living we are learning that nothing much runs on time. In fact we've adapted so well that Ken's stopped wearing a watch which would have been unheard of before we moved here. We could make up lots of excuses why we are late this month but the real reason is that we've been busy and just didn't get it done. We'll try to do better next month.

 

Here in Western Washington March came in like a lion and left like a lion. We had snow showers on the last day of March, very unusual for these parts. April didn't start much better, it's been rainy and chilly almost every day. This weekend is giving us a ray of hope that spring is on the way. Today we are planning on sunshine and 70 degrees F.
 
While we were out driving around we came across this beautiful field of daffodils.
 
 
This was near Mount Vernon which is famous for its tulip fields. The area
produces some of the most beautiful tulip and daffodil bulbs and supplies a large portion of them to the world. If you happen to be in Washington State during April take some time and go see the tulip fields of Mount Vernon, you won't be sorry.
 

Ken and Marilyn

Wood'n Wares
 
WoodnWaresLogo

Wood'n Wares Maple Spoons

Our friends Bob and Jean who make these wonderful wooden kitchen utensils in their little wood shop in Montana are getting ready for the spring craft fairs that are coming up. These fabulous tools go fast at these fairs so now would be a good time to place your order. Most items ship within a day or two but if Bob is out of something it can take a week or more to get your order. Order now and beat the rush!

Check out all the great kitchen tools by going to, www.runnerduck.com/woodnwares.htm

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In This Issue
What's New
Site of the Month
Marilyn's Corner
The Tempos Big Band
Joke of the Month
This Months Recipe
Cookbook of the Month
Woodworking Project
Free Rockler Catalog
Please Donate
 
 
Wood Plans
Woodworking Tools
What's New?
Have you every lost something many years ago and then had the fortune of having it come back into your life. Well Ken had a friend from forty years ago show up. Back in the late 60's Ken played with a band called The Serfs. Of course being from the sixties it was a rock and roll band. During this time he also gave drum lessons to some of the people in Wichita. One of those people was Gary Cornelius.
 
I had lost touch with him over the
years but he stumbled across our RunnerDuck web site and sent me an email. He is currently playing with Mickey Gilley in Branson, Missouri. It was great to hear that I was able to inspire a young fellow to follow his musical dream and make a living out of it.
 
If you ever get to hear the Mickey Gilley band go up to Gary the drummer and say hi from me, he'll get a kick out of it.
Site Of The Month

Are you looking for new and interesting web sites? It's difficult to sort through all the millions of web sites to find something good, there's just a lot of junk out there. Well Marylaine the librarian has done it for you. This amazing woman is a writer, speaker, web master and yes she is a librarian.

Marylaine writes: "The sites I include are usually free sites of substantial reference value, authoritative, browsable, searchable, and packed with information, whether educational or aimed at answering everyday questions. I'll also include one or two sites that are just fun. "

She updates her web site every Friday which gives you the weekend to go through all her suggestions. We hope you enjoy this web site as much as we do. Go to http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

Marilyn's Corner

Bird Seed House 
 

These are really fun to make and even more fun to watch the birds feed on. One word of caution, these will not hold up in the rain so only put them out on sunny days.

I used gingerbread house kits that were discounted at an after Christmas sale. You can make your own gingerbread or buy one of these kits. The kits include baked gingerbread house pieces, candy for decorating but not used on these houses, royal icing mix, piping bag and directions.

First frost the pieces with beef lard at room temperature.

Add the seeds and anything else the birds will like or build nests out of. Here's a list to help you out:

  • Any Seeds
  • Dried Fruits
  • Rafia
  • Spanish Moss
  • Yarn Pieces
  • Oyster Crackers
  • Shredded Wheat Squares
  • Parokeet Sticks

You can use cookie cutters to help define the shapes for the seeds. Press the cookie cutter into the lard to outline where the seeds will go.

Use royal icing to cement the pieces together.

I used cans to hold all the pieces together while they dried.

Use royal icing to glue the roof down and you are ready to go feed the birds.

Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at

www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Craft Egg.

The Tempos Big Swing Band
  The Tempos are getting ready for their summer concerts. If you are interested in seeing and hearing The Tempos keep an eye on this column for performance dates.
Right now they are scheduled to perform at the Early Ford Picnic and Car Show at Bellevue Community College June 1st from 11:30 to 2:00.

The Tempos
News and CD of the Week

"Big Swing" features fourteen great swing songs from the 40's and 50's. If you love the old big band swing music we think you'll enjoy this CD. It's the kind of music that makes you just want to get up and dance, you do remember how to swing don't you?

The only place you can get this CD is from our web site. Go to www.thetempos.com and click on the "Click Here" at the top of the web page or click the album cover.


CLICK HERE
.

If you'd like to get a taste of this CD just go to The Tempos web site. When you are at the Tempos web site click on the horn valve button that says "Hear our CD". Then click on the song titles to hear a little bit of each song.

The Tempos big swing band is available for hire. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic sixteen piece big band be sure to contact kennyb@runnerduck.com. We perform all over the Seattle area for all sorts of events.

Joke of the Month

Diane, The Tempos singer, came through again with another funny joke.

CATHOLIC HORSES

One day, while he was at the track playing the ponies and all but losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.

Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race.

Before the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest the old priest step onto the track. Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate the priest made a blessing on the forehead of one of the horses.

Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the Priest had blessed won the race.

Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse the priest would bless for the 6th race. The priest again blessed a horse.

Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the races continued the priest kept blessing long shot horses, and each one ended up coming in first.

Bye and bye, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on.

True to his pattern, the priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. Mitch also observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old nag.

Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old nag. He then watched dumbfounded as the old nag come in dead last. Mitch, in a state of shock, made his way down to the track area where the priest was.

Confronting the old priest he demanded, "Father! What happened? All day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race,the horse you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile. Now, thanks to you I've lost every cent of my savings - all of it!"

The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy. "Son," he said,"that's the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a simple blessing and the last rites."

This Month's Free Recipe
 
Tuna Wedges 

Spring is finally taking hold and the days are warming up. Spring is a great time for outdoor dining and these tuna wedges hit the spot.
 
Ingredients:
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cup Cooked Rice
  • 6 Green Onions, chopped
  • 2 Cups Tuna, undrained
  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon Thyme
  • 1 Cup Fine Bread Crumbs
Beat the Eggs and add The Rice, Onions and Tuna.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Spread in a greased pie pan.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
 
Cut into wedges and serve with a tomato wedge on top and melted cheese.
Can be served cold on lettuce leaves.

Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to Marilyn at runnerduck.com. We'd be happy to post your favorite recipe on our Kitchen site or in our newsletter and give you credit.

Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out the New recipe at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store.
Cookbook of the Month
 Joie Warner's Take a Tin of Tuna:
65 Inspired Recipes for Every Meal of the Day (Paperback)
 
by Joie Warner (Author), Drew Warner (Author) 


(CLICK)

With best-selling cookbook author Joie Warner in charge, everybody's favorite staple is the stuff great meals are made of. Emphasizing variety and simplicity, Warner offers 65 adventurous ways to transform this pantry stand-by into a delicious dish, including recipes for starters, soups, sandwiches, salads, and entrees. With over a dozen tantalizing tuna sandwich fillings to choose from, featuring ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, and even a curried mango chutney stuffing for pita pockets, the lunchbox will never be the same. Other recipes include a tempting tuna and cheese souffle; a tangy pasta sauce with black olives, capers, and lemon juice; and a comforting tuna and sweet corn chowder. Boasting versatile and inspired ideas on every page, Take a Tin of Tuna is the catch of the day, every day.

Woodworking Project
 

WOOD PROJECT PLANS

DOWNLOADABLE & MAIL-DIRECT
WOODWORKING PLANS
Download WOOD Store® woodworking plans directly to your computer and start building in just minutes! OR, we'll mail them to you, your choice!

CLICK!

This Months Woodworking Project

Ceiling Management 

"Ceiling Management" may sound like a funny topic but if you are in the process of designing a new wood shop or remodeling an existing one ceiling management can be a big issue, as I recently found out.

I've just completed my wood shop, well completed might not be the right word, I don't think you are every completely done with a wood shop. One of the things I found challenging and put a lot of thought into was the layout of my ceiling, there is a lot going on up there. I have two large 2' X 8' infrared heaters, four 8' double bulb florescent lights, one reel feed power drop, one reel feed air drop, a garage door, a pull down attic ladder, an air filtration box and all the ductwork for my vacuum system. All of this on a 20' X 18' ceiling was a challenge.

I started off with a couple of key items. The air filtration box should be in a specific location to get the most efficiency out of it. It should be located 1/3 the distance of a wall with the intake on the short end. It should be about 18" down from the ceiling and 6" from the wall. This allows for the air stream to create a flow around the room.

JET - AFS-1500, 1300CFM Air Filtration System, 3-Spd, w/ Remote Cntr
JET - AFS-1500, 1300CFM Air Filtration System, 3-Spd, w/ Remote Cntr

Lighting is always important and must be placed for maximum lighting. I ran one fixture widthwise along the back of my shop and three lengthwise. This has worked out very well although because of where I placed my air filtration I do get some shadows.

Next came the heating panels. These infrared panels by Enerjoy www.sshcinc.com/BarNone2.htm are great, they are 2' X 8' X 1". They are white and blend into the ceiling. They maintain my shop at a very comfortable temperature with no air flow or fire hazard. I placed one near the back of my shop, but not above the air filter, and one near the front. Since I don't have my garage door up most of the time this works great.

I had to squeeze the attic pull-down ladder in between the lights. I also needed the ladder to be clear of my benches and machines so placement was critical.

 
I wanted a reeled power drop and it needed to clear the garage door but also needed to be close to my tablesaw and router. I was able to buy a little space by adjusting how far the garage door opens with the automatic garage door opener. Of course the important thing about power and air is that you have it all installed before the sheetrock goes on.

12-Gauge Electric Cable Reel
12-Gauge Electric Cable Reel

The air wasn't quite as critical since the reeled hose was fifty feet long. I also have a couple of other air outlets in the walls of the shop.

The vacuum system turned out to be pretty easy since it was suspended from the ceiling and not strapped directly to it. I just had to keep in mind where the garage door stopped so I didn't get any hangers in the way.

I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out and seems to function well. If you are building or remodling a woodshop be sure to take some time and pay special attention to your "Ceiling Management", it will pay off in the long run.

That's about it. We hope you liked this project. If you build it and your friends ask where you got such a clever idea, please tell them that you got it at RunnerDuck.com.

 
If any of you have wood projects to share I would be happy to put it into a format for our newsletter. Just send me an email at kennyb@runnerduck.com and lets see what we can come up with. Thank you!
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     If you want to talk about something just drop us a line to kennyb@runnerduck.com any time, we like to talk about most anything. We are always looking for content for our newsletter so if you have something to add we'd love to publish it, assuming it meets our strict family oriented requirements!

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