August Rewind

We got the Howtoons book from the library. Char read through all of the projects, and she decided that she wanted to make the marshmallow launcher. 

The project requires two feet of PVC. As luck would have it, Home Depot sells PVC pipe in two foot lengths. I knew this project was meant to be when I saw the name of the PVC company.

Here's Char goofing around with the launcher. "... and my papa's going to film it..." (in case you need an interpreter)

We visited mini golf courses when the weather was decent. That's some blue water, my friend.

I thought it would fun for Char to have a putter of her own. I used a pipe cutter to shorten a club purchased at a thrift store. You can see how much of the shaft I cut off. My dad enjoyed collecting and restoring old golf clubs, so I already knew how to re-grip the putter. 

I bought a new ROSSA grip from eBay. It was pretty cheap because it was missing the ROSSA ball marker. I used my bench grinder to shape a penny to fit inside the end of the grip.

Char got upset when she lost the coin, but she calmed down when I asked her, "How much do you think it cost me to make that ball marker?"

"Ummm. A penny?"

"That's right. A penny. I think we can afford to make you another one." That's when I got a smile and a hug.

Here's another project. I bought this window at a Vintage and Made Fair a couple of years ago. Since then it's being hanging on the wall waiting for something to frame

I had Walgreen's print a poster of one our pictures taken in Québec City. Now we have a window looking out on our vacation in Canada.

Char's name was drawn in the Johnston Public Library's Summer Reading Contest. She won an electronic keyboard, a book about making instruments from everyday objects, and two packs of Pop Rocks. What did she get the most excited about?

She exclaimed, "Pop Rocks! I can't believe how lucky this is!"

Sometimes when we're out and about, we get hungry, but we don't want to take the time to eat at a restaurant. That's when we go to Kum & Go. They have healthy choices,  salads, sandwiches, and their pizza is good. On Wednesdays they have my favorite - bacon cheeseburger pizza!

Hey, don't judge! Chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern says his comfort food is gas station pizza, too.

Char's comfort food is egg drop soup. That bowl in the middle of the table was full when lunch began. Daphne and I had our own cups of hot and sour soup, but Char was the only one going to town on the egg drop.

There were a few thunderstorms rolling through Iowa in August, but I still haven't been able to get a  photograph of lightning. This picture is interesting and ominous, though.

On Sundays the Iowa Cubs let the kids run the bases after the game. That's pretty cool.

I visited Living History Farms for the first time. Daphne was a Living History Farms camp counselor when she was in college, and this year Charlotte was a LHF camper. The two showed me around.

Charlotte's favorite part of the tour? This farm cat.

I was impressed with the vintage campaign posters. The Concert at the Forum had quite a lineup: 

"On stage, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Carole King, and Quincy Jones performed for hordes of nubile screamers, who paid up to $100 a ticket to hear their favorite artists and gawk at the ushers: Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Julie Christie, Gene Hackman, Burt Lancaster, Jon Voight, Sally Kellerman, Robert Vaughn, Mama Cass, John Philip Law, Peggy Lipton, Michelle Phillips, plus the celebrities in the audience, Gregory Peck, Britt Eklund, Carly Simon, and Joni Mitchell."

 - The Village Voice

Daphne got a kick learning about the secret language of the fan while we visited the Victorian-styled Tangen House.

Well, it is time to use my right hand to hold the fan in front of my face. Summer's over. Let's go check out fall.