MyVirtualLife.net

Here's some pics of my latest project:






It doesn't look like much, but it was one of the hardest things I've made because of the unusual shape of the stairway walls. It seems to be working pretty good so far, but of course there's always things I would do differently.

At least I don't have to see this face when I leave and there's not a spot in the carpet where Boba is trying to dig...

Boba, Stuff I Made, Blog dog, baby, gate, boba, wood working

I finally got around to making some shelves for one of our closets. It's not the coolest thing I ever made, but it's very functional. This closet is actually pretty big, but the unusual shape made it hard to use the space. Now we can walk into it and still fill it up with a bunch of junk.

Life, Stuff I Made, Blog

Steph bought some crabs at Ranch 99 (or is it 99 Ranch?) this week and they were delicious as always! We just steamed them this time, but it reminded me of another type of crab I made last month.

My aunt makes a crab dinner over Christmas and this is one of her recipies with black beans and ground pork. I think it's a Chinese style, even though Steph doesn't think so. It may not look so good in the picture, but it's very tasty!

We also met some interesting people on our recent trip to Kauai. One of them was kind enough to give us a crab that they caught and cooked. They call this one a 7-11 crab because of the number of red spots on it. The shell was so thick that they said you have to smash it with a hammer. We told him that we didn't have anything to crack the shell and that we weren't going to be able to eat it, but he still wanted to give it to us anyway. The Hawaiian people are just so welcoming and so generous. Good thing crab season is coming to end because my cholesterol can't handle anymore!

Food, Life, Cooking, Stuff I Made, Blog, Travel

Here are some planters I made about a year and half ago. I made the long thin first since I wanted to plant some bamboo and have it run along the patio, but I didn't want to take up much space. It's about 6 feet long and maybe 8 inches wide.



Here's a recent picture of it with the bamboo grown in:


It starts out green like the culm in the background and gradually darkens until it's nearly black in a year or so.

I took this picture of Boba sunbathing, but you can also see one of the square planters I made for a couple of red Japanese Maples in the background. I'll have to take better pictures when they bloom in the spring.


I think I found out why this one lost its leaves earlier than normal...


Steph and I went shopping at South Coast Plaza earlier this year and it happened to be the same weekend of the garden show when it's full of Orchids and other plants. I saw a planter that I really liked and it's inspired me to make one like it. I also want to make some other things too, so I guess a mitre saw is next on the list of things to buy.

Life, Boba, Stuff I Made, Blog

Continuing with the stuff I made category, here's a picture of a dog house I made for Steph about 3 1/2 years ago. She kept saying she wanted to get a dog and wanted me to make one like a barn, so this is what I came up with.



We ended up getting a dog later, but she's never even seen it since it's too big for my place. I think it's currently at her brother's and it's probably full of dirty socks for now. I think this is also the only picture I have of it too. I'll have to take a better picture of it sometime, without the shoes and socks.

Life, Stuff I Made, Blog dog house, barn

So, our wedding is all done and we got some pictures back that I'll post here sometime. I was recovered and back into things at work, but then we went to Vegas for another wedding. It was fun too, but I'm in recovery mode again.

There's a lot of updates that I want to make to the site, but I'll do what I usually do... move on to something else! I've always meant to post some pictures of things I've made over the years, but I never got around to it. So, what better time than now with Halloween coming up soon.

Here are some pumpkins I made over the years:

Marvin the Martian - 2005

Eric Cartman - 2006

Appa - 2007

I'm not sure what inspired me to make these, but I made the first one and got a little better with each one. I made the last one for Steph since she likes Appa from the cartoon, Avatar. I guess I stopped making them after we started going out.

Life, Stuff I Made, Wedding, Blog pumpkins, carving, marvin the martian, eric cartman, appa