Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Over the years I've been doing a lot of woodworking on various projects. From wainscoting to doors, and desks to shelves, I've been slowly honing my skills and tool collection to support my new found love and appreciation for the sometimes infuriating task of woodworking. Though I had some familiarity with the basics of saws and sanding, coming into my life as a homeowner I didn't possess much more knowledge than the average Joe when it came to one of the necessities of almost every woodworking project -- the bar clamp.
I've worked on many different woodworking projects that range from the very simple to the (in my opinion) extremely complex. In nearly every project there comes a point where I need to glue and clamp some component of my work. Just this last weekend I was working on the new french doors for the front of the house, and once again had to add a bit of material to the side of each door. This whole process would have been quite difficult, if not nearly impossible, without the right style of clamps. Here's one of our doors from over the weekend, all clamped up with the glue drying.
If you'll notice, these aren't your every day tension clamps. The clamps I'm speaking so highly of are actually the more specialized bar clamp sometimes called cabinet or K body style clamps. The primary purpose of these clamps are to hold your work securely in place, but the unique function and design of the clamps allow them to exert a tremendous amount of pressure in an even and gradual manner. This particular style comes in very handy when I need to clamp shelves, doors, or (go figure) cabinets to secure a tight joint and to allow the glue to set completely.
As you can see from the photo, I actually have a mix of several types and brands of clamps. I've been buying them as we've needed them over the years, trying out different approaches as each project requires additional items. While this means my clamp set isn't nearly as neat, matching, plentiful, and organized as the New Yankee Workshop's collection, it does mean I've been able to try out different brands and styles to see what I like best.
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Monday, September 5, 2011
It's one productive weekend here at Old Town Home. Although we're not ready to officially unveil the fruits of our labor via a blog post, we're offering up sneak peeks via Facebook and Twitter. Can you guess what we're up to?
Want to join the party? Simply click on the "Like Us" tab at right to see what's happening on our Facebook page, or click on the "Follow Us" button in the Recent Tweets box, also located in the righthand column, to get the latest on Twitter.
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Friday, September 2, 2011
Merlindia and Benethiopia, for the uninitiated, are the nomadic lands of the Fojol Brothers and their wonderful food trucks. I've mentioned the Fojol Brothers in a previous post about Truckeroo, but I wanted to give them a proper shoutout with a post that is entirely about their style and their amazing food.
The Fojol Brothers of Merlindia are one of D.C.'s original and pioneering food trucks. They were actually the first food truck I ever visited, and they really hooked me. Their first truck hails from the mythical land of Merlindia. (You see how it has the word "India" in it?) Their specialty is a daily selection of vegetable and meat curries over rice, and I've yet to find one (the veggie ones of course) that I don't enjoy.
Last year the fine Fojol family added a new truck to their mix, and this new truck is from Benethiopia (Get it, "Ethiopia." Do you see a pattern?). The Benethiopia truck stocks a mix of vegetarian and meat stews served with injera, meant to inspire eating with your hands.
Lucky for my coworkers and me, the Fojol Brothers come to our neck of the D.C. woods most Thursdays (Merlindia) and Fridays (Benethiopia). It's an event many of us look forward to.
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Up until this point, each of our Open Housing posts have featured homes in Old Town Alexandria, for better or worse, to help give our readers the inside look at some of the gems in our area. But as some of you may know, there's a piece of my heart that is completely and madly in love with the Napa Valley. For this very reason I've signed up to receive periodic real estate notifications from a Napa Valley wine country local Realtor. You know, just in case we win the lottery and can afford a second home or have a total change of heart and opt to move to the west coast. After last week's earthquake and hurricane, I guess you just never know! (Though moving to the west coast to flee an east coast earthquake may not be the best plan I've ever had.)
When I received this week's real estate digest email, there was one property in particular that caught my eye. For a home as quaint and charming as this, I felt I needed to share it with you, even though I haven't had the pleasure of touring it in person. I'll treat it like a little bit of my own voyeuristic torture, force to admire from a far but good enough to share with all of you.
This storybook "castle" of sorts, located in Saint Helena, California, is a modest home at roughly 1900 square feet. Covered in charm and character, it was built in 1948 and boasts three bedrooms and two full baths.
This place just oozes curb appeal. Here's another look at the inviting front door, topped off by a turret. It's just so cute!
The appeal doesn't stop at the threshold. Take a look at the main living space, complete with a stately fireplace and warm rough hewn beams. Imagine curling up in front of a roaring fire on a crisp fall night with a good book and a fine glass of wine (that you purchased earlier in the day on a quick tasting trip just down the street) .
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Living just outside of D.C. and working in the heart of downtown, I get see some of our nation's most iconic and prolific memorials and buildings. In the years since moving to Alexandria, Wendy and I have seized the opportunity to visit as many of the various monuments and points of interest that millions of visitors flock to each and every year. Really, there's no sense in living within the bounds of a tourist attraction if you don't take a chance to visit them yourself. Otherwise you're just missing out on a major aspect of your home.
Throughout the years, we've witnessed the construction and grand opening (or re-opening) of some of the biggest attractions in D.C. The World War II memorial, Newseum, National Museum of the American Indian, and the rededication of the American History Museum are among some of the highlights. And yesterday, I took a few moments out of my day to visit the latest addition to the National Mall and Tidal Basin area, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the National Mall, it isn't the same as the shopping mall you're probably picturing. The National Mall represents the area of U.S. Parkland, memorials, museums, and significant buildings that sit in or on the span between the U.S. Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial, and between the Jefferson Memorial and The White House. It's a bustling area with plenty of walking paths, running trails, and sights to see.
I work in an office building that is very near the National Mall and I take advantage of this unique location quite often. Because of my proximity to one of our national treasures, I try to go for a lunchtime run two or three times a week that takes me around the monuments and tidal basin. Yesterday the weather was absolutely perfect, so I decided to take a quick pause on my run around the tidal basin to visit and take some photos of the newly opened Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
This newest memorial has been under construction for some time. I've been tracking the progress as I've run past it and over the last couple of weeks I was able to witness the whole thing coming together.
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