Grandpa Frank  

Cat Breed of the Week: Russian Blue;The physical beauty of the Russian Blue is complemented by its loving, quiet disposition. Although shy in nature, Russian Blues are affectionate intelligent, and playful with their human companions. They get along with children and other pets, making them a fine addition to a family. If you are a […]

Summer-Flowering Bulbs; Summer-blooming bulbs are a great source of color. They are such easy-to-grow plants that our ancestors brought many with them when they set sail in ships or prairie schooners. Plant these summer bloomers after the soil has warmed. We’d be glad to help you determine when the time is right and give you […]

White Elephant Event Raises Funds for Oakland Museum; It is known as the largest rummage sale in the East Bay, with offerings of everything from towels to parkas to Polaroid cameras, even stuffed animal skins. The White Elephant Sale is the Oakland Museum of California’s biggest fund-raising event of the year. Hundreds of volunteers work […]

Doghouse Plans: This doghouse is designed with the beginner in mind. It might even be a good project to involve the kids. The entire project requires only one sheet of plywood, two 2″x4″s and one 2″x2″. All of these materials are available at your local hardware store. We have prepared a cut list on page […]

Butcher Block Cutting Board: Do your kitchen knives dull faster than you can sharpen them? Are your countertops showing undue wear? Protect your utensils and your kitchen surfaces with an attractive butcher block cutting board you make yourself. This is a great weekend project for a beginning woodworker.

Baby Changing Table: Baby changing tables are a wonderful - yet expensive - addition to any nursery. With that in mind we set about building a baby changing table that would provide a strong combination of practicality and price. The resulting table has subsequently been “battle-tested” for the past month and has stood up to […]

Chicken Parmesan: In a large straight-sided skillet, pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2-inch. Heat the oil over medium heat until it registers 400 degrees F on a deep-frying thermometer. (The oil must be heated to 400 degrees F so that the breaded chicken, when added, will drop the temperature of the […]

SEASONAL POND CARE; With spring approaching, we offer the following list of pond care suggestions to help get your pond off to a healthly start for the spring and summer growing season. Increase water circulation.
Start feeding your fish again when the water temperature reaches a constant 50 degrees.
If there has been an accumulation of leaves […]

Distressing Wood; Old is hip and a seemingly important part of any project nowadays is the ability to falsify its age. Distressing — also known as antiquing — is used to age contemporary pieces and there are many variation on this theme. One of the more extreme approaches is to throw the project into the […]

Adirondack style garden chair; Adirondack chairs have become very popular in the past few years. The shape and angle of these chairs is somewhere between a normal garden chair and a slovenly deck chair. The result is a surprisingly comfortable chair that, unfortunately, costs far too much. Fortunately, making an Adirondack chair is not […]