The cartoon this week was inspired by real life experience: the boss’s speech bubble is a slightly-paraphrased (and only slightly) version of an actual email that was sent out at work. The other speech bubbles are my ideas that I was too chicken to actually suggest. Enjoy!
Well, it’s the last week of the upcycling hack-challenge! The project for this week is an idea that Tim heard of a while back, and we were hoping to get to do at some point in the series, and luckily we found out a couple days ago that we would be able to get our hands on an old metal basin from a washing machine – just in time! :) These metal basins make excellent fire pits because of the holes all over them, which allow in plenty of air and help keep a fire going strong with very little effort. So here is a tutorial of how Tim converted one into a fire pit!
Here’s a note from Tim: If you want to try this yourself you can find a wash tub from a large appliance repair store (we got ours from a local Maytag store that let us have it for free) or try your luck at a junk yard. The spray paint, the legs and their hardware cost < 25$.
Take a metal basin from an old broken washing machine – it may be rusty on the bottom, as you can see on this one. But the first step is to fix the top edge, which can be sharp and ragged. Bend down the edge all the way around, and then crimp down the edge underneath to finish.
Then, you’ll need to remove the center piece, because it juts up in the middle of the basin. Turn over the basin, and carefully cut around the center.
Cut six equal lengths of perforated angled bar, for the legs. Three will be attached directly to the sides of the basin, and the other three will bolt onto those, to give you some flexibility in adjusting the height. Tim chose a three-legged and adjustable height design to make it more stable if the ground is uneven. Measure around the basin, and divide in thirds (Tim actually found on this particular basin that the number of holes going around it were divisible by three, which made it easy to find the thirds.) Mark and drill holes on the side of the basin to fit the bolts, and then attach.
Spray the outside with paint that is high heat resistant and helps prevent rust- I chose a copper color, and I really like how it turned out!
The holes all over the basin help to draw in plenty of air and help keep a roaring fire!
Unfortunately, with the hot and dry weather we’ve been having, there is a burn ban right now, and so we weren’t able to actually light a fire in it to photograph for this post – I put a lamp inside it for the photo above, to give a little idea of how the light shines around it, because it is one of the things I love about this fire pit. But here is a photo which a friend of Tim’s sent over, who also has a fire pit made from a washing machine basin:
As always, use safe practices when working with fires.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed all the hack-a-week challenge posts – and that you’ll be sticking around for the new challenge which starts next week – all about doing your own blog design makeover!
Have any ideas for future challenges?
Leave your thoughts and comments below, I love to hear from you!
…but maybe the Cucumber Melon will be different. Or the Kiwi Strawberry.
(You can see all of Tim’s RTW cartoons, which he draws each week on work faxes, here.)
There are a lot of things said in English that don’t seem to mean what they’re meant to mean. For example:
Hello everybody! Tim the Husband here to introduce a new weekly feature on the Flourishing Abode. Every week at work I have to fax an RTW form to our warehouse, which isn’t even as exciting as it sounds. One day a few months ago I added some stick figures at the bottom of the page just to fill the void and to add an element of interest. Without intending to, these little drawings became cartoons and the cartoons became a pretty regular feature on my faxes. April asked me to share some of them here. They’re nothing special, but I hope you enjoy them!
Wow, I can’t believe we’re already more than half way done with the adventure challenge! There are only a few weeks left – it’s really been flying by quickly! But we’ve definitely been loving it. Soon it will be time to start dreaming up a new challenge … but that’s another post. Stay tuned! :)
Anyway, not to get ahead of myself, I still have four adventure posts, including this one! Actually, though, I had this week off for the adventure. Because this week was a Daddy-Daughter adventure! Little one absolutely loves her special times with Daddy, and was super excited about this one. The time that kids spend with their fathers is so important, and so Tim and I wanted to share several ideas for Daddy-Daughter adventures – the last two being what Tim and little one did for this week’s adventure.
All of these are fitting for the adventure guidelines from the first post of this series – including the one about costing less than $15. Many of these don’t have to be exclusive for daughters, they could also be for sons as well. Since we have only a girl right now, we think in terms of Daddy-Daughter time, but by no means wish to exclude the little boys! Little boys learn from their fathers what kind of man they should grow up to be, and little girls learn from their father what kind of man they should marry. Both very important. :)
Here is a list of 10 ideas that Tim and I came up with for Daddy + daughter adventures, I hope it gets spurs your mind to think of your own ideas, too!
10 – Share some special memories from your own childhood! If you live in the same area you grew up in, take a drive (windows down, music loud – that was a prerequisite of special drives with my dad!) and drive by your childhood home, where you went to school, where you learned to drive, etc. If you don’t live in the same area, visit the library and check out your favorite books from when you were a kid, go to the grocery store and buy that treat you loved when you were little, go to the park and play your favorite childhood games. Tell her about what it was like growing up, things you liked, things you learned, things you dreamed, and watch her enjoy them as well.
9 – Go to an event from the community calendar! Check to see where your community’s calendar of events might be. It could be on your town’s website, maybe at the library, maybe in the newspaper, etc. These calendars have lots of info about upcoming concerts, local farmers markets, events at pick-your-own farms, jam-nights at the bluegrass parlor, museum events, local productions of plays etc. etc. Generally this can be a gold-mine for interesting activities to do together, and highlight interesting things in your own community.
8 – Teach her some of your car skills! There are lots of practical things girls should learn from their daddies on how to handle themselves in emergencies, like how to change a tire, jumping the car battery, and driving in the snow. Yes, it’s work – and yes, it’s fun! I remember loving it when Dad would show me stuff about how to fix something on the car, not because I was particularly interested in cars, but because it was fun to spend time together and it made me feel much more confident to have that knowledge and the fact that he wanted to share it with me.
7 – Go on a date! Put on a tie, let her wear her favorite dress, and take her out. Show her how a gentleman behaves – open the doors for her, the whole shebang. Teach her to expect to be treated with respect by men, and in turn to be encouraged to behave like a lady. You don’t have to go somewhere formal or spend a lot of money, you could go to the ice cream parlor, but it will feel special to her to spend time with you on a Daddy-daughter date.
6 – Find somewhere to volunteer together! Many wonderful bonding moments come not from just doing something for entertainment, but from working together. And working together for a good cause will teach her the satisfaction of spending time in a valuable way. Seek out a volunteer opportunity in your area, and make a Daddy-daughter adventure out of it!
5 – Take your daughter to work! Whether on an actual take-your-child-to-work day, or not, taking your kid to work can give them a great look into what you do. Let them see the good that you do, how you work hard – so they understand it’s not just that you disappear for hours and come home with a paycheck. She may or may not be interested in pursuing your field as an adult, but it will still be good for her to see you at work. Or, if your work environment isn’t suitable to bring a child along while you’re working, have her come on your lunch break to eat together and give a little tour.
4 – Share your hobby! If Daddy likes to play the guitar, do gardening, or work on cars, or make carvings, or shoot targets, or has some other hobby, why not spend some time sharing that? It’s good for daughters to see their Daddies’ talents – plus it’s fun as the daughter to learn something new! My dad got me involved in his antique business, which was a lot of fun to do together, going to auctions to hunt down new finds, learning from him on how to figure out the date of an item, setting up what we found in the antique booth, etc. But it doesn’t even have to be such a long-term project. Spend an afternoon sharing something you enjoy with your daughter! This is my dad showing me how to shoot a rifle:
3 – Take a hike! Learning how to climb trees, how to figure out which way is north, recognizing and avoiding poison ivy … little girls need to learn these things too! State or national parks often have beautiful hiking trails, so head for the woods, enjoy being in nature, and have some Daddy-daughter time teaching her about the outdoors. Daddies are good at the whole rugged-manliness thing, and it is good for daughters to see that. :)
2 – Go out for breakfast! This is one I remember doing with my dad, and I always loved it. It’s an exciting way to start off the day, and since (at least in our family), breakfast is not usually a meal we would eat-out, that also gives it an added layer of “special”. Plus, breakfast is generally a pretty cheap meal, and it’s easy to have some one-on-one time over biscuits and gravy (that’s what I always got on daddy-daughter breakfasts!) without breaking your budget. It was always a lot of fun for me to go out for breakfast with my Dad. And when Tim called me on his adventure with little one to say they were going out for breakfast, it made me happy to hear. :)
1 – Build something together! Tim and little one’s adventure was centered around this one. If you live near a Lowe’s you should definitely check out their free “Build and Grow” kid’s workshops. Every other Saturday you can take in your kids to build a wooden project. And it’s free! I mean, really, spending one-on-one time together, building something fun that you can take home, and not spending money? That’s hard to beat! You can check out the Build and Grow schedule here. Or, if there’s not a Lowe’s near you, just build something together in your backyard! Supplies for a simple project don’t have to cost very much. Tim was talking recently about building a marble machine out of PVC pipes. Working on a Daddy-daughter project is not only fun, but there are plenty of things for the little ones to learn in the process.
Tim and little one had a great time. :)
I hope this can inspire you to think of ideas of your own!
Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below, I love to hear from you!
I am the primary writer on this blog, but my husband Tim may be putting up occasional posts here as well in the future, and so I thought I should start off by letting you get to know him a little bit. So last night I “interviewed” him. HA! Generally you interview someone you don’t already know. I think all married people should interview their spouse sometimes … it makes for some good laughs. :)
Me: “So, what’s your name?”
Tim: “….Tim. Why are you asking that?”
Me: “How would you describe yourself in one word or less?”
Tim: “Pretty good.”
Me: *laughing* “You’d describe yourself as pretty good?”
Tim: “Well, I’m really pretty great … but I’m also humble.”
Me: “Tell me a little bit about where you are from.”
Tim: “I am from Rhode Island which is a small but quirky state. I’m proud to be a New Englander.”
Me: “What’s your favorite breakfast?”
Tim: “Like, if I could have anything? Not just a normal I’m-just-running-out-of-the-house breakfast?”
Me: “Yes, sure.”
Tim: “French toast, eggs, bacon, coffee.”
Me: “If you had to choose between jumping up on a stage and singing “Never Gonna Give You Up”, or putting a tarantula in your pocket, what would you choose?”
Tim: “Tarantula in the pocket, he said without hesitation.”
Me: “What is your claim to fame?”
Tim: “The number 17. … Well, you see, not many people know me, but lots of people know the number 17. And the number 17 likes me.”
Me: “Any nicknames?”
Tim: “Um.” *laughing* “Maybe. Um. Well, Jason at work has taken to calling me T-sizzle.”
Me: “Starbucks?”
Tim: “No thanks. … Was that a question?”
Me: “Yes.”
Tim: “Oh, I wasn’t sure if you were checking that as a nickname.”
Me: “Math, numbers, etc. Your thoughts?”
Tim: “Very yes. I’ve been doing a lot of recreational math lately.”
Me: *shudders*
Tim: “I have a project that I’m kind of working on just for the challenge of it, but I don’t really want to succeed.”
Me: “I’m not even gonna ask.”
Me: “Tell us, what is it like to be married to someone as wonderful as me?”
Tim: *silence*
*laughter*
“Sometimes I just can’t believe my luck.”
Me: “Any parting words?”
Tim: “Yes. Hopscotch, lemon drop, scroll saw.”
Some of you may recognize him because he is the one wearing the guys’ vintage clothing from my shop. He’s a very multi-talented guy. :) He is definitely good at making me laugh. I had to share the Valentine card he made for me (don’t worry, the really sappy stuff is not included). This has to be one of the strangest Valentines I have ever received … I loved it! Although when I first saw the cover I was thinking, “Whaaaat…?!”
I’m not accustomed to seeing someone shot on the front of my V-day card. But then I opened it …
… and laughed really hard. Although I had to disagree, because I think he definitely has drawing skills.
Anyway, now you know a little more about Tim, and you’ll probably be hearing from him more here on the blog. Be sure to leave a “hello” for him in the comments below! :)
