Redemption

Sandi and I were at her parent's house for Easter.  Their neighbors had a pile of wood with a 'free' sign.  I rifled through it and saw some used exotic hardwood lumber.  I was determined to highlight this wood and we've been wanting an end table for the family room so it didn't take long to draw up plans.  A friend allowed me to consume his entire Saturday and his plainer and joiner.  After the rough wood was planed and joined I brought it back to my woodshop.  It took awhile, but I am pleased with the result.

Note: I just found out the wood is ipe - a Brasilian hardwood.

 

I wanted to feature the beautiful grain and let the wood speak for itself. 

 

Simplicity

 

Beauty

 

Redemption

Central Oregon Vacaton: Black Butte

 

The interesting thing about Black Butte trail is the combination of incredible views of the Cascades and birds-eye views of the scenery below.

Black Butte Ranch below

 Three of seven mountains we saw (probably the Sisters, but could have been Washington, Adams, or Jefferson).

It was little too cloudy to see Mt. Hood.

It's WINDY at the top, so we stayed long enough to snap our pictures.

A fully operational fire watch tower.

Central Oregon Vacaton: Best part of camping

Clearly the best part of camping is the food.  Rather than go for the usual Sun Chips, bratwurst and smores, we took it up a notch.  In fact, we probably ate more gourmet at the campsite than we usually do at home.

We started off with chicken in a creamy white-wine sauce, topped with our own kale.

Don't forget the Parmesan.

For breakfast: fresh fruit and a variety of bagels.

We grilled pork chops on the fire on our second night

Dinner complete with a salad, black bean side and a bottle of Dad's finest red.

Central Oregon Vacaton: Metolius River (Sisters OR)

Sandi and I took advantage of 3 nights off and headed to Sisters, OR for a quick vacation.  We camped along the Metolius River.  It's a fly-fishing meca, so we came armed with books and food.