up up and away

New to us was watching the launch of hot air balloons.

It was such an amazing process as they spread out, fired up

and lifted off.

We can only imagine what it must be like to be on-board

as they hovered in the Letchworth State Park Gorge

{this photo from @news8Rochester twitter}

Thanks Dave and Debbie for including us in this adventure.

portable beach table

Portable Beach Table Tutorial

{just in time for summer outings}

Materials

4 yards - 1" strapping or webbing {available at Jo-Ann fabrics}
staple gun and ¼ “ staples
15” velcro strip (cut into ten 1 ½ inch pieces)
strong adhesive glue {we used super glue}
15 wooden stats 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ cut into 30″ lengths
{we bought 8' lattice pieces and Lowes cut them for free}
4 small plastic baskets

Directions

1. Sand the slats and paint if desired.

2. Space thirteen of the wooden slats parallel to one another with equal space in between each one. They should total from the first to last 30″ forming a square shape.

3. Cut the strapping in half, so you have two strips equaling two yards each.  Fuse the ends with a flame to prevent raveling.

4. Start at one end of the parallel boards and lay both strips of strapping 5 inches in on both sides so they transect each board.

One end of the strapping should be even with the first board; the last board should have the excess amount of strapping. This excess side will be used to wrap around the table to carry it. One end of the strapping should be even with the first board; the last board should have the excess amount of strapping. This excess side will be used to wrap around the table to carry it.

5. Staple the strapping once to each board. Then put some strong glue under the strapping on each board and staple a second time.

6. With the remaining two boards (boards #fourteen and fifteen), glue and then staple the loop side of the velcro strip to both ends of each board and one piece in the middle. Then about six inches in, staple and glue the soft side of the velcro to boards one, seven, and thirteen. This will provide the cross beams to the table.

7. Take the soft side of a velcro strip and add (staple and glue) to the end of boards one and thirteen. This will allow you to attach the cross beams to the first and last boards so you can roll all the boards together for travel purposes without losing the cross beams.

8. Attach the cross boards to the end pieces {on top of and even with the first and last board} and then roll up. Wrap strapping ties around table to form a shoulder strap for carrying

9. When you get to the beach, unroll the table. Detach the cross beams from the end slats and velcro then across the table to form the cross boards. Flip the table over and support it with the four plastic baskets. Enjoy!

We adapted this project from one shown in Basics Magazine.
This video shows their similar table and how to set it up.

They used 11 slats, we used 13 to make spaces between the slat smaller.

mother's day

a little trip down memory lane

circa 1992 

the free design

When I was growing up my best friend Stefanie’s family formed 

a singing group that had moderate success 

although I am sure you have never heard of them. 

It was quite a surprise while watching TV last week that

I recognized one of their songs on a delta commercial . . .

And then I found the same song in a toyota commercial  . . .

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group whose music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop. They were all members of the Dedrick family: Chris Dedrick, sister Sandy and brother Bruce were the original lineup. Chris Dedrick wrote most of the songs. Younger sister Ellen joined the group later, and youngest sister Stefanie joined near the end of their initial career. They formed the band while living in New York City. Chris has said the group was influenced by vocal groups like The Hi-Los (who performed in Greenwich Village frequently at the time) along with Peter, Paul and Mary and the counterpoint experiments of Benjamin Britten. Their trademark sound involved complex harmonies, jazz-like chord progressions, and off-beat time signatures, all products of Chris's classical training. The band released seven albums from 1967 to 1972,