Fake Nap

I'm going to make this as short as possible.

Tonight, after a week of cunning enticements, grand promises and shameless bribery, we rewarded Georgie's "no-smashing-other-kid's-heads-into-the-playground-mulch" winning streak with a trip to Sweet Frog. There we met some friends and doubled down on that tasty frozen yogurt. Some bought dinner at the Subway, about 4 feet from the Sweet Frog, while others (Georgie) complained of being hungry, despite the adequately portioned dinner they (he) ate minutes before leaving for Sweet Frog. At one point, one of the kind, young Subway workers accidentally exploded a cup of delicious cola beverage (from the trash) on the floor, wetting our friend and leaving a large, migrating puddle of soda beneath our feet. Forgiving the mistake, we all continued in basic adult conversation until the voice of a stranger echoed from behind, "Umm, excuse me... excuse me? He's um... he's got a straw!" Confused and alarmed, I looked for Georgie, convinced he would be found picking the cookie-safe with some sort of improvised lock-picking device. In retrospect, I wish that were the case, what followed proved to be one of the lower moments of my parenting career.

I swear. If that kid's using a straw to steal those cookies...

Bored with his empty frozen yogurt cup, Georgie had slowly slipped himself right under the table, like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, digging for freedom one inch at a time. The difference is, Georgie's new found freedom landed him straight on top of that puddle of tasty cola beverage; so, he did what any boy raised by wolves would do, he grabbed a straw and commenced sucking that free soda right off the ground. I nabbed him in the act. Recognizing the dark clouds closing in on the future of his very existence, he played the only card in his deck, fake nap; which, in the mind of a four-year-old must be an ingenious way to skirt any and all responsibility. Needless to say, I had to fight the laughter out of my voice as I gave narcoleptic Georgie a stern talking to, while the rest of the Sweet Frog / Subway / 7-11 customers watched on, laughing (or crying) at their tables.

Some days, it just doesn't make sense to take your kids out in public. Other days, they'll come close to making you look like Parent of the Year. Today, I think we got a little of each. Sure, my daughter fell off the couch again (under my "watch", apparently), and my son took a straw to a puddle of some stranger's soda; but, I eventually figured it all out. Wyoming was just so eager to avoid the pitfalls of becoming a coach-potato that she leaped head first off the couch, I pat myself on the back for instilling such positive values on such a young baby; and, Georgie was simply honing his urban survival skills, learned from the likes of this guy:

When you discover an opportunity to hydrate, you take it. It's a wild world out there!

So, all in all, I say it was a pretty good day at the Willis household.

Check out the newest coop. Coming along smoothly. I call this one The 'Noke, because it's going to Roanoke. Maybe a little ahead of schedule? We'll see.

This is where I left off yesterday. This one's a budget-conscious build, so we're going for simple, quick, and easy, but not ugly, sloppy or wimpy.

This is what you call "double-rim" construction. In case you don't speak constructionese, it roughly translates to: Strong like bull!

Double rim on the left, triple rim on the right (sounds like a song). One set goes around the outside, the other sisters up to the outer one, but squeezes between the uprights, making it hard for them to "rack", or lean the wrong way. Tight joints are essential here, or the whole thing is pointless.

Side view, obviously.

Roof and some trim going up. The roof boards (solid white oak) will be battened down with batten strips. You'll see that later.

I'll do a nifty little cut where the side trim hangs below the face. The door is off-centered to make the front wall a little more usable.

Stay close to your sets my friends, because I've got some very cool news coming up this week. Thank you everyone for the kind words of support and encouragement, it really means a lot!

Next time,

F.W.