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Francis’s Kitchen

At long last, here is the kitchen that I made for Francis. Even now, it’s not quite finished. Actually, it’s not even close to finished. Tasks remaining: knobs, shelves, dials, a back, paint/stain. The absence of these things has not seemed to bother Francis, though. As you can see, she has fully stocked the kitchen and is practicing the domestic arts.

I have really enjoyed building this thing, the design and dimensions of which I ripped off of the Land of Nod.

Skip this paragraph if you don’t care how it was made. It’s 3/4 inch pine, specifically those boards that are made up of several boards glued side-by-side. These are really uniform pieces of wood, which is nice if you don’t have a jointer or a surface planer in your shop. I made all of the curved cuts with a hand-held jigsaw, except for one of the sides, which I roughed in with the jigsaw and then finished with a router and cut-off bit (using the side I already cut as a template). All three of the cross members rest in dado channels cut in the vertical sides, but I didn’t have the courage not to add screws. Does anyone know if glue would’ve sufficed? The sink is a dog bowl set into a hole in the countertop. The oven window is plexiglass, and I’d actually like to add an oven light on a toggle switch. I haven’t looked to see how that can be done with a battery setup.

Anyway, I’m learning. I’ve added this picture to a separate “workshop” set on flickr so you can monitor the snail’s pace of my progress.

January 24, 2007 - 9:29 pm

katherine petillo - I'm so impressed. Great work Matt.

Letter to Netflix

Request Summary

From: Matthew Gulde (mattgulde@ameritech.net)
To: Netflix Customer Service
Category: Shipping and Receiving Movies
Subject: I returned my own disc (or non-Netflix disc)

Message:

Dear Netflix, I know that your official policy is not to return personal discs, but I have to try. I sent back a one-of-a-kind wedding video by mistake. You received it, somewhat fittingly, in the sleeve belonging to “Idiocracy.” Please, if there is any way I can get my wedding disc back, tell me how. I’m happy to come to your facility and sort through discarded discs. Please help me.

January 25, 2007 - 3:00 am

Michael - this is sad…I'm always afraid of doing that ๐Ÿ™
sorry to hear that.

All Aboard for Snackville Junction! Choo Choo…


Snackville Junction
Originally uploaded by The Gulde Family.

The Guldes went to Snackville Junction yesterday for the first time. It’s a burgers-and-fries diner about 30 minutes from our house that’s been around since the 50’s. At first glance you might not see what makes this place unique. No, it’s not the beautiful Galaga/Ms.Pac Man machine. Look closer: see that O-scale train track on the counter? That’s right, your food is served to you via Choo Choo train!

Perhaps surprisingly, the burger delivery method was not only novel, but they tasted great too. I would definitely recommend it. And if you’re in the market, the restaurant, including their nationally registered trademarks, is apparently for sale for a mere $279K. Be sure to check out the whole set to see the burger train in action. Oh yeah, to make the event complete, we stopped by Krispy Kreme on the way home for dessert!

January 24, 2007 - 12:43 am

Drew, Amber and Megan - Totally Awesome!

It doesn’t get much cuter than this.

In just 11 days our little Georgie will be 6 months old. Time has absolutely flown by. He’s grown from fragile little peanut to cheeky little baby in the blink of an eye. I was telling a good friend of mine this morning how I’m already feeling sad that I haven’t been taking more photos of him. So, this morning I put on his best little white outfit and set him on our freezing cold, snowy porch for a photo-op. I think he’s growing up to be ALMOST as handsome as his daddy.

January 20, 2007 - 2:23 pm

Kristen - oh, the drama of a six month old! I love the picture!!!

Happy Birthday Scout!

Happy Birthday Scout on Vimeo

Scout’s Birthday on Vimeo

Every year on MLK day, we celebrate Scout’s birthday. Sure it’s not the same date every year, but Scout doesn’t know any better.

On Martin Luther King day 2003, I took off from work early, and Sally and I went to the Anti-Cruelty Society to pick out a dog. We quickly narrowed it down to a litter of five dogs in the top row of cages near the entrance. Four of the five puppies were dark brown, and looked like chocolate labs. Scout was unique among his siblings – colored like a german shepherd. We took Scout out of his cage to get to know him, and he hid underneath a bench. Despite his furry charm, we weren’t completely sold on him until we set him back into his cage. As soon as we shut the door, he wet the entire cage, and we knew he was a considerate dog. Considerate and unique.

Because of the shelter’s policy to neuter dogs before allowing their adoption, it wasn’t until the next day that we actually got to pick up our dog. In the meantime, we tried out different names. We tried Flash, Fletch, The Nose, Navin R. Johnson. In the end, he just seemed like a Scout (although some have attributed his name to an attempt to derail Sally’s effort to name a human child Scout). When we got his tags, we labeled them “Scout C. Gulde.”

The total cost for obtaining this dog was $105.00: $55.00 in fees to the shelter, and one $50.00 ticket from the city for overstaying our meter. Considerate, unique, and economical.

Four years and two babies later, Scout has been a constant in our household. He makes our lives better in every way but one: we could do wihout the shedding. Regardless, here’s to our dog. May he find dog treats in unexpected places.

January 17, 2007 - 7:22 pm

katherine petillo - happy birthday scouty scout! my all time favorite scout memory is the video of him and francis with the carrot.

January 18, 2007 - 6:14 am

Kristen - Tell Scout I love him and happy birthday and that I love him the most outta all y'all. ๐Ÿ˜‰

January 21, 2007 - 7:29 am

Sally - He knows you're only friends with me to see him… he reminds me all the time.

January 28, 2007 - 6:36 pm

Kristen - He's probably begging for me to come play with him right now… isn't he? Patience Scouty. I'll be there as soon as I can.