I built a fancy version of my previous bamboo skewer knife block.

This one is made out of red oak instead of pine, and not only did it cost a lot more in lumber, it cost a lot more in time. The finish alone was hours of rubbing.

It was a wedding present though, and I hope it stays with them forever.

Two weeks ago I found something absolutely amazing at a yard sale a half block away. A very nice lady was selling her old gas range, because she had just remodeled her kitchen.

It's a 1950s era stove, with a big steel griddle in the middle. It's been recently inspected, gas-wise, but needs some electrical work to be fully up and functional. As it stands though, you could hook it up to a gas line and it would work.

In my latest DIY project, I've set out to build one of those fancy overhead kitchen racks you see in high-end kitchens. Except this one needs to fit in my tiny little rental kitchen, and do as little damage to the ceiling as possible.

Now it's about impossible to hang something this size from a ceiling without doing some damage, but I think my choice of 1/4" screw in hooks was a good choice.

I've long had a love-hate relationship with knife blocks.

They're awesome, because they keep your knives displayed and safe and within easy reach. At the same time though they suck because you need to have just the right knives to fill them.

At least in my kitchen now that's a thing of the past, as my knife block is now a box filled with bamboo skewers. Now I can just stick knives in it willy-nilly, and they stay wherever I put them.

Next weekend Cree and are are going to finish moving into a house we affectionately call the "White House" because its street address is 1603 while the actual White House is 1600 - and it's a big white house (with blue trim).