Projects, Etc.

I’m a guy who has always enjoyed getting something accomplished. There’s something about getting dirty, figuring out how to transform a space or vehicle, about learning a new skill. Side benefit-this saves serious coin at times.

And, on top of all of that, we learn about how we are made. We are created by a very big, strong God, and God is creative. And since we’re made in God’s image [Genesis 1:26-28], we also flourish when we ourselves create.

Ok, here are some little things I’ve done over the years.

Here’s my mom and me making paint footprints at my old 1917 bungalow house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s cute and all, but notice the paint. I scraped and painted the whole house, inside and out, and did a host of other repairs that ended up making it a great little place to inhabit.

Here’s the place from the street. Those columns, right?

Here’s a picture from inside. Come on, it’s gorgeous, right? The built-ins! My drum set was in the living room only because I had some volunteers from our church over to do some training and collaborating.

Here’s a project that made me really tired and stressed. With my brother and a family friend, we refinished the floors at our bungalow [affectionately known as Willard, eponymously named with its street]. I finished the project just a couple days before my first son was born, hence the stress. Plus, my forearms and back were ruined.

This is my dad and me out at his 80 acre farm in Northwest Michigan, so this project is not mine at all-and yet, from a young age, my two brothers and I did my fair share of work here. We planted the trees you see to the right, and trimmed the ones you see on the left, and also planted somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 white and red pine, oak, and maple trees throughout the parcel.

This is a fun one-we picked up this old ’05 Volvo V50 back in Michigan. I kept her alive with all that I had in me, and never had a problem. Except for brakes-they wore out, so I did new rotors and pads for all four. She also needed tires, so I just found a set of wheels online. I mean, it sort of needed that too. And it’s a good look.

We couldn’t get away from Volvo, so we down/up-graded to an ’04 V70, Volvo’s biggest wagon. It has those little jump-seats in the very back that flip up and face backward, so our boys and friends will hopefully have some delightful childhood memories staring out the back window. She’s gorgeous, gray and clean, but needs struts and shocks [cheap-but a hassle]. I’m doing that project soon, along with a couple very minor other details.

Since I was five, I’ve had a bike. It’s pretty much always a different bike, depending on my setting, anything from an old road bike to my ’06 Kona Dawg. I have always done my own repairs, and I’ve got all the bike-specific tools to boot. Here is my current ride-a Linus Scout. It’s a three-speed internal hub, which is perfect for urban commuting, my current biggest need. I rode a fixie back in the Midwest, but these Californian mountains had me crying for some gears.

Here is another bike I have come to love, my 1993 Trek 7600. It’s almost entirely customized to my preferences. Most recently I put larger tires on, 700×42, and had to really work it to get the fenders to fit.

My main ride since 2023 is this RadWagon. I haul all three kids on the regular with this workhorse.

I am slightly less proficient with home projects than I am with bike projects, but I hold my own when it comes to painting. Here’s my kitchen with newly painted black cabinets and color washed sage walls.