Woodworking in Cambodia

This handsome guy has been working a lot mentally with his doctorate and job as a principal, so finding ways to work with his hands is something he finds satisfying, he tells me. For him, that means woodworking.

Something that can be challenging for woodworking in Cambodia is finding good equipment. Even if something is labeled as a name-brand item, many times it's a fake and starts smoking at the first hint of work. This happened with several electric saws and screwdrivers. (Not to mention that cordless tools are almost non-existent or really expensive here.) But, not to fear, strong muscles and manual tools helped get things finished. 

Finding comparable wood to what we are used to working with in the States isn't always possible either. Good plywood is still something we've got our eyes open for. However, there are different kinds of wood, like teak and rose wood. Rose wood is very hard! That's what he built the boy's bunk bed with.

Besides the bunk bed, he has worked on practicing his tracing with a skill saw. First, he asked me to draw a camel because their lines weren't too detailed to start on. Besides cutting off the tail because it was too flimsy to stand up to the saw and the hump and mouth being a little pokey, it was a fun experience for a first try. Our neighbors were more than happy to laugh and ask if it were a camel or a turtle.

His next project was a Brontosaurus for the boy's room, and it turned out even better. Then, perhaps harking back to his days tracing a map with all of his free time in the class room (because he's a genius and always finished everything quickly) he decided to work on a map of Cambodia. He used old pallets and sprayed it with a finishing stain.

I'm really proud of his country cut-out the most. It's nice to be married to someone who isn't addicted to video games or selfish endeavors, but someone who tries to learn new things that he can work on with his children. The kids loved being involved in each of these projects and I'm sure they will give them wonderful memories with their father for later on.

Pchum Ben Break

Something that makes being a teacher in Cambodia a wonderful thing are the many little breaks you get along the way for various New Year celebrations and festivals. We've had this week off for the Pchum Ben holiday. This holiday reminds me a lot of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Latin America. Most of the city has cleared out to go back to their homes in the provinces and to pay homage to dead relatives. Speaking of which, Talia must have thought the same thing because she built a wood scrap "altar" like they had in Mexico.

We've enjoyed the little traffic. It's been a great time to practice using my moped. Now, we can travel as a family with Talia and Ezra behind Ben and Elias behind me. We've checked out a market and found oatmeal, granola and corn flour; all things I had been looking for without much luck prior.

Ben took the opportunity to do some therapeutic wood working and build the boys a loft bed, to go over the single bed in their room. Currently, Ezra sleeps in a crib in the room with me, but when the baby comes, I want him to be used to sleeping in the big boy's room. The boys are excited to "help" him....

With little traffic on the roads, we had the treat of going to a restaurant. We found a Belgian restaurant/pub named Duplex still open, since most were closed for the holiday, and tried some great roasted red pepper humus, mini burgers and fries, and a salmon salad. It was all delicious. The name caused a little confusion when Ben ordered the "Duplex Beef Burger" expecting it to be a double patty burger (even asking the server) and it came out with just one.... Because it's named after the house burger, not specifically a double burger. Apparently in Belgium, fries are served with ketchup and a white sauce. It looked like mayo, but it tasted better than mayo.

So, happy Pchum Ben Day. Perhaps this holiday is a good reminder to enjoy our relatives while they're living.

Woodworking and Valentine's

Benjamin has always been interested in woodworking but time, storage and interest have never all collided until now, perhaps spurred on by necessity. Living in a small house with five people, one of which is a toddler who is very curious and good at breaking things, has forced us to be creative with our storage. The house is great, but didn't have much in the way of storage that was out of Ezra's reach. Benjamin looked around online and found some templates and how-to videos and whipped up a storage racks for the coffee cups he is emotionally attached to as he likes to collect them from every country or important milestone he reaches.

Here, some are being washed, but it is currently full.

Afterward, he liked working with it so well, and we have a lot of other ways it could help, so he made a hinged work table that can store tools when not in use.

Today he created little toolboxes for the children and let them paint them. They loved it!

Talia chose red.

Elias chose blue.

They also helped me make Valentines's Day surprises for Ben today. One was all of these hearts to hang in the room to surprise him when he got home from getting supplies.

Then we made him a favorite dessert: apple crisp. Elias was in charge of mixing the apples and spices, Talia made the topping and Ezra supervised... Everyone enjoyed it!

May your weekend be filled with love also.

Homestead Heritage: Woodworking

Another workshop we visited on our homeschooling field trip to Homestead Heritage in Waco, Texas was the woodworking shop.

Both the stained glass and the doors were created by craftsmen in the community.

Inside was a spacious workplace with a wood stove to keep warm in winter.

Some of the beautiful things they have crafted in the woodworking shop include
a prize-winning violin, (among other instruments,) and really nice furniture.

One such piece of furniture is this handmade wooden bed frame...

which reminded me of a handcrafted wooden bed frame we had in Guatemala. 

Here's a photo for comparison: