Bertucci’s and Beaches
On Sunday, we met Ken and Dianne at Bertucci’s at the North Shore Mall for dinner. Due to a variety of trips, we won’t be seeing them until early June, so we wanted to have some time to hang out and chat.
Luckily, Catherine took care of the bill for us. You can see some more pics from the trip here.
Today we were gifted with very nice weather, so we once again headed to Dane Street Beach.
More pics from that trip here.
By Peter | 05.06.2008 | 08:10 PM | Permalink | Categories: Catherine, Family, Photography | No Comments
Art Time
Catherine has been very interested in using her art easel lately. She loves her markers, crayons, pencils and watercolors. The last time we painted she kept putting her fingers in the watercolors (the hard, disk kind) instead of the paintbrush.
So, I thought she might like to try finger painting. Thanks to this recipe (second one down) I didn’t need to waste gas or money on getting new paints. I cooked up a batch, separated it into red, blue and yellow, and set the gal up at her easel.
Of course today she wouldn’t paint with anything but her paintbrush. I think she had a good time. There are more pictures here. Enjoy.
By Rebecca | 05.05.2008 | 10:30 AM | Permalink | Categories: Catherine, Craftiness | 1 Comment
Top and Bottom
Today was another long day of work in the basement - 8:30 a.m. through 11:00 p.m.! As before, Ken led the way, taking us through finishing another small wall, putting strapping on the ceiling and putting DriCore subfloor down on the cement floor. We also had four electricians come by to assess the situation and get the information needed to give us quotes on the necessary electrical work. It was interesting to see four people working in the same profession, but with different opinions, personalities, and ideas. Hopefully by early next week we’ll have some price quotes and will be able to hire one of them to start ASAP. After the electrical is done, we have one minor plumbing issue to address, and then we can get our rough inspection. After that, it’s on to doing the finish work and making this basement a fully livable space!
You can see more photos from today.
By Peter | 05.03.2008 | 11:30 PM | Permalink | Categories: House | 1 Comment
88 panels of Dricore in our car…
… and now they’re waiting on the basement floor!
DRIcore is a subflooring system. These should keep our basement floor nice and warm and dry. Here’s to innovation!
By Peter | 05.01.2008 | 09:59 PM | Permalink | Categories: House | No Comments
Peter R. Wood Photography
I’ve been interested in photography for quite some time, but over the past few years I’ve been thinking about how to take it to the next level; how to share my passion for photography with more people. I’ve had many ideas, but the one I eventually settled on was to create a unique combination of in-person photographic services and online photography resources. After several months in the making, I’m pleased to announce the launch of my photographic website, Peter R. Wood Photography:
Head over to the Journal to read the inaugural post, wherein I give thanks to the many people who have helped me out along the way. I’ve had a lot of fun getting the site set up, playing around with some cool new technology, and discussing the design and content with various folks.
For our long-time readers here at World Wide Wood, don’t worry - nothing is changing on this site! You’ll still be able to find all of the photos of me, Rebecca, and Catherine, as well as photos from all of our adventures with family and friends. But please do check out at Peter R. Wood Photography, where I will discuss photographic subjects in greater depth, as well as show off some of my best photos. This doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job; rather, I’m simply devoting more time towards my favorite hobby.
So, if you’re in the Boston area and in need of some photo shooting and/or training, please keep Peter R. Wood Photography in mind! And be sure to follow the Journal for photo news, tips, and insights.
By Peter | 04.29.2008 | 11:52 PM | Permalink | Categories: Photography | 5 Comments
Basement work, day 1
Today was the first big day of work on our project to turn the basement into a habitable space. The overall plan is to turn half of the basement into a living room, while the other half will be used for storage and laundry. Ken and Dianne came over, and while Dianne watched Catherine, Ken led the way in starting to make the downstairs take shape. The first order of business was to remove a wall that formed a large closet downstairs, so that we could create a larger living room space. Next, we prepared the joists so that we could attach the new walls. Finally, we framed up the new walls that would separate the living room area. We also purchased a set of French doors and temporarily put them in place to see how they’d look. All in all, a big day of work, and we got a lot accomplished!
We’ll probably have one more day to frame one more small wall and take care of a few other outstanding roughing issues. Then there will be some electrical and plumbing work, and then we’ll get our rough inspection from the town. After that inspection, we can put up drywall on the ceiling and walls, finish things off, and then have the finish inspection. Then we can start moving things in! We’ll keep you posted here with news and photos as things progress. For now, you can take a look at the photos from day one!
By Peter | 04.26.2008 | 10:19 PM | Permalink | Categories: House | 2 Comments
Dane Street Beach
Today was a simply gorgeous day, so we headed to Dane Street Beach in Beverly for dinner and some playtime.
Catherine digging some sand
Catherine had a blast on the beach! We’re really looking forward to summer time and more trips to various beaches in the area! You can see more pics from today here.
By Peter | 04.23.2008 | 10:01 PM | Permalink | Categories: Catherine, Family, Photography | 1 Comment
Historic Churches of Boston
Today I headed in to Boston to meet up with 20 or so other photographers to take in some Historic Churches of Boston. I had a terrific time, walking around Boston all day, photographing churches (and other things), and talking to other photography-minded people.
There were an overwhelming number of Nikon DSLR shooters there, which was quite surprising. I expected it to be fairly even, but everywhere I looked I saw the telltale black-and-yellow straps! Talk about branding!
I met some terrific people, and got to see how others used their cameras. I also doled out a few helpings of advice, particularly to people with compact cameras. Those little things are pretty powerful once you get beyond ‘Auto’ mode! I’m really looking forward to seeing the photos everyone came away with, particularly where we were all taking photos of the same things. Should be interesting to see some different perspectives.
As a follow-up for those who I talked to at the meetup, here is some of the information I promised:
People I met:
- John Donovan (lots of hockey photos)
- Kris Quiñones (may be showing some of her work soon!)
- Meng Yang (ate the biggest plate of ribs!)
- Dana Pearson (has a home gallery in Somerville)
- Roger Ramirez (ask him about his domain name)
- Drew Bennett (has done a photo a day for the past four years)
Stuff I recommended that people check out:
- Tips From The Top Floor (digital photography podcast with Chris Marquardt)
- Discover The Top Floor workshops (run by the above, one to be held in Portland, ME)
- What The Duck (photography comic strip)
- Ken Rockwell (opinionated, no-holds-barred Nikon photographer. Site has lots of great resources, and he writes his own in-depth user guide for each Nikon DSLR. You’ll either love him or hate him.)
As I mentioned to a few of you, I am working on my own dedicated photography website. Stay tuned to this website for more details on that. Hopefully it will be launching soon!
Last but not least, here is a link to the photos I took during the course of the day!
If you were at the meetup, please leave me a comment and say hello! Also if you’ve got a website, feel free to share it here. I hope to attend another one of these meetups and see some of you folks again!
By Peter | 04.19.2008 | 09:28 PM | Permalink | Categories: Photography | 4 Comments
Since she returned
I’m glad that Catherine and Rebecca made it home safely from their trip to Ohio. The house was pretty lonely without them. In celebration, I’ve put up a gallery of some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken of my favorite photographic subject since her return. Enjoy!
By Peter | 04.15.2008 | 09:27 PM | Permalink | Categories: Catherine, Family, Photography, Travel | No Comments
I (heart) my new towel rack.
Our towel shelf in the bathroom has always been a bit of a disaster. I can’t get one towel down without pulling down all the others as well. I can never fold the towels so they look nice and it has bothered me right from the start.
I’ve always loved the towel racks I’ve seen at various hotels. They hold the towels so neatly and there’s never any risk of toppling the pile when you only want one. For years I thought these fantastic racks were found only in hotels. Now I have one of my very own. Who’d've thought I’d find one at the Beverly Bootstraps Thrift Shop?
We installed it today and reorganized the bathroom a bit. Frankly, I’m thrilled. 
By Rebecca | 04.13.2008 | 07:57 PM | Permalink | Categories: House | 4 Comments