Pork Tenderloin with Bacon, Chile Flakes, Toasted Almond and Parsley Recipe : Michael Symon : Recipes : Cooking Channel

via cookingchanneltv.com

I watched Michael Simon make this the other night on Cooking Channel, and I am going to make this weekend. If it is half as good as it sounds, it will be fantastic.

Neo Gothic Presider's Chair | J. A Birkey and Associates, Limited

This is a neo-gothic presider’s chair that I built for a Catholic church. I used some panels which were reclaimed from the communion rail that was demolished in the 1970′s. However most of the panels and gothic detailing were created to closely imitate and live along side the 100 year old pieces. The materials used were birch plywood, polar, basswood (for the carved pieces), and a cold cast plastic was used for replicating the carved details.

This was part of a complete altar furniture suite which included side altars, a 29 ft. tall reredos, altar, and an ambo (or pulpit). All these furniture items were created to compliment each other and the Gothic church santuary in which they now reside.

via jabirkey.com

Look at the crazy chair that this guy built. It's called a presider's chair and it sits in the altar area of a Catholic church. it was built by Andy Birkey of J.A. Birkey and Associates, Limited of Bloomington, Illinois. Mr.Birkey handcrafts each piece of altar furniture according to the specifications he works up with the priest and/or building committee to be a proper style and size for the church.
You can see more of his work at www.jabirkey.com

New information

In one of my last posts I referred to a guy that makes altar furniture for churches, especially old churches. His Name is Andy Birkey and his business is J. A. Birkey and Associates, Limited. He has just launched a new website that is still under construction but already has some fascinating photos of some of his catalog of work. I would encourage you to see what this guy can build at www.jabirkey.com

Lyle Birkey

via lylebirkey.com

Here is a great website from a guy who is involved in the field of climate change research. I became aware of his writing and immediately got the idea that he is an impressive personality as well as being well connected to the environmental research community.
I encourage you to peruse Lyle's site.

J.A. Birkey & Associates, LTD

Check out this website I found at facebook.com

Here's a guy building some crazy church furniture. The complete facebook address is www.facebook.com/jabirkey. His name is J.A. Birkey (he goes by Andy) and he specializes in custom church furniture built by hand, not by a factory somewhere. It is hard to imagine that in today's computer and corporate dominated world that there are still guys that build things for a specific purpose and space. Andy builds each piece specifically for the church that it is going into and he says that he is especially careful and honored to build furniture that is memorialized and in rememberance of a parish member or relative.

Carpe vitam: What I like about sundays

What I like about sundays

Finally the gps locator got me in the right area! Once again sitting in the sauna doing my daily update. I watched a 20/20 program last night on the IFB church. Brought back alot of memories for me that I worked really hard at blocking out. When
I was young the IFB church I was involved with was ultra conservative and literally beat into our heads that it was " their way or hell". I of course being of sound mind and body decided to question their beliefs and was therefore outcast and treated as if I was the devil incarnate. Spare the rod spoil the child was one of their favorite quotes and boy did they take that to the extreme. I could probably write a book about my experiences( maybe I will some day...) anyway I find it kind of humorous how they always said " God said this or that was wrong, therefore you can not do it. ( go to movies, dance, girls expose their knees, etc.) Well, evidently God must have changed his mind as the rules for the church and school are alot more lax than they were when I attended. I'm sorry did I miss a biblical revision?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

via erikw-carpevitam.blogspot.com

A good buddy of mine tells it like it is growing up in a ultra-conservative home. Oh, the painful memories!

Home Improvement Return on Investment

When thinking of home improvements, it’s very natural to go into pure what I call “bean counter mode”. Especially when doing small things around the house, its very easy to see money invested as purely dollars and cents. You are thinking,

“Thanks for that gem of wisdom, Mr. Obvious”.

I had an experience yesterday that really turned my head around to see it in a little different light. It’s been almost 30 years that I have been in the construction field, mainly working on the finish carpentry inside of high-end homes and churches. For 30 years my wife has seen me make beautiful cabinetry and furniture in my shop here at the house. Every day when she comes home, she sees the progress on these pieces for clients, then goes into our house which for the most part, has received very little attention for the 16 years that we have lived here. She loves our little 1920′s bungalow and would love to see it look like the pictures she sees of my clients homes, but is not one prone to complaining or reminding me constantly about how much our house needs attention.

Back to yesterday, I had one of my friends help me drywall and tape the basement bathroom project that has been in the works for three years. It is funny, but in a morning the room went from a bombed out construction site to a real defined space. A space that actually looks and feels like a bathroom.

Is it just drywall or is it a life improvement?

I was still on another  job site when my wife got home, but I received an all caps text screaming how much she loved it. Now, I am not a hugely sentimental guy normally, but that text and the half an hour in the bathroom after I got home looking and planning with her really made me feel good.

That was some serious return on investment.

If I could, I would stop working on all my clients projects and max out that bathroom for her today. That’s not in the cards, but it is definitely moved to the top of the priority list. Her reaction just made it fun again.

I guess I am encouraging you to enjoy the process of home improvement. I know you might be thinking that it’s not possible, but try to begin to think about projects around the house in more than just dollars and cents. A project that improves the quality of your life in your house is really a more worthy goal than just increasing the market value or marketability.

Focusing on improving life in the house when doing home improvements:

1. Makes the process more enjoyable (dare I say even fun?)
2. Involves your partner and family
3. Is very empowering for those of you DIYers. (heck, it is for me, even after doing it for 30 years)
4. Shows your passion in the completed improvement.

Now that’s a multi-level return on investment. I guess you can teach an old dog a few new tricks.

via homeimprovementgenius.com

Here's a good article about a different way to look at the value that we can extract from home improvement projects. He describes how we can improve ourselves while our houses get a makeover. Give it a read and see what you think.