For anybody who might be considering the book business, I put this one together to see what the actual time & cost was.  

This is about 9x6, 398 pages (heavy bond paper).  Etsy has about 180 pages of blank journals; based on what I saw, this one I might be able to sell for $50.  Cost of goods was $18.50, total hands-on time about 3.5 hours.  That would make my hourly rate $9.00.

The first book I posted is bigger, about 10x7 but it is also made of a nicer paper for the text block.  Half the number of pages but 3.5 times the material cost.  I'd have to sell that one for about $70 to make my $9/hour.

So they're interesting to make and unique to give away, but I can't quit my day job.  Dang.

Here's the latest book for anybody who might be interested.  It's sewn on cords and quarterbound in leather (salvaged bomber jacket).  I was planning to keep this one for myself but I have absolutely no idea what to do with it.

Happy New Year!

Woo hoo! 2009 is here at last. Hopefully it will be a nice, quiet, peaceful year.
Tom gave the kids a giant bubble making kit for Christmas. Here are a couple of giant bubbles for you.

Merry Christmas from the frozen wastelands of the North.  I don't know how much new snow we received last night, but the wind definitely rearranged the foot we received on Monday.

Since it's Christmas, there have to be cinnamon rolls.

Sunrise Picture

OK, after much pressure and a little applied guilt (Heather), I'm posting the sunrise pictures that I took the last time we were in Salt Lake. These were taken from Heather's back yard on Oct 31, 2008.

Not for the faint of heart!

I am posting a couple of disturbing yet interesting photos today. This is what happens when other people don't post interesting and pleasing things for the family to look at. I get desperate.
The first photo is of some cheese slices that I found in my garage fridge. It has been in the cheese drawer ever since we moved in 2005. The cheese is three years past it's expiration date. If you ever wondered what three year old provolone slices looked like, this it your lucky day.


The next photo is of something Kaelin found on her plate after eating some flounder that I bought at Wal-Mart. Yes, I do believe that is a parasitic worm. Needless to say, we ended up having cereal for dinner that night.

Heather's pastoral view...