Author Archives: Jim Vanderveen

About Jim Vanderveen

I'm a bit of a Renaissance man, with far too many hobbies for my free time! But more important than any hobby is my family. My proudest accomplishment has been raising some great kids! And somehow convincing my wife to put up with me since 1988. ;)

LumberJocks web site

Posted on 2007-10-01 by Jim Vanderveen

I was browsing [houseblogs.net][] over the weekend. [One of the members](http://blog.gizmodyne.com/) had a link that caught my eye: [LumberJocks][] is an online woodworkers community. [I joined](http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/sonicchicken) immediately, even though my own shop won’t be done for at least six months. … Continue reading →

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Rainwater collection

Posted on 2007-09-28 by Jim Vanderveen

I’m already reaping the benefits of [houseblogs.net][]. One of the other families mentioned in the WSJ article referenced the story, so I decided to check their blog — Their tagline is “[Humphrey House](http://www.humphrey-house.com/) – Transforming an Arts and Crafts Bungalow … Continue reading →

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Wall Street Journal article

Posted on 2007-09-28 by Jim Vanderveen

Jennifer Saranow at the [Wall Street Journal][wsj] has an [article on home-improvement parties](http://tinyurl.com/2s8t5p). (The article will only be available for free for a week, but there’s always [Bug Me Not][] if you don’t feel like registering.) Jennifer has been interviewing … Continue reading →

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Remodel update, week 24

Posted on 2007-09-26 by Jim Vanderveen

I’ve been busy working on the wiring lately, so I haven’t posted anything for a while. This turned out to be a good thing, because Don and J Moreno read my last post and hadn’t seen anything new on the … Continue reading →

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Work on the house, or spend some time on Broadway? Hmm…

Posted on 2007-09-07 by Jim Vanderveen

Whenever I’m not at work, I’ve been spending almost all my time on the [wiring for our remodel][], but it’s been going pretty slow. (I only have about three hours each evening, and it takes me longer than a professional … Continue reading →

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Local sandwich shops

Posted on 2007-09-06 by Jim Vanderveen

An [article in the Sacramento Bee](http://www.sacbee.com/103/v-print/story/343443.html) last week highlighted a couple of locally-owned sandwich shops: * [The Sandwich Spot][] at [1630 18th St](http://tinyurl.com/2g3vag) * [Dad’s][] at [1310 S St](http://tinyurl.com/2p6fty) [The Sandwich Spot]: http://www.thesandwichspot.com/ [Dad’s]: http://www.eatatdads.com/index.swf I haven’t been to either … Continue reading →

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The average home, then and now…

Posted on 2007-09-05 by Jim Vanderveen

A recent article at [LJUrban][] gives a pair of data points on the [average home size](http://www.ljurban.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070830-005122) in the US. One of the cool things about our home–it was exactly the average size (1050 square ft) for single-family detached homes when … Continue reading →

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Crepe recipe

Posted on 2007-09-04 by Jim Vanderveen

On her last night in the US, [Claire](http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/2007/08/31/claires-visit/) made crepes for us from her mother’s recipe. They were amazingly good! Try these with some [Nutella][] if you dare! Yum… [Nutella]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/2007/08/28/nutella/ * 250 g (2 c) flour * 3 eggs … Continue reading →

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Maalouf’s Taste of Lebanon

Posted on 2007-09-02 by Jim Vanderveen

My buddy, [Andy](http://warboss.wordpress.com/), has been urging me for months to try the food at this Lebanese place he likes. But I’ve been coming home for lunch most days, and I wasn’t going to take my family there for dinner without

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San Francisco touring suggestions

Posted on 2007-09-01 by Jim Vanderveen

We had a great time when we took [Claire](http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/2007/08/31/claires-visit/) to San Francisco, but there were a few things we could have done to improve the trip. I’m documenting all this

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