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Previous posts will attest how my wife and I are big into restoring old furniture and appliances back to life. For years our next door neighbor was an elderly woman in her 90's. My wife took her shopping and ran errands for her when she was forced to give up her driving abilities. She had gone through three husbands and all of them worked for the railroad. Near the end, she gave my wife a lot of items of interest. They included a pot belly stove that was used to heat the caboose of a train, some old locomotive wheels, kerosene lanterns, and other train related stuff.. One of the items was a rusty hulk of what used to be a sewing machine base. The actual machine was gone, but the undercarriage was there. It sat outside in the elements for almost twenty years before we decided to do something with it..
I used a steel brush to knock off the biggest part of the rust, and then I went to a steel bristled brush on the end of a drill gun. That did a great job and, in some cases, took it right down to the metal. The foot treadle was frozen in place, but that was okay since it was not going to be used for sewing. We decided to convert it to a desk. While I was working on the metal base Momma was building a desk top to replace the sewing machine cabinet..
She used some pine planks as a base and, to make it smooth enough to be used as a desk, she filled in the cracks with small dowel rods. An electric sander smoothed off the dowels and made it really slick. We could have painted or dark stained the top, but thought that might overpower the base,..which we decided to paint a crimson maroon..
Yes, we did Google 'Farm & Ranch' and could find no background on anything sewing machine related. The maroon paint claimed to be a satin finish, but it came out a bit more glossy than this photo shows. I used two cans of Rust-oleum paint and the spray made easy work to the tight and hard-to-reach spots on the machine. I believe it to be made from cast iron due to the weight of the undercarriage, which is about 40-45 pounds..
Momma really did a super job on the desktop, alternating light and dark stain on the pine planks. She used a jigsaw to cut out the sides and backstop of the desk.. and just in case someone wants to check out the underside of the desk..
She made sure to stain it also. That way it doesn't look like some shade-tree operation. Speaking of the stain, Momma didn't like any of the stains we have accumulated over the years, so she mixed some of them together to come up with the final shade. Not too dark and not too light. The whole project was her idea so I just made some suggestions,..and did the heavy lifting.
As a last minute touch...She highlighted the brand name by touching it with some gold paint. Since it is such an unknown brand, we thought might as well play it up to attract attention.
Momma tries it out for size and proper height. It seems like a natural fit but we will not be keeping it for ourselves. It has already been promised.
The desk will be donated to the Think Pink auction coming up this Fall. Think Pink does a lot of good work in the fight against breast cancer in the area of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. It will go to the highest bidder and we are hoping someone will appreciate it as much as we do. We both think it came out super and will make a valued addition to someone's home office or den.
It will come as no surprise that the biggest need for the Dallas Cowboys this season will be on the defensive side of the ball.. They lost both starting cornerbacks and two safeties to free agency. Two defensive linemen were also lost from the 2016 team that finished with a 13-3 record..
Thanks to that record Dallas had the 28th pick in the first round and it was essential they find a quality player. 2015 second round defensive end Randy Gregory was just found guilty of yet another drug test and has probably seen the end to his NFL career.
With their first pick in the 2017 draft Dallas selected defensive end Taco Charlton of the University of Michigan.
Charlton can play either side of the defensive end, and possibly sometimes in the middle. He is six foot six, and 277 pounds and still impressed coaches at the combine with a 32 inch vertical jump. This was universally proclaimed as a great pick by scouts, who look for Taco to get plenty of playing time in 2017.
In the second round Dallas found some help for that depleted secondary when they picked Chidobe Awuzie of the University of Colorado. He is six foot two and 202 pounds.
Awuzie (#7 in White) can play either left or right corner and also has some experience at safety. His versatility is a real strength and most say he is a sure fire hit.
Round Three rolled around and with the 92nd overall selection Dallas returned to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan to choose cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Lewis, in the Maize & Blue, is five foot eleven and one hundred and eighty-six pounds. He is accused of a physical confrontation with a woman and has a trial in July. Lewis and the Cowboys are confident of him being cleared of any charges. He too can play either corner and is described as a hard hitter.
Saturday, the final day of the college draft, was a good day for the Cowboys as they picked up six players despite not having a selection in the fifth round.
In the fourth round the Cowboys surprised some when they went for a running back..
Actually, Ryan Switzer is not only a running back but also a kick returner. He is five foot eight and tips the scale at one hundred and eighty-one pounds. The North Carolina Tar Heel was their top receiver in 2016 and returned four kicks for touchdowns. He is expected to be a contributor to the special teams in 2017.
No pick for the Cowboys in the fifth round, but they had two in the sixth round. With their first one Dallas chose Xavier Woods, a 5 foot seven, one hundred and ninety-seven pound safety.
Actually, Dallas moved up in the draft to pick Woods. He comes from Louisiana Tech, a small school, but remember Terry Bradshaw came from Louisiana Tech and he has a fist-full of Super Bowl rings.
Also in the sixth round and the 216th overall pick, Dallas went for more assistance in the secondary when they picked Marquez White out of Florida State.
White is six foot and weighs one hundred and ninety-five pounds. He also played basketball for the Seminoles, as well as being the captain of the football team in 2016. He has good speed and exceptionally long arms, which should help at cornerback.
Dallas had three picks in the seventh round, and with the first one they tried to find help on the defensive line as they selected Joey Ivie of the University of Florida.
Ivie is six foot three and three hundred pounds... an obvious pick for the 3-technique (nose guard). He was a mainstay for the Gators this past season, but he played in only 16 of the past 36 games for Florida. His endurance may be in question.
With the 239th selection, and the second pick in the seventh round, Dallas returned to the Big Ten Conference when they selected Noah Brown of The Ohio State University.
Brown is a wide receiver and should bolster the Dallas receiving corp. He is six foot one and two hundred twenty-two pounds. Despite being a big receiver, he still ran a 4:59 in the forty yard dash at the combine. In 2016 he had 32 receptions for the Buckeyes for 402 yards and 7 touchdowns. Probably will contribute on special teams in 2017.
With their final pick of the 2017 College Draft, Dallas returned to the University of Colorado for more help on the defensive line.
Jordan Carrell (in the gray) is six foot two and 290 pounds. He led the Buffaloes with five sacks of the opposition in 2016. At the Pro Football Combine he ran a 4:98 in the forty yard dash. If you're keeping count, that is two from the University of Colorado and two from the University of Michigan. Two more from the state of Florida...one from Florida State and one from Univ of Florida.
That wraps up the draft, but before I close let me remind you that last year in the second round Dallas took a chance and chose Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith.
Smith did not play a single play in 2016 and the nerve damage in his knee has progressed better than most expected. He would have been the top player taken in last years draft had he not suffered the knee injury in the team's bowl game. Team doctors say he should be near 100 per cent by the beginning of the 2017 season.
Dallas Cowboys 2017
Schedule
September 10th- New York Giants @ Dallas
This will mark the fifth time in six years that Dallas has opened the season against the Giants.
September 17th- Dallas @ Denver Broncos
If you count only the regular season games, Dallas is winless in 25 years at the Mile High City. This will be their first game there since 2008.
September 25th- Dallas @ Arizona Cardinals
You have to go back to 2006 to find Dallas' last win at Tempe. It was the first win for a young quarterback named Tony Romo. He won't be on the team this year.
October 1st- Los Angeles Rams @ Dallas
This will be the first L.A. team to visit Dallas in the regular season since 1992. The Rams are still in a rebuilding mode and with their poor home attendance, maybe wishing they had stayed in Saint Louis.
October 8th- Green Bay Packers @ Dallas
Definitely a grudge game here with Aaron Rogers and the Pack. Green Bay has eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs twice in the last three years.... Ugh!
October 22nd- Dallas @ San Francisco 49'ers
After a bye week, the Cowboys travel to the Bay Area to take on the Niners. This is the site of Zeke Elliott's first one-hundred yard rushing game in 2016, a feat he duplicated seven times to set a new Dallas rushing record for rookies.
October 29th- Dallas @ Washington Redskins
A return to Washington, site of Dak Prescott's first career win after replacing Romo in 2016. The Cowboys have won six of their last eight trips to D.C.
November 5th- Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas
Indians for the second straight week as KC comes to town. This will be the first Dallas game broadcast by CBS with Tony Romo in the booth instead of on the field.. Got to be an emotional game.
November 12th- Dallas @ Atlanta Falcons
This will mark the first time Dallas will play in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. Maybe the Interstate 85 and Interstate 20 problems will be solved by then.
November 19th- Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas
Lots of new names on the Eagles roster, but it's the same old rivalry. A national TV audience will be watching this one.
November 23rd- San Diego Chargers @ Dallas
Happy Thanksgiving ! This will mark the 50th time the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving Day,..but it will be a first for the Chargers. Phillip Rivers still the QB in San Diego.
November 30th- Washington Redskins @ Dallas
Back to back Thursday games for Dallas. These NFC rivals will be at the top of their games for this one. Unfortunately, only one can win the division championship.
December 10th- Dallas @ New York Giants
Never a dull moment when these two meet. Former Coach Tom Landry loved this game since he was a former player and coach for the Giants before coaching Dallas for 29 years. Look for all out passing battle between Dak and Eli.
December 17th- Dallas @ Oakland Raiders
It has been 22 years since Dallas has won a game in Oakland. All the way back to when number 21 was worn by Deion Sanders instead of Zeke Elliott. This should be a shootout.
December 24th- Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas
This game will mark only the tenth time Seattle has visited Dallas, and the Cowboys are 6-3 in that time...but the Hawks put a 13-12 loss on Dallas in their last meeting.
December 31st- Dallas @ Philadelphia Eagles
New Year's Eve battle in the City of Brotherly Love ! Cowboys had won four straight times in Philly before last year's meaningless game. This one should mean a lot more, and determine who goes on to the playoffs.
U.S. Army Picks New Handgun
This is it.... The Sig Sauer P320,...a modular designed polymer strike-fired pistol. The design allows for the weapon to be adapted to fire 9mm, .357 Sig, or .40 Smith & Wesson ammunition. Each pistol will be configured to allow the addition of silencers.
The annoucement concludes a five year study at a cost of almost seventeen million dollars. The new pistol won out in competition from Smith & Wesson, Glock, and Beretta for the 580 million dollar contract. The new pistols will begin delivery from the Exeter, New Hampshire plant immediately and continue over the next ten years..
The Sig Sauer XM17 will have the military designation of M17 and will replace the Army's M9, a Beretta 92f, which has been the official sidearm since 1985.
I know these are Marines firing the M9 Beretta, but it has been issued to Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine troops since 1985. The biggest complaint over the M9 was its failure to stop a combatant with a single shot. In a survey of recent returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, only 58% gave the M9 passing grades. Others were disgusted with it and evidently those complaints have finally landed on receptive ears among the big brass at the Pentagon.
This is a 100 year old Colt Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol, and it was the official military sidearm from 1911 through 1985 when it was replaced by the Beretta M9. The Beretta was suppose to save on ammunition weight and carry a larger magazine capacity than the 1911 pistol. Many special operations forces such as Army Special Forces and Navy Seals have been using the Colt instead of the Beretta. One hit with a .45 bullet will usually suffice for most victims. The basic design of John Browning has not changed much over the years and just about every gun manufacturer offers a version of the model 1911. This is the one that graces my nightstand at this very moment..
My Dad taught me that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' I think that is a great discription for the model 1911... but technology marches on and now America's forces will turn to the Sig Sauer to provide reliability and forcefulness. The announcement did NOT specify just what caliber the new pistol would come in, but did say the M17 would come in the full size and compact models for troops with smaller hands.
SIG Sauer XM17 MHS pistol
The show was part of the Fall Festival held in town each year to give local vendors a chance to hawk their wares. Performers also get to strut their stuff periodically throughout the day,...But the reason I show up each year is for the car show. Three blocks of Main Street were blocked off so participants could show their beauties to the admiring public..
This is a 1933 Ford 3-window coupe, and was clean enough to eat off of.. 350 Chevy V8 engine with air conditioning. Just another way of being cool while motoring in this super looking ride.
1949 Buick Roadmaster.. I haven't seen this car in any of the shows for a while, but it has been in the past. Multi-colored paint job demands your attention and those 4 port holes in the front fender would become a trademark for this model of Buick.
This is a 1940 Chevrolet, also with a 350 V8 engine. Check out the automatic transmission... a feature unheard of in 1940. The interior is also spectacular and I had to include it so you could be as impressed as I was. Note the Chevrolet emblem on the door panels.
1941 Ford Woodie.. In their time they were known as station wagons, but because of the real wood used on the sides they all became known as 'Woodies.' Thats the owner sitting behind it and I didn't want to get too close to check if it was real wood or a vinyl substitute. This particular car had the original 85 horsepower flathead V8 engine.
1961 Chevrolet Bel-Air with a super paint job. Most of the enthusiast of this year always go for the Impala, but I have always thought the Bel-Air was a better looking model.. and that goes for 1962 also. Under the hood this car featured a 348 engine to go along with the 4-speed transmission.
1963 and a half Ford fastback.. Ford introduced this model midway through the production year at the request of NASCAR. The vertical rear window was creating too much drag at high speeds and the sloped rear window eliminated that problem. This car had its original 406 cubic inch engine.
1930 Ford Model A Roadster and just about original in all aspects...down to the ooogah horn below the driver's side headlight. Check those authentic spoke wheels, painted bright orange to grab your attention. This one had the rumble seat and the upholstery job was simply super.
1937 Chevrolet Coupe and an excellent example of what a street rod is suppose to look like. The owner lives in Southern Oklahoma and has brought this car to our shows in the past, and we are the winners for it..The Chevy V8 powers this coupe down the highway with the best of them.. and needless to say, the interior is also immaculate.
1956 Pontiac Sport Coupe.. Really a clean example of that year and you can see the resemblance of the Chevrolet sister car in the lines along the side. If you look close you can see a small V8 emblem on the front fender....
A 389 cubic inch engine with two 4-barrel carburetors definitely did not come in this beauty in 1956. This is the engine that made the Pontiac GTO a terror on the streets in the mid and late 1960's. Note the generator instead of an alternator. Very clean car !
I'll close with this one... a 1923 Ford T-Bucket Roadster that always looks good.. and like most good Fords, it has a Chevy engine. Leaf spring front end is a good touch...as is the diamond-plate firewall behind the engine. This is a well presented car.
Nice clean interior showcasing the automatic transmission. I like the script "Hotrod" on the dash, just in case there was any question.
My brother's hotrods and race cars were always painted in his beloved 'Passion Purple' and I know he would have loved this roadster..
The weather was great for today's events.. The cloud cover kept us from being fried to a crisp and the temperature was around 80 degrees.. Now if we could only duplicate that in the future.. Thanks to all who brought their works-of-art out to be viewed. I wish I could have shown more, but time and space prevent it.
2016 Football Schedule
August 26 Denison 61 TCA of Addison 63 (0-1)
Sept 2 Frisco 34 Denison 21 (0-2)
Sept 9 Denison 14 Abilene Wylie 28 (0-3)
Sept 16 Frisco Heritage 60 Denison 64 (1-3)
Sept 23 Denison 34 Wichita Falls 15 (2-3) (1-0)
Sept 30 Open Date (No Game)
Oct 7 WF Rider 21 Denison 41 (3-3) (2-0)
Oct 14 Denison 20 Denton 21 (3-4) (2-1)
Oct 21 Braswell 20 Denison 49 (4-4) (3-1)
Oct 27 Denison 14 Denton Ryan 41 (4-5) (3-2)
Nov 4 Sherman 30 Denison 35 (5-5) (4-2)
* District 5 AAAAA Games:
Nov 11 Denison 29 Saginaw Boswell 56 (5-6)
(1st Round Playoff Game at Univ of North Texas Stadium)
