I was born and raised in Curwensville, Pennsylvania. At 18, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving 20 years in communications, Civil service and defense contracting filled in the next 30 years. After retirement, my wife Jeanne and I sold our Maryland home and moved to the warmer climate of North Carolina. Jeanne’s son, a Naval Academy graduate, is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Her daughter is an RN, doing her part against the Covid-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania. My two sons, a software engineer, and an IT specialist, live in Maryland. We see our kids and six grandchildren a few times each year.

Being a left-brainer, with little in the way of natural creativity, woodworking is a surprisingly relaxing hobby that keeps my mind and body active in retirement. I continue my hands-on learning with experimentation, experience, and reading. Ideas come from patterns, friends, neighbors and family, and run the gamut from serious to whimsical. Time spent on projects ranges from a few hours to several months. For example, "Spring Bounty" took me five years! Frustration over trying to fit the pieces together caused me to set it aside for months at a time while I tackled easier projects. Finally, with goading from Jeanne (she calls it "encouragement"), I completed it, and it turned out better than I expected.

I want to acknowledge and thank my son Alan for his expertise, time, and patience in building this site.