Welcome to the 2008 August issue!

Browsing through the summer-themed projects in this issue, I was reminded of my childhood summers. As the daughter of a high school principal and an elementary school teacher, summer vacation always meant going away for two weeks in August. (None of this taking time off in November to beat the crowds in Disneyland!)

Whether it was a cabin in Maine, a house in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania, or a stint at the Jersey shore, my dad always made sure we vacationed in a spot where he could go fishing. Being the youngest of four children, it was sometimes difficult to get “me-time” with Dad and not have to compete with my siblings for his attention. Therefore, when I realized that none of them really enjoyed fishing, I figured it made sense for me to develop an interest in it and become Dad’s “fishing buddy.”

I never minded threading the worms onto the hooks, or holding the wriggling fish, but I have to admit, I never really quite “got” the whole concept of fishing. I guess I was always a little too much of a talker—NOT a good thing for a fisherman! (One of the other bonuses of fishing with Dad was his promise of grabbing a bite out to eat when we were done. Remember, this was in the days before a McDonald’s was on every corner, and a Dunkin’ Donuts on every other one! I would forget, however, that Dad’s idea of “lunch out” was selecting a pre-wrapped sandwich, usually ham or liverwurst, from a shack on the end of a ramshackle fishing pier. To this day, I still can’t look at those sandwiches and not remember the stale crusts!)

Dad passed away two years ago, and one of my big regrets is that he never got to take my kids fishing. It was something we were always going to get around to, and never seemed to fit into the schedule. My husband is not a fisherman, so I guess it’s going to be up to me to remember some of those early lessons from my Dad and take my fishing buddies out on my own.

Although I never really understood my Dad’s love of the pastime, I always respected it, and he was able to pass on to me an understanding of the importance for quiet, contemplative time, and an appreciation of the beauty in simply watching a sun rise over a calm lake, or a storm rising up over the ocean.

In much the same way, I respect the talents of our many designers who contribute to the magazine, and the talented readers who continue to amaze us with photos of their own projects. While I am not a woodworker, I understand the desire to create something beautiful, and to spend some time lost in your own thoughts. As I look at projects such as Darin Liles’ Bass and Walleye, Sue Mey’s Nautical Clock and Secluded Beach Layerscape, or Wayne and Jacob Fowler’s Blue Heron, I am reminded again of those summertime excursions with Dad, where I was supposedly learning about fishing, but was, in reality, learning much more important lessons.

We hope you have fun fishing through the variety of projects and articles featured in this issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts. Enjoy your summer, and be sure to share your catch of the day with us!