Wood you like to help me plan my anniversary?
April 13, 2016 7:32 AM
You're probably Sycamore question's about wedding anniversaries but Alder help Yew've given in the past has been treemendous.
The theme of the year is WOOD. Have you got any suggestions for wooden adventures?
So I have a wedding anniversary coming up in about 2 months.
It's year 5, wood. We have a history of doing an activity together related to the material (instead of a gift), which started on our paper anniversary where we gave a paper to an academic conference which was really weirdly on both our (not at all similar) specialties. The paper was terrible, the tradition was not.
I'm looking for slightly unusual takes on wood, wood themed adventures and so on. Slight wrinkle, for the last several years we've been renovating an old dutch barge, which has involved a lot of woodwork.
So, that could be incorporated, or avoided entirely, but building walls out of timber is not going to be a novel activity for us.
Every year so far I've asked this question, here are links:
(1) Paper / (2) Cotton/ (3) Leather/(4)Linen And Silk.
So I have a wedding anniversary coming up in about 2 months.
It's year 5, wood. We have a history of doing an activity together related to the material (instead of a gift), which started on our paper anniversary where we gave a paper to an academic conference which was really weirdly on both our (not at all similar) specialties. The paper was terrible, the tradition was not.
I'm looking for slightly unusual takes on wood, wood themed adventures and so on. Slight wrinkle, for the last several years we've been renovating an old dutch barge, which has involved a lot of woodwork.
So, that could be incorporated, or avoided entirely, but building walls out of timber is not going to be a novel activity for us.
Every year so far I've asked this question, here are links:
(1) Paper / (2) Cotton/ (3) Leather/(4)Linen And Silk.
We have a history of doing an activity together related to the material
My dad is part of a turners club where he lives. He's really gotten back into lathe work lately and, maybe it's just my dad's personality, loves talking wood with new folks. When we were home for Christmas, my dad took my brother into the garage and they emerged a few hours later with a pretty little bowl my brother turned himself (with supervision and guidance). It was his first time at a lathe.
You're not going to be able to make something spectacular as a first timer, but you'll be able to make something that's yours. If I were in your shoes, I'd call around to local woodworking or turning groups in your area and ask if there's anyone (you'd be happy to pay, of course) who could guide you through an afternoon project.
It's a fun activity and you'll have the thing you make to look at forever.
posted by phunniemee at 7:41 AM on April 13, 2016
My dad is part of a turners club where he lives. He's really gotten back into lathe work lately and, maybe it's just my dad's personality, loves talking wood with new folks. When we were home for Christmas, my dad took my brother into the garage and they emerged a few hours later with a pretty little bowl my brother turned himself (with supervision and guidance). It was his first time at a lathe.
You're not going to be able to make something spectacular as a first timer, but you'll be able to make something that's yours. If I were in your shoes, I'd call around to local woodworking or turning groups in your area and ask if there's anyone (you'd be happy to pay, of course) who could guide you through an afternoon project.
It's a fun activity and you'll have the thing you make to look at forever.
posted by phunniemee at 7:41 AM on April 13, 2016
You could build a mini-library, a birdhouse (or owl box or bat box), a garden trellis, a rocking chair, a coffee table, etc. And if you've got the outdoor space you could build a treehouse for your child.
On preview, I heartily second the recommendation to go hiking through some magnificent trees. You can always plant a tree too!
posted by scrubjay at 7:45 AM on April 13, 2016
On preview, I heartily second the recommendation to go hiking through some magnificent trees. You can always plant a tree too!
posted by scrubjay at 7:45 AM on April 13, 2016
If you're in the right climate, a pick-your-own fruit orchard followed by foods made with that fruit could be a lot of fun.
posted by jeather at 7:51 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by jeather at 7:51 AM on April 13, 2016
I came in to recommend travelling by wooden boat/canoe, but you've got that covered. Building on scrubjay's idea, what if you built a Little Free Library and installed it at the edge of your property? It would be nice to see it as a daily reminder of your anniversary. Bonus: stock it with books from your courtship, about good relationships, etc.
posted by carmicha at 7:51 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by carmicha at 7:51 AM on April 13, 2016
Go sailing on a wooden ship. And/or piracy.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:56 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:56 AM on April 13, 2016
I definitely like the hiking idea, esepcially if you pick a place with really cool/unique trees like giant sequoias or this cool dwarf forest. Obviously both those ideas are California-centric (because that's where I've done a lot of hiking!), but I would be there are some cool forests within day-trip-distance of wherever you live.
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:16 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:16 AM on April 13, 2016
If you're willing to travel to California, you have some pretty cool options for a nice trip:
Start in San Francisco and work your way down the coast. Here are some places to check out along the way.
Muir Woods and the Sequoias
Ride the wooden Roller Coaster on the Santa Cruz boardwalk
Winery tour in Sonoma or Napa and admire the wooden casks
Look at the wooden toys at the Musee Mecanique at Pier 45
The Madonna Inn has an Oak Room. It's lovely.
Hearst Castle has a huge dining hall that's predominantly wood.
Solvang is a hoot with wooden windmills, and Mission Santa Ynez
You get where I'm going with this. We did a lot of this on our Honeymoon and we had a BLAST! We rented a HUGE Lincoln town car and had a ball. Gas is still pretty cheap and the big, luxurious car made it a treat to toot along the highways and byways. We did a bit of driving up Big Sur and had mini adventures.
If going to California is a bit much, check out similar things in England to see.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:17 AM on April 13, 2016
Start in San Francisco and work your way down the coast. Here are some places to check out along the way.
Muir Woods and the Sequoias
Ride the wooden Roller Coaster on the Santa Cruz boardwalk
Winery tour in Sonoma or Napa and admire the wooden casks
Look at the wooden toys at the Musee Mecanique at Pier 45
The Madonna Inn has an Oak Room. It's lovely.
Hearst Castle has a huge dining hall that's predominantly wood.
Solvang is a hoot with wooden windmills, and Mission Santa Ynez
You get where I'm going with this. We did a lot of this on our Honeymoon and we had a BLAST! We rented a HUGE Lincoln town car and had a ball. Gas is still pretty cheap and the big, luxurious car made it a treat to toot along the highways and byways. We did a bit of driving up Big Sur and had mini adventures.
If going to California is a bit much, check out similar things in England to see.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:17 AM on April 13, 2016
You could go camping in the forest somewhere cool and have a wood fire.
Take a woodworking class or maybe learn to whittle together!
Build a house for someone doing something like Habitat for Humanity.
posted by FireFountain at 8:43 AM on April 13, 2016
Take a woodworking class or maybe learn to whittle together!
Build a house for someone doing something like Habitat for Humanity.
posted by FireFountain at 8:43 AM on April 13, 2016
Road trip to Wisconsin for The Lumberjack Olympics?
http://www.lumberjackworldchampionships.com
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:00 AM on April 13, 2016
http://www.lumberjackworldchampionships.com
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:00 AM on April 13, 2016
Seconding scrubjay - plant some, they'll flourish and endure like your love.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:54 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:54 AM on April 13, 2016
Are you still in London? Instead of trekking all the way to California, perhaps a trip to the German Schwarzwald would be more doable? I remember going there as a child, and it is certainly very magnificent and fairytale-like.
posted by ananci at 11:57 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by ananci at 11:57 AM on April 13, 2016
Oh ananci, I think you're on to something there!
So far I've arranged for the toddler to be looked after, and booked flights to, and a hotel in Triberg, home of the worlds largest (carved wooden) cuckoo clock.
It turns out Blackforest Gateux is very very readily available in the actual black forest.
Now, should it be a surprise or should I tell my wife so she can anticipate?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 10:49 AM on April 14, 2016
So far I've arranged for the toddler to be looked after, and booked flights to, and a hotel in Triberg, home of the worlds largest (carved wooden) cuckoo clock.
It turns out Blackforest Gateux is very very readily available in the actual black forest.
Now, should it be a surprise or should I tell my wife so she can anticipate?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 10:49 AM on April 14, 2016
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posted by town of cats at 7:38 AM on April 13, 2016