Two dads have weekly lunches. Lately, we've wondered if we should do a project together during that time. Any ideas?
May 12, 2011 4:44 PM   Subscribe

What's a good joint project between two 45-year-old dads who get together once a week for a 90-minute lunch (we're long-term friends)?

Since becoming unemployed (one of us is a stay-at-home dad), we enjoy our weekly lunches, but lately, thought we should come up with a cool joint-effort project. Keep in mind:

1. I'm broke, so I can't buy a lot of stuff.
2. We don't have a lot of free time outside our lunch, so maximum, maybe 1/2 hour per week otherwise.
3. We want to be able to look back on this opportunity and say, "Look what we did together!'

I'll do my best to monitor responses and dialog with those who come up with suggestions. Thanks!
posted by ValveAnnex to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (29 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Some ideas:

+ Write a novella/short story/etc, with a sort of creative limitation of only working on it in 90 minute chunks
+ Write a book of advice for your kids
+ Try every Thai/Mexican/Italian/etc restaurant in your city (you could then go home and try to make some of those recipes for your wife/kids)
+ Bring your laptops and start a blog about fatherhood or some other shared interest



Seconding wanting to know your hobbies and interests.
posted by too bad you're not me at 4:53 PM on May 12, 2011


Design a board game.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:22 PM on May 12, 2011


Do either of you have a yard, or are there woods nearby?
My vote: compost pile!

And I'm not even a composting-type-o-dood!
Here're my reasons why:
1. It's fun. You can use the compost you make to grow all sorts of stuff later: fruits, veggies, flowers you can pot and give to your wives and say "hey baby, happy Awesome Day! This is for you!" And she'll be all like, "oh honey, that's so sweet! Thank you! Is that..." And you can say, "DASRIGHT GURRRRL! THAT'S MAH COMPOST AH BEEN MAKIN WIF MY FREND!"
2. It's educational: you'll learn a lot about a lot of things pretty quickly, because there's tons of stuff to read online. Any kids either of you two dads might have (you'd mentioned one of you guys is a dad) might learn a thing or two and get interested as well. Especially if your compost has wwwwooorrrrmmmms!
3. It's cheap. You don't need super fancy pre-built bins, or bins that spin. All you need is something that keeps crap in place. A friend of mine has what looks essentially like a plastic tube with big holes cut out of it, stuck into the ground. You could also build a wooden one for cheap out of cheap wood, or chik0n wire. I would recommend building something sorta-stable out of wood, because a) you get to spend some time drawing up a plan, which is kinda fun, cuz you're like, scheming n stuff, b) you get to hammer that stuff together, which is also fun, c) you can paint it some awesome color, or ask a kid for color input, d) you can make a sign and hang it from your bin that says "2DAD COMPOST HEAP."
4. It gets you outdoors. You've got to shovel that stuff up and mix it around. But ohhh, it's fun. With time, you'll see the fruits of your labor, and as you shovel up the stuff from the bottom of the pile, you'll see the richest, awesomest smelling soil on the planet.
5. It's not time-intensive. Once you've got things set up, you could spend a little bit of time every week or every other week to break out the shovel and turn the pile. There's some controversy about how often you're supposed to turn piles, or summin, I dunno, cuz I'm not an expert, but my friend certainly doesn't do it more often than once a week, I'd say.

DISCLAIMER: I don't compost. But a friend of mine does. And she's got this small little container in the kitchen, into which she puts compostable stuff. On a cold, wintry day, I was out in her backyard and saw her compost pile. It was amazing: In the coldness of winter, the thing was surrounded by a lush circle of green. She grabbed a shovel, and turned the stuff over, and it smelled amazing, and looked amazing! That compost had enough radiant heat and nutrients n stuff to get things growing through the winter!

2nd DISCLAIMER: I am no expert in composting, but I am an expert in scheming and planning. I'm sure there are many expert composters on here who'd be more than happy to give advice.

NOTES:
- Compost bin and plans here. Only, I'd just look at the pictures to get an idea, and draw up plans yourselves. Part of the fun might come from drafting things on your own!
- Some instructions on how to make potting soil from compost here. Note: The stuff I saw at the bottom of my friend's compost pile looked like something that could be used to pot flowers. I'm no expert, though.
- I've been getting more and more excited about building one on my deck (I have no yard)!

posted by herrdoktor at 6:03 PM on May 12, 2011 [6 favorites]


box garden?

I've also seen a friend's setup where she had three higher-walled boxes built against a wall (so that the fourth side of the box was the wall), and then a trellis above each box, also against the wall. Very handsome! And part of the project was installing a drip irrigation system, which I would imagine would require some serious lunchtime planning.

Caveat: I know nothing about gardening, and I would never attempt this because everything green in my care dies. I just think it looks really cool when other people do stuff like this.
posted by palliser at 6:30 PM on May 12, 2011


Birdhouses?
posted by pilibeen at 7:07 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: herrdoktor: Thanks for being mindful of the composting phenom. He and I are both active composters. In fact, he used to have worm composting bins in his apartment in NYC (15 years ago). We're both in Seattle now, and practice composting as a course of day-to-day habit.
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:12 PM on May 12, 2011


How old are your kids? build furniture, in particular play kitchens for kids. seriously.
posted by dpx.mfx at 7:13 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: dflemingecon and "too bad you're not me" (love that) - our hobbies, interests?

I can't definitively speak for him, but will try: Shape Note/Sacred Heart singing (old hobby), Buddhism (he owns a temple); Landscaping/Gardening (he could feed two families with his harvests); tooling around in his workshop; reading...he'll kill me for trying to sum him up like this.

Me? Composing (I went to college for jazz/classical composition/performance), painting, biking, writing, cooking, hiking. Lately, I lowered my pride a little to check out gaming on a PS2. Stupid, I know, but it killed some time and made me happier. Designing furniture.
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:19 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: dpx.mfx - My son is 7, his daughter is 9. Outgrowing the indoor play stuff.
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:20 PM on May 12, 2011


I love DarlingBri's suggestion of making a board game, having made lots in grade school. Different kinds of fun can be derived from coming up with the actual idea, adding/changing ideas through playtesting, trying to "break" the game, and then there's the crafty-side where you can work on making presentation-quality board and pieces/whatever.

Since you're/were a software developer; perhaps work on an electronic version - collaborate on an Android or iOS or Facebook game app... make the next Angry Birds or Farmthing.

Or if you're not quite that ambitious, maybe start with working on a 'Choose Your Own Adventure'" style story looking to turn it into an old-school adventure game. I remember doing something(s!) similar with good old hypercard in elementary school.
posted by porpoise at 7:21 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: Palliser - he has an amazing full-blown fruit and vegetable garden, plus exotic/beautiful landscaping. It humbles me every time I visit. My wife has a green thumb too. Thanks!
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:22 PM on May 12, 2011


Guerilla gardening for the benefit of others. Make seed bombs.
posted by francesca too at 7:23 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: I'm liking DarlingBri's suggestion too. And turning it digital is a definite possibility.

Oddly enough, my son has invented two board games this past spring. They don't make a huge amount of sense, but it would be a huge hit with the kids.
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:24 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: My wife is saying exercise would be a good thing. Having a goal to lose weight seems to be her $.02 ;)

Every time we've gotten together this past 4-5 weeks, we've had some good long walks to get some calories burned off. We both want to lose weight.
posted by ValveAnnex at 7:25 PM on May 12, 2011


Book club? Each week read a different book and discuss it - but not normal book clubby type books. Could be books about each other's hobbies, inspirational/motivational (like The 4-Hour Work Week), etc. Not sure how fast you guys read, though - although that could also be an every other week or once a month type activity.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 8:00 PM on May 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


Fitness is a good option, then. I've done a similar thing with a group of my friends - we meet bright and early every Saturday morning for boot-camp style exercise, then adjourn for a not-particularly-healthy breakfast. It's a lovely way to start the weekend, and has kick-started a couple of them into more healthy lifestyles - one has lost almost 100pounds.

So, pick something you both like doing, choose a goal, and challenge each other. All you've got to lose is weight!
posted by coriolisdave at 8:03 PM on May 12, 2011


Your kids are the right age for a treehouse. (And really, just a large enough piece of wood nailed into a tree is all that's needed for fun playing.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:18 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: OK, peanut_mcgillicuty, sounds good. I've got a pile of books to get through, and he's always reading something interesting. But time-wise, it might be challenging.

Currently, I'm reading "The Man Who Ate Everything" by Jeffrey Steingarten. He's reading "Handling the Undead"
posted by ValveAnnex at 9:35 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: Margalo - great idea. On my property, that would be sudden death. Seattle terrain is very mixed. Also, kinda pricey and one-sided to do it right. Don't get me wrong - grateful to have the ideas!
posted by ValveAnnex at 9:41 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: coriolisdave, you're making me feel like there is no other choice here. It's all kinds of correct, just another thing I'm not very good at...where to begin?
posted by ValveAnnex at 9:43 PM on May 12, 2011


Buy gold or silver coins and bury them around town.
posted by ian1977 at 9:55 PM on May 12, 2011


Oh...and then in your will, each of you will leave a map to the treasure spots to your heirs. After the second one of you expires, lawyers will deliver maps and letters explaining that you and your friend have together buried $19,529 dollars in gold coins over the years. They can now race the other family to dig up the treasure.

But then they get to the treasure chest and inside is just a heart shaped locket that says 'love is the greatest treasure'
posted by ian1977 at 9:59 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: ian - brilliant!

My fear is, with the way property in Seattle goes, it would get dug up by future grunts clearing the area for another multi-use dwelling.

But it brings up the idea of a family time capsule 'treasure' to discover later. Hmm.
posted by ValveAnnex at 10:38 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: "too bad you're not me" - the other dad is liking your writing suggestions (second comment). Hope to hear more from him soon on the others. He just saw this about an hour ago.
posted by ValveAnnex at 10:48 PM on May 12, 2011


coriolisdave, you're making me feel like there is no other choice here. It's all kinds of correct, just another thing I'm not very good at...where to begin?
Honestly? Just start. Pick something you enjoy - walking? running? cycling? some sort of sport? And do it. Squash is a high-intensity workout in and of itself, as is (I expect) American handball.

It can help if you've got a motivated, clued person to point you in the right direction - if you don't have any friends that fit the bill, a couple of sessions with a personal trainer could be a good investment. If you go this route, get them to put together a bodyweight circuit for you - something that you don't need to buy any gear to do, etc.

Or you can just flip about the Internets and put one together yourself! simplefit offers some suggestions, there are a bunch more ideas here on askme. Start with a warmup jog, incorporate some simple sprints, do a bunch of situps and jumping jacks and pushups and pullups (if you can find some playground equipment)... basically, get out there and get moving!
posted by coriolisdave at 11:30 PM on May 12, 2011


Response by poster: coriolisdave - thank you. Very encouraging.
posted by ValveAnnex at 12:56 AM on May 13, 2011


Interview each other for the respective guy's kids, to be handed over some time in the future.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:03 AM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


If treasure hunting sounds fun, try geocaching.

You could do some furniture building for charity ... make bookshelves for the homeless shelter.

If you decide on exercise, try setting a goal to work toward. Earlier this week there was a question about naming some fitness goals - standing flip, press your bodyweight, etc. Pick something and build toward it.
posted by CathyG at 11:48 AM on May 13, 2011




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