No, no post yesterday.  Instead of writing something for the blog, I spent the day cooking Easter dinner for 16 folks. My two sisters in law with their families, my in-laws and my mom and step dad. And, boy, did we ever eat. Roast lamb. Ham. Roasted potatoes. Two veggies. Two different kinds of salads. It was nuts.

And, when it comes to the kitchen prep in our house, we like to keep a lot of the staples close at hand. Different oils, vinegars, rices, pasta… the works.  This way, we can whip up a meal fit for guests whenever we need to.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t always so easy to store these staples. We had very limited pantry storage area in our kitchen – basically a linen closet in one hallway and whatever space we could eke out of our cabinets. Very tight and sloppy.  We needed a solution.

To help contain all of these goodies in one convenient place, I built this freestanding pantry unit for my house. Based on Danny Proulx’s design in his book Fast and Easy Techniques for Building Modern Cabinetry, it is a very simple yet useful design.

Basically, it’s a large cabinet built out of red oak plywood. About seven feet tall and 18 inches deep. Rather than sitting on the floor, I built a frame for the piece to make it look a little more graceful. The piece is held together with glue and pocket screws, and I built the doors for it. I figured the curved top rail would allow it to look a little fancier. It’s as plain as plain can be… but when you get into the inside, this is where the piece shines.

Inside, there are five full-extension heavy duty pull out shelves on runners that can handle 100 pounds each. This baby is designed for heavy lifting and ease of use. I built the shelves from pieces of 2 inch wide by 3/4 inch thick red oak runners with 1/2″ plywood grooved inside. The sides are held together with more pocket screws.  I purposely graduated the height of the drawers from the bottom to the top of the piece to allow for taller storage on the lowest shelf, and to restrict the number of canned goods that could be stacked on the upper shelves, preventing too much weight from being placed on one shelf.

The best thing about the piece is simply how much stuff it can hold. We store all kinds of goodies in there – the breakfast cereals, the bags of coffee, the large mega-retailer packs of pasta – the works. This way, we can stock up at the local membership clubs and keep all of those things out of the way safely tucked in the pantry.

This piece has allowed us some great flexibility in storage at our home, and we’ve had more than one visitor remark how they would like to get their own copy of the pantry for their kitchen.

Albert Einstein was pretty darned smart. No. Seriously. His work in physics has helped unlock many of the mysteries of the universe – that mass could be converted to energy and energy could be converted back to mass. The whole space-time dealio. And, my favorite, the theory of relativity.

Relativity is something my feeble mind can wrap itself around because Einstein gave a really good example to describe how it works:

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity!

Einstein was spot on. When I’m sitting in a meeting at work, the time seems to drag on forever. But, when a holiday is approaching, and you realize you haven’t done anything to get ready for it, the days quickly slip by, leaving you in full-blown panic mode.

You don’t have to be an Einstein to know that Mother’s Day is on the way. It’s just one of those holidays that creeps up on you, leaving you scrambling at the last minute to find the appropriate gift. “It’s happened to all of us,” said Tim Walter of Eagle America. “Your mom, mother in law, wife, daughter… whoever is a mom in your life is expecting you to remember the big day is coming. While they may not be expecting you to break the bank and buy them something lavish, the fact that you noticed and thought to remember the occasion is expected – and greatly appreciated.”

That’s why Eagle America is helping make it easy for woodworkers to come up with ideas to show a little extra appreciation for that special someone in their lives. “Sure, you can go the whole flower route, but that could be a little impersonal. Besides, cut flowers last only a few days in the vase. A wooden gift – that will be treasured for a lifetime!”

Let’s start with the basics. Picture frames are great gifts for moms to showcase pictures of their moms, their kids and the entire family. “Whether you want to build something elaborate or simple, the handcrafted touch really helps those special photos stand out.”

Small ‘treasure’ boxes are also a great place for the mom in your life to stash some of her more special and memorable items. “With digital photography, we don’t always get prints of those memorable shots. But, for those pictures sitting in plain storage boxes, a beautifully crafted box makes an awesome place for her to stash some of her favorites.” Tim continued, “Heck, go crazy and build your box, but make the top a picture frame! This way, it will serve a dual purpose.

For turners, it’s difficult to go wrong when turning an elegant pen. There are dozens of styles of pen works out there, and with some imagination and a few wood scraps, you could make a unique creation she will love. “Go all out. Turn a pen out of the best looking pieces of wood you have, then invest in a little personalized stationery for her. You will be a hero!”

If you really want to go out there with a different twist on things, why not plan a family project? “We have plans for easy woodworking projects that are perfect starting places for kids to build. Plus, we also offer a number of simple woodworking kits the whole family can enjoy. That quality time will be remembered forever.”

Just be smart about the time you have to work. “Even Einstein would tell you – get started now so you won’t be rushed trying to beat the deadline!”