Ice Fishing Shack: I built the shack that was featured in the 1996 Nutshell news. It came out very nicely and I was able to personalize it for my son who ice fishes in northern Wisconsin. I don't have my web page up and running yet, but I will be happy to e-mail photos to anyone that is interested.

Dave

Ice Fishing Shack: My DH love ice fishing. Here is what he said about an ice fishing house. The basics are Size 6' x 8' (can be larger or smaller). The wall framing is done with 1 x 2. The outside is covered with 1/4" plywood.( If you want a fancier house, cover the inside also. The roof is slanted with wood and shingled. Put 2 or 3 window in 16" x 16" with glass or Plexiglas. The door is the regular size. You can use a reg. door or make a frame and put a piece of plywood over it. The door swings outward and is locked on the outside with a padlock. The is made of 3/4" plywood. The fishing holes are in each corner and are 1' square. The stove can be a wood burning one for heat. Need wood for stove. You can cook on it also. You could use a stove and uses propane tank. The tank should be outside and copper tubing. You should have metal of wood stools about 20" high. Some people use lawn chairs. The house should sit on runners like the old fashioned sleds. The runners are made out 4x4"s or 2x6"s.Make 4 runners for a 6'x8' house. Space the four runners under the house. Put a hole in the side of each runner near the front. Run a pole though the holes and attach a chain at the end of the pole. This is how you pull the house on and off the lake or move it to a better spot. In side the house you would want an ice auger, ladle with holes to take the ice out of the holes,minnow bucket, tip up (or a small rod and reel), lantern, candles, matches, beer, pop, coffee, food, soup, pots and pans, tackle box, bucket for caught fish, wood for stove, and of course FISH. Coppers (mittens) and nails in the side of the house with your jacket and scarf on. On the outside of the house you have to display your fishing house license. In Minnesota it is a tag you nail on the outside. You also need something with your name, address, phone. This has to be 3" high. Depending on how you want your "palace" to look. You can put up a fancy wood sign with your name or just paint it on the plywood. Curtains in the window, carpet on the floor, TV in on the side.

Dianne in Minnesota

Ice Fishing Shack: For the person asking about the ice fishing house (sorry, mind lapse on the name), I have thought and thought (yes, it hurts, but I keep trying anyway ;) about your "ice" dilemma and come up with an idea...I've lived in Iowa my entire life, and on at least one occasion was somehow talked into ice fishing. The thing that stands out in my mind here is that ice on a river, or lake is not clear.....at least not here in Iowa. It gets so cold that the ice is more white, slightly opaque....not clear. It is also not smooth and slippery like you would find say in skating arena. It is somewhat slippery, but rough from the snow freezing into it and on top of it. So, with that in mind, if I were making ice for this scene, I would use resin with the fake snow (sold for doll houses) mixed in. Keep in mind that the "snow" should be the predominant feature here in order to give the best look. The resin would hold the whole thing together, and give the shine you want. I would do this as a cast....probably using non-drying clay and "build" the hole into the mold. One last thought on this, and at the risk of hurting myself, ice houses (at least that I've seen here) do not have metal roofing. They are made entirely of plywood, with a simple canvas roof. They are built on "skids", kind of like skies, and are completely collapsible for toting on and off the lake, river, etc. This is necessary, obviously, because they must be moved.

Sloan

Ice Fishing Shack: My father had a fish shack on the ice when I was a teenager. It was made of 1/8" Masonite with a framework of 1/4" pine. It was held together by cables and turnbuckles (on the inside) so it could be disassembled to take it home. The door opened outward because there wasn't much room inside (8' x 10'). There were three wooden runners (2" x 10") with a 3/4" fir floor nailed to them. There were two 'trap doors' in the floor for fishing inside in really bad weather. A Coleman gas lantern. A small oil burner to heat the place (about the size of a present day water cooler). A 5 gal can of fuel oil. A coat or two hanging on nails. Misc. fishing tackle. My ice skates. Three or four folding camp stools. An ice chisel, an ice dipper. A couple of stocking caps. A flashlight. Thermos of coffee, lunch box. Permit fastened to outside. Box of farmer's matches (wooden matches). Pad of paper and pencil (just in case you ever needed to write a note - don't think it ever got used). Portable radio.

Tom Berkner

Chicken Shop: One thing that immediately popped to mind would be to have some mini "chicken soup for the soul" books on display (this of course depends on whether the humans or the chickens are running the store, as one could be cute, the other very disturbing...). Maybe some chicken celebrities picture on the wall, like Gregory Peck (we had a rooster once and that was his name;). Also maybe a copy of "chicken run" somewhere in the store?

Kim

Chicken Shop: You'll need laying boxes for the hens, the finest straw for lining them, open step-like roosts, baskets for egg collecting, candles for candling the eggs, egg cartons, chicken wire (try that in the windows), troughs for food, laying mash, the little metal thingies that attach to Mason jars for water and food for the biddies, the Mason jars, deviled egg plates, egg dying kits.

Martha Simpson

Doing searches on the web: Searching the web for unusual items can be very rewarding. There are many search engines, and each has its advantages and its biases. However, there are also search engines that search the other search engines, so you get it all in one deal. For years I used www.dogpile.com as my search engine, until I read of google. Yes, google. To get to google click on http://www.google.com and there you are. What I like about google is it seems to sense which 15th century looms I am interested in, in order yet, or what companies are best at helping order a wheelchair, etc. Google is highly rated by the computer magazines that I read, and I think I first learned of it here, not sure. So, when you have a question about something, try google and see what happens. Any subject, any time.

Barb Jones

Scanner: I have an HP ScanJet at home; however, I removed it as Adobe would cause Windows 98 to freeze intermittently. I put my pictures on my web page and/or PhotoPoint by:

a) my digital camera

- or-

b) have my pictures developed on a disc. Makes it so easy to call them up.

When I really need something scanned I use the one at work.

Marsha, Newark, CA

Scanner: I recently bought an HP scanner and it came with software and instructions. Get out your scanners, hook them up, install the software, and just go to town! The best teacher is experience, and YOU can do this! I used to be more intimidated by technology, then it occurred to me.... what's the worst thing that can happen? Don't worry about your things being perfect on your first try... experiment. Most scanners come with some sort of imaging package for trimming, improving the picture quality, saving to your hard drive, etc. Just play around a little until you start to get the hang of how it works. I started with pics of my kids...before long, I had gotten the hang of the darn thing.

Sloan

Scanner: For an excellent scanning tutorial go to:

http://www.scantips.com/

Barbara B.