• Volvo 1800 - We own a 1973 Volvo 1800 ES.  I had wanted that car since it came out and in 1978, I bought one.  Three restorations later, It is almost ready to show.  It is a red ES with black interior and has 62,000 miles on it.  Last summer, I cleaned the engine with a toothbrush.  Every hose has been cleaned and shined and all engine parts and the compartment were either sprayed or painted with a brush (the block was brushed as I didn't want to remove it!)  All of the screws and bolts in the engine compartment are now polished stainless.  Needless to say, my family thinks I am a bit nuts!

• USABDA - We are competitive ballroom dancers in the US.  We dance American Style Smooth and International Style Standard.  Last year, we won the National Championship in American Smooth in our age group.  It was the culmination of about ten years of competition and a lot of hard work.  We are currently working on our International Standard dancing in Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep
  so we can compete in Australia.

            2004 National Champions!  American                                       Tango Lean...............
                  Smooth Senior II.  What a day!

Knots and Ornamental Turning - I have a couple of other hobbies that are pretty far out there, knot tying and ornamental wood turning which I use together sometimes.  Through the Boy Scouts, I have become an instructor with the Marlinspike Skills Course, a once a year course offered by the Crossroads of America Council (http://www.crossroadsbsa.org).  My father got me interested in Ornamental Turning and we are now both members of the Society of Ornamental Turners in England and in the US.  His lathe is a Lawler and we have only just begun to understand its potential.  Here are some photos you might enjoy. 

    Some bell ropes, a knife lanyard and a tangle knot                            My ditty bag!

                         Ditty bag handle                   Some fids with Turks heads, an elliptical bowl and a box

      Close-up of the box - basket weave, barleycorn, etc.