This was a museum of Holy Order outfits, with walls of nuns and such in the different variations on the typical habit. We saw popes and priests and everything! The dolls were generic, but also were Barbie, many many Ken Dolls, a Johnny West, a few of the Jackson Five, a dozen or so John Wayne, a Mork (of & Mindy), and even a Donny Osmand. Wow!
The picture of the rosaries was for Stacie, who prays the rosary while we ride scooters. She would have gone nuts in the gift shop.
Jill wanted something to hang her necklaces on. She thought maybe a chunk of wood with hooks on it. I saw the whole of the moon..
I started with a quick couple of minutes whipping up this rocking chair for Lily's Barbie.
My nephew is having his first communion next week, so I made him a nice "Victorian Style Cross":
And for the niece and nephews, some puzzle boxes, one for each. Displayed in various stages of assembly:
I got a new book on Composite, 3d scroll patterns. This is a cut of a flower:
And a penguin, another composite:
A little bunnny! (more composites):
The latest progress on my wooden chain:
A drill/dremel bit holder:
And finally, a rack for all of my paints - sick of keeping them in a box and not being able to tell which bottle is which:
A great afternoon for a family bike ride. We expect the bare branches will have leaves by this time next week.
Another great TNR. Not too cold, not too hot. Beautiful night and a happy end at the Happy Gnome! Mmmm... Surly Coffee Bender..
Last fall I began walking home from work. I have really enjoyed it and it's been a great personal challenge, and I've gotten the added benefit of exercise, weight loss, and etc. Rather than any other exercise program I've tried, instead of finding excuses NOT to do it, I'm constantly scheming ways to get 5 walks in a week if possible. I have, on a number of occasions, used the phrase "But.. but.. because I wanted to walk home" when we're late for something or planning on leaving town.
Back up. I've always been fascinated with extraordinary feats. Reading the Guinness Book of World Records, hearing about people doing amazing things.. It always fascinated me that someone could be the most or best at something. Like, certifiably the "only one." Call it a psychological need for uniqueness or whatever, but it's always been a draw for me.
Doing things people don't expect or understand is something I love. If someone says "but.. why would you do that?" it just means I HAVE to. If they say it can't be done, or shouldn't be done, all the better. Walking home from work in 20 below weather was fun not just because it was a personal challenge, but because it was dangerous. Go outside for an hour in that weather the wrong way and you can die. Ok, sure, I could have hopped a bus or gone into a store for help at any point, but it wasn't nothing!
The in-laws have a wonderful piece of land up by the headwaters of the Mississippi, and reading about people going the length from that babbling brook to the Gulf of Mexico makes me want to find a canoe and a backpack and just DO it. My brother-in-law and some friends once took a speedboat from Minnesota to Saint Louis down the river. Nice. How cool is that?
I've thought about streets like Lake Street and University Avenue -- how they're just regular streets, but they go for miles. Nobody thinks twice about walking three blocks down either of those streets, but rarely does anyone walk their length.
So one day many years ago I thought about how I could do something extraordinary. What hasn't anyone done? Hard to come up with anything, but in the thinking about it I thought about the size of the Twin Cities. They're pretty spread out. I wondered how long it would take to walk all the way across. Google maps tells me, but how right or wrong could that be?
This was about the time I thought about how I could prepare for a walk like that, and the distance from work to home was perfect. The first time I did it to see if I could do it. Other times it was to beat the weather. Then it was because I was losing weight and loved the idea of getting the scale to speak to me in respectful terms, not fear of my mass.
But now when I walk I think about what else I could do. Some days it kicks my butt, especially if I'm really moving, but many days it's just a pleasant way to get home. So sometimes I fiddle with google maps and come up with new ideas for ridiculous walks.
Downtown Saint Paul to Downtown Minneapolis (Radius) - This one I'm already planning.
The eastern border of Saint Paul to the western border of Minneapolis (Diameter) - My sister Lisa has told me she really really really wants to do this one with me.
Around the Twin Cities. (Circumference) - Here is where it gets crazy. That's, like three times longer than the radius. (3.141572?)
After that, who knows? Walk to the cabin in Wisconsin? The length of Route 61 to New Orleans? Golden Gate Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge? I'll probably be on some different insane hobby by then anyway, right?
This is my cat in the spring sunlight. His full name is Digital Boy, but we call him D.B. or Deebs. It's from the song "21st century digital boy" since he has a computer chip just under the skin on his shoulder. It's common now but 13 years ago when we got him it was pretty cool.
He's aging and has some liver problems (too much meowine?) But he will always be a little kitty to me.
As kids we read a lot. No, really, I mean a LOT. Some of my most vivid early memories are of libraries and reading:
So it thrills me to see Eli so completely engrossed. In this picture he's taking those lost few milliseconds in the family morning routine to catch a few pages of his current book.
Dave uses my hammer to reattach his exhaust
.. while many people wait and post on facebook...
And here is where we went...
This is me, my art, my first entry in a show! (See also: this post)
Not a big deal, but it was a lot of fun to wear the "artist" nametag and drink too much. Oh and I didn't shave so I would have that artistic scruffy look. Had a lot of fun and got to hang out with almost all of our neighbors in an environment mostly devoid of children!
Catching up documenting things again -- this is from Halloween two years ago. The white thread is actuall glow in the dark thread...
It's a picture of me on a hilltop in Korea, when I was an active duty Marine. That's the DMZ behind me, and The Evil Kingdom Of North Korea in the hills beyond. You can't tell, but I was ironically smoking a cigar in the style of George Peppard. Because it seemed like the right thing to do. I still have the boots, but lost the boot knife in a move a long time ago..jpg)
The sandcrawler from Star Wars:
R2-D2, upsized from a model that originally stood about two inches tall.
Doctor Johnson's house, from the post-war Micromodels series from the 50's..jpg)
A "Hako" version of the Discovery, from 2001
P-51 lightning.
Actual working bellows camera. 35mm with a pinhole "lens" it actually took some decent pictures for what it was. If only I could find those.. :)
Made this for Jill this year. Quick and easy but not so simple to make on the sly!
Lily and Sophie at the Mall of America after Eli's Legoland birthday party.
This was a fun one - turn the jellybean shaped handle and it dispenses a single jellybean!
This was a "scrollsaw mosaic" from Frank Droege's book, but the kids convinced me NOT to glue it, and now it is a rather fun puzzle!
I made this using a scrolling template for a challenging puzzle. Like the Unicorn puzzle it was almost impossible to put together before the symbols were painted on it, and remains a tricky little puzzle even with the symbols as contextual hints.
It's the cross stitch equivalent of a sitcom. Not nothing, but not really going to change your life. But fun!
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