Crazy...but true

You know how they say that memory is most powerful with music? So you learn to count and say your ABC's and speak in spanish and memorize books in the bible and recite the 50 states and (if you're brilliant) all the presidents - all to some cheesy song? And, you never ever forget it...

Well, this morning I woke up with this bizarre song in my head and could not figure out where I knew it from. Judging from the words - I assumed it must be a Disney movie but could not pinpoint which one it could be!

Thank goodness for Google!! I typed in a few phrases and there it was! A song from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Here it is, in all it's glory:

GOTTA BELIEVE IN PUMPKINS
Written by Ross Bagdasarian and Andrew Gold
Appeared on "Chipmunks in Low Places"

Can be viewed here at You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJYYbnmd480

Sometimes I wonder what's gone wrong
Most folks have lost their spark
Life without a ray of hope
Sure can get mighty dark (like my closet)
And as I started thinking
Why life had turned so blue
I saw a book of fairy tales
And suddenly I knew
You gotta believe in pumpkins
If you wanna go to the ball
Don't stop yourself from having a little
And you can have it all
Faith is just like plantin' seeds
They help your dreams come true
Believe in what's around you
And good things will come to you
Now and then you're gonna feel
Stuck in the caboose
But throw those feelings out the door
And remember mother goose
Life is what you make it
You can fly or you can fall
Create a world of dreams come true
And life will fill your sail
You gotta believe in pumpkins
If you wanna go to the ball
Don't stop yourself from having a little
And you can have it all
Faith is just like plantin' seeds
They help your dreams come true
Believe in what's around you
And good things will come....
Believe in what's around you
And good things will come....
Believe in what's around you
And good things will come to you.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy shortest day of the year everyone! It's all uphill from here....at least until next winter is approaching...We've been collecting snow around our place again - a new hobby of ours it seems. The drifts in front of the shop door are growing daily with the wind and snowfall, and shoveling is once again a daily routine. Friday night, we actually went snow boot shopping to prepare for another long winter. Andy had just been using his lace-up work boots and I had too-big snow boots given to me years ago.Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, and after sleeping in, I was suddenly excited to go play in the snow! So, I shoved my feet into my new boots (tags still attached, Andy pointed out later) and pulled my coat over my PJ's and out I went. Ended up taking pictures and shoveling instead of playing, but it was fun anyway!
Then, today was the real play day. We packed up our sled and tube and a pile of warm clothes and drove out to our friends' house in the Moscow hills. Susan and Tim have access to some great sledding hills, and invited us to come play! What better way to celebrate winter solstice?!
The hike up to the top was rather laborious, but we were excited about the idea of flying back down.
Andy pushed Susan, Tim, and Gretchen (Tim's daughter) and they literally plowed thru the powder until they couldn't push thru anymore and came to an abrupt halt laughing, faces full of snow.
Andy and I took our turn(s) too. The first attempt was very successful! We went pretty slow, but made it clear to the bottom! The next few attempts didn't go quite so smoothly...We went MUCH faster! but couldn't stay on the original trail and ended up flying down a shorter, steeper hill just plowing thru the powder!

And, ultimately crashing into some messy heap of heads, boots, and sled!The final run, we were determined to make it clear to the bottom, no matter how many times we had to restart! Finally, we got going good and then just kept going! Right to the bottom of the hill, over the buried 'fence', and into the creek!! Buried soooo deep, you can just barely see the sled.

Oh what fun it is to ride.....a bright orange plastic sled!

Somewhere in the midst of the projects...

...we managed to spend Thanksgiving with family, go out deer hunting, and catch some beautiful sunsets.
The thanksgiving get together was a little different this year, but in a really good way! Don and Faith invited the residents of their upstairs residential health care business to eat with us, as well as the residents' families/friends. In addition to them, Donna and Buffy, Barb and Bill, Zac and Brittany, Beth, Andy and I were there. It was quite the jovial crowd, and the food was absolutely delicious. After eating, Faith made a deal that Beth and I didn't have to do dishes if we played the piano instead! A book of Christmas Carols was the choice, and we teamed up my left hand and her right hand and played and played while the others sang. It was....perfect.
That Friday afternoon, after turkey dinner leftovers, Beth and I went to run stairs with Faith. I think she lapped us at least twice! But, it was great to get outside, even in the chilly rain, to move around and spend time together.Then, that Sunday came - the last vacation day - and the last possible day that Andy could try to get a deer. So, we woke up dark and early and headed to the U of I Experimental Forest.Had a lovely hike! The scenery was beautiful and it didn't rain much. I think if I was a deer, I'd live in there too! And, I hope I'd be as good at hiding as they were that day. I didn't see any and Andy only saw one 'flag' (the white of their tail as they run away).I think our faces say it all. I've been hiking and taking pictures for...oh...a very enjoyable 4 or 5 hours. He's been walking and carrying his heavy rifle for....oh...a long 4 or 5 hours and has yet to see anything he can shoot!! Better luck next time...
Before the uber-cold spells hit, we had a lot of stunning sunrises and sunsets. I was doing homework one Saturday night and looked out the window to see the sky aglow. Had to run to the shop to retrieve the camera and then out across the neighboring field to take some shots of it. The battery died after a few so I ran back inside to switch it for the charged one. Andy came in from the shop to see what all the runnin' was about and decided to take his turn. So, he went out with the newly charged camera and took a few more. I am posting one of mine and one of his below.

Just for fun, which do you like best?
1. Fire in the Sky

2. Glowing Clouds

Where He's Been

And...while I was in the office with the music blaring and homework stealing all my attention, Andy was in the shop making some serious progress on the Dodge! The pic above is from March '07 when we shortened the bed and really started dreaming about this project. The pic below is of the next mock-up, right before its first show. It has been chopped and a few essential parts added....like an engine!!
On the list of things to get done, was the bed. The body of it had been waiting around since we shortened nearly 2 years ago, and it was time to complete it. Andy started with some body mounts - to bolt it to the frame in the correct position.
Then, a sub-frame was added to support the floor.
Then a tailgate was fabricated and the floor cut and placed over the subframe. Take note of the back section of the bed...
The bed is done! Recessed fuel tank, Hidden box with a hinged lid for tools, battery, etc., sturdy tailgate...all looking great. Not sure yet if the tank will function, but betting on it!
Next up: the cab! This shows the sub-frame for the floor, including the middle section for the tunnel. Since the truck is channeled, the drive line runs right thru the cab instead of under it, and needs to be covered up!
This photo also shows the steering. Lots of thought went into this part of the build, since the fit is very snug where the steering box has to go. With a little manipulation, it worked out.

Once the sub-frame was in place, it was time to figure out the sheet metal for the floor itself. Under where the seats will be, it's pretty straightforward, but in the foot space (toe board area)...! It's a puzzle! The trick is to start with a template - in this case, poster board and masking tape.
Then, you take one triangle (or whatever shape) piece off at a time, trace it onto the metal, cut it out, and tack weld it into place. And, if you have patience and some skill, you turn the puzzle into this!
The work done in these photos was all Andy's doing, but Forrest has been coming over almost weekly to help as well. They worked together on the steering problem and installed the rear suspension (pics will be in the next Dodge update) and mulled over much of the build.
Thursday night, I went out to check on the progress and found them "testing it out"....

Where I've Been

After mentioning that I might not be around much, the semester really wasn't too overwhelming - up until the last few weeks anyway! Deadlines started stacking up, at school and work and Winter Break was looking better and better! Now it is here and so am I - a survivor of another semester.
I thought I'd share a little of what I've been staring at for the last few months. This is the final project in my design studio - a new studio complex for the architecture program on campus. They expanded the 5 year Master's program to a 6-year one, so they need more space! And, they didn't want a single building - but a "complex" of indoor and outdoor spaces that could both be used to learn, design, build, experiment, what have you.
The final product was a 3D model on the computer and presentation boards with plans, sections, details, etc.
Have a look: