Having Fun at the Beach Feb 27

Laurie's parents were in town over the weekend which gave us an excuse to hit the beach. I should mention that it was a very nice day as well. Although I enjoy going I will say that my interests are very narrow when I'm there. All I want to do is "pick rocks" On this day I was rewarded for my efforts with a couple of agates, some pretty jasper, and one small piece of petrified wood.
Guess I like taking pictures too so I took a couple of 2 of my favorite people. Annalie is always game for a picture but her brother sometimes can be more of a challenge. On this day though I was successful!
I especially enjoy taking Jason here because it's one of the few places it seems where I can let go of him and he's relatively safe. I say that because he doesn't seem that interested in the waves. He really just loves the driftwood rocks and sand. His expression here says what he can't yet say himself. It is a joy to see him enjoying something. We must go more often!!

Christmas at Disneyland!

It's hard to know which pictures to include but I just tried to pick a few of my favorites that shows how this place is transformed at Christmas time.
There were quite a few places set up throughout the park that were specifically for picture taking. This was one of my favorites.
The Christmas parade is very popular and was fun to watch. It really was quite entertaining plus we got to sit down for awhile!!
This picture probably doesn't do it justice but Cinderella's castle is spectacular this time of year especially after dark.
We often split up to cover more ground and this particular day Laurie and Annalie took a ride around the park on this old truck that was also decorated for the occasion.

Although we did encounter some rain and cool evening temperatures, Christmas time is a picturesque time to visit Disneyland. Seems like everywhere one looked there was always something worthy of a digital picture. These Santa pictures were all taken by professional photographers that roam around the park.

Character Study

One of the many fun things at Disneyland is being able to see and interact with the Disney characters. We never seemed to have trouble finding them and here are just a few of the many different ones we encountered.
This is the newest addition to the Disney princess collection. Her name is "Tiana" from the movie "The Princess and the Frog".
No trip to Disneyland is complete without a shot of Mickey Mouse and we found him at his house in Toontown.
Somehow Laurie discovered that if we showed up at the Hollywood backlot area in California Adventure we could get our picture taken and receive a free copy. We did this several times to get as many pictures as we could.
We also found these bears at dusk in California Adventure. We got a tip from a cast member who told us when they would be arriving. They are Kenai and Koda from the movie "Brother Bear". The amazing thing was that we were the 1st ones in line to see them. Almost immediately after that it began to rain and they were gone just like that! When it comes to seeing Disney characters sometimes it's just a matter of timing! I should say that we ate at some restaurants where part of the price included character visits but all the pictures you see here were just being at the right place at the right time.
Oh!! I almost forgot Woody and his pal Jessie from "Toy Story"

Annalie's Birthday Wish!

During 2009 Disneyland offered anyone a free day in the park on their birthday.
Since we had purchased our tickets well in advance and would be there on Dec 12th (Annalie's birthday) she had the option of receiving a $60 gift certificate instead that she could use for whatever. She opted for a major makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique beauty salon. Their specialty is transforming young girls into princesses. Since I'm really not keen on all the details I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It's obvious though that this was a big deal to a five year old girl. And boy did she get the looks!! A number of people in the park asked if they could take her picture. We even had a flight attendant ask the same thing on our way home. Again we were impressed about how Disney continues to strive to "WoW" their guests in everything they do.

Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland Resort 2009

These pictures were taken during our much needed vacation to Disneyland this past December. Seems like everytime every time Annalie volunteered for something she got picked to participate...even amidst crowds of several hundred people. This attraction was no exception and was quite popular with the younger generation. First she was trained in the art of using a light saber by a Jedi warrior. The climax was when Darth Vader appeared and each young fighter got to "take a few wacks at him". It really was quite entertaining for the parents to watch. I'm not sure if Annalie even knows much about Star Wars but she still held her own and refused to join the "dark side".

I will be adding more pictures from time to time highlighting our adventures!

Just for you Bob!!

And of course for anyone else who might be interested in seeing a few more details of Jason's cabinet!
Here's a better picture of the top which is actually 3 pieces of 2x6 T&G pine glued together. I used a can of stain as a pattern to form the radius for the 2 front corners. Next I used my router to round over the edges.
This picture shows the raised panel door a little bit better as well as the joinery. I used my biscuit jointer to hold every the door rails & stiles in place. I glued all joints and clamped them overnight. The white knob looking thing is actually the magnet that is required to activate the latch allowing the doors to open. Again I used my router with a chamfer bit to create a softer edge around each door.
I chose blue pine for this project because of it's interesting color. I believe it's caused by a microscopic fungus in the wood but does not cause any structual damage. Also 1x12 pine is very inexpensive down here and easy to work with.
The doors were hung with European style hidden hinges which I like to use because they are strong and also fully adjustable making installation easier.
Lastly here's a picture of the inside which is backed with some leftover T&G pine paneling that I had from a previous project. Thanks for looking and for being interested in this project. Stay tuned for a pair of bookshelf/cabinets to be mounted flush into our bedroom wall. After that hopefully I'll be constructing a 7ft water wheel for our front yard. Take care.

Dave

Bookshelf Project for Jason

It always feels good to complete a project and this one was no exception! A couple of months ago Laurie asked me to build a bookshelf for Jason's room. Seems that too many books and toys were too inaccessible because they were too high up on a wall shelf. This project would have to not only be strong but would also require doors to protect its contents from curious hands. I started out with the top which was made out of 2 in. pine...strong enough for an average adult to stand on. The shelves themselves were dadoed into the sides for extra stability. Thanks to Marv for his help in squaring the whole thing up and gluing!

Anyway after mounting the top I began to think about how I wanted the doors to look. I had researched manufacturing a raised panel door with a table saw and I wanted to give that a try. Often I use a woodworking project for an excuse to tackle some new building technique that interests me. So this is was my first effort at this type of door and I must say that I am pleased with the outcome! Some log handles helped to match this piece to the rest of Jason's furniture. The filler in the middle with the tree cutouts also contributes to his "woodsy" theme. After mounting the hinges and hanging the doors I installed some cool safety latches which require a magnet to release the latch allowing it to open. No more torn up books as long as everyone remembers to keep the doors shut when not in use!

Here you can see the cabinet in its final resting place. Now Jason has a wider platform to stand on instead of the window sill when he's looking out his window. (He's definitely a climber!) More importantly his care providers and his parents have a secure (screwed to the wall)cabinet to store learning aids that should get used even more now!