Made my bed and slept in it too!

Yep, made a bedframe with Heather this weekend for our foam mattress. Very strong design carefully constructed the easiest and cheapest way possible. So, materials cost about $38 including paint that has not yet been applied and it took about 6 hours to construct.

Halfway up a Long Way

Even though fall foliage has started to pass... wait, no because fall foliage has started to pass this Sunday was spent climbing up a pleasantly deserted Long Trail that crosses over Camel's Hump east of Burlington. It was beautiful, this was one of the trailside rivers.

This is MY island...
A view, not even close to the top of anything.
At this point we weren't sure how far we were in and given how old my map was and that we were on a new Long Trail leg. At this point we were about 1.5 hours or so and then we found this viewpoint after a struggle up a steep part of the trail.
Yep, that is Camel's Hump, well over 2 miles away. We only had about 3 hours of daylight left so we decided to turn back.
On the decent the leafless trees provided nice views of some of the surrounding landscape. The overall estimated stats: 2 hours and 40 minutes, approximately 1,500 ft elevation gain over approximately 2.5 miles (5 miles round trip) .

Once Again the Phoenix Descends

Shelburne Museum in the London Fog

Shelburne Museum, for those who don't know, is located just south of Burlington, actually south of South Burlington as well. It isn't a traditional museum with a single building and a collection, it is instead holds a multitude of replica and transported building from all over the northeast on a large tract of land. There is a certain life-and-times-in-the-Northeast-over-the-last-couple-of-hundred-years theme, but not exclusively. It has a variety of buildings and exhibits to say the least.

This is the steamboat Ticonderoga, it sits on a drydock and is beautifully restored. I loved this as a kid and still do.
Their print shop is impressive and we got a private tour from the Blacksmith Don because it was closed and he appreciated my interest in movable type (given the sets that I have and haven't been able to really use). He has worked in the print shop as well as hammering metal and we talked a bit about how to do it. It was very helpful.
What I dream of at night. This was only half of the exhibit of Shaker hand tools. Just stunning both the woodworking and the metalworking that went into these.
Because how can I resist a boat. Or the beautiful girl photographing them. Too much?
There was a motorcycle show as well. This is a custom bike that looks like the builder should be sent away and told to add the proper parts so it would run.
For those who know the term Wankel Engine this is one of the few bikes with one and specifically, this is the weird exhaust port.
A Royal Enfield...
Another custom bike, and the one good thought to end with: I have motorcycle goggles that match.

Making Scratch

Again another short and sweet blog post. This is a bookshelf I made from scratch by hand in about 6 hours. Total cost was $35 and only a little blood. It is serving as a dresser actually, but I still say Ikea can go and suck it.

Window Dressing

Short and to the point, these are watercolors I did to cover the lower half of the windows in the apartment. Each is about 28"x22" on backed tracing paper.

Sailing on a Day of Rest

Sunday Heather and I adjourned to Lake Champlain to joins our Canadian friends Bernard and Francine in their 22' sailboat for a day of leisurely sailing. It began with rain but once that had petered out the winds picked up.
Sure you can always look forward or you can occasionally look up as well. I had an opportunity to steer for a while and had a blast. These sails can move the boat at a nice pace.
Bernard in control...
And Francine on the lookout...
The boat is moored in a bay so you get to the shore by dingy. However, it is a small dingy and with Bernard in the middle and me in the back it looked a little ridiculous, something Heather was careful to document. I think there is a certain kind of Mafiaso feel to the shot though.
It was an amazing way to spend a Sunday, sailing, brilliant food and wine, amazing company and stunning weather.