the year in pictures 2011

at my age, 64.5 years, i think that most people would agree, time accelerates (is it already the 15th of january?), memory becomes less able, and when we think back, we sometimes wonder, where did last year go? so, for the last 3 years i have collected relevant (to me) photos in folders on my computer appropriately called 2011, or 2010 or recent work 2009. this morning i uploaded the 2011 folder to my picasa account and it is now online and i can access my photos from anywhere with an internet connection. looking through it, i might have included too many pictures but it makes me realize that the year was actually full of life, full of work, and full of important moments. if you are a new reader, there are dates attached to some of the groups of photos showing the relevant blog post, which, if you are interested, you can access through the archives of my blog.
if you are interested in how to create online slide shows for your ownself and dont have an easily accessible young person, i wrote a blog post back in december of 2010 with instructions for downloading picasa and uploading your pictures ...
its a beautiful sunny winter day and i am outta here ... on to 2012 ...

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a custom built in bench

waaaay behind in my blogging ... along with a bunch of stuff in the shop, i have also gotten caught up in a good paddle tennis season, playing more than ever before ... the weather has been perfect; warm for vermont and my body has been holding up surprisingly well ... its a great, fast, outdoor winter sport. good to get outside and run around ...
we delivered this built in bench about a week and half ago, and though it looks pretty simple now that its done, there were a lot of things to think about and consider as we put it together ...
we had an inspiration photo and overall dimensions, but no angles which, since you cant tell much by sitting on a drawing, encourage us to make a full size mdf mockup, complete with foam and batting.it took an hour or two, but was well worth it and allowed us to debate the incline of both the seat and the back cushions ...
from there it was on to the cad drawings, which gave us dimensions and an actual plan to work from. the little recessed base was interesting and gave the piece a little more of a furniture look but added a few complications to the construction process start up ... lots of little offsets and surface plane differences to create shadows ...
plywood carcase designbut once the structure was defined by the plywood carcase, it was a little more straightforward as we added the layers.moving along here, about to add the ends and top rail ...
a little oil primer and paint ..
a test fit on the cushions by local upholsterer, isaiah mccauliffe, and we were out the door. in the top picture above, the carpenters will cut the baseboard and fit the bench top to the wall when the clients table arrives, for the complete built in look .. nice house ...

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