Fireworks 2013

We took the kids to their first real fireworks on Thursday night. They complained nonstop about the bugs - at least until the fireworks started. Once the show began they were laser-focused and awestruck. None of the pictures Lori took of the fireworks themselves came out, but I did find this Kodak moment tucked away on the camera.

More Sketches

A few sketches I've done in the past couple of weeks. The first is a pencil sketch of Sean sitting on a tree branch near the river at Maudslay State Park. The second is my dad sitting on the summit of Mt Willard in Crawford Notch. And the third is Carter at the lake in her new bathing suit. That third one is on 8.5 x 11 inch paper - which is much larger than I normally work. Usually I'm working in a Moleskine pocket sketchbook, which is about 3.5 x 5 inches.



Zebrawood Uke Completed

Just finished the first of the trio of new ukuleles I've been building. This was the one for my dad for his brithday. It's got a mahogany top, zebrawood back and sides, and a maple neck. I strung it up a about a week ago to give the top some time to break in and open up a little, then gave it a try a couple of nights ago. On this one I did a better job on the fretwork and was able to get the action down really low. It sounds fantastic - no buzzes, bright sound, and great intonation - and is a joy to play with the action so low. Now I've got to get on the ball and finish one of the other two, so I've got a better one to play too!


More Watercolor Sketches

I've been doing some more watercolor sketches lately. They're nothing amazing or anything - but they certainly are fun to do. From left to right these are: a Bonsai tree Lori and I saw at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, a section of the shoreline near our hotel in La Jolla, and Carter walking on the beach near Odiorne Point.


Early Beach Trip

We had some seriously unseasonably warm weather last weekend - up over 90 degrees! We thought the beach would be ridiculously crowded, but in fact in the lot was only about half full.

Field of Dreams

Recently we checked out a new playground called "Field of Dreams". It was pretty cool - it was an old-school structure (all pressure-treated wood and such), but it was huge. It had all kinds of tunnels and 'secret' rooms that the kids really dug.