More Fall Foliage

For those of you who need another "Fall Fix," check out my good friend Juli's blog. She is up in the northeast and just posted a lot of pictures of the fall she's experiencing. I'm more than just a little jealous. Love you Juli!

Perspective

Two summers ago I took a photography class through the University. I learned a lot and gained a new appreciation for really good photographs. I would take dozens, or hundreds of shots for an assignment (thanks to the wonders of digital photography) and then realize that only a handful of them were really worth turning in. But I really enjoyed the class. Some of the assignments in particular were challenging and fun.

One of my favorite assignments was called "Dogs and Eagles." All our pics were to be taken from the perspective of a dog (low to the ground) or an eagle (high in the sky). Maybe it's because I'm short already, but I really enjoyed the pics taken from the "dog" perspective. So here are a few shots from this assignment. And if you think you recognize some of the things in the photos, you probably do. I didn't range very far for my subject matter.

And the prize goes to...

I was at work yesterday when one of my co-workers came back to me and said there was a guy in the front to see me. My first thought was, "How did Brian get here when I have our car?" Then my co-worker said the person waiting was a younger guy, with brown, curly hair. That had me really confused - Brian definitely doesn't have curly hair. So I walked up to the front desk, a little nervous about who I was meeting. When I got up to the front, I of course recognized our good friend Josh Butcher. On his latest trip to WalMart (to buy flowers for his wife) he had decided to look for the lemon juice himself. And of course he found it. So he dropped by my office to make a special delivery. Thanks Josh!!

Maybe next week I won't be able to find the Bluebell...

My Linguistic Profile

I found this on "Party of Five," and thought I'd check it out for myself.

After answering some questions, here is my linguistic profile:

60% General American English
30% Dixie
5% Yankee
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

I'm not as southern as I thought, apparently. Nor has my Dad rubbed off on me as much as I expected. Sorry, Dad. (maybe Dixie is wearing off on you...gasp!) So I guess I'm pretty much a General American in my speech. Which means what, exactly?


What Kind of American English Do You Speak?http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

Where in the WalMart....

I have a question for you all: where does WalMart stock the lemon juice and lime juice? And I don't mean the little fruit-shaped bottles they keep in the fruit section. I'm talking about large bottles that you can use for cooking or baking. I know they exist, because at some point in the past, we managed to find them. They're hiding from me now, however. We've checked the fresh fruits, juice aisle, drink mixes, baking, I even checked near the tea bags, thinking "people put lemon in their iced tea," but nothing.

So if anyone can shed some light on this mystery, I'd be very grateful. At this point, I'd even appreciate knowing where to find it in HEB, Albertsons, Kroger...

Re-Play

The name of my blog came out of the idea that I always have a project of some sort going on. And so I like to think of our study as an artist's/architect's/craftsperson's studio. My original thought for this blog was that I could post pics of whatever project I'm working on or I've just finished. I'm currently working on a quilt, but I haven't taken photos of the completed squares yet. So instead I'll post images of an old project, one of my favorites from grad school.

The purpose of this project was to design a review/display space for the Architecture building. The space was to be primarily used for reviews, but would hopefully provide display space for student work when not in use for reviews.

In grad school, almost all my project work was digital. I designed my buildings, produced images and put together presentations, all in a digital format. Most of my presentations were done in PowerPoint, with large posters (or boards) that served as support to the digital presentation. So a review space needed to accommodate both physical and digital presentations.

I named my final design Re-Play, because I feel that it functioned as both RE-view and dis-

PLAY space. (and was one of the few that did both, I might add) When closed for presentations, Re-Play provides pin-up space on the exterior for project posters. They can be previous projects, or avertisements for the presentation taking place inside.

On the inside, Re-Play has both pin-up space for posters and boards, and a screen for digital presentations (the project on display in these images is my project from the previous semester - maybe I'll post about that one later) The thought for the ceiling boards was that they would help muffle noise outside of the space, and allow the audience to hear the presenter. And in case you're wondering how you get inside Re-Play to see a review, that brings us to the coolest part about this design (if I do say so myself)

With a lot of my Dad's help on the engineering end of things, I designed a system that would allow the individual panels of Re-Play to move in and out on a linear track, as well as pivot 180 degrees on a central point. To enter Re-Play, one of the panels could be pulled out on its track and turned like a large door. This movement also allows Re-Play to be opened up and used as a walk-through display space when not in use for reviews.

And for those of you who like plans, here's one of the infinite ways Re-Play can be opened and postitioned for display...
This project turned out to be one of my favorites for a few reasons. One, I was really pleased by the fact that it worked equally well as review and interactive display space. Two, it gave me a chance to work with my Dad and work out some pretty cool engineering details. Three, it was small enough that I had time to really get into it and work out the small details. Most of my projects in grad school were so large scale that I never got to focus on the little details. This one was small enough for me to think through what most of the materials would be and the variety of ways it could be used.

So, there's Re-Play. I'll try not to go so long before my next posting. Sorry to all the faithful blog-checkers out there!!

"Falling for Fall"

First, let me apologize for the lack of posting in the past few weeks. I looked at my blog today and was shocked to see that it has been almost a month since I last put something up here. My primary excuse is that I was not prepared for how much time 40 hours a week is. By the time I get home and we eat dinner, it's almost time to start thinking about getting ready for bed. On a normal night. Which we don't seem to have much. ;) Our weeks filled up pretty quickly, with softball on Monday, my Ladies' Bible study every other Tuesday (with dates in between), having the youth over Wednesday and Brian's evening class on Thursday (which does give me time to hang out with Hannah). By the time we get to Friday, I'm tired! I've already been working over two months, but I feel like I'm still trying to adjust to this new schedule. So apology aside, on to the reason for this post...

Fall. (or Autumn, whichever you prefer) I've decided that Fall is my favorite season. Mostly because it's the season I miss the most. Seasons in our corner of Texas are divided into two categories: summer and not-summer. I do ok with the heat until this time of year. In September, I know not to expect cool temperatures, and I think I've adjusted to that. But by October? I want cool mornings. And cool afternoon breezes.

Maybe what I miss even more than the temperature change is the color change of the trees on the mountains. Bristol is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians. Fall is absolutely gorgeous becuase we're surrounded by mountains full of red, yellow, orange trees. I realized in going through our pictures on the computer, I have no pictures of our area in the fall. But I have to share some photos, so I browsed the net. I found lots of pics that were almost too vivid for anyone to believe if you've never seen it in person, so I went with a couple photos that were a bit more subdued. The photo with the bridge is the bridge we drive over on the way to PA to visit my Dad's parents, so I actually know where that is, and I've been there. I'm not sure where the other photo is. But they're both beautiful, and give a pretty good idea of what I think of when I think of Fall.

(Ok, I just couldn't resist one more with brighter colors)