stripethree

Andrea’s cousin has been a hot air balloon pilot for years and last Sunday we went with her family and friends on a balloon ride up in Phoenix at sunrise. We were in the air for about 90 minutes, traveled 14.1 miles, and reached an altitude of 8000ft. It was a little freaky at first when you think about just standing in a basket over a mile from the ground, especially when you look down. It was very cool though. I did not have my real camera but snapped some pictures with my iPhone.

Hot Air Balloon

I started a few galleries on Picasa that I intend to update with additional photos. In addition to specific shoots, I’m going to try to pick up the camera more around the house to shoot while trying to keep things interesting.

The Michi & Lilou set started with an attempt to bring out the killer instinct in Andrea’s cats with some goldfish in the bathtub. Turns out the kids are scared of an inch of water. There’s also a few nicely composed pics of Llama and some shots of the snow (yes, snow!) the house saw weekend before last.

Michi and Lilou	Monki and Llama	Arizona

The Tucson Gem Show is the biggest show of its kind. Sunday I visited the main portion of the show to take some pictures.

Gem Show 2011

Hooray Ikea!

For more practice, Andrea and I went to the 4th Ave Street Fair. Shooting people, especially strangers on the street, has never been something that I have been super comfortable with and thus, I don’t have much practice with it and probably have a lot to learn to do it well.

Winter 2010 4th Ave Street Fair

Done!

I went with teak oil as the finish and I think it did wonders for the look in addition to adding a protective layer. The trim is all pine and the teak oil was applied to it as well. I definitely have to work on my caulking skills, the areas between the trim and tile could use some improvement. One of the several lessons learned.

Last step is to accessorize it and I already started some of that; you can see in one of the pictures the towel ring that was added behind the bar. I have a feeling Keg Works will be hearing from me very soon to take care of the rest.

Time for a drink!

I haven’t picked up my camera much lately, which is sad. So yesterday I went on a impromptu shoot with my friend Andrea to get back in practice. She is a pro and wanted to do something out of the studio so we drove up Mount Lemmon to look for some interesting subject matter. The Picasa gallery below has my favorites.

Mount Lemmon Shoot

The top of the bar is tiled, grouted, and sealed. The tile is 1″x1″ glass that came in 12″x12″ mesh backed sheets. The tile job is by no means perfect, but I am really happy with how it came out given that this was my first shot at any tile work.

I picked up some some 1/4″ think mahogany ply from Woodworker’s Source as the final outer layer. It looks good and I’m debating whether or not to apply a stain, however it will at least need some sort of protective later. Last construction step is trim is various places and staining various pieces, the mahogany possibly included. Almost done!

I also laid out the area rug since most of the bar work and the mess it creates is done. I got it at Bobby Joe’s Rug Works, it was in the vast selection of carpet remnants they had for sale. They bound it on all sides and two weeks later, I had an inexpensive, simple 8′x11′ area rug.

Over the weekend was another trip to Home Depot, this time to learn about tile and start picking up tools and supplies. What is pictured below is a practice go at laying down some glass tile and staining a piece mahogany.

The grout on the tile has been set for about 4 hours in the picture on the left. Final decision may be for something a little darker. The tile is mesh backed and comes in 1sq ft sections. It’s easy to work with and with the squares I can avoid cutting tiles.

On the right, sections of red mahogany stain on a mahogany board. Three stages, though you can’t see the third since it did not really make a difference over the second. The local Woodworkers Source sells large sheets of 1/4″ thick mahogany that I think will work well for the front and sides.

I like this combination, using this tile with two coats of stain on the wood. The decision comes with the cost. At $10 per square foot, this would not make a cheap endeavor; 8ft long bar top that’s about 2ft deep… well, you do the math. On the flip side, I know if I mix in larger, less expensive tile, it may look great but I’ll just keep thinking what it could have looked like.

With cooler weather finally coming around unwanted to have the windows open. This is not a good idea with two curious cats and no window screens.

My first attempt at building one from the Home Depot kits did not go well, is not pictured, and will soon be in the trash. Whoops. Take 2 yielded much better results.

With the fiberglass, pet resistant screen material I choose, the cost per window is less than $20. The plan for now is to just take care of the three side by side windows in the family room. Building these things is a bit tedious and I think after 3 I’ll have exhausted my patience. I’m happy with how this one came out, even though it took a throw away trial to get it right.

Update: done! And I was able to salvage the first one. It doesn’t fit perfectly but will serve the intended purpose. This project’s lesson: to pay someone to do this next time. It was painstaking.