c r o s s o a k

Good Morning Rainier

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:25:00 +0000

"What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good on
this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
Gandalf

Ewok’s long day at the office

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:50:00 +0000

Today’s Daily Shoot: Pet photos are such a cliche, but they're also cute. Make an interesting photo of a pet today. (via @rmanalan)

Chef Finn Tasting

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Chef Finn made the cheese sauce for Martin’s visit.
We were lucky there was any left to go with the cauliflower.

Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:56:00 +0000

Walking the Ewok with coffee in-hand.

Randomness

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:36:00 +0000

You can’t judge mistakes from a historical perspective.

Clean Pup

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:59:00 +0000

Another bath? Another bohemian, but clean, Ewok

Snow slowly goes

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:32:00 +0000

Ski Hill car park in Leavenworth. More mud than snow.

With the forecast unusually wet and warm, the season is almost over. Not so good.

Skiing at Ski Hill

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Making the most of the snow and a family lesson at Leavenworth Ski Hill
(big thank you Jeff!)

H excelled at downhill speed and mono-ski skiing.

Fay was literally dancing down the slopes.

And Finn managed some solo stuff, including the day’s best backwards skiing.

Fantastic job organizing it all – thanks mum!

Chauffeur

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:15:00 +0000

Ewok got fed up of being a passenger and decided it was his turn to drive.

Disappearing Nightmare

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:08:00 +0000

Dessert: “Visconti’s Nightmare”. So delish, it disappeared in seconds in a whirl of twirling forks.

Ski Doo Do Do

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:55:00 +0000

Some things you just have to do. So we did. A little snow-mobiling thanks to the folk at Mountain Springs Lodge

Finn & Harvey were geared up and ready for anything, except maybe for the speeds that mum managed. Or not.
Harvey claimed that they’d been overtaken by a dead squirrel on a tricycle riding backwards whilst balancing a small sled on his nose.

You can see the squirrel disappearing into the woods just to the left in the picture above.

Crossoak: Behind the scenes

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:47:00 +0000

For the many who have expressed interest in how c r o s s o a k ticks along here’s a peek behind the scenes. As seen in these snaps, Fay & I spend almost every waking hour with a small compact camera stuck to our noses. Easy.

Snow in Leavenworth

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Leavenworth is at its best in the snow. The little fake Bavarian Village has grown on me, so much so that I felt rather sad leaving to drive back over the mountains after this visit.

Das Rad Haus was closed, or open if you call, but it looked like not many had.

Although the town was almost snow free, there was still enough of the white stuff around to have fun. Fay’s snow-art reached new heights with this snow-spikey bod creation…

…Finn decided it was best to just sit back, relax, and watch the world float by…

…while Harvey decide Snow Wars was the answer, and a hail of snowballs ensued.

Which lasted until he ran out of puff.

This was Ewok’s first snow experience. The (expensive) boots to protect paws from ice lasted all of 5 minutes, but the Wokster was happy enough on the snowy trails, and even wet for a dip in the Wenatche.

Ahhhhhh, nice hat Fay. Where did you get it?

Leavenworth Lights

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:22:00 +0000

The lights are still up, and the snow is still there. Just.

Best thing about holidays

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:19:00 +0000

A holiday means a long trip sometimes by car; a long car trip means McDonalds; therefore, holidays are fun.

At least, that’s F’s world view this weekend.

I’m just glad it’s a rare enough event to be _that_ exciting (McDonalds, not holidays).

Flying Finn

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:06:00 +0000

No, not Timo Mäkinen.

Saturday Afternoon Lego

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:31:00 +0000

Nothing quite beats Lego when it comes to a wet and rainy Saturday afternoon.

Three Cups of Tea

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:30:00 +0000

Thanks to Steve for the recommendation.
Thought provoking.

Pinewood Finals

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:50:00 +0000

Here’s the finished car, it’s called Arsenal (someone made a mistake and called it “Arsenal Destroyer” on the official entry)

H got 2 first’s, I think 4 second’s, 1 third and 1 fourth. Each car raced four times, once in each lane, and the best sixteen went into the final. H got through to the top sixteen and came twelfth!

Here’s the stats thanks to www.rentmytrack.com

Car No.	Av. Time (s)	Max. Time (s)	Min. Time (s)	Scaled Speed (mph)
81	3.2055	3.224	3.182	202.07

[guest post by Harvey]

Pinewood Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:59:00 +0000

The paint job in progress.

Pinewood Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:45:00 +0000

H building a car for the Pinewood Derby, following the “measure twice cut thrice” method.

With the outline cut to shape and sanded, next step is painting.
(Any guesses on the colours?)

Skagit & Cascades

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:21:00 +0000

Eagles on the Skagit

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:21:00 +0000

North up highway 9, hang left to Darrington and then into the deep dark forest until Tom Porters Cabin (1887) in Rockport for a Skagit rafting trip.

The crew were ready, as too was John, our superb river guide.
Sorry Jessica – John got first prize in the hat competition. Fay’s only managed a close second.

For added fun the flumps also joined our merry gang on the raft. Seen here with Dad: Pootle (striped hat) and Perkin (black hat).

As ever when it’s not chucking it down, the scenery in this part of the work is awe-inspiring.

And the Eagles are pretty impressive too.

Netbuster

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:11:00 +0000

H ready for another game (almost). Colour coordinated too, although I thought ManU were the red devils...

Goal Tending

noreply@blogger.com (aiddy) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:42:00 +0000

This was a first, H in goal. He did well (a clean sheet) but it’s still not his favourite position to play in.