Designing For Kids -The CastleFort Story

"It should be about this big..."

My six-year-old son's voice trailed away as he paced off an area in our back yard about the size of a blimp hangar.

Sears Big And Tall

"...and about that tall..."

He pointed to the top of the tallest tree in the neighborhood, but had the Sears Tower been on Bellaire Avenue he would have chosen it instead.

"...And it should be red..."

My two-year old interrupted: "and yellow..."

"...with a windmill on top, and a rope ladder, and a slide, and a swing, and...can you build it today?"

"Well," I said, and started to elucidate that before we could even start to build his new tree house, plans had to be drawn; cost estimates had to be calculated, and we hadn't even picked out a site yet. It was a pretty big tree house so we might need a structural engineer. Could I build it myself or would I need to get contentious bids from contractors? I was just getting to the part about applying for a construction permit when he broke in:

"Dad," he said, "you can do it, you're an arky-tek."

(Slight pause as I choked down the lump of pride rising in my throat - how could I say no to that?)

"Okay. Hand me my prestige card, son, we're off to the lumberyard."

Like a lot of architectural projects, this one started off with a clash of dreams and reality. As the "director" of a project, I'm often challenged to sort out the possible from the impossible and simultaneously create something beautiful, useful, and lasting. And if my client is open to alternatives and willing to observe options to operate the cost, then we've got a realistic opening of bringing the project in near the budget.

But the allocation for the "castlefort", as my kids had now come to calling it, was only 0. And even that began to look like a distant dream when we got to the lumberyard. Yikes! For a minute, I plan the prices were in Yen.

I just needed utility-grade lumber, not the straightest, smoothest boards on earth; not exquisite knot-free specimens lovingly hand-carved from trees that had lived long and happy lives and in the end, had fallen softly into thick beds of pine straw - just plain old 2 x 4's.

Eventually, I culled out the worst seeing boards from the bunch and talked the store boss into a sizeable discount. We were back on budget.

I'd known early on that the biggest problem we faced in the siting and construct of our tree house was the lack of trees, or at least trees that could hold a tree house. But there is all the time someone else explication lurking in the background, secret behind the pile of baggage in my brain that keeps trying to tell me what a tree house should look like. The explication was unmistakably quite easy when I realized that it wasn't so much that the tree house had to be up in a tree, it just mostly had to be up. And so we built it on stilts in a simplified version of coastal construction where pilings are sunk into the sand to hold up the floor deck. With my six-year old supervising, I set four 4 x 4's into postholes and filled them with concrete.

The rest of the project had many of the elements of a "real" house; framing, siding, roofing, painting, even indoor/outdoor carpeting. I balked at my son's ask for electricity and cable Tv but gave in on the chimney/skylight.

Painting was collaboration between my kids, my wife, and me; the adults handling the outside while the kids tackled the interior décor. To the relief of our neighbors, the outside complements the house. The inside, however, looks like an oven after a particularly bad lasagna explosion. But the kids love it, and so do I.

Right from the starting the castlefort was a huge hit with the neighbors and their kids. At every party it's the first place the kids go and it is the center of operation for approximately every game they can think up. But then a funny thing happened - the neighbor kids started asking their dads when they'd start construction their castleforts. For at least one dad, the pressure was too much; his tree house is on agenda for a late spring completion.

One evening my wife and I were sitting on the deck watching the kids play tag nearby the castlefort. "Honey", I said, "I wonder how old the boys will be when they get tired of playing in the castlefort?"

"I don't know if they ever will," she said. "Right now it's a big toy but at last it'll be a secret hideout, or a cabin for summer sleepovers with their friends," "Why maybe they'll even ask their girlfriends over to see it someday."

"Girlfriends?" I said. "Girlfriends?" We looked at each other for a moment and suddenly the realization of what she'd just said hit her.

"Ten years, babe," I said. "Then it's advent down!"

Designing For Kids -The CastleFort Story

LEGO Architecture Empire State Building (21002) Review

LEGO Architecture Empire State Building (21002)

	Looking for LEGO Architecture Empire State Building (21002) lowest prices. Hurry! this is limited time offer!! Don't miss it !!!!!!! Best Deal Today @ Amazon.com Click Now !

Four beautiful Cities - The Best traveler Destinations

Are you confused in selecting your trip destination? Fortunately you do not need to be confused. There are a lot of tourism destinations you can visit. In the following description below, the author will tell you four gorgeous cities in the world that you may select as your travel destination.

1. Hong Kong:

Sears Big And Tall

Hong Kong is a modern metropolitan city, which kept inherent as a town of trade, business and services and finance. In addition Hong Kong also keeps the charm as one of the world traveler cities, which displayed the charm can add insight and life experience. Hong Kong is a territory that became part of Mainland China. Hong Kong itself has an area of 1078 km, with people of about 7.5 million inhabitants. Hong Kong has a diverse mix of characters, the ensue of long British work and the work on of China. As the State of China, Hong Kong provides places clad Chinese feel that Western touch coated.

Hong Kong seems to have 4 of the 15 tallest towers in the world that make this city as a city gorgeous and modern. Hong Kong is very gorgeous even at night; the magnificent architecture of tall structure in Hong Kong is taking a breath. Also Hong Kong does have a lot of exciting places, such as Victoria Peak, Ocean Park, and other entertainment places.

2. Chicago

Chicago is one of the largest cities in the United States. Chicago is known as the city with the most gorgeous architecture in the United States.Chicago is one of the cities in the world to successfully combine the architectural attractiveness of structure with lights that make the game gorgeous art. The attractiveness of the city of light clicking sound that is always exciting admiration for its audience.

This is a slight surprising that the Chicago categorized as with most gorgeous cities because we know that New York is the largest city in the world but is the home town of Chicago skyscrapers. They built the first skyscraper in Chicago in 1885. The construction became the main traveler visits. gorgeous skyscrapers discrepancy with orchad located in the city enough. Among the most exciting is the Sears building, which is the tallest construction in the U.S. And offers wonderful. Also Chicago has a sandy beach, which is one of the most gorgeous beaches.

3. Shanghai

Shanghai is a city most densely populated people in China about 16 million people. Notable as the "Paris of the East" formerly known as the city with the dominance of black gangsters, gambling, fraud, and opium. Shanghai has now come to be one of the cities metropolitan with building, transportation, technology, population, etc.

This city is an prominent economic town in the largest port country and Nowadays Shanghai is regarded as a seal of modern China. It is the most favorite locations to visit in shanghai city is the Bund. Bund is a high port with the exhibition construction banks, fellowships and hotels. In addition there are many attractions that combine primary sense, nature and modern life.

4. New York

New York is a gorgeous city and most exciting in the world. There are many diverse cultures, art, music, food, places and faces that will contribute memories that will not be forgotten by anyone who visits. New York is the most important, largest and most populous in the United States. The city is the town of world trade, is located there are a amount of international organizations.

New York is known as a city of skyscrapers. New York City is Notable for its culture, diversity, fast lifestyle, cosmopolitanism, and economic opportunity. The city is now also known for having the bottom crime rate among cities in the U.S. This city is nicknamed "Big Apple", "city that never sleeps", or "Capital of the World".

All of the reviews above may be able to help you to find the best destination for your holiday trip. Instead of those five gorgeous countries there is still a plenty of gorgeous countries and tourism destination you can visit.

Four beautiful Cities - The Best traveler Destinations

Humor Column: Brianna Will See You Now

I walked into reduction Hair for my haircut. After they called my name, I plopped into a chair. Carla sat in the next chair, taking the last drags off her Marlboro Red, the final pull burning into the filter. Her slightly graying brown hair framed her tired face. Smoke rings filled the stagnant air. She studied me through the haze.

"How would you like your hair cut today?" she asked, stubbing the cigarette in a Hard Rock Las Vegas ashtray she apparently borrowed on her last gambling junket.

Sears Big And Tall

"Oh, this time I would like you to cut it in a sort of up-sweeping swirl that makes my head look like an ice cream cone," I said.

No response. She didn't care what I said. She cut it the same way every time.

I had only two choices for a haircut in La. The cut at reduction Hair. Or the style at Hair International. Nothing in between. For some intuit La has no middle class in hair salons.

She took a comb out of a clear plastic canister of what looked like blue formaldehyde. Her other hand held a water bottle. She wetted down my hair- my face and shoulders getting doused in the process. Putting down the water bottle, she grabbed a pair of scissors.

They looked like office scissors. She combed some hair down in front of my face. Without looking, she made a big swiping cut, the hair falling away en masse. Was it straight? I couldn't tell from all the spray mist in my eyes.

In a few more whacks with the office scissors, she was done. Carla cuts hair faster than citizen leaving Sunday Mass at my church. She handed me a purple plastic mirror shaped like a Tv screen. I held it up as she spun me nearby in the chair.

"I'm a new man!" I said.

She said nothing. I hoped a good wash would help straighten out the hair in back which sloped downhill from left to right about half an inch.

A few weeks later it was time for a Hair International visit. When a "Carla Cut" is brand new and short, it looks Ok. After it grows out, it looks like it was cut with a weed-whacker. To re-establish a decent haircut, every so often I make a trip to Hair International. I'd go there all the time if I could afford it.

Their name sounds important: Hair International. It's good than "Hair Near West Side" or "Hair Next To Denny's". The word "international" lends an air of class. The Columbus, Ohio airport is called Port Columbus International Airport. Not only is it international, it is a port! The only port in America surrounded on all sides by pre-fab condos and a golf course.

The receptionist checked me in and asked me if I wanted a latte or cappuccino. I declined and sat on the leather couch in the foyer, taking in the art on the walls- a catalog of the hottest young artists in town- Huertas, Meadows, Owens. I was glad none of it was covered in cow dung.

"Mr. Ditzel, Brianna will see you now," the receptionist said into a microphone on her desk, the notification booming over the techno music filling the room. I looked up from my perch four feet away and nodded my head.

She handed me a nylon robe and gestured toward a dressing room, which was indeed a closet with some cleaning supplies on the upper shelf. I doffed my blue button-down shirt and put on the robe. There is no fabric more comfortable against your skin than nylon.

As I opened the door, I looked for Brianna. Standing there instead was a tall, goth- finding woman wearing nothing but black. Everybody in the place was wearing black. Her face was pale with Alice Cooper eye make-up. She gestured to a line of sinks. Speaking gently in a haunting tone she said, "Hello, I'm Karma. I'll be your hair-washer today. Sit."

Her hair cascaded over my head as she worked. It smelled like clove cigarettes. Her beaded necklace bumped against my chin as she lathered me up. After a accepted sudsing, she began to rinse. Suddenly she decided to add more hot water to the mix.

"Yeeeoowwww," I yelled.

"Too hot?" she asked.

No, I boil my hair every day. I prefer it al dente.

She toweled off my head as I sat up. As the searing pain left my scalp, I focused my eyes. There stood Brianna. Shimmering shoulder length blonde hair, black shoes, black capri pants, a white top with black tiger stripes.

Native Southern Californian. Natural blonde. No elective surgery. Rare.

After graduating from Ucla with an accounting degree, she decided she was more of a "people person", and began her career in the hair styling industry. Ernst and Young's loss is our gain.

"Where the hell have you been," she demanded loudly, trying to be heard over Nine Inch Nails. Her smile made my knees weak. I tried to avoid the photograph on the counter- her boyfriend Noah hugging her exterior the main gate to Disneyland.

I couldn't admit I was finding Carla at reduction Hair.

"Gosh, I'm on the road so much, I've been getting my hair cut in airports. Terrible. I need you to bring it back to life," I lied, sliding into the chair. I detected the minuscule scent of her Dolce and Gabbana perfume, masked by the room's dominant smell of Paul Mitchell Awapuhi shampoo.

She took my hair in the middle of two fingers of one hand, cutting the excess with razor sharp scissors. She worked intently, with minuscule small talk. I relaxed and started to drift off... I pictured her and me at Disneyland together....

"There you go," she said sweetly, snapping me back to reality. I looked in the mirror. She had shaped it perfectly, parting it at the exact spot that minimized my male pattern baldness.

"Perfect," I said.

plus a tip. 0 for a decent haircut?

Carla!

Humor Column: Brianna Will See You Now

Australia's Outback - A Wide, Brown Land

Nobody easily knows where the Australian Outback begins or ends. It is a state of mind, a mystic land of miners and cowboys (known as "ringers") and wandering aborigines and tellers of tall stories.

A journey through the Outback quickly reveals why most Australians rarely venture far from the mammal comforts of the coast.

Sears Big And Tall

The great southern land has its share of corporeal beauty, along with lush tropical rainforest, alpine snowfields, neat pastures, coral atolls, endless sandy beaches, and rolling plains.

But all that is relatively close to civilisation. Beyond broods a primeval, eroded landscape of ochre plains and searing desert, broken here and there by gaunt ribs of granite, basalt and ironstone. Throwing it all into stark relief is the great light, pitiless in its intensity.

Much of Australia's 7.6 million quadrilateral kilometres are empty of humans, one-third is desert. Hindered by the harshness of atmosphere and terrain, man has nibbled at the edges where there is dependable rainfall and intermittent fertility.

A year in Mount Isa, a raw copper-mining town in the red rock desert of northwest Queensland, gave me an understanding into some of the hardships faced by Outback dwellers.

Day-time temperatures often hovered colse to 45 degrees C and fine red dust permeated houses, eyes and food. One night at the open-air cinema the carrying out was abandoned when a dust-storm blotted out the screen.

However, any person with a taste for adventure will find the Outback fascinating. Just load up your camper-van and take off. These days many of the inland highways are even paved.

The interior, with its suggestions of rugged individualism, courage against all odds, pioneer struggles, plays an leading part in the Australian consciousness.

Dorothea Mackellar reflected that in her poem My Country: "I love her far horizons, I love her jewel sea, Her beauty and her terror, The wide brown land for me."

If you are tired of crowds and cities and easily want to "get away from it all", this is the place. Maps may propose that the interior is dotted with settlements. But those exotic place-names, Mooloogool or Christmas Creek, often indicate no more than a cattle station (as Australians call ranches) or a tin-roofed pub.

Bumping along dusty Outback roads, you can travel for a day without meeting other vehicle. On one trip, floodwater forced me to make a detour of 1,300 kilometres, all over dirt tracks.

No traffic jams here, just a wilderness of spikey scrub, eucalyptus trees and dry creek-beds, brolgas (ostrich-like birds) ambling into the heat-haze, galahs (parrots) flying up in bursts of grey and pink, a kangaroo lolloping over the track.

So vast are some of the Outback cattle stations that ringers working the boundary zones may never see the homestead. Until it was split up, Victoria River Downs in the Northern Territory spread over 31,000 quadrilateral kilometres, the size of Belgium.

These days visitors fly in just to see the sun set over the big sight of the Outback, Ayers Rock, a 348-metre-high monolith jutting from the surrounding desert. You can drive there too - it's a mere 450 kilometres away from the nearest town, Alice Springs.

As an Aussie friend never tired of telling me: "She's a big country, sport."

Australia's Outback - A Wide, Brown Land