Duplo Drawbridge

We've been having much fun with the Duplo Castle we pieced together from a few years ago.  After seeing a cartoon drawbridge on the television, we were attempting to create a drawbridge. There weren't many options for a castle-esque Duplo draw-bridge.  I sourced a few Duplo Technic pieces (after finding out there were Duplo Technic bricks), and we have constructed a draw-bridge for the castle.  Complete with a moat for the plastic mermaid.  Andre especially enjoyed driving the tractor and steamroller on and through this castle.

Vintage Americana: Pirate Treasure Chest and Eagle with Shield

  

Last fall I bought a very used E.J. Kahn-esque pot-metal bank off of eBay.  We were looking for a bank for Andre, and growing up, my brothers and I had one of these banks which we used to store porcupine quills in.

The one I bought off eBay was very used, and needed to be repainted.  I stripped off the paint, and made due with a limited acrylic palette.  The bank came with an impressive and ancient copper padlock (with no key).  I fabricated a key for it.  The bank was dropped after a few months and needed to have the to of the lock hasp replaced with some wire.

Another project that I wanted to accomplish for Andre was some Americana decor.  I found this vintage Sexton eagle on eBay, but it needed to be repainted.  I busted out my limited palette, and some gold and silver spray paint, and I think it turned out alright.

Sunny and Frozen at the Ocean

We went to the ocean a few days back. It was quite cold, but we packed a thermos with hot water and had a rolling Hot Chocolate wagon. There is a snopocalypse happening in Idaho at the moment, with record snow falls. We visited during Christmas, and are now missing out on being buried in the snow. It was a wonderful sunny day at the beach.

We have a Toyota Highlander now.  2016 saw the end of the FJ season, but we enjoyed it while we had it.

Fall Reading

     Melissa gave me a new book for Christmas, Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy Book 1) by Terry Pratchett.  John/Lisa also gave me Out of Africa, by Karen Blixen, nom de plume Isak Dinesen . I'm excited to read through some non-academic writing.
     I've been buried in various books and articles for the semester.  My reading for school included many tomes.  One of my favorite was the masterful volume, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul by James Smith.  There were many others, such as St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen, by William M. Ramsay. Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Everett Ferguson. Paul: A Guide for the Perplexed by Timothy G. Gombis.  Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson. Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind by Tremper Longman
     Included in my reading for school was a slew of reading for a theoretical thesis proposal, Image, Identity, and the Forming of the Augustinian Soul by Matthew Drever, Perception, Sensibility, and Moral Motivation in Augustine, by . Sarah Catherine Byers, a host of material from James K. A. Smith, including Desiring the Kingdom, and Imagining the Kingdom.  A few books on how to write, such as, The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods by A.G. Sertillanges. and Stylish Academic Writing by Helen Sword.  There were others, though they escape me now.

Google Home

I added a Google Home to our house.  It will be interesting to move into the realm of 'oral only' & 'cloud connected' computing.  There is of course, the Alexa option, but I am a big fan of Google music and the android ecosphere, so the Google home seemed like a logical option.  Hopefully it won't cause too much havoc, calling in the robots to run amuck.

North Portland Bible College

I've had the opportunity to become the registrar (among other responsibilities) at a very small Bible College in Portland.  The Aptly named North Portland Bible College.  I started as July began, and have been working there part time, and also working on my schooling at Western Seminary.  So, I've been staying fairly busy.  Also, Melissa has decided to try out some online schooling, working towards her Bachelors in Education from Grand Canyon University.  So between all of that education, we should end up pretty learn-ed.

NPBC has been a joy to work at so far, and the college is a testament to God's work in Portland.  Even the buildings,as seen in the photo, were once derelict condemned drug houses that were bought, renovated, and re-purposed.  Repurposed with a higher purpose, Higher Education.

Idaho in Summer

This summer, we headed east... to Idaho.  After being in Washington/Oregon for a rainy spring, the summer finally arrived in the Pacific Rainforest, and to celebrate, we went to the beach a fair bit.  But one time, we went to the beach at McCall, Idaho.  It was a long drive, but we had a great time visiting friends, family, and enjoying the woods and the waters.