A nice detail of the ladder and proud owner of her first home.

 
Maya requested an elevator bucket so we added a rope hoist to one side.

 
Today Maya and I added a ladder to the treehouse. I am fairly certain that we spent more time on the ladder than the rest of the construction combined. We mortised the rungs into the stretchers at Maya’s request (she described it as digging little holes in the wood). This makes for a very sturdy ladder but quite time consuming to machine the 24 mortises needed. I should add that Maya wanted the rungs angled to match the slope of the ladder so each foot fall would be on a level surface. What Nico is doing flying through the air I have no idea.

 
A rare brother and sister moment.

 
Rainy days always inspire me to take portraits. Today Nicolai is hanging out with his friend Isabella and I coaxed her into the bubushka outfit for this shot.

 
This is the antique carved wooden chandelier that hung in the bedroom of our home in Indianapolis. It has adorned our attic for five years now and it is time for it to find a better home via Craig’s List.

 
Maya and I continue to make progress on the tree house. By the time I get home at night it has been dark for hours. We find an hour to work together each morning at 7AM.

 
Nala in hyperdrive this morning. Jeanine is in Indianapolis for the week attending to the sale of her parent’s home. So far I have managed not to lose any of the children.

 
A view from the bottom reveals the structure of the cantelevered base and angled support members. We used composite decking over pressure treated pine. The floor stands some 14 feet above the ground. The entire structure is supported by four lag bolts. Key joints have been reinforced with steel tape and all the hardware is galvanized steel. I will add safety lashing around the tree to guard against a bolt failure. Ladder design is still under development.

 
Maya’s treehouse is starting to take shape. The main platform and roof supports are in and the roof section is assembled and is ready to hoist into position. Kyle provided invaluable assistance this weekend as we tackled the tricky bit of securing the assembled main platform to the tree. Maya worked on the project for the better part of the day and Nico also pitched in for a while.

 
After my soccer match this morning the family joined me for an end of the season party at the home of team mate John Bemis. Nicolai and Maya could not resist playing with Sally, the puppy of the house. We ended the season with a tie against Newton and finished in the middle of Division 2. I scored a goal off a rebound late in the game to even the score at 2-2.

 
This morning Jeanine and I took Maya to renew her passport at the post office. The family will be traveling to Costa Rica for the winter break and she is the only one in the family with an expired passport. She has been to France and Sweden and this will be her first journey to the tropics.

 
Nicolai’s middle school soccer team is recognized for their perfect season in the Concord Journal. Nico is in the front row with the ball.

 
An image from the lobby of my hotel in Santa Barbara. This vase is filled with water which pours forth over the edges to make a nice fountain. Very peaceful.