New bed appropriatly attired.

New bed appropriatly attired.
Originally uploaded by surferdwa.

I spent the better part of a week "modeling" and building a bed for the king sized memory foam mattress we bought when we moved out here to Fresno. Before this the mattress had just been laying on the floor with a promise to Tiffany that I would "soon" build a platform for it.

4 1x6s, some 2x4s, a couple sheets of plywood and 12 CMUs (cinder blocks for the laymen) later we had ourselves a sleek little bedframe which was elevated 14 inches off the floor, but Lola was unable to wedge herself underneath it. The Lola wedging issue was the major design constraint.

I have performed several flying summersaults while chasing Niki and a large bellyflop to test stability. Rock Solid. But what else do you expect from a Mechanical Engineer who hung out with a bunch of Civils? This ain't no safety factor of 1.01 Aerospace major project.

I also, uh.. on purpose..., made the bed 2 inches to long for the mattress allowing us to incorporate a nicely upholstered headboard which really brings it all together. Remind me to check my tape measure to make sure all the markings are correct before I start the bed side tables.

Hiking in Coursegold

Picnic tree
Originally uploaded by surferdwa.

Tiffany, the Fur and I finally got out of Fresno to enjoy some of the Sierra Foothills. This hike had been recommended by one of Tiffany's professors. The day started with one of the clearest skies we've had in Fresno... you could actually see the Sierra mountains, and boy were they beautiful!

The hike was wonderful. It followed a mountain stream with small waterfalls and pools. We hiked in far enough to have a little snack while sitting on some sun backed granite overlooking the stream.

I think this little outing is a keeper.