Happy Karate Chop birthday, CJ

Here is a sweet karate chop to celebrate CJ from Jed.

Jed's Landcruiser bodywork extravaganza

I tried my hand at body work during October, and here are the results. I attacked a spot on the driver's side quarter panel, and another spot on the passenger side rocker panel. I poked most of the quarter panel hole with my hand; it was pretty rusted out. I had previously tried to clean up and paint the rocker panel hole before deciding to fill it in. Here are the before pictures:


Here are the holes with most of the rust ground out and shaped to make fitting a plate in easier:


Here is with a plate welded into the support behind the quarter panel and a plate welded into the rocker panel hole. The welding was a real pain because the body steel was so thin due to corrosion. I had to cut it back a lot to get to the thicker steel.

Here is the initial paint job (I forgot to take a picture of the outer quarter panel weld job before painting it):
Then I threw on some bondo for smoothness. The bondo instructions wanted me to put it on bare steel, but I don't trust it to keep the rust out, so I put it on top of the paint. Hopefully it won't fall off when I hit a bump.
Here is the final paint job on the quarter panel. I forgot to take a picture of the rocker panel paint job, but you can just imagine how swell it is.

So now I know how to do low quality body work. If I get around to it I might put the black stripe back on the quarterpanel bottom, but I don't know if I've got it in me. Next up is making the spare tire not rattle around.

Jed's Lab

We visited Jed in October to celebrate his 31st birthday. These photos are from his NIST lab. One is a photo of the fridge running experiments and the other photo is of the software Jed created to take data from the cubits in the fridge. On this tour we had photo id's and more security than during previous visits. It was fun to see his physics friends again. They were all working hard to prepare for a site inspection which included reports from each member of the team.

It was rainy and cold in Boulder; this weather was followed by warm weather the day we flew home.

Jed's birthday dinner was ribs, salad and cheesecake. Guests included Cory and Nate (roommate).

We saw Eagle Eye (the movie) and Jed bought new black cowboy boots with his birthday money.

Fall

Ok - I couln't resist. Here are the rest of the potatoes and more tomatoes. Our tomatoes are still ripening on the vine. The weather is getting bad today so this week may be the end of the garden. Oh how I hate winter and the dark - we went on standard time last night.

Halloween was great - the kids are so hyper they could hardly wait while we handed out our candy and the Coomb's candy. On tiny tot said "Do you have treats" in the cutest sweetest voice I could hardly stand it. We had three bags of 50 pieces each and that was gone by the end of the night. John did help devour some of the candy.

Oh yeah ... and we won the ward chili cook-off. Jed won his chili cook-off last year with the same recipe. Since my business is dying maybe I should go in to the chili canning business.

End of Summer

It was beautiful today! Last week's snow took a toll on the garden and these eggplants seemed not to care. Thanks to David for keeping everything covered up at night.. Its sad that summer is coming to an end. The garden was PLENTIFUL this year. First time we've actually had eggplants produce anything. Tomorrow we will harvest the remaining produce and take out the plants.

Mom

Scott's new home

Last month we helped Scott move to Mesa, AZ to start his new job. Here are some photos of Scott and his new home. I tried to line up the photos and text but for some reason this simple task escapes me!

Scott's simple bed.

Nice 5-bedroom home - Scott's room is the one over the garage with the window box.

With Scott out front.

Bedroom view 1 - the prior tenant painted the concentric rectangles on the wall

We are looking forward to hearing about Scott's first trail walking expedition. We wish him well and know the clients are lucky to have an insightful leader.

Mom

Jed uses a chamois

Yep, that's right, no more towels. Shammies all the way from here on out. I highly suggest using a couple of shammies next time we go to Powell, and not bringing anymore towels. They're compact, are designed to be used wet, and don't require drying space. I've been using one for the last few weeks on the lake and am converted. Here is a photo demonstration of how they work; notice how fun it is. First, this is my shammy:
The fishermen behind me love it because it's a durable synthetic available from most auto parts stores. The first step is to dry yourself off with the shammy. Note that the shammy is damp before using.
When your dryness is satisfactory, ring out the excess water:
Finally, roll up the shammy and stow it in the compact carrying case:
All done, all dry, and no more stupid towels. Only $9.95 for all this convenience. We use one shammy for everyone on the boat, and since it doesn't need to be dry it always works. Seriously, they're sweet.

Last pull of the season

Yesterday I went waterskiing for the last time this year. It was a little sad, but mostly cold.

Jed and Dave in Egypt

About a month ago Dave and I went down to Escalante with some friends to hike the Egypt 3 slots. I've finally got around to publishing photos, so here they are. The first picture is us heading into slot: Here is our first pothole: Mud can be used as a scroll for recording important things:
Dave is amazed at this little natural bridge. Look at the amazement on his face. Astonishing.
Here is a nice tight slot:
Weathertop. Beware of the Ring Wraiths.
We got a sweet lightning show at night:
Then it rained and we went home:
THE END.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Happy 26th! I hope you get a Soap-Box Derby party. And a silver suit too.

-Ann

Jed found the Whittakers in print

Remember when we met Michael Kelsey while hiking up a canyon at Lake Powell a couple of years ago? Well he thought so highly of our canyoneering skills that he has put us in his newest edition (5th, March 2008) of the Boater's Guide to Lake Powell. Look, we're famous canyoneers!

Jed's Lake Powell pictures

Here are some of my Lake Powell pictures. This is our sweet spot up Crystal Springs canyon. Note the cooler and chairs that deturred others from crowding our bay. Suckers.
This is the morning glass by the boat:
Here's Dave beating the tar out of that glass:
And Mom skiing like there's no tomorrow:
Other adventures without photo documentation: Dave and I explored the slot at the end of the canyon, which is the first time I can remember it being accessible. Man, it was cool; we didn't bring a camera because we really didn't think we'd get that far. It took us about 45 minutes to get up to the wash. Dave, Korri, Scott, and I explored the next slot over a couple of days later. It was pretty cool too, though a lot more sketchy. We went 30 minutes, then got to a point that was pretty dicey and turned around. Dave, Korri, and I found a nice little 3-piece crack, hand size, about 5.6-5.7. Dave tried to venture higher, but things were too sketchy so we returned to the houseboat for recandyfication.
A really good Powell trip, in my book. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Photos From Hayden Lake - Diane

Photos From Grandma Vivian's Funeral