Weekend goings on

This is the fort C. is building for S. Or, this is the fort C. is building for himself, I don't know which. After much deliberation, which is to say, only 6 years and about 15 minutes, C. decided that it is high time S. had a fort. Perhaps it was ultimately decided when he saw that she is inches away from being as tall as I am, that he realized he needed to get cracking. Otherwise, she'd be the only girl in college who'd be saying, "Naw, I can't stay for the big booze-up party this weekend, my dad says I have to come home and play in my fort in the backyard." Or something like that. C. did spend a bit of time expounding on a pet theory last week, pacing back and forth muttering about "quality of life" and "not putting off the fun projects until after you'd killed yourself on the important ones." Anyway, the thing is 6' x 6' and the platform is about 6' off the ground, I think the dimensions have more to do with the ease of not cutting as many boards - that and the vagaries of "finished" lumber.It isn't near being completed. They've only installed rails on one side, and they have yet to figure out exactly how they want to install the hatch door in the floor. Currently they're outside making the rope ladder. When I mentioned a slide might be nice, C. got a glossy look in his eyes and threatened to drag me to Home Depot to "look through the catalog". By which he meant the catalog you can order "accessories" for just such constructions. I declined when he said that there was a "cool slide for only $346.00". Maybe S. can make do with a large board and a box of waxed paper? And, as I had the window open to the back yard, I heard mention of a zip line. Oh no! I used to get a little grumpy about these kind of projects until I came to the realization that 1. it keeps them out of my hair for long periods of time and 2. C. comes by this kind of crap naturally. We recently went to dinner at his dad's house and, while out visiting the horses - in minus 3 degree weather I might add, his dad surprised the dickens out of us by emptying and then re-filling the horses' water buckets via a gravity fed, heated watering system he designed himself. Casually he mentioned that he'd "thought of patenting it at one point." And the guy is building his own cabin, on stilts, so maybe there is a predilection for tall people in their family to want to construct tall living spaces. It just does absolutely no good to argue with genetics. None at all.

And the dog. She just loves having her photo taken. She does this when I come outside with a camera. Doesn't she look smart?