Tomorrow the kids are all back at school and of course it was a dreary rainy day.
As a sort of last hurrah of summer we took the kids to see Up again.
We had seen it when it first came out and loved it. It is a beautiful movie that is not just for kids. The opening storyline made me cry both times. It was well worth paying full price to see it the first time around.
Today, however, we got to see it at the Byrd Theater in Richmond. It is a classic movie palace that is now a second run theater with the occasional independent movie thrown in for fun. At two bucks a pop, it's the best movie entertainment value in town. The kids were impressed by the theater (less so by the seats- they are pretty much shot) and were amazed that there was only one screen.
There was pretty much a full house and the audience was great. There was a bit of anticipatory laughter before some of the more absurd bits and everybody was rooting for the good guys. The kids groused a bit about seeing a movie a second time, but in the end they had a fabulous time. I think we might try to wait out a fun more movies and catch them on the return at the Byrd.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Shout Out To My Homies In New England
This has been around for a while, but I thought I would share.
Very funny and pretty much dead on.
Very funny and pretty much dead on.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Hound Dog
Poor John, he has such a hangdog look about him.
Normally he has a soulful and houndy look, but right now he has taken it to another level. He's moping about the house, not really wanting to got outside. And you may ask what pray tell is the reason for all this angst.
Well you see he is missing his brother. Mr. Dell went on down to North Carolina yesterday for a dog show, three in fact and the earliest we'll be seeing him is on Sunday.
Nate tries to play with John, but its just not the same. Nate doesn't have long hound ears to suck and his wrestling is just not up to par. Poor thing.
Normally he has a soulful and houndy look, but right now he has taken it to another level. He's moping about the house, not really wanting to got outside. And you may ask what pray tell is the reason for all this angst.
Well you see he is missing his brother. Mr. Dell went on down to North Carolina yesterday for a dog show, three in fact and the earliest we'll be seeing him is on Sunday.
Nate tries to play with John, but its just not the same. Nate doesn't have long hound ears to suck and his wrestling is just not up to par. Poor thing.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
I'm So Looking Forward to Tuesday
I think I'll spend the whole day in bed.
Today I had to:
I can't wait for school to start.
Today I had to:
- Take Nate north to the orthodontist and then walk him over to his father's office building.
- Wash Dell and do his nails (he's going to some dog shows this weekend).
- Pick up the rest of the kids and drive south to Jake's school for his open house.
- Where we discovered his schedule was all out of whack and had to get it reconfigured.
- Then back home to pick up Dell, school supplies and soccer gear.
- Drive east to hand Dell off to his co-owner as she passed by on the highway en route to the aforementioned show.
- Then head back west to drop Jake off at soccer practice.
- Go to Max and Rebecca's school to drop off school supplies and hopefully meet their respective teachers (sadly both of their teachers had left before we got there).
- Drive north again to Nate's school and drop off his supplies and meet his teachers (we did better there and got to meet one).
- Head back on down to Jake's soccer practice (We were actually early!) and pick him up.
- Grab some dinner and head back home.
- And as a special bonus I went out one more time to get some caulk to reseal the shower.
I can't wait for school to start.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Artist of the Week: Clay Bird
We are back, tan, rested and ready to rock.
This week's artist is Rebecca, who is now all arms and legs. It's amazing watching her grow up. She still is the feral princess (and always will be), but she has changed so much this year. I think of her being my little girl then I remember that she'll be in second grade next week.
She is very independent, which is no surprise considering her maternal line. She descended from a long line of independent women. She'll insist on doing things herself and will keep at it until her age catches up with her and she melts down in a rather dramatic fashion. But slowly she is learning to regroup herself and make a small attempt at reigning in those storms.
Sort of, because she is feral and she is a princess.
Anyhoo, this week the spotlight is on a little clay bird she brought home at the end of first grade. It's just the cutest little thing and is the mate to Max's little bird featured here.
Rebecca's cardinal is a jaunty little fellow that also fits snugly in the palm of your hand. He actually suffered quite a bit during the journey home, his tail is bent, a wing fell off, and as did the end of his beak Both were quickly reglued and he seems none the worse for wear.
Right now he sits by my computer and I find his cheery presence and nice bright spot amidst the clutter.
This week's artist is Rebecca, who is now all arms and legs. It's amazing watching her grow up. She still is the feral princess (and always will be), but she has changed so much this year. I think of her being my little girl then I remember that she'll be in second grade next week.
She is very independent, which is no surprise considering her maternal line. She descended from a long line of independent women. She'll insist on doing things herself and will keep at it until her age catches up with her and she melts down in a rather dramatic fashion. But slowly she is learning to regroup herself and make a small attempt at reigning in those storms.
Sort of, because she is feral and she is a princess.
Anyhoo, this week the spotlight is on a little clay bird she brought home at the end of first grade. It's just the cutest little thing and is the mate to Max's little bird featured here.
Rebecca's cardinal is a jaunty little fellow that also fits snugly in the palm of your hand. He actually suffered quite a bit during the journey home, his tail is bent, a wing fell off, and as did the end of his beak Both were quickly reglued and he seems none the worse for wear.
Right now he sits by my computer and I find his cheery presence and nice bright spot amidst the clutter.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
All Lined Up
Here is one more picture from our vacation on the Outer Banks.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunrise Walk
I consider myself a decent photographer. I took a class many, many moons ago in high school and learned the basics, from f-stops to black and white film developing.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
On the Beach
It's not all sunrises here.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Another Glorious Morning
I just can't help myself.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Greetings From The Beach
We're in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and this was the view this morning.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Avalon
I love Roxy Music and I have Larry to thank for introducing them to me. The album Avalon is utterly gorgeous and this is the title track.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Overheard at Lunch
"Max you have a violent mind" said Jake upon listening to Max go on about bazookas.
"Yes! Yes I do" cheerfully replied Max.
"Max that's not something to be proud of, unless you are a warlord."
I think that's the funniest exchange yet.
"Yes! Yes I do" cheerfully replied Max.
"Max that's not something to be proud of, unless you are a warlord."
I think that's the funniest exchange yet.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Artist of the Week: Inventors
This one has been a long time in coming, well over a month after the fact, but without further ado I present this week's artist (or rather artists) the inventors of the TADPOLE: Logan, Jake, Chris and Paul.
This fine group of intelligent young men were assigned the task at the Regional Governor's School for Middle School Youth to develop an underwater vehicle that could be controlled remotely. It needed to be able to go up, down, turn, and land on a target. They had less than two weeks to design and build with a limited amount of supplies. There was one other underwater team and the two teams would face off on the last day.
There were also two other vehicle types being created, solar cars and rockets, but the underwater vehicles were by far the most interesting.
Before the demonstration and competitions on the last day of class, each group had to do a brief presentation about their vehicle. Pictured here is the poster that the boys created. On it details what materials they used and what their design limitations were. They also included a nice schematic and and explanation of exactly what TADPOLE stands for: Turbo Aquatic Diving Probe Of Liquid Exploration (and yes they named it first and then came up with what it meant). It was nice to see that they all contributed to both the presentation and the design.
Jake in fact had a lot of fun designing and refining the vehicle. Their vehicle was the far more elegant of the two and turned out to be the much better design. It easily completed all its assigned tasks in the small above ground pool set up outside the building. The other one immediately fouled in its control wires and was not very maneuverable, it spent a fair amount of time just churning water. I think our team did a bang up job and they were gracious winners to boot.
This fine group of intelligent young men were assigned the task at the Regional Governor's School for Middle School Youth to develop an underwater vehicle that could be controlled remotely. It needed to be able to go up, down, turn, and land on a target. They had less than two weeks to design and build with a limited amount of supplies. There was one other underwater team and the two teams would face off on the last day.
There were also two other vehicle types being created, solar cars and rockets, but the underwater vehicles were by far the most interesting.
Before the demonstration and competitions on the last day of class, each group had to do a brief presentation about their vehicle. Pictured here is the poster that the boys created. On it details what materials they used and what their design limitations were. They also included a nice schematic and and explanation of exactly what TADPOLE stands for: Turbo Aquatic Diving Probe Of Liquid Exploration (and yes they named it first and then came up with what it meant). It was nice to see that they all contributed to both the presentation and the design.
Jake in fact had a lot of fun designing and refining the vehicle. Their vehicle was the far more elegant of the two and turned out to be the much better design. It easily completed all its assigned tasks in the small above ground pool set up outside the building. The other one immediately fouled in its control wires and was not very maneuverable, it spent a fair amount of time just churning water. I think our team did a bang up job and they were gracious winners to boot.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Visitors and Music
I'm very fortunate in the in-law department. My husband's mother and her husband are truly wonderful people.
They are down here visiting for a few days and we are busy, busy, busy. Today we went to the Science Museum of Virginia and petted sharks, specifically a white spotted bamboo shark. Well most of us did, Max has a thing about touching odd things, which is fine by me and possibly the shark. The shark itself was comatose, it's a nocturnal species and thus fast asleep- an ideal candidate for people to briefly stroke as it lay quietly in the tank. I joked with the volunteers at the museum how it must be odd for the shark being touched while its asleep and they ended up riffing on how the shark was going to have dreams of being handled by aliens (alien abductions solved- we are just in a giant touch tank!). Unfortunately I forgot my camera and I can not properly share the visit with y'all.
Then we scampered back home for the last piano lesson for the summer. Which was a bittersweet affair. Nate and Rebecca are going to continue on in the fall, but Max is done. He has been crabbing all year about my signing him up for a second year of lessons. The teacher and I both agreed that he was a lost cause. Maybe in a few years he'll pick it up again, he actually can do a decent job when he is not up in arms about the horrible injustice of piano lessons.
Tomorrow we might catch a movie, who knows what our next exciting adventure with Grandma and Grandpa will be.
They are down here visiting for a few days and we are busy, busy, busy. Today we went to the Science Museum of Virginia and petted sharks, specifically a white spotted bamboo shark. Well most of us did, Max has a thing about touching odd things, which is fine by me and possibly the shark. The shark itself was comatose, it's a nocturnal species and thus fast asleep- an ideal candidate for people to briefly stroke as it lay quietly in the tank. I joked with the volunteers at the museum how it must be odd for the shark being touched while its asleep and they ended up riffing on how the shark was going to have dreams of being handled by aliens (alien abductions solved- we are just in a giant touch tank!). Unfortunately I forgot my camera and I can not properly share the visit with y'all.
Then we scampered back home for the last piano lesson for the summer. Which was a bittersweet affair. Nate and Rebecca are going to continue on in the fall, but Max is done. He has been crabbing all year about my signing him up for a second year of lessons. The teacher and I both agreed that he was a lost cause. Maybe in a few years he'll pick it up again, he actually can do a decent job when he is not up in arms about the horrible injustice of piano lessons.
Tomorrow we might catch a movie, who knows what our next exciting adventure with Grandma and Grandpa will be.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Surprises in the Mail
It has been two months since Jake's Bar Mitzvah and I thought we were pretty much done with it. Then I got I lovely surprise in the mail just the other day.
My cousin Kay had taken pictures and had sent me a disk of them. She was even so kind as to send all of her originals along with the ones she deemed best.
This picture had not made the cut, it was horribly grainy from the poor lighting conditions.
But, I love it.
I cropped it down and futzed with a few filters and did a bit of tweaking with the levels. It's far from perfect, but I so clearly remember the moment and I'm so glad my cousin captured it.
My cousin Kay had taken pictures and had sent me a disk of them. She was even so kind as to send all of her originals along with the ones she deemed best.
This picture had not made the cut, it was horribly grainy from the poor lighting conditions.
But, I love it.
I cropped it down and futzed with a few filters and did a bit of tweaking with the levels. It's far from perfect, but I so clearly remember the moment and I'm so glad my cousin captured it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Crape Myrtle Bokeh
I learned a new word recently, bokeh.
Ree over at Pioneer Woman has a section dedicated to photography. In it there is a wealth of information for the digital camera enthusiast. Everything from cameras to photoshop. It was over there that I learned all about bokeh.
Bokeh is a very useful thing. I like how the flowers are crisply beautiful in focus, you can almost see the pollen grains on the stamens while the background is a nice soft blur. I got this effect from using the macro setting on my camera. I was primarily interested in just getting the flowers in perfect focus, the bokeh was a nice bonus.
Ree over at Pioneer Woman has a section dedicated to photography. In it there is a wealth of information for the digital camera enthusiast. Everything from cameras to photoshop. It was over there that I learned all about bokeh.
Bokeh is a very useful thing. I like how the flowers are crisply beautiful in focus, you can almost see the pollen grains on the stamens while the background is a nice soft blur. I got this effect from using the macro setting on my camera. I was primarily interested in just getting the flowers in perfect focus, the bokeh was a nice bonus.
Friday, August 14, 2009
End of Season
Summer really is drawing to an end around here. Football has started, the schools are announcing their "Welcome Back" nights, and tennis has come to an end.
Today was the big end of tennis party. Lessons ended last week and this week was the optional tennis tournament. Nate, was not the big winner and we are just fine with that. It was requested by several (!) moms and Dan the instructor that I make my famous tennis ball cupcakes.
I was more than happy to comply and set about making them last night. I first cranked out a batch of cupcakes using my 1-2-3 cake batter. When they were done and cooling I turned the page to orange cake. As I gathered my ingredients I realized I had a little problem, I had no oranges.I ended up heading out early to store and made them this morning. They came out very tasty.
As for the party, the kids had a great time. Dan passed out the annual t-shirts he designed. This year on the back was the most commonly expressed sentiment this summer "Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ice pops." There is a tradition that after lessons the kids all get an ice pop. It gets pretty darn hot and its a nice refreshing treat after running around on the courts.
I thought they were pretty dang funny.
Today was the big end of tennis party. Lessons ended last week and this week was the optional tennis tournament. Nate, was not the big winner and we are just fine with that. It was requested by several (!) moms and Dan the instructor that I make my famous tennis ball cupcakes.
I was more than happy to comply and set about making them last night. I first cranked out a batch of cupcakes using my 1-2-3 cake batter. When they were done and cooling I turned the page to orange cake. As I gathered my ingredients I realized I had a little problem, I had no oranges.I ended up heading out early to store and made them this morning. They came out very tasty.
As for the party, the kids had a great time. Dan passed out the annual t-shirts he designed. This year on the back was the most commonly expressed sentiment this summer "Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ice pops." There is a tradition that after lessons the kids all get an ice pop. It gets pretty darn hot and its a nice refreshing treat after running around on the courts.
I thought they were pretty dang funny.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Flyaway Hair
This is my middle son, Nate.
He has reached that point in life where he does not want me to take his picture ever again. He scowls, he mopes, he turns away.
Sometimes he does a little jump as he turns, causing his hair to fly about. And that is just what happened the other day.
I snapped the picture at just the right moment and caught the full glory of his hair being tossed about. I showed him the photo and his eyes grew wide as did his smile. This was an acceptable picture.
Yes my boy has long hair, but he's rockin' it.
He has reached that point in life where he does not want me to take his picture ever again. He scowls, he mopes, he turns away.
Sometimes he does a little jump as he turns, causing his hair to fly about. And that is just what happened the other day.
I snapped the picture at just the right moment and caught the full glory of his hair being tossed about. I showed him the photo and his eyes grew wide as did his smile. This was an acceptable picture.
Yes my boy has long hair, but he's rockin' it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Artist of The Week: Building Blocks
This week's artist is the perpetually bouncy Max. He is a very active boy and as a result is hard to photograph in any sort of natural pose. It's not that he doesn't want to be photographed, he'll happily drop whatever he is doing and mug for the camera. But that's the crux of the problem his picture face is always a very forced closed mouth smile. It doesn't suit him and is not what I want when I take a picture. However, when he is not posing he is in an almost constant state of motion. There are times when he is literally bouncing on and off the furniture.
So yes, he isn't facing the camera and you can not see most of his face, but I love this picture. It is Max being just Max and not "picture Max."
Anyhoodle, this is about one of his many, many buildings.
He, like his brothers, loves to create things with their building blocks. Max is always calling me up to his room to photograph his latest creation. He proudly stands there as I shoot pictures from various angles, showing him the last few frames on the camera's display. Satisfied that his creation has been preserved in pixels he happily plays with his structure and is not at all disturbed when it is invarably destroyed, either by himself or his siblings.
As I recall this building lasted for quite some time. It was a sturdy structure that withstood all sorts of military attacks. If fact Nate even sat on top of it a couple of times.
I like how the building is serviced by an elevator located on the front of the building. It is represented by the slim column on the front. The arch blocks are a nice touch and allow you to peek inside.
The buiding blocks, along with the Legos and Brio train tracks have been by far the most successful toys they have received. They are in constant use and it is amazing to see all the things the kids make with them.
So yes, he isn't facing the camera and you can not see most of his face, but I love this picture. It is Max being just Max and not "picture Max."
Anyhoodle, this is about one of his many, many buildings.
He, like his brothers, loves to create things with their building blocks. Max is always calling me up to his room to photograph his latest creation. He proudly stands there as I shoot pictures from various angles, showing him the last few frames on the camera's display. Satisfied that his creation has been preserved in pixels he happily plays with his structure and is not at all disturbed when it is invarably destroyed, either by himself or his siblings.
As I recall this building lasted for quite some time. It was a sturdy structure that withstood all sorts of military attacks. If fact Nate even sat on top of it a couple of times.
I like how the building is serviced by an elevator located on the front of the building. It is represented by the slim column on the front. The arch blocks are a nice touch and allow you to peek inside.
The buiding blocks, along with the Legos and Brio train tracks have been by far the most successful toys they have received. They are in constant use and it is amazing to see all the things the kids make with them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Almost Unobtainable
A few months ago the air conditioning in the van developed a truly awful rattle.
At first it was intermittent, sometimes you would hear the whockity, whockity noise, sometimes you wouldn't. And when it happened it would just be for a brief staccato burst of sound. There was no real rhyme or reason to it.
Then it changed, it would happened at the higher blower speeds and would linger on for longer and longer periods. It got to the point that I would avoid the higher fan blower speeds, because I really didn't want to hear something akin to my car's a/c death rattle.
I developed a theory that something was getting bound up in the blower fan. I asked the kids to help pinpoint the sound and we settled on an area located up front, just behind the glove box. At this point the noise was pretty much continuous. Feeling bold, I took a peek and saw what could a blower motor.
And that's exactly what it was. After a bit of unplugging wires and unscrewing the motor from it's mounting I looked inside the and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Nuts.
Then a few weeks later the noise stopped. Unfortunately the lovely cool air from the a/c also stopped coming out of the front vents. This is unacceptable this time of year in the south.
So I once again pulled the blower motor out to try to puzzle out the mystery.
And there it was, a big old crack across the top of the blower wheel, radiating out from where it is pierced by the spindle of the motor. The rattle was the sound of it working loose and when the crack was big enough, it no longer worked. This was something I could do. All I had to do was to get a new blower wheel.
Easier said than done. I scoured the net for a replacement, but I could not find it. I could find the motor, but never the wheel. Which is pretty stupid considering the wheel is made of plastic. I even took it in to three different car parts stores and got the same story, no can do. I ended up going to the dealership and had then order it for me. Once it came in. it took all of 5 minutes for me to install it with just a bit of help from the nice guys in parts- they got the old wheel off, saved the retaining clip, and put the new wheel on- chivalry is not dead in the parts department.
Now sweet, sweet cool air fills the front of the van.
At first it was intermittent, sometimes you would hear the whockity, whockity noise, sometimes you wouldn't. And when it happened it would just be for a brief staccato burst of sound. There was no real rhyme or reason to it.
Then it changed, it would happened at the higher blower speeds and would linger on for longer and longer periods. It got to the point that I would avoid the higher fan blower speeds, because I really didn't want to hear something akin to my car's a/c death rattle.
I developed a theory that something was getting bound up in the blower fan. I asked the kids to help pinpoint the sound and we settled on an area located up front, just behind the glove box. At this point the noise was pretty much continuous. Feeling bold, I took a peek and saw what could a blower motor.
And that's exactly what it was. After a bit of unplugging wires and unscrewing the motor from it's mounting I looked inside the and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Nuts.
Then a few weeks later the noise stopped. Unfortunately the lovely cool air from the a/c also stopped coming out of the front vents. This is unacceptable this time of year in the south.
So I once again pulled the blower motor out to try to puzzle out the mystery.
And there it was, a big old crack across the top of the blower wheel, radiating out from where it is pierced by the spindle of the motor. The rattle was the sound of it working loose and when the crack was big enough, it no longer worked. This was something I could do. All I had to do was to get a new blower wheel.
Easier said than done. I scoured the net for a replacement, but I could not find it. I could find the motor, but never the wheel. Which is pretty stupid considering the wheel is made of plastic. I even took it in to three different car parts stores and got the same story, no can do. I ended up going to the dealership and had then order it for me. Once it came in. it took all of 5 minutes for me to install it with just a bit of help from the nice guys in parts- they got the old wheel off, saved the retaining clip, and put the new wheel on- chivalry is not dead in the parts department.
Now sweet, sweet cool air fills the front of the van.
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