North of Prospect in Fort Collins, CO

Representing Fort Collins @ Brickcon 2012

Wednesday, 10 October 2012 08:44

Last year my son and I flew to Seattle to attend the Brickcon convention. I haven't played with Lego bricks since I was a kid, but my son is an addict and since he was having a rough year, we thought it might encourage him to be surrounded by his passion for a weekend. But when I went and saw all of the MOCs (My Own Creations), with their whimsy and attention to detail, I decided that I wanted to give it a go myself. So I've been thinking all year about what I would build. I finally decided to recreate the Old Firehouse in Old Town in Lego. (The High Park fire and the use of the Old Firehouse on fundraising flyers kind of tipped my hand in that direction.)

I've been posting about the building process on my other blog - (usually barefoot)meg - if you'd like to read up on how it was done. I learned a lot about approximating a look rather than getting all of the details exactly right. And I learned a bit about the history of the building. (It was built in two sections. The west side from the tower over was built in 1881. The east side was added on in 1901. That's why the architectural details are similar, but different.)

My MOC was on display this past weekend at Brickcon 2012, in the Architecture section. It was rather small compared to the skyscrapers to the left of it and the Rialto Bridge and Venice to the right, but I tried to make the building to scale (one Lego stud across is approximately equivalent to one foot across) and it had to fit into my carry-on luggage on the airplane.

Because the building is not something most people (any people?) at Brickcon would be familiar with, I included photos of the building as it is now and as it was 100 years ago.

Old Firehouse on display at Brickcon

Before I left for Seattle I had my friend, Penny, take a few photos of me in from of the Old Firehouse. In my left hand is the building shown above. In my right hand is a micro-version of the building. I'm hoping that both of these will be on display at Old Firehouse books soon.

Meg in front of the Old Firehouse with Lego models in hand

lol! I just now noticed, as I look at the photo above, that there's a bike parked in front of the building in the exact same spot that there's a bike parked in the model. OK, so there's no bike rack there like there is in the model, but it's still kinda cool (if you're easily amused, like I am).

Once the model is on display, I'll post something to the site about it so you'll know to head down and check it out. One of the gals at the shop said they'll probably surround the MOC with books on Lego building, so it would be a great time to take your Lego loving kids down and pick up a few books.

SocButtons v1.5

Flakes from the High Park Fire Falling at Lincoln Middle School

Thursday, 14 June 2012 20:45

I took a walk around Lincoln Middle School's "back yard" yesterday and was surprised to see large flakes of ash (or do you call it soot when it's black) lying around the fields. There was no visible ash where the grass had been watered, but around the edges and even in the "front yard" of the school there were flakes as large as a quarter and sometimes larger. We've gott some ash and soot around our house, but nothing near the size of what I found around the middle school property.

Ash Flake (Soot Flake?) at Lincoln Middle School

Ash and soot on raspberry leaves

SocButtons v1.5

High Park Fire

Monday, 11 June 2012 19:35

These are my photos of the High Park Fire just west of Fort Collins. I posted them at full resolution, so if you use the little expandy gizmo to the lower right, you should get decent quality photos when it expands. To get to the original post, click here.

SocButtons v1.5

Elmer Funk @ Old Town Square

Thursday, 31 May 2012 21:05

Naomi and I headed downtown this evening to watch Elmer Funk jammin' out in Old Town Square. I was thrilled, and Naomi was mortified, to see 9 teachers and other staff members from her school there. They were, of all things, dancing. *gasp!* My daughter was embarrassed to see grown adults, who she knew and loved in a very different context, bouncing to the beat in public. ;-) We also saw neighbors and friends. I love when I go to an event and end up being surrounded by people I know. It makes me feel like I'm part of a very tangible community.

Elmer Funk Band

Elmer Funk kicked off this summer's Thursday Night Live music series, sponsored by Bohemian Nights. Next week the Retro 80's Tribute Band will be playing. I love the free music. The kids love that Ben & Jerry's is just a few steps away when we're there.

SocButtons v1.5

Ballet Folklorico Raices de Mexico

Saturday, 12 May 2012 12:51

These are some snippets of the various dances performed by the Ballet Folklorico Raices de Mexico at the Cinco de Mayo celebration last week at the Northside Aztlan Community Center. It was a hot day and we were on warm asphalt, but despite the heavy clothes, the dancers smiled the whole time. The dresses were beautiful. As you can tell by the amount of time I give to the first dance, the knife dance was my favorite.