Stronghold World Tour

[almostnice]

dont need one anymore cause i will be supplied with Pikebros bibs in the future.was asking cause there was one shop in Berlin selling them,not in my size sadly,for 109,-€ about a year back.

but thanks for the generous offer

[zissou]

holy.... They are also on Ebay for $16!

[zissou]

p.s.- I'm seeing some new wear in areas that I'll highlight at the end of my month.

[zissou]

More renovation work- today it was masonry. I had to brick over holes in two of the chimneys were old ducts connected.

Not too bad I say. I didn't bother making them look too pretty as they were just going to be covered with plaster.

It took a couple hours to do both of them, then I took a lunch break and made a valentine for my daughter.

Hers for me. Awww

Spent a little quality time with the rabbit. My daughter's only had her for a couple months, and she's still getting used to people.

[zissou]

I spent part of the afternoon dyeing a chambray shirt and a pair of black (bleached to orange) trousers brown.

Thought I'd try this new dye that you just throw into the washer.

Made a big mess!

The results pretty much sucked. Neither garment was well dyed, and the shirt came out a grey-purple.

So, I said to hell with it and dyed them again in a bucket of hot water and Rit. Right now, they are in the wash with some fixative.

[Gaijin]

Liking the color of that shirt.

[Rivet Head]

The hickory stripe overalls were $32, and 20% off this week. I believe they also had straight denim overalls, both in many sizes. Still want a pair? If so, let me know and I'd be happy to send you some.

Ever ask them if they have any old stock stuff at that hardware store hidden away somewhere?

[zissou]

Hmm, I should ask them. They have a ton of old stock hardware.

[Rivet Head]

Hmm, I should ask them. They have a ton of old stock hardware.

You might find some blue gold in a long forgotten dusty corner of the store.

[zissou]

Today was finally the day to build the snow cave. Took all morning to prepare, as this isn't something to take lightly. Gotta wear the right gear.

Her:

skull hat (badass)

Ray Ban (prevents snow blindness)

Fur collar (for warmth, what else?)

flowery shirt (no vis)

Rider's jacket (deflects anything. Sorry, not TOJ)

LL Bean (classic Americana, even if it's purple)

Keen

Me:

Nordic hat (to honor the snow gods)

goggles (deflect flying ice crystals)

Patagonia (insulating mid-layer)

fishing vest (holds all of the snacks)

Chemical-resistant rubber gloves (because you never know..)

Stronghold WT hickory stripes

Corcoran jump boots and knee pads (because this is some serious shit)

The arsenal. We decided to step up our game this year and throw a power tool into the mix.

The snow pile was a lot larger before the few warm days we had. But, the cold days that followed froze it pretty solid.

Lets get this job started.

Time to bring in the electric hedge trimmer to carve out the inside. It worked surprisingly well.

I'd say we did pretty well. We built up the lateral walls to defend us from any flanking maneuvers by our enemies.

The view from the inside. I feel like I'm back on Hoth.

Mission accomplished. Time to relax with a little hot chocolate and some Night at the Museum 2.

[riotmute]

Such great photos, Zissou.

[zissou]

^Thanks. I forgot to put up a few photos from yesterday morning. It was Sunday, which could only mean one thing- Pancakes!

Blueberry and maple syrups

yum

[zissou]

When should I send these stripes on to jimmyc? I received them right around the 1st. I want to be sure to wash them and take some evo pics before I package them up.

[almostnice]

speaking of pancakes,my daughter believes every day is sunday,cause thats the usual answer i get when i ask her what she wants for lunch.

[mpcec]

Love the updates Zissou. You and your daughter seem to have an awesome relationship. Maybe send them out on the 25th or 26th? They should reach him on Monday the 1st then.

[zissou]

Yeah, my daughter and I have a great time, although I feel bad for yelling at her when she woke me up five times last night :\ I just PMed jimmyc for his address, and I'll probably soak them up tonight, then!

markus- sorry to side with your daughter, but pancakes are good for any meal, any day.

[ThisSunday]

Great updates Zissou. That was an enjoyable tour stop

.

[jimmyc]

got your PM. Address sent. Can't wait to get these.

[zissou]

I'll be able to send them on Thursday, jimmy. They are drying right now.

I have a few more photos to add before I send them on

[beatle]

You know ur breakfast !

[zissou]

^the only thing else that would have been great was some bacon, but I hate cooking it.

[zissou]

OK, folks, here's my last installment in the Stronghold World Tour.

I gave the stripes a good long warm soak with woolite and a hang dry, as I had gotten them pretty dirty. Just thought I'd pass along some macro shots at the six month mark.

This may be hard to see, but there is some crease fading in the lap area.

Random thigh fading

I tried to put a decent fade in the back pocket, not form chew, but from a roll of electrical tape that I had been using for house work. I guess more than one month was needed

Coin pocket update

Then I signed the pocket bags

Added my bottle cap

And also a little treat for Jimmyc and shipped em off Priority. He should get them on Saturday.

It was a fun month, so thanks for letting me be a part of the WT!

[glimmertwins]

Those pancakes look good. Nice and fat.

...cooking is never a problem for me. It's the cleanup that I hate - especially after something messy like bacon.

[jimmyc]

Strongholds® have arrived!!!

Pics a little later.

[jimmyc]

Sorry I have been so busy I haven't posted any pics yet. I'll get on that tomorrow since the weather is much nicer and I have a motor cycle ride planned.

I'm also doing shirts for the tour so I need everyone involved to PM your

address and shirt size as soon as you can so I can get them printed and shipped out.

Here is the design.

pics tomorrow!

[jimmyc]

Ok lets officially get this leg of the tour started...

On Monday, March 1st I got a package in the mail.

I took them upstairs and put them on immediately. Got busy at work and have not had time to stop down and take some pics until today.

Got up and did Yoga this morning, came home and got some work done and then got dressed for a my first Motorcycle ride since winter arrived.

(Icon Moto, SDA, Strongholds, Frye)

I was riding around town wondering what I could photograph that would be interesting. Nacogdoches (my town here in Texas) is the Oldest town in Texas and was the first English settlement granted by Mexico/Spain in 1821. There are a lot of famous people that were involved with Texas independence who are now buried here so I stopped at the Oak Grove Cemetery and took a few shots.Four signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence rest here: Thomas J. Rusk, Charles S. Taylor, John S. Roberts, and William Clark. Here is a pic of T.J. Rusk's grave.

Here is the sign that is right by it.

Here are a few pics of me at the Cemetary...

NO MORE PHOTOS!

OK, one more. This is what's left of Garner Apartments on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University (my alma mater). It was a sixteen story tall dormitory and up until 2 weeks ago was the tallest structure between Tyler and Houston. Oh well good ridance I guess.

I'll post some more pics of things around town before i head out for Chicago on the 17th. I'm gonna be there until the 31st so please let me know who's next in line and i'll ship the jeans the day before I leave Chicago.

One last thing, get me your t-shirt size or i'll just guess a size for you. I want to get them ordered from AA and get them printed and shipped before the 17th.

[Medine]

Nice photos! and nice Bike!. I like the japanese plate thing

[mpcec]

Awesome Jiimmy, those Frye boots look great and the tee shirts look dope. Very excited for that haha.

[zissou]

Hell yeah, jimmy! That's awesome that you're doing shirts. Great update, especially the bike and the fit. I'm dying to get my bike out of the garage...

[jimmyc]

It's really rainy today so no Motorcycle tour pics today.

Here are a few from out in the rain.

Weather should clear up soon. I will take a ride to the Cado Indian mounds out near Alto, Texas and shoot some pics of them for you soon.