Project365: Day 332 - Gingerbread Grandeur

'Twas the night before Christmas / and all through the house / not a creature was stirring / except for a MOUSE!

My employer, Brooks Borg Skiles Architecture Engineering, entered the 2011 Gingerbread Grandeur Competition hosted by Salisbury House & Gardens in Des Moines. These photos are a sneak peek into the construction process and final result for our gingerbread creation. I don't want to ruin the magic by blabbering on about it, so I'll let the photos do the talking now.



























Over a dozen people in our office helped out with the design, fabrication, and construction of this sugary mouse house. Finally, a huge thanks to the folks over at Salisbury House & Gardens for hosting this excellent event. We had a blast creating the gingerbread mouse house!

Project365: Day 331 - Meredith Holiday Lights

Day 331 - Meredith Holiday Lights, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 330 - Lakeville Arts Center

Day 330 - Lakeville Arts Center, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 329 - Christmas Tree Farm

Day 329 - Christmas Tree Farm, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

It's a tradition for Brittany's family to go out and get their fresh-cut Christmas tree on the day after thanksgiving each year. Here is Brittany guarding the chosen tree while waiting for her brothers to start cutting it down.

Project365: Day 328 - Thanksgiving Aftermath

Day 328 - Thanksgiving Aftermath, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 327 - National Farmer's Bank

Day 327 - National Farmer's Bank, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 326 - Fill 'Er Up

Day 326 - Fill 'Er Up, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 325 - Harmon Fine Arts Center

Day 325 - Harmon Fine Arts Center, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 324 - Twinkling Lights

Day 324 - Twinkling Lights, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 323 - Upcycled Coasters

Day 323 - Upcycled Coasters, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 322 - Jefferson Telecom Company

Day 322 - Jefferson Telecom Company, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 321 - Pressure Check

Day 321 - Pressure Check, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 320 - Letters and Numbers

Day 320 - Letters and Numbers, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 319 - Construction Tour

Day 319 - Construction Tour, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

We kicked off our 2011-2012 season for the ACE Mentor Program in Central Iowa a few weeks ago. Today our team of high school students got to take a hard-hat tour of a local elementary school renovation project.

Project365: Day 318 - Red Caboose

Day 318 - Red Caboose, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 317 - Vault

Day 317 - Vault, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 316 - FroYo

Day 316 - FroYo, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt opened near us recently. This is peanut butter and chocolate froyo with vanilla wafers and (because I'm still a kid inside) sour gummy worms.

Project365: Day 315 - Shadowgrass

Day 315 - Shadowgrass, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 314 - New Specs

Day 314 - New Specs, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

A self portrait for you. I don't typically like to do these--they always seem very awkward and MySpaceish--but I'm happy with how this one turned out.

Project365: Day 313 - First Snow

Day 313 - First Snow, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 312 - Umbrella

Day 312 - Umbrella, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 311 - White Pages

Day 311 - White Pages, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 310 - Night Sky

Day 310 - Night Sky, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 309 - Fallen

Day 309 - Fallen, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 308 - Goose Island

Day 308 - Goose Island, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project 365: Update!

Holy WHOA am I behind on posting photos! I have been so so very good about taking lots of photos (at least one each day!), but horrendously lazy when it comes time to post them for the world to see.

I owe you a huge number of photos, so a huge number of photos is what you'll get. Right now.

LET THE PHOTO POSTING AVALANCHE BEGIN!

Project365: Day 307 - Zoom

Day 307 - Zoom, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 306 - After the Rain

Day 306 - After the Rain, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

This part of Locust Street seems to always glow at night after a rain shower. This is one of my favorite vistas in Iowa-- the golden dome of the Iowa Capitol Building is framed off in the distance.

Project365: Day 305 - Pinecones

Day 305 - Pinecones, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 304 - Atrium

Day 304 - Atrium, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

The light-filled atrium on the 3rd floor of the EMC Tower in downtown Des Moines.

Project365: Day 303 - Candy Corn

Day 303 - Candy Corn, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 302 - Court Avenue Beacon

Day 302 - Court Avenue Beacon, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 301 - Tallgrass

Day 301 - Tallgrass, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 300 - Mums

Day 300 - Mums, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 299 - Carved

Day 299 - Carved, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 298 - Garrison Keillor

Day 298 - Garrison Keillor, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of the popular syndicated radio show "A Prairie Home Companion", spoke at Drake University for the 27th installment of the Bucksbaum Lecture Series.

Project365: Day 297 - Bare

Day 297 - Bare, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 296 - Katydid

Day 296 - Katydid, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

I stepped outside to start the grill for dinner and this guy was waiting to greet me on top of the grill.

Project365: Day 295 - World Food Prize

Day 295 - World Food Prize, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates was once the home of the Des Moines Public Library. The renovation of the building and riverfront is nearly complete. As you can see, the beautiful gardens on the west side of the building are now open to the public.