It was so close to open! There was still room to run a bit so Obi came home less frustrated than last time. Not quite his usual level of freedom though.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Path obstructed
The dog park has remained closed since the last post, until 2 days ago. Then it's been rainy and gross so we haven't gone, until today. I got off work and there were storms in the distance so Obi and I headed to the park for some quick excercise hoping to beat the rain. We got to the bridge going to the back of the park and hit this:
It was so close to open! There was still room to run a bit so Obi came home less frustrated than last time. Not quite his usual level of freedom though.
It was so close to open! There was still room to run a bit so Obi came home less frustrated than last time. Not quite his usual level of freedom though.
Friday, July 17, 2009
A plague of plague
Our dog park has the plague.
We love our dog park. It's the "Westminster Hills Open Space and city dog park," 3000+ acres of off-leash doggy-running happiness that Obi visits 3-7 times a week. Either Steph or I usually run the 4-mile round trip trail to Mower Reservoir and back while Obi runs along chasing prairie dogs, rabbits, and the occasional coyote. Yesterday the Bean and I went with Obi near sunset for a quick visit and the entrance was blocked. The sign on the barrier said that they'd tested the fleas in the park after an unusual number of prairie dogs started dying off and the results had been positive for The Plague. I tried to explain to the Bean and Obi why we were skipping the visit to the park due to a scourge of the 1340's, but the Bean was just annoyed and Obi was really upset when we drove away without his usual exercise. I'm hoping he didn't stick his nose down the wrong prairie dog hole when we went running Wednesday morning...
We love our dog park. It's the "Westminster Hills Open Space and city dog park," 3000+ acres of off-leash doggy-running happiness that Obi visits 3-7 times a week. Either Steph or I usually run the 4-mile round trip trail to Mower Reservoir and back while Obi runs along chasing prairie dogs, rabbits, and the occasional coyote. Yesterday the Bean and I went with Obi near sunset for a quick visit and the entrance was blocked. The sign on the barrier said that they'd tested the fleas in the park after an unusual number of prairie dogs started dying off and the results had been positive for The Plague. I tried to explain to the Bean and Obi why we were skipping the visit to the park due to a scourge of the 1340's, but the Bean was just annoyed and Obi was really upset when we drove away without his usual exercise. I'm hoping he didn't stick his nose down the wrong prairie dog hole when we went running Wednesday morning...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Kitchen counters- picture heavy happiness!
As mentioned here previously, I have been replacing the counters in our kitchen. Since we moved in they have been the one thing on the main floor of our house that looked like they didn't fit with the obvious care taken to make the rest look nice. The existing counters were the cheap functional stuff found in every college apartment in the country; off-white, easily stained, easily ripped out and replaced before the next tenant moved in, if necessary. Not counters for a home, IMHO. Consequently we have very few pictures with the old countertops visible. This was taken the 1st day we looked at the house...that's the realtor in the picture:
We did get 1 shot prior to me tearing everything apart. The picture doesn't at all show the stains and scratches that covered these counters. This is just before everything came out:
So first I had to remove the old counters and rebuild from the cabinets up. This required a .75" layer of plywood sealed against moisture, followed by a .5" layer of Hardibacker cement board. (Throw on a .25" layer of thinset w/ a .25" tile and you've got a tiny bit of extra counter height. This will cause problems later of course) Here's me working on...something. I was in and out of the house on a bright sunny day, hence the shirtlessness. Avert your eyes if this scares you.
Now one thing I did in the bathroom that I thought served me very well was laying out the tiles prior to putting down the thinset. My handy tiling book doesn't say to do this, assuming that everyone will cut as they go, but I like a visual and measurements without the pressure of thinset wanting to dry on me. When working with multiple intersecting grout lines there's a lot of minor adjustment as well, which is complicated if the tile is sitting in a bed of cement. Here's what that looks like (the tiles against the wall aren't cut to size yet obviously):
Getting closer, this is the view after the thinset was down, prior to grouting and sink replacement. If you look closely, the lines between tiles are deeper than they should be, due to the conspicuous lack of grout. Also you can see the symmetry of the counter- originally I'd laid this out as 2 12" tiles towards the front of the counter with a 7" tile at the back, as evident in the above pic, but when I laid it out I decided to move the smaller tile to the center. I think it looks nice that way.
Then Steph said "Let there be Grout!" And there was grout. And it was good. Steph is a lot faster at grouting than I am. This is the final finished countertop. Due to a miscalculation on my part (and an astute observation by Steph involving an edge that was done weirdly when the prior counters were installed) I ended up short 4 pieces of bullnose and had to order more and wait for a week to get it, so the final finished product took a bit longer than hoped. But here it is! :
The tile is as textured as it looks. It's full-body porcelain (the color goes all the way through the tile) so it's pretty much never going to chip or crack and if it does (i.e. somebody launches a cannonball at it or misses when tossing a bowling call across my kitchen) you shouldn't be able to see the chip. This next is the edge that I stressed about, since there was such a small tile at the end. The bullnose at the front of the pic was tricky as well, since I had a 36" deep counter and "12 inch" tiles tend to be more like 11 3/4". My bullnose didn't quite fit, so I ended up cutting down 2 pieces and making a slightly more complicated end. I've been told it looks good by the only people that matter in such things, so I'm happy with it!
And now the sink. The light is a bit funny in this pic (the sink is black and all one color, not grey), but we are very happy with how this looks in the new countertop. There's a slight flaw in the tile work around the sink, but my in-laws tell me I'm being too picky, so I won't even say what it is :-) I will say though that Russ had to help me re-work some plumbing- the slightly higher counter meant the pipes didn't quite line up, and I moved the whole sink back maybe 1/2" somehow. Not a big deal, but there's a giant vent pipe under the sink that was positioned so that it was pressing against the underside of the telescoping faucet, pinching the telescoping mechanism. We cut the pipe off and dropped it about 1.5" lower and everything is fine now.
A couple more angles, just because. This is the corner by the dishwasher. Everything started with the tile at the corner of the angle-cut bullnose. If that hadn't been straight none of this would have worked.
And the other pieces of the counter, behind the sink by the stove. The left edge here by the hall is what threw me- the old counters had a non-rounded edge there , so I had a non-bullnose edge planned, which wouldn't have matched the rest of the kitchen. Adding bullnose to that edge makes complete sense visually and practically, it just screwed up my math. Better right than fast though, eh?
So those are the counters for now! We will be doing a border of some sort everywhere the counter meets a wall, to break up the corners a bit and cover some flaws in the drywall. The old counters had been caulked in place and had been there awhile, so the wall is a bit of a different texture 4" up all the way around and it needs covered. We'll also do a backsplash around the stove, but we want to take our time with that and come up with something we'll really like. For now the counters are done and I'm quite happy with my 2nd major commission of DIY.
Special thanks to The Home Depot for existing and Jim at A World of Tile in Westminster for patience, helpfulness, and taking my money :-)
We did get 1 shot prior to me tearing everything apart. The picture doesn't at all show the stains and scratches that covered these counters. This is just before everything came out:
So first I had to remove the old counters and rebuild from the cabinets up. This required a .75" layer of plywood sealed against moisture, followed by a .5" layer of Hardibacker cement board. (Throw on a .25" layer of thinset w/ a .25" tile and you've got a tiny bit of extra counter height. This will cause problems later of course) Here's me working on...something. I was in and out of the house on a bright sunny day, hence the shirtlessness. Avert your eyes if this scares you.
Now one thing I did in the bathroom that I thought served me very well was laying out the tiles prior to putting down the thinset. My handy tiling book doesn't say to do this, assuming that everyone will cut as they go, but I like a visual and measurements without the pressure of thinset wanting to dry on me. When working with multiple intersecting grout lines there's a lot of minor adjustment as well, which is complicated if the tile is sitting in a bed of cement. Here's what that looks like (the tiles against the wall aren't cut to size yet obviously):
Getting closer, this is the view after the thinset was down, prior to grouting and sink replacement. If you look closely, the lines between tiles are deeper than they should be, due to the conspicuous lack of grout. Also you can see the symmetry of the counter- originally I'd laid this out as 2 12" tiles towards the front of the counter with a 7" tile at the back, as evident in the above pic, but when I laid it out I decided to move the smaller tile to the center. I think it looks nice that way.
Then Steph said "Let there be Grout!" And there was grout. And it was good. Steph is a lot faster at grouting than I am. This is the final finished countertop. Due to a miscalculation on my part (and an astute observation by Steph involving an edge that was done weirdly when the prior counters were installed) I ended up short 4 pieces of bullnose and had to order more and wait for a week to get it, so the final finished product took a bit longer than hoped. But here it is! :
The tile is as textured as it looks. It's full-body porcelain (the color goes all the way through the tile) so it's pretty much never going to chip or crack and if it does (i.e. somebody launches a cannonball at it or misses when tossing a bowling call across my kitchen) you shouldn't be able to see the chip. This next is the edge that I stressed about, since there was such a small tile at the end. The bullnose at the front of the pic was tricky as well, since I had a 36" deep counter and "12 inch" tiles tend to be more like 11 3/4". My bullnose didn't quite fit, so I ended up cutting down 2 pieces and making a slightly more complicated end. I've been told it looks good by the only people that matter in such things, so I'm happy with it!
And now the sink. The light is a bit funny in this pic (the sink is black and all one color, not grey), but we are very happy with how this looks in the new countertop. There's a slight flaw in the tile work around the sink, but my in-laws tell me I'm being too picky, so I won't even say what it is :-) I will say though that Russ had to help me re-work some plumbing- the slightly higher counter meant the pipes didn't quite line up, and I moved the whole sink back maybe 1/2" somehow. Not a big deal, but there's a giant vent pipe under the sink that was positioned so that it was pressing against the underside of the telescoping faucet, pinching the telescoping mechanism. We cut the pipe off and dropped it about 1.5" lower and everything is fine now.
A couple more angles, just because. This is the corner by the dishwasher. Everything started with the tile at the corner of the angle-cut bullnose. If that hadn't been straight none of this would have worked.
And the other pieces of the counter, behind the sink by the stove. The left edge here by the hall is what threw me- the old counters had a non-rounded edge there , so I had a non-bullnose edge planned, which wouldn't have matched the rest of the kitchen. Adding bullnose to that edge makes complete sense visually and practically, it just screwed up my math. Better right than fast though, eh?
So those are the counters for now! We will be doing a border of some sort everywhere the counter meets a wall, to break up the corners a bit and cover some flaws in the drywall. The old counters had been caulked in place and had been there awhile, so the wall is a bit of a different texture 4" up all the way around and it needs covered. We'll also do a backsplash around the stove, but we want to take our time with that and come up with something we'll really like. For now the counters are done and I'm quite happy with my 2nd major commission of DIY.Special thanks to The Home Depot for existing and Jim at A World of Tile in Westminster for patience, helpfulness, and taking my money :-)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Red Rocks, 04Jul2009
Every year Blues Traveler plays a 4th of July show at Red Rocks. I've always thought that sounded kind of cool. The kids are in Illinois with their biological father, so tracking down a firework display wasn't as necessary. On top of that Lewis Black was opening for Blues Traveler and since he's about my favorite (living) comedian Steph and I decided to go.
The show started at 6, which is seriously early for a concert, so they had an extra opening comedian. He was some local guy and pretty bleh, but Lewis Black was hysterical. Better than when we saw him on his own at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House awhile back. Then an opening band, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, who were really really good. By the time the main even rolled around it was dark and the clouds had blown over without soaking us. (Whew!) Between bands we sought a seat higher in the amphitheater where we could see the city over the top of the stage.
I'd heard that this is a cool show to see, with the fireworks and all, but it really has to be experienced. From the top half of Red Rocks the entire Denver metro area is spread out in front of you. So there we were, live music going strong, stars out over our heads, my arms around my lovely wife, with 20+ fireworks displays erupting in the distance. I'd say if there is a heaven it has to be something like that.
Bed now. There's a lot more going on this weekend, but it's late. Kitchen counter pics forthcoming!
The show started at 6, which is seriously early for a concert, so they had an extra opening comedian. He was some local guy and pretty bleh, but Lewis Black was hysterical. Better than when we saw him on his own at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House awhile back. Then an opening band, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, who were really really good. By the time the main even rolled around it was dark and the clouds had blown over without soaking us. (Whew!) Between bands we sought a seat higher in the amphitheater where we could see the city over the top of the stage.
I'd heard that this is a cool show to see, with the fireworks and all, but it really has to be experienced. From the top half of Red Rocks the entire Denver metro area is spread out in front of you. So there we were, live music going strong, stars out over our heads, my arms around my lovely wife, with 20+ fireworks displays erupting in the distance. I'd say if there is a heaven it has to be something like that.
Bed now. There's a lot more going on this weekend, but it's late. Kitchen counter pics forthcoming!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Michael Jackson has died
I won't comment on MJ dying, but since the FCC has declared that all broadcasts must contain a mention of his death I don't want to risk the fine.
I only have 90 minutes left in the month and this is only the 2nd post of June. Oh how I slack. We went on vacation though, so I'm allowed. June 7-14 we were at the Barcelo Tropical in Riviera Maya. Good times and good relaxation. (Pics are on Steph's phone and haven't been retrieved yet.) On Friday night just before we left Steph's driver's side rear window was smashed in a robbery attempt in Cherry Creek, so we started off the vacation somewhat poorly. (They took her loose change and that's it.) Fortunately our luck changed when we left for Mexico.
We got to the airport early enough for breakfast, so we sat and ordered food off the kids' menu so they'd be full and Steph and I picked off theirs. 10 min after the food had come out the manager walked out with another identical order...oops. He was shocked to see empty plates already at the table, but kindly left us the extra food for free. The flight to Mexico was uneventful, as was the transfer to the hotel*, and then we checked in. Steph asked nicely if we could have a room close-ish to the pool and they obliged, putting us in a suite for no extra charge instead of a regular room like we'd booked. Sweet. This came with a bottle of champagne and a fruit plate. Alrighty!
So we headed to the beach. On the way down the stairs we passed an older couple who told us they were leaving in the morning and had left an inner tube and an air mattress by a tree if we wanted to snag them. More free stuff! So we grabbed the air mattress, then went for a walk on the beach. As we were walking and enjoying the sand a little girl and her mom walked up with a bag full of sand toys. They were leaving in the morning as well, and would we like a bunch of sand toys for the week? Sure, thanks!
That was all day 1. The rest of the trip was great, with less overtly free stuff. It was all-inclusive, so everything felt free. The kids had a blast and The Bean took huge leaps with her swimming. She didn't like to let go of mom either, which put the kibosh on the plan that the kids go to the Kids Club a couple hours a day so Steph and I could relax a bit. Oh well. I have to remember that even though I got into this for Steph the kids are #1 for her, which is as it should be.
We're getting our alone time now though. The kids are with their dad in Illinois for 12 days and we're celebrating by re-doing the kitchen countertops. More on that later, when pics are available...
*We're never taking an Apple Vacations transfer again. We waited an hour for "2 more people!" who had been on our flight and must have gotten distracted by the line of time share salesmen offering "Free Rides" to the hotels in exchange for 4 hours of your vacation time later in the week. There's nothing more frustrating than getting off a plane and sitting on a bus for an hour waiting to get to the beach because the driver won't just LEAVE. This has happened every time we've booked the transfers through Apple Vacations.
I only have 90 minutes left in the month and this is only the 2nd post of June. Oh how I slack. We went on vacation though, so I'm allowed. June 7-14 we were at the Barcelo Tropical in Riviera Maya. Good times and good relaxation. (Pics are on Steph's phone and haven't been retrieved yet.) On Friday night just before we left Steph's driver's side rear window was smashed in a robbery attempt in Cherry Creek, so we started off the vacation somewhat poorly. (They took her loose change and that's it.) Fortunately our luck changed when we left for Mexico.
We got to the airport early enough for breakfast, so we sat and ordered food off the kids' menu so they'd be full and Steph and I picked off theirs. 10 min after the food had come out the manager walked out with another identical order...oops. He was shocked to see empty plates already at the table, but kindly left us the extra food for free. The flight to Mexico was uneventful, as was the transfer to the hotel*, and then we checked in. Steph asked nicely if we could have a room close-ish to the pool and they obliged, putting us in a suite for no extra charge instead of a regular room like we'd booked. Sweet. This came with a bottle of champagne and a fruit plate. Alrighty!
So we headed to the beach. On the way down the stairs we passed an older couple who told us they were leaving in the morning and had left an inner tube and an air mattress by a tree if we wanted to snag them. More free stuff! So we grabbed the air mattress, then went for a walk on the beach. As we were walking and enjoying the sand a little girl and her mom walked up with a bag full of sand toys. They were leaving in the morning as well, and would we like a bunch of sand toys for the week? Sure, thanks!
That was all day 1. The rest of the trip was great, with less overtly free stuff. It was all-inclusive, so everything felt free. The kids had a blast and The Bean took huge leaps with her swimming. She didn't like to let go of mom either, which put the kibosh on the plan that the kids go to the Kids Club a couple hours a day so Steph and I could relax a bit. Oh well. I have to remember that even though I got into this for Steph the kids are #1 for her, which is as it should be.
We're getting our alone time now though. The kids are with their dad in Illinois for 12 days and we're celebrating by re-doing the kitchen countertops. More on that later, when pics are available...
*We're never taking an Apple Vacations transfer again. We waited an hour for "2 more people!" who had been on our flight and must have gotten distracted by the line of time share salesmen offering "Free Rides" to the hotels in exchange for 4 hours of your vacation time later in the week. There's nothing more frustrating than getting off a plane and sitting on a bus for an hour waiting to get to the beach because the driver won't just LEAVE. This has happened every time we've booked the transfers through Apple Vacations.
Monday, June 1, 2009
29?
According to the calendar I have aged another year. 365 days until I'm 30. That's bizarre.
I guess I knew I was growing older last week. We saw the NIN/JA (Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction) tour on 5/26 and it occurred to me that I'm just not the target demographic anymore for much of NIN's music. Don't get me wrong...they're great live. But a gorgeous teen-angsty post-breakup ballad like "Something I Can Never Have*" doesn't have quite the same emotional punch when you're standing next to someone you're madly in love with. Songs about bleakness and the world falling apart don't quite fit a happy life full of joy and contentment. It's a small trade-off, but I definitely recognized that my life has moved on past some of the music I enjoy very much.
In another sign of aging, I'm quite happy to see green grass popping up in my front yard. The new sprinkler is doing its thing and the grass seed we put down has started coming in. The "baby grasses" are being monitored daily by The Bean and are up to 3" in places now. Hopefully by the time we get back from our week in Mexico it will be nicely established. (It's a bit patchy, but we're hoping that it will fill in, given some time and water.) Then we'll have to figure out why the hot tub mysteriously quit working when the sprinklers were put in. I'm afraid it may have something to do with the control box being put in the ground right where the electrical cable ran through. That's a problem for another day though.
*Sample lyrics:
I still recall the taste of your tears.
Echoing your voice just like the ringing in my ears.
My favorite dreams of you still wash ashore.
Scraping through my head 'till I don't want to sleep anymore.
I guess I knew I was growing older last week. We saw the NIN/JA (Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction) tour on 5/26 and it occurred to me that I'm just not the target demographic anymore for much of NIN's music. Don't get me wrong...they're great live. But a gorgeous teen-angsty post-breakup ballad like "Something I Can Never Have*" doesn't have quite the same emotional punch when you're standing next to someone you're madly in love with. Songs about bleakness and the world falling apart don't quite fit a happy life full of joy and contentment. It's a small trade-off, but I definitely recognized that my life has moved on past some of the music I enjoy very much.
In another sign of aging, I'm quite happy to see green grass popping up in my front yard. The new sprinkler is doing its thing and the grass seed we put down has started coming in. The "baby grasses" are being monitored daily by The Bean and are up to 3" in places now. Hopefully by the time we get back from our week in Mexico it will be nicely established. (It's a bit patchy, but we're hoping that it will fill in, given some time and water.) Then we'll have to figure out why the hot tub mysteriously quit working when the sprinklers were put in. I'm afraid it may have something to do with the control box being put in the ground right where the electrical cable ran through. That's a problem for another day though.
*Sample lyrics:
I still recall the taste of your tears.
Echoing your voice just like the ringing in my ears.
My favorite dreams of you still wash ashore.
Scraping through my head 'till I don't want to sleep anymore.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Dorothy, I think we're back in Kansas.
Last weekend I spent the weekend in Kansas with Mr. K, my Uncle Tod, cousin Alex, Tim, Erin, and my mom. The trip had been planned for awhile for Tim, Erin, and my mom, but the recent death of my great-great-aunt Dorothy brought Tod and Alex out from Seattle, so Mr. K and I picked them up at the airport and went out as well.
My relationship with my mom's family has always been a bit odd. Her parents refused to attend her wedding, since it was in a Catholic church, and things between them and my parents have been a bit strained for my whole life. We spent almost every Thanksgiving at Grandma Billie and Grandad Rex's house in McPherson, but mostly I hung out with my cousins and Tod and left the older folks alone. Rex and Billie were there, but somehow I have more positive memories of "Aunt" Dorothy and her sister "Mom-mo" Lynn (my great grandma) than my grandparents.
So that's the backstory. Aunt Dorothy is gone now, so we spent the weekend visiting the remaining relatives. First up was Mom-Mo Lynn. She's somewhere around 95, and has the Life Force that Eddie Izzard speaks of: "I'm a gran, I live forever!" She lives on her own, goes to church on Sunday, and sells Avon in her spare time. She was also heavily involved in my mom's upbringing, so has a special place in her heart. We were they for quite awhile on Sunday and went to church with her. Once back at her house we fixed her lamps. Apparently her power had been out that morning and she had panicked until the neighbor came over to find the tripped breaker. Good thing it tripped too- the 2 lamps in her living room were running on ancient cords that were frayed to the point of arcing and melting the power strip into which they were plugged. Tripped breaker= no housefire. So that's kind of scary actually. But we hit Home Depot and got some new plugs, cut the wires, and made it all safe again.
Then it was off to Mom-mo Bernese's for a quick visit. She's Grandad Rex's mom and has opted to turn her thermostat up to 90 instead of just moving to Florida, so we didn't last long there. Actually I spent most of that visit outside with Mr. K and Alex so they wouldn't melt.
Then we headed to Grandma Billie's. Grandad Rex died last year and I didn't make it to the funeral- Steph was in the middle of chemo and it wasn't a good time to get away. So it's just Billie now, living on her own. Somehow, in her early 70's, she appears about 5 years older than her mother. She's been tiny my whole life, <5' tall and <100 lbs. She has also spent her life smoking and drinking, has experienced 2 or 3 strokes (that we know of), and lives in a 3-story house that used to house a family of 5. After Grandad died my Aunt Terri got her a new boxer, so she has a dog that weighs as much as she does to keep her company.
It was kind of a scary visit really. My grandma should not be living alone. She fell several times when we were there and needed help standing back up. There were several empty wine boxes lying around. (After your 3rd stroke, why stop drinking, eh?) Her left hand is frozen and useless and her ankle is swollen unnaturally. She can't walk on it. There's a room in the basement that was full of junk when I was a kid, now less cluttered with 1/2 the junk, but the room has a water leak from somewhere above and a pool of mold in the corner under it. Tod mentioned that the pipe above had been leaking, I looked up, and gee, it's still wet! Oops. The box I moved underneath fell apart on contact and we immediately stopped touching things in there. Needs professional attention.
The real excitement was when Grandma decided that we would be allowed to clean out the freezer in the basement. This turned into more of a challenge than was originally apparent. When Tod first opened it the door didn't budge until considerable force was applied. There were 5 shelves in the freezer, of varying degrees of fullness. There was also a layer of ice on everything. I have never seen such freezer burn and I hope I never do again. There were pork chops in there that were grey after 7 years in the freezer.* There were 3 tins full of collector's coins, in their protective sleeves. There were things that were not to be chipped out of the 5" of ice covering them- they went straight to the trash on the curb like that. We spent 1.5-2 hours in the basement breaking out food, chipping ice, melting ice, and mopping the floors. The freezer ended up clean though.
We ended Sunday at Tod's cousin Brandon's house. (I can't figure out the name for how he's related to me...he's the son of my Grandpa's brother...) The kids hit the pool at the Holiday Inn Express that evening, slept, then it was Memorial Day. We stopped by Grandma's on the way out of town, partly so my mom and Tod could talk to her about moving closer to somebody, or at least seeing a doctor. She refused to consider either.
So we came home, and the car trips are for another post I guess. The whole weekend was pretty overwhelming. It's hard on my mom to see her relatives looking so old and frail, but Mom-mo is 95 and Billie refuses help, so there's not much to be done. All in all it was a good trip for me to have made, from a duty-to-family standpoint, but I can't say I'll be rushing back anytime soon.
As a side note, Mr. K was an absolutely perfectly behaved and patient kid almost the whole trip. Probably did better than when I went to my grandma's. I bought him Lego Indiana Jones as a reward. Hooray for new games!
*Grandad Rex meticulously labeled things, so there were dates on everything. It was kind of scarier that way.
My relationship with my mom's family has always been a bit odd. Her parents refused to attend her wedding, since it was in a Catholic church, and things between them and my parents have been a bit strained for my whole life. We spent almost every Thanksgiving at Grandma Billie and Grandad Rex's house in McPherson, but mostly I hung out with my cousins and Tod and left the older folks alone. Rex and Billie were there, but somehow I have more positive memories of "Aunt" Dorothy and her sister "Mom-mo" Lynn (my great grandma) than my grandparents.
So that's the backstory. Aunt Dorothy is gone now, so we spent the weekend visiting the remaining relatives. First up was Mom-Mo Lynn. She's somewhere around 95, and has the Life Force that Eddie Izzard speaks of: "I'm a gran, I live forever!" She lives on her own, goes to church on Sunday, and sells Avon in her spare time. She was also heavily involved in my mom's upbringing, so has a special place in her heart. We were they for quite awhile on Sunday and went to church with her. Once back at her house we fixed her lamps. Apparently her power had been out that morning and she had panicked until the neighbor came over to find the tripped breaker. Good thing it tripped too- the 2 lamps in her living room were running on ancient cords that were frayed to the point of arcing and melting the power strip into which they were plugged. Tripped breaker= no housefire. So that's kind of scary actually. But we hit Home Depot and got some new plugs, cut the wires, and made it all safe again.
Then it was off to Mom-mo Bernese's for a quick visit. She's Grandad Rex's mom and has opted to turn her thermostat up to 90 instead of just moving to Florida, so we didn't last long there. Actually I spent most of that visit outside with Mr. K and Alex so they wouldn't melt.
Then we headed to Grandma Billie's. Grandad Rex died last year and I didn't make it to the funeral- Steph was in the middle of chemo and it wasn't a good time to get away. So it's just Billie now, living on her own. Somehow, in her early 70's, she appears about 5 years older than her mother. She's been tiny my whole life, <5' tall and <100 lbs. She has also spent her life smoking and drinking, has experienced 2 or 3 strokes (that we know of), and lives in a 3-story house that used to house a family of 5. After Grandad died my Aunt Terri got her a new boxer, so she has a dog that weighs as much as she does to keep her company.
It was kind of a scary visit really. My grandma should not be living alone. She fell several times when we were there and needed help standing back up. There were several empty wine boxes lying around. (After your 3rd stroke, why stop drinking, eh?) Her left hand is frozen and useless and her ankle is swollen unnaturally. She can't walk on it. There's a room in the basement that was full of junk when I was a kid, now less cluttered with 1/2 the junk, but the room has a water leak from somewhere above and a pool of mold in the corner under it. Tod mentioned that the pipe above had been leaking, I looked up, and gee, it's still wet! Oops. The box I moved underneath fell apart on contact and we immediately stopped touching things in there. Needs professional attention.
The real excitement was when Grandma decided that we would be allowed to clean out the freezer in the basement. This turned into more of a challenge than was originally apparent. When Tod first opened it the door didn't budge until considerable force was applied. There were 5 shelves in the freezer, of varying degrees of fullness. There was also a layer of ice on everything. I have never seen such freezer burn and I hope I never do again. There were pork chops in there that were grey after 7 years in the freezer.* There were 3 tins full of collector's coins, in their protective sleeves. There were things that were not to be chipped out of the 5" of ice covering them- they went straight to the trash on the curb like that. We spent 1.5-2 hours in the basement breaking out food, chipping ice, melting ice, and mopping the floors. The freezer ended up clean though.
We ended Sunday at Tod's cousin Brandon's house. (I can't figure out the name for how he's related to me...he's the son of my Grandpa's brother...) The kids hit the pool at the Holiday Inn Express that evening, slept, then it was Memorial Day. We stopped by Grandma's on the way out of town, partly so my mom and Tod could talk to her about moving closer to somebody, or at least seeing a doctor. She refused to consider either.
So we came home, and the car trips are for another post I guess. The whole weekend was pretty overwhelming. It's hard on my mom to see her relatives looking so old and frail, but Mom-mo is 95 and Billie refuses help, so there's not much to be done. All in all it was a good trip for me to have made, from a duty-to-family standpoint, but I can't say I'll be rushing back anytime soon.
As a side note, Mr. K was an absolutely perfectly behaved and patient kid almost the whole trip. Probably did better than when I went to my grandma's. I bought him Lego Indiana Jones as a reward. Hooray for new games!
*Grandad Rex meticulously labeled things, so there were dates on everything. It was kind of scarier that way.
Friday, May 22, 2009
An Ominous Smorgasbord
(^^Currently the only usage of the phrase "Ominous Smorgasbord" on the interwebs!^^)
Today the Bean had a Smorgasbord at daycare. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but they wanted to call something a smorgasbord, so they did. We were practicing saying this yesterday and we somehow started combining it with the other word certain members of the family have a hard time pronouncing, Ominous. So we decided the Bean was having an Ominous Smorgasbord and practiced saying it 3 times fast. Try it. If nothing else you'll sound goofy.
So this morning we were headed to school and the kids decided I was the school bus teacher. Not the driver, the teacher. Just go with it. They started telling me about the pet tiger they have at home, an apparently well-trained beast who won't bite. Mostly. The Bean says he knows the commands Sit, Stay, and Eat Bad Guys. Quite the talented tiger, eh?
Speaking of pets at home...we almost lost Obi last Sunday. One of the folks who installed our sprinklers last Saturday apparently wandered through the gate on the North side of the house and left it unlatched. Sometime last Saturday night or early Sunday morning Obi went for a walk. Steph woke me up at 6:45 a bit concerned that she couldn't locate our dog. We discovered the open gate and hit the streets. We drove a bit yelling out our windows, Steph hit the dog park, then we came home and Steph started putting up signs while I went down to Standley Lake. It's only 3 blocks South of us and would be a good place for a doggy on the run to go for a stroll. I walked towards the campers and started talking to people, seeing if anyone had seen a stray dog run through. The first 2 guys I met had not, but took my number in case they ran across him. As I was walking towards the 3rd group of people eating breakfast, I saw a shape move under the next camper. A quick "Obi! Come!" and my dog popped out and ran right over to me, looking as happy to see me as I was to see him.
So all is well. The gate now has a board screwed in place over it, since we never use it anyway. Also we now have an idea where Obi might go, were he to get out again. Luckily the kids were at their dad's house when this all happened, so we just kept it quiet that Obi was almost lost. Whew.
Tomorrow I drive to Kansas for my great-great-aunt's funeral. Mr. K has opted to go with me, since he's never been to Kansas and wants to see what it's like. We're going to try to make this fun! We're driving with Tod and Alex and we'll be staying w/ Tim, Erin, and my mom, so it should be a good time. Hooray for long weekends!
Today the Bean had a Smorgasbord at daycare. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but they wanted to call something a smorgasbord, so they did. We were practicing saying this yesterday and we somehow started combining it with the other word certain members of the family have a hard time pronouncing, Ominous. So we decided the Bean was having an Ominous Smorgasbord and practiced saying it 3 times fast. Try it. If nothing else you'll sound goofy.
So this morning we were headed to school and the kids decided I was the school bus teacher. Not the driver, the teacher. Just go with it. They started telling me about the pet tiger they have at home, an apparently well-trained beast who won't bite. Mostly. The Bean says he knows the commands Sit, Stay, and Eat Bad Guys. Quite the talented tiger, eh?
Speaking of pets at home...we almost lost Obi last Sunday. One of the folks who installed our sprinklers last Saturday apparently wandered through the gate on the North side of the house and left it unlatched. Sometime last Saturday night or early Sunday morning Obi went for a walk. Steph woke me up at 6:45 a bit concerned that she couldn't locate our dog. We discovered the open gate and hit the streets. We drove a bit yelling out our windows, Steph hit the dog park, then we came home and Steph started putting up signs while I went down to Standley Lake. It's only 3 blocks South of us and would be a good place for a doggy on the run to go for a stroll. I walked towards the campers and started talking to people, seeing if anyone had seen a stray dog run through. The first 2 guys I met had not, but took my number in case they ran across him. As I was walking towards the 3rd group of people eating breakfast, I saw a shape move under the next camper. A quick "Obi! Come!" and my dog popped out and ran right over to me, looking as happy to see me as I was to see him.
So all is well. The gate now has a board screwed in place over it, since we never use it anyway. Also we now have an idea where Obi might go, were he to get out again. Luckily the kids were at their dad's house when this all happened, so we just kept it quiet that Obi was almost lost. Whew.
Tomorrow I drive to Kansas for my great-great-aunt's funeral. Mr. K has opted to go with me, since he's never been to Kansas and wants to see what it's like. We're going to try to make this fun! We're driving with Tod and Alex and we'll be staying w/ Tim, Erin, and my mom, so it should be a good time. Hooray for long weekends!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Rainbirds live in my yard
Today I had a sprinkler system installed. Exciting, eh? We are hopeful that by the end of the season we will have something growing in our yard. To that end we put down some topsoil, fertilizer, and grass seed today. In the next 3-4 weeks we will try to grow some seeds. If it doesn't work we may end up sodding in the next year or 2. For now we are hopeful that regularly scheduled computer-generated waterings will inspire growth more than the haphazard distracted watering schedule employed last summer.
Yesterday was another entertaining day in my life as a stepdad. We went to The Bean's spring program at her daycare and afterward I had promised to take her home for the day. When we were in her classroom, one of her best friend's moms was saying goodbye, leaving for the afternoon to move things into their new home. We have been trying to schedule a playdate for awhile, so Steph offered that she could come over and play at our house instead of hanging out at daycare for the afternoon. This was a generous offer, considering Steph was headed back to work, and it was going to be just me at home. I'm flexible though, and 10 min later I was headed home with 2 4-year old girls to hang out for an afternoon.
It was a nice afternoon...the plumbing guy came out and ran the line for the sprinkler, we made chocolate chip cookies, met the FedEx guy who brought an envelope full of Mexican pesos for our trip*, watched The Little Mermaid, and the girls got in the hot tub for a bit. Quite an eventful 4 hours. Steph called probably 6 times to check in, wishing desperately that she was home hanging out w/ us instead of at work. The 4th or 5th time she called I pointed out that I had 2 cute blondes in my hot tub and fresh cookies in the oven. Life doesn't get much better than that!
Today I took Mr. K to see Star Trek. He loved it and asked ever-so-innocently when it was over if there were more Star Trek movies or books or anything we could get for more Star Trek fun. This could be fun!
*The FedEx envelope specifically states that it is not to be used for the shipment of "cash or cash equivalent." Should I turn in Wells Fargo for apparently making this a business practice?
Yesterday was another entertaining day in my life as a stepdad. We went to The Bean's spring program at her daycare and afterward I had promised to take her home for the day. When we were in her classroom, one of her best friend's moms was saying goodbye, leaving for the afternoon to move things into their new home. We have been trying to schedule a playdate for awhile, so Steph offered that she could come over and play at our house instead of hanging out at daycare for the afternoon. This was a generous offer, considering Steph was headed back to work, and it was going to be just me at home. I'm flexible though, and 10 min later I was headed home with 2 4-year old girls to hang out for an afternoon.
It was a nice afternoon...the plumbing guy came out and ran the line for the sprinkler, we made chocolate chip cookies, met the FedEx guy who brought an envelope full of Mexican pesos for our trip*, watched The Little Mermaid, and the girls got in the hot tub for a bit. Quite an eventful 4 hours. Steph called probably 6 times to check in, wishing desperately that she was home hanging out w/ us instead of at work. The 4th or 5th time she called I pointed out that I had 2 cute blondes in my hot tub and fresh cookies in the oven. Life doesn't get much better than that!
Today I took Mr. K to see Star Trek. He loved it and asked ever-so-innocently when it was over if there were more Star Trek movies or books or anything we could get for more Star Trek fun. This could be fun!
*The FedEx envelope specifically states that it is not to be used for the shipment of "cash or cash equivalent." Should I turn in Wells Fargo for apparently making this a business practice?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Project finished!
It's over! The kids' bathroom is now a much nicer place to be. I hope the pictures reflect that adequately.
First, here's the view looking into the room. The Before pic is on the left, clearly displaying the horrid vinyl flooring which was probably installed when the house was built in 1985. Also you can see a touch of the yellow color on the walls, added by the prior homeowners and, we're guessing, picked by their 4-year-old girl. It's the only explanation. The After pic is on the right obviously...the tile behind the shower curtain hasn't changed, but I didn't quite replicate this pic exactly. Oh well.
Looking closer, this is the Before vs. After paint color. See a difference? What amazed us was how much the new paint changed the look of the tile in the shower. With the dingy yellow paint it looked like an off-tan pukey color that needed to be replaced. Once the new paint was in place, the tile looks greyish and not bad at all.
Also in this pic you can see the trim we replaced. It's dark brown now to match the vanity under the sink. I think it ties the room together nicely and makes the whole thing cozier, but that may be biased. Also you can see more of the new floor- I don't know why the bottom right corner of the pic looks that red. It's not like that in real life.
This is looking back towards the door. I love how the paint and reworked trim color go together, especially compared to the Before pic. The yellow with the light trim just didn't do anything for the space.
And now a word on the floor, since this pic has more visible than the others. We hated the old stuff. It was like a rejected 70's dorm bathroom floor sample. The pic doesn't do its horridity justice. The new stuff is porcelain 20x20 tiles picked up at our local tile place down the street (A World of Tile). We love the color and it has a nice subtle texture to it under the toes.
And just because I have to mention it...the floor grate on the left was replaced to better match the room. Almost everything else in the room was a brushed silver, and the new grate looks much nicer. You can't see it in the pics, but the tile around the grate is solid...I managed to cut a perfectly sized (4"x10.5") rectangle out of the center of the tile using only the $88 tile saw from Lowe's. That cut alone took the better part of 2 hours, but it was totally worth it.
So that's my first major home-ownin' renovation! I'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out. There's only a 2-week gap from the Before pics to the Afters. Like Steph says, I may not have gotten much else done in the last couple weekends (laundry, cleaning, etc.) but the stuff I did get done will make a difference for a whole lot longer. (And yes Matthew, there are contractors who do this kind of thing, but this was totally worth doing myself!)
First, here's the view looking into the room. The Before pic is on the left, clearly displaying the horrid vinyl flooring which was probably installed when the house was built in 1985. Also you can see a touch of the yellow color on the walls, added by the prior homeowners and, we're guessing, picked by their 4-year-old girl. It's the only explanation. The After pic is on the right obviously...the tile behind the shower curtain hasn't changed, but I didn't quite replicate this pic exactly. Oh well.
Looking closer, this is the Before vs. After paint color. See a difference? What amazed us was how much the new paint changed the look of the tile in the shower. With the dingy yellow paint it looked like an off-tan pukey color that needed to be replaced. Once the new paint was in place, the tile looks greyish and not bad at all.
Also in this pic you can see the trim we replaced. It's dark brown now to match the vanity under the sink. I think it ties the room together nicely and makes the whole thing cozier, but that may be biased. Also you can see more of the new floor- I don't know why the bottom right corner of the pic looks that red. It's not like that in real life.
This is looking back towards the door. I love how the paint and reworked trim color go together, especially compared to the Before pic. The yellow with the light trim just didn't do anything for the space.
And now a word on the floor, since this pic has more visible than the others. We hated the old stuff. It was like a rejected 70's dorm bathroom floor sample. The pic doesn't do its horridity justice. The new stuff is porcelain 20x20 tiles picked up at our local tile place down the street (A World of Tile). We love the color and it has a nice subtle texture to it under the toes.
And just because I have to mention it...the floor grate on the left was replaced to better match the room. Almost everything else in the room was a brushed silver, and the new grate looks much nicer. You can't see it in the pics, but the tile around the grate is solid...I managed to cut a perfectly sized (4"x10.5") rectangle out of the center of the tile using only the $88 tile saw from Lowe's. That cut alone took the better part of 2 hours, but it was totally worth it.
So that's my first major home-ownin' renovation! I'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out. There's only a 2-week gap from the Before pics to the Afters. Like Steph says, I may not have gotten much else done in the last couple weekends (laundry, cleaning, etc.) but the stuff I did get done will make a difference for a whole lot longer. (And yes Matthew, there are contractors who do this kind of thing, but this was totally worth doing myself!)
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