Handymen We Are Not

Ever since we had our little outdoor closet or shed built on the side of our house, I have been meaning to get out there and add a tier of shelves on one end wall. Saturday seemed the perfect day: not too hot, not too cold, and nothing of importance planned. 

I first cleaned out all the boxes, pails, bottles, and whatsits, swept it well, and then I started planning the layout. I envisioned buckets on the floor, a shelf, then tubs of yard chemicals, another shelf, bags of fertilizers, another shelf, small bottles and cans, another shelf, and misc at the top. I sketched, measured, did the math, measured and marked the walls, and thought through the problem areas. With a list of lengths, I went to Home Depot and chose the lumber, awkwardly trying to muscle a 10 ft long 2x4 AND a 12 ft long pine board to the power saw all by myself. Someone finally rescued me. I asked to have the pieces cut to size, which they did. 

The Professor was relieved to hear that he didn't have to do the cutting, because, well, power saws just aren't his friends.

So far, so good. Nothing I couldn't handle yet.

I eagerly got out the hammer, nails, screws, power screwdriver, the level, and several other tools. I even thought to drive the nails part way through the first 2x4 shelf support, to make the final hammering easier. Soon I was frustrated that the nails bent, the 2x4 slid, and I couldn't get any space to swing the hammer no matter which position I stood. So I pulled the nails out. 

Then I thought screws might work better. But I stripped the heads on those just as they got within an inch of being driven in completely. So I took the screws out. The Professor tried too, but he did just as I did. There may or may not have been a few bad words scattered in here. There were definitely bad thoughts, and grumping, and a bit of head-scratching.

Next we decided that what we really needed was a nail gun. We went back to Home Depot to find one, but all we found were a few tools that spit out tiny brads, nothing that is long enough to go through a 2x4. Hummpf. 

I was determined to conquer this. My only other thought was to hire someone to install the shelves but that seemed utterly ridiculous. Next I thought I would try installing the shelf support on the opposite side, the one going into 2x4 only, rather than 2x4 and then hardboard siding. Finally, I had success. I bent only one nail! Yay!

From there it was reasonably smooth sailing to pounding and even at appropriate times, toe-nailing, the support pieces in place. We found drilling a starter hole in the siding helped when necessary.

 A few final details and it was near-dark and time to get the last shelves loaded.

 DONE! Just don't look too closely at the supports please.

It Must Be Fall

 The Professor and I took a quick trip up to the mountains today because our favorite apple orchard opened for U-Pick apples this weekend. 

We ate a few, we picked a few, and ate and picked some more. Mostly, we picked Rome Beauties, but we also got a few other varieties.

Home again, I made a fresh apple pie for after dinner.

ICK!

So Adie got into poison ivy last week, somehow, somewhere. Her face is quite decorated.

Happy Mother's Day!

Our house was party-central to celebrate Mother's Day yesterday. The men all got together and made lunch for the moms: grilled burgers and dogs and assorted sides. 

Jared stood in the pouring rain to grill, while Luke and Patrick couldn't resist a perfectly good rainstorm to get soggy-wet and do a little puddle splashing. After all, they did wear their wellies to church in the morning.

I enjoyed having my family with me on this special day. I also enjoyed the greens and whites of the gardenias gracing the center of the table. I'm so glad that gardenias bloom in May!

A few days after Mother's Day I got a special Mother's Day card from Luke and Patrick. They had given their answers to the following fill-in-the-blank statements:
My Nana is 22 years old.
My Nana weighs 2,000 pounds.
My Nana's favorite color is green (P); orange (L).
My Nana's favorite food is cake.
My Nana always says "Do a project".
My Nana cooks the best cake.
My Nana's job is to unload the dishwasher and work at church.
My Nana and I like to ride in Nana's car (P); play hide in secret (L).
I LOVE my Nana because she does fun stuff. 

And I LOVE my two grandsons because they are the sweetest, best boys in the world! 

Happy Birthday

...to me!

Anniversary Trip

The Professor decided it was high time we celebrated our anniversary with a little getaway. The problem is, that seems to be a popular thing to do around Valentine's Day. After we decided on Savannah, he searched online for a hotel, but they were all booked for most of February. Eventually he found a little place, if we were willing to begin our stay on a Sunday. That seemed a little odd, but we decided to go with it.

We stayed at a delightful little inn called East Bay Inn, right in the middle of the historic district. Once we arrived and parked the car, we didn't get back in it until we left for home three days later!

We also visited and photographed ourselves in all 22 squares,
we walked about 15 miles,
we climbed to the top of Tybee Lighthouse, we ate lots of seafood,
we toured four historic homes,
we admired lots of historic architecture,
we enjoyed a special dinner at The Olde Pink House,
we danced in Reynolds Square late one night,
and we explored two old forts.

Building at Church

I helped our Facilities Manager build shelves in a closet at church. First we covered the studs with sheathing, and then we built a stack of six deep shelves at one end. Finally, we installed a closet rod with a shelf above it.

This is an improvement to a pair of closets, each about 10 feet long, in the gym. We plan to store costumes, props, and other theatrical supplies for the childrens' Sunday School program in the closets.

Still to go: more stacked shelving at the far end of the second closet.

I Survived

I'm going up in this tiny toy plane?

Immediately after David landed on Saturday and collected his congratulations from his instructor and us, he offered to take us up for a flight. The Professor excitedly said, "Yes!", while I hesitated and seriously thought about staying on terra firma to be the official photographer. But as I considered, I realized that I would come to regret my decision. There is only one chance to be the very first passenger in my son's flying career, right?

So I cautiously said yes too, and soon I was buckled into the front seat next to David. I got a set of earphones and gulped as we taxied out of the parking space and headed toward those crisscrossing strips of concrete. Past the air control tower the plane did an odd sideways skitter; I was certain there was obviously some sort of mechanical failure and we must head back. But no, David smiled and said, "This plane does that; it even did it when the FAA test pilot was in the plane."

David chattered with the tower and suddenly we were in the air. All was smooth, but very steep, at first, and then we hit air bumps. Not fun air bumps. I hate air bumps. More and more and I was quite scared (I hate that falling feeling). David offered to go back but he also assured me that once we were at altitude the air would be smooth. I white-knuckled it as I tried to take a few pictures and suddenly it really was smooth.

And then it was fun. We flew north over Lake Allatoona and east over the northern suburbs, past the interstate, to Lake Lanier. When we spotted a regatta of sailboats David said he would go down for a closer look. That was a mistake because we hit air bumps again. So we went back up.

Eventually, of course, we had to come back down, and that meant more bumps. Our house is directly under the airport approach, and I was too scared to look out the window to see it. I just clutched the edge of my seat and stared at a red handle imbedded in the floor.

Near the runway again I could relax because we weren't that high. I said, "It's ok now because we could actually jump from here." We actually couldn't, but thinking so made me calmer. Our landing was one of the smoothest I've ever experienced.

Brazilian Steakhouse

The Professor recently bought a couple of dinner-for-four Groupon deals at a Brazilian steakhouse. (Gotta love Groupon!) We thought it would make two nice evenings out with our daughters.

We invited Greta and Daniel for the first deal. They had never been to a Brazilian steakhouse so it was fun to introduce them to the concept. Daniel, especially, enjoyed the long parade of skewered meats offered. He also loved the baked bananas offered as a side dish. We kept asking for refills! Greta filled up very quickly so she didn't sample as many meats. This particular steakhouse wasn't as high-class as some are. The salad bar, for example, wasn't as extensive and the decor wasn't as elegant as some we have been to. (we recommend skipping the potatoes on the salad bar. They were not good at all.) But it was a nice intro to the concept. And it was a very enjoyable evening with our grown up daughter and son-in-law.

Busy Day at Church

We woke up today knowing that our day would be very full.

Today was the inauguration of the "new room" at church, the room to yet be properly named, the room some are calling the overflow room. (That sounds so much like leftovers or something unwanted. Surely we can think of a better name than that!)

Ready for worship today

I worked 30 hours this past Monday to Thursday, helping to get the room ready for worship today. Others put in many more hours too. We started with a bare room, then built some wall extensions, patched and painted, then painted some more (that seems to sum up my life this year). I sanded the water-damaged ceiling, helped hang lights, I ironed 18 curtains and hemmed 10 of them; I helped hang curtain rods and I even helped hang the TV's. Then I "built" shrubs from greens and added Christmas decorations.

In process: the painting is finished and the carpet is being installed

So this morning I felt responsible to make sure all the details were in order in the new room. I am also the unofficial candle-lighter in the sanctuary for the Christmas season, and that takes a bit of time to complete. I also rounded up help to move the fake trees from downstairs to the "new room". That was all before church began.

After church, we stayed to help set up for a Christmas dinner in the gym this evening. I was put in charge of setting and decorating the tables. We had 32(!) tables filling the gym. All the decorations coordinated; they did not match. We used what we had, and we used up almost all the remaining bits and pieces of Christmas decor the church owns.
The starting point for the centerpieces was a tall glass candleholder and greens or florals in sprays coming off the center candle. Below are a few of the pieces we put together.

Everything was stored in large bins in the small closet off the sanctuary. We trollied the bins downstairs to the gym after church, built the centerpieces, then tore the florals apart again after the dinner and returned the pieces to the bins. I got help to trolly the bins back to the closet off the sanctuary. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

We arrived home ready to put our feet up!

The Vacation That Wasn't

The Professor and I were planning and looking forward to a vacation in Florida this week: warm sun, beaches, snorkeling, exploring The Keys, seafood restaurants.

Then a transmission went out, the second one this year. There went the vacation fund! So we planned an alternative vacation, one where we would enjoy the local sights and eateries we hadn't had the chance to get to yet. We began collecting as many Groupon deals, half-off coupons, and "freebies" as we could find, and researching local places of interest. We even put together a vacation binder.

The weekend arrived, and The Professor's two-week-old respiratory virus didn't seem to be improving. Then I got sick with a completely different mystery illness. When we felt better we journeyed out to a couple of quick, local places. And The Professor still sounded bad.

Today, I insisted he see the doctor, who pronounced him sick with pneumonia.

So our vacation has become a stay-at-home hospital with yummy treats of antibiotics. Oh, and Diet Coke - to soothe the fevered brow.

The Last Shuttle Launch

We finally made it! We saw the shuttle launch, the very last one there will ever be. We made it to Cocoa Beach/Canaveral Beach by 6:00 am, and waited patiently for 1) the clouds to clear, and 2) the actual launch scheduled for 11:30. #1 never happened. #2 did, about two minutes late. It was very exciting, even though we had to watch it play peek-a-boo with the clouds.

The glowing cone shows just above the distant buildings.

High up in the clouds, it will soon disappear from our view. We couldn't see the separation stage.

Dennis and Wendy had flown out for a quick vacation, and they met up with us at our house a couple of days before we left for Florida. We all drove down together and we had a wonderful time with them. We spent the rest of the weekend traveling up the coast. I'll tell more about in in the next post.

Shuttle or No?

Our attempt at viewing the next-to-last shuttle launch last week didn't pan out, but we had fun in Florida anyway. The Professor and I drove down on Thursday (and saw a tornado-damaged area on the way).

The next day we made it all the way to a quiet spot on Cocoa Beach before we heard that the launch was canceled.
Oh well. Our walk on the beach was fun and the day was beautiful. The next morning we enjoyed a picnic on the beach before heading home.

My New Job

My "Office"

I'm the third family member to get a new job recently: I started in March. I'm working about five hours a week at church, as assistant to the Childrens' Ministries director. My responsibilities are varied, but first the backstory.

Four years ago, our church started a new Sunday School program for Pre-K through grade 5. It takes hours of prep for our 100 students; too much work to expect volunteer teachers to accomplish during the week, and then teach their class on Sunday morning. Our director wisely asked a team of ladies to stay late on Sunday afternoons to help do the preps for the following Sunday. I am part of that team. As time went on, we saw that there was still a lot of work to be done (some weeks needing more time than others), so two years ago I volunteered to get a headstart on it and work during the second hour of church in preliminary preps. Then in March I was hired to do even more of the work.

Now, my duties for the paid portion of my work include:

• Make photocopies of worksheets, memory verses, teaching aids, and craft projects
• Laminate, cut apart, and punch memory verse cards
• Make sample crafts so teachers know how they are to go together
• Color in some of the b/w photocopies to add a little color to hold interest
• Measure and cut yarn or string for crafts (and other time-consuming preps)
• Cut out crafts projects for the youngest children
• Shop for elements needed for crafts
• Hunt up props for the Bible stories
• Keep the colored pencils sharpened
• Keep the tape dispensers filled
• Redo the file system in my spare time
• Make new file folders
• Refile unused supplies for the next go-round
• Process all unsolicited donations: decide if we want it then file it, or dispose of it
• Keep the resource room clean and orderly

For the Easter season, I have a few added responsibilities:

• Bake 14 dozen palm branch cookies
• Design a paper lamb centerpiece for children to recreate
• Solicit free paint stirrers from Home Depot
• Make a "palm branch" sample craft for children to copy
• Find a source for inexpensive hot cross buns without the fruit

There is probably more too, but I can't think of it right now.

It's a fun job that I enjoy. I like the varied activities I do, and I like the opportunity to use my creativity. I also like to be able to clean out and purge!

It Takes Two to Tango!

"Slow, slow, quick, quick" -- various permutations of those words echo through my mind throughout the week. My beautiful bride and I are taking ballroom dancing lessons. We started in February and are now in our second month of Thursday night group lessons. Our instructor is a young lady from Bulgaria. Although she is no older than her thirties, if that, she will sometimes refer to us 50+ year olds as her children.

Foxtrot, waltz, tango, and a few others are the dances we've been learning. It is fun but definitely challenging. It is one thing to learn the sequence of steps in my mind, but quite another to get my "legs to remember" each step. It reminds me when I first learned to ride a bicycle; it was very unnatural at first. We need to practice more during the week, so sometimes we practice in our cramped spaces at home. We are looking forward to warmer weather to practice on our large patio.

Nana's Helpers

Luke and Patrick wondered what Nana was doing: poking sticks into an orange? They wanted to help, of course. But they couldn't get those little cloves into the skin, so they sprinkled the cloves across the table. What helpers!

Poison Ivy

So, it turns out I have poison ivy. In December. It's all over my right cheek, under my chin, up to my eye, across my neck, and into my ear. Inside. Waaay inside my ear. So I'm quite red and hot. I threatened to paint green spots on the left side of my face to be Christmasy. What do you think?

A Happy Saturday

1. Breakfast at Douceur de France

2. Hiking at Leita Thompson Park
3. Dinner at Olive Garden (we haven't been there in years!)

Fall in the Mountains

The Professor and I set out this morning with plans to "do something fun", but we didn't know what it would be. We headed north because north is where the fall color is, and eventually we thought of Brasstown Bald in the mountains.

We wound up the steep mountains, enjoying the beautiful colors, sparkling against the sunny sky. At Brasstown Bald we had a choice of hiking the 1/2 mile to the visitor center at the top of the mountain, or taking the shuttle. Not feeling particularly lazy today, we opted for the very steep hike. We saw more color that way.
We heard rumors that someone famous was also hiking today.
If you go, you can skip the movie in the theater. Take our word for it.

Later, as the afternoon waned, we looked for someplace interesting to eat dinner. We stopped at an apple orchard, but they only had a deli. Next to the deli I spied a tourist brochure rack, where a riverside restaurant was advertised. Off we went, following the brochure's directions. On and on we drove, deeper into the forest. It was beginning to look a little hopeless, when suddenly we saw cars parked all over both sides of the narrow road. It must be trailhead parking, I thought, but no, there was a a funky old mountain building on the side of the road. It turned out to be a very good restaurant specializing in mountain trout. Sadly, it was beginning to get dark and cold, so we didn't sit on the deck overlooking the river. Next time maybe.

Apple Picking

The Professor and I drove up to the mountains on Saturday to check out the "Apple Highway", and perhaps buy a bag of apples. We hadn't been up there for over 10 years, so we really didn't know what to expect.

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny fall day. At the first orchard, we bought a half-bushel of Rome Beauty apples so I could make applesauce. At the second orchard we bought a bag of Stayman Winesap apples, just for eating. After that, we decided to stop at every orchard along the highway, and buy something different at each one. Soon we had tried apple cider doughnuts, fried apple pies, dried cinnamon apples, and many varieties of fresh pressed cider.

At BJ Reece Orchards we saw a sign for picking apples. How fun! Soon we were roaming the hillsides, picking a few of one variety here and a few of another variety there, until we had our full weight of 10 pounds.On Sunday I baked an apple pie, and on Monday I turned the Rome Beauty apples into 10 pints of unsweetened applesauce.