Thursday, September 30, 2010

Monday, Monday ... so good to me

Today I received a call from our contractor informing us that they want to drop off tools at our house tomorrow and start our siding replacement project on Monday! This is much sooner than we expected, so I have a LOT of work to do Saturday to get ready.

I will be very glad to get this work done. The siding on our house now has been painted twice and is beyond painting again because it is literally spongy and crumbling. I am looking forward to having a (nearly) maintenance free exterior.

The second time we had our house exterior painted we hired our neighbor Ron Trobaugh to do the work. I still remember that the day he started painting he called me at work to ask if I was really sure I wanted to go ahead with such a bright yellow color. When I drove home to look I confess I was startled at just how bright the yellow paint looked on the house; it didn't appear to be that bright on the color chip. I told him to go ahead because I knew that over time the yellow would fade to a less bright shade. Sure enough, in a couple of years the color was much closer to what we wanted.

While I like the current color of our house, unfortunately yellow really shows dirt. The siding we have now is permanently stained from water that has run off the dark roof shingles. The new siding that has a color fast guarantee and will be replaced at no charge if the color fades. And the Cypress color should do a much better job of hiding dirt and grime.

It will be strange to change house colors after nearly twenty years. I wonder how many times I will drive past the house because my brain is looking for yellow.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Parting is such sweet sorrow ...

Brian came by tonight for what may be the last time before he and Laura move to California on October 1. I have mixed feelings … sorry to see them go and at the same time excited for them to have this opportunity. This has come together very quickly for them. But they are pretty much ready to go and already found a place to live in Santa Monica. I do not envy them the drive from Des Moines to California.

As a missionary, I served for a short time in Orange County, California. One of the refugee families I helped resettle lived in Santa Monica. I remember being overwhelmed by the crowded area and congested roads. But I also remember great weather and fabulous people. I think anywhere you live has advantages and disadvantages. And, as always, what you experience is more about what is inside you than what is around you.

I am reading a wonderful book written by Harold Kushner, “When All You’ve Wanted Isn’t Enough.” He gives an example of a man who was so concerned about “moving up” and “winning” in his profession that he became dissatisfied, jealous, and lonely. But a significant change took place, resulting in the man becoming happy, loving, and caring. And what was the change? Kushner writes, “Nothing around him has changed but something inside him has changed, and he can look forward to his remaining years … as being productive and satisfying ones.”

The inside change is, I’m convinced, the biggest factor in how we experience life. I’m not so naïve as to think that there aren’t selfish, bad people in the world. And I am certainly aware that terrible things happen. But we are here to act and not to be acted upon by our circumstances or surroundings. When we have no choice or control about the things that happen to us, we always have a choice about how we view those things and respond to them.

Good luck, Brian and Laura. May you travel safely and enjoy the next stage of your life in a new place.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Rain in Spain falls Mainly in Des Moines

It is raining today – again. This is certainly in keeping with the wetter-than-normal summer we have experienced this year. Remember 1993, the year of the terrible flooding, when it rained practically every day all spring and summer? This year isn’t quite that bad, but it certainly has that feel. According to the official state records, 2010 “ranks as the 19th warmest and 2nd wettest summer among 138 years of records.” http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/climatology/weatherSummary.asp

Last year we replaced two basement window wells with an improved design to eliminate the problem we had of the drain pipe backing up and leaking water through the window into the basement. Now there is no longer a drain pipe in the window wells and we have a much better seal around the windows. This week we replaced the third and final window well. So we shouldn’t see that problem again.

Fall is a funny time for weather in Iowa. Yesterday we ran the air conditioner as the house heated up in the afternoon. Today we are running the furnace because it is quite chilly today. Summer is definitely waning and it won’t be long before we are shoveling snow. I hope we get the siding installed and the deck boards put back on before the snow starts to fall!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Calling and Selection ... Are You Sure?

Recently Bishop Helton pulled me aside in the hall at church. With Jay, you can never tell if he is going to talk basketball, ask about the family, or extend a church calling. In this case, it was door number three. He informed me that he planned to extend a particular calling in the near future.

I waited for several weeks without hearing any more, but wasn’t concerned because I know that sometimes these things take time. Then a couple of weeks ago the bishop’s secretary called to ask me to meet with Bishop Helton. I thought this was to make things official for the call Jay had mentioned, but was surprised to learn that the bishop had something else in mind for me. He explained that some changes in the stake and ward caused him to rethink the original assignment and instead extend a call to teach the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School.

I was substitute teacher for this class recently and did not suspect at the time that the lesson I taught that day was a warm-up for teaching each week. This year the course of study is the Old Testament. I am taking over as we begin to study the record of Isaiah.

I have read the Old Testament several times and know what a challenge it can be to digest and understand the writings of the prophets. I am looking forward to the challenge and hope Bishop Helton’s confidence in me is not misplaced.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

All hands on ... deck?

When stepping out our back door, one must be very careful. Why? Because the deck boards are off waiting for new siding to be installed.

Here is the view of what used to be our deck. I have the new top boards in the garage, but won't install them until the new siding is in place.


Just a trim, please

This is why Brenda doesn't like me to trim trees ... and why I wait until she is gone to do so!









Madame Butterfly

Brenda and I have been feeding two caterpillars for a few weeks. They grew from tiny spots to large specimens a couple of inches long. The day before we left for Utah, I told Brenda I would have to let the caterpillars loose because we wouldn't be home to feed them. But the next morning I was surprised to find they both were spinning coccoons.

I hoped they would keep until Brenda returned this weekend. But this morning I noticed the chrysalises turned a dark color. And when I came home for lunch today I found two butterflies in the container.

I put them outside so they could dry their wings in the slight breeze and managed to get some photos before they flew away. Brenda, here are your Monarch butterflies!



















Especially for Emily

At my advanced age I still play basketball. It is one of the few forms of exercise I enjoy and I find that it is good not only for my body, but also for clearing my mind and reducing stress.

But sometimes it isn't good for my toes. Recently a player who jumped high for a rebound landed hard on my toe. As soon as I got home I was quite certain I would lose my nail. Sure enough, my nail detached from the base and filled with fluid. I drained my toe several time over the next few days until finally I got some relief when the nail came off.

My daughter in law, Emily, is rather squeamish about toe trauma. So I dedicate these photos to her! :)











New (cough, cough) bathrooms

Today I had a contractor refinish the tub and shower in our bathrooms. This completes the remodeling work in those rooms I started two and a half years ago. Hey, I may not be good but at least I’m slow! When this work is finished tomorrow, our bathrooms will be the nicest rooms in the house.

I decided on refinishing because it is much faster and only a fraction of the cost of tearing out the old fixtures and replacing them with new ones. As an added bonus, the color now matches the new toilets. I am pleased with the result; it looks like a page out of “Better Bathrooms and Gardens.”

One downside is the pungent odor from the bonding and refinishing agents used. It was good to have this work done while Brenda was away. Otherwise, the smell undoubtedly would have triggered a migraine headache or a bout of asthma. Currently I have doors and windows open (and am wearing a sweatshirt) with floor fans running to circulate the air and hopefully exhaust the fumes as quickly as possible. Tara is sneezing to let me know she is not pleased. But she is welcome to spend some time in the back yard barking at the backhoe that is demolishing the condominium complex behind us. This is the building that burned so fiercely a few weeks ago. Almost half the building came down yesterday and it appears that in a day or two it will be entirely razed. I’m glad I’m finishing up, not starting over.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Progress?

Not all progress is good.

Today I had a new furnace installed. It is about half the size of the old furnace and far more efficient. Over time, it will certainly pay for itself. So our utility bill will be lower, I have greater peace of mind because I won’t worry losing heat in the middle of a blizzard, and the installation went smoothly. Perfect, right?

Not exactly. A new programmable thermostat came with the furnace, so this was also installed. I like my old thermostat. I had misgivings when I was given a 24 page instruction booklet for the new thermostat. 24 pages! I don’t think I even had an instruction booklet for my old thermostat. I didn’t need one because there were only three switches – one to turn the fan on or have it come on automatically; a second one to activate the furnace or air conditioner; and a third to change the temperature setting. These three switches did everything I wanted and the thermostat was intuitive and simple to use.

With the new thermostat there are all kinds of settings … time, date, temperature settings for morning, day and night, more settings for weekdays and weekends, a setting to override the programmed settings (either temporarily or permanently) and allow manual adjustments, system settings to allow the temperature to control the furnace or air conditioner, a recovery mode indicator (whatever that means), a low battery indicator, and probably more.

I haven’t figured out how to use this new thermostat. I’m not sure I want to. I’m not even sure I can. I want my old thermostat back.

Monday, September 13, 2010

While the cat's away ...

This mouse is playing. Well, okay, working. Brenda is in Utah visiting most of our children and all of our grandchildren. I was the chauffeur and drove her there over the long Labor Day weekend. Since returning home the day after the Monday holiday I have been trying to accomplish many things on my “to do” list before she comes home.

For example, I have arranged for companies and contractors to come in and do some long-needed work on the house. Today one fellow installed a new lock on our sliding patio door. We considered installing a new door, but in the end I decided refurbishing our good Andersen door made better sense than trading down to a newer, but probably less well-built, door. After more parts come in, he will be back to replace rollers and a weather seal. Our door will be like new, but at a fraction of the price.

Tomorrow I will be inundated with workers. In the morning I am having a new high efficiency furnace installed. For the last three years I have been “warned” by service technicians to think about replacing our furnace before it gave up the ghost. Because it kept working, I held off. But the tax credit available this year is a tremendous incentive to upgrade. My next door neighbor, Steve, will inherit our furnace for his shop. He’s been looking for one since his quit working and I’m happy to let him have ours … he’s helped us in so very many ways.

After work I’m meeting with the company that replaced two of our three basement window wells last spring when we had trouble with water backing up and coming into the basement through the window. We have one more window well to replace on the north side of the house and I want to get this done before new siding is installed.

I also have an electrician coming over in the evening to install several GFI receptacles, add a switchbox in our downstairs storage room, and bring some amateur wiring up to code. This man is a member of our ward who previously has helped us with electrical work. Each time he refused to accept payment and suggested I make a donation to the ward in the amount I would have paid him. I told him I wouldn’t have him do any more work for me unless he would be paid for it. He just smiled, so I’m not sure what to expect.

I scheduled some work in our bathrooms for Thursday and Friday. Over the years our tub has been chipped in several places as a result of items being dropped during showers. Also, a few years ago the handrail in the side first became loose and then came out entirely, damaging the tub surround in the process. In the other bathroom, our shower has several holes along the edges where the glass shower door once was attached. I’m replacing the shower door, which always leaked and I could never keep clean (I really HATE bathroom mildew and mold!), with a shower curtain. So the chips and holes need to be repaired, then both tub and shower will be refinished. I am also having installed a large, heavy duty hand rail to help Brenda get in and out of the tub safely.

Now, it sounds like I am hiring all my chores done and not doing any actual work myself. This is not all that far from the truth, but I am doing SOME work on my own. Last weekend I mounted my ladder and with trusty reciprocating saw in hand trimmed many branches from the tree in our front yard and from two trees in back. This is especially important to do while Brenda is gone, because we have different definitions of what “trim” means. Actually, it was pretty clear how much needed to be done because I have to get overgrown branches away from the house and roof before new siding and gutters are installed next month. We had reached the point where our fierce storms caused branches to scrape our walls, windows, and roof, and where gutters in front and back regularly became clogged with falling leaves and twigs. I didn’t cut away as much as I thought should be done, but probably took more than Brenda would have allowed. Still, I think the trees look better. Once Brenda gets over the initial shock, I think she will agree.

Finally, I braved the basement long enough to move boxes from the guest room and set up our old bed. Now I have a cool place for naps in the heat of the summer. When Brenda comes home we will work on sorting through all the boxes to see how much stuff we DON’T need anymore. There is still a lot of work to be done to recover from the flood earlier this year, but we are making (slow) progress. Like I always taught my children, I'm not as worried about velocity as I am direction. Someday we'll get the basement put back together.