Ian the Musician

Ian played tin whistle and sang at the Spring concert for school. He has learned "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Hot Cross Buns," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

He would sit at the kitchen table with his music in front of him to practice. It finally occurred to me to get him a music stand! I gave him one for his birthday.

He definitely has talent for music. He even sings on key! Better than I can do!

It's a Sad Day

Colin has loved these boots like no one has ever loved an inanimate object before (they smelled from him wearing them without socks over and over). Steph has a penchant for throwing things away. She unceremoniously tossed them in the garbage today. Hopefully, Colin will not suffer some sort of separation anxiety because of it!

I have to say that it was weird seeing them in the trash but perhaps it's for the best. You could kinda see a day coming where Colin would still be wearing them long after they stopped fitting - the front of the boots cut open, his toes sticking out, his feet hideously deformed from wearing them too long... sometimes ya gotta let go.

I just hope he doesn't become an astronaut. He'll be lost without Mickey Mouse on the moon. (You can't see it in this picture but they're Mickey Mouse boots.)

I'm a Granddad!

Captain T-Rex Messy Face with his first born.





"Bay-Bee!"

Rumble Down Under

The day after my friend Chris and I played a couple of hotly contested games of RISK, Ian saw the box and wanted to play. I quickly thought up a simplified version of the long strategy contest that involved conquering Australia. We would evenly divide up Asia (12 regions in all) and place a neutral army in Australia. The first person to gain control of the continent would win. I called it the "Rumble Down Unda".

Ian attacked me fiercely on his first turn and, although outnumbered significantly, defeated one of my two major forces. My second force was formidable, and close to the border with Australia. But he eventually conquered Australia and won the game!

The only help I gave him was to clarify the rules and, toward the end, point out to him just how close he was to occupying all of the Land Down Under.

A legit' win his first time out...incredible!





Most of the way through the game. Ian knew enough to bring a sizeable force into Western Australia to take the last remaining neutral army and to protect his northern border at the same time.





Why wouldn't he be happy? Well done.

More Signs of Spring

It really feels like Spring now! Flowers are blooming, the grass is in, and the rumble of motorcycles coming to life can be heard... That's right motorcycles in the plural. Hey, John - the convertible's finally finished.

Kitchen Remodel

They say that there are two rooms that sell a house: The kitchen and the bathroom. The rest, after all, are just rooms. You can furnish them with whatever you like. You can easily change the wall color. In fact, as long as they are of reasonable size, anything can be done. The two crucial rooms, however, are more important to the buyer's opinion of the house.




I remodeled the bathroom and it was a major improvement. The kitchen, however, has always had a few features that detracted from its appearance (I'm not even counting the hideous bright yellow countertop and the unwieldy and stained cast iron sink that was in place when I moved here - I replaced those early on with a stainless steel sink and fresh countertop) . Firstly, the long, dated, flourescent fixture that was the only source of light in the room (one bulb was out and, furthermore, the fact that it was in the center of the ceiling put the dishwashing area in shadow while you worked - a significant problem in the winter months when ambient light is non-existent). It was ugly. Secondly, the ceiling was dinghy and stained and did not reflect much light. Finally, there was a hodgepodge of decorations and refrigerator ornaments that had accumulated over the years, the kind that you don't notice as they grow in number from gifts and the purchases of things you think you need.

It is a small kitchen and you have to be careful what you put in to it! There's only so much room.

We got a free incandescent fixture from Terri who was updating part of her house. This was a major improvement right off. Over the break I repainted the entire kitchen, cleaned, and installed a light (by far the hardest part was getting the wire from A to B) in the archway over the sink. At the last minute I thought of using a dimmer instead of a standard switch to control the light above the sink. Good call. We now use it as a night light. It's working out great and the kitchen looks a lot better.








Routing the wire to the archway.







I eliminated a wall jack for the phone. A wall repair was necessary.








Finalizing the wiring.









A blurry shot of the installed light. It is dimmed down in this picture. The finish is brushed nickel and matches the stainless steel sink exactly. At higher settings, it illuminates all of the sink area making it easier to see what you are doing while washing dishes or preparing food on the counter. The fresh paint brightens the room as well!

Success!