We had one of those pleasant surprises kind of days for Labor Day weekend.
We had gone to the regional waterpark Saturday, for what we figured would pretty much be our Labor Day holiday, because we really had no plans, had not even invited anyone to come to our house.
And then we went to church and some of our old friends who now live in Georgia had come up to the ward to visit. Will give this family the code name "Can't Get it to Move". They had come back to visit on a whim, more or less. So we invited them to our house, only they had already promised their kids they were going to stay in a hotel (with all the exciting things that kids love about hotels). So we invited them to come swimming and to have a BBQ Labor Day afternoon. They accepted.
At church, two of the wives who had been great friends, but now lived in Texas and North Carolina had also come up to visit TN for the holiday as well. So we invited them too. We will also give the code name "Ouch" and "Walk in Water".
Then our some of other friends code name A-A convinced our friends down in Alabama (code name: sharp teeth) that they couldn't pass up this chance for a reunion so they drove up in the morning, and suddenly we had a remarkable labor day holiday brewing. We invited a few other families who knew the Georgia family well.
After a short swim with all the kids that seemed to trigger the ire of one of the other homeowners at the pool (But we checked the rules later, and I think we were within the rules), we got to inaugurate the use of our grill. For me, it was a profoundly gratifying experience to be together again with so many of the families that had spent great summer nights in our old back yard.
As it also shows you just how Southern we are now. Friends from 'Bama, Texas, Georgia, Carolina all fixin' to get together for some 'Q.
Hopefully AM or JP will add some pictures of all the kids.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
More thoughts on the old house
Our house was first the first real thing I have sold. Sure we sold our Geo Metro twice, once for $1 and once for $60, but I never sold back my textbook at college, or things on eBay, or such. So all my negotiating skills came from playing the Bean game. (Kind of thought this is why you have a real estate agent, but that turned out not to be the case.)
Some of the things I miss the most about our old home is the completely fenced back yard, the gorgeous front yard, and the booth in the dining room. I wonder if we will ever again have the big backyard parties that we once had.
We dropped off a key we still had to the new owners this week and I saw that the crepe myrtle bush I planted last year finally had its first blooms. Broke my heart. Ever since we went to Asheville and the gardens at the Biltmore Mansion, I have wanted to have dark red crepe myrtles. And I almost did....
Dismantled the playhouse this weekend. The new owners didn't want it. It breaks my heart that I don't have a yard that I could move it to as I had hoped. But it disassembled nicely, just as I had designed it to do when I build so many years ago with the thought that it would move with us if we ever did. I have most of the parts, so maybe something can rise from the ashes. It was the first major thing that I ever build. (Maybe the only major thing that I ever built.) In truth, I probably used it much more than JA, since it was a nice quiet place to sit outside with somewhat few bugs than usual because of the screening. Some of my most favorite memories of it are sleeping out there last winter during the week that we had the huge snowstorm, sitting in it on multiple times during massive rain and lightning storms, and having my monthly interviews with the kids on Fast Sunday out there.
Some of the DYI projects besides the playhouse we did on the house in the time we lived there:
Replaced the main water line because of extremely low water pressure. This involved digging it up with a trenching machine.
Repaired the hot water line that started leaking under the house when full water pressure was restored.
Replaced the faulty water pressure regulator under the house to keep the water pressure in the proper range (and may have been the reason we had low water pressure originally).
Built a catwalk system and storage space in the attic.
Blew in another foot of insulation in the attic.
Installed insulation under the master bedroom.
Installed turtle vents to improve airflow in the attic and thus reduce AC bills.
Reroofed the house (after the tree fell on the house.) (With lots of help and supervision of two highly qualified contractor/roofers.)
While reroofing, removed old gables/vents and installed ridge vent, which significantly improved airflow and reduced opportunity for roof to leak.
Installed new soffit vents on the front of the house to improve airflow.
Replaced the garbage disposal.
Repainted all the shutters and the door a new color (green), which we thought made the whole house look a lot more attractive.
After the tree fell down, we almost completely redid the front yard walk, getting it aligned with the front door in the way I had always wanted it to be, but couldn't because the tree was in the way. This is when we planted a lot of new shrubs and flowers.
Replaced the shower handles in the master bedroom.
Built planter box garden.
Replaced the kitchen sink faucet that was leaking.
Rebuilt the area under the sink that was damaged by the leaking faucet.
Replaced the outside faucet.
Repainted all the wooden benches and walls for the back patio. We painted over all the beautiful flowers the kids had painted on the inside sections of the walls.
Retiled and regrouted the backsplash for the sink. (Actually regrouted twice, once with brown grout that didn't really match the rest of the area and the second time with the old green grout that matched.)
Repaired soffit area at front of the house that was damaged overtime by water leaking from around the gutter.
Major appliances we had to replace after we moved (how can things work fine when you live in the house and then break down when you leave?):
Water heater.
Refrigerator.
Some of the things I miss the most about our old home is the completely fenced back yard, the gorgeous front yard, and the booth in the dining room. I wonder if we will ever again have the big backyard parties that we once had.
We dropped off a key we still had to the new owners this week and I saw that the crepe myrtle bush I planted last year finally had its first blooms. Broke my heart. Ever since we went to Asheville and the gardens at the Biltmore Mansion, I have wanted to have dark red crepe myrtles. And I almost did....
Dismantled the playhouse this weekend. The new owners didn't want it. It breaks my heart that I don't have a yard that I could move it to as I had hoped. But it disassembled nicely, just as I had designed it to do when I build so many years ago with the thought that it would move with us if we ever did. I have most of the parts, so maybe something can rise from the ashes. It was the first major thing that I ever build. (Maybe the only major thing that I ever built.) In truth, I probably used it much more than JA, since it was a nice quiet place to sit outside with somewhat few bugs than usual because of the screening. Some of my most favorite memories of it are sleeping out there last winter during the week that we had the huge snowstorm, sitting in it on multiple times during massive rain and lightning storms, and having my monthly interviews with the kids on Fast Sunday out there.
Some of the DYI projects besides the playhouse we did on the house in the time we lived there:
Replaced the main water line because of extremely low water pressure. This involved digging it up with a trenching machine.
Repaired the hot water line that started leaking under the house when full water pressure was restored.
Replaced the faulty water pressure regulator under the house to keep the water pressure in the proper range (and may have been the reason we had low water pressure originally).
Built a catwalk system and storage space in the attic.
Blew in another foot of insulation in the attic.
Installed insulation under the master bedroom.
Installed turtle vents to improve airflow in the attic and thus reduce AC bills.
Reroofed the house (after the tree fell on the house.) (With lots of help and supervision of two highly qualified contractor/roofers.)
While reroofing, removed old gables/vents and installed ridge vent, which significantly improved airflow and reduced opportunity for roof to leak.
Installed new soffit vents on the front of the house to improve airflow.
Replaced the garbage disposal.
Repainted all the shutters and the door a new color (green), which we thought made the whole house look a lot more attractive.
After the tree fell down, we almost completely redid the front yard walk, getting it aligned with the front door in the way I had always wanted it to be, but couldn't because the tree was in the way. This is when we planted a lot of new shrubs and flowers.
Replaced the shower handles in the master bedroom.
Built planter box garden.
Replaced the kitchen sink faucet that was leaking.
Rebuilt the area under the sink that was damaged by the leaking faucet.
Replaced the outside faucet.
Repainted all the wooden benches and walls for the back patio. We painted over all the beautiful flowers the kids had painted on the inside sections of the walls.
Retiled and regrouted the backsplash for the sink. (Actually regrouted twice, once with brown grout that didn't really match the rest of the area and the second time with the old green grout that matched.)
Repaired soffit area at front of the house that was damaged overtime by water leaking from around the gutter.
Major appliances we had to replace after we moved (how can things work fine when you live in the house and then break down when you leave?):
Water heater.
Refrigerator.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Locks of Love
BEFORE
AFTER
EM finally got her haircut. She was very nervous, but able to endure through it all while I cut her hair. I told her that her hair will go to make wigs for someone in need of hair.
SOLD!!!!
Our house is finally sold. One less house to worry about and also only one mortgage to pay.
Monday, August 16, 2010
An interesting thought on flooding
One of the key predicted effects of climate change is the increase in extreme weather events, such as extreme rain falls and extreme droughts. You could think of this as having a bit of a lead foot on the weather accelerator. This NY Times article highlights how such changes may have contributed (not cause mind you, simply contributed) to our flooding.
At a scientific discussion group on global warming, the guest speaker made the statement that if current models are at least somewhat accurate, then in about ten years the effects of climate change should move far enough away from the noise that its fingerprint would no longer be very controversial. Unfortunately for us, that might mean a millennial flood becomes a century flood and this year's suffocating record heat may have to be suffered through more frequently.
At a scientific discussion group on global warming, the guest speaker made the statement that if current models are at least somewhat accurate, then in about ten years the effects of climate change should move far enough away from the noise that its fingerprint would no longer be very controversial. Unfortunately for us, that might mean a millennial flood becomes a century flood and this year's suffocating record heat may have to be suffered through more frequently.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Chihuly Nights
Retirement of our Old T.V.
AM's older brother gave this television to her when she was a freshman in college and plus we have kept it for 18 years of our marriage. We had it for a long time and it serves it purpose. It gave us a chance to get up and down when we have to change the channels. No remote control but it was a color T.V.