Saturday night was the big costume party. Tom loves it and spends hours, literally hours getting ready. He had gone to the local costume store to get face paint and wig and other accessories. he told me he ran into several people picking up fancy costumes for the evening. I had gone to the thrift store and found a cute little outfit for $6, a blingie slinky rock star outfit in silver. I don't do gory or gross. At the party I was accused of not having a costume, the sparkle dress was almost ordinary for a costume party.
I hid from Tom for most of the day while he stresses over his rig, which consists of a hunch back and pillow under a black hood and cape, under a Santa robe. He puts a pig nose on with a Santa Beard and wig, calling himself the conflicted Santa. He paints his face all freakish and nasty. Thank goodness the costume is so hot and sweaty, I know he will be ditching it at some point during the evening. Under Santa is the pig from Animal Farm. I ignore him, sitting at the bar by myself, until the costumes are ditched, leaving most of the clothes in the coat room. He goes around snorting at everyone and creeping everyone out. He loves being unrecognizable.
Others come in elaborate costumes. Our host and hostess are dressed from the black swan. She looks gorgeous as a ballerina. Her husband has a mask and cape. There is a phantom of the opera and the whole cast of Gilligan's Island, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Maid Marian and Robin Hood, a few clowns, Las Vegas show girls wander the room. Mickey and Minny Mouse make an appearance, Steve Jobs attended from the dead unblemished. A few wall flies hang at the bar with no costumes. They came up just to see the fun. The DJ and his assistant are dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Adams. The music is fun from Thriller to Hotel California.
It is standing room only and the dance floor is packed. Once Tom ditches the freakish attire I can dance with him. We spin and spin until the end of the night. We are one of the last to leave having been one of the first to arrive. We came in after the dinner crowd. Arriving at seven. Tom left the Beaver game before it was over, but the writing was on the wall for that game. He didn't need to torture himself watching it.
One nice thing about dancing the night away is, no hang over. I wasn't sitting drinking too much at the bar. Every time Tom and I got up to dance my drink was cleared away. I was drinking the Patron again. It is a slow sipping drink. I don't think I quite finished any one glass before we would dance again. By the end of the night I was drinking Shirley Temples and coffee. Too much coffee, as I couldn't sleep well once we got home. I should have been exhausted. It was after 1:00 am, when we pulled into the driveway.
My girlfriend came over to help me with the house on Sunday. Tom was home which made it difficult as he was underfoot where we wanted to work, his man cave. I have finally caved in on the furniture and blew my dream budget away buying new furniture, not used. I picked up a black leather couch set; love seat, chair, and couch, with coordinated 10 x 12 foot rug to keep the new furniture from scratching the floors, plus a couple of coordinated rugs for the exterior doors to the room. I pulled two matching credenzas out of the garage, with the help of my girlfriend, which had been left from the previous owners. Tom joked that those old pieces were the most expensive because we had to buy the house to get them.
The boys had just brought up the futon from the basement on Saturday. I had the boys switch the futon frame with the antique bed frame in the basement. The antique spool bed is probably over two hundred years old. I hadn't had it set up because I wanted it safe, but I need the futon upstairs. Having seen the futon in place in the game room, I realized I need to just get the right furniture for the space, a real couch and chair. Of course Tom wanted a recliner built in to the couch, but not only was that really much more expensive, but they are ugly and heavy, and we are just two women in a mini van.
I remember removing the nasty hide a bed with mice nest, from that room when we first moved in. Those kind of furniture are monstrous heavy. More than I wanted to deal with. One person can sleep on this sofa just fine. We did it when visiting my sister in NY. She had us sleep on her leather couches. It was just right.
The boys had to move the futon again, from the game room to the sitting room facing the kitchen. I called and had them do it before we arrived with the couches. We made two trips to get the couch set home, tying the biggest one to the roof of the minivan, with bungi cords. Tom got the boys to work moving the futon again. I got to miss the running commentary I knew would go with the moving of the futon, having had the boys just bring it up from the basement earlier. None of this furniture is light or easy to maneuver.
We bought sticky backed felt for the bottom of all the furniture to help prevent scratching the floors. For 99 cents, a pack of eight pads can save years of scratched floors, a cheap investment.
I may say that I blew my budget, but I was truly trying to low ball some furniture. Now I have exactly what I wanted, all of it, including rugs, for $1200, which is still much less than what I thought I might have to pay. Tom would still like a poker table. I could bring up the round one from downstairs, temporarily, at least to see how a table would look in the space. With the three piece couch set and the pool table, things are looking good in the man cave. I have to say I think I have an eye and good taste. I bought stuff in a classic style that 15 years from now will still be appropriate. I wont get tired of them, like that perfect little black dress.
The color of course is black for the orange and black theme Tom will eventually create with his accessories. I still have to pick up a futon mattress. One store had them, but I am hoping to get one with a cover I like in a price I like, still looking for the deal.
The weekend was crammed packed again and there is still more to do. I did have a note in my e-mail this morning. I have an interview for a job for the holidays in a week. I am going to see about getting an interview outfit and check out the location. I am all a twitter.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Waiting up
Trevor is at the last Varsity game performing in the band. I wait up for the call to come pick him up. The weather was pouring rain and cold. I opted not to attend. This is a big crowded local game. Seats will be at a premium. I am sure there is someone other than me who would appreciate the oportunity to freeze in the wet cold more than I would.
Trev has his new phone with him. A couple of glitches needed to be dealt with. The fourth phone has been my mother in laws, but she never used it. the service for the fourth phone comes up in her name. Trevor called a friend on his new cell and was told Grandma's name appeared on their caller ID. I tried to fix it on line but was unable to receive e mail to get a log in code for our service. I called and found out the e mail was going to Tom instead of to mine. Got that problem fixed at the same time as getting Trevor's name on the account and Grandma's name off the account.
I also got instructions for setting up voice mail. I had started the voice mail, but it didn't thrill Trev to have his mother's voice announcing to his friends that they had reached Trevor's phone. He wanted to get that fixed also, with his own message, but he needed to do it himself on the phone itself. I took notes for him. When he gets back from the game he can fix it.
Coming home from school on the bus, today, the children passed a pick up truck wrapped around a tree. The neighbor children were worried, as the truck looked like their sister's car. They came over to use our phone as they are all cell phones at their house and these two didn't have one. They called their mom to find out it was their sister. Her breaks had gone out. In order not to go careening into the intersection she had turned into the pole. In hind sight it was a good choice, rather than involve others in a wreck.
The truck is parked on the street across from us with the drivers side all dented in. The only draw back is that the utility company has been out to replace the pole. She made a mess of it with wires down and the pole splintered. The workers have brought out a back hoe to dig a new pole into the ground. She will probably be billed for all the damages and repair costs. They have been there all evening six hours and counting, replacing the pole. The pole next to the one she hit had a transformer on it. She probably would have taken out the power to the whole neighborhood.
The whole accident makes me even more leery about letting my teenagers drive. I am hopeful the accident also made an impression on my boys. I wonder what it will do to the neighbor's auto insurance.
Having no gas to the house also points out our own limitations if we did lose power; No heat, no ability to cook, no fire place. This is the first house that we would not be able to self sustain for a while if we lost power. All the more reason to bring in gas or put in a fire place. We will get one eventually, Tom and I are too much survivalists not to be prepared for bad weather and being trapped up here on our hill. Even if I just pick up a camp stove and some propane tanks in the mean time as a back up plan.
Trev has his new phone with him. A couple of glitches needed to be dealt with. The fourth phone has been my mother in laws, but she never used it. the service for the fourth phone comes up in her name. Trevor called a friend on his new cell and was told Grandma's name appeared on their caller ID. I tried to fix it on line but was unable to receive e mail to get a log in code for our service. I called and found out the e mail was going to Tom instead of to mine. Got that problem fixed at the same time as getting Trevor's name on the account and Grandma's name off the account.
I also got instructions for setting up voice mail. I had started the voice mail, but it didn't thrill Trev to have his mother's voice announcing to his friends that they had reached Trevor's phone. He wanted to get that fixed also, with his own message, but he needed to do it himself on the phone itself. I took notes for him. When he gets back from the game he can fix it.
Coming home from school on the bus, today, the children passed a pick up truck wrapped around a tree. The neighbor children were worried, as the truck looked like their sister's car. They came over to use our phone as they are all cell phones at their house and these two didn't have one. They called their mom to find out it was their sister. Her breaks had gone out. In order not to go careening into the intersection she had turned into the pole. In hind sight it was a good choice, rather than involve others in a wreck.
The truck is parked on the street across from us with the drivers side all dented in. The only draw back is that the utility company has been out to replace the pole. She made a mess of it with wires down and the pole splintered. The workers have brought out a back hoe to dig a new pole into the ground. She will probably be billed for all the damages and repair costs. They have been there all evening six hours and counting, replacing the pole. The pole next to the one she hit had a transformer on it. She probably would have taken out the power to the whole neighborhood.
The whole accident makes me even more leery about letting my teenagers drive. I am hopeful the accident also made an impression on my boys. I wonder what it will do to the neighbor's auto insurance.
Having no gas to the house also points out our own limitations if we did lose power; No heat, no ability to cook, no fire place. This is the first house that we would not be able to self sustain for a while if we lost power. All the more reason to bring in gas or put in a fire place. We will get one eventually, Tom and I are too much survivalists not to be prepared for bad weather and being trapped up here on our hill. Even if I just pick up a camp stove and some propane tanks in the mean time as a back up plan.
Numbers
October, 2011, It has been cold and clear, and I mean really cold. It will be a great snow year if this continues and we get some moisture. I pulled Riley out of school at 12:45 pm to do the drive into see the specialist. Riley was hungry. I never argue, much, when Riley is hungry. To keep him in a good mood we stopped at DQ in town. We wait for his order, which they mistake. He orders a classic club and they make him a classic cheese burger. He has them re make it and they do it again. I am in the car waiting to go by this time. I run to the door of the small restaurant to tell Riley we are out of time, we must hit the road. I am worried about traffic. The cashier gives Riley a coupon for a free lunch to take with him and the burger, which didn't even have cheese on it this time. Riley said the lack of cheese was because I rushed them. What ever, next time we get lunch at the other end so I am not stressed about traffic.
Turns out to be a breeze. By the time we reach the hospital we are way ahead of schedule. No traffic issues at all. Riley stops at the lab for the blood work and then I make him come to the cafeteria so I can eat something. I order a great shrimp and veggie roll in rice paper wrap and peanut sauce dip, delicious. Once finished I toss my tray in the garbage along with my cell phone. We take the elevator upstairs to check in at which point I realize I am missing my cell and the last place I saw it was on my tray. I knew right away what I had done, race back to the elevators and head back to the cafeteria, leaving Riley to wait for the appointment.
Luckily we had been a mid afternoon lunch. The garbage had been emptied after lunch and was only half full. I ask one of the cleaning staff to dial my number, but we are deep in the bowls of the hospital and I had no service. I just had to dig. I grabbed a few plates and had to go down a foot into the garbage before I found my phone sitting on the sushi tray from my shrimp wrap. It was unharmed by liquids or the discourteous treatment it had received. I thanked the cleaning crew who offered to help.
I rode the elevator back up to the clinic waiting room, only to find Riley had been called in. I hurried through the doors to locate him. The doctor was already with him, in the room , waiting patiently. We were over an hour early and he knows our pattern of being early, so he fit us in. Its that blood draw. I like to get the blood draw done with enough time so when we see the doctor he has the numbers to discuss, with out waiting around for the numbers to come back from the lab.
The numbers were back. Not so good this time. They had fallen off in one month.
Whites down from 4.13 to 3.9
Red cell 3.84 down from 4.5
Hemoglobin 12.0 down from 13.9 (concerning, this is the one Tom watches)
Hematocrit 34.7 down from 40.3
platelets 137 down from 177 (SH*%)
neutrophils 2.1 from 2.33
six exclamations of change to the negative. We had been so stoked last month at our great numbers. The doctor says at first he wants to see Riley back in a month. Riley had told him everything was fine before I walked into the room. I proceed to tell the Doctor about the missed school with two colds back to back with only a week between. Missing ten days of school. The doctor is pleased, though, with the news of the colds, as that could be the reason for the fall off on the numbers. A round of antibiotics can suppress Riley's immune system. He says to just have the numbers drawn locally instead. Only make an appointment to come see him if the numbers warrant a visit. Otherwise, we see him again in three months, in January.
Riley and I leave the hospital just before 4:00pm. Rush hour is on, with a stall on a freeway bridge. We take the back route home again, making good time not hitting very many lights. It still adds a half hour to the trip. We are able to arrive back in town in time to catch the fourth quarter of Trevor's last game of the season.
Riley sits in the car in the parking lot, as it is cold outside and he has no interest in standing in the cold. Tom is at the game having been directed by Trevor to the wrong stadium and then calling me to be told what stadium Trevor was referring too. It is a glamorous name for the back practice field at the school where the freshmen play ball. This is the second time Tom has gone to the varsity field and been redirected. Maybe next year we will get to play in the big stadium, but not freshmen, not this year. We play on grass. The real stadium has to be saved for the Varsity games.
The game is going well for our team, 24 to 12 or something like that. The score board isn't working. Tom has been impressed with Trevor. He says Trevor is doing really well. He is surprised Trevor doesn't get more play time considering how well he does when he is out there. But missing half the season for grades will put you back on the roster. I have warned Trevor not to get benched for grades again. The coaches first noticed his good playing only three games ago. The starters are already in place and have been for most of the season.
I am not unhappy. He is getting more play time each game. This game, as luck would have it, every time Trevor was put in, someone would call time out, or just before Trevor was to go in we would make some play that put the offence in instead. Coach is working to improve Trevor's speed. That would make Trevor a power house. Sadly Trevor has my legs, bad knees and all. But with practice and strength training, he is getting faster.
A friend said she could see that Trevor has loosened up since August. She said he looked stiff and tight with his muscles. Now he has a lot more flexibility. What ever they are doing with him is working.
Fourth quarter is half over when a boy from Trevor's team makes a hit. He goes down and he doesn't get up. He calls for the coaches and then they call for his Dad on the sidelines. The two teams are on their knees on the field. The coaches tell the boys to go to the sidelines and wait. The injured player is not moved. The refs come over and then approach the opponents team to ask if they want to call the game. An ambulance has been called for the boy. The game may be delayed for a while. The game is called and the two teams subdued shake hands on the 50 yard line, walking by the fallen player surrounded by coaches and parent. The teams disperse and the ambulance arrives.
Trevor is in the locker room changing and showering with the team. The ambulance medical team take their time. Tom had thought it might be a broken clavicle, but it is more serious. They are looking at the boy's neck, trying to stabilize him for transport. Once they do load him into the ambulance, they drive across the field gingerly.
Tom takes Riley home and I wait for Trevor. Pep rally is after the game. It is season end for fall sports so they are holding it after a volley ball game in the gym. Trevor is getting credit for band by being there playing. I am impressed again by his performance. He plays the big drum, you can't miss it. I stop the football coach after the pep rally to inquire how the injured football player is doing. No real news yet.
Tom called the injury to the neck a stinger, compression of the neck causing tingling sensations in arms and fingers. I can only hope and pray it is not serious. Football is the highest injury sport your child can participate in.I just read that in an article at the hospital while waiting for Riley to be finished giving blood. But for the grace of God go any one of us. I can't lock my boys in their rooms, but I worry every time they are out of my sight.
Tom gave Trevor a cell phone. I spent the morning at the AT and T store getting it ready for Trevor. I handed the phone over after the game, when he came out of the locker room. It was a good distraction to the ambulance on the field, across the parking lot. I told Trevor "Bad grades and you lose that phone". "I know, Mom". "OK".
Trevor is ecstatic over the phone. I warned him I will not replace it if it gets lost or damaged. We had a phone for Tom's mom that we paid service on. She never used it so we changed the number and put in a new sim card in the phone and now Trevor is set. It is a good test to see if he can take care of the phone, because if he can't care for a small phone there is no way I am letting him near my cars, which is also on his extreme wish list. I told him "grades" for drivers license, also. After being benched for half the season, I think he gets it.
We'll check grades on line this weekend. See how everyone is doing. Riley has been taking make up tests. He has a lot to make up from missing school. Trevor seems to be on top of his grades. He had better grades than Riley at the half way mark. Riley is all honors classes, which makes it all the more challenging. But he says it is easy so far. Spanish is his only challenge. It is all new and in the details.
So that was just yesterday. Looking back it was quite a day. No wonder I had a hard time getting up this morning. Every day is emotionally exhausting.
Turns out to be a breeze. By the time we reach the hospital we are way ahead of schedule. No traffic issues at all. Riley stops at the lab for the blood work and then I make him come to the cafeteria so I can eat something. I order a great shrimp and veggie roll in rice paper wrap and peanut sauce dip, delicious. Once finished I toss my tray in the garbage along with my cell phone. We take the elevator upstairs to check in at which point I realize I am missing my cell and the last place I saw it was on my tray. I knew right away what I had done, race back to the elevators and head back to the cafeteria, leaving Riley to wait for the appointment.
Luckily we had been a mid afternoon lunch. The garbage had been emptied after lunch and was only half full. I ask one of the cleaning staff to dial my number, but we are deep in the bowls of the hospital and I had no service. I just had to dig. I grabbed a few plates and had to go down a foot into the garbage before I found my phone sitting on the sushi tray from my shrimp wrap. It was unharmed by liquids or the discourteous treatment it had received. I thanked the cleaning crew who offered to help.
I rode the elevator back up to the clinic waiting room, only to find Riley had been called in. I hurried through the doors to locate him. The doctor was already with him, in the room , waiting patiently. We were over an hour early and he knows our pattern of being early, so he fit us in. Its that blood draw. I like to get the blood draw done with enough time so when we see the doctor he has the numbers to discuss, with out waiting around for the numbers to come back from the lab.
The numbers were back. Not so good this time. They had fallen off in one month.
Whites down from 4.13 to 3.9
Red cell 3.84 down from 4.5
Hemoglobin 12.0 down from 13.9 (concerning, this is the one Tom watches)
Hematocrit 34.7 down from 40.3
platelets 137 down from 177 (SH*%)
neutrophils 2.1 from 2.33
six exclamations of change to the negative. We had been so stoked last month at our great numbers. The doctor says at first he wants to see Riley back in a month. Riley had told him everything was fine before I walked into the room. I proceed to tell the Doctor about the missed school with two colds back to back with only a week between. Missing ten days of school. The doctor is pleased, though, with the news of the colds, as that could be the reason for the fall off on the numbers. A round of antibiotics can suppress Riley's immune system. He says to just have the numbers drawn locally instead. Only make an appointment to come see him if the numbers warrant a visit. Otherwise, we see him again in three months, in January.
Riley and I leave the hospital just before 4:00pm. Rush hour is on, with a stall on a freeway bridge. We take the back route home again, making good time not hitting very many lights. It still adds a half hour to the trip. We are able to arrive back in town in time to catch the fourth quarter of Trevor's last game of the season.
Riley sits in the car in the parking lot, as it is cold outside and he has no interest in standing in the cold. Tom is at the game having been directed by Trevor to the wrong stadium and then calling me to be told what stadium Trevor was referring too. It is a glamorous name for the back practice field at the school where the freshmen play ball. This is the second time Tom has gone to the varsity field and been redirected. Maybe next year we will get to play in the big stadium, but not freshmen, not this year. We play on grass. The real stadium has to be saved for the Varsity games.
The game is going well for our team, 24 to 12 or something like that. The score board isn't working. Tom has been impressed with Trevor. He says Trevor is doing really well. He is surprised Trevor doesn't get more play time considering how well he does when he is out there. But missing half the season for grades will put you back on the roster. I have warned Trevor not to get benched for grades again. The coaches first noticed his good playing only three games ago. The starters are already in place and have been for most of the season.
I am not unhappy. He is getting more play time each game. This game, as luck would have it, every time Trevor was put in, someone would call time out, or just before Trevor was to go in we would make some play that put the offence in instead. Coach is working to improve Trevor's speed. That would make Trevor a power house. Sadly Trevor has my legs, bad knees and all. But with practice and strength training, he is getting faster.
A friend said she could see that Trevor has loosened up since August. She said he looked stiff and tight with his muscles. Now he has a lot more flexibility. What ever they are doing with him is working.
Fourth quarter is half over when a boy from Trevor's team makes a hit. He goes down and he doesn't get up. He calls for the coaches and then they call for his Dad on the sidelines. The two teams are on their knees on the field. The coaches tell the boys to go to the sidelines and wait. The injured player is not moved. The refs come over and then approach the opponents team to ask if they want to call the game. An ambulance has been called for the boy. The game may be delayed for a while. The game is called and the two teams subdued shake hands on the 50 yard line, walking by the fallen player surrounded by coaches and parent. The teams disperse and the ambulance arrives.
Trevor is in the locker room changing and showering with the team. The ambulance medical team take their time. Tom had thought it might be a broken clavicle, but it is more serious. They are looking at the boy's neck, trying to stabilize him for transport. Once they do load him into the ambulance, they drive across the field gingerly.
Tom takes Riley home and I wait for Trevor. Pep rally is after the game. It is season end for fall sports so they are holding it after a volley ball game in the gym. Trevor is getting credit for band by being there playing. I am impressed again by his performance. He plays the big drum, you can't miss it. I stop the football coach after the pep rally to inquire how the injured football player is doing. No real news yet.
Tom called the injury to the neck a stinger, compression of the neck causing tingling sensations in arms and fingers. I can only hope and pray it is not serious. Football is the highest injury sport your child can participate in.I just read that in an article at the hospital while waiting for Riley to be finished giving blood. But for the grace of God go any one of us. I can't lock my boys in their rooms, but I worry every time they are out of my sight.
Tom gave Trevor a cell phone. I spent the morning at the AT and T store getting it ready for Trevor. I handed the phone over after the game, when he came out of the locker room. It was a good distraction to the ambulance on the field, across the parking lot. I told Trevor "Bad grades and you lose that phone". "I know, Mom". "OK".
Trevor is ecstatic over the phone. I warned him I will not replace it if it gets lost or damaged. We had a phone for Tom's mom that we paid service on. She never used it so we changed the number and put in a new sim card in the phone and now Trevor is set. It is a good test to see if he can take care of the phone, because if he can't care for a small phone there is no way I am letting him near my cars, which is also on his extreme wish list. I told him "grades" for drivers license, also. After being benched for half the season, I think he gets it.
We'll check grades on line this weekend. See how everyone is doing. Riley has been taking make up tests. He has a lot to make up from missing school. Trevor seems to be on top of his grades. He had better grades than Riley at the half way mark. Riley is all honors classes, which makes it all the more challenging. But he says it is easy so far. Spanish is his only challenge. It is all new and in the details.
So that was just yesterday. Looking back it was quite a day. No wonder I had a hard time getting up this morning. Every day is emotionally exhausting.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dreary
The cold weather has arrived. It is sunny, but the chill in the air makes me not want to crawl out of my bed in the morning. I was supposed to go golf. I just couldn't get up. The boys went off to school. I could see the fog out my bedroom window. I could also see it is going to be a glorious beautiful day. Why can't I crawl out of my warm and cozy blankets, because they are warm and cozy. I can finally sleep soundly once the house is empty.
Finally the dog gets up. Its a signal to let him out before he decides he can't hold it any more. I let him out and jump in the shower. Too late for the tee time today. Oh well, I will find something to do instead. Plenty to do around this house.
I wait to hear about a job I applied for. Christmas Temp, I applied on line. Haven't heard "No" yet, but haven't heard "yes" either. It is a foot in the door and a foot in the right direction. Looking for work, if anyone knows of anything.
Finally the dog gets up. Its a signal to let him out before he decides he can't hold it any more. I let him out and jump in the shower. Too late for the tee time today. Oh well, I will find something to do instead. Plenty to do around this house.
I wait to hear about a job I applied for. Christmas Temp, I applied on line. Haven't heard "No" yet, but haven't heard "yes" either. It is a foot in the door and a foot in the right direction. Looking for work, if anyone knows of anything.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The dress
Last Friday I called Tom. He hadn't arrived home yet and I wanted to know what the plan for the evening was. Did I need to cook dinner for him? The boys can eat lots of things, but Tom only likes specific dishes. He likes me to make the effort, which I try to avoid.
He tells me he is already at the club. I invite myself up to join him. It has been a rough week for us. We have been "discussing" the stairs and our options on installing the new wood treads and risers. It took some negotiations and thought to come up with a plan that Tom liked. I was all for just ripping out the sub floor treads that the carpet wrapped around. Tom feared the stairs were structural and i could do some real damage to the house in removing them. Our compromise was laying the planks on top of the existing surface and building out the supporting riser past the sub floor nose to cover the sub floor from view. I bought some different height risers to see if I needed to tuck behind or on top of the tread so the length of each tread would match. It is not rocket science but takes a little forethought. It took Tom and I several days to work our way to a solution.
I have been staining the treads to match the upstairs floor. The treads are Oak and the upstairs floor is cherry color stained Maple. It took five coats of two different color stains to get the color just right for Tom's satisfaction. I now have to put on a glossy finish and install the stairs.
I didn't want to have any more "discussions" Friday night about anything. I had a dress I had picked up about two years ago while shopping with a friend. At the time, the dress was about ten pounds too tight. But I could see the potential. The dress screamed buy me. I have had it tucked away waiting for me to fit it.
It now fits like a glove. Molded to my figure. I put it on Friday night. I felt gorgeous in it. It is just a simple frock, not even expensive, but it does a number on me. Tom thought so too, when I arrived at the club. Every time a touchy subject came up I would lean in and Tom's eyes would drift and his thoughts would stray. He would reach for a grope, and the "discussion" would pass out of his mind. We had a lovely night. We danced and parties and just enjoyed each other's company, and the company of our friends. What a lovely time it was.
I am going to save that dress for evenings when Tom is more stressed than usual. I wouldn't want to over use the magic.
He tells me he is already at the club. I invite myself up to join him. It has been a rough week for us. We have been "discussing" the stairs and our options on installing the new wood treads and risers. It took some negotiations and thought to come up with a plan that Tom liked. I was all for just ripping out the sub floor treads that the carpet wrapped around. Tom feared the stairs were structural and i could do some real damage to the house in removing them. Our compromise was laying the planks on top of the existing surface and building out the supporting riser past the sub floor nose to cover the sub floor from view. I bought some different height risers to see if I needed to tuck behind or on top of the tread so the length of each tread would match. It is not rocket science but takes a little forethought. It took Tom and I several days to work our way to a solution.
I have been staining the treads to match the upstairs floor. The treads are Oak and the upstairs floor is cherry color stained Maple. It took five coats of two different color stains to get the color just right for Tom's satisfaction. I now have to put on a glossy finish and install the stairs.
I didn't want to have any more "discussions" Friday night about anything. I had a dress I had picked up about two years ago while shopping with a friend. At the time, the dress was about ten pounds too tight. But I could see the potential. The dress screamed buy me. I have had it tucked away waiting for me to fit it.
It now fits like a glove. Molded to my figure. I put it on Friday night. I felt gorgeous in it. It is just a simple frock, not even expensive, but it does a number on me. Tom thought so too, when I arrived at the club. Every time a touchy subject came up I would lean in and Tom's eyes would drift and his thoughts would stray. He would reach for a grope, and the "discussion" would pass out of his mind. We had a lovely night. We danced and parties and just enjoyed each other's company, and the company of our friends. What a lovely time it was.
I am going to save that dress for evenings when Tom is more stressed than usual. I wouldn't want to over use the magic.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Computer issues
One of my dear friends is a self taught computer whizz. She came over to see if she could get the new printer to work. After hours of trying and many downloads, my computer is running more smoothly but she told me to take back the new printer as incompatible. We tried everything, even giving some unknown person remote access to my computer through my telephone company's service.
It is frighteningly disturbing to watch the mouse move and open files independently. We wondered where the assistant was located, India or Taiwan or someplace. The typed English was pretty fluent. The person on the other end was called Bobby, which could be a man or a woman. In the end though the printer was still not talking to the computer. I can see more hours of work ahead for us. It was lovely just hanging out with my girlfriend and chatting while we waited for a miracle, for the computer and printer to magically begin to cooperate.
Tom took the day off and was home so we had to quit before success was achieved so he could get on and do his stuff.
I made waffles with fresh bananas on top, while we waited on the computer. I used the Krusties mix but added real eggs and milk to the flour, even though you can just add water. I figure the boys will get a healthier meal with the eggs and I love the texture of the waffle when I add the real eggs. one egg for every half a cup of krusties.
While we waited and waited on the computer, my girlfriend asked for a bowl of water and a few drops of dish soap, and some clean rags. She wiped down the office, including the windows. The windows are so clean now, you feel like they are open, and you can stick your hand right through them. Trevor has already done that once so we wont go there.
We plugged in Riley's old printer to the computer. Riley's printer works. It just doesn't have the fax capacity or scanning. It is also out of black ink at the moment. The new machine is supposed to be an all in one, but I am beginning to think it isn't worth it.
Riley went to school today, finally. We will see how that goes. I swear if he starts coughing again I am going to get the doctors to write a prescription for antibiotics. Riley bounced back as soon as he took his weekend dose. We see the specialist on Thursday. He told us to continue with the weekend antibiotics until we saw him. I want to hear how long he thinks Riley should continue taking the antibiotics. After the last few weeks I am thinking until his numbers are even better than they are now. They still aren't good enough for school germs it seems.
I rearranged Riley's room and removed all but one last segment of carpet. His dresser is sitting on the last square. He had no side table by his bed. All his sick glasses were piling up on the window sil on the far side of his bed. I moved a short book shelf over to work as a side table and give him a resting place for his computer, by his bed. His bed is high so a regular side table sits too low beside it. I also got Riley to toss some of his toys and broken models, that were piled on his desk, getting in the way of ever using his desk for any useful purpose. We still have things to do, but every little bit gets us a little further along the road of moved in and tidied up.
Trevor is on the hunt for a manly desk. The one he wants is really the computer desk we all use. He can't have that one. I will find a deal somewhere for him. He wants me to tackle his room, do a remodel. I told Trevor he could rip out his carpet. He has seen me do it and has helped me. It is not rocket science. I just don't want to start another project yet myself when I have a couple going already.
The upstairs already smells less musty with Riley's carpet gone. I would not be unhappy to find Trevor ripping his own carpet out. Too bad we don't have enough flooring for the upstairs. We don't want every room to have different colored flooring either. Riley will be living with his funky sub floor for a while. At least it is sanitary and clean.
It is frighteningly disturbing to watch the mouse move and open files independently. We wondered where the assistant was located, India or Taiwan or someplace. The typed English was pretty fluent. The person on the other end was called Bobby, which could be a man or a woman. In the end though the printer was still not talking to the computer. I can see more hours of work ahead for us. It was lovely just hanging out with my girlfriend and chatting while we waited for a miracle, for the computer and printer to magically begin to cooperate.
Tom took the day off and was home so we had to quit before success was achieved so he could get on and do his stuff.
I made waffles with fresh bananas on top, while we waited on the computer. I used the Krusties mix but added real eggs and milk to the flour, even though you can just add water. I figure the boys will get a healthier meal with the eggs and I love the texture of the waffle when I add the real eggs. one egg for every half a cup of krusties.
While we waited and waited on the computer, my girlfriend asked for a bowl of water and a few drops of dish soap, and some clean rags. She wiped down the office, including the windows. The windows are so clean now, you feel like they are open, and you can stick your hand right through them. Trevor has already done that once so we wont go there.
We plugged in Riley's old printer to the computer. Riley's printer works. It just doesn't have the fax capacity or scanning. It is also out of black ink at the moment. The new machine is supposed to be an all in one, but I am beginning to think it isn't worth it.
Riley went to school today, finally. We will see how that goes. I swear if he starts coughing again I am going to get the doctors to write a prescription for antibiotics. Riley bounced back as soon as he took his weekend dose. We see the specialist on Thursday. He told us to continue with the weekend antibiotics until we saw him. I want to hear how long he thinks Riley should continue taking the antibiotics. After the last few weeks I am thinking until his numbers are even better than they are now. They still aren't good enough for school germs it seems.
I rearranged Riley's room and removed all but one last segment of carpet. His dresser is sitting on the last square. He had no side table by his bed. All his sick glasses were piling up on the window sil on the far side of his bed. I moved a short book shelf over to work as a side table and give him a resting place for his computer, by his bed. His bed is high so a regular side table sits too low beside it. I also got Riley to toss some of his toys and broken models, that were piled on his desk, getting in the way of ever using his desk for any useful purpose. We still have things to do, but every little bit gets us a little further along the road of moved in and tidied up.
Trevor is on the hunt for a manly desk. The one he wants is really the computer desk we all use. He can't have that one. I will find a deal somewhere for him. He wants me to tackle his room, do a remodel. I told Trevor he could rip out his carpet. He has seen me do it and has helped me. It is not rocket science. I just don't want to start another project yet myself when I have a couple going already.
The upstairs already smells less musty with Riley's carpet gone. I would not be unhappy to find Trevor ripping his own carpet out. Too bad we don't have enough flooring for the upstairs. We don't want every room to have different colored flooring either. Riley will be living with his funky sub floor for a while. At least it is sanitary and clean.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Getting better
I had Riley start his weekend antibiotics a day early. 24 hours later he sounded better. He will be going to school on Monday. I had to sit on him to get him to do his homework that had been sent home with Trevor.
Trevor went to a harvest party at a friends house on Saturday. I had Riley miss it. I felt he wasn't quite well enough. Good thing Riley did stay home as our friend that had the bone marrow transplant was there, 89 days out. I would have had to take Riley away rather than expose the young man to a bad germ. I stayed for a while to watch the teens play, then left to go to the club with Tom. I am told by my girlfriend that hosted the event, Trevor ate eight hot dogs personally, plus a good sampling of the appetizers.
My girlfriend filmed Trevor doing Louie Louie on the WII with Trevor's best friend. I posted it on my face book. Trevor would make a good Blues Brother. Trevor wore a black suit going as a mobster to this event. Not a gangster, the difference is a street thug versus organized crime. Trevor was going for the Italian mob look. I was just grateful he didn't do scary.
I finished the floors upstairs. We are now on the hunt for furniture for the room. I need to ask my mom if she has a round table. I also need a couch. I have been hunting. I made an offer on a couch that I am waiting to hear back. Unlikely, but I am hopeful just the same.
I am now staining stair treads to get just the right match. Once the color passes Tom's approval I will put a glossy seal on and install. I will then get back to more unpacking.
The basement is still a disaster of half empty boxes of books. I still have no idea where I will put the books. Riley loves to go down there and digging through the piles until he comes up with a gem he feels like reading. Another reason to keep them all. The boys are reaching that age where they are reading our old reads. Riley is ready for Tom Clancy. I am going to pick up a copy of Patriot Games, since I seem to have every other Clancy book but the first one.
I am told by a friend, Trevor made a secret challenge with his best friend to see who could get the better grades this year. I am all over that kind of incentive. Meanwhile Riley has a steep road of catch up work to do.
I moved the furniture back around. I liked being able to sit on my couch and look out the bright two story windows. We had put the dining table there, but I use the couch more. I wanted to take advantage of those big beautiful windows and not just at meals. Two months into the house and we are still sorting things out and figuring out where things are going. It may be a life time project. Tom reminds me it doesn't have to be done quickly. Though I do want to get some plants in the ground this winter so they can start growing.
Trevor went to a harvest party at a friends house on Saturday. I had Riley miss it. I felt he wasn't quite well enough. Good thing Riley did stay home as our friend that had the bone marrow transplant was there, 89 days out. I would have had to take Riley away rather than expose the young man to a bad germ. I stayed for a while to watch the teens play, then left to go to the club with Tom. I am told by my girlfriend that hosted the event, Trevor ate eight hot dogs personally, plus a good sampling of the appetizers.
My girlfriend filmed Trevor doing Louie Louie on the WII with Trevor's best friend. I posted it on my face book. Trevor would make a good Blues Brother. Trevor wore a black suit going as a mobster to this event. Not a gangster, the difference is a street thug versus organized crime. Trevor was going for the Italian mob look. I was just grateful he didn't do scary.
I finished the floors upstairs. We are now on the hunt for furniture for the room. I need to ask my mom if she has a round table. I also need a couch. I have been hunting. I made an offer on a couch that I am waiting to hear back. Unlikely, but I am hopeful just the same.
I am now staining stair treads to get just the right match. Once the color passes Tom's approval I will put a glossy seal on and install. I will then get back to more unpacking.
The basement is still a disaster of half empty boxes of books. I still have no idea where I will put the books. Riley loves to go down there and digging through the piles until he comes up with a gem he feels like reading. Another reason to keep them all. The boys are reaching that age where they are reading our old reads. Riley is ready for Tom Clancy. I am going to pick up a copy of Patriot Games, since I seem to have every other Clancy book but the first one.
I am told by a friend, Trevor made a secret challenge with his best friend to see who could get the better grades this year. I am all over that kind of incentive. Meanwhile Riley has a steep road of catch up work to do.
I moved the furniture back around. I liked being able to sit on my couch and look out the bright two story windows. We had put the dining table there, but I use the couch more. I wanted to take advantage of those big beautiful windows and not just at meals. Two months into the house and we are still sorting things out and figuring out where things are going. It may be a life time project. Tom reminds me it doesn't have to be done quickly. Though I do want to get some plants in the ground this winter so they can start growing.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sick again
Riley has a cold and has been missing school again. He was sent home from first period on Monday for excessive coughing. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday. His lungs were clear. they said to just treat the symptoms and wait it out. He doesn't seem to be getting better or worse, but not well enough to go to school.
I have been in contact with the school, trying to decide whether to activate Riley's 504 plan again, a unique circumstances form. This is a form that gives Riley accommodations, extra time to get work done and assistance as needed. It is unfunded, unlike the IAP, which gives the school extra federal dollars, to help struggling children succeed.
I called the Doernbecher clinic. They affirmed the decision to hold off on antibiotics. With good lungs, we don't leap automatically to antibiotics as we did a year ago. Now we wait on Riley's body to heal itself. They want him coughing to keep the lungs clear, which is what he was sent home from school for doing. His cough was disruptive and sounds nasty. A deep barking cough. The doctor asked if Riley had his Pertussis vaccine, whooping cough. I told the doctor Riley had caught it as an infant, which should make him immune.
So now we watch and wait, again, for Riley
I have been in contact with the school, trying to decide whether to activate Riley's 504 plan again, a unique circumstances form. This is a form that gives Riley accommodations, extra time to get work done and assistance as needed. It is unfunded, unlike the IAP, which gives the school extra federal dollars, to help struggling children succeed.
I called the Doernbecher clinic. They affirmed the decision to hold off on antibiotics. With good lungs, we don't leap automatically to antibiotics as we did a year ago. Now we wait on Riley's body to heal itself. They want him coughing to keep the lungs clear, which is what he was sent home from school for doing. His cough was disruptive and sounds nasty. A deep barking cough. The doctor asked if Riley had his Pertussis vaccine, whooping cough. I told the doctor Riley had caught it as an infant, which should make him immune.
So now we watch and wait, again, for Riley
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The weekend
We went to the beach to meet up with my sister and her children. It was my niece's birthday weekend. I brought no gifts. I shouldn't say that exactly. Just being there with my children was my gift. My niece had a friend from school with her. Trevor and Riley were the entertainment for the weekend. Trevor gave the girl piggy back rides all up and down the prom with her waving her hand at everyone like a rodeo queen. It was quite entertaining to watch the happy teens.
I took the boys shopping while we had waited for my sister to arrive at the beach. Trev wanted to try jeans and there was a great sale going on at the mall. Riley was totally disinterested and wanted nothing to do with the excursion. I wish I could have left him at the hotel, but our room wasn't ready and they woulodn't let us check in, which is how we ended up at the mall to kill time. Trev found a couple of pants to buy and a belt big enough. I wasn't allowed enough time to find anything really good thanks to Riley. Even bribery didn't work. He gave the money back to me that I gave him, saying he was done shopping.
Once the others arrived there was plenty of entertaining. The kids ran off and explored. Trevor returned with a yard of colored sugar in a fat straw and a wonderful hat. Riley didn't have any spending money, no job, and canky mom. He just had to tag along, but he didn't mind as the girls he was now with were entertainment enough for him.
Saturday night we all went out for dinner, then the kids went back to my sister's hotel to watch movies. I went to bed at my hotel. I received a call around 11:30 pm to come get my boys. They couldn't spend the night in the hotel as it wouldn't be proper with my nieces friend. I threw on my clothes and headed out the few blocks to their hotel. We had not been able to get into their hotel as it was a under construction and a three day weekend, All available rooms were full. I had reserved us rooms elsewhere.
When I arrived at the hotel I found that a new movie had started and no one was ready to leave. Exhausted from a day of driving and spending the whole day with over energized teen agers, I fell asleep on the floor waiting. In hind sight, I should have just told them to shut off the movie, the boys had to leave. I didn't. I sat and waited.
The movie finally ended and we did the dark walk back to our hotel at 1:30 am, vigilant for drunks and hostiles at that hour of the night. The boys thought I was being paranoid, but I found the walk stressful as we made our way down the prom, giving wide birth to anyone we saw and diverting our eyes and walking quickly. I was grateful when we were back at our hotel. Usually when we do a late night walk like that, Tom is with us, but he had other plans for the weekend. Not that he doesn't like his in-law family, but a teen party just isn't quite how he wants to spend his weekend.
The weather was incredibly beautiful, with blue sky in October. Cold and clear. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the weekend. Once at the beach, Riley realized that he had homework he hadn't done. He hadn't brought it with him either. It put him a little on edge, with the need to get back home just when we had arrived. We checked out of our hotel on Sunday and headed home as a result, rather than hanging in that lovely weather, which is what Trevor and I wanted to do. But school comes first, and Riley is still making up work from the week he missed.
Riley woke up Monday with a deep chesty barking cough. The school sent him him home at first period saying he was being disruptive and needed to get his cough under control. I gave him NyQuil and sent him to bed where he slept all day.
Tom was home working on the last of the wood floors. He wanted to rip the last boards and get them installed, finishing the room. He had also tweaked his back over the weekend and was making sure it was rested. That meant I didn't have to stay home with Riley, as I had plans to meet my step mom for lunch and hang with her all day in the city. She wanted to wander the downtown streets and just absorb the sounds and sights.
We had lunch at her house and headed out. I drove downtown and parked. We walked everywhere, from the thrift store to the high end retail stores to the book store. It was a lovely sunny day. Chilly, but we had our coats on. We ended the day eating dinner at a lovely restaurant she likes. I ordered the salmon which was cooked to perfection. Afterward I delivered her safely home and headed home myself.
Driving into my neighborhood I called to see if Trevor needed a ride, if he had called yet. Tom was just delivering him home himself. It was close to 7:30 pm. Trevor had had an out of town game. He told me when I got home he had played most of the game. Several players had been benched or kicked off the team for grades. Coach said that since this was the second half of the season and they wouldn't be able to play at all for the rest of the season, why bother coming to practice at all. He was really mad at those kids that didn't make grade.
Made me feel grateful that Trev had been benched at the beginning and not the end of the season. Coach had been lecturing everyone about the importance of making the minimum grade requirement and when the exclusion date was approaching. Trev had been on top of his grades having been burned once, he wont let his grades slip. He is even missing practices to make sure weak classes are covered. His typing has gone from 5 words per minute to 20. He is getting a B in typing. The teacher complimented him on his progress and told him she had been afraid she would have to fail him, but he has made such a dedicated effort, he earned his grade. He continues to work hard in her class and make progress. He may even reach the 60 words a minute goal by the end of the year. That is one class he will learn skills that he will use his whole life.
He made the mistake of going to his lunch job and not finishing a science test, a week ago. He said the teacher said he could finish it the next day, but the teacher didn't remember saying it. Trev lost points off the unfinished test. Another hard learned lesson that cost him grade points. He will not leave class early for work unless the class work is done. Teachers don't remember conversations with so many students to teach. Get it in writing or else. School work is the priority right now, not the job. Later as an adult he can make that determination.
Trev has one more game this season. It is an away game, over an hour drive. I am debating going. It is a long way, but he is finally getting a lot of playing time. His coach noticed him. With all the empty bench seats, it has given Trev a chance to show his stuff. Being benched for half the season put him at a disadvantage, the starters were all chosen, plays planned and learned. He was subbing mostly, on the line. Now I am thinking I want to do the drive to see him really play. Game day is Thursday.
His date to the Tolo is making their costumes. She asked for Trev's size and measurements. She bought some t-shirts she is tie dieing in neon for their outfits. You coordinate with your partner for costumes. I asked Trev if he had money. He said he had it covered.
Meanwhile, I can hear Riley coughing. I am waiting for a call back from the advice nurse, but I think I will just take him to the local doctor and get him looked at today. Its Tuesday. He can ill afford to miss another week of school.
I took the boys shopping while we had waited for my sister to arrive at the beach. Trev wanted to try jeans and there was a great sale going on at the mall. Riley was totally disinterested and wanted nothing to do with the excursion. I wish I could have left him at the hotel, but our room wasn't ready and they woulodn't let us check in, which is how we ended up at the mall to kill time. Trev found a couple of pants to buy and a belt big enough. I wasn't allowed enough time to find anything really good thanks to Riley. Even bribery didn't work. He gave the money back to me that I gave him, saying he was done shopping.
Once the others arrived there was plenty of entertaining. The kids ran off and explored. Trevor returned with a yard of colored sugar in a fat straw and a wonderful hat. Riley didn't have any spending money, no job, and canky mom. He just had to tag along, but he didn't mind as the girls he was now with were entertainment enough for him.
Saturday night we all went out for dinner, then the kids went back to my sister's hotel to watch movies. I went to bed at my hotel. I received a call around 11:30 pm to come get my boys. They couldn't spend the night in the hotel as it wouldn't be proper with my nieces friend. I threw on my clothes and headed out the few blocks to their hotel. We had not been able to get into their hotel as it was a under construction and a three day weekend, All available rooms were full. I had reserved us rooms elsewhere.
When I arrived at the hotel I found that a new movie had started and no one was ready to leave. Exhausted from a day of driving and spending the whole day with over energized teen agers, I fell asleep on the floor waiting. In hind sight, I should have just told them to shut off the movie, the boys had to leave. I didn't. I sat and waited.
The movie finally ended and we did the dark walk back to our hotel at 1:30 am, vigilant for drunks and hostiles at that hour of the night. The boys thought I was being paranoid, but I found the walk stressful as we made our way down the prom, giving wide birth to anyone we saw and diverting our eyes and walking quickly. I was grateful when we were back at our hotel. Usually when we do a late night walk like that, Tom is with us, but he had other plans for the weekend. Not that he doesn't like his in-law family, but a teen party just isn't quite how he wants to spend his weekend.
The weather was incredibly beautiful, with blue sky in October. Cold and clear. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the weekend. Once at the beach, Riley realized that he had homework he hadn't done. He hadn't brought it with him either. It put him a little on edge, with the need to get back home just when we had arrived. We checked out of our hotel on Sunday and headed home as a result, rather than hanging in that lovely weather, which is what Trevor and I wanted to do. But school comes first, and Riley is still making up work from the week he missed.
Riley woke up Monday with a deep chesty barking cough. The school sent him him home at first period saying he was being disruptive and needed to get his cough under control. I gave him NyQuil and sent him to bed where he slept all day.
Tom was home working on the last of the wood floors. He wanted to rip the last boards and get them installed, finishing the room. He had also tweaked his back over the weekend and was making sure it was rested. That meant I didn't have to stay home with Riley, as I had plans to meet my step mom for lunch and hang with her all day in the city. She wanted to wander the downtown streets and just absorb the sounds and sights.
We had lunch at her house and headed out. I drove downtown and parked. We walked everywhere, from the thrift store to the high end retail stores to the book store. It was a lovely sunny day. Chilly, but we had our coats on. We ended the day eating dinner at a lovely restaurant she likes. I ordered the salmon which was cooked to perfection. Afterward I delivered her safely home and headed home myself.
Driving into my neighborhood I called to see if Trevor needed a ride, if he had called yet. Tom was just delivering him home himself. It was close to 7:30 pm. Trevor had had an out of town game. He told me when I got home he had played most of the game. Several players had been benched or kicked off the team for grades. Coach said that since this was the second half of the season and they wouldn't be able to play at all for the rest of the season, why bother coming to practice at all. He was really mad at those kids that didn't make grade.
Made me feel grateful that Trev had been benched at the beginning and not the end of the season. Coach had been lecturing everyone about the importance of making the minimum grade requirement and when the exclusion date was approaching. Trev had been on top of his grades having been burned once, he wont let his grades slip. He is even missing practices to make sure weak classes are covered. His typing has gone from 5 words per minute to 20. He is getting a B in typing. The teacher complimented him on his progress and told him she had been afraid she would have to fail him, but he has made such a dedicated effort, he earned his grade. He continues to work hard in her class and make progress. He may even reach the 60 words a minute goal by the end of the year. That is one class he will learn skills that he will use his whole life.
He made the mistake of going to his lunch job and not finishing a science test, a week ago. He said the teacher said he could finish it the next day, but the teacher didn't remember saying it. Trev lost points off the unfinished test. Another hard learned lesson that cost him grade points. He will not leave class early for work unless the class work is done. Teachers don't remember conversations with so many students to teach. Get it in writing or else. School work is the priority right now, not the job. Later as an adult he can make that determination.
Trev has one more game this season. It is an away game, over an hour drive. I am debating going. It is a long way, but he is finally getting a lot of playing time. His coach noticed him. With all the empty bench seats, it has given Trev a chance to show his stuff. Being benched for half the season put him at a disadvantage, the starters were all chosen, plays planned and learned. He was subbing mostly, on the line. Now I am thinking I want to do the drive to see him really play. Game day is Thursday.
His date to the Tolo is making their costumes. She asked for Trev's size and measurements. She bought some t-shirts she is tie dieing in neon for their outfits. You coordinate with your partner for costumes. I asked Trev if he had money. He said he had it covered.
Meanwhile, I can hear Riley coughing. I am waiting for a call back from the advice nurse, but I think I will just take him to the local doctor and get him looked at today. Its Tuesday. He can ill afford to miss another week of school.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Growing
Trevor missed the bus this morning. He was at the bus stop when he remembered some homework he forgot. He raced home but missed the bus by seconds getting back. The driver didn't wait. Trevor said he probably didn't see him running.
Last night was girls night out at the club, Oktoberfest. I had Bratwurst. Trevor's practice ran late so when he called I told him I was already at my dinner party. He would have to walk home. He wasn't happy but he did walk home. I figure if Riley can walk home every day after school, Trevor can do it upon occasion. It wasn't dark out yet.
When Trevor came into the house this morning to tell me he needed a ride to school, I just threw on my coat and grabbed my keys. I told him I owed him from last night making him walk home. Besides it is important he not be late for school.
As we are driving, I notice he is in shorts and tee shirts. It is now mid October and we have been having some wet cold days. I ask why he is in shorts. Trevor informs me that the waist line of his pants is fine but they are too short. Just the other day I had told a friend I was worried Trevor wouldn't grow any taller. She almost choked as she pointed out how big he was. I guess as a mom seeing him every day I just don't notice. I responded to her laughter with my own reminder to myself that Trevor has only just turned 14, plenty of more time to grow. My friend told me that her father sprouted from the age of 18 to 20. He gained 4 inches as a late bloomer. Trevor isn't even late.
Hanging with football players he just looks average. You take him out of that group and you realize how really big he is compared to the rest of the common population. One of my friends at the club who remembers my boys from elementary, said she was shocked at how big my boys were. Trevor is pretty impressive, a gentle giant.
Tonight I will have Trevor put on his pants for me, so I can see how long I need to get his next set. He didn't even have time to wear these pants much. Good thing I didn't buy that many, maybe half a dozen. I bought enough for a week of school. He maybe wore them a couple of times this year. I had thought when I saw those high waters on him, he was taking from his father's closet in a pinch. I hadn't realized those were the pants I bought him. I will just have to donate them all, as Riley and Tom will never be that big around the waist.
Good thing Trevor has so many sport shorts to see him through. I always thought my boys would be well dressed at all occasions. Now keeping Trevor in clothes month to month has become a challenge. Riley also is wearing out his wardrobe. He also is in high waters. neck to neck the boys are sprouting. They are passing their father in height, not that he would admit it.
Bummer is I am going to have to buy more clothes for those boys. There goes a couple hundred dollars in a blink of an eye. They also have opinions these days, so they will need to be with me so I can make sure I buy stuff they want to wear.
Good thing Friday is a no school day. The boys are going to the dentist for some long over due teeth cleaning. Afterward I told Riley he is going to get his drivers permit. I told him he needs to know how to drive. He doesn't have to get his drivers license. He just has to know how to handle a car in the case the need arises to drive himself. It is a good thing to know, useful. Put that way he didn't mind going and taking the much over due test. He will be 16 next month.
We will go get the boys some new pants after the permit. I will buy lunch to put everyone in a good mood. Of coarse, last time I bought lunch, Trevor quit on me afterwards. he was only in it for the food. This time I think he wants his pants. He will stick around and shop. Either that, or to quote my niece, " he gets what he gets and he doesn't throw a fit."
Last night was girls night out at the club, Oktoberfest. I had Bratwurst. Trevor's practice ran late so when he called I told him I was already at my dinner party. He would have to walk home. He wasn't happy but he did walk home. I figure if Riley can walk home every day after school, Trevor can do it upon occasion. It wasn't dark out yet.
When Trevor came into the house this morning to tell me he needed a ride to school, I just threw on my coat and grabbed my keys. I told him I owed him from last night making him walk home. Besides it is important he not be late for school.
As we are driving, I notice he is in shorts and tee shirts. It is now mid October and we have been having some wet cold days. I ask why he is in shorts. Trevor informs me that the waist line of his pants is fine but they are too short. Just the other day I had told a friend I was worried Trevor wouldn't grow any taller. She almost choked as she pointed out how big he was. I guess as a mom seeing him every day I just don't notice. I responded to her laughter with my own reminder to myself that Trevor has only just turned 14, plenty of more time to grow. My friend told me that her father sprouted from the age of 18 to 20. He gained 4 inches as a late bloomer. Trevor isn't even late.
Hanging with football players he just looks average. You take him out of that group and you realize how really big he is compared to the rest of the common population. One of my friends at the club who remembers my boys from elementary, said she was shocked at how big my boys were. Trevor is pretty impressive, a gentle giant.
Tonight I will have Trevor put on his pants for me, so I can see how long I need to get his next set. He didn't even have time to wear these pants much. Good thing I didn't buy that many, maybe half a dozen. I bought enough for a week of school. He maybe wore them a couple of times this year. I had thought when I saw those high waters on him, he was taking from his father's closet in a pinch. I hadn't realized those were the pants I bought him. I will just have to donate them all, as Riley and Tom will never be that big around the waist.
Good thing Trevor has so many sport shorts to see him through. I always thought my boys would be well dressed at all occasions. Now keeping Trevor in clothes month to month has become a challenge. Riley also is wearing out his wardrobe. He also is in high waters. neck to neck the boys are sprouting. They are passing their father in height, not that he would admit it.
Bummer is I am going to have to buy more clothes for those boys. There goes a couple hundred dollars in a blink of an eye. They also have opinions these days, so they will need to be with me so I can make sure I buy stuff they want to wear.
Good thing Friday is a no school day. The boys are going to the dentist for some long over due teeth cleaning. Afterward I told Riley he is going to get his drivers permit. I told him he needs to know how to drive. He doesn't have to get his drivers license. He just has to know how to handle a car in the case the need arises to drive himself. It is a good thing to know, useful. Put that way he didn't mind going and taking the much over due test. He will be 16 next month.
We will go get the boys some new pants after the permit. I will buy lunch to put everyone in a good mood. Of coarse, last time I bought lunch, Trevor quit on me afterwards. he was only in it for the food. This time I think he wants his pants. He will stick around and shop. Either that, or to quote my niece, " he gets what he gets and he doesn't throw a fit."
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Loss
I had some very upsetting and sad news Monday. While checking in with my Facebook friends, I noticed postings of peace and prayers and love being sent to a dear family I know. I sent out an inquiry, along with my own prayers, as to what happened.
The dear wonderful mom had died of a massive stroke the week before. She was younger than me. Her children are of similar age as my children. They are a wonderful family. She had been very involved in the community with her children. My boys had hit it off with her son. I knew them. They had been to my house.
She had taken pictures where ever she went, at all the events her children participated in. I loved when we overlapped activities because she would tag my boys in her photos and send them to me through face book. I have pictures I would not otherwise have of my boys being involved in football and band thanks to her photo hobby.
I cried. She was such a good person. This morning I had a hard time pulling myself out of bed. The weather was decent. I should have been heading out to golf nine holes. Instead I lay in bed and thought about my friend's obituary.
Many people knew her because she taught the drivers ed class at the high school. she had a great sense of humor. I admired her commitment to her children. She went to all their events. She even did the 5:oo am band trip to the Thanksgiving Parade. I just dropped my child at the bus and said call me when you need to be picked up. Her children are delightful and knew they were loved.
It is so upsetting when bad things happen to good people. All I can do is send prayers and wish the family strength to endure this horrible time. We have our pictures and our memories.
I called one of my other dear friends, that I knew would be home. I told her I needed some positive girlfriend time, not a big group, just blow the morning blues away time. We had a lovely time just hanging out chatting over tea. That was what I needed.
She also had a table saw I wanted to borrow to finish the floors. Last night Tom told me I could go ahead and finish. I told him I couldn't until he moved the TV. I couldn't swing my hammer without risking hitting the screen. He called Trevor up and they moved The TV out of the way so I could continue working.
I am still feeling a little mopey, but with a project to keep me busy and distracted, time will heal the bruises. It is just a reminder of our mortality and to live each day as fully as we can. Don't take each day for granted, because one day it will all be over, and you don't know what day that is going to be. It could be sooner than you think. Peace be with you and hug your babies.
The dear wonderful mom had died of a massive stroke the week before. She was younger than me. Her children are of similar age as my children. They are a wonderful family. She had been very involved in the community with her children. My boys had hit it off with her son. I knew them. They had been to my house.
She had taken pictures where ever she went, at all the events her children participated in. I loved when we overlapped activities because she would tag my boys in her photos and send them to me through face book. I have pictures I would not otherwise have of my boys being involved in football and band thanks to her photo hobby.
I cried. She was such a good person. This morning I had a hard time pulling myself out of bed. The weather was decent. I should have been heading out to golf nine holes. Instead I lay in bed and thought about my friend's obituary.
Many people knew her because she taught the drivers ed class at the high school. she had a great sense of humor. I admired her commitment to her children. She went to all their events. She even did the 5:oo am band trip to the Thanksgiving Parade. I just dropped my child at the bus and said call me when you need to be picked up. Her children are delightful and knew they were loved.
It is so upsetting when bad things happen to good people. All I can do is send prayers and wish the family strength to endure this horrible time. We have our pictures and our memories.
I called one of my other dear friends, that I knew would be home. I told her I needed some positive girlfriend time, not a big group, just blow the morning blues away time. We had a lovely time just hanging out chatting over tea. That was what I needed.
She also had a table saw I wanted to borrow to finish the floors. Last night Tom told me I could go ahead and finish. I told him I couldn't until he moved the TV. I couldn't swing my hammer without risking hitting the screen. He called Trevor up and they moved The TV out of the way so I could continue working.
I am still feeling a little mopey, but with a project to keep me busy and distracted, time will heal the bruises. It is just a reminder of our mortality and to live each day as fully as we can. Don't take each day for granted, because one day it will all be over, and you don't know what day that is going to be. It could be sooner than you think. Peace be with you and hug your babies.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Lovely Weekend
I went to a Zumba class Saturday morning. I am not much of a coorrdinated dance step person. I got lots of advice on the steps. It was fun as I knew many of the people but I couldn't hang around. I had an 11 am tee time at the club. I had hoped to get home and change but ended up just going in my zumba outfit of stretch pants and tee shirt. Not quite club attire. Next time I will just bring my spare shirt in the car and change at the club. I did stop at the pro shop to see if they had some cute golf pants, but it is late in the season and the women's clothing was limited. There were some padded rain pants that reminded me of ski clothes. Nothing I wanted to spend money on that screamed buy me, so I just wore my work out attire.
The round was delightful. I had been worried as I had heard the women I was playing with were really good. Turns out they had only recently, in the last couple of years, started to golf. They were natural athletes so could really hit the ball, but we all had our holes that we blew up. We had a fun round. I will do it again. I just wish the day hadn't been so rushed with all these obligations falling on the same day. I had to run after our round and couldn't hang to enjoy the afterward, as one of my dearest friends had demanded I save the date for her BBQ weeks ago.
The boys and I went to the BBQ at our friend's house Saturday night. Tom was invited, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to watch the Tigers game so he passed on the good food and good company to sit at home and be able to yell at the TV in the comfort of his own home. He had been reprimanded at the club for his excessive exuberance while watching one of the other games this week. I gave him his hall pass on the party. He is also doing a two day tournament of golf this weekend. He is in his happy place.
The boys had a blast. The teens all played games in the living room. She has two delightful and beautiful daughters. A couple of the other guests had teen girls. You could hear Trevor's happy voice and Riley's laughter in the living room, while sitting out on the deck. The weather cooperated beautifully. There was a fire in the deck chimney. I sipped a really expensive Tequila my girlfriend had bought especially for me to try. Tequila is easy to make last a long time sipping. Just the touch of it to your lips results in a burning sensation. One small shot glass can last hours.
The boys ended up getting a ride home with some other friends that came so I could have a sleep over chick night with my girlfriend. Both her children were going out for overnights and she would have been home alone. I know how that feels, staying in an empty house after everyone leaves, so I arranged to spend the night.
We invited her next door neighbor girlfriend to join us for the after party party. She had had to work so could not join us for the dinner party. She arrived in her PJ's as by the time we had been able to touch base with her she was already dressed for bed. You can do that with a Chick party, show up in PJs. That is why I love them.
I didn't have a swim suit for the hot tub so I just wore my undies. The hot tub is a beautiful round one sunk into the deck. The house is set for complete privacy with a cedar forest surround. The heat was turned up to a perfect temperature. The fire was still going as I had been stoking it all during the evening with a conveniently stacked pile of wood just steps away. I haven't had a chick get away weekend in I can't think how long. The nice thing about it was I hadn't even left town, no long drive.
We sat in that hot tub for hours before moving the conversation inside. Wrapped in towels, we talked for more hours. Or at least it felt that way. I am told it really wasn't past midnight when we finally crawled into bed. But to give me some credit, the party had started at 4pm. I had played eighteen holes of golf and gone to a Zumba class in the morning.
In the morning, Sunday, we were up at eight. Funny how our internal time clocks wont let us sleep late anymore. We spent the day watching a marathon of Gray's Anatomy on Netflix. That show is so addictive. I had already seen all the episodes we watched, and knew what was going to happen, and I still laughed and got teary eyed and yelled at Meredith for being an idiot for letting McDreamy Shepard get away.
We ate left overs for lunch. Eventually I had to go home. My girlfriend's children would be returning and I knew I still had the week's laundry to sort and put away. Our new chore is for the boys to give me the time on the weekend, and carry upstairs all the accumulated laundry from the week. It has to be hung up properly and put away. I inspect the job and it is done correctly before we quit. Everyone should have enough pants and underwear and socks to get through the next school week prepared. The pile downstairs is gone and all the dirty laundry should be finished washing.
In a day, I will have a new pile of dirty laundry to do, but the huge mess is contained for a day. This process is working well. I do it when Tom is home, though he hides out during the process. Just having him in the house is threat enough for the boys to finish the job well. Riley heaves sighs and moans that putting laundry away causes him stress, my tone of voice is unpleasant and bothers him being ordered about, but he keeps working until we are done. If Tom weren't home this chore turns into a disastrous yelling match for me, as the boys crawl slow step up the stairs and take forever returning for the next haul. With Tom in the house, the job gets done with reasonable speed. Trevor has even figured out that there is an end to the pile and then the job is done.
Trevor had a real job this weekend. Those neighbors called, the ones with family at the club. He wanted Trevor to come over and hang dry wall. Another young man, who was a relative, was also helping. The other boy was getting $10 an hour, so they payed Trevor the same rate. They worked from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. I had to steal him away for the BBq. Trevor worked another half hour on Sunday just to finish up. They ran out of Dry wall so they said they would call when they got ready to do some more next time. They have two small children. Probably work during the week. Finding time and scheduling around the child care, it took three weeks for them to call this time. Trevor can really only work weekends because of school.
He did have the opportunity to show his baby sitting skills. The dad ran out on an errand. The wife and smallest child were gone all day. Trevor was left with the toddler. He had to change a really poopy diaper. He did it without complaint and with professionalism. Not using up the whole box of wipes like some might do in the same circumstances.
Trevor was quite pleased with himself and the $65 he made. I asked him if he wanted to put any of it in the bank for his Band Disney trip. He will need $1500 to $2000 including spending money. He gave me $40 to deposit. I was very proud of him. He said the neighbors were disappointed he wasn't 16 so he could run errands for them. I mentioned Riley, but Trevor said he didn't want to share the job. Riley will just have to find his own gig.
A good weekend was had by all.
The round was delightful. I had been worried as I had heard the women I was playing with were really good. Turns out they had only recently, in the last couple of years, started to golf. They were natural athletes so could really hit the ball, but we all had our holes that we blew up. We had a fun round. I will do it again. I just wish the day hadn't been so rushed with all these obligations falling on the same day. I had to run after our round and couldn't hang to enjoy the afterward, as one of my dearest friends had demanded I save the date for her BBQ weeks ago.
The boys and I went to the BBQ at our friend's house Saturday night. Tom was invited, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to watch the Tigers game so he passed on the good food and good company to sit at home and be able to yell at the TV in the comfort of his own home. He had been reprimanded at the club for his excessive exuberance while watching one of the other games this week. I gave him his hall pass on the party. He is also doing a two day tournament of golf this weekend. He is in his happy place.
The boys had a blast. The teens all played games in the living room. She has two delightful and beautiful daughters. A couple of the other guests had teen girls. You could hear Trevor's happy voice and Riley's laughter in the living room, while sitting out on the deck. The weather cooperated beautifully. There was a fire in the deck chimney. I sipped a really expensive Tequila my girlfriend had bought especially for me to try. Tequila is easy to make last a long time sipping. Just the touch of it to your lips results in a burning sensation. One small shot glass can last hours.
The boys ended up getting a ride home with some other friends that came so I could have a sleep over chick night with my girlfriend. Both her children were going out for overnights and she would have been home alone. I know how that feels, staying in an empty house after everyone leaves, so I arranged to spend the night.
We invited her next door neighbor girlfriend to join us for the after party party. She had had to work so could not join us for the dinner party. She arrived in her PJ's as by the time we had been able to touch base with her she was already dressed for bed. You can do that with a Chick party, show up in PJs. That is why I love them.
I didn't have a swim suit for the hot tub so I just wore my undies. The hot tub is a beautiful round one sunk into the deck. The house is set for complete privacy with a cedar forest surround. The heat was turned up to a perfect temperature. The fire was still going as I had been stoking it all during the evening with a conveniently stacked pile of wood just steps away. I haven't had a chick get away weekend in I can't think how long. The nice thing about it was I hadn't even left town, no long drive.
We sat in that hot tub for hours before moving the conversation inside. Wrapped in towels, we talked for more hours. Or at least it felt that way. I am told it really wasn't past midnight when we finally crawled into bed. But to give me some credit, the party had started at 4pm. I had played eighteen holes of golf and gone to a Zumba class in the morning.
In the morning, Sunday, we were up at eight. Funny how our internal time clocks wont let us sleep late anymore. We spent the day watching a marathon of Gray's Anatomy on Netflix. That show is so addictive. I had already seen all the episodes we watched, and knew what was going to happen, and I still laughed and got teary eyed and yelled at Meredith for being an idiot for letting McDreamy Shepard get away.
We ate left overs for lunch. Eventually I had to go home. My girlfriend's children would be returning and I knew I still had the week's laundry to sort and put away. Our new chore is for the boys to give me the time on the weekend, and carry upstairs all the accumulated laundry from the week. It has to be hung up properly and put away. I inspect the job and it is done correctly before we quit. Everyone should have enough pants and underwear and socks to get through the next school week prepared. The pile downstairs is gone and all the dirty laundry should be finished washing.
In a day, I will have a new pile of dirty laundry to do, but the huge mess is contained for a day. This process is working well. I do it when Tom is home, though he hides out during the process. Just having him in the house is threat enough for the boys to finish the job well. Riley heaves sighs and moans that putting laundry away causes him stress, my tone of voice is unpleasant and bothers him being ordered about, but he keeps working until we are done. If Tom weren't home this chore turns into a disastrous yelling match for me, as the boys crawl slow step up the stairs and take forever returning for the next haul. With Tom in the house, the job gets done with reasonable speed. Trevor has even figured out that there is an end to the pile and then the job is done.
Trevor had a real job this weekend. Those neighbors called, the ones with family at the club. He wanted Trevor to come over and hang dry wall. Another young man, who was a relative, was also helping. The other boy was getting $10 an hour, so they payed Trevor the same rate. They worked from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. I had to steal him away for the BBq. Trevor worked another half hour on Sunday just to finish up. They ran out of Dry wall so they said they would call when they got ready to do some more next time. They have two small children. Probably work during the week. Finding time and scheduling around the child care, it took three weeks for them to call this time. Trevor can really only work weekends because of school.
He did have the opportunity to show his baby sitting skills. The dad ran out on an errand. The wife and smallest child were gone all day. Trevor was left with the toddler. He had to change a really poopy diaper. He did it without complaint and with professionalism. Not using up the whole box of wipes like some might do in the same circumstances.
Trevor was quite pleased with himself and the $65 he made. I asked him if he wanted to put any of it in the bank for his Band Disney trip. He will need $1500 to $2000 including spending money. He gave me $40 to deposit. I was very proud of him. He said the neighbors were disappointed he wasn't 16 so he could run errands for them. I mentioned Riley, but Trevor said he didn't want to share the job. Riley will just have to find his own gig.
A good weekend was had by all.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Teeth cleaning
I finally made the appointment to get me teeth cleaned. Went in this morning. Just a cleaning $90. No pictures or Doctor visit as I am trying to be frugal and we don't have dental coverage. I just can't stand not having my teeth cleaned regularly. I had to sign a waver stating if my teeth fall out due to no x-rays the office is not at fault. It just feels so good to have clean shiny teeth again. The boys go in next week.
I also opened a new bank account. I miss my old bank and its user friendly on line access. I couldn't stand Bank America anymore. Making me wait ten days when adding a merchant to Bill payer, or wanting to know where my friends bank in order to mail them a check. I would put in my request to add a person to send a check to, and the information would not take. I would wait the ten days and still my new person would not be added. I had to hand write a check.
I know that seems petty, but with bill payer there is a record easy to find if I ever need to go back and look. I can break the payments up for tax purposes in neat little printouts showing my expenses in categories. If I hand write a check all I get is a coded number on my account. No record of category of expense whether it was for insurance or food or cars, unless I open up the check each time and physically look at the picture of the check on line. With bill payer I can click on my utility company and see the history of as far back as I want to go. See if my utility costs have gone up or down or my grocery bill week to week has changed, how often I am filling up on gas. There is just so much information available if the system would work.
I used my old bank's bill payer for everything. Bank America is just not as user friendly. I am going to try somewhere else. Unlimited merchants, easy access, good record keeping capacity. We'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile, the floors still wait for completion. I am close to the far wall now. Tom and I are dwelling on how to install the last three or four rows. The nail gun doesn't fit that close to the wall. You can't swing the hammer to hit the ball. The handle of the gun hits the wall. I suggested gluing the last boards in the tongues. I will let you know what we figure out. We are so close to being done.
We are into week two of the project, so buying the nail gun was a good call. I would have had to rent for two to three weeks and been at the price of buying one.
I also opened a new bank account. I miss my old bank and its user friendly on line access. I couldn't stand Bank America anymore. Making me wait ten days when adding a merchant to Bill payer, or wanting to know where my friends bank in order to mail them a check. I would put in my request to add a person to send a check to, and the information would not take. I would wait the ten days and still my new person would not be added. I had to hand write a check.
I know that seems petty, but with bill payer there is a record easy to find if I ever need to go back and look. I can break the payments up for tax purposes in neat little printouts showing my expenses in categories. If I hand write a check all I get is a coded number on my account. No record of category of expense whether it was for insurance or food or cars, unless I open up the check each time and physically look at the picture of the check on line. With bill payer I can click on my utility company and see the history of as far back as I want to go. See if my utility costs have gone up or down or my grocery bill week to week has changed, how often I am filling up on gas. There is just so much information available if the system would work.
I used my old bank's bill payer for everything. Bank America is just not as user friendly. I am going to try somewhere else. Unlimited merchants, easy access, good record keeping capacity. We'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile, the floors still wait for completion. I am close to the far wall now. Tom and I are dwelling on how to install the last three or four rows. The nail gun doesn't fit that close to the wall. You can't swing the hammer to hit the ball. The handle of the gun hits the wall. I suggested gluing the last boards in the tongues. I will let you know what we figure out. We are so close to being done.
We are into week two of the project, so buying the nail gun was a good call. I would have had to rent for two to three weeks and been at the price of buying one.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tigers Game
Monday night and Tuesday night sports were on the TVs. For the past few days for that matter. It has slowed down the floor laying project. Last night Tom just said no. He wanted uninterrupted TV viewing, no nail gun. I laid the underlayment and prepped quietly. Pulled the carpet now that the slates have been moved out of the way. We still have the TV area, but Tom is waiting until the absolute last minute to do that area.
Trevor got a job at school. He saw an add for kitchen help at lunch. Free lunch with the volunteerism. He was the first to apply. He might have been bumped for an upper class mate but only one other, a girl, applied. He is the first Freshman to be so motivated. He is a good kid with a great work ethic. Free lunch is a great motivator, but I was just proud of him for taking the initiative. I told him if he was getting free lunch, I would put his lunch money into his bank account. He is saving for the band trip next year, Disney land.
Riley is crankily making up his missed assignments. Test today in math. Still has to approach Science. Has some make up quizzes in other classes also. Plugging right along but cranky.
Trevor got a job at school. He saw an add for kitchen help at lunch. Free lunch with the volunteerism. He was the first to apply. He might have been bumped for an upper class mate but only one other, a girl, applied. He is the first Freshman to be so motivated. He is a good kid with a great work ethic. Free lunch is a great motivator, but I was just proud of him for taking the initiative. I told him if he was getting free lunch, I would put his lunch money into his bank account. He is saving for the band trip next year, Disney land.
Riley is crankily making up his missed assignments. Test today in math. Still has to approach Science. Has some make up quizzes in other classes also. Plugging right along but cranky.
Monday, October 3, 2011
sore muscles
We are about half way through the flooring install. It takes a lot longer and much more care than the laminate to install, but the end result is real and beautiful. We are loving it. Tom just spelled me from my turn working in the room. It is very physical work, crawling across the floor setting boards in place with the hammer and hit block.
You don't hit the wood directly, you use a blocking piece about six inches long that disperses the hammer strength along more of the board, prevents the board from being noticeably dented or bruised. You then come back over the same line of boards with the staple gun, using a special rubber weighted hammer to hit the end of the gun, a big black ball is located there. Hit the end just right to release the air and set the staple just so, in the tongue of the board, every six to 10 inches. Be sure to put a staple near both ends of the board to prevent the board from warping or lifting later. If you don't hit the button hard, you can end up with an only partially set staple which then has to be dealt with and is time consuming. The staple has to be hammered in or cut off. They don't pull out easily. It is easier just to snap a bad staple off or hammer it down. Set a new staple nearby. A badly set staple is a pain to deal with, so don't misfire the staple gun if you can help it.
Our boards are over three inches wide. They sell boards thinner. I can't imagine the patience it takes to set thinner boards. This project is already long enough. Laminate comes in six inch widths. It can be installed in much less than half the time. Snap and click the boards in place. The only cuts are at the ends. No staples to misfire. The boards are set in place and snapped together at the same time virtually. No going back over to set and then back over again to nail. But there is no comparison to the look. Real wood is real wood.
Wood is a natural material so you have to get used to seeing small flaws. The first day Tom and I were pointing out little spaces until we realized that is nature of the beast. I was so impressed when Tom finally got the bull nose installed. You can't tell where the cut points are at all. Once the bull nose was set we could continue with the rest of the room.
Yesterday we moved the furniture from one side of the room to the now finished side of the room in order to do the floors on the not finished side. The pallet in the garage has shrunk to less than half the boxes. I just hope now that I have enough. If we run out, we'll just tile the kitchen area in the room.
You don't hit the wood directly, you use a blocking piece about six inches long that disperses the hammer strength along more of the board, prevents the board from being noticeably dented or bruised. You then come back over the same line of boards with the staple gun, using a special rubber weighted hammer to hit the end of the gun, a big black ball is located there. Hit the end just right to release the air and set the staple just so, in the tongue of the board, every six to 10 inches. Be sure to put a staple near both ends of the board to prevent the board from warping or lifting later. If you don't hit the button hard, you can end up with an only partially set staple which then has to be dealt with and is time consuming. The staple has to be hammered in or cut off. They don't pull out easily. It is easier just to snap a bad staple off or hammer it down. Set a new staple nearby. A badly set staple is a pain to deal with, so don't misfire the staple gun if you can help it.
Our boards are over three inches wide. They sell boards thinner. I can't imagine the patience it takes to set thinner boards. This project is already long enough. Laminate comes in six inch widths. It can be installed in much less than half the time. Snap and click the boards in place. The only cuts are at the ends. No staples to misfire. The boards are set in place and snapped together at the same time virtually. No going back over to set and then back over again to nail. But there is no comparison to the look. Real wood is real wood.
Wood is a natural material so you have to get used to seeing small flaws. The first day Tom and I were pointing out little spaces until we realized that is nature of the beast. I was so impressed when Tom finally got the bull nose installed. You can't tell where the cut points are at all. Once the bull nose was set we could continue with the rest of the room.
Yesterday we moved the furniture from one side of the room to the now finished side of the room in order to do the floors on the not finished side. The pallet in the garage has shrunk to less than half the boxes. I just hope now that I have enough. If we run out, we'll just tile the kitchen area in the room.
This house will be here, with us in it, thirty years from now, with luck. Our hard wood floors will still look lovely. Laminate, well, it is laminate. It is like vinyl, practical and inexpensive. I will probably put it in Riley's room upstairs, like the old house.
Riley's floor now that the carpeting is removed, is fiber board with a paper finish to make it look like hardwood panels. These panels are laid out like plywood sub floor, with surface nails and rough cut seams. I am trying to figure out how to seal the rough seams. We can live with it for a while if I can seal these deep one inch seams. I just can't figure out what the previous owners were planning to do with this floor.
Under the fiber board flooring is one inch thick cedar planks. I would expose the planks except for the fact they are grooved just like they are in the ceiling below. Quarter inch deep grooves every four inches look beautiful on the ceiling, but not so good under your feet. That is one reason the sub floor was laid on top of the cedar. It could have been a cheap way to finish the upstairs if the first owner ran out of money while under construction.
I can hear the staple gun going as Tom continues to plug away at his man cave. My hands are sore from swinging the weighted hammer and from tapping the boards into place. My wrists hurt from swinging the tools. My back hurts from being stooped over. My shoulders hurt from muscles that are doing things they haven't done for a long time. Tom told me yesterday that he could tell I was five years younger, as he lay in bed recouperating from his own exertions with the floor installion.
Riley went to school today. He was still coughing. I told him to call if he needed a ride after school, if he was going to stay after and start making up classes. Five days, six classes a day, that is 30 make up hours. It will take the rest of the semester. I can only hope he doesn't miss any more days. I know he will be exhausted.
Math should be easy to do at home if the teacher would just send it. Tom can help Riley with math, or even I can. But Tom can explain things better than me, I have found. The boys argue less with their father than with me.
English was wonderful. She sent work home so Riley doesn't have that much to make up. The rest, we will just have to wait and see. I told Riley I would pick him up if he had to stay after school. That way he might start scheduling his make up stuff right away knowing he was getting a ride. I also figured he was going to be so tired he wouldn't want to walk home, save his energy.
Tom is not feeling well himself. He is blaming Riley for giving him a cold. I just say drink fluids and wash your hands and don't share utensils or cups. I may have to get back to the floor install sooner as a result. My break may be short lived.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Volcabulary
Girls don't have phone numbers any more, they have digits. Trevor got in the car with me when I picked him up after homecoming. He had performed in the band in full uniform, a big drum, the biggest on the field, so big he couldn't see over it. The band had marched out on the field. Trevor's drum had kept tipping sideways so he could see where his feet were going.
I had seen a young band member girl tying Trevor's shoes, as I watch from the stadium bleachers, just prior to marching out on the field, since he couldn't bend over himself with the giant drum strapped to his front. He did a great job. He had to, as the drum could be heard above all other instruments and helps keep the beat. he screws up, and everyone knows it even the un musical.
After his pre game performance I snuck out. I didn't know any of the kids and didn't see any parents I knew to hang with. I texted an old friend who used to hang with me at our old school during the games, just to tell her I missed her company. I went home to help tom install more flooring. We dwell some more on the bull nose piece and prep for tackling the floors the next day. Trevor calls just as I am beginning to get worried for his ride home. It is just after 10:00pm. I had purposefully left Trevor with no money so he would have to check in. He had not done quite as well in math this week. He forgot to turn over the paper and do the back side. As a result I told him no extra cash for the game. I am glad he was on restriction of funds because as he got in the car he told me if he had money he would have gone to the homecoming dance. As it was I had just become nervous that he hadn't called yet when he did call for a pick up.
In my day you had a date and dressed formal for the dance. Now it is a show up in whatever kind of affair. The court was dressed up in ball gowns, but the rest of the people attending the dance were coming from the game. Well, I assume in my day people dressed up, I never went to the homecoming dance.
Trevor is impressed by one of his band members. This guy already has the digits of a girl. "Excuse me?" I ask. What is a digit, "The phone number" . The new phrase for getting a girl's number is getting her digits. The girl writes her number on your hand. Trevor says young men can have sweaty hands so you have to be careful not to sweat the number away before you save it in your phone.
I am ready for bed by the time we get home.
I am up early, comparatively early from the rest of the family, the next day. The interior decorator is coming at 9:30. We walk through the house. she agrees that the island is awful in the kitchen. She thinks the laundry needs to be moved and ont into the basement as Tom would like. We move some furniture around. I have to laugh as I thought I had a lot of furniture, but this house has room for more. Once she finds new locations for things, I am amazed at how much room we have for more. I may even have room for the pieces Tom wants out of the basement.
I learned a lesson on lighting. I need to go buy halogen light bulbs. All those light bulbs I bought are all wrong. They keep the light in the can in the ceiling. you put a halogen light where it is supposed to go and you will be amazed at the light being down with you where you need it and not just a bright light in your ceiling. I can see that was an expensive lesson, but it is a difference so dramatic even I see it. I don't know what I am going to do with all these wrong bulbs. They do work in lamps.
We also hung some art work. I wish I could have afforded more than just the two hours of the decorator's time. She was worth every penny. She was a lovely mediator for Tom's and my ideas. she had some great suggestions to make our finances work with our grandious plans.
she suggested just doing the upper cabinets in the kitchen to save money. Check in the can lighting to see if we can remove the dropped ceiling and put in track lighting in the kitchen to make it feel taller and roomier.
A lot of ideas to mull over and pick from. It was a great morning.
I had seen a young band member girl tying Trevor's shoes, as I watch from the stadium bleachers, just prior to marching out on the field, since he couldn't bend over himself with the giant drum strapped to his front. He did a great job. He had to, as the drum could be heard above all other instruments and helps keep the beat. he screws up, and everyone knows it even the un musical.
After his pre game performance I snuck out. I didn't know any of the kids and didn't see any parents I knew to hang with. I texted an old friend who used to hang with me at our old school during the games, just to tell her I missed her company. I went home to help tom install more flooring. We dwell some more on the bull nose piece and prep for tackling the floors the next day. Trevor calls just as I am beginning to get worried for his ride home. It is just after 10:00pm. I had purposefully left Trevor with no money so he would have to check in. He had not done quite as well in math this week. He forgot to turn over the paper and do the back side. As a result I told him no extra cash for the game. I am glad he was on restriction of funds because as he got in the car he told me if he had money he would have gone to the homecoming dance. As it was I had just become nervous that he hadn't called yet when he did call for a pick up.
In my day you had a date and dressed formal for the dance. Now it is a show up in whatever kind of affair. The court was dressed up in ball gowns, but the rest of the people attending the dance were coming from the game. Well, I assume in my day people dressed up, I never went to the homecoming dance.
Trevor is impressed by one of his band members. This guy already has the digits of a girl. "Excuse me?" I ask. What is a digit, "The phone number" . The new phrase for getting a girl's number is getting her digits. The girl writes her number on your hand. Trevor says young men can have sweaty hands so you have to be careful not to sweat the number away before you save it in your phone.
I am ready for bed by the time we get home.
I am up early, comparatively early from the rest of the family, the next day. The interior decorator is coming at 9:30. We walk through the house. she agrees that the island is awful in the kitchen. She thinks the laundry needs to be moved and ont into the basement as Tom would like. We move some furniture around. I have to laugh as I thought I had a lot of furniture, but this house has room for more. Once she finds new locations for things, I am amazed at how much room we have for more. I may even have room for the pieces Tom wants out of the basement.
I learned a lesson on lighting. I need to go buy halogen light bulbs. All those light bulbs I bought are all wrong. They keep the light in the can in the ceiling. you put a halogen light where it is supposed to go and you will be amazed at the light being down with you where you need it and not just a bright light in your ceiling. I can see that was an expensive lesson, but it is a difference so dramatic even I see it. I don't know what I am going to do with all these wrong bulbs. They do work in lamps.
We also hung some art work. I wish I could have afforded more than just the two hours of the decorator's time. She was worth every penny. She was a lovely mediator for Tom's and my ideas. she had some great suggestions to make our finances work with our grandious plans.
she suggested just doing the upper cabinets in the kitchen to save money. Check in the can lighting to see if we can remove the dropped ceiling and put in track lighting in the kitchen to make it feel taller and roomier.
A lot of ideas to mull over and pick from. It was a great morning.
Coughing
I can't believe the difference. I asked my girlfriend if they were using the air filter I gave them. They had said their son didn't like the noise initially. If they weren't using it, I wanted it back. Riley's fluid in his lungs with that awful deep cough, I wanted to filter the air in his room. this house has been empty for so long it smells musty at times.
I went into Riley's room while he was sleeping and started to cut out the carpet. I just cut around the furniture and shoved the clothes on the floor into a pile next to his bed. I removed a huge chunk of carpet. The dust and sand underneath the carpet and pad made me feel more confident on my choice. I removed all the staples that were securing the pad.
Riley finally woke from his codeine induced sleep and rolled over. He was amazed. "What the heck!!!". He hadn't even known I was working. He loved the carpet gone as much as I did. He said it looked better. I warned him not to role his office chair around the room as the noise could be heard in the office below and now there was no padding. I still have to move the furniture and get the carpet under the bed. It may just be psychological but I think his room smells better already. Even Tom who gave me the green light to rip it out said he figures the carpets contribute to the musty smell.
My girlfriend dropped by with the air filter. She said she had been talking to her husband about getting it back to me as soon as she read that Riley was sick. I plugged it back in and changed the filter. I could tell it needed a new filter with the dust trapped inside.
Last night, second day of antibiotics with a double dose the first day to get us started, Riley slept soundly. This morning I went into his room. He was so still that I reached down and felt his forehead to see if he was still warm and breathing. Between the air filter in his room again and the antibiotics, this bug has been knocked out of the park.
Baseball season playoffs are going and its pretty exciting. Tom has the TV on the game while we work on the floor. We are trying to get a rhythm going. We are both critical of each other's ideas and work as we both have differing ideas on how things should be done. But we are learning how to politely share ideas without offending or being negative about the other ones.
The problem is that bull nose right at the stair. How do we meld the floor with it. I wish we had waited to start at that point first. But we didn't, so now we have to deal with blending the floor in at that joint. Two thoughts are nail down right there at the joint having cut all the pieces coming into it, or randomly blend out in the floor area and face nail at random lengths each strip where we have to cut to make the tight fit in the run. It wont be covered by molding. Another way to do it is with a transition piece, but we like that smooth line we have created.
The floors look fantastic. We have about a quarter done. We lost two days of work dwelling on the bull nose. Today our goal is to get it permanently installed so we can continue. Each row builds on the last so you can only go six inches close to the end of the last row, until we cut for the very end. The bull nose has held up the whole room as a result.
We did establish our roles while Tom helps and does the hard cuts. He wants it done perfectly so the easiest way to achieve that is to have him do those hard cuts. I get the boards and lay them out in the random pattern hammering them in place, while he hammers them in place permanently with the air compressor nail gun.
Tom said he ran into someone at work. He was shared the install story. The guy said he had an nail gun we could use. Tom said too late we had already bought one and were committed. The guy had figured out the same issue, that the floors really take a couple of weeks doing it yourself. At the rental price, you might as well buy the tool rather than rent it. The convenience and time is worth the cost.
Once the bull nose is in, I can work on the floors while Tom is at work. Meanwhile I can work on removing the rest of the carpets in Riley's room as a distraction. I will have to move the furniture to get the rest of the carpet out. I was just amazed at the health difference the air filter and the carpets are making.
I did feel bad about asking for the filter back, but their son's numbers are better than ours now. They may go get a filter themselves. Since they have been using the filter their son has not had any serious complications, no more new infections to slow his progress. They can get a filter delivered in a couple of days.
We talked when they dropped off the filter. Riley coughs and coughs, I tell them about how the doctor and Riley got a good laugh at my expense about putting Riley in a bubble. I point out that by taking him out of his sanitary bubble this is what happens, he gets seriously sick. I am building the bubble in his room again.
The dad shared a story about some poisonous mushrooms found in a planter at work. One of the staff threw them away in the trash right next to where he works. He left the office went home and stripped at the door, leaving his shoes outside to be washed off. He showered and tossed everything into the laundry immediately. This is the extent we go to keep our immune suppressed children safe. They totally understood my paranoia. It is lovely to have friends that get it and understand.
My sister had also called earlier this week. she had given me the air filter initially. Her son has a compromised immune system. She told me to put the filter back in Riley's room when she heard he was sick. She now has a whole house water filter she wanted to tell me about. She said her son was doing even better with the filtered water. They live in a community that last year had a contaminated water warning go out city wide. Everyone was told to boil their drinking water for five minutes for a week.
I just can't get over how quickly Riley improved with the filter in his room. He slept soundly all night. I still haven't heard him cough yet this morning. He is not up yet. No one is. But we are expecting a local interior decorator to come and talk kitchen ideas and other projects to us this morning. So I will have to wake everyone soon.
I need to tidy up. It is amazing how messy we are with just one day of everyone home.
I went into Riley's room while he was sleeping and started to cut out the carpet. I just cut around the furniture and shoved the clothes on the floor into a pile next to his bed. I removed a huge chunk of carpet. The dust and sand underneath the carpet and pad made me feel more confident on my choice. I removed all the staples that were securing the pad.
Riley finally woke from his codeine induced sleep and rolled over. He was amazed. "What the heck!!!". He hadn't even known I was working. He loved the carpet gone as much as I did. He said it looked better. I warned him not to role his office chair around the room as the noise could be heard in the office below and now there was no padding. I still have to move the furniture and get the carpet under the bed. It may just be psychological but I think his room smells better already. Even Tom who gave me the green light to rip it out said he figures the carpets contribute to the musty smell.
My girlfriend dropped by with the air filter. She said she had been talking to her husband about getting it back to me as soon as she read that Riley was sick. I plugged it back in and changed the filter. I could tell it needed a new filter with the dust trapped inside.
Last night, second day of antibiotics with a double dose the first day to get us started, Riley slept soundly. This morning I went into his room. He was so still that I reached down and felt his forehead to see if he was still warm and breathing. Between the air filter in his room again and the antibiotics, this bug has been knocked out of the park.
Baseball season playoffs are going and its pretty exciting. Tom has the TV on the game while we work on the floor. We are trying to get a rhythm going. We are both critical of each other's ideas and work as we both have differing ideas on how things should be done. But we are learning how to politely share ideas without offending or being negative about the other ones.
The problem is that bull nose right at the stair. How do we meld the floor with it. I wish we had waited to start at that point first. But we didn't, so now we have to deal with blending the floor in at that joint. Two thoughts are nail down right there at the joint having cut all the pieces coming into it, or randomly blend out in the floor area and face nail at random lengths each strip where we have to cut to make the tight fit in the run. It wont be covered by molding. Another way to do it is with a transition piece, but we like that smooth line we have created.
The floors look fantastic. We have about a quarter done. We lost two days of work dwelling on the bull nose. Today our goal is to get it permanently installed so we can continue. Each row builds on the last so you can only go six inches close to the end of the last row, until we cut for the very end. The bull nose has held up the whole room as a result.
We did establish our roles while Tom helps and does the hard cuts. He wants it done perfectly so the easiest way to achieve that is to have him do those hard cuts. I get the boards and lay them out in the random pattern hammering them in place, while he hammers them in place permanently with the air compressor nail gun.
Tom said he ran into someone at work. He was shared the install story. The guy said he had an nail gun we could use. Tom said too late we had already bought one and were committed. The guy had figured out the same issue, that the floors really take a couple of weeks doing it yourself. At the rental price, you might as well buy the tool rather than rent it. The convenience and time is worth the cost.
Once the bull nose is in, I can work on the floors while Tom is at work. Meanwhile I can work on removing the rest of the carpets in Riley's room as a distraction. I will have to move the furniture to get the rest of the carpet out. I was just amazed at the health difference the air filter and the carpets are making.
I did feel bad about asking for the filter back, but their son's numbers are better than ours now. They may go get a filter themselves. Since they have been using the filter their son has not had any serious complications, no more new infections to slow his progress. They can get a filter delivered in a couple of days.
We talked when they dropped off the filter. Riley coughs and coughs, I tell them about how the doctor and Riley got a good laugh at my expense about putting Riley in a bubble. I point out that by taking him out of his sanitary bubble this is what happens, he gets seriously sick. I am building the bubble in his room again.
The dad shared a story about some poisonous mushrooms found in a planter at work. One of the staff threw them away in the trash right next to where he works. He left the office went home and stripped at the door, leaving his shoes outside to be washed off. He showered and tossed everything into the laundry immediately. This is the extent we go to keep our immune suppressed children safe. They totally understood my paranoia. It is lovely to have friends that get it and understand.
My sister had also called earlier this week. she had given me the air filter initially. Her son has a compromised immune system. She told me to put the filter back in Riley's room when she heard he was sick. She now has a whole house water filter she wanted to tell me about. She said her son was doing even better with the filtered water. They live in a community that last year had a contaminated water warning go out city wide. Everyone was told to boil their drinking water for five minutes for a week.
I just can't get over how quickly Riley improved with the filter in his room. He slept soundly all night. I still haven't heard him cough yet this morning. He is not up yet. No one is. But we are expecting a local interior decorator to come and talk kitchen ideas and other projects to us this morning. So I will have to wake everyone soon.
I need to tidy up. It is amazing how messy we are with just one day of everyone home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
