Halloween

The whoop-whoop of the police car siren alerted me that our street had become a parking lot. Yes, it was the annual Halloween traffic jam on our street. The police come by to get people to move on if they can't find a parking space on the legal side of the street. What prompts people to leave their neighborhoods to come to our street?

A friend once opined that it was people coming from unsafe neighborhoods. Watching the late model SUVs, vans, and cars pull up and disgorge hordes, I couldn't picture these teens as disadvantaged inner city kids.

It used to be that we were the only house which did not have its porch lights on at our end of the street. More join us each year. Others do it for the first hour and then that's it. I noticed that the nice young couple across the street did not have their porch lights on this year.

I really dislike this holiday for what it has become. A friend said that the last straw was the teenage mother with young infant in arms who had bags for both of them!

*****
Jack o' lanterns created by the grandkids and their Dad. Thanks, Jason.

Othello

Othello has always been one of my top ten favorite Shakespearean plays. It addresses many of the ills of man, including jealousy, revenge, abuse, and racism.

Great Lakes Theater Festival is known for taking Shakespeare, retaining the language of the plays, and using modern settings. Having Iago and Cassio in Italian army fatigues reinforced the motivating factor of Iago's villainy, his being passed over for the promotion as Othello's lieutenant.

David Alan Anderson in his debut with GLTF wowed the audience. He cut an imposing figure in his dress uniform. It was easy to see why the lovely Desdemona was intrigued by him. Once she saw his gentle, loving side she fell hard and eloped much to the disgust of her father who disowned her.

At times Anderson rivaled Paul Robeson's memorable performance.

Our General Contractor Comes Through Again

The saga of the right color for the new kitchen flooring continued this week. A couple of days ago John the Floor Guy came by when we weren't home to put a couple more patches of stain where the refridgerator will sit. We weren't sold on either one.

This morning Mike stops by with three cans of stain and a 12 foot piece of flooring. He gets down on his hands and knees to try different combinations. First he applied a coat of Golden Oak. Too light. Then he applied a second coat. Almost! Then he added Sedona Red. Interesting! This combination matched the heart pine boards but was too red for most of the floor. Mike suggests that John the Floor Guy should apply two coats of Golden Oak; then Mike will come in and apply Sedona Red randomly to replicate the old floor and after that, he'll add some dark stain here and there to simulate the wear and tear of 93 years.

What a guy!

Let There Be Light

Brett the Electrician and his helper Mike spent several hours with us today installing lights, switches and outlets. What a difference having the right amount of light makes.

The lights in the cabinets were not scheduled to go live today but Brett temporarily hooked them to power so we could see what they would look like. We arrived home just as they were getting into the truck to leave. Brett made a comment about having lights now.

"You mean the cabinet lights are connected? I can't wait to see them!" Brett gave me the-crazy-homeowner-who-gets-excited-about-lights look and followed us into the house. I squealed appropriately. Brett looks uncertain and says, "You really like them?" I should interject here that he did not select or wire the lights in the cabinets. That was done by the cabinet makers.

Both my Sweetie and I allowed that we did indeed like them. I asked him why he didn't. It was because they are the cool white light. Once we explained that our art glass collection would be displayed in them, he seemed to understand why we approved.

Then the story came out. On a recent kitchen job he had wired the kitchen for incandescent cans in the ceiling and xenon under cabinet lights. The husband came home and hated them. So he got "such a deal" on the Internet and paid $3,000 for LED can lights. Brett rewired because LEDs require transformers. He gets all done; the wife comes home and has a fit. She hated the bright white lights. It must have looked like an operating room. Yes, indeed, Brett gets to take them out and rewire for incandescent ones.

It now was clear why he was feeling a bit of trepidation and why he was so relieved when we liked all the lighting.


Cabinet lights on; recessed cans off

Cabinet and recessed lights on.
Try to ignore that reflection from the recessed ceiling can. It doesn't have its trim kit on yet.

Good Doctors

About 5 days ago I noticed that my fourth toe on my right foot was just not happy. With every step it would complain. So I tried walking without putting pressure on it. Tricky if not downright impossible.

Since I needed to be on my feet, including that toe, to prime the kitchen and bathrooms and strip the window over the sink, I decided decisive action was called for. No procrastinating as I usually do with all things medical. There was no ignoring this pain.

My Sweetie had an appointment with our primary care physician, Richard Lawrence Stein, who is without doubt the best doctor I have ever had. His bedside manner is one of caring with a great sense of humor thrown in.

I called the office the day before the appointment to see if they could fit me in. I suggested that if he couldn't see me around the same time (10:15), I could come back later. Quickly she said that he could fit me in at the same time.

Yesterday my Sweetie, who has been battling this virus that is laying people low, decided that he was too sick to go to the doctor so I had the appointment to myself.

Richard, as he wants us to call him, comes in and stretches his arms wide and says, "It is so good to see you. It has been too long." After our customary hug, he asks, "How are you?" After a bit, we get around to my problem toe. He takes my foot and props it on his knee to examine it. He asks the typical question about whether I stepped on anything. He looks puzzled and then says, "Wait a second." Then grabs the otoscope, remarking about how this is a weird way to use it. Then proceeds to shine it on the sore spot. "Nothing in there," he reports. "Doesn't look like a wart."

He looks as me, "I have no idea what is wrong with it. I am going to send you to a podiatrist."

I get home and shortly thereafter, I receive a phone call from the doctor referral service that he uses. But the podiatrist is not in the system so the woman gives me his office number. When I call and explain about Richard and what he said about not knowing what is wrong with it, she laughs, asks me to hold a second, comes back, and asks if I can come in at 12:30 the next day. Ah, the power of Richard's name.

Today when I arrived at Michael Singerman's office, I apologized for being a couple minutes late, explaining that I had not counted on the lunch time traffic and that I caught almost ever light red. The receptionist laughed and said that is wasn't a problem and that the patient who had just arrived before me had the same experience.

After completing the patient information sheet and giving her my insurance card, I settled down in a surprisingly comfortable waiting room chair with the newspaper. I had barely read a couple of articles when a young woman called my name. I began to ask if there was anything to read in the exam room when she said, "You's better take the paper with you."

I had just begun reading an editorial by Connie Schulz when the doctor came into the room, introducing himself as Michael Singerman. Looking at the patient information sheet he says, "I didn't know Richard's middle name was Lawrence." For the next couple of minutes we talk about how he knew Richard from his internship at Mount Sinai. He told me about Richard winning all the awards. They all called him Red. Yes, he does have red hair.

He also told me about Richard asking him not to send him the annual gift card for referring patients. Richard told him that the only gift he wanted was for Michael to take good care of the patients he refers.

Michael laughs when I tell him what Richard said about not knowing what was wrong about my foot. He replied, "Yep, that sounds just like him."

With all of the stories told, he asked me what is wrong with my foot. Upon examination he identifies it as a seed corn. Who knew I could grow crops on my foot.

After ascertaining that I had not changed footwear or done anything unusual lately, he began scraping it off. Apparently they are tricky things to get rid of. So I will put an antibiotic ointment on it for three days and hope for the best.

I now have another good doctor.

Attention to Detail

We have the most amazing carpenter working for us. John is a gem. Today he was replacing the inappropriate ranch moulding around the kitchen windows.

Old ranch moulding

He replaced it with the same moulding that is original to the house. It is a 4" flat board with a narrow band added on top at the outside edges. He also duplicated the wide board that is between the windows in the rest of the house.

Now these windows look as if they belong to the house.


Where the back door casing and the window casing butted into each other, he put the band on the joint and then mitered it into the horizontal one at the top. It took extra time but it looks great.

It's the little things that count.

Cabinets. Yes, Again.

Today brought Dan the Perfectionist Cabinet Installer back to install trim pieces. When Bob from Swiss Woodcraft arrived, they began working on the refrigerator cabinet. With a bit of cutting and trimming, they were able to get it into place without taking it apart.

Refrigerator Cabinet

The four splotches are various stains that the two Derricks tried last week to find a match for the 93-year-old pine. No luck.

Check out the wooden sawhorses. Of course, a cabinet shop could not use metal ones.




And This Is the Only Item on My Christmas Wishlist

Houses

This afternoon my Sweetie and I visited three houses that our city had purchased and renovated using federal funding under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This program under the auspices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development helps cities purchase and renovate abandoned or foreclosed homes.

To date, the city has 12 homes which have either been renovated or are in the process of being renovated under the NSP program. The three homes we saw today are the first to be completed and are on the market. Buyers must meet the income guidelines established by HUD.

The houses, built in the 1920s, were completely gutted. In essence, one has a new house in an old, gracious shell. All three houses sport front porches and attics. One has a finished attic. The other two have ones large enough for a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom.

All the mechanicals were replaced which means these houses have something that most don't in our city: air conditioning. Also they all have tankless hot water supply.

In one basement we were surprised to see a wood-burning fireplace.

At one house I saw an old friend who works for the city. She pointed out that the NSP also helps out contractors who need the work. It seems to be a win-win proposition.

What a great use for our tax dollars. I would rather see mine being spent this way than on armaments.

Cooking in Less Than Ideal Conditions

I was tired of eating out or having, tho admittedly tasty, frozen entrees from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Yesterday I perused the equipment available: Sunbeam food processor, Farberware electric skillet, Rival crockpot, Black and Decker steamer, Foreman grill, Oster 16-speed blender, Kenmore microwave, and Presto pressure cooker. Pioneer women managed without any of these so I could surely create a dinner that would garner a good review. But what?

In a sudden flash, I knew that I would make the much-loved Lemon Chicken from my girls' childhood. Steam some rice and add a salad and viola! Dinner.

I made out the shopping list for my Sweetie who would go out hunting and gathering the ingredients the following morning.

Since I have done very little cooking in the last 24 years, the benefit of having married not one but two men who love to cook, I had to think more about what I was doing. But I was amazed at how much was still programmed in my aging brain. I found myself washing the chicken without thinking about it.

After dredging the chicken pieces in salted flour, I browned them in the electric skillet (first appliance) and then placed them in the crockpot (second appliance). Later in the day I put the rice in the steamer (third appliance) for 30 minutes. Decades ago the rice would have been Uncle Ben's instant white. Today it was jasmine which is a much better complement to the chicken. My Sweetie offered to make the salad. I gladly accepted. Meanwhile in the skillet I added a cornstarch-and-water mixture to the juices from the crockpot and cooked it until the sauce was thickened and bubbly.

I am happy to report that my Sweetie loved the meal. And we have leftovers.

Countertops

Today a nice young man named Matt (picture the nice, short boy in your class who was brilliant in math) came to measure for the quartz countertops.

With his trusty laser and attached computer tablet he was able to make a template without a measuring tape or cardboard. Modern technology is amazing. But there was a slight bump in the road at first. His laser would not turn on. But with a little tweaking and re-booting the red dot appeared on the wall.

Laser and computer

Closeup of laser and computer

He would place markers at each corner and center the laser dot on them. Then a tap with his stylus would enter the measurement. After all markers were entered into the computer the template for the countertop would be completed.

Target for the laser

But when it came to the piece for our hutch, he took digital pictures and measured.

So in less than two weeks, we hope, the countertops will be delivered and installed. Between now and then the electrical, plumbing, and flooring will be finished. Tomorrow I prime the walls but first, I will have to conquer the dust from the sanding of the drywall joint compound. Suffice it to say that the floor was white when I came back from the library. But Al the Drywall Finisher did make the walls a lot smoother.

Garage: Day Five

John the Carpenter arrived this morning with yet another assistant, Jeff, who is Reed's roommate. Reed started a new job this morning.

Before I knew it John had the sill plate done.

Now that's a sill plate.

We had to leave for an hour or so this afternoon. When we returned, he had replaced the old header that wasn't really attached to anything as it turns out. No wonder the wall was sagging. The triple beam butted up against the fake header above the window. The load wasn't transferred to the sill plate. It certainly is now.

New header in place with studs coming down to the sill plate.

The new header is a triple.

While I was cleaning the stainless steel sink, John told me about the time that he cut his forearm so badly that he had to have stitches both in his arm and in the skin. He was loading lumber into his truck when he dragged his arm along the very sharp edge of a 6" putty knife. As he put it, "You could look inside my arm." At first he did not realize that he had been hurt, then the kid at the lumber yard told him that he was bleeding. John likened it to someone turning on a faucet. Apparently it was gushing.

Since he had lumber sticking out of his truck, he didn't want to leave it unattended. He called one of his brothers to go with him to the ER so he could get stitches and the brother could stay with the truck. John swung by, picked up his brother, and drove himself to the ER. The brother stayed with the truck; John went in; John got stitches; John drove his brother back home; John went back to work.

What a guy!

Stainless Steel

A huge surprise greeted me when I returned home from WOW, my writing group. Bob the Kitchen Designer and Dan the Cabinet Installer had cleaned up our stainless steel sink unit and installed it. It looks just as good as I thought it would. The satin nickel knobs and cup pulls match the luster of the stainless steel.

Sink

They will return after a few alterations are made by John the Carpenter.

Not an Italian but a Man without a Country

The allegedly-Italian mason is really from Yugoslavia.



In the time it took for Benny the Brickie to lay 28 feet of 4" block, I learned that in the 1940s all the adult men in Yugoslavia were conscripted to work for Hitler's regime. When the war ended, those men were given the opportunity to emigrate to the US with their families.

He was drafted for the Vietnam War. When he appeared for his induction, they excused him because he could neither read nor speak English. In another 5 years when he was 26, he was called up again and did serve 6 months in Vietnam. He claims that it did not bother him because he was older and could handle it. He told of the younger soldiers crying when the pilot pointed out that they were flying over Vietnam.

He took three years to get his GED because he kept falling asleep in class since he had labored all day. When he returned from Vietnam, he was going to use the GI Bill until he realized that he could make more money as a bricklayer than he could teaching.

His able assistant Dan graduated from college in May and cannot find a job. He majored in both finance and business administration with a minor in economic. Dan said that he will just keep working with Benny until he gets a job in his field.

A man educated by life and a college graduate built our wall.

Mikey Didn't Like It Either

The expression on Mike the Contractor's face when he walked into the kitchen today was priceless. Very seriously, he says, "The new pine has to be stained." He was also unhappy that the boards were too perfect. He had rejected the first batch of flooring that was delivered because it had too many knots. This batch did not have enough. So all was well in renovation land until the cabinets installers arrived with a truckload of cabinets.

Mike had suggested that the wiring for the puck lights in the upper cabinets be done so that they would plug into receptacles in the ceiling above the cabinets. Oops! There were bare wires to hard-wire them in. Bob the Swiss Woodcraft Guy called Mike and they worked it out but it was not an auspicious beginning to his and Dan's day.

When we returned from finalizing the order for the sinks, toilets, and faucets, we learned that the chimney wall was out of square three quarters of an inch. Bad news because it is the left edge of the stainless steel sink so one cannot fudge it as one could do with quartz. Quickly they came up with a solution but the old girl is not making anything easy.

First cabinets installed


Meanwhile this morning the two Daves, the HVAC Guys, connected the toe-kick heaters to our hot-water heating system. The older Dave guarantees that we will be warm in the kitchen without an auxiliary electric heater. This will be a first. For 24 years we have had to use one so as not to have frost-bite while eating breakfast. The new heaters are also on their own zone so my early-rising Sweetie can bump up the heat if need be.


Toe-kick heater not installed

And how lovely that one cannot even see it unless you lie on the floor as I did to take the picture. (Note that the decorative grill plate is not installed yet.) It is amazing the advances in HVAC.

Toe-kick heater installed under the cabinet

So there are a lot of cabinets to be installed. I wonder how many more bumps there will be on the road to a new kitchen.

The Answer to Yesterday's Post Title: No, They Don't.

Al the Drywall Finisher did the final coat of mud today. The walls are as flat and smooth as they are going to be in an old house.

It was amazing to watch him walk around the kitchen on his stilts. In the 18 years he has been on the job, he has fallen once and broke his arm. Someone had put bracing on a house where there had never been one and he just didn't see it.

Al on his stilts

Besides his day job Al plays lead guitar for The Devize, a rock band that writes all its songs. Al suggested I listen to Heaven's Gate since it is one of the calmer ones. I guess he figured that I wasn't a rocker. Give it a listen: Heaven's Gate

Al is third from the left.

We were not any more thrilled with the floor than we were yesterday so I experimented with leftover wood stains from my stash. We are liking Ipswich Pine for the new pine. Wonder what Mike's reaction will be to the floor.

Tomorrow morning the cabinets will arrive. Excitement!

Don't These Workers Ever Take a Day Off?

The men who are working on our house don't seem to take Saturdays off.

Today we had two brickies and two floor finishers.

Our porch is no longer in danger of falling down thanks to Benny and his assistant. Mike the Contractor told me that his regular brickie was on a job for one of the colleges and was working 6 days a week. So he called Ray the Concrete Guy to find another. Mike's requirement? That his name end in a vowel. It seems that there is a lot of truth to the stereotype of Italians being great masons. And as you can see, we had a brickie with lots of experience.





The floor was sanded, buffed, and the first coat of clear finish was applied. However, we are not thrilled with the result so we will have another discussion with Mike on Monday morning.




But we were thrilled our Toad Lily.



And then we capped off our day with The Atomic Dogs.

Renovation Update

Over the past two days there has been progress.

The footer for the porch wall was formed and filled with concrete mixed by hand.






The last patching of the drywall was done and the first coat of mud was applied.






The floor was laid!

Here is the transition between the 97-year-0ld pine and the new.



Finished!



We will not have a weekend to ourselves since on Saturday the floor will be sanded and the "brickies" will build the porch wall and lay a course of cement block on the garage foundation. Al the Drywall Finisher will be here on Sunday morning. He can't work tomorrow because he has his day job and then a gig with his band in the evening.

Our cast of characters continues to be varied and intriguing.

An Ideal Husband

Oscar Wilde's play, An Ideal Husband, was first performed in 1895 and is just as relevant today as it was then. Besides telling an age-old story of politics and corruption, it is rife with Wilde's sentiments about men, women, and marriage.

The following dialogue takes place in Act IV:

Lord Caversham: Now, if you don't make her an ideal husband, I'll cut you off with a shilling.
Mabel: An ideal husband? Oh, I don't think I should like that.
Lord Caversham: What do you want him to be then, my dear?
Mabel: I think he can be whatever he chooses.
Lord Caversham: You don't deserve her, sir.
Lord Arthur Goring: My dear father, if we men married the women we deserved... we should have a very bad time of it.

After yesterday's events, we so enjoyed going to the theater to see a play filled with the wit of Oscar Wilde. Great Lakes Theater Festival was just the ticket.

ER on Television vs ER in Real Life

It all began on a beautiful fall afternoon. My Sweetie had just awaken from his nap and was getting ready to help me move some plants.

Suddenly he experienced extreme vertigo. It was worse when he laid down. Then when he tried to sit up, he would lose his balance.

Against his protestations, I called 911. I learned my lesson the hard way in 1994. I was not going to experience that again.

By the time I drove to the hospital, parked, and wended my way through the labyrinth to the ER, he was in a bed and had had blood drawn. But he was also shaking uncontrollably.

Then there was the interminable wait until the lab work was done. Yep, just like on ER, waiting for lab results takes forever. Then and only then was he given fluids and medications.

Also the ER nurses do indeed keep the show going, whether on TV or in real life. The Doc had told us that all the tests came back fine so he would give him a prescription for meclizine. He also explained that it could have been a result of being dehydrated or getting older. It appears another blessing of aging is that one's ears become out of sync which causes vertigo. This can be corrected by retraining your brain to ignore your ears by using vestibular habituation exercises. Eventually the brain just says, "Fine, so this is what normal feels like."

He tells us to give him 15 minutes to write the scrip and finish the chart and then the nurse will come in to discharge my Sweetie. After about 30 minutes I go looking for Danielle, our angel. She has not received anything from the doctor and indeed, he still has my Sweetie's chart. Within moments she is in with the paperwork and proceeds to disconnect him from all the leads.

I ask her if she watched ER. With a big smile, she says, "I loved that show."

And just like on ER, we had the "regular" next to us. Not the Icicle Man but one my Sweetie dubbed Mike the Motormouth. OMG, he would not shut up. Danielle told us that she had had him five or six times since May. I remarked, "I don't know how you do it. I would want to shoot him." And then there was the one on a gurney parked next to the information desk who kept yelling, "Someone help me."

I prefer watching ER.

The Garage

I have waited for 24 years to save our garage. According to John the Carpenter, it is a good thing we didn't wait any longer.

What an amazing job he did today. He shored up the side walls and then cut the wall studs about 12 inches above the floor to allow room for a course of cement blocks and a double sill plate.

John knocking the studs loose after he cut them.



While Reed his helper pushed the wall in to straighten it, John braced it in place.



This is not what a sill should look like.




John decided to add the two 2x4s after he eyed the garage for a while. Here's hoping that there are no high winds until the walls get reattached.

All's Well in Renovation Land

This morning Mike Foster, our general contractor, dealt with all of the issues. Most were a result of miscommunication.

Now the pocket door to the half bath is in the right place. The sewer line is re-routed so that it is no longer under the front porch. This took most of the day since they had to hand-dig the rest of the trench and use a jackhammer and a sledge to break up a mini-boulder and a large mass of concrete and bricks. It was hard work. While we were away, they had dug for two days in the rain; then the trench caved in. I think that they are all relieved that it is done. As Lucas said, they are going to sleep well tonight.

After the workmen left, I removed wallpaper from the kitchen and half bath in preparation for the drywall finishers to begin on Wednesday.

While Mike was here, Bob Carpenter from Swiss Woodcraft called to confirm that the cabinets will be delivered on Monday. It is really coming together.

I am excited again.

All That Skate LA Revisited

Today NBC aired a 90-minute program of highlights from the skating show I saw in Los Angeles. I am so glad that I went since the program did not do justice to the show.

Unfortunately, a couple of the performances on Sunday afternoon were much better than Saturday night but there was no film crew there.

It is difficult to capture the excitement of being in the arena and also the speed of the skaters. They are much faster than they appear on television.

Tho some people thought I was crazy to make the trip, I would not have missed it.

Back to Reality and It Isn't Pretty!

After being on the road for 12.5 hours, we enter our house to find that there has been progress but not nearly enough.

And why in the world is the placement of the pocket door the exact opposite of what the plan called for?

I think that we will have an interesting discussion with our general contractor on Monday.

On a happier note, Callie and Six are ecstatic that we are back.

My, But the House is Quiet

The brothers have left and we are tired. So did we take it easy today? Of course not!

The four of us moved trees. The birds had gifted us with a tulip and a magnolia. But they were both in the wrong spots. It always amazes me that a plant that looked small in a confined space looks so much larger in its new spacious accommodations.

Digging in sandy soil is so much easier than in clay. No need for dynamite here.

After moving a few more smaller plants, we did take it easy, playing Washers which is similar to horseshoes and sitting in the sun.

After another delicious dinner on the riverfront, we sat around the fire pit talking about the reunion. My sister thinks that we should extend it to a week so that there is more downtime rather than cramming everything into four days.

Maybe we wouldn't be so exhausted.

Sibling Reunion: Day Four

Today six of us visited Cape Fear Riverwood which specializes in reclaiming wood. It is amazing to think that there are tons of logs in the river. Using sonar and a crane on a barge, they retrieve "sinkers" that were lost over a hundred years ago.

The wood is beautiful. I am especially fond of King's Grade Heart Pine.



This is flooring made from cypress.



This wood was eaten by worms.



They also deconstruct buildings which yields magnificent pieces like these barn beams.




And it was a perfect day for a ride with the top down.

Sibling Reunion: Day Three

Today my sister and I showed our company more of Wilmington by taking one of the river cruises. It was a lovely day to be on the river.

Then it was off to the ocean for a walk on the beach. We were soon shedding the jackets we had worn downtown when it was so windy.

Of course, we had to go to another of our favorite restaurants. This one on the Intracoastal Waterway. Sitting on the patio overlooking the marina, we continued the stories and the laughter.

Later this evening the wife of the Texas brother remarked on how close we are as a family. She commented that she and her four siblings have never spent this much time together. My sister and I thought that it might be a function of being spread across the country rather than living in the same area.

But whatever the reason it has been such fun to hang out with my siblings and listen to the stories of our childhood.

Sibling Reunion: Day Two

It is amazing what a good night’s sleep will do for one’s outlook. I am not really feeling jet lag tho I may not have been in LA long enough to actually become accustomed to the Pacific Time Zone. Perhaps my body’s clock thinks I am near the border of Texas and New Mexico.

Last night’s sleeping accommodations persuaded one brother and his wife from Texas to check into the Hampton Inn. They had brought their own Aerobed so they can’t blame us for their lousy night. It appears our newer elevated queen-size Aerobed was acceptable to the California brother and his wife. Our oldest brother and wife had driven from Pennsylvania in their RV and were enjoying the amenities of the local KOA.

It was a quiet afternoon spend in various individual pursuits: sightseeing, shopping, reading, napping, downloading photos and video to name a few.

When we reconvened, my sister and I had prepared a list of questions for our big brothers. Since we moved from the farm when my sister was 8, she does not have many memories of it. Being 3 years older meant that I do but I wasn’t sure if they were true.

One of the pressing questions was whether we had chickens or not. I said that we only had those 2 mean Easter chicks who grew up to attack us. Maybe the dye addled their brains. The brothers remember egg-laying hens but it was either before my sister and I were born or when we were really little.

Later in the evening I presented the siblings with the second reunion commemorative mug.

A Red-eye Flight and Siblings

For me the day began in the air between Los Angeles and Wilmington. This was the first time I took the red-eye home from the West Coast. Knowing my penchant for not being able to sleep on airplanes, I was prepared for a miserable night. But I was going to give it my best shot. So I read a little, played a couple of games of Rummikub on my iPad, put in earplugs, donned my mask, and pulled the thin airline blanket over myself. I tried to get comfortable by turning this way and that. I must have dozed somewhere over Arizona...for a half hour. I repeated this over and over across the country, arriving in Charlotte feeling hung over. By the time I arrived in Wilmington I barely made it into the waiting arms of my Sweetie. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed after a bite of breakfast. The bed never felt so good. I think that this will be my last red-eye.

After a few hours of sleep, I was ready to begin the sibling reunion.

It has been a day of reminiscing, laughing, and eating. It is interesting to see how our memories of the same event are so different. There is no way of knowing who has the real story.

And tomorrow will bring more.

A Full Day in LA

This morning I decided to take the 20-minute walk to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Who knew that there was a really steep hill to climb between my hotel and it! As I was about to reach the crest of the hill, a young man with a two-way radio asked if I would mind waiting until they finished filming a commercial. So I stood there chatting with him for a minute or so before he said I could go. As I crested the hill, two handsome, well-dressed men walked down a short flight of granite steps in front of a bank, one said, "Are you in the commercial?" When I answered in the negative, he said, "Well, you are now." I figure that I will end up on the cutting room floor.

If I hadn't known that Frank Gehry designed the Concert Hall, I would have as soon as I saw it since it sports the same curving metal panels as that of the Weatherhead School of Business on the Case Western campus. Apparently it also had weather-related issues. In Cleveland it is sheets of ice sliding off the panels; in LA the panels had to be sanded to a matte finish because they were creating hot spots of over 140 degrees on the sidewalk. Perhaps just a bit too much function following form?

The third floor roof top garden is lovely. There was a children's program going on while I was there. I loved the Instrument Petting Zoo. There were several violins being petted while I was there.

Then it was a brisk walk back to my hotel with no commercials being filmed.

And then for the reason I am here: Michelle Kwan. After a dress rehearsal than ran late, I met up with a group of fans of Michelle and Yu-Na Kim's for a bite to eat. After a mad dash back to my hotel to put warmer clothes on, I walked briskly back to the Staples Center, getting into my front row seat a minute before the show started.

What a show it was! Michelle was as magical as ever. She casts a spell like no other. And she can still jump. And that gorgeous spiral? Oh, yes. She did it the full length of the rink just like the good old days. Not bad for a thirty-year-old.

Traveling

Statement Problem:

Part One: If at 12:20 Passenger A asks the Super Shuttle dispatcher how soon the downtown van will arrive and his answer is 5 or 10 minutes, what should Passenger A do?

Part Two: If the Shuttle finally picks Passenger A up at 12:50 from Terminal 1, how long will it take for her to arrive at her hotel which is 18 miles from LAX?

Please take into consideration that LA freeways are usually parking lots. (Google Maps hedges by saying that it is 22 minutes or 40 in traffic. Duh!)

If your answer is, take a cab the next time, give yourself 100 bonus points.

Yes, I saw Terminals 1-6 twice before we finally got on the freeway which did resemble a parking lot. Fortunately, we were in the car pool lane until we had to leave it in order to exit downtown. Then even tho I knew we were within a block of my hotel four times, I was the last one to be dropped off.

From the time I approached the dispatcher until I walked into my hotel, two hours had elapsed.

Yes, I will be taking a cab on Sunday.