Over the weekend

I spent some serious time with BW and his wife K. It had been a while since we visited, but we talk at least once per week.

Anyway, B had asked for help putting some lights in his attic and basement so that they could see better. I volunteered to go to Smithfield and help him learn that basic wiring is not as difficult as he imagined.

The first lesson that was taught was: Make sure the power is OFF before working on anything. We flipped breakers until we made sure the power was off in the circuits we were working. We also caused most of the alarm clocks, microwave and DVD players to blink, but better to reset them than unintended electrical shock.

In the attic, there was one 40W light bulb on a pull chain, now there are 5 with a conveniently located switch. It took us about 3-4 hours to perform this work and B is really happy.

We next tackled the basement. In B's basement, B has a chest type freezer. The closest outlet to the freezer is operated by a switch located at the door. At one point, either B or K accidentally turned off the freezer, ruining some food, so B wanted to put an outlet right next to the freezer, dedicated to only the freezer. There was also only one 40 watt light bulb here as well, so B wanted extra lighting.

After turning off the power, I supervised B doing the work (so he could do other things later) and this took about 3 hours. It was relatively straight forward as there was a junction box near the switched outlet, making for easy wire connections. There is now proper lighting and electrical outlets for the freezer

The final thing that B wanted to correct/change was a switch that controlled an outlet to a fish tank. B wanted that outlet to be powered all the time, to prevent accidentally turning off the air/light to the tank. After discussing the way to fix the issue, B got a quick lesson in why Rule#1 is important. B forgot to turn off the power, and got a startling reminder. With nothing injured but his pride, B went and turned off the power to the switch, making the change in about 10 minutes.

Below is a pic of B and K, and of their saltwater fish tank. K was just about to leave to go to work.


The blob in the upper left corner is a star fish. It is a neat tank
Great seeing you B and K!

Over at University

A invited C to come over for a day of athletics.

First they went to the UNC/GT game. It was a close game, with GT winning 7-0 after 2 touchdowns by UNC were nullified by penalties. They cheered and had lots of fun, with A introducing C to many of her friends.

Next, they hung out in A's dorm for a while. C got to see what happens in a college dorm when classes are not in session.

Then it was off to the UNC basketball game. They sat in the 7th row, student section about even with one of the goals. They both had a great time with the final score 140-118 (or something like that) for the home team. There were zillions of people watching the game, as it was a sell-out. C had never experienced anything like that and was very excited. After the game, they went down to Franklin Street to have dinner and hang out with all the students. For those not in the know, Franklin St is the road fronting the campus with all the student type and trendy restaurants, typical to most college towns.

At the end of the night, K and I picked up C and brought her home as A had plans for the evening that could not include C due to age restrictions. C was tired, but had spent a great day with her sister.

Here is hoping your kids enjoy this type of time together as mine do. Here is a picture of them at the game:

Way down south

in the land of cotton. As the song goes, it is cotton harvesting time. Today I was traveling over to Plymouth, NC and there were miles of cotton field being harvested. The fields look like a northern snow storm over a field of un-plowed corn. I should have also snapped a picture of a large bales of cotton. 8 fee tall, 8 feet wide and about 30 feet long. Very impressive. At least I thought it look picturesque, so here is my take.

Over the weekend

We spent some time at Myrtle Beach. For those on the other coast, this means ocean on the east. We rented a 2 bedroom condo in a 22 story building ending up on the 5th floor. The whole family was together and had an enjoyable weekend.

A and C spent, in more ways than one, much of the weekend together, frequently shopping. It is really fun to see how they get along together so well, 99% of the time anyway. (I am sure K gets tired of me every once in a while). Pic's of A and C are in another post. This one is for the beach type photos.

The above is the view from the rented condo. The temperature outside was in the upper 50's and lower 60's, so not swimming weather, but still fun to walk on the beach.

These two, (above and below) were snapped on the way to the beach, from the boardwalk.

Down the beach a little way was the standard pier. There was trinkets available for purchase from the pier, but we did not let them dip into the wallet.

I thought the view under the pier was an intriguing view.

The below picture was made specifically for my sister LFD, in remembrance of a trip we were on to California for CP's wedding. L took many pictures that trip, several of seagulls, but none of them could be developed as there was no film in her camera.

L, I hope you enjoy the picture!

A and C

As shown above, we spent some time at the beach this past weekend as a family. As always, it was fun to have A and C with us. Here are some pic's that K took of A and C while on the beach.

Halloween Redo.

I was out of town this past Monday on business, but A came home from the University to early vote. Among other thing, A had yet to put together a Halloween costume and she put K through many gyrations to help.

K, in typical fashion, was able to come through with flying colors, at much motherly sacrifice. K and A worked on her costume, visiting many stores to get the necessary supplies, putting the pieces together and then delivered A back to University at 12:30AM Tuesday, meaning that K did not get home to about 2AM. During this time, K also made the mask for A's roommate B.

C did not dress up for Halloween. Here are a couple of pic's of A's final costume.


The above picture is of B (room mate), A (suite mate) and A.