C and the Roomies

While this sounds like an old Motown group, it is C and her two roommates. So far, they are getting along great for 3 people living in a 14 x 18 space. Thought those interested would like to see.

Picture Frame

A got a panoramic picture at the Smith Center in Chaple Hill earlier this year. She got it because she coudl see herself in the picture. The panaramic picture needed a custom frame, so this past weekend, a frame was made. This picture is too far away for you to see where A is, but she is on the right side, about 2/3's the way up. She is in the group that spells out TAR HEELS. Anyway, here are the results:

The Hutch

The above is a picture of the desk hutch that I built for A at school. As you can see, she has pretty well filled it from the start. She says she likes it.

School issue

C has been home for a couple of days due to a head lice break-out at school. He dorm hall was infested, as were several other halls, so they sent 40 kid away to help curtail the outbreak. It was the first ever outbreak of this kind in the 28 year history of her school. I guess there is a first time for everything.

We got a call about 11PM on Saturday evening asking for help. K and I went to the big W and purchased shampoo and spray to begin the control. C called on Sunday AM, saying that she was told to come home to get all her laundry re-done, all washed in HOT water and dried on HIGH heat to kill any live lice or eggs (called nits, and the origination of the term nit-picking).

K and I took the laundry to a local laundromat, spending about $40 on cleaning the clothes in about 2 hours. If we had done them at home, it would have taken about 2 days to do all the laundry, and then we still would have needed to go to the laundromat to do the comforters and blankets.

In the process of delivering the supplies to C at about 1 AM Sunday, I apparently hit a piece of shredded truck tire with my Passat, cracking the oil pan. Fortunately the oil leaked out slowly and did not cause any issues other than needing a new oil pan and a minor oil spill hazard on I-85. The only way that I found the leak was seeing the oil under the car on Sunday afternoon. When I checked the oil, prior to starting the car, it was down 3 out of 6 quarts. I added enough oil to get it on the dipstick before starting the car, and put the car on ramps so that the repairs could be made. Monday, I went to the local VW dealership to get the pan and gasket. Installation took about an hour, including oil change.

This is the hutch that I built for the back of A's desk at college. It is her design, so it should complete the storage for her room. There is one shelf for the small cubby on the right end, but I need to get shelf pins. I will deliver it tomorrow, an then post a pic of the installed look

It has been too long

and we have been busy. The quick update:

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to the beach, Myrtle Beach that is. It was hot (95F), humid and sunny, just like it is suppose to be this time of the year. C was with us, but A had school things to do, so she stayed home. We only went for two nights and came home on Sunday because C had some homework to do and the Condo we rented did not have high speed Internet. C also forgot her charger for the computer so had little battery left to do anything.

It seems that C has a small bit of blond in her. We left Friday for the beach, we got about an hour from Durham and C announces that she has left her keys back in the dorm room. No real problem, security or her roomies will let her in. As we get further into the trip to Myrtle Beach, C announces that she does not have her cell phone, and probably left it next to her keys in Durham. No problem, we loan her K's phone so she can enjoy a little freedom from us but still be in contact. During the weekend, C accidentally locks the keys in the Van, but no problem as we had the other set with us, in K's possession, about 100 yards from where C parked the van.

As we get back to the house first, and then back to Durham, we empty the van of all things C, and cannot find her cell phone. It is about 8:00PM when C gets into her room, finds her keys, but cannot locate the cell phone. At about 10PM, I get a call from C on HER phone. She says she found it but, giggling would not tell us where. Finally, earlier today, she said she had it with her all the time, but did not know it. It was in her purse.

Somebody may need a smaller purse.

So it seems that C really likes her new school. Yes the classes are harder, but she is adapting well to the pace and requirements.

A is adapting to the university life again. She is rushing a sorority, so we will see how far that goes. I hope she likes it, if she chooses that direction. A is also involved with Carolina Fever, the UNC student fan club charged with distributing the student athletic tickets fairly; the Water Polo Club, is a committee member for the Dance Marathon; job shadows; and is involved in other things that I cannot remember.

K and I miss having either of them around, but we get to see A about once per week as she comes home to "Job Shadow" a pharmacist near our house. She seems to like it.

Small Town NC

As A was going to the beach recently, she spied this as they drove along I-40 east of I-95:



Yep, the small town of Faison is near Mt Olive and has a large pickle plant (Mt Olive Pickles) Just thought it would be interesting for some others to see.

Cedar Chest

My sister J was changing houses and downsizing to quantity of stuff she is required to cram into her domicile. She asked and I accepted the possession of a cedar chest that belonged to my maternal Grandmother. There were two minor issues, it was in Toledo and it was locked without a known key.

The first issue was no problem. My van can handle the cedar chest and with help from my nephew BW, it was in the van in no time.

The second issue proved slightly more challenging. My father had tried every skeleton key in his possession in an effort to open the chest. The closest thing to working was the key to the door of the grandmother clock, but it would not work.

So K and I get the chest back home and get it unloaded from the Van. It is heavy because it still has STUFF in it, stuff that is not mine. So K and I go looking at the usual places for a "blank" skeleton key without success. After 5 PM, we get a suggestion to try an Antique dealer in the Downtown area, but they close at 5.

So the next day, K goes to the Antique dealer and buys a blank key for $4,using the one from the grandmother clock as an example. The dealer voiced scepticism to K that I could get the key to work and he provided the name of a local Locksmith to make this key for us if needed.

The glove was thrown down. It took me only about an hour of drilling, filing and fitting, but I found success. It took drilling out the center of the key to make it fit over the pin, shortening the flange part and install the groove in the right location. Below is a picture of the crude key that I made. It works fine.



So J, if you find a key that looks something like this, I am open to having it sent to me.

Quilt that K made

Below are a couple of pictures of a quilt that K made as a baby shower for my neice, B. She is due to have her first in about 6 weeks. The quilt looked wonderful and the pictures do not do justice for the quilt, but I cannot stuff the quilt onto the computer screen.

School Time Empty Nest

AT 5 PM, EDT on 8-18-07, K and I are School Year Empty Nesters. Boy this house is quiet!

As college is only 45 minutes away, A had delivered one car load of stuff to her dorm room, and had come home and spent Thursday evening at home. This past Friday, A left for school. We delivered one Van full of the remainder of A's stuff (futon, refrigerator, storage containers, multiple boxes). She is now a resident of CH NC for the school year. It was 104 when we delivered A and her stuff to her dorm, so it was quite hot.

On Saturday at 9AM, we began the drop off process for C in Durham at her new high school. Here is a picture of the entrance:



We got her stuff into her room in about 20 minutes with the help of many of the Senior students at the school, then K and I were sent to a local store to get some storage containers and other miscellaneous items that were needed. We got back in time for A to show up and to go to lunch. As there was nothing planned for the students eating wise, we went to Durham near the Duke campus for lunch. Below are some pictures of the school, C's room (very cramped) and as always A and C together.











As parents, K and I were called into 2 meetings going over the rules and regulations for the school. This was to let the parents know that there are some pretty strict rules about conduct, vices, and study that are required for the students. The school will be a challenge for C, but we know she is up to the task.

As I post this on Sunday, K and I have heard from C twice since we left at 4:30PM yesterday. C called once today, to talk with K and just say she is OK. The other time she called me to get help on a computer issue. We worked through the computer issue and she was off again in typical self sufficient C fashion.

The school encourages the students and parents to limit the contact during the first 2 weeks of class due to bonding issues. They are trying to break the dependency bond, reducing the homesickness of some of the kids.

On the positive (for me anyway) side, the school blocks many of the social or potentially objectionable websites. IIRC, to log into Facebook and some of the perceived negative web sites, she must go somewhere else, off campus, to find an unsecured web access. As the closest is 5 or 6 blocks away and C must sign out, it is not very easy to do given the limited time available.

We will have C on an extended weekend over Labor Day, when we will go to Myrtle Beach. By that time, C may be swamped with homework. We will find out much then.

Dad's Wedding

For those of you that did not know, my father got married last weekend. Nothing unusual about that, other than he is 80 years old and married Dorothy, an 80 year old woman. My brother, sisters and I are very happy for Dad and Dorothy. I am going to try something different on this post and post links to my photobucket account for purposes of pictures.

Before the pictures, there is one minor story: My father asked me to stand for his wedding and I agreed without reservations. As I was getting ready for he wedding, I noticed a very small but new hole in the lapel of my suit about the size of a wire clothes hanger hook end. I spent about 20 minutes trying to find a way to hide the hole, finally using the boutonniere as the mask. Fast forward to about 10 minutes before the wedding was to begin. I was walking out in the church to find someone for answers to a question. My S-I-L's mother (Mrs. L) stopped me and asked a question. Her question prompted my memory...... I FORGOT THE RINGS. Yep, left them at Dad's house. I quickly excused myself from Mrs L., told Dad what had happened and hopped into the car. God and the Sylvan Police were looking out for me as I made it from the church, to Dad's house and back to the church in 6 minutes. No speeding tickets, no adverse traffic signals, back in the church before time to start the wedding.

Power Shopping

It is "Sales Tax Free" weekend in NC, so K and I took C shopping for some of the off to school things she will need. In a little over an hour, $400 was spent in school and dorm supplies. There were no clothes purchased. That does not include the computer that was ordered today for her, for delivery when she arrives at school.

We have not decided if a dorm type refrigerator is appropriate yet or not. C will have 2 roommates when she goes off to school, so the room may get cramped and the others may bring refrigerators as well.. No need for 3.

Seems wierd

That in only about 23 days, both A and C will be off to school and the house will be very quiet. I am not looking forward to it, both have grown nicely to young adults and are generally fun to be around.

I knnow you guys

Think I am crazy, but... you are probably right. Tonight after work, I fixed C's VW shifter. It seems there was a lot of excess play in the gear shift for the manual transmission, so it was not going into gear properly.

I checked online for what the various communities suggested (http://www.vwvortex.com), checked out the problems and ordered the parts. The parts came today, so tonight I installed them. It took about an hour and a half, and the car shifts much tighter. I even installed a short shift linkage to improve the shift.

Next up on the repairs, C's VW and a window regulator (the thing that makes the window go up and down). Only after the parts arrive. No wonder I am getting a good rating on eBay.

Something good happened

last week. A wanted to have a couple of friends, who were in town to see a concert, over for the night and gave K very short notice. They are from Asheville, so would have had a 3 hour drive home at 11PM. As K is in the middle of a sewing project, the house was not exactly up to snuff.

So K stopped what she was doing, and made the house presentable. The friends came over and everything was fine.

The next day, after her friends had left, A wrote a note to K saying that she appreciated the work that K did to get the house clean and how nice the place looked when they got there. My baby is growing up! Sniff, sniff.

It has been too long

And I have been too busy.

Some highlights:

Traveling much due to work. I have been to Northwest Ohio, Cincinnati, and Columbus (tried to stop in at R and J's but they were not home) on a quick business trip.

I have been to Savannah GA for a trade show. I rode the Juliette Gordon Low water taxi (for you GS's) from my hotel to the down town business area across the Savannah River. It was also fun to watch the multiple container ships traversing the river Then off to the mountains of NC, all on business.

I have been to Atlanta, GA, again on business.

I have been working on the cars here to keep them running properly, doing oil changes, routine maintenance, and fixing a couple of minor issues. I now do my own oil changes because the people that we had previously taken the cars to did not put the oil plug back in tightly, leaving an oil leak and a potential for catastrophic damage to A's car and did not fill up the oil as needed in the Van. I am also being environmentally responsible by recycling the oil properly and disposing of the oil filter at a hazardous material disposal site maintained by the county.

Yesterday, I went to see B and K in VA. B was asking for help on some electrical issues regarding his fish tank and refrigerator. It seems both the fish tanks and his refrigerator are all on the same 15A service breaker. Every once in a while, the breaker would trip causing issues for the food and for the fish.

So, B and I ran a new dedicated circuit for the refrigerator; ran a new, dedicated circuit with 4-GFCI protected outlets for the downstairs tank; and changed out a standard duplex receptacle making 4 GFCI protected outlets for the upstairs tank.

The hardest part about doing the electrical work was moving around in the crawl space. In a old house, there is not much room under it for two big guys.

BTW, B and K are doing great.

Hope all of you have been safe and healthy.

Same Time, Next year

It sounds like the Cubs, but we will get 'em next year. Congrats to the Beavers, but GO HEELS!

Hey Sis

This is for the NC/OSU rematch in the College Baseball World Series.

GO HEELS!

On the way home (Dial-Up Warning)

From Irwin, PA, K and I stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette Station, WV. I have driven over it many times, but never stopped to look. K and I have also been under it whitewater rafting, but that was many years ago. This time, we stopped.

This is a bridge they close once per year for about 4-6 hours so that people having a higher level of insanity than me can base jump off, as it is about 1000 feet up from the river bed. On normal days, help vehicles are near-by in case you break down as they want no one on the bridge, to prevent other silly ideas.

A warning to my brother: if you look at the pictures, you will stare at the center of the bridge, and not at the edges, you might fall off.

Travels over the weekend

This weekend, K and I went on a road trip to Irwin, PA for a memorial service for Aunt L, a wonderful, dignified lady that was a great person to around. She was married to my mom's brother for 59 years before succumbing to cancer in the spring. There were 20 or so people in attendance, some from both sides of their family with K and I representing ours.

It was a time for remembering fun things we did, memories of family members now gone and share news of our lives as they happen in the place where we all say our family started. Uncle J, Aunt L, B, B and J had a great relationship inside their family and with my family and for that I am grateful.

Below are some pics:

My Uncle J

J, B and B
B and her family M and T

My cousin B, in a silly moment after having her picture taken many times.



I also want to thank my Aunt W for taking such great care of many of my family members grave sites. This one is from my sister and Great Aunt, however, my Mom's and other Aunt's look great as well.