REMODELING REDUX

I've been taking a lot of flak from my blog fans about lack of new material, blah, blah, blah. Since everyone is probably on the edge of their seats, waiting for news about THE remodel, I will fill you in....with the rest of the story. The new cabinets, the granite counter and the new tub were all installed by the end of the first week. The past three weeks have centered around the need to get the tile set (tub surround and floor) so that the plumber could return to install the hardware (shower, sink & toilet). I remind you that our deadline was May 30 due to the arrival of friends from NZ. There was the delay in the arrival of some of the tile, broken trucks, bad backs, short work days and long lunch breaks. However, the last of the tile was installed on the 29th, the plumber returned to install the fixtures...but... All went well until the installation of "The Toilet" began. Not any old toilet but a water saving, two-volume flushing, sleek and beautiful Toto Supreme. They are used all over Asia and New Zealand. The installation took three hours and the plumber said that if we installed another, there would be additional charges for time and aggravation. Toto...this isn't Kansas anymore and I will never hear Dorothy call her dog and have quite the same pictures dancing through my head. The installation was further extended by attempts to adjust the Toto in order to successfully flush one very small toilet paper section using the "#1 flush". Needless to say, there is a larger flush whose name shall I shall leave to your imagination. We had seen a demonstration of a similarly engineered toilet, flush 12 tennis balls and a small stuffed bear in less than a second. Ours was struggling with a much smaller challenge.
The morning of the 30th saw yours truly, installing the new shower doors until about noon. Drilling through tile (six holes) is not for the faint hearted or weak. Every muscle in my body came into play, leaning on the drill and trying to will the drill bit through the tiles. The last step was calking around the doors and then having to wait 24 hours to let it properly cure. So Sunday morning our guests could finally use the shower, the Toto seems to be functioning and behaving properly and all is well. Well, almost. In a week, we begin work on the other bath. A new adventure to look forward to, but as they say, "no pain, no gain". Films at eleven.

Remodeling

How do these things begin? How do they obtain a life of their own? It usually starts with just some new paint...or a new floor. The new floor is then leads one to look more closely at the adjoining tub. Maybe we should find out what it would cost for a new tub...and maybe a new tub enclosure. Well, since we're going to have a new tub then we certainly need new shower doors and rather than plastic shower enclosure, wouldn't tile look better?...something to compliment the new floor? And since we're ripping up the floor, it's a good time to replace and upgrade the toilet to match the tub. Wait!!! If we are replacing the floor, the tub, the tub surround and the toilet, can we possibly leave the counter and sink in its old and ugly state? Noooooooo ! So now we have moved on to a granite counter..beeeaauuutuiful...with an appropriately new sink and faucet...priced a "moderately" price faucet lately? Ok...where were we? We've replaced almost everything in the bathroom and placed a beautiful new granite counter top on a 20 year old cabinet. Oh the inhumanity!! How can we possibly been so thoughtless? We can't leave that cheap and well worn cabinet to sully the brand spanking and new everything else? Let's review. We've replaced everything in the the guest bath. And it feels so good and looks so good. We've upgraded. Guests can use the bathroom once again without signing a waiver of liability. Now the difficult and challenging part...we have to move beyond the "plan" and begin and acutally begin the remodel. (Donations are gladly received but are not tax deductable). Oh yes, it's May 2 and we have guests coming from New Zealand on May 29th....can anyone recommend a good Port-a-Potty rental service?

Golden Years

One of the constants in this life is change. The only things that don’t change are God and His Word. But in the here and now, we can pretty much rely on another change or changes coming around the very next corner. We feel that some changes are good and perhaps a few are even great, but when the change shakes our comfort zone, the adjustment period is often filled the five stages of grieving because it involves the loss of what was and an adjustment to what is not yet fully known. What was may have been lousy but we had managed to move it into our comfort zone. During the Golden Years (which is somewhere near the end of the rainbow), and event called retirement usually comes along (at least in our society) and with retirement, comes change. Change that requires adjustments, some considered good or maybe even great, along with others that wobble our comfort zone and for a time, create uneasiness. When one half of a couple enters retirement, the relationship takes on a different flavor and for a time, adjustments are made as a somewhat different relationship begins to grow and take shape. We are in the process of making such an adjustment…as Marie transitions from hardworking, loyal, professional, underpaid and underappreciated employee to hardworking, loyal, underpaid and appreciated wife, grandmother, interior designer, house-painting, power-washing, lawn-mowing retiree. Ahh….the Golden Years.

My Fan Club

I have received feedback from many of my blog fanclub members that I have not been sufficiently active in posting new entries on my blog. I confess...this being a new exercise, I am having difficulty in posting new information or entries on a regular basis with topics around everyday events. For a year, long, long ago, I did daily entries in a journal for a writing class.
This feels like a similar exercise. However, like many other "exercises", what is needed is discipline and motivation.
What motivates me? One of the things that motivates me is a desire to pass on to my grandchildren some of the habits, skills, interests and activities that are a part of who I am.
Toward that end (and with ulterior motives), I have enrolled Ryan in golf lessons and we have been participating for the past two weeks. He seems to be interested and enjoying the lessons. My next target will be Aaron. My goal in this endeavor is to pass on an interest in a lifelong activity that can be enjoyable, healthy and valuable. My ulterior motive is to build a new generation of golfing "buddies". One of my challenges is finding people to golf with on a regular basis. Who better than grandsons and perhaps granddaughters. My family is very important to me. My grandchildren are a part of who I am. Beyond genetics, I have the opportunity to pass on to them, a part of who I am. Tennis anyone? Or if you'd rather, tabletennis? While I like to teach, I like nothing better to win while teaching.

What Next?

The request has been made for me to continue this blog for the next four years. When I began this excercise, I didn't think much beyond the run up to and the experience and events of our NZ vacation. Those asking that I continue the blog are extremely important to me....so It's going to be difficult and probably sporadic, but I will keep it going for the next 4 years. I appreciate the fact that I have two loyal readers and for that reason I will continue this blog. It will become more eclectic because I have many strong opinions, diverse interests, a Biblical world view stacked upon a desire to inform and educate. I keep many of my musings, thoughts and opinions to myself, but since one of the purposes of a blog is to express oneself, that is what I will attempt to do. Fortunately or unfortunately, I love to laugh and more pointedly, to make people laugh. Sooooo, many of my posts will be couched in humor or at least be humorous to me. Therefore, you have been warned and should be prepared for most anything.

Journey's End

We've been home almost a week and we are still recovering from the return journey. Traveling east (or returning home from a fabulous vacation) seems to be a much more difficult adjustment than the trip to the destination. We hit the ground running in Auckland but having been in a fog much of the time since returning. It gets a bit better each day. We would like to return to New Zealand in two years. Special thanks to Ken and Patty for the great care they gave our pets. Thanks to Kelly, Shane and kids for picking us up at the airport, visiting the dogs, chasing the vermin, decorating with flowers and having fresh food for our return (and removing all the dead things from the frig). Thanks to Kristen and family for being there to greet us and visit for a time. Until next time....

PACIFIKA FESTIVAL

Today we attended the Auckland Pacifika Festival at Western Springs (Te Wai Orea-Lake of eels). We roamed around for 30 minutes looking for a parking spot and when we finally got onto the grounds of the park, we found out why...there were thousands in attendance. Auckland is the largest polynesian city in the world and most who have left the islands to live in New Zealand, were in attendance at the park (or so it seemed). While there, we found the Prime Minister of New Zealand (Helen Clark) in attendance and accosted her in order to get a picture. Also pictured is a part of the mass of humanity in attendance...also pictured is a large blow up can of corned beef. I believe that it is one of the traditional foods of Samoa.