Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Everything Is In

As of Tuesday, all of my cabinetry is in, now I just need to wait for the sink.  Unfortunately, I can't install them until the sink/counter arrives.  So even though I have 95% of what I need, I am still in hurry up and wait mode.  

Plus, the cabinet that goes above the toilet is a lot deeper than I was expecting.  The old one was only 4 inches deep.  This one is 7 inches, and with the door it's almost 9 inches.  I know that it's normal, but just holding it up to the wall, it looks really large, especially for that small room.

I am contemplating cutting a hole in the wall and recessing it.  The only problem with that idea is there is no molding/lip around the cabinet to hide the edge.  I just don't know how to handle this right now, so I suppose it is good that I have to wait for the sink.  It gives me time to figure out what to do.

Artist Showcase

Last weekend we got a letter in the mail from Waukesha County.  Kris opened it and was surprised when she found it not to be a normal newsletter or some sort of campaign literature.  Instead it was a letter from the Country Executive congratulating Alison for having her self-portrait displayed at the courthouse in the annual artist's showcase.  When Kris asked her about it, Alison said, "Oh yeah, I forgot.  I was going to tell you that mt self-portrait is being displayed in the courthouse" like it was no big deal.  Mind you, this is the girl who has always shied away from art because she wasn't any good at it, so I think to have her work displayed at the courthouse is a pretty big deal.

The letter invited us to come view it and if we did to stop by the County Executive's office so he could meet her.  Since Wednesday is an early release day anyway, we decided that as soon as Ali got home we would drive out to see it and see if the County Executive was in.

Once we got there and found the right entrance, we went through the metal detector.  Then we followed the directions downstairs to the area where all the artwork was displayed.  There was a lot of art from other kids at Ali's school, but we found Ali's picture pretty quickly.





She has actually come a pretty long way in about the last three years.  In third grade she absolutely hated art class because she thought her work was so bad.  Now she is having her work displayed in the county courthouse.

After looking at her picture and the work from the other kids we decided that as long as we were there, we'd go up and see the County Executive. Alison was afraid to actually meet him, but I told her that was actually part of his job, to meet the people of the county.  Unfortunately, when we got up to his office, he wasn't there.  Apparently he has been having some health issues and was getting treatment.  But his secretary was very nice and talked to us, and to Alison and she thanked her for her wonderful artwork. 

Maybe next time if she gets any more work displayed, we can actually meet him.  

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Bird Nest

This spring we got an extra treat, a bird's nest on the garage.  About a week ago when we got home from checking on Kris's dad, the girls pointed out there was a bird's nest up in the crook between the garage light, the downspout, and the outer wall of the front of the garage.

Last year, one tried building a nest on the mailbox in the front of the house, which just wasn't going to work so I knocked it down before it was finished.  So I knocked this one down too, because I didn't want to have to deal with a bird every time we opened the garage door.  But the next day as Ali was getting ready for school she noticed a robin flying back into the spot where the nest was rebuilding the nest.  After thinking about it, I thought that the bird wasn't actually hurting anything, it was just looking for a place to live so I picked up the nest I had knocked down, and put it back where it was.

Over the next few days, I wasn't sure if the robin was going to come back and actually live in it.  I never saw any birds flying around it, and I thought that maybe it had figured another bird had built a nest there and it had moved to someplace else.  So after a week or so, I went back to look at it.  There was definitely a bird building on it, because the nest was about twice as deep as it was when I had knocked it down.  The next day, Alison told me she saw a robin fly from the neighbor's roof to the next with some long pieces if grass in its beak.  So I guess we are going to have a bird living here this spring.  Hopefully there will bird news to report soon.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Done For Now

The downstairs bathroom is done for now.  I can't get any further because the cabinets and sink have not come in yet.  I did, however, get the floor in and the toilet.  It would have been a lot faster if I wouldn't have had to wait 24 hours between setting the tiles and grouting the joints.  And then another 24 hours after grouting the tiles before installing/putting the toilet in.

It also would have gone faster if I wouldn't have had to take a day off to drive the girls up to Appleton for their flight to Florida, and another day off to go pick them up.  There was also a day in there (Tuesday) where nothing got done because I was sick and in bed.  I feel good though that I was able to get it (the bathroom) all set to go before school starts, because two teenage girls and us getting ready for work and only having one working bathroom just would not have been a good situation.

So now we wait for the cabinets to get here and try to plan out how to get everything in place once they arrive.  Hopefully that will all go smoothly, because this is taking a whole lot longer than I had anticipated, and I just want it done.  I can't stand working around this mess.  I do like the floor though.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Brewers Pirates Game

We decided to get Brewers tickets for today's game when the season started because it's five county deal days.  Because we are funding the stadium, we get half price tickets for a week once a year, and since we're sort of snobby when it comes to our seats, it's a good time to go.  We ended up right behind the plate, about 20 rows up.  In fact when we got there, the seats looked a lot like where we sat the last time we went to a game (though I don't remember exactly when that was).



We got lucky because Kyle Lohse was pitching, and also the Brewers were playing the Pirates, which recently has been a pretty good proposition that they would win.  It was actually a pretty close game.  The Brewers weren't putting up much offense and then they ended up getting a couple of extra runs when Scooter Gennett struck out and got to third because the catcher dropped the ball and launched the ball into right field when trying to secure the strikeout at first base.  I told the girls to remember that play because I am willing to bet it will be a long time before they see someone get to third base on a strike out.  It was one of the most bizarre plays they will ever see (and one of the most bizarre I have ever seen too).


And since it was Sunday, it was Sausage Relay Day.  The Polish got off to a huge lead and then tagged off the "Little Polish".  Unfortunately for him, the Little Hot Dog made up serious ground when he got tagged off, resulting in a Hot Dog win.  So Hot Dog has 3 wins so far this year (I think) taking a serious lead for the season.




Milwaukee ended up winning, 4-1 and have the best record in the majors.  Let's hope this lasts and we can actually get someplace in the playoffs this year.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Job Offer

Well tonight Sarah got a call from Steins and they offered her a position as a seasonal cashier.  I know it is just a cashier position, but Kris and I are still very proud that she got offered the job.  They wanted her to come in next week to do all of her orientation stuff, but she'll be spending her spring break in Florida with my folks, so they said she could do it the next week.

So soon she is going to realize what is means to be a tax paying citizen and how the government keeps its hand in your pocket.  She can also then watch the news at night and try to figure out why she has to pay for lowlife's healthcare.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Start of the Demo

As stated, we are planning on remodeling the downstairs, small bathroom.  I was hoping that I could get everything replaced while the girls are gone on their spring break to Florida.  Unfortunately after running some numbers, and doing some figuring, there is no way I will have everything done in the time they are gone.  With the time I figure it will take to rip everything out and then replace the floor and toilet, I am going to need to start tearing things out before they leave. 

That means starting tonight I am going to need to start the demo.  So the plan will be to get the baseboards ripped out and then the laminate floor in addition to the sink and the toilet.  That way on Monday when the girls are gone, I can start replacing the floor.  So here we go.  Let the demolition begin.

Post-Interview

Sarah had her interview yesterday, and she thinks it went pretty good.  When Kris and I asked her about it, she told us some of the questions the manager asked her, and her answers.  When we asked her the day before if she wanted some practice for her interview or if she wanted to go over anything to prepare, she said no, she had it covered.  Then afterward, she complained that we didn't help her.  I suppose this is what I should expect from a teenage girl.

Part of her interview was taking a test.  It sounded sort of like a personality test or something where they could rate her honesty, or see how she would react in certain situations.  Apparently she had a couple of questions about it, but as the manager left her alone to finish it, she made a couple of best guess answers.  I pointed out to her what the "correct" answer should have been, so hopefully they don't hurt her chances.  I told her best case, they realize this was her first job and first interview, and worst case, it is a learning experience for the next one.  So we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Window Warranty

Since we finally had some nice, sunny weather (albeit a little cool) I took the opportunity to clean the windows.  They were absolutely filthy.  Actually, I don't mind doing it, and I would do it every day if I could.  Unfortunately it takes to long.  But I like having the windows clean enough that you look out them and can't tell if there is glass there or not.

But I did run into a problem when cleaning the large, picture windows in the front of the house.  The window in the den looked particularly dirty when I was cleaning the inside.  At first I thought that it was just mud and dirt that had blown onto the window during the most recent bout of bad weather.  However, when I went outside to clean the exterior of the window, I discovered that what I thought was dirt was in actuality the tinting (presumably a film) on the inside of the window coming off.  It wasn't just a spot or two either, it was huge areas that were spotted.  It looked much like something dripped on the window and was running down the inside of the glass.  Needless to say I was not happy.

This is in addition to Sarah's bedroom window on the north side of the house.  Over the winter, I noticed frost on it, which I originally thought was on the outside, but it was between the panes of glass.  So I think that means that the seal between the glass is compromised. 

All of this means I need to get on the phone with the window company and get them to give me two new windows.  Kris pulled out the folder for me and they are warrantied for the life of the window as long as we are in the house.  I remember the problems we had with the front window when we first put them in twelve years ago, so I need to get on this now so that we can maybe get them fixed by the 4th of July.

Job Interview

It I that time of year again. No, not baseball season or time for the Masters. I is the time when high school and college kids start looking for summer jobs. This year Sarah is joining the fun since she is tired of not having money to go do things and mom and dad only being able to fund her so much. Plus with the upcoming acquiring of a drivers license she is going to want to get a car (or at least be able to gas up mine) so she reluctantly submitted an application for seasonal help at Steins Garden Center over the weekend.

They called on Sunday to set up an interview and she is scheduled to go in after school at 4:30. Hopefully she'll get it. I think that it should be relatively easy being a cashier and helping with the gardening areas. And I hope it is only a couple of days (mainly weekends) just to give her a taste of what it is like to have a job. 

We are rumored to be getting a Hobby Lobby here and Sarah had said that was a place she would rather work. Unfortunately I have no idea when it might be opening. They would have to do some major remodeling to the building so it would be at least six months if they started today. So I told her if that is the case she works at Steins for the summer and then maybe she can quit an go there in a few months, that I if the rumors are true. Then again she needs to get the job at Steins first. So wish her luck!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Releveling Bricks

As I have said, it was a rough winter here in The Falls.  As I was outside cleaning up a little bit, I was walking on the patio and noticed several of the patio blocks have chipped over the winter.  I can only assume it was from all the snow and ice.  Ad to it that they are all unlevel again and I am going to have quite a project to take care of this spring.  I just took the whole patio apart a year and a half ago and releveled and relined up all the bricks, and now I am going to have to do it all over again.  This is one reason concrete would be better. 

But I have to say, I like the bricks that we have right now.  The only problem is that I can't find them anymore (Home Depot doesn't carry them and I can't find the style at any other stores either in person or online) so if the bricks are too badly damaged by the winter snow and ice, I will have to replace the entire patio because I won't be able to get replacements.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they aren't too far gone.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Perfect Metaphor

We got a call yesterday from Home Depot regarding an order we are waiting on.  We are going to finally update the downstairs bathroom and they were calling to inform us that the sink/countertop that we had chosen has been discontinued and is no longer available.  We had already been forced to compromise on the vanity/cabinet because the room is so small that a normal sized cabinet wouldn't fit so we had to choose a different style.  

If you are keeping score at home, now we have the cabinet that we don't want topped with a sink/countertop we don't want.  Such a perfect metaphor for America currently, where we get what we don't want, and are told to like it.  Yep, welcome to America (that would be Obama's America).

Now we have to go and find a different color countertop.  Wish us luck.