tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48418839230773013962011-04-21T19:11:34.615-05:00Just our attempt to keep friends and family updated on our remodelling project. And share our experience with those who may be interested in learning one family's journey.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-69208340039761871062008-12-20T12:01:00.003-06:002008-12-20T18:59:33.342-06:00

We broke down and quit struggling with our gas range. The oven actually. It just wouldn't heat up. Replaced the igniter. Cleaned the inner workings. Replaced the breaker feeding the oven. So we've gone without an oven for several months. It was an easy adjustment at first. Pizza can be done on the electric pizza cooker. Some casseroles are adaptable to the oh so convenient slow cooker.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-18716522703714742202008-11-10T22:23:00.004-06:002008-11-10T22:35:21.858-06:00

Circles.I thought to kill a little time catching up on one of my favorite strips. It had been since summer when I read it last. I like to read it several editions at a time. More to savor and immerse in.Well tonight I got the unexpected. It ended.Nearly thirty years of a best friend. Done.A world without Opus.Let the five stages begin.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-84420121926667004112008-11-01T21:15:00.006-05:002008-11-01T21:30:01.171-05:00

The girls went for a bike ride this afternoon. For just in case they took a cell phone along. About half an hour into it the house phone rings. I climb down from the ladder and answer it. It's Ember."Hey Dad.""Yes?""If you have a minute, look to the west.""Okay.""Bye.""Okay, bye."So while I'm heading outside I wonder how many people would use a cardinal direction to direct somebody on the

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-84514022693664190592008-10-25T18:49:00.000-05:002008-10-25T18:50:37.521-05:00

On the carpet on all fours.Dog.Nose prints on the door.Is that the UPS man over there?Dog.Nose prints on the door.Here comes the school bus from afar.Dog.Nose prints on the door.There’s a squirrel in my yard.Dog.Nose prints on the door.What could make that odor?Dog.Nose prints on the door.When will they be home?Dog.Nose prints on the door.Could it be the family car?Dog.Nose prints on the

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-57961792785930112142008-10-22T21:37:00.002-05:002008-10-22T21:49:10.752-05:00

The stories she comes home with. Oh my.Diane really ought to blog. Or at least comment in area blogs.She has first hand knowledge of the ridiculous, asinine, and inspiring things that happen with the local school district. So while others voice their opinions and rumors, she actually is seeing it happen. For example school uniforms. Her school already has uniforms. If a kid shows up not in

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-43724832896477239212008-09-15T21:22:00.003-05:002008-09-15T22:22:36.958-05:00

Okay. We've had it. I found another screw up by those jackasses at Blackhawk Construction BMC. Their so called licensed plumber placed the flange for the toilet just under 10" from the wall. There is only one toilet tank of acceptable performance and cost we can find locally that will fit that arrangement. The more common rough in is 12" from the wall. Imagine if we tiled that wall. Or did

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-54311053332251180042008-09-13T13:06:00.003-05:002008-10-22T21:53:12.066-05:00

Who would buy a new car without at least sitting in it?We needed to improve our gas mph on one vehicle so spent a bout a month shopping. Looking to purchase a Yaris, Fit or Rio5 proved quite difficult as the dealers in the area didn't have them on their lots. One even went so far as to ask for a deposit and he'd order one that would arrive in 4 weeks. We laughed at that. Who would buy a car

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-40794505770504905912008-09-13T10:10:00.008-05:002008-09-13T10:24:04.997-05:00

The don't make buildings like this any more. It's a shame.I'm not even a student of architecture yet The Field Museum of Natural History building itself held my interest as much as what it contains.What inspired us to go was some friends from New England were vacationing in the upper Midwest, so we rendezvoused there. The museum also had an exhibit on mythic creatures we've been wanting to

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-21192240534484516312008-07-19T18:33:00.003-05:002008-07-19T19:51:52.252-05:00

A brief summary of the summer so far.Aspen competed with the YMCA swim team this summer. Big improvement over last year and does pretty well in her age group for a summer only swimmer. Glad to see the early morning practices end.Aspen and Mom went to Savannah, GA for Aspen's Girl Scout Troop fly up to cadette. Way too much to write about there.Dad and Ember went backpacking for a couple days

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-88441064208885816392008-05-15T21:28:00.001-05:002008-05-15T21:30:42.207-05:00

Unity is strength.Knowledge is power.Attitude is everything.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-90442349093943377272008-04-21T21:01:00.004-05:002008-04-21T21:54:19.948-05:00

I stumbled across a reference to the world's largest compass rose while doing research for work today. Now, those are two words that never fail to catch my eye - compass rose. If there is one thing I don't collect that I wish I could it would be compass roses. They are amazing works of art sometimes yet serve as a simple tool.So when I got home, I Google Earthed it to get an aerial image I

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-43702087231956350142008-04-20T18:18:00.008-05:002008-04-20T18:37:03.249-05:00

The woodland spring flowers planted in the shade of a hackberry tree in the yard have come up. Spring is really here. This first picture really shouts "Hooray for Spring!" as the bloodroot blossoms stretch for the sky.Here's another bloodroot shot. The droplet of water was a challenge that I couldn't meet. Was trying to capture the natural reflection that occurs but just couldn't get the

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-3469231404668850092008-03-30T19:34:00.004-05:002008-03-30T20:47:13.783-05:00

I was off this week, taking the usual Spring Break time off. We usually take a camping trip to Southern Illinois and Shawnee National Forest, but it's a bit early in the year for camping this year. And most of our usual spots to explore are inundated. Here's a picture of a favorite picnic spot and spillway to play in, by Gretchen Steele. Notice the mist from the torrent that is the spillway,

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-66050076850878716182008-03-16T12:01:00.001-05:002008-03-16T12:24:42.468-05:00

"Only the dead have seen the end of war."Plato

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-39038111910070242272008-03-05T17:48:00.002-06:002008-03-05T17:51:13.482-06:00

Everything is fine. Nobody is hurt. False alarm.The school was on lockdown for a couple hours today after a parent called the school to report a rumor that a student had a gun at school. After searches and interviews, no gun. Kids released to go home. Life back to normal.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-82205429057791548942007-12-16T12:35:00.000-06:002007-12-16T12:43:28.431-06:00

Looks like we're having the first real winter in any clear memory. Started icey, never really recovering with a warm spell like it has in recent years.Now we're snow covered. Slow accumulation over a few days. The predicted, and predicatably dependable, winds to blow it all into the river did not come. Yet.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-11204038104371575602007-11-17T09:13:00.000-06:002007-11-17T09:20:32.669-06:00

Summertime Riverfront Kids Fountain

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-70260086220153319852007-11-17T08:12:00.000-06:002007-11-17T09:21:06.305-06:00

Inspired by another blog I occasionally read, what follows is about nothing in particular."But how do I get the experience?"Gary is currently looking to advance. Tried at current employer and fell just short. Trying at others and falling just short. Seems the weak spot is not having experience in the position he's applying for. Sound like a kid just starting out looking for his first job?

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-78003532920302491762007-06-30T21:01:00.000-05:002007-06-30T21:17:40.028-05:00

Was going though some old songs recently and came across this one. Leave it to Pete to knock me off my feet with a short, simple song.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-49493778967201357702007-06-25T18:54:00.000-05:002007-06-30T21:04:40.250-05:00

Call 911!There's a car in the picture. There's a full size truck in there too. A refrigerator and freezer. Various toys. Woodworking equipment. ...what you'd find in the typical garage and more.A couple Saturday's ago, we were going about our normal Saturday putzing in the yard, working on the house when we heard the frantic shout from two house away."Call 911!"It only took a glance on the

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-86084264237583967352007-06-25T18:21:00.000-05:002007-06-26T17:49:33.298-05:00

Two part post here - Ember Rocks and the Program slumps.Ember is now officially part of the Shuri-Ryu system having earned her Yellow belt. At that level they don't consider you a dabbler any more. She takes the whole thing seriously and practices every day. She had the skills but it took a couple weeks for somebody to officially advance her.Which relates to point two. Gary and Diane had a

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-33473094988791342692007-03-17T21:36:00.000-05:002007-03-17T21:47:45.393-05:00

We have an orange belt in the family now. We are quite proud of her. I think she's proud too.She completed her kata (series of required movements) with grace and power. And after watching the gold belt group go through their kata - the one she is practicing now - she could have jumped right to gold. But there's no hurry here.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-84567961381895401262007-03-02T20:05:00.000-06:002007-03-02T20:10:23.769-06:00

I've been playing around a bit listening to some of the old music. Some of the roots. It is funny how one song leads to another, one musician brings to mind another, and on and on and on. Spent a little time with Aspen enjoying some of that history.And then we came across this video. And had a good hearty laugh together.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-77851029373112488682007-02-07T21:32:00.000-06:002007-02-07T21:40:09.311-06:00

"When you pray ,move your feet."African proverbclimatecrisis.net

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-4497024272652552592007-01-18T20:25:00.000-06:002007-01-18T21:19:10.594-06:00

So we have a few items we considered not quite done with regard to our builder's work. Things just not quite right. A couple months go by with no contact from the builder. Up to that point a couple months ago we made phone calls every couple weeks to keep it moving. The ball sat in their court until we walked over and picked it up.Well a new year and a new expectation. So we wrote a letter

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-69581394318334004722007-01-15T21:07:00.000-06:002007-01-15T21:16:52.100-06:00

The accumulation of ice over the weekend had the expected effect. Branches and trees down in every yard and on every street. Our own "wildlife tree" decided to loose a limb. Right into the middle of some lawn chairs. Tossed a line up into the tree to see what else would shake loose. The cars are be safe now. And the birds and squirrels still have a hang out.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-23628358539658356952007-01-13T21:32:00.000-06:002007-01-13T21:35:03.553-06:00

This dogwood is a bit of conflict between Diane and I. Its beauty saves it yearly. A bit of extreme pruning helps also.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-5788802486554743732007-01-13T21:18:00.000-06:002007-01-13T21:36:17.626-06:00

We had some freezing rain Friday night. Chipping the ice encrusted cars Saturday morning, I wondered what works of art were created. There had to be a picture somewhere in the yard.A couple weekends ago, we went to Lakeview Museum here in Peoria for a perhaps once in a lifetime (convenience-wise) opportunity. Anne Adams loaned 72 photographs of her father's thru March.What would Ansel do in

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-18564653387705118472007-01-06T15:58:00.000-06:002007-01-06T16:01:39.646-06:00

I won't say exactly where this is. The top sheet was added this year. The walls we see wrapped every year.At least they know what a waterproof tarp is.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-84548879479516960572007-01-01T16:46:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:23:16.286-06:00

And here are views of the girls' rooms and a peak into the bathroom. Hard to capture without a wide angle lens.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-68859937588101626362007-01-01T16:31:00.000-06:002007-01-01T16:46:05.606-06:00

Kendall and Sharon visited over New Year's weekend to get the drywall out of the way. We worked hard but made time to visit and play games too. First pics are the hallway with the closets at the end -one of Gary's favorite features. Angles are from both ends of the hall, and the closets viewed from Aspen's dorrway. The left hand closet will have the clothes hamper, with a trap door to the

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-2106292601642740162007-01-01T16:23:00.000-06:002007-01-01T16:31:06.941-06:00

Over New Year's weekend, we visited Lakeview Museum. But first we stopped at the center of the solar system (or a model of it). The museum had an Ansel Adams exhibit that Uncle Gary wanted to see. And of course, cousins Ember and Aspen showed Flat Michael the discovery center.Flat Michael stayed up late with us on New Year's Eve. He had a little trouble with our wish balloons. Happy New Year!

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-18678620243111558982007-01-01T16:07:00.000-06:002007-01-01T16:22:47.954-06:00

We have a guest for December and January. Flat Michael is the creation of our nephew Michael. (Flat Stanley, Jeff Brown, is an excellent children's book Michael's school project is based on.) He's been enjoying hanging out with the girls and going on adventures.In this set of pictures we have Christmas dinner at the girls' Uncle Dale's house with an explosive game of Battleship. Dinner was

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-59866206104387594042006-12-20T20:58:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:22:53.446-06:00

Twice a year, the girl scouts have a father-daughter function. Here's this fall's picture. It was a prom theme.Dad took the girls to Basta's, a nice Italian restuarant. The waitress did an outstanding job recognizing the special occassion and treating the girls like young ladies.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-77242604100596817182006-12-20T20:12:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:22:29.672-06:00

The contractor's helpers tossed one of the concrete forms to the side. It hit the garage and put a hole in the wall. We needed to replace some boards anyway. Primed the inside to help seal the wood on both sides, and help lighten the interior of the garge.So here we are working together. Helping each other. And smiling. Still.A 4 foot wide and 12 foot long sheet of 5/8" drywall weighs about

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-89298371802685598122006-12-20T19:52:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:21:58.138-06:00

Another big help has been Diane's brother. He's got the tools or access to them, experience, and most importantly the ideas. He fits the big brother job description well.We had to build scaffolding to access the peak of the west side, and to reach the north side over the porch roof. Ladder on picks on scaffold, oh my. It was not an OSHA approved setup for sure, but no injuries. Only one

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-48338046483465829522006-12-20T19:46:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:20:50.539-06:00

Our dear friends from Rock Island (Master Design's Boomerangs) came over to help for a weekend. We got alot done. And we also made sure to enjoy the time.When you don't have to ask somebody for help, just answer their question of when should they be there, that's a true friend.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841883923077301396.post-78006019098586826442006-12-19T21:01:00.000-06:002007-01-01T16:50:33.820-06:00

For now, I'm using this as an easy way to post pictures. When I find another easier way, then I'll move there.Most of the pictures will be the remodelling project. And we'll start with pictures from last week, then work back in time. Scattered along the way we'll slip in some forward progress.So here's last week's snow storm.

Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04881399913662921195noreply@blogger.com0