Thursday, August 03, 2006

AHHHH....another day of shopping in STL

The 1st Lady and I were up before Dr. Jeni had to leave of her dental offices......and had a fun, but short, morning with the two little ones before we had to leave. The girls have two babysitters that come to the house........a HS senior and her sister who will be a second year opera major at UMKC Conservatory of Music. They live on the adjoining 5 acres which makes it very convenient for everyone.

We headed into Washington and found a nice little "mom and pop" cafe where we had had breakfast a couple of years ago......however, this time it just wasn't nearly as good as we remembered. It was just a very average breakfast......with a not-s0-puffy omelet!! HAHA.....at least the server kept the coffee mug filled!!

From there we headed into STL.....about a 30 minute drive. We took Mo. Hwy 100 into the western part of the city......the hwy. turning into Manchester Rd. Well.....we say a place called "The Tile Store"....and stopped. Well.....that might have cost us a bit more......we wound up being there an hour as we looked and discussed with a great salesman about the possibilities of using granite tiles for a countertop. We had originally entered to look at tile for the floor, but spent most of our time looking at the choices of granite tiles........and getting a bid on the almost black granite tiles which we really liked. Now......to check with the tile layers around this area to get a bid on the cost of putting them down as a countertope.

From there, it was back to EXPO for a quick trip to see what they have to offer for draperies for Dr. Jeni's dining room. Well.......we were LUCKY!!!!! They had a sale going and the ones that fit the size of her big windows AND were the correct colors......well, they had been reduced to practically nothing, by having the cost cut twice!!! So.....we got them....and then selected a rod/pole for them to hang on. A be-the-right-spot-at-the-right-time event!!!!!

From there a quick run into Lowe's to look at black granite and black slate kitchen sinks. Now....do we want a black sink with black countertops or a stainless sink???? The black would allow us to purchase the brushed nickel faucet fixtures.........Hmmmmmm......what to do about this???

Then into the downtown area to the cabinet shop to give them the final "go-ahead" on our order.....which he said should be around four weeks from now. ANXIOUS!!!!

Oh....forgot that we had stopped earlier in the Manchester area at a Pier I.....where we discovered a table lamp that works beautifully for our tv/family room. BUT......each one they had was slightly damaged in various ways, so I had them call a couple of other Pier I stores around the city and located one that was still in the box. So, I purchased it over the phone with a pickup time of later in the day.

Soooo, leaving the cabinet shop.....we headed south to the last Pier I in the south end of the city....and picked up our lamp!! I took it out of the box and it was perfect!! Packed it back up and headed home. Did make a quick stop at Kohl's......one of our favorite places to shop for great quality and even better prices. Didn't buy a thing.........

Then headed home and arrived there about 20 minutes before we were to be at the county Democrat Club dinner and meeting. Hadn't been for TWO YEARS.......so I felt that I should go tonight......as next week is the Primary Election here in Missouri. The meal was good....and the meeting lacked a bit or organization.......don't want to hurt any feelings, but I do want to be truthful. Enough said......

I heard some very disturbing news while there that the father of some of my best students in band had suffered a heart attack or stroke on Sunday while exercising. He had a massive heart attach several years ago and survived that one. No one seemed to know the seriousness of this one, except that he had been taken to Barnes Hospital in STL. Dr. Bentinganan is originally from the Philippines.....and a few years ago I flew over there to provide the music for the wedding of his son, Vimille. This family means a great deal to me......and so I have tried all evening to find out some news as to his health!!!

And now.....the remaining part of the evening has been spent in taking care of some things around TheHowserHouse...stick/brick. As I sit here in our new family/tv room.......I am soooo excited about how it has all come together to make a great looking and functional room!!!!!!!! Only a couple of more items that we are looking to add to it and it will be complete!!!!

Sooooo, after a very busy day.......my

Life is GREAT.....and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!

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