Waiting to be teenagers!!

 

Evening bath: Ava and Landry

 

Great Grandchildren RULE!!!!

 

At home in TheHowserHouse

Oh yeah.......a three day weekend!!!!! But wait.......every three days is a three day weekend for me.....hahaha. In fact, every day is a weekend day.....right???? Does this really.....really.....make sense??? I doubt it......

Ok.....we traveled up to Monroe City Friday afternoon/evening, picking up Rachel in STL and taking her with us. But first.....we did do a bit of shopping just for fun.......not for anything in particular as has been our habit in the recent past. Then after picking up our oldest granddaughter, it was that DREADED time: fight the city traffic on a Friday afternoon of a three day weekend!!!!! And, naturally, the only way is to go right through the city and out the west side......where everyone is heading for the holiday........the lakes of Missouri.

After exiting most of the congestion, we stopped for a bite of supper......perhaps more than just a bite, but not THAT much. Rachel enjoys the cuisine of Dairy Queen.....hmmmm, a rhyme???.....but the place in Bowling Green was PACKED....not the ice cream. With a lot of patience we managed to get our orders and sat there, while eating, watching the constant parade of cars and trucks and RV's pulling their pontoon boats, speed boats, and fishing boats north to the Mark Twain Lake. Joining the parade, we arrived at the home of the 1st Lady's mother around 9pm.

Saturday.....a rather cloudy day was spent by the family at the Lake enjoying boating......the water vessel being provided by the sister of the 1st Lady who came with her family.....AND a boat from Kansas. Now WHO, in their right mind from Kansas, would actually invest money in a water craft????? I suppose those who can travel to Missouri for weekends and holidays!! But.....it was enjoyed by everyone on both Saturday AND Sunday.......the Lake only being 15 minutes from "Granny's house"!

Sunday evening found MANY, MANY family members sitting, standing, playing on the floor......as there were several cousins and their children dropping by to enjoy a few hours of family connection. "Granny" had SEVEN great grandchildren at the house.....the oldest being 8 years old......quite a collection of babbling children who don't often find themselves all together at one time!!! Fun for all of the "older adults" to watch..........

Today......a day that gave all of us encouraging thoughts of the fall season that hopefully will arrive soon. It was clear, crisp, and smelled soooooo clean. I slipped away while everyone else was still catching some zzzzzz's and I took a two mile walk in the gorgeous morning rays!!! WOW......sooooo nice!!!

We returned this evening to TheHowserHouse of stick and brick, after a brief stop to pick up two table lamps we had purchased last week, but that had to be shipped into the store. And then........a quick run down south to our house on the hill that REALLY needs to have it's lawn trimmed......quickly!! Tomorrow???? Hopefully.......

And.......sooooo,..........

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

A varied day.....

The 1st Lady was up early this morning as she had planned to go see Michael by 9AM. I had an appointment for coffee with a great friend.....my former student AND my former assistant band director.....Michael ("Goldie"). We met at the local coffee shop in the city center and sat there for over two hours discussing our lives, our families, our plans, and the varied events of the past two months, including a bit of national politics. So you can see......those two plus hours flew by quickly with not much of a detailed depth discussion on any topic.

We did discuss our own individual aging.....and the changes it makes in our thinking and our lives.......including the fleeting thoughts of our own mortality. We discussed travel plans.....and discussed the probability of he and his spouse flying out to Arizona to visit us when we spend February and part of March there. He then followed me to the stick and brick to take a look at the newly remodeled rooms and the plans for the upcoming demolition of the kitchen.

When he departed, I hit the road and spent the next three hours visiting with Michael. Returning home this afternoon.........I didn't do too much of anything other than give a piano lesson at 5:30. And so, the rest of the evening was spent.......doing nothing!!!! HURRAY!!!! And evening of nothing while the 1st Lady spent the evening at the "fall" opening meeting of her sorority.

Wasn't this the most interesting post you have read??????? You see.....I DO have days that are normal.......if "normal" is the correct word. We are heading north for the long weekend to visit the 1st Lady's family.....and if you can remember, this is in a location that has not connection with cyberspace!!! Sooooo, unless I dash to Hannibal and sit in the parking lot of the Quality Inn/Suites I will not have access to the rest of the world.......DAMN!!!!

But......nevertheless......

Life is GREAT.....and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!! (A wonderful morning, Goldie!!)

One lamp being shipped

 

Bedroom view...

 

1st Lady's new dresser(without mirror)

 

WHEW......

OMG.....two days have flown by and the readers of TheHowserHouse are awaiting all of my highly intellectual and philosophical thoughts!!! And....what I have been doing???? SHOPPING for more household items that we will be using in Stage 2 of our remodeling project......the complete gut and redo of the kitchen (notice I did NOT say "cut and run").

Yesterday was a great day weather-wise here in Southeast Missouri.......and so I took advantage of the cool temps and spent most of the day doing yard work. It was really therapeutic..... and I really needed to get this outside work completed. Did I REALLY say "completed"???? Well, I "mispoke"..........it is not really completed and never will be because each storm that passes by brings more limbs and twigs to the yard.....which have to picked up.

Today.......the 1st Lady had a dental appointment in STL, and not with Dr. Jeni. She saw her last week and so today she was conferring with a specialist about having a couple of implants put in her mouth. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, but she has great teeth and doesn't want to wind up with having to use "falsies" later on.....and I agree with her.

Then.....well, it was dash here and there to get it all done.....and still we didn't. Lamps, lights, floor tiles, microwaves, small chair, paintings/art work, .......plus lunch at Sweet Tomato Salads. And then, we picked up our new stainless steel gas range that I wrote about a couple of days ago.....and made it back to our stick/brick in F'town by 9:15pm this evening. Got the range unloaded and stored safely in the garage.......hmmmm, wonder just HOW much more it can hold???? Still ALL of the furniture and "STUFF" that we plan to sell(??) in a garage/driveway sale this fall.

Then we also heard from our contractor while we were in STL and he said he could not begin work on Stage 2 of the remodeling project(s) for another 3-4 weeks. Ok.....hmmmm, that has thrown a real kink into our plans for our fall travels: Wyoming, Utah, Vegas, and a planned ralley in Nevada, with a side trip to California. NOW.....we are going to have re-think these plans. I am not going to rush out there for just a couple of weeks......diesel is too expensive for such a QUICK trip.......we had a minimum of 6 weeks planned. Hmmmmm........more stress...stress....stress!!!!!

And so, with STUFF and stress in my mind, I will close by still, as always, saying that......

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

At home in TheHowserHouse (stick/brick house)

We didn't spend much time in Evansville this morning. Got the car loaded, stopped by Jeremy's office for a few minutes to say "good-bye".....and then hit the road. We did stop in Farmington for an hour as we narrowed down the choices of ceramic tile to four different ones......and then put them in the car and came on down to the stick/brick.

We had a phone message that came while we were in the Hoosier State.......YEP!!!! Our cabinets have arrived at the store in STL!!!! Almost scary!!!!! They will deliver them here when we are ready to accept them.........ugh!!!! There goes the living room....which just returned to normal last week!!!!! Now I have to get hold of our contractor and get some info from him as to how long it will be before he can return to our project, Stage 2.

I gave a clarinet lesson later this afternoon as she was not going to be able to be here tomorrow for the assigned time slot. So, I'll only have three lessons tomorrow!!

HAHAHA......I did forget to mention in last night's post that while there in Evansville, all three of us when to the movies yesterday afternoon: "Invincible" Yes......I really did enjoy it!! It was just a good heart-warming story.....and I was surprised by Mark Wahlburg (sp??). He did give a much, much better performance than any other time I have seem him on the screen. Time goes by, doesn't it..........?? He looked quite a bit holder than when he was in all the commercials and slick magazines in only his Calvin Klein briefs!!!! HAHAHA!!!

And so.....we are at home in our stick/brick and.....

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

Heat, humidity, and thunderstorms/rain in the Hoosier State

A lazy morning........a hot, humid Sunday morning.......a lazy hot day!!!!! Will autumn ever arrive????? We finally left the hotel and headed to a highly recommended "mom and pop" type cafe on the west side of town. And.......what a great choice we made: wonderful country ham, potatotes, bacon, well-prepared eggs, homemade biscuits, and a bottomless pot of coffee that was just the right strength!!!! YUM!!!!

Leaving the little cafe to the after-church crowd that was standing in line outside and down the sidewalk, we headed a bit further west to see the little neighborhoods of Evansvilles and see the signs for Jeremy's candidate for Congress. After seeing some really interesting areas of town, including the new campus of the University of Southern Indiana, we headed back down town to the campaign headquarters and Jeremy's offices. He had about an hour's worth of work and phone calls to make, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the LARGE offices on a Sunday afternoon.

When he finished taking care of the immediate emergencies, we decided to do a bit of shopping for some house items.........but, didn't purchase a thing!!! How about that!!!!!

Back to the hotel for some down time, a drink in the lounge of the hotel, and then we headed out to dinner in the pouring down rains!!!!! It had rained ALL afternoon......and is not scheduled to stop until tomorrow. Dinner was on the agenda, so went decided to eat at the Outback Steakhouse as we all enjoy their food.......and after stuffing my aging body.....I would swear all sagging skin was filled out by the time I finished the meal........we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

And so......with so much weight pulling me down, I will close this and say that as always.....

Life is GREAT.......and I hope it is for all of you, also1!!

A lick at "Lic's"!!!!!

 

Above the Ohio River up river from Evansville

 

A bit of German Brew before dinner.....

 

Jay and Mom/The1st Lady at the Bavarian Haus

 

Evansville, IN......

No time to sit and have coffee this morning.......again!! We scurried around like rats leaving a sinking ship......but, it was Two Howsers leaving TheHowserHouse in place of the rats. We managed to get a few things put together, turn on the house burgler alarms, and on the road by just a few minutes after 8am this morning. Of course........the rains began before we were out of the city center of F'Town.....and continued until we were in eastern Illinois. It only took four hours, even with the earlier rains........and one pit stop.

Jay had made the arrangements for our room in the Executive Inn right in the heart of the Evansville city center......a great location. And.....the hotel is at 95% occupancy this weekend......quite a feat for such a LARGE hotel. It is an older building.....but very clean and neat. A huge parking building across the street allowed our car to be secured and not on the street.........and with the Park Avenue getting 32.9 mile per gallon on the trip over here.....I SURE as hell don't want anything happening to it!!!

Jay called and said he had a speech to complete for his candidate and would be a little while before he could join us. Soooo, we took a walk around the center of town.........not much action or Chicago type energy, but an extremely clean downtown. Of course......the heat and humidity was horrible today, so we found a GREAT little sandwich and ice cream shoppe......."Lics"!!

We order a chicken sandwich on a croissant......WONDERFUL!!!! And, then I also had "freeze" type drink that had coffee grounds and ice cream mixed with it........INCREDIBLE!!!!! Soooo strong......so well mixed.......sooooooo GOOD!!! If you are ever in Evansville, find this spot......and lucky for all, there are several of these shoppes all over town, in Kentucky and in other Indiana cities.

Jay met us there and then we walked over to the campaign office that he is managing. We met several staffers and then we joined him in his office and watched some campaign ad videos that are for his candidate. Later we headed around town, looked at the remaining damages from the tornado that ravished the southern and southeastern part of Evansville and then stopped at a Border's Bookstore for an hour or so.

Returning to the hotel, we kicked back and relaxed for an hour or so.....and then headed out to the western side of Evansville for dinner.......Gerst's Bavarian Haus. Well,........I guess I am spoiled.......it just did NOT live up to the great food of the Berghoff Cafe in Chicago that we went up there to have a "last dinner" this past February. I actually had the same meal tonight that I had at the Berghoff, but.....well, it just didn't hold a candle to our Chicago dinner. And....I believe that the prices are higher here. Hmmmmm........

After completing dinner, we headed to the Ohio River......and WOW......St Louis could take a lesson from Evansville for the way to improve their riverfront!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT a great place it is.......just wonderful. Earlier this afternoon we had gone to a small watering hole just above the Ohio on top of a levee where we could look down the river and see the skyline of Evansville. This evening we decided to hit the Aztar Casino......and spent all of 35 minutes there. Losing money that easy is just not for me.........!!!!!($20 is all I ever spend/invest at a casino).

Back at the hotel.......we are ready to call it a day!!! A VERY good day....and evening. Just a bit disappointed in the German meal, but I can't win them all when it comes to trying out new restaurants!! And.........

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

Success......w/shopping !!

I barely had time for my morning cup of Fr. Roast before the 1st Lady was ready to leave for STL. OMG.....was she EVER organized for today.........getting into the car with her clip board in her hand....and it was filled with comparison data on gas ranges. She even had a list of the stores we would visit and in a definite order as we searched for the best gas range that our allotted money would purchase.

And....by early, early afternoon, I had signed a check for a new GE double oven with convection, 5 burner, stainless steel gas range. And I must admit......this WAS the best deal we had found in STL AND on the internet. We were prepared to order online as we would not have to pay state sales taxes, however, this particular range's price TODAY was cheaper by a couple of hundred dollars over any other range we had found. We decided to leave the microwave until next week as I wanted to get ahead of the Friday rush hour traffic headed south of the city.

We did purchase two new lamps for the bedroom side tables which we had seen on a previous trip to EXPO Home Design Center. Luckily they did have two in stock, so we grabbed them and brought them home with us. (The gas range I will have to pick up next week.)

We stopped in Farmington at a local Mexican restaurant......"El Tapatio". They always have good, authentic Mexican food and usually really great Margheritas, however......the drinks were not quite as good as usual. I will say they were FULL of Tequila, though!!!

We are leaving in the morning for Evansville, IN, to spend until Monday morning with our son, Jeremy(Jay). He is the campaign manager of the Democratic candidate for Congress from the southwest district of Indiana........and this is one of the few weekends that Jay has a bit of time to visit and have a dinner or two with us. He is soooooooooooo busy running the campaign and his staff of assistants, researchers, administrative staff, etc., etc. It is a HUGE operation and a big task to unseat the incumbent.....but the polls look GREAT.

I think I will have Wifi at the hotel which he has us housed in downtown Evansville......so hopefully I can keep everyone posted on our doings in the Hoosier state. Sooooo, it is time to get a few items together.......and as usual,

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

Researching....researching....

WOW........are we in a quandary!! We are trying to decide on an RV Park in the Rio Grande Valley for the month of January. We have been to South Padre Island during the December Holidays several years ago, but we were not looking at rv parks at that time. NOW we are!!! And.......there are reportedly 80,000 rv sites in the Valley. There are soooo many different types of parks/campgrounds.........we are just not certain which one to make a deposit with.

Soooo, today I spent a great deal of time online and on the phone line researching the various parks, talking with people who work at different ones, and just trying to get a feel for the various available ones. And......there are already many that booked to capacity for January. Hard to believe when several of the parks have from 1200 to 1500 rv sites!!!!! Tons of rv'ers head to Texas for the winter........some of the parks have a 3 month minimum stay!! And to think......there are just as many, or more, sites in Florida and Arizona!!! AND Mexico!!!

We will be going to Arizona for Feb and part of March, but we already have that park site reserved.....not a problem.

We did have the guy who tiled our new bathroom come over so we could discuss the kitchen floor and also the countertop. Doing some serious thinking about using granite tiles on the countertop.......a less expensive way of using granite and it looks really good, at least everywhere we have seen it.......including HGTV!!

The 1st Lady attempted to get rid of some of the "STUFF" in the boxes in the garage and in the sun/patio room. BUT.....think she just re-arranged the "STUFF" and combine the boxes into different configurations.....hmmmmmm....... WHAT does one do with memorabilia such as pictures of family, high school yearbooks, thousands of slides that I have taken since 1958, etc., etc., etc.?????????

And there you have it!!!! My day in a few short sentences that more than likely bored the Hell out of you. Each day I am AMAZED and SHOCKED at the quantity of readers that click into this blogspot!!!!! The other day there were almost 400 people from around the world who checked in and spent some time reading my rambling thoughts.......GOOD GOD!!!! Perhaps I should put some advertisers on this site!!!!!!!!!!

One other thing I have done and that is to resign from my position as a member of the national Board of Directors for the Cedar Creek RV Owners Club. For almost a year I have been the Director of Region 6 of the CCRVOC which coverd Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska. Well, I am serving on several other boards and I am planning to bring an end to each of this positions very soon...........I do not have the time to serve and do justice to the job on these boards. Soooo, I have made a decision to relieve myself of some of these responsibilities and begin traveling down a "path" where I will not have this feeling of guilt when I don't get the tasks done that should have been done by .......me! I have spent my entire Life in service to young people getting an education, meeting musical performance schedules, various church music positions, community positions, and various local, state, regional, and national boards of directors for many organizations. ALL of these have made it necessary for me to travel all over the country to meetings, etc., etc. and while I LOVE to travel, I want to do so without having to attend meetings and having to make decisions at these meetings. It is time to enjoy the years I have left.....I HOPE....and travel and see as much of the world that I have not seen yet without clouds of responsibility pushing down on my aging brain cells. Soooooo, as always.....

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

Never fear....I'm still here!!!!

Aha!!!! You thought I was no longer able to write, didn't you????? Sorry....but, I'm still among the living.....and living just fine. Yesterday.......well, by the time I got around to getting my act together last night, my mind was mush and anything that I might have written would have made you think I was not functioning properly!!! And, I'm not sure I was......

Nothing of ANY importance occurred in my Life yesterday......damn it!!! I need to have interesting things/events occurring everyday......hoping that after all of these years something NEW will come my way. My sagging hulk just seems to desire new experiences.......but, I guess that is true of most of us.....of all ages???? In fact......as I recall, yesterday I was not much more interesting than a sagging couch potato!!! Enough said......

Today?? I can't really say that there were new events, but we did spend the day narrowing down our choices on the appliances we are going to replace in our kitchen remodeling project. Then......we spent a long time agonizing over the toooooooooooo many choices in ceramic floor tiles. If you have not attmepted to purchase a new tile floor, you are in for a great and frustrating experience!!!! The tile companies have made sooooooooooooo many kinds, colors, sizes, shapes, etc., etc. of floor tiles that it is nearly impossible to select just one. And.....sooooo many of them look sooooooo much alike. DAMN!!!!!

And so, we are no farther along with the floor selection than we have been. I think I need to get the cabinet door sample that we had a couple of times.......so that we can be certain of the stain/glaze colors.

We did some discussing and verbal research with countertop "makers" and the problems we might incur with an out-of-square corner in the kitchen.....and also wanting a deeper/wider counter top that will extend across width of the wall we are going to tear down halfway. Lots of info and measurements are still needed.

Then this afternoon after being in the Farmington area all day.......I also had ALL of my 69 hairs on my head trimmed back a bit so I can wash my ears.......well, when we returned home to F'town....I had four students come in for their private piano/clarinet lessons. I plan to try to teach them each week.....until we leave for the winter.

And so........my day was more interesting to me today.....at least in comparing it with yesterday. Oh....by the way....I having been harvesting from 6-12 tomatoes EACH day for the past couple of weeks from my five tomato plants that I planted in patio pots!!!!! And the taste???? OMG.....they are wonderful!!!!!! And...with the thoughts of all of that wonderful flavor and acidity surrounding my palette......

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

AT LAST.......delivery has occurred!!

YEP.....today was the day marked on the calendar (for the second time, if you have followed my posts of last week)......and it occurred right on schedule.....FINALLY!!!! The new 5-piece bedroom suite arrived, was carried in, and set up without a problem......after having been in incubation in the warehouse for over three weeks. And.....it looks great.

The 1st Lady and I spent the morning dressing the room with the fabrics and pillows that we have been purchasing for the past several months........and I believe we made some good selections. NOW......we need to find two bedside table lamps.....and think we have them picked out, but will need to return to STL to get them. Probably could use a bit of art on the walls, but in this room, "less is more".

We both spent some time today transplanting our personal "stuff" from the OLD dresser and chests into the new java colored furniture. Interesting.....that is it is called java/espresso.......why not Fr. Roast????? HAHAHA......I won't argue the point! Anyway.....everything fit in the room, and in the chest and dresser perfectly. I adjusted the ceiling track lighting to accent the various pieces of furniture and it does look really good......if I do say so myself. The colors of the fabrics we are using are aqua and chocolate.........and they really look great with the wall paint, carpet color, and drapery panels.

The remainder of the day was spent in ..........guess what!!?? MOVING STUFF!!!!! Ahhhh, I do believe that will be the theme for TheHowserHouse for the year 2006!!!!!! THE YEAR OF MOVING STUFF!! And just think.....even though we are still not finished doing just that from Stage 1 of our projects.........we must soon begin Stage 2 and move MORE stuff out of the kitchen cabinets. And who know what we will find in the top cabinets, the corner cabinets which will not allow us to reach ALL the way back in to their deepest, darkest recesses, AND the floor to ceiling pantry........WHAT are those things on the backs of the shelves that we can't even see????? WOW......it will be come a Treasure Hunt/Find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm getting excited about the "Hunt" already. Perhaps we will find some of those black measuring cups that have mysteriously disappeared, the can opener that can no longer be found, and ALL of the various dinnerware sets that we have purchased over the years. You know.......perhaps it would a good idea if I just brought the rolling trash bin inside when we begin this process????

All of these thoughts and the prospect of the coming "hunt" excitement......well, it has me breathless just thinking about it. Sooooooo, with all of this in mind.......

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

Will we ever finish???????????????

Almost this entire weekend has found the 1st Lady and I devoted to the remodeling project......finishing Stage 1 and makind selections for some of the Stage 2 items. WOW.......who would ever have thought that this project would have taken sooooooo long. Of course.....we WERE warned before we began this late last winter, but nevertheless, we pushed on into this task.

Yesterday we were up in STL and focusing on appliances for the upcoming kitchen project (Stage 2). We attempted to eliminate some of the choices on gas ranges and microwaves....and we were able to make some decisions as to free-standing versus slide-in, two ovens or one, four burners or five, convection or regular...or both, sizes of microwaves, etc., etc., etc. We plan to get the range/microwave ordered this week.

Next???? Dishwasher.....and perhaps....PERHAPS a refrigerator. Flooring, lighting, and countertop selections are going to have to be made quickly.....!!

Today.....well, we spent the morning, which was dreary and finally....rainy.......reading the papers and catching the morning "talking heads" news programs. This afternoon we moved some more "stuff" as did some re-arranging in the guest room in preparation for some bed switches. Tomorrow morning the new bedroom furniture for our new room will be delivered and set up....and so we made had to do the switching today to bring some of the things into the guest room and others into the "sale side" of the garage.

And so.......we kept on the go and very busy most of the weekend. No philosophical thoughts to share tonight.......no sermonizing........no pictures.....no remembering of things past........no thoughts for the future........just living the life of two retired educators who are enjoying most of our minutes each day working on these projects. Oh yeah.....we are looking forward getting back on the road the early part of October....after we return from a week in DisneyWorld.

Life IS Great......and I really hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!

Hmmmm......did I do ANYTHING today????

And the answer is: NOPE!!!! Can't believe it........two days of NOTHING done on my part. But, like I have always said........when you are retired, if you don't get it done today....there is always tomorrow!!

The heat did not creep up today.......it boiled over in a very short time this morning. I made one trip around the yard to check on the weeds, etc. that I sprayed 48 hours ago to try to eliminate those damn things.......and???? Well, they DO look a bit more haggard today than usual, however.....could it just be the heat??? Hmmmm........another day or so should tell the story.

By then, I was drenched in the juices from my overactive sweat glands....and so I quickly headed back inside to the comfort of my 74 degree home. And the rest of the day.........not much accomplished. I read some......an old Robert Ludlum book. I am a big fan of his books and for some reason I never did read this one.......even years ago!!! GREAT to be back into his mind and the involved stories he concocts.

Then this evening, the 1st Lady and I decided to go down to the city center and dine at one of the three eateries located there.......oops, guess there are four ( I forgot Subway). On Fridays around this part of the state, most of the Mom and Pop places have "all you can eat Catfish" dinners......and this particular establishment serves some incredible fried catfish fillets!!! Sooooo, we both over ate........but, since we haven't eaten here for a few months, it is well worth the feeling of being totally stuffed.

I did post a few pics of some of the remodeling/renovations that are about complete on Stage 1 of our home projects.

And so......this evening will find this sagging hulk...that is overstuffed.....reading some more of Ludlum's novel. Ahhhh......a pleasant way to end a really nice day......and as always,

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

New wall color in Living Rm

 

Living Room...entrance to TV RM

 

TV Room: Entrance from Living RM

 

TV Room: almost complete

 

Kicked back and relaxed.....

Even though I didn't get enough sleep last night due to a stiff/sore neck from that floundering fall of my sagging hulk yesterday......the morning was pleasant and relaxing. It was cool enough for my Fr. Roast coffee on the patio........a quiet place this morning as the school district's classes began today.

The rest of the day was just about as nice and quiet. The 1st Lady left before noon today to have lunch with a couple of friends who are also retired educators.......so that the 1st Lady and one of the other two were celebrating their actual FIRST day of retirement.....since school actually began today!!

I did some cleaning, vacuumed the new carpets, washed a couple of the larger windows, and generally led an easy and quiet life for about three hours. After the 1st Lady returned we tried out the "just arrived" black leather cubes that we will use as drink stands or places for papers and magazines. They are really just super......and the construction is excellent. I ordered them from Overstock.com........and I'm really pleased with them!!

About 4pm, I felt the need for some of my dark red medicine, so I picked some of my wonderful tomatoes and diced them, chopped some fresh garlic into very tiny pieces, picked several leaves off of my Basil plants and chopped them up, added some sea salt, cracked pepper, and olive oil and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then we had some small garlic toasts in a bag and I put the Bruschetta on top and enjoyed my medicine with these wonderful, flavorful appetizers.

It seemed that I needed several large doses of my dark red medicine......about a half of a bottle which is much more than I usually have to swallow. But, I DID somehow manage to get it down without any problem whatsoever!!!!

The 1st Lady was preparing dinner tonight. She fixed some linguine with shrimp which was sauteed in a butter and garlic sauce. I chopped up a few more tomatoes and when the pasta and shrimp were done, I added the red tomatoes on top pasta and shrimp.....and then added some Parmesan cheese on top. Of course.........a bit more red medicine was necessary!!!

This evening.....well, it was one to just kick back and enjoy whatever dumb shows we could find on the tellie. As stated.......it was a relaxing day.......which of course helps to say that......

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

Grammy(the 1st Lady) and Meghan

 

SMOTHERING in STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm......today began slowly......great weather....mid-50's this morning......and then as the morning disappeared..........

The 1st Lady decided to complete the cleaning and disposing of the "stuff" that has been inhabiting the study/den since we began the remodeling projects last winter. Sooooo, the work began and we finally finished moving the furniture around to suit her wants for the room.....and then as I was pushing the large 36" TV on it's corner tv stand......something happened to the exercise "machine" and it began to tip over(it was folded against the wall...like an ironing board) and this caused me to lose my balance as I pushed on the tv/stand.....and soon I was floundering around, falling through the air towards the hardwood floor and ALL of the STUFF that was laying down there......and as I fought to regain my balance, that just made it worse. Soooo, in the 1-2 seconds that all of this was happening......I hit the floor with my left arm tucked under me and my head/forehead hit the floor....throwing my glasses off....and .....well, there is now a dent in the floor where I hit it!! AND.....there is an egg on my forehead with abrasions on my skin at the same place......and my left arm is a bit sore from ALL of my sagging hulk landing on it.

THANKFULLY, my glasses survived.....and, so did I!!!!

Soooo, the next problem became the "STUFF"!!!!!! What to do with it???????? Me? I would throw all of this crap that we have collected, purchased, been given.......throw it all away. However,....there are two of us living in TheHowserHouse/stick and brick.......and the 1st Lady doesn't agree with that. "We might need that sometime".......is the phrase that I hear daily!! Well.....my feelings are that if we haven't really put the item to use for the last 6-12 months.....GET RID OF IT!!!! But......I'm fighting a losing battle.......ugh!!!! And so, we move the "STUFF" into a new area of the house......to be moved again at a later date!!

This evening I grilled some brats on the patio, had a beer(no red medicine tonight), read some in the fading light of the evening, and then fought a few flies that insisted on feasting on me, along with a few no-see-ums which have arrived in our yard in the last few days. Hope they migrate right on....whichever way they want to go!

And so, here I am.....an egg on my forehead, my left arm slightly sore, and I'm trying to surface from under all of this "STUFF" so that I can breathe!!!! Aside from that,

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

This grass tickles....

 

Time out from the ole ballgame

 

I'm getting better at this walking thing.....

 

Four Generations

 

WOW!!! What a beautiful day!!!

Yep.....that says it all tonight!!!! The gorgeous weather made the day just perfect to mow the lawn......and that is just what I did. It had been a week or two since I mowed it.....and due to the lack of rain, it really didn't need it that much UNTIL......today. ALL of the rain we hd yesterday simply pushed those blades of grass up and our of the formerly parched earth......and I could almost hear the grass growing this morning when I was outside for my morning coffee.

When I was finished this afternoon.....we moved some of the furniture around into different places in our study......it needed a bit of change since we had already moved one of the desks out to the garage to join the other pieces of furniture that will be sold.....hopefully.....next month.

The monthly meeting of the local Board of Education was tonight. I have been on the board for almost 2.5 years now........my three year term is finished in the spring. I'm not certain if I will file for re-election this winter or not..........just haven't made this decision!! Anyway.....it only lasted a bit over two hours tonight.....not toooooo bad for having school start this week.

I have thrown in a few pics from this weekend. I am certain that the 1st Lady's mother will be upset when she sees HER picture and the unprepared way she looks in the pic. Anyway.....a picture of four generations needed to be taken this year.....and so I did.

Another great day is forecast for tomorrow......and I have some plans to spend most of it in the yard taking care of some much needed TLC for some of the plants and shrubs. And if it is a day like today.........it will be another day in which I can honestly say....

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

A STORMY DAY!!!

The storms began before I had even put myself into a vertical position this morning. And......then for the rest of the day they arrived about every hour or two........exploded above our hill, and after sharing their fury with all of us, they raced southeastward and out of our area. And.......then they would arrive again........

I, too, exploded from my own "storm" this morning, on the phone. Today was to be the day that FINALLY our bedroom furniture was to be delivered. We had received a phone message while we were gone this weekend from the delivery section of Bassett Furniture Direct warehouse. He indicated that we had not told him that we would be here today.........sooooooooooo, I called him at 8am this morning. Again, he stated the same thing and then said that we couldn't get our delivery until NEXT Monday because I had not "confirmed" that we would be here today.

SOOOOOOOOOOO, I unleashed my own storm with as much fury as I have had in a long, long time. Be the time I hung up on the rude, impertinent fellow......well, my BP was surging to the boiling point.......and for the first time I REALLY felt it surging out of control. When I became a bit more settled, I called the manager of the Bassett store where we purchased the furniture. I reminded her of the rather costly purchase I had made in June.....and then told her of the conversation that I had had with the delivery man. The manager said she would check on this.....and about an hour later she called back.....and said that my furniture would not be delivered until NEXT Monday........it was a "miscommunication" between the delivery guy and myself!!!! The rest of my morning was one of being pissed off at everything that went "wrong"............a stormy morning AND afternoon.

The 1st Lady and I spent about 2.5 hours this afternoon......after I cooled down.....measuring, locating the needed studs for the pole supporting brackets, and then getting the drilling done correctly. Sounds easy.....doesn't it???? BUT......it certainly took more time than either one of us had expected. After the drapery panels were hung........well, it was certainly worth the efforts!

As I said, it was a "stormy day" in more ways than just from the weather......but, nevertheless,

Life is Great.......and I hope it is for all of you, also (without the storms)

A weekend without traveling thru Cyberspace!!!!!

Oh yeah......once again I was isolated from the cyberspace world for an entire weekend!!!!!! Did I twiddle my thumbs, exercise, etc.,etc.???? No......I curled up in a great patio chair on my mother-in-law's patio and became totally lost in a good book for most of the weekend!!!!!!! THIS is something I have not done for almost a year..........and it really felt good to spend a lot of precious time just........reading!!!!! The drawback???? My eyes were sooooo damned tire by last night that I could barely focus.........they watered, they stung, they looked like I had been staring at the sun, which I hadn't. Do I need to see my nephew in St. Joseph, MO.......an optometrist??? YEP.......Greg....I do need an appointment!!! New glasses are definitely in order!!

My last post was from the Moser Estate on Thursday evening...... Friday we kept the little girls there at the Estate while Dr. Jeni had consultations with business pros concerning her upcoming business deal. Then we all headed north to "Granny's House", arriving mid-afternoon. And then......I began to read.....

Saturday........coffee (Folger's regular) was on the patio enjoying a gorgeous morning with an incredible breeze. And then I continued to read...........

This morning....I finished the book last night......I went to the grocery and bought today's STL Post-Dispatch....returned to the patio and had my coffee with the Sunday paper. EXCITING......huh??????

We left around 2pm.......stopped at "Armini's" at the Chesterfield Commons Mall just west of STL. Stopped there to look for an area rug of a contemporary design and colors that will go with the new living room color. Then a quick trip south to Manchester Rd to spend another hour at EXPO looking at some items that they have on display there. IF any of you good readers have NOT been to a Home Depot "EXPO" store..........GO!!!!!! There are not many in the country as yet, but check out your area and see if you are lucky enough to have one close by. It is great store for home items from appliances to kitchen designs to flooring to art work. EVERYTHING is there!!!!

Home around 7:30pm and a bit of putting things in order from being gone for four days. Had a message that pissed me off......a call from the Deliver Warehouse of Bassett Furniture in STL. The caller wondered if I planned on having our new bedroom furniture delivered tomorrow!! HA.....Good God.....he and I had quite a heated discussion about this date three weeks ago and I assured him at that time that I WOULD be at the door waiting for him tomorrow, the 14th!! He damned well better show up with that truck load of furniture tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And so........our four days went quickly and now the new week begins. This one is a busy one also.........but, nevertheless.....

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

We dropped......after we shopped!!!

Oh yeah.......it was up and off to the city before I even had time to fully drink my FIRST cup of Fr. Roast this morning......DAMN!!!! Thankfully, I have a good sized travel cup and so quite a lot of my pot of coffee went with me to STL.

We had a multitude of stops to make to begin to narrow down our choices for the kitchen, now that the cabinets are on order and will be here in 4-5 weeks. We also had to pick up the remaining drapery panels which we needed for the living room.......we bought one last weekend and had "reserved/put on hold" three more panels to be picked up today.

What else? WELL........we spent oodles of time checking out: 1. gas ranges of stainless steel, 2. stainless steel fridges, microwaves, dishwashers, 3. tile for the flooring, 4. countertop materials from laminate to tiles to complete granite tops, 5. recessed can lights of 3", 4", and 5" sizes, hanging pendant lights for the bar section,......etc., etc.

Decided to have a small dinner around 5pm in West County (Manchester Rd.)......at the Madison's Cafe. This was our first time to eat there.......it was just ok. The cream sauce in the pasta dishes we ate was a bit thick and heavy.........the cheese garlic bread did not have enough garlic on it and the bread itself was....well, just rather tasteless and thick. Costs??? Well, I had a prescription filler of dark red medicine.....the house kind...and was about $6.....and the entire meal was only $32.00, so it wasn't expensive, but then it wasn't that good, either.

After dinner, we headed on west out to the Moser Estate for the night. She needs a sitter (us) for a few hours in the morning and then we are headed to northeast MO for the weekend.

The 1st Lady and I have DROPPED from shopping soooo much today. Did we make any decisions??? Nope,......just narrowed down the choices we will have to choose from. GOT to get these decisions made and on order SOON!!!!!!!!

And even with all of this running around today.....

Life IS Great.....and I hope it is for all of you, also!!! (Mark H.....I am jealous of your upcoming fishing trip to Canada!!)

SOMEBODY's been hammering inside my head.....

UGH!!!!! CRAP!!!! DAMN!!!! I detest waking up early in the morning and realize that somehow, some small alien has climbed inside my head and is pounding with some large mallet deep inside the backside of my skull!!!! I laid there attempting not to awaken the 1st Lady at this hour of sunrise, but finally pulled my throbbing head off of the pillow and slipped into the kitchen to grab whatever pain killers I could locate and quickly downed a couple of those little pills. Hoping a shower would help, I stood in the steaming stream of water as it played on my head, my neck and shoulders........thinking it would relax my tightened muscles and relieve some of the pain. BUT.......it didn't work!!

So, after some Fr. Roast, I laid down on the sofa and just laid there for several hours. And......so went my day.....up for awhile and then back on the sofa. Was it as bad as a migraine???? NOPE.....but it was not pleasant.

This evening, after dinner, I began to feel somewhat better.......enough so that I have put some things together for the weekend. We are leaving this weekend to visit the 1st Lady's mother. TheHowserHouse will be occupied though, as Dr. Jeni's husband, my son-in-law Darrel, will be racing down in this area this weekend and will use our stick and brick as his headquarters while down here. Hopefully he will not experience the hard rain like we had this morning!!!! It really rained quite a lot......thankfully!!!

As I am certain the alien inside my head will leave this evening.........I remain positive that....

Life is Great.....and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!1

Hot...hot...hot!!!

TOOOOOOOOOOOO hot for coffee on the patio........when will autumn arrive?????? This morning started quickly with a run over to the Bentinganan home as I took a bowl of fresh fruit to the family.....hopefully in time to use for breakfast.

Came home.......and then a bit later I dressed for the funeral of Dr. Bentinganan........never thought I would have difficulties getting my tie tied properly!!!! Guess it has been tooooo long since I have needed to wear one for any occasion.

The funeral was a service of celebration of his Life........as one of his sons said this morning, "Dad loved to celebrate.....any occasion", so it was only fitting that the service do the same for him. Vaughn....the saxophone performer......performed an original composition which was not only a display of his talent, but also a wonderful tribute to his father who had supported ALL of his children in sooooo many ways.

I was joined in St. Michael's Church here in F'town by two former students who are now BOTH outstanding band directors. It was great to see them.....and to have a brief bit of time to visit with each of them!!! In talking with each of them, it is always extremely gratifying to hear the influence that I had on them, their decisions to become band directors, and the successes they are now experiencing!! But you know the REALLY wonderful thing about being with my former students????? It is the incredible warm and wonderful friendships we share with each other........the value of friendships with former students can never be measured........it is what makes my Life so satisfying as a retired band director!!!!!!!

The afternoon.....well it was toooo hot to enjoy doing any of the needed work and tasks outside, so we began to sort and throw away STUFF!!!!!! WOW.......the 1st Lady and I are incredible pack rats........we have kept soooooooooooo many things, sooooooooooooo many pieces of paper...............soooooooooooooo many things that we just HAVE to keep, or so we thought at the time. STUFF.....STUFF......STUFF!

I want to throw it ALL out the door, but I am having some verbal confrontations with the 1st Lady about doing it. We have collected soooo many things from our trips around the world to so many countries.........NOW, what do we do with all of these things?????? With our remodeling projects and stages, we are now not wanting to have all of this STUFF and these THINGS sitting around on the floor, the tables, and on the walls. Can we part with it????? Hmmmmm, only time will tell...............

And so, as I ponder all of this STUFF and these THINGS........I continue to believe 110% that....

Life is GREAT......and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!! (what do YOU do with all of your STUFF?)

Remembering.....visiting....seeing friends from the past

By 9:30 this morning, I had finished off a couple of cups of Fr. Roast coffee when the doorbell rang. Opening the door, I saw the smiling face of a former student.......and now a good friend. The youngest of Dr. Bentinganan's sons, Vaughn, was standing there with his best friend....his saxophone.....and before long we were drinking more coffee and sharing stories of the past two years since we have spent any time together. He had arrived in town over the weekend after driving almost non-stop from Seattle to be here for his father's funeral tomorrow.

Vaughn and I spent about three hours talking, playing a bit of music together (even with my stiff fingers because of my broken arm last year), and discussed his Life and the events that have transpired. He has just broken up/off with is partner of four years, whom he left in Seattle. Of all of the students that I have taught to play the saxophone, Vaughn......well, he is incredible. He has always been a great player, but he has matured sooooo much with his playing.....and what a difference this makes. It was wonderful to talk, to remember his student years, and to hear about his life. He is a great young man!!!!

The 1st Lady and I spent the afternoon trying to return the living room to some sense of normalcy by moving back in some of the furniture, but re-arranging it for a fresher look. This evening we then went to the funeral home and visited with the Bentinganan family, as well as seeing many friends who are here from out of town/state for the funeral. I also saw many former students......some that I couldn't remember names to go with their faces.

Sooooo, it was a day of looking backwards and remembering the many good times that we had as teacher/students while in the fine high school band.......and it was so great because of these wonderful kids that worked soooooo long and hard to perfect their performances!!! Now they are anxious to have their children study music.........time goes quickly, doesn't it???

Life is GREAT, isn't it????.......and I hope it is great for all of you, also!!!!!

A hot....but a good day!!

Both the 1st Lady and I were up and on the road by 7:45 this morning. We spent the morning and early afternoon with a visit to Michael.....and enjoyed our time together!!!

From there we went on to Arnold and then to the Gravois Bluffs Shopping Area..........did you really expect us to hit the suburbs withOUT doing some shopping?????? We found only one panel of some draperies and purchased it, along with a 140" drapery pole for our large window in the living room. Not certain if we would actually like the panel drapery, we didn't attempt to find another shop in the city that had three others in stock. As wide as the window is, it will take four panels to cover it completely at night, so we need three more.

Yep......when we arrived home .....we quickly tried out the new panel......and the colors look great at night with only table lamps on. In the morning we will see how the colors "hold up" in the streaming sunlight of the early part of the day.

After a bit more shopping, we headed to the Arnold Cinema and caught a really enjoyable movie: The Devil Wears Prada. I really enjoyed it.........not a very deep thinking or complex movie, but it was good study in the characteristics of a fashion diva. AND....the scenes that were made in Paris.....WELL......it made me salivate to get back over there SOON!!!!!!! I, and the 1st Lady, BOTH love Paris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is beautiful city and is always soooooo wonderful to stroll around, not to mention the wonderful art museums....and the croissants and the WINE!!!!!!! OMG..........it has been five years since I have been over there.....and the urge to get back there is overcoming me. I have been to Europe twelve times and 2 or 3 of those times I have gone to Paris more than once on each trip. I can't imagine anyone NOT liking and enjoying Paris.

We returned to TheHowserHouse this evening and caughter some Tivo'd shows we missed today. All in all........a wonderful day, albeit a bit hot this afternoon.........but,

LIFE IS GREAT.......and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!! (GO TO PARIS!!!)

Sorting, cleaning, and normalcy begins again..

Well...... an incredibly beautiful morning......cool (63 degrees)....and blue sky. It was a perfect morning to have breakfast on the patio......and the 1st Lady and I did just that!!! I lingered over a second cup of French Roast.....and then somehow, completely unplanned, we began to sort out some of the STUFF that we had moved from room to room during Stage I of the remodeling process.

I threw away an old TV that was hiding from me in the closet......it struggled against my tight grip as I carried it-not-so-gently to the trash bin outside and let it drop into the bottom of the bin......and quickly closed the lid so it would not attempt to bounce back up into my arms. Did I feel guilty??? Did I feel remorse?? NOPE.......I was excited that I had made the move and did the deed of getting rid of the aging, unused, never use tellie!!!! What's next?

Well, over the course of a couple of hours, I made many trips to the trash bin.....and soon it was filled and beginning to overflow. WOW......we made soooo much progress in throwing away some accumulated STUFF.........STUFF that we do not need, nor will we ever need. We removed some old cans of paint that were stored in the laundry room.......and what did we do then??? We put in some NEWER cans of paint.......some that were left from the painting of the remodeled rooms. Hmmmm...I wonder how long THAT paint will be stored there???????

After a LATE lunch, I sat down to have a cup of coffee......and soon I was answering the phone and spent about a half hour talking to the recent groom, Andrew. He had finished the first week of the summer band camp for the Edwardsville HS band......and we discussed the progress and the staff that are assisting him and the head director.

Not long after that I received a phone call from another very good friend, Vimille Bentinganan. We talked for awhile about the death of his father this past Thursday.....and the arrangements for the visitation and Mass at the Catholic Church.

After grilling some brats and finising an early meal this evening, I went over to the Bentinganan home and spent over an hour talking with the family and friends that are gathering there. It was great to see some of the ones that I had had in band back in the 90's. And, obviously this led to some laughs as various stories and events were remembered. We also discussed the trip that many of us had made to the Philippines for Vimille's wedding in 2000. It was also such a joy to see his new daughter of nine months, Alexis. What a cutie she is!!

This evening was just a laid back evening in front of the plasma.......enjoying a couple of movies on the movie channels. Tomorrow.....we plan to go visit Mike for a few hours.

And, as always......

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

AHHHH.....a beautiful day!!!!

WOW......what a gorgeous day it was today!!!! The morning was just right with wonderful, breathable temps and low, if any, humidity. Ohhhhh that they all could be like this morning! I made a run out to the Supt's office to take care of some paperwork, both for ourselves here at TheHowserHouse and for the Madison County Democrat Club. Attempted to locate a grocery receipt in the house trash cans.....and then I got to dig through the corn husks, etc., in the large trash receptacle out at the edge of the driveway.......and NO luck. It really wasn't that important, however, the local grocery store ONCE AGAIN double charged us on my credit card.....not a huge amount, but it just pisses me off!!

They did this one other time but that time the amount was over s$900 and it took almost a week to get the money re-deposited into our account. This time it is only $15.10.....not a bank breaker, but I will NOT let them get away with this again. I simply will not ever go into that place again!!!

This afternoon was relaxing.....the 1st Lady had gone up to Farmington to have lunch with a couple of other educator friends....and as always, the lunch took about 3 hours!!! I did some reading on the patio and spent some time on the phone with a couple of friends that called.

Part of the afternoon was spent in sweeping, cleaning, and returning a couple of pieces of furniture to the living room. When the 1st Lady returned she did some touch-up painting on the living room walls, and FINALLY we then took down the blue tape on the moldings/baseboards.

Late afternoon vino was shared when our neighbor across the street knocked on the door and came in to discuss an interview he had had today. It sounded positive, but a person never really know how the interviewer perceives the individual he is interviewing!!! Sure hope he gets the position he is pursuing!!! Nevertheless.....we enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Grigio together with some interesting conversation!!!!!

Our evening meal was small and yet, wonderful. I forgot to mention that yesterday while we were downtown we stopped at the Soulard Market and even though it was late the middle of the afternoon, there were several veggie stalls still with some great buys on the fresh veggies!!!! We bought 14 ears of very sweet corn......so, tonight we had some fresh corn with a few other leftovers. WOW........that corn was soooooooooooooo GOOD!!!! I also sliced up a tomato that I had grown in my patio pots.....and it, too, was soooooo yummy!!!!!

Do any of you daily readers really have any doubt that I am getting saggier (is that a word?) with all of this wonderful summer eating that I am doing????? Good God, but I am going to have to cut back!!!!

I did receive word today that Dr. Bentinganan had passed away yesterday. With five sons and two daughters, and each one of his children sooo very, very successful it seems that his Life has been cut way tooooo short. I believe that one of his sons is currently in Iraq. I had five of his children in band.......there was one each class for five years in a row! Interestingly enough, each of the children had names that began with "V"!!!

And......by now the moon is shining brightly on the lawn.....and it is time to get this little posting of my Life today published and sent out through cyberspace to the some 200 people who read this daily! Sooooo.......as usual and always.....

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

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!!!!!!

An evening at the Moser Estate....

After a relaxing morning with some great coffee......the 1st Lady and I left for STL and then out to the Washington, MO area. She had an appointment with Dr. Jeni to have some teeth problems checked out......and so we did a bit of shopping for the house prior to heading out of STL for her check-up.

Hotter than Hell in the city today........the thermometer on the Park Avenue's computer registered 104 degrees with humidity on top of that!!! UGH!!!! It certainly didn't make for an enjoyable time getting out of the car and rushing to get into the stores/shops. We are looking for some table lamps for the new bedroom and the tv/family room........and, as usual, we are a bit picky as to what we want to complete those rooms. Sooooo, we continue to look.........

I got the 1st Lady to Dr. Jeni's offices in time for her appointment.....which then lasted about three hours. She has had some problems with some bridge/capped teeth.....it has come loose and so the prognosis is BIG BUCKS to get this repaired!!!!! Perhaps implants!!!! We'll see what the final diagnosis and decision will be soon.......!!!!

I left her at the offices and then headed to Lowe's to look for the new appliances we intend to get in the next four weeks......and, of course, they only had ONE gas range on the showroom floor, which didn't do me a damn bit of good. We plan to get stainless steel for the finish and we would like to find one that has a second smaller oven in the unit. Also checked out some Microwaves in a stainless steel finish.

I then came out here to the Estate and relieved the baby sitter at 5pm.....giving me a chance to play with Meghan and Ava for an hour and a half before the 1st Lady and Dr. Jeni arrived out here at the house. We went ahead an fixed dinner and about an hour later Darrel finally arrived home from his business.

The evening has been spent visiting and enjoying the two little ones as they played and coerced us to play with them........not a difficult job to get us to join them.

Tomorrow it is back into STL and then on home. We may possibly go to Evansville, IN to visit Jay for the weekend......this will depend on his schedule. He may have flown to Florida for the weekend......will have to see.

Soooo....... as always.....

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

WOW.....Very hot....And relaxing

Luckily, it was only in the upper 70's when I stepped out onto the patio with my morning coffee.....you know, don't you??? Yep....it was French Roast.....dark and rich and with a very full body!!! HAHAHA......the "full body" part aptly describes me.....that is the ONLY part of that sentence that really fits me, though.

Mid-morning I ran out to the local hardware and lumber store....and took along with me the picture with the paint color that we had used at Sherwin Williams to have the computer match the color with the paint formula. WELL.......of course, they didn't have a computer there that could do the paint matching.......why does that NOT surprise me???? The paint I had matched yesterday at Lowe's was way toooooooooooooooo orange.....in your face orange!!! Sooooo, a bit pissed, a bit depressed, and a bit frustrated I drove home and gave up on that paint problem for the day.

It was getting really hot by that time, so I spent some time searching/researching online to find the closest Home Depot........and of course, it is 50 miles away at a minimum. Foiled again......so, I played around online going from thing to another.....until......."foiled again".....the internet went down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, this led me to believe that today is/was NOT my day!!!!!

After about 30 minutes of not-so-patient waiting, I called our service-friendly (sarcasm) Charter Communications and for 15 minutes talked with a non-entity.....some damn computerized "female" voice. This "voice" attempted to talk me through a procedure to re-set my modem.......well, I'm not THAT dumb or technologically challenged.....as I had ALREADY done that procedure twice. So.....I started hitting the 0 key over and over, quickly....and I immediately had a real, LIVE person talking with me. After he checked my modem.......that sounds rather erotic, doesn't it...... he said that there was an internet outage in my area and it would be fixed as quickly as possible.

Three hours later.....I was back online!!!

The 1st Lady fixed dinner tonight........WOW, but was it ever a tasty and delicious meal!!!! Pork chops browned in olive oil and then layered on top of a cassarole full of rice and cream of mushroom soup. Then it was baked and the casserole was then accompanied by sliced carrots cooked in freshly ground nutmeg and cinnamon, and some baby peas topped with real butter. All of this was washed down by my dark red medicine and the 1st Lady had a glass of Pinot Grigio. She IS a great cook!!!

Prior to dinner, I spent 45 minutes sweltering and sweating as I went to work on the lawn, pushing the power mower around and slipping on my sweat!!! After dinner, I spent another hour working off that marvelous dinner as I trimmed our grass and weeds.

As the sun set behind the tall elms that belong to the lovely lady next door, I called it an evening, although there was still more grass to cut. Went inside, a quick shower, and then I smelled wonderful aromas drifting into the bathroom from the kitchen. AHHHH, but she had done it again.......a wonderful fresh peach deep dish cobbler!!!! And, this was topped with my favorite: Breyers Vanilla Bean ice cream. A GREAT way to enlarge my sagging body......so that it will sag a bit more tomorrow!!!

And sooooo, this day of heat and relaxing(?) sped by quickly, as is my life at this age. As quickly as it is going by, I will NEVER EVER get all the things done that I want to do!!!!!

Life is GREAT......and I hope it is for all of you, also!!! (Goldie....are you alive???)

Appointments.....and decisions(?)

After a quick step or two outside on the patio this morning......I returned to the coolness of the inside of our brick and stick to enjoy my French Roast coffee which was made with some freshly ground coffee beans. By 9:15, I opened the door for the tech specialist for Verizon to bring in his computer and run some tests on the reception that I was getting....or NOT getting...on my Verizon cell phone.

For the past three weeks, my phone has "changed service area" everytime I would walk from one room to another or from one end of the house to another......or even while I was just sitting watching the tellie. NOT the type of service I am paying for each month!!!! Well, "Christopher" was here for about 45 minutes.....and could not give any answers, as he could not duplicate the same problems that I have been having. Sooo, nothing changed with my "changing service"!!

Shortly after he left, I headed to STL to pick up two more samples of the possible stains and glazes for the cabinets. I didn't spend much time up there.......the heat was stifling.....almost unbearable to have to get out of the car which has a great a/c system. I was back in Farmington by 3:30 and spent a half hour looking at ceramic tiles for the kitchen flooring. BAck at TheHowserHouse, we are about 99% sure of the stain(less) for the cabs..........think it will be a natural maple that has a "shine" on it.

Prior to going to STL, I did stop at the Sherwin Williams store. I got a full refund on all of the paint I had purchased as the last gallon they gave us was just as imperfect as the ones we had purchased. The store owner has no idea what the problem is and said he had contacted the head office and called for an investigation of the problem. Perhaps some day we will know......???

This evening our contractor was here to discuss the demolition of the kitchen and the installation of the new cabinets and gas range. Along with lighting, new ceiling, flooring, and a change of the plumbing system location, removal of one wall, etc., etc. and we did some more measuring for accuracy. It IS going to be horrendous mess......with two more rooms torn up for 2-3 weeks later in August or early September. Not something to look forward to!!!

And so.....

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

Missouri Misery......again!!!!

I will only briefly mention how horrific the heat/humidity is today....and for the next three days, so we are informed. The heat index tomorrow is to be 116 degrees!!!!! It rained this morning for some time....and then the sun emerged in its fullest fury and it then became almost impossible to breathe outside!!! DAMN!!!

Today was just one whereby we remained inside, relaxed a bit, and caught up on some administrative things in the form of bookkeeping, etc., etc. The paint in the living room is becoming a bigger problem........the "new" paint that Sherwin Williams gave us on Saturday DOES NOT WORK!!!!!! IT IS WORSE THAN THE FIRST BATCH!!!!!! It is guaranteed, however, it is only for the cost of the paint.....and not for the labor and the ruined walls that we are experiencing. I am just sick with this problem........and so, tomorrow it is back to the Sherwin Williams store to file my complaints.......and am thinking about going to small claims court with this problem. WHAT NEXT??????????????????

And "WHAT NEXT???" with the problem(s) in the Middle East????? Our administration must be changed!!!!!!!! First it is Iraq.....and now this "do nothing" in the Israel/Lebanon/Hezbelloah war...........

And even with ALL of the above....

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

Finally....they are ordered!!!!

Well, like it or not, we have finalized....almost......the order for our kitchen cabinets........an on-going ordeal that has taken MUCH more time, energy, and dollars than I ever, ever expected!!!! I say "almost" because after I signed the contract and wrote a check for 50% of the costs, drove away, and then began to look at some cabinets that were in this store, I am not certain I like the wood color that I ordered. SOOOOOO, I am calling first thing on Monday to have them put a hold on the order until I return to ONCE AGAIN check out the color to make sure.

You know.....when you buy a car/truck you know that you will only have it for a few short years.....however, a purchase such as these cabinets will be for the rest of OUR lives....and I want to make damn sure I get as close to the kind that I want as financially possible.

The task now at hand is to find some table/bedside lamps for our new bedroom furniture. It SHOULD be delievered next week.......we opted to let them deliver it today. Started figuring the costs of renting a U-Haul, gas, etc., etc. and decided it was worth the few extra $$ to have Bassett Furniture deliver and set up the furniture in the room for us! Hopefully.....it will be soon so we can finally get moved into our new bedroom. I FIRMLY vetoed putting the old furniture back in the new room.......knowing full well that we would NEVER go out and get a new bedroom suite if we ever put that old stuff back in there.

Sooooo many more decisions to make during the next couple of weeks ......for the kitchen. Meeting with the contractor Monday night......need to firm up his bid, set the date for the demolition of the kitchen as it stands now.......moving appliances, flooring, electrician, removing one wall, etc., etc. UGH!!!!! Stage II of the project is about to get under way........and I WILL be better prepared this time!!

Spent quite some time with the Sherwin-Williams paint store manager this morning discussing and raising my voice about the terrible paint we got from him and used on our living room walls. He had ordered a new patch of base paint and mixed it for us....again....and we are to try it to see if covers better than the first three expensive gallons. This next group will be free if it works for us!!!!! I LOVE the color.......but, it doesn't go on smoothly or evenly or even the same color across the wall!!! Hoping it was just a bad batch of base paint!!!!!!!??????

Began to look for new drapes for the living room today, as well as lamps for that room also. A couple of new pieces of art will be needed for the walls.......but, that may take more time to study and think about.

Had to fight quite a storm while in STL late this afternoon...........no winds, but horrific lightning and HUGE quantities of rain!!!!!!!! Stood at the door of a store for 30 minutes before I even dared attempt to dash to the car.......lightning striking close-by and buckets and buckest of hard rain flooding the parking area.

Oh well............even with all of this.....

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

The Moser anniversary weekend!!!

 

NOW I can take a bite!!!!

 

Best Friends (cousins)

 

Hmmmmm........two complete days.....gone???

WOW........am I losing my mind......just where in the hell did the past two days go??? I can't even put a thought together about yesterday........???? I know that I made one trip to our wonderful, incredible mini-SuperCenter, the Walmart model for small town SuperCenters. And....everytime I am out there.....almost daily......I get a bit angry that they stock so much of such few items that I can never ever find exactly what I am looking for, or need. Soooo, what do I do??? I find myself buying what they have instead of what I want/need.

I HATE their wine selection!!!!!!!!! And, they have heard that same sentence and emotion from me personally. To be BLUNT (and I am NOT the Governor of our Misery state).........their tiny selection here is the shits. Wish I knew who their "wine buyer" is.....and hopefully "was". He needs some input about the desires of some of the customers that shop there for their wine!!!!!
Oh well......

The positive thing about shopping their is the socialization of "long lost friends". I always see and visit with former students and friends that I never see anywhere else......and that is a GOOD thing. Although.......sometimes if I haven't seen these former students for several years, and then I run into them out there, it is a struggle to remember their names. I HATE that experience!!!!!

Today......well, it went quickly as I had to get things ready for a food visit with our son, Michael. And, as usual, we ate all afternoon.....and I am sitting here miserable, feeling much like I imagine a stuffed pheasant or pig feels........NOT GOOD!!!!!

The 1st Lady is home now after her week of visiting Dr. Jeni.....and then going on to her mother's for the rest of the week. Somehow during the first couple of days of her journey, she managed to lose....oops, "misplace".....her cell phone chargers!!!!! BOTH the regular charger AND her car charger!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooo, she now cannot use her cell phone until we purchase a new one!! UGH!!!!

We are going into STL in the morning to sign the contract on the purchase of the new kitchen cabinets!!!!! Sure hope we have made the correct decision because we will have to live with them for the rest of our lives.......DEFINITELY!!!! While there we will need to pick out the new sink, and then narrow down our choices on lighting, flooring, countertop, and appliances. Not to be a pleasant day ........I'm sure.

Tuesday I have to go back up there as we can then pick up our new furniture for the new bedroom as it has will arrive from the Bassett factory. Hard to believe.....after almost 35 years we will have a complete bedroom ensemble that goes together!!!!!! All three of the kids had wonderful new sets of bedroom furniture......and we took the left-overs and used ones. Guess it is finally OUR TURN!!!!

And so, with a challenging day ahead tomorrow.....I will close this, and as always....

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

WOW...A day to be soooo proud.....!!!

As I brought my sagging, sleepy self to a half-way vertical position on the edge of the bed, I realized that I hadn't ground any French Roast coffee beans last night.....how COULD I have forgotten that important task???????? Alas......before I could take my wake-up shower massage, it was very necessary to hear that Braun Coffee Grinder make it's wonderful coffee cocaphony which would emit that wonderful fresh coffee bean aroma. And, as always, the grinder did the assigned job and before long the drip of the coffee evolved into a full carafe of the dark liquid that would soon become a part of my blood stream!!!

I didn't have much time to linger and loiter over the fresh steaming cup of coffee.......I took a quick trip out to the patio, checked to see if my lawn invading plants were dying more than they were yesterday and then it was time to get started up the highway to Rolla (of course, I put the remainder of the coffee in the thermos to accompany me on the trip). It only takes a few minutes more than two hours to run over to Rolla through the hills and valleys. Interestingly enough, as I drove through Potosi everywhere I looked there was large piles of debris from the storm this past week. And, in the rear of the county court house, there were the National Guard members distributing water and other food items for those who still do not have electricity.

How does one describe a former student who has experienced so much success in his vocation in such a brief amount of time??? I suppose the one word that sums it all up is......Outstanding! He was in my HS Band in Eldon and later married another band member.....he is a trumpeter and she was a percussionist. He went into the Navy.....and then they sent him to college....Tulane University in New Orleans. And from then on.......he has met with incredible success. He spent extra time in the Navy past his initial enlistment requirement and then upon leaving the military, he remained in the same job he had, only then/now he wears civilian clothes. He works in Washington, D.C. for the Navy in the field of .....well, I suppose it is called Nuclear Engineering.

We have kept in touch throughout the years.......as we share a common bond: we were both born on March 31......plus our interest in music....and our rapport which has always been strong and developed into close friendship. He is the proud father of four young daughters.......sure would hate to be in his shoes as they reach the teenage years!!!

We try to get together as often as we can, however, we both have our own obligations which makes it difficult to schedule any time together. I have visited him in D.C. several times and when he and his family return to Missouri for a holiday, we try to meet somewhere for lunch so we can visit. And, THAT is what we did today in Rolla.

He and I were in Applebee's for over three hours.....outlasting our server's work shift. Topic after topic was bounced around across the table and over the Margherita glasses.....until we were almost hoarse from our never-ending conversation. The time flew by and yet, we were not "caught up" with everything we needed to discuss......and so, it will be put on the back burner for the next time we are together, whenever and wherever that will be.

It is soooooo rewarding to continue the relationships with former students......those who were just young pre-teenagers when they first became a band member.....and now have become wonderful adults with families of their own. I suppose I have had a thousand students, probably many more than that, over the 30 years of teaching........and it is sooooo great to still be a part of their lives........and for them to still be a part of mine. WOW.....how fortunate I am!!!!!!!!!

And so, Kelly Powers ( and Heather)..........a big thanks to you both for our continuing relationship, for our friendship, and for making my Life much more meaningful and rewarding to me as an aging hulk!!!

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

Another test.....another trip

I had to be in Festus today for an ultra sound test. An interesting and relaxing type of "test"......enough said.

Afterwards I went on in to STL, went to the cabinet shop that we are working with on our prospective cabinet order. Saw the last stain sample and think we will remain with our initial choice.... I am ready to get these damn things ordered and get them here. It is a company from Canada, but it really doesn't matter, it will take about 4-6 weeks for them.

Did a bit more shopping at several different stores........mostly for decor items: draperies, art work, etc., etc. Always something........

Returned back down here around 4pm......and just kind of "hung out" and relaxed this evening. Nothing doing........am doing some reading......haven't done that for some time, and I have stacks of books that I have on my list to read.

Meeting some friends in Rolla, MO tomorrow for lunch. They were band students of mine back in the '80's in Eldon, but now live in the Washington D.C. area/Virginia. I always visit them when I am in Washington....at least we get together for dinner, etc., etc. Sad to say, it has been two years since I have been over there......time goes way toooooo fast. They are back in Missouri for a brief visit with families......so, we will meet about halfway between Eldon and here for lunch.

Sure this is just a terribly interesting post tonight.......my mind is not very active or thoughtful....and not a damn thing that was interesting to discuss occurred today. I could discuss a bit more of the ultra sound, but think it might have to be censored......hehehee!!!

Soooo, rather than bore you more than I already have done, I will just say.....

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

Two days of.........

WOW.....was I ever pissed last night!!!!! I spent about 45 minutes putting together a thoughtful and very descriptive post about my day.......and, due to having installed some anti-virus software yesterday......this blogspot site decided to delete my post as I attempted to publish it....and there was NO way to recover it. It is a GREAT thing that I am living as a bachelor this week, because the 1st Lady would have been somewhat upset with my tantrum and verbage which turned this normally sedate and sagging hulk into a raving and ranting maniac!!!!!!!

To update about yesterday, the new paint on our living room which was "completed" day before yesterday, but the walls had some strange and very unsightly "sheen" to the terra cotta color, and it just gets worse with various strengths of lighting. I, under orders from my other half, painted a fourth coat on a couple of walls to see if more paint would help.......but, NO....it didn't. Soooo, I decided to take off the painters blue tape from the molding around the doors/windows and the baseboards. Well,.......the new paint began to peel around the edges......and looked and acted just like wallpaper!! ANOTHER BLOWUP by me.....actually the first one yesterday.

I gave up on the room after getting it cleaned up and a couple of pieces of furniture back in place. Then.....it was 5pm.......and I put together a couple of panini sandwiches, minus the grilling. Used some really great Roma tomatoes, mozarella cheese, fresh basil, olive oil drizzled over the entire contents and some toasted Tuscan country bread.......and LOTS of dark red medicine!!!!! My heart valves, blood vessels, and the aging gray matter needed some calming after the paint episode of the day.......and so the day ended quietly as I remained on the patio until the sun had set........and I meditated on the calm and quietness of the Tetons and the Big Horn Mts. in Wyoming.

MONDAY.......

Fr. Roast coffee on the patio enjoying the peace and quiet.....only the yellow finches to watch and enjoy. But........it was time soon to head to Farmington to the Sherwin-Williams paint store to complain and demand something be done about the quality of the three gallons ($120) of their paint that I had carefully put on our living room walls.......did I really need to be so careful??? Well.....thankfully for my blood pressure, the "main man" was sympathetic, interested, and thoughtful about what the problem is, but not so sure as to the resolution of the problem. So, he offered to come down to TheHowserHouse this afternoon to check it out. I readily agreed!!!

Back to our home on the hill and some puttering in the yard. I was checking to see if the ground ivy and violets that I had sprayed with some KILLING liquid yesterday had done the job. Hmmmm......well, not as quickly as I had hoped. There was some visual evidence that they might be dying, but......I am worried that these invaders into my grass will somehow recover their lives and continue to expand throughtout my lawn.

And then......the paint man arrived. He quickly admitted that the strange sheen on my walls after using FLAT paint was not good, and not what the paint should have done. Sooooo, he agreed to order a different batch of the paint base and I could then try it to see if works better. He also "toured" our new rooms and was amazed at the work that we had done and how it had completely made over the rooms that I had told him about......he loved the family/tv room.

After he left.....it was time to have a bite to eat.....and so I had some tortellini with spinach and ricotta cheese in the pasta bites. I used some Parmesan cheese sauce, added some fresh mushrooms to it, and then topped the entire dish with diced and salted Roma tomatoes. All of this was garnished with some of my wonderful fresh basil.......and guess what!!!! Several glasses of my dark red medicine to compliment the pasta!!

Tomorrow.....it is off to Festus for my appendages' ultra-sound exam. Hmmmm......sure am curious just how this will come about......hahaha!!! You may never know......

And so,.....

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