webcam shot from Thursday, Dec 18 near 7am of MRM making Whoopi!
Up near 8am. Run three miles by 1030am. Cloudy – 42/27.
To the basement to paint with color. Always a little
shocking to see the color you’ve only looked at on a chip or worse yet on a
computer monitor actually splattered on a wall. Pretty quick – once the initial
wall dried – was pleased with the result. Mindy joined me after an hour or so.
She picked up where she left off in the closet and pantry, effectively burning
through an entire gallon for no more than 100 square feet 93 coats). She used
every last drop.
She soon left for the grocery while kept at it until
getting an initial coat on all the primed walls. The Sherwin Williams Duration
covered quite nicely with one coat. Burned through just under two gallons.
Planned for another coat sometime in the coming work week.
Mindy put a beef roast in the crockpot earlier that day.
Buckeyes voted into the initial college football playoff
at #4. Will play Alabama on Jan. 1.
Kids home from weekend with Jimaken & Molly near 4pm.
Vikings win.
Monday, Dec 8
– Slummin’
Up near 545am. Run 4 miles. 47/33.
My big rock was studying for the ITIL OSA test which I
planned to take Tuesday morning.
Worked from the Hilliard office.
Studied in and around all my other tasks, meetings &
calls.
Leftovers for dinner.
Too tired to paint. Didn’t work in the basement at all.
Tuesday, Dec 9 –
Passing Grade! Paint 2.0
Up near 6am. Out the door for a run by 7am. Ran 4 miles.
Cloudy, rain, 43/37.
Back home by 745am. Woofed down a banana and another cup
of coffee.
Made a conscious effort to collect my thoughts and get my
mind in a positive place before beginning my cert test.
Started near 830am. The set-up went without a hitch. Took
roughly 70 minutes to complete. Once you finish the last question and click the
submit button you know your results are instantaneously. Nervously I clicked
completed and learned that I passed! What a relief!
Needless to say, passing left me in a good place for the
rest of the work day.
Fireplace guy showed up for our gas logs install right on
time – 2pm. After a short meet and greet I left him alone in the family room to
do his business while I continued with my work day. After about 30 minutes I
went in to check on him. Said everything was going well. Great!
Perhaps another 10 minutes passed before he came calling
for me. Said we needed to talk. Uh-oh, that couldn’t be good! And it
wasn’t. Apparently the remote adapter
into the gas regulator was the wrong part for the given burner. Said he could
easily retrofit but would void warranty, or worse yet leave him liable for any
potential mishap. Uh, no. Said he’d have to have Aspen order the correct part
and he would come by and finish perhaps as soon as the following evening.
Not his fault. He didn’t order the wrong part. He left
all the stuff, including the gas logs, which were still boxed. Of course I
wouldn’t pay until it’s fully installed and operational. Needless to say, I was
a little disappointed but stuff happens.
After dinner, Mindy agreed to run Bella to and from
gymnastics affording me the opportunity to do another coat of paint. Said she
was going to Xmas shop in between the drop and pick-up. I failed to mention that I painted everything
save for the stairwell Sunday. I opted to do the stairwell before moving onto
the 2nd coat elsewhere. Frankly, wasn’t so sure how I would go about
reaching the highest places. I ended up
using the aluminum extension ladder on the steps making multiple trips up and
down with both the paint pad for the trim and the roller for the main wall
areas. Turned out quite nice with only a few thin spots I would need to recoat
another day.
Before Mindy got back home, I made it about a 1/3 the way
around the main basement family room with a 2nd coat. Knocked off at
830pm to leave myself plenty of time for clean-up.
Wednesday, Dec 10
– Date Night @ CBC
Up around 545. Run 4 miles. Cloudy and brisk. 30 degrees
early on but felt much colder with a stiff, chilly breeze blowing in from the
north.
Worked across town at my customer’s campus. Arrived near
930am.
Took lunch and headed to Menard’s and Target. Only 2nd
time ever in a Menard’s. Checked out their selection of bathroom vanities. A
couple that I liked, though pricier than I guessed. On my way back to the
office, I picked up a couple things at Target.
At the office until 5pm. Kids already gone with Jimaken
by the time I arrived home. Decided to do dinner at CBC, Mindy’s choice. Arrive
d around 610pm.
Opted for the Orthodox, which is technically considered a
holiday ale but missing are the strong spice notes. Really good!
Enjoyed a bowl of onion soup and a plate of wings. Had a
2nd Orthodox, too. We talked with Jen. The first time we’ve seen her
since her partner Keri had the baby. She looks good.
Arrived home around 810pm. Kids already home. Soon off to bed.
Thursday Dec 11 – Cookies!
Ran 3 miles. All week long, I’d been planning to work
from the Hilliard office but had forgotten about an important customer meeting
mid-morning. Changed my plans accordingly and headed across town arriving near
930am.
Meeting went until 1130am. Lunched with my boss and a
couple peers at the local El Vaquero. Decent but pricey - $14 for a two item
combo and soda. For my money, they’re in danger of pricing themselves out of
the market. During lunch, my boss asked when I planned to retake that ITIL OSA
test. I hadn’t told him that I’d already done so and passed. He was very
excited when I shared the good news.
Planned to head home to finish out my work day, however,
before heading west, I stopped in the new Easton Dick’s (nice, larger than the
one it replaced). Picked up a gift for Mindy. Next, stopped in Lowes. Don’t
think I bought anything.
Home to finish my work day. Arrived near 215pm. Package
of Cheryl’s Cookies on the front stoop from my boss. Yum!
On our own for dinner. Like Tuesday, Mindy agreed to drop
and pick-up Bella at gymnastics and Xmas
shop in between. They left early to afford enough time for a stop at her
sister’s as well as Maw-maw’s. While they were gone, I finished the 2nd
coat of color in the basement. Took about 90 minutes, and by the time I finished
I was exhausted. Jacob, by the way, was off to Raleigh, NC for a soccer
tournament. Jimaken took him. Wouldn’t
be home until the earliest, Sunday, depending on the results.
Watched a smidge
of Thursday Night Football before bed.
Friday, Dec 12 –
Happy 77th Mom!
Ran three miles. Worked from home. Before leaving for
school, Bella thanked me for convincing Mindy that it was OK to let her go ice
skating at the Chiller later that evening with school friends without a parent.
J
Ordered David’s Xmas present. Took care of a couple other
folks too. Had a couple errands to run at lunch. Near 1130am I left the house
making stops at Home Depot, Target and finally the post office. Picked up the
doors for the basement project. Mailed mom’s b-day card and David’s Utah check.
Worked through mid-afternoon. Around 4pm I headed to
basement where I installed the remaining trim rings on our canned lights. Only
a couple minor issues. Immediately
after, I opted to move our base cabinets into place. Went through a bunch of
shims – something one doesn’t have to use too many of when placing cabinets on
the upper living quarters. But a basement floor is designed to slope towards
the center in two directions.
I wasn’t really happy with the results once I had then
all shimmed and in place. I wouldn’t worry or concern myself with mounting them
until Saturday.
Mindy suggested we have dinner with Larry & Jodie at
the Dublin Rusty Bucket ( Joe’s Bucket) after dropping Bella at the Chiller.
Initially, Bella told me it started at 6pm. We and would end at 9pm. We arrived
there around 610pm. Mindy thought it best to go inside with Bella to help her
get paid in and outfitted in skates and hooked up with her peeps. Good thing we
didn’t just drop her and leave. Turned out, none of Bella’s friends were there,
but what’s worse, the public skating didn’t begin until 730pm. What??
Mindy decided that it was best scrap the skating and
talked the fine folks at the Chiller into giving Bella a refund. She was
bummed. She cried on her aunt Jodie’s shoulder for the first 5-10 minutes of
our dinner at the Bucket. Thankfully though, she snapped out of it pretty
quick.
Enjoyed the deep fried pickles, White Rajah on draft, and
the Italian torpedo sub I ordered as my main entrée. Very, very good. GM Joe
joined us about halfway through dinner. Joked around about partner Rick’s TG
day buzz. Gave us an update on his home loan approval too. Still pending.
Wrapped up dinner near 815-830pm. Mindy drove home, and I
let Bella sit shot gun. First time ever riding in the rear of my car. Near
collision where Golfview Woods empties onto Wilson Rd. Car pulled out without
stopping. Mindy handled it well. Could have been ugly!
At home Mindy was soon off to bed, which it wasn’t even
yet 9pm. I poured another beer – a bottled White Rajah and played on my
computer. Bella, meanwhile, got a hold of Makayla and went down there to spend
the night.
Saturday, Dec 13 –
Cabinets and doors & Cousin Eddie
Up near 745am barely leaving myself enough time to enjoy
a little quiet time ahead of the boys arriving at 815am so Lindsey could work
some OT. Right out of the shoot, the
boys tested my patience. They’re a handful.
Ran 3 miles. Spent the morning researching cabinet
installation online. Glad I did. Approached the install with a far better plan.
The instructions on the boxes while vague, were pretty good, too.
Thinking it was near noon when I finally got started on
the cabinets. As the online installation technique mentioned, I started with
the wall cabinets since getting them up would be far easier without the base
cabinets in place. Too, I penciled lines for the starting edge as well as the
bottoms for wall cabinets and the top line for the base cabinets. Next, I
located and marked the studs. Unfortunately, only one stud in both wall
cabinets, and the 2nd cabinet’s stud was at the very edge. Yikes!
What to do? I ended up driving a 3”
cabinet screw at an angle into the top plate but also used a toggle bolts on
the one. I was admittedly agitated and nervous throughout the entire process.
Believe me, Mindy was none too pleased with my pissy disposition. J
I used her help though sparingly.
Midway through the process of mounting the base cabinets
I asked Mindy to make a Home Depot run for 2.5” decking screws which I needed to
join the three base cabinets together via the face. She did so willingly. In
the end, the cabinets mounted up pretty good, though I want to add a couple
more toggle bolts to the wall cabinets for added strength. I reinstalled all the doors and drawers last,
choosing to flip one of the base cabinet doors for symmetries sake. Had a
couple pencil marks to cover and tiny holes to patch but all in all, a good
job.
Mindy headed off for some Xmas shopping with the boys,
and while she was away, I gave hanging a door a shot. Decided to do the
bathroom door first. I’ve hung two doors in my past – a simple closet door in
our finished basement on Valleyview Dr. and then double French doors from our
bedroom to our deck at the same residence. ON that job I had to actually cut
the hole in the house too. Had my dad’s help for the French deck doors which
went almost flawlessly.
For one reason or another, I am not nearly as daring - if
that’s the right word – as I used to be. A little more concerned with my
skills, or lack thereof. To gain confidence, I watched an online tutorial then
read the manufacturer’s directions ahead
of time. Still, even after all that knowledge, no matter what I did, I
struggled to get the frame plumb and the door’s reveal square. I eventually
called Kenny, who was on his way up to Josh’s new place to get a haircut ahead
of going to Chrissy’s company Xmas party. Said he would stop by however briefly
on his way home from the haircut to give me a few pointers. By the time he got
there I had it almost square. His few pointers were like nuggets of gold – more
preventative than anything else. Once he left I finished the install
successfully. I was pleased.
Opted to do one more before calling it a day. Started on
one of the two 24” doors, this one into the water meter closet. The problem
with this door install was that it opens out therefore access to the nailing
area was from inside the tiny closet which is in a corner and no room for a
person inside. I had to attempt to hang it from the outside in, if that makes
any sense. Bottom line, I failed. No matter what I did the door rubbed the jamb
at the top corner even though the framing and jamb were seemingly level and plumb.
I must’ve have placed and nailed it in four different times, each with similar
results. I was pissed! Finally decided
that it was best to bag it for the night.
Me, Mindy, Rocky and Landon opted to do dinner at
Barley’s while Bella hung with her island peeps. Made sure Teri was OK with
Bella under her watch. Both boys sporting cold symptoms, and Rocky going down
hil in front of our eyes. Mindy gave
them both cough syrup just before we left the house. I enjoyed a Barley’s pale
ale and then a Cousin Eddy from CBC. Not as good as I remember. Mindy opted for
the El Lupulo Libre from Brew Kettle.
Enjoyed fries and buffalo sauce and a burger. Mindy had
the brisket and greens. Rocky a burger and Landon chicken tenders. Home by
830pm. With a tiny beer buzz and fresh
perspective, I was motivated to try hanging that water meter closet door again.
But once again, no matter what I did, I could alleviate the door slab rubbing
the jamb in the upper right corner. Checked and double checked the plumbness
and level. All good. I was convinced that the door slab or jamb was slightly
out of plumb.
While I worked on the door, Mindy wrapped Xmas presents.
Failed to share that Lindsey arrived to fetch the boys shortly after our return
from Barley’s. We sent them home with cold meds. Once again, I gave up on the
door. For the time being, I was at a loss, but figured to attempt it once more
before declaring the door and/or jamb defective.
Sunday, December
14 – The Doors
Felt great to
sleep nearly 10 hours. Ran 3 miles. Made a Home Depot run to buy baseboard and
door trim.
Back to the basement and hanging doors. Once again,
unsuccessful hanging the water meter closet door. No matter what I did the slab
rubbed the strike jamb near the top corner. Repacked it for potential return
and then moved on to the two others. Those went in without much fuss, The last
door – the 30” into the storage area went in without any struggle whatsoever.
Felt I learned a little along the way, too, enough to give the water meter door
one more try. This time I decided to shim the jamb on one side from underneath,
accounting for the slight decline in elevation. Also split the top jamb board
from the side jambs by about 1/8”. That did the trick. Voila! A little latex
caulk and no one will ever know.
Next was what I figured the easy part, snapping off all
the shims. Not easy! Seems the newest shims I bought were too green, meaning
that the wood was still damp and bendable. You wouldn’t think it could be a
problem but it was. Instead of breaking off flush with the jamb and/or drywall,
they splintered and extended beyond the jamb and drywall. I’d have to figure
out another means of trimming them clean without damaging the wall or jamb.
Dammit! Really? I scored many with a razor knife but even that proved no match
for the pliable shims. Only me! Tried using my sawz-all, too. It did OK but
also scarred the wall and doors in a few places. Always something!
Finished with several still needing a little more
trimming but I was done for the afternoon. Knocked off around 415pm. Day went
fast. After a shower I learned that the Vikings lost to the Lions after leading
most of the game. The Vikings missed a 68 yard field goal as time expired.
Mindy made chili for dinner, starting earlier that
morning and cooking it all day in the crock pot. Jacob, she said, would be home
from his North Carolina soccer tournament around 630pm.
The chili was delicious. She baked corn bread too. 730pm
by the time dinner was done and the kitchen back in order. Got a somewhat
scathing email from my mom regarding her delinquent b-day card. Geesh, mom!
Relax! Mindy and I signed 50 Xmas cards. Mindy was sporting cold symptoms of
her own. Headed for bed around 8pm. Later, after Bella got out of the shower, I
had her sign all 50, too. Jacob said he was too busy with homework and would
sign them Monday.
Monday, Dec 15 –
Warming Trend
Cloudy, warm
almost 50 degrees. Ran 4 miles.
Worked from the Hilliard office.
Headed out to run errands at lunch. Made a stop at Lowes
where I bought an assortment of trim nails.
Fairly calm work day. At the office until 5pm.
Noticed that the new Wendy’s on Cemetery Rd near the 270
on ramp is now opened. Tore the old one down to the ground and rebuilt a
complete new, modern structure. Took only 2 months. Wow!
Chili again for dinner.
Needed a break from the basement. I did nothing to progress the project. Had
Jacob sign all of the Xmas cards after dinner and studying for his Algebra
test. Mindy, Bella and I signed them the evening before. Several signatures were
smudged when I stacked freshly signed cards. Crap! Oh well, I guess it gives
them a more personal touch.
With cold symptoms weighing her down, Mindy made
arrangements to stay home Tuesday. Headed for bed around 730pm.
Tuesday, December
16 – Rain, Pick-up Chipotle & Paint
Steady rain, wind. 53 degrees early on but cooled off by
later afternoon. Beginning Wednesday, it looks like much cooler weather will be
moving in (mid 30s/ mid 20s).
Ran 4 miles. Fried eggs for the pug and I. After a
breakfast and a shower, I headed across town to the customer’s campus for our
standing operations meeting. Since the meeting wouldn’t commence until 1pm, I
went ahead and ran two Xmas related errands on my way in. Namely, stopped in
REI at Easton to buy my boss a gift card.
Next, stopped in Target, just the other side of the mall to get a few
things. And since Lowes is right next door, I stopped in there too. I picked up a couple things there as well.
Also checked the price of renting a finish nailer from Sun Belt tool rental,
which is housed right there in Lowes. $29 to rent one for 24 hours. Hmmm? Could
buy one for $80, but then again, can’t imagine when I might need it again. Not
to mention the fact that I’ve already bought $12 worth of manual finishing nails Onto the campus.
Arrived near 11am. Consumed with work related matters
until the start of our 1pm meeting. Fairly light agenda, though we ended up
using the full hour.
Work there all afternoon and enjoyed my packed lunch
while putting the finishing touches on my monthly service review. Left for home
around 410pm. Raining with wind. Only 43 degrees. Felt much colder, though.
Around 330pm, Mindy sent a text asking if I would stop and pick-up Chipotle on
the way home. Not my preference, but given that Mindy was ill, I agreed. I
planned a stop at Sherwin Williams to get a gallon of tricorn black semi-gloss
for the trim. Figured I would hit both in Grandview on the way home. There just
a few blocks from one another.
Made great time cutting across town. 670 west moved
swiftly, and I missed the usual back-up at the 670/70 converge since I exited
at Grandview Ave. It was a fairly slow crawl up the hill to 5th
avenue, but then again, I wasn’t in a huge hurry. To make things easier traffic
wise, I opted to stop at Chipotle first. It might be the busiest Chipotle in
the world. The lot is always full and usually a line backed up to the entrance
door. Tuesday evening near 435pm was no exception. I got the only parking spot
just vacated as I pulled in. The line inside was almost out the door. Slow!
I had Mindy text me their orders, and since all the
burritos are custom made, it’s never a pleasant experience. Can hear the folks
behind me getting irritated with each additional order. Procey, too. $32 for
our dinner. Headed a few blocks west to Sherwin Williams. I was the only
customer in the place.
Order the paint then headed over to the glue, caulk and
wood filler aisle looking into a product to use to backfill all my nail holes.
Bought a small bucket of their own product. In and out of there in 8 or 9
minutes.
Stopped by two trains on the way home, one on the 5th
avenue tracks just east of Riverside Dr and then another on the double tracks
on Trabue at Old Dublin Rd. I could only laugh at my fate. I believe that’s the
first time I’ve ever see a train on those 5th avenue tracks. Thinking about it, I think there should be a
law prohibiting trains from traveling inside the outer belt during rush hour,
or between the hours of 4-6pm.
Arrived home near 530pm. Noticed that Mindy addressed at
least half of our Xmas cards for mailing. We really need to get them in the
mail. I was happy to see that, though concerned that she might’ve used too
many. The Chipotle was good. The Grandview store rolls a much better burrito
than the one in Millrun, by far. Bigger and more good stuff.
After finishing dinner and kitchen clean-up, I sent my
Xmas card address list to Mindy via email so she could transfer all of them to
labels and print them off. She worked on that before running Bella to
gymnastics.
While she worked on the Xmas cards, I headed to the
basement eager to try using my oscillating tool to cut off what remained of the
shims. I guess I didn’t realize that both my wood blades are dull after using
them a couple years ago to replace some tough exterior trim. Instead of cutting
the shims flush, it simply caused more problems – namely scarring up the
surrounding trim. I was left once again
to a razor knife though this time using a fresh blade. Still no joy. Those damn
“wet” shims are like plastic. Not only that, but the bathroom door I
successfully installed Saturday was now rubbing a little. Not in the mood for more problems, I gave the
jamb a good whack with the hammer. Problem solved. Could only shake my head.
Not in a good place mentally, I bagged further frustration and headed back
upstairs.
While Mindy was off running Bella to gymnastics, I
ordered another 25 Xmas cards from Target. We could use a few more and what
remains, Mindy suggested we could use at gift tags. Good idea!
I played around online until it was time to fetch Bella.
Left around 845pm taking the Pilot. Mindy got gas for $1.23 saving a full $1
per gallon with her Kroger points.
Arrived at 855pm, enough time to see Bella do a few flips
and passes. Bella asked if we could stop at Kroger on the way home so she could
pick-up some candy necessary for a science project. After she explained, I
agreed. We popped in the Georgesville Kroger. Along the way, Bella thanked me
for picking up the slack while Mindy’s under the weather. Very cute! IN Kroger,
we bought some fruit roll-ups and licorice for Bella’s science project, and
then some baked Lays chips for her. In addition, I picked up a bag of chocolate
covered pretzels for me. Very yummy!
At home Mindy was already off to bed but watching TV. I
opened my pretzels and then took one to Mindy. She asked if I picked up
bananas. No. Later, when Bella joined me downstairs after a shower, she shared
that her momma gave her some grief for not calling her from Kroger. Still
hungry, I popped some popcorn and watched the end of the Blue Jackets game
against Detroit from Detroit. The game ended the OT period still 0-0. Went to a
shootout, which the Blue Jackets won. In all these years I’ve never seen them
play so aggressively. Nice!
Becoming increasingly disappointed with Cable TV. With no
real science on the knowledge channels these days, there’s literally nothing I
like to watch beyond Big Bang reruns, and occasional Southpark or Family Guy
episode. I pay an awful lot for nothing – 99% trash!
To bed near 1030pm.
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