Remembrance of Floors Past

 

I'm just practicing my Jing!ing here by posting Sue from a previous blog entry. Today we played nine holes at Inver Hills--our first time out this season. Sue had one par and I lost fewer balls than I found. I started using the bag o' found balls that Uncle Don gave me last fall.

 

 

 

 

Sue just picked up two tickets on Stubhub for tonight's Twins - Phillies game. Thanks to Mike and Judy for the Christmas present. These cats are putting on weight and looking more like full grown cats everyday. Ravel is still longer and heavier than Nigel.

 

 

We bought some tan sheets (not pictured here) to better match the Tanzanian-themed bedding on Christoph's bed.

 

 

 And here is a reminder of floors past. Now we are figuring out when we can finish the kitchen and bathroom.

 

 

Sell, Celling, Sold

 

We are very sad that our next door neighbors are moving on.  They’ve been here since we have and we’ve watched the kids grow up. We are really, really going to miss them.

Some new cell towers going up by the water tower.  Do we need more cell service? 

     

Sold AND Sold!  These two houses in our neighborhood also recently sold.  The white one down the street as been on the market a few months but the other sold in just a couple of weeks.  I talked to a church friend tonight who sold her house last week…in 1 day… at full price.  I think the housing market is turning around.

After we moved the piano back in place, we were reminded that we are never moving. 

 

We are meeting with someone from St Paul Prep to see if we are “approved” to host Christoph this fall.  Somehow I think we will be.  Christoph – this is your landmark for ringing the bell on the bus! 

Jing!

 

OK, so I started work on my on-line material for my statistics class and was introduced to a great The Internets tool called Jing! (I will always write "Jing!" with an exclamation point because I'm excited about it) in which you can basically take screen shots of anything in the world on your computer including video, music, still images and save them and import them to other places on the computer. Here I took a Jing! shot of a piano reduction of an arrangement of mine, added the giant red arrow, the highlighting, and the text and then brought it into the blog as if it were a photo. Please don't pay attention to how messy the music looks--it is a work in progress. Jing! is free. Once you download it, it just sits there on your screen waiting to be useful.

 

 

Yesterday on Sue's first day of summer vacation we attempted to bring the cats outside. Nigel willingly walked out, ate some grass, jumped on the tree trunk like he was going to climb it and then ran back in the house. Ravel refused to come out. He pathetically meowed through the screen wanting us to come back inside.

 

 

We had a beginning of summer vacation ceremonial gin and tonic in the backyard in the low 60s and cloudy weather.

 

 

Tom and Sarah next door have started to move and we will be very sad to see them go. There have been four generations of Brennans who have lived in that house. Other neighbor Ben said his mom has lived next to a Brennan for 53 years. Actually, Ben has got to be pushing the 53 number himself.

 

 

Sue said the cats have been squirrely today getting in the way of our home improvement attempts. Sue did some more nail setting and putty applying today and then she painted the inside of the closet all while the cats were getting under foot and wrasslin' with each other.

 

 

My concert tonight was cancelled due to the cold and rain. Naturally, now it looks sunny outside but who wants to sit in wet grass to hear a community band play? Not Sue. Judy returns from South Texas tonight. Dinner time now.

The Newest Established Permanent Floating Bamboo Floor in Our House

 

The Inver Hills Band had its first summer concert yesterday at Lake Harriett. The weather was beautiful but a bit chilly in the shade of the stage.

 

 

 

We played my arrangement of The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha for baritone voice and community band. It went well despite a few spots where players were not in the right place in the music. Oh well, what can you do?

 

 

My work continues on the endless floor project. I cut the transition moulding pieces that cover the gap from the dining room and living room where they meet the kitchen or back hallway. They are not secured down yet because we have to solve the tile question, ie, what to do about the need for tile in the setting of utter home improvement exhaustion.

 

 

Likewise, this piece of quarter round is not nailed in yet because it stretches out over the tile zone.

 

 

My masterpiece right here. I actually did use my geometry skills--complementary angles, etc to prove on paper what the angles should be before I chopped them with the compound  miter saw. It was like discovering that the ancient builders (the framing crew that built our house) used logic and a protractor when they built this corner. Now, where can I find a manifestation of 3.14576843678 (an imitation of pi) in our house?

 

 

This ugly photo of the banister work is sideways. After Sue polys the new pieces we will reassemble the banister. Now I go back to work and the project moves to the back burner. There is a lot of nail setting and puttying to be done. . .

I've got band rehearsal tonight where we'll rehearse for the first time my band and tenor voice arrangement of Nessun Dorma from Turandot. Sue will visit Gary Langness's floating Tanzanian bead and fabric shop.

Documented Proof

 

Doug would like the math students of the world to know that there is documented proof of the use of geometry in real life.  While working on the Quarter Round trim for our floors, he correctly calculated a strange angle in our house and successfully cut the boards to fit.  Impressive work!

Documentation!

The project is moving along nicely with minimal amounts of trouble so far.  Hopefully we’ll start nailing things in place today and it will continue to go smoothly. 

Dad Berg was here on Thursday to help install the Nose Moulding and then finish the last of the boards. 

Ravel serving as spokesmodel for Home Legend Bamboo Natural Nose Moulding. 

We installed new vent covers which also involved a variety of mathematical equations and cutting. 

Documented proof that teenage boys cats break the rules.  Cats aren’t allowed on the countertops in our house.  They, being teenage boys, would argue they are in the window and on the rise behind the sink, not on the countertop. 

We were at the youngest Pfeif’s graduation party last night and are sorry to miss young Hope’s party today.  Congratulations to all the graduates!  We have several invitations to other parties in the next few weeks.  Cake opportunities everywhere!!