It's Monday and the living isn't easy

I had taken some digital photos of the kitchen remodel and the tile floors to add to the blog today, but for some reason, there was no mail with Pictures attached in my in box this morning. I wonder who I sent them to last night? Very interesting. I'll look into the situation and see if I can rectify it by tomorrow. If I have to, I'll burn a disc and bring that in tomorrow.

I spent the weekend doing baseboards and finishing up the kitchen. Brian, my actual tile guy (not like the fool that called himself your tile man who wasn't licensed and never called us back), lent me a Porter Cable mitre saw and I was able to get all of the baseboards in where we had tile installed. I am waiting on the bedrooms, living room and family room until we have new carpet installed. Once that is in, I'll do the baseboards in those rooms. I had to install a new hood and fan in the kitchen above the cooktop. Brian had tiled up to the old one and we had bought a new black hood to match the new gas cooktop. That job was a minor hurdle in my life as the space was so small and the duct work so tight and hard to work with. I lost some spiritual growth as we attempted to lift the hood into place, wire the electrical and bolt it into place. I was dripping with sweat by the time we finally got the unit into place. Darla was a doll putting up with a sputtering husband who more than once blurted out that I'm not a blue collar guy and I didn't go to college to end up installing appliances! She encouraged me and batted me in the rear and we got the job done. There is a reason that I don't do my own repairs in the house and on the cars. I'd rather pay someone to do the job right than cause myself a ton of grief to end up with a half assed attempt at finishing the job. The hood, fan and light work great.

Brian, our tile guy, did not finish off the carpeting and said that he doesn't do that. I have several rooms where the carpet is jagged cut and needs to be stretched and tacked down. Rather than pay someone to come out and pull our old worn careting into place, we have decided to have new carpeting installed. It is a big job as we have a pool table, family room furniture and four bedrooms of furniture and whatnot to move. I think we will have the living toom and family room done and then have them come back to do the bedrooms. Either that or I'll pay them extra to move the furniture.

Brian broke the toilet in the bathroom off of the remote bedroom and had to replace the unit. He got it installed and was finishing the backsplash when Darla came out yelling that there was a leak. He had installed the toilet using the old gasket and water was pouring out of the unit. I thought I was the only one that made those kinds of mistakes. Brian said that he had to do both plumbing and tile work in his business. I told him to stick with his day job. He said that was why he didn't take on the carpet stretching as well.

The house is beginning to take on a finished look and once the capreting is in, we will have a completed project. Darla has picked up the piles that had gathered during the process and we used the time to cull some of the unnecessary clutter from our lives. I have a large pile of clothes and clutter on the side of the house that will be taken to the dump this weekend. We thought we had rid ourselves of all of the junk when we filled a trailer that Brian hauled away, but there is more with old throw rugs, the toilet, some clutter from several of the rooms that had piled up. I'm going to have the boys go through their rooms and add to the pile before we take the dump run this coming weekend.

Daniel turned 16 last week and is about four months from getting his license. I got mine on my 16th birthday, but kids today seem so casual about the whole process. David got his license when he turned 16 1/2 and Daniel will just beat that. Jennifer was almost seventeen before she got her license. The costs are enormous to the parents as our car insurance bill has gone from $100 a month for Darla and I with two cars to $375 a month for adding David and his car to the policy. Luckily, Daniel will be covered under his father's policy as a principal driver. We will add him to our policy for liability, but exclude him as a driver on both Mustangs. I'm still not looking forward to seeing that bill. We are buying Daniel a new laptop computer for his birthday.

Jennifer continues to count down her days in the military and will clear out of Kuwait on October 28th and fly to Fort Gordon in Augusta Georgia for her debriefing and final clearing. She hopes to be home around November 10th. Check out her blog at the bottom of this page. She has had several job offers, but most involve overseas travel and she has been there, done that. She is looking for something at home where she can work and go to school.

I said about enough on work in my last epistle. I am keeping my head up and my feet on the ground. There are other possibilities for me that I may pursue. I know that this office will be a huge success and it would be hard to leave with the potential for a huge income here, but I have to feel appreciated at the same time. I'm in a bit of a bind, but meanwhile the bills are getting paid and my staff is great to work with.

Dad and Shirley won another "best of the best" in a car show in Abbottsford this weekend. Their '46 is a show stopper and they have entered 7 car shows and won 5 times. I know that Dad will not do the car shows much beyond the next couple of years and his two cars could fetch a nice return for them if they keep winning prizes. Dad had the fun of transforming the cars into what they are now, but there is always someone with money willing to buy a prize magnet. They said that they will travel to a few car shows next year and one of them is in Pleasanton in the Bay Area. We look forward to that. I'm trying to talk Dad into entering his car in the Hot August Nights show in Reno next year as well.

Well, that is enough for now. I will get those pictures added to the blog as soon as I can. Take care and keep your mind and your thoughts on Jesus and he will lead your path to glory. Ciao.