Is This Progress or Not?

The Problem With "Before" and "After" Pictures

When I took these two photos, my objective was to show progress on my kitchen remodel. But the question becomes, "Which cupboards are before the remodel and which are after?" Obviously, the question hinges on personal taste.

Those who know me are aware of my preference for Shaker inspired design. Now....using that as a hint, is it easier to determine which picture shows the new cabinets?

If not, send $1.00 and a Wheaties boxtop to Who Cares?, P.O. Box 123, Boring, Oregon 90210, for the correct answer. Then you too can enjoy inner peace along with Father Time.

Updates For Those Who Are Interested

What's Going On Now?
When I started this blog, my goal was to create a kind of "road map" of my retired life. As the new path ahead of me unfolded, I wanted to use this to track my varied interests and activities. Now, almost three years later, I've discovered some immediate family and a few good friends read it on occasion, using it as a means of making sure I'm alive and well. When I don't post, they become concerned.

OK, since I'm a humanitarian at heart, I thought it would be fun and informative to randomly post an update of what's going on up here in the land of gray rain. (Today is August 20th and it's rainy and gray, following a 100 degree heat wave this past weekend! Thank goodness for "gray rain.") By randomly I'm suggesting that these updates will occur when I find some spare time. Read on and see why "spare time" is becoming a joke!

So What's New - Or Old?
Kitchen remodel is 45% Complete. I was going to include pictures of before and after but for some weird reason, Google won't let me upload them. No, there are no nude pictures of anyone since that would change the entire character of this place! So, whatever their reasons, my pictures will be uploaded here when the censors decide that my kitchen cabinets are not some sort of terrorist threat!

Backpacking in Jefferson Park is temporarily on hold due to our really unusual weather this year. First, we had snow at 5,000 feet until late July. Since my planned campsite was as 5,600 feet, snow camping in July was not a priority! Then, when the snow did melt, the mosquitoes were out in full force. So, new plan - go in September right after the remodel in complete. Oh yeah!

The famous ceiling cave-in is now history and has become yet another re-modeling project. For starters, the ceiling in one of our downstairs bedrooms developed a large bulge and with a little poking and prodding from Father Time, became an indoor storm. No lightening but plenty of rain! The culprit was a pipe in our master bedroom bath that had sprung a leak. When our plumber started digging around, we found other copper pipes in the same area with lots of little corrosion spots - cause unknown. So, after consulting with Ms Time, a decision was made to replace the old fiberglass shower, replace every pipe we could see, and install a really nice "man-made" marble shower. That project is underway and at this point, with both the kitchen and the bathroom in a state of total disorder, law and order does not describe our home! "Oh yeah" one more time!

And finally, a surprise from inside. Inside my body that is. For the past couple of months, I've had some short episodes of a racing heart beat. They lasted about 15 seconds or so, but were becoming more frequent. Not being a hero, I went to see my friendly doctor. After a couple of tests and a thorough debriefing of my eating habits, he suggested I cut back on my coffee. I did. It's been two weeks since my last episode with NASCAR Heart. End of story.

End of update. I'll do this again when things look, smell, feel, and sound better.

Stay tuned!

Lastest From Joey

 
Some of you may remember we rescued a Shetland Sheep Dog three years ago. At first, I updated the blog monthly while we searched for his true personality. Later, as is my style, I either became lazy or preoccupied with my next adventure and didn't say too much about him.

So, as repentance for my wayward writing habits, here's the latest picture of Joey. His coat is much fuller, and he's fully recovered from the horrible matted fur his past owners' treatment caused. He's still a little shy, which is typical of his breed, but he realizes he has found a good home and is clearly thankful for our hospitality.

He has one characteristic which can be bothersome at times. He feels his role is to act as our early warning system for anything within 100' of our house. This includes cats, deer, and kids on bicycles. When he detects the intrusion of evil near our premises, he cuts loose with a piercing series of barks that only Shelties can produce. Once we acknowledge his disruptive behavior, he quiets right down and goes back to sleep. In other words, it's Father Time's job to rid the house of evil spirits. Joey's only job is to make sure I'm doing my job.

Fear not! Father Time shall prevail - maybe!

Transition

The Loss of Another Great Friend
Art was always the same; he greeted you with a big smile and his ever-present twinkling eyes. You knew from the beginning this man was special.

Mrs. Time considered him her second father, (and not because he needed another daughter. He already had four!) In her formative years he made sure she was included in most of their family outings and gatherings. When she moved on to college, he was there to make sure she didn't end up being "all work and no play." When she needed help and counsel in her early married years, he was there as part of her support system. After she met and married Father Time (OK, so he wasn't a good judge of character!) he added me to his list of friends and confidants.

Now here's the scary part - because I worked for a bank, by default I became his source of all wisdom and knowledge when it came to investments. Despite the fact that all my training was in commercial lending, he considered me his financial guru. OK. I will admit that a couple of my recommendations went well, but trust me - it was sheer luck. Nonetheless, whenever we met, we always spent 20 minutes catching up on our lives and kids, and then invariably he hit me with this question. "Now, what should I be buying now to make some money?"

Saying Goodbye
This past weekend,(Aug.1-3) we attended his funeral. It was very traditional which is something not often seen these days. After a church ceremony, he was buried with both military honors and the Masonic Scottish Rite ceremony. The list of his accomplishments is lengthy but the real proof of his life and his character was fully evident at a celebration of his life afterwards. Art and his wife Dorothy raised four daughters and a son, and grandchildren and great grandchildren too numerous to count. The sound of laughter and heart-warming conversations about things he said and did were in evidence everywhere.

The only thing missing was Art. He would have loved it. I even missed the ever present question; "What should I be buying now to make some money?" By the way, it was always said with a twinkle in his eyes that said, "Don't worry. If you're wrong it's only money!"