Travels Over the Holiday

A quick post to update everyone. Nicki and I left Thanksgiving morning in a thick fog which burned off after the first 20 miles. Then across Pennsylvania on Route 80 beginning with beautiful sunshine gradually changing to pelting windy rain as we neared Laura's in Connecticut. Arrived there mid-evening after averaging 63 MPH for the 590 miles. Laura had plenty of traditional turkey dinner food waiting for us (thanks to Mike's family gathering). Friday had a great pancake breakfast hosted by Laura, a long hike in a nature preserve (beautiful weather), early dinner at a former stagecoach stop, a meeting with Mike's dad, and a nice gathering with dessert with Mike's sister and her husband. Saturday it was breakfast at Moe's in Hartford and then to connect with Martin in the Bronx, a nice lunch with him, a walking tour near his current apartment and along the East River circling the school where he is working, a drive through the neighborhood to highlight the places he has lived - a very nice visit that was too short of course. And then we headed west rejoining Route 80 into the night, taking the historic Route 219 through Bradford and arriving in Little Valley by 11:00. Again quick traveling making good time. That evening and Sunday morning I did my chores - bled the radiators (didn't need it), set up the new cordless phone and answering machine, coded the new garage door openers, fixed the porch floorboards at the front steps (Ed and I consulted, he did the sawing, I did the hammering), placed the wreath in the cemetery. We also did the obligatory trip to Ellicottville - lunch at the brewery with Martha. Could not believe the warm weather - we should have brought the kayaks. Left Little Valley at 3:30 and were back in Oberlin by 6:30. A total of 1,400 miles and we got 26 MPG. Fast miles, good food, nice people everywhere. No photos yet - we did lots of shots on the nature preserve hike but haven't downloaded them. Almost finished Carl Hiaasen's new book Nature Girl - probably will get it done tonight (Nicki reads while I drive - really makes the driving more tolerable).

Anniversary

26 years.
Not bad!
Check out the bigger story.

House Work

House Painting

Oct 7, 2006 - 9 Photos

Continuing with the home improvements. The exterior of the house was painted. Happened in about 5 days stretched over 2 weeks. Siding was looking very aged before the job - looks refreshed now. Also had the hallway carpet taken out while we were having the bathroom floors redone. Two days of refinishing. At the end of the first day we put up a baby gate to keep the dogs from going upstairs. Came home after school to find Cricket sitting on the stairs looking very guilty. She had climbed the fence to regain her spot on our bed. Little dog paw prints on the floor. Buffed out the next day before the final coat was put on. Suspect we'll put a runner up the steps and in the hallway - but nothing like the shag that was there for 26 plus years.

Bathrooms (conclusion?)

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 35 Photos

We're getting ever so close! The final touches will be hardly noticeable. But the main thing is that both bathrooms are functional. I can take a shower and there is a door to close. And gradually we are moving tools back into place and out of the lowly bathroom we have been using for more than a month and a half. And yes, we'll get some photos on the walls - I know John's walls will feature our trip out West this past summer (which will match the thematic colors).

Winged Impression

We found this impression on our back window this morning. It is a little hard to tell but the size makes us think it was left by a mourning dove. Maybe one being chased by one of our neighborhood hawks. We didn't find a body so it probably survived the impact. Of course it may have some religious significance.

Garage Sale

Oberlin is having a city-wide garage sale. We didn't plan to be a part of it given everything has been so busy lately and we hadn't prepared. But our neighbor was attracting huge crowds - so late in the morning we pulled our "good" stuff out. Mostly items we'll no longer need from our bathroom recontruction. But also items we have used in years like a chain saw and our monster wood stove. So far not much has sold (besides the chain saw). But the weather is beautiful and Nicki is getting yard work done (picture was taken before she started the yard work). And maybe we'll strike it big and the wood stove will go...

Bathrooms (cont.)

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 28 Photos

More than a month and maybe another week or two? Painting is done. Electricals and lights are installed. Mirrors mounted. All we're waiting on is the flooring, a shower door, and the trim and door on a closet. And, of course, the seating. Our contractor hasn't really spent a lot of time actually working.

Almost forgot to say - did we tell you we are having the exterior of our house painted probably next week? It will feel real good when all the house improvements are completed.

Bathrooms (cont.)

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 21 Photos

Counters and sinks are in (actually the sinks and counters are all one unit). The plumbing is almost complete. And when we (and it looks as if Nicki and I will be doing this job) get the painting done lights and trim can be finished. I see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Morning Visitor

Morning Hawk

Aug 26, 2006 - 2 Photos

A hawk checked out our bird feeders during breakfast this morning. We're not sure but we suspect he/she was looking for mice or moles. Seemed to be very curious about the camera shutter sound. Anyone identify the type of hawk?

Bathrooms (cont.)

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 15 Photos

The work continues. Cabinets are in. The walls are ready for painting. Maybe one more week?

Burning River

Burning River Festival - 8/12/06

Aug 17, 2006 - 5 Photos

Saturday Nicki and I went to the Burning River Festival on Whiskey Island not very far from downtown Cleveland and on the shore of Lake Erie. There were a lot of environmentally friendly exhibits. But we spent the most time talking to an eagle from the Cleveland Natural History Museum. Since we were so close to Cleveland we did dinner at the Great Lakes Brewing Company - one of our favorites. Really nice afternoon and evening. Nice to get away.

Bathrooms (cont.)

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 9 Photos

Keeping everyone up-to-date on the bathroom construction. I've added a few photos showing what has been done over the past week. The good thing is that I'm getting into a good getting-up-for-school routine. That was okay last week as I was having my tech workshops starting at 8:00 AM. And this week I'll have an opportunity to get a little ahead with the school tech work as I'll be forced to rise and shine earlier than I would have voluntarily chosen. Even Nicki is starting to get weary of trips to Home Depot and Lowes - closed them both down last Thursday evening. They do stay open until 10:00 PM in case you need to know.

Eagle

Old Woman Creek

Aug 2, 2006 - 12 Photos

Yup, that's an eagle. One of several Nicki and I observed at the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserv. For the fuller story go to Kayaking Across America or for the rest of the photos click on the eagle above.

Bathroom Renovation Progress

Bathroom Construction Progress

Aug 4, 2006 - 4 Photos

Work has begun on two of our bathrooms. I'm experimenting with a new photo service by Google (Picasa for Macs). Just click on the above photo to take you to an album of bathroom photos. The photo above shows Sam inspecting the work. She is looking at a hole in the floor where the linen closet once was. She can see the stairway going to the floor below. The photo is better in the album. I think the dogs are a bit perplexed by this whole process. It doesn't disturb their nap schedule but I don't think they see the sense in events.

Westward Trip Photos

The rigorous selection process is complete. To see the complete collection of 66 photos (only 3.3% of the total taken) go to johnmemmott.com and look for the appropriate links. Included are Mesa Verde National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Four Corners, Best Friends Animal Society Sanctuary, Glen Canyon Dam, Antelope Canyon, Navajo Bridge, wild animals, domesticated humans, and other attractions. It's not Ohio.

Westward Trip

So many photos - so little time. Nicki and I packed four cameras (we only really used three of them) and took almost 2,000 photos - more than one per mile on the driving part of our trip through Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. We did some culling on the airplane ride home and have the total down to just over 900. We'll do an even more rigorous selection process and post the finalists on johnmemmott.com soon - watch for the announcement. We've already decided that for the next trip we need to take the video camera and mount it on the dashboard.

Storm Damage

Today we had a very quick wind and thunderstorm that brought down a branch on one of our backyard trees - narrowly missing our power and internet lines and dogyard fence. Horizontal rain and some small hail. Here’s the pile of branches - hopefully the city will pick them up quickly. A house just down the street had their power line pulled down and we lost electricity for a while. Our elder dog is getting very sensitive to storms and we could tell something was coming during the night - six hours ahead of the actual storm.

Summertime

Our "lazy" summer schedule always begins with watching the wildlife eat breakfast while we eat breakfast. Our birdfeeders attract a variety of animals - lots of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits of course. We suspect a different variey of smelly animals comes out at night but so far this year we haven't actually encountered any - the dogs have reported intruders but we haven't seen them.

And there is the kayaking which brings us close to a wilder variety. But that's a different story and once gain you should check Kayaking Across America. We haven't been out as much as we'd like due to housecleaning and organizing, school tech work, and variable weather.

Alum(whatever) Weekend

If you want the story of the orange shoes try my my sister's blog. She tells that story much better. This was a good weekend with a quick audio-visual setup for Mark's presentation, a good LVCS alumni dinner that followed the usual pattern, talking by candlelight with wine on the porch into the late evening, breakfast at Dina's Sunday morning, and driving back to Oberlin with a kayaking stop on the Rocky River.

Summer Schedule

You can really tell when we are on our summer schedule when we start kayaking in the middle of the week. Back to Findley Lake late afternoon until just before sunset. Lots of herons, ducks, giant carp (Ed - check the photo), and a "water moccasin" that a fisherman near the dock loudly identified and chased away with a stick (it was a harmless water snake but I didn't want to argue). The carp wallow in the shallows until you get almost on top of them with the boat and then they explode away skimming the surface and splashing water everywhere. Cool. Check my "Kayaking Across America" blog for a couple more photos.

Starting Summer

Getting back into our summer routine. Perfect weather today - high 60's, sunny with a few clouds. Nicki worked outside in the yard while I did some tech work at school. But late in the afternoon we did some kayaking on Findley Lake. Photos of our time on the lake can be found at my "Kayaking Across America" blog (link to the right). The Great Blue Herons are back!

Breakfast Entertainment

Here's out live entertainment as we eat breakfast - or the squirrel's entertainment as he/she eats breakfast - or Cricket's entertainment as she waits for us to finish our breakfast so she can have our leftovers. I think everyone is a winner in this situation (as long as we have enough peanuts in the feeder).

Last Day

Here's my 6th graders on the last day of the 2005-2006 school year. This is how we partied - trading addresses, reading papers we did a long time ago in 4th grade, eating popsicles, and relaxing. Not a bad year and we're ready for a summer.

Let Mothers' Day Begin

Laura and Mike gifted Nicki with this Edible Arrangement which I picked up on the west side of Cleveland. It was a little hard to fit into the refrigerator. But we should have fun eating it soon.

Heron and Egret

I’m practicing creeping up on the herons with the hopes of catching one in flight and this one was a good catch. Especially note the egret in the background. Egrets are apparently more skittish than herons. The perfect picture would have caught a few geese in the frame. They were there - just hard to line up. Time to take the better camera. Several other kayaks have appeared at Findley. I think the word is out.

A Good Year for Dandelions?

Nicki and I may have started a new trend - ever striving to avoid chemicals on our lawn. Nicki dug dandelions up by the roots while I wandered the yard with my shop-vac sucking up the seed fluff. It works. Then I mowed. Now all I have to figure out is how to empty the shop-vac. No photos.

Kayaking Updates

For an update on our kayaking experiences just click on the title of this entry.

Norma & Hans' Flowering Trees

Every year the crab-apple trees in Norma and Hans' yard bloom a bright white around the curve of their yard. The white almost hurts your eyes.

Indians Game

Nicki and I went to a Cleveland Indians game last Thursday evening with Steve and Judy to celebrate Steve's birthday. It was a very nice evening. The Indians were playing the Boston Red Sox. Interesting game - the Indians won 15-3. For the Indians version click here. For the Red Sox version click here. I did take my camera but got only 3 or 4 pictures as the battery died and I wasn’t prepared. Steve and I did the usual hotdogs and beer and Nicki and Judy did their visit to the gift shop. But it was hard not to watch the game as the hits and scores started right in the first inning. It did get very chilly, it was a very long long game, and it was college ID night with a very loud group of girls behind us, so we left about 10:30 in the beginning of the eighth inning and listened to the radio on the way home. Life is pretty good with the Indians and Cavs doing well - at the moment.

Spring Kayaking

On a good day I'd say watching an osprey circling Findley Lake from our kayaks would be enough. But we also saw it dive, catch a fish, and take its prey to a perch in a tree. Before that we'd given up on finding our usual herons and had settled for several groups of turtles. It was a nice couple hours of kayaking - and just before the rains hit. And we ended the day with a possum visiting our birdfeeders.

Click on the title above for a few more pictures (and a different blog - how many blogs do you have?).

This has been an odd spring break. Normally we'd have gotten out of town but this year the combinations of jury duty, a major school technology project (fixing the high school media center lab) and Nicki working at the Conservatory kept us in town. We didn't even do any special dinners out. We did do two student concerts at the college. But we didn't do any traveling. We'll blame this on the cost of gas?

Jury Duty

Yea! Jury duty is officially over. No more calls at 4:30 to see if I needed to report the next day. No more creating lesson plans with the hopes I wouldn't need them. And no more telling everyone I might not be able to attend the next day's important meeting. Over my three week period I was only required to report twice and both times my group was sent home without being seated for a case. $10.00 each day for my time. And now with that behind me we can start planning our vacation - of course there's only a weekend left of it.

Way too tired...

Here’s how I spent the first evening of my spring break - being with and taking photos of an overnight lock-in of our better 6th graders. The evidence can be found in these photos. The kids earned the right to be held in school for an extra night instead of starting their vacation. I’m not sure what us teachers were thinking when we conceived this “reward”. The kids arrived at 7:00 PM and will be released after a breakfast at 8:00 AM. My job during this was to take the photos and then to supervise the boys during their “sleep” on the third floor of the building (girls held the second floor). I think the final kid hit the floor at almost exactly 4:00 AM. They all vowed to stay up all night and for a while there I was convinced they would. Of course it appears I’m the only fool to be sleepless. I’d much rather be home with my wife in my bed hearing the snoring of the dogs. There is another teacher with me on this floor but he is upright in a seat at the far end of the hall with a white blanket draped over his head - very ghostly in the not-very darkness. Our principal did promise to help us but we haven’t seen him since much earlier in the evening - maybe he is guarding the first floor. I’m getting too old for this.

Ed & Theresa

Ed and Theresa visited on their way back to Olean from Ann Arbor. Of course we had a nice brunch at the Black River Cafe and then exchanged photos in the front of our house.

Dog on Keyboard

Sometimes there's a real good reason why you can't get your text on your blog. Thank you, Samantha.

To LV and Back

Nicki and I did a quick visit to the Little Valley homested. Thanks to Martha everything was warm and comfy. Driveway was well plowed - bare with enough extra parking off to the left. We three did our required dinner in Ellicottville at the Barn. Got a table quickly, good food, good service, and a friendly family-oriented crowd. Lots of snow. It truly looked like winter. Then home for calls with all the other siblings.

Sunday we returned to Ellicottville for breakfast at Dina's. Again straight to a table and a very good breakfast. We did find out a secret - you can get a half-order of french toast so there is no excuse for getting stuffed. A little shopping, back to Little Valley, and then the return trip to Oberlin.

As to the wireless situation. Yes, we have a problem, but one that can be fixed. There are 2 pieces of equipment involved - Atlantic Broadband's cable modem and our wireless router. The wireless router is fine and will talk to the computer just as it is supposed to. But the cable modem has serious problems and will not establish a lasting connection to the internet which makes the wireless router's well-intentioned efforts fruitless. No amount of prodding and poking would revive the cable modem. I did talk to an Atlantic Broadband technician and a housecall was scheduled. Martha has agreed to make herself available and by this time next week we should have our access re-established. I suspect the technician will simply switch the faulty cable modem for a new one that works. I had brought 2 new and different wireless routers if it had turned out that our router was the cause. On the way back to Oberlin I returned the ones I brought for a full refund. No need to charge any expenses to the estate. I'll use the travel costs as a deduction on my taxes I suppose.

No photos this trip. Never had the opportunity. And no mention of the blurry window - no fog has appeared lately. And no, I didn't try the vaseline trick.

A Blurry Window (redux)

It could be the weather (clear and dry) or maybe it was just speaking out loud too soon - but our foggy window is back. So tomorrow we'll try the next suggestion - applying a layer of vaseline around the inside of the window frame. We were told by the inspector that this will seal the window and prevent moisture from getting between the panes. Why am I skeptical? At least nobody has mentioned tossing a couple silicon packets inside. I'd post a picture but it doesn't look much different from what you've seen below.

At my tech workshop today one of the participants told the story of how an electronic game once owned and cherished by her deceased mother every once in a while will play its jingly music - without being turned on and without batteries of course. I don't think our blurry window and her ghostly music are related. But maybe they are?

A Blurry Window (resolution?)

We had our scheduled visit from the window company. Didn't take him long to recognize and correct the problem. There are these little yellow tabs inside the window frame that have the word "DISCARD" stamped on them. The original installer should have removed these tabs and actually discarded them. And then the frame would properly seal when it shuts. And moisture wouldn't get between the window panes. I would have noticed the labels when I painted the window if the word hadn't been stamped INSIDE the tab where you couldn't see it. We're hoping this was the problem. There has been a little slight streaking of moisture since the inspection but we think that is related to the particular cleaning solution we've used since the installation. The window has been much clearer.

Two Children

Soon after Kendal was started, residents were encouraged to contribute a personal square to a quilt. Ursula created the figures sharing an umbrella. Now every time we visit for supper and pass the quilt on our way as we wheel Ursula to the cafeteria, we stop to visit with "her children".

Ursula Celebrates Her 95th Birthday

There was a "quiet" celebration at Kendal for Ursula's 95th birthday. We had a normal supper in the cafeteria with her that evening. Hans and Norma joined us. Afterward we wheeled her to the lounge area where she discovered a string quartet with piano (quintet I suppose) led by Father Brian who was playing Ursula's violin. And we had a cake and refreshments set up and Kendal had servers to help. There had been some advertisments posted where Ursula wouldn't notice so a healthy-sized crowd collected. The music and treats were enjoyed by all. But we may have happily tired her out.

A Blurry Window (cont.)

Need to do a quick update. Nicki tells me she actually talked to a live person at the unnamed window company (after 5 tries). And they agreed to an appointment to view the window.

I do need to point out that the fog is between the window panes. It isn't there all the time but seems to appear dependent on atmospheric conditions - like beautiful days when it would be nice to watch a sunset from the comfort of our cozy living room.

A Blurry Window

This isn’t a real entry to my blog - this text and the companion photos are hopefully temporary. The pictures are only here to “share” with the company that said they were going to make an appointment to examine our potentially defective blurry front window. Maybe the next time we talk to the company they can check this blog to see exactly what we are talking about. Just click on the little photo to see a bigger version.