Memorial Day

A long time ago in a land faraway our family had a barbecue at my Uncle's house every Memorial Day. It was the "first day of summer" no matter what the weather brought. I remember one Memorial Day that was cold and rainy. The family was determined to have a good celebration so we proceeded as we normally would. The coals were ready, the potatoes were wrapped in "tin foil" and placed in the barbecue, the steaks were marinating and it was raining harder by the minute. Finally we put the barbecue under the porch and grilled the steaks away from the rain;  we brought all the outdoor furniture inside and we had our picnic in the living room. Somehow that was the most memorable Memorial Day ever.

As I'm writing this its 100+ degrees outside and rain is nowhere on the horizon. This Memorial Day I'm thinking of all the men and women who have protected our country to ensure our freedom. Some  have paid with the ultimate sacrifice; some are forever scarred and changed; all are brave. The folks staying at home, enjoying the light of freedom that our brave heroes gave us, are eternally grateful.

Shrink Wrap H*ll

I bought a Milwaukee vacuum and battery for my new LVP floors. The installer had the same vacuum and it was easy to use and not too heavy. The vacuum came in an easy to open cardboard box. The battery came in one of those impossible to open heavy duty plastic wrap packages.

Have you ever tried to open one of these packages? My first attempt was to use the "can opener" I have that is designed for this type of package. The can opener did not work. Next, I used a pair of kitchen scissors. With the scissors I was able to poke a hole in the plastic. I prodded and pulled at the tough plastic but not much progress was made. The other DrC was walking by and I asked him to attack the package. He used the scissors, a knife and patience (mine had run out) and together, we were able to break thru the toughest plastic I've ever seen. If the vacuum is as tough as this plastic container, we'll be in good shape. I think there should be a special place in "h*ll" for the person who invented this type of packaging. 

Ten Masks

I spent the day making ten face masks which are already given away. I've discovered a new pattern that is easier to make and just as effective as the old pattern. Thank you Pinterest.

The khaki masks are the old style, and print masks are the new style. 

Let me know if you want some.

A Thank You

Just when I was beginning to think that thank you notes were no longer in favor, I received one. There is hope for humanity. I gave Molly a teddy bear and this is what she gave me:

Thank you Molly. Thank you for the delicious cookies. Thank you for loving Gertie. 

You brightened my day Molly.

Microwave part 2

Finally the ovens are installed. Last week both ovens were delivered, but only one was installed as the wrong trim kit was ordered. Yesterday, the trim kit arrived and the microwave is officially in the cabinet. It looks very nice.

And it's a good mirror too.

Henrietta

Sometimes I want to make something that is silly and fun. Today I made a hedgehog and named her Henrietta. She fits in my hand and I think she will have a few brothers and sisters in the coming days. 

Progress

The flooring saga continues. All of the old carpeting is out. That's a huge task, as it entails removing the carpeting, the padding, the tack strips and any remaining staples that might have been left behind. Today all the tile was removed slowly one hammer blow after another loud hammer blow. The floor was also floated to ensure it was level. Carpeting covers up a multitude of "sins" but solid surface flooring does not, so the floor has to be level. While all this is happening, the squeaks and creaks are being hammered away. Soon the flooring will be installed.

This job is far more extensive and intensive than I anticipated.

Moonrise

Tonight as we were entering the camper I looked to the east and saw moonrise.

The moon was a golden-yellow disc that quickly rose above the mountains. 

Absolutely stunning

Empty Nest

The new floors will be installed on Monday. For the past few weeks we've been getting ready that event by meticulously going through all of our stuff and winnowing it down to the essentials. It's been a deep deep cleanse. The local dump and donation station have accepted our non-essentials and the rest was packed into boxes and stowed in the garage.

A pile of boxes with the "keepers" 

...and a pile of stuff for the dump.

Early this morning a team of strong young men moved the furniture. In less than 90 minutes they stripped the house of all the furniture. We are thankful we did not have to do this task.

The rooms are empty. The house looks huge. On Monday the old carpet gets torn out, and the new luxury vinyl plank will be installed. The house will have a different look and we're excited to see what that will be.

Out with the Old

After more than 3 decades of use, our oven started to die. Don't get me wrong, it was still working, but the thermometer had a life of it's own. That's when we discovered the modern appliance cannot be repaired if it over 10 years old. Given that, we bought a new oven, and, since there was a matching microwave, we bought the pair. So what started out as a small deal, turned into something bigger.

The old pair of ovens still looked good, but their functioning was less than desired.

A few screws were loosened, and after applying some elbow grease, both were removed to the outdoors. A rather unceremonious way to discard old and trusted appliances...but last time I checked, appliances do not have feelings.

The new ovens were rolled into the house and installed but there was one hitch. The wrong microwave surround was ordered. That will be installed next week. The other DrC said Murphy was working overtime. We were both hoping that Murphy would be asleep.

Between now and then, we can use the microwave, but the job is not complete.  If you look at the first picture and the last picture, you will see some differences in the wall of ovens, but not that many. BTW, I do not like stainless steel appliances. Trying to find black appliances is quite difficult. Many oven models (including the one I really wanted) are available in stainless. Someday that color choice will go out of fashion, in the meantime, I'm an "appliance outlier."

Generator

Even as CoVid-19 plays havoc with our lives, the folks in northern California have another challenge...the Pacific Gas and Electric Company aka PG&E aka Piggie. Last night, when no one was expecting it, the power went off. The house went black. The little "vampire" lights that never turn off, were off. We could not see a thing. We waited about 45 seconds and the lights came back on and it looked like were back to normal. We heard a soft humming coming for the general direction of the generator. We padded our way to a window and saw a blanket of black covering our little valley. It was spooky dark yet we had light. Definite proof that the whole house generator works. We had power. Next I checked the Piggie power outage website (we also had internet) and sure enough, we were going to have a power outage for 6 hours. I don't know if this was a planned outage or not. I do know that the generator works.