Mystery Castle in Phoenix, AZ 2010

Take a really close look at these animals - they are so cool. Painted on rocks. The old lady who lived here was into art and inspired artist friends. Her father built the place - he was an early recycler.

In one place, he used a truck load of Amber refrigerator dishes - probably from Hazel Atlas - as "stained glass" window blocks - looks cool. Somehow I didn't get the photo of that.

Christmas Day 2010

Ed and Bob work on the Ham!

Amanda looks pretty good holding the newest baby, Sydney Saffer.




Alex is about 14 months! She is a real doll!


Sandy, baby Alex, and Ed enjoy the great sunshine beside Bob and Sandy's pool. Definitely short sleeve weather here in Arizona!

Ed in the typical food induced coma - what a great meal we shared!

Amanda still keeping in touch with someone unlucky enough not to be in this home today.

Tina, Ed, Alex and Grandpa Bob.

Joey enjoying coma time also!

Amanda working on her tan!

Ed is really loving this pool area! It is great!

Las Noches de las Luminarias

These were taken at the Desert Botanical Garden, where we saw 8,000 luminaries!
It was so awesome, just beautiful. At every bend in the trail, there were performers of some sort, Apache Storytellers, Violinists, R & B bands, Victorian carolers, it was great!

Kitchen update

It is my turn today - so I took off work to be the "adult" on site for my kitchen workers. Ed waited a while, but he has gone to work now.

Its 15 till 9 and so far, no one has shown up. They were to be here at 8.

Unfortunately, this is week 6 of a very tiny kitchen remodel - and we are not done yet.

We are getting closer. My nice KitchenAid Refrigerator is here. It is a "counter depth" which means it will be flush with my kitchen counter, if and when we are able to get it to fit in the slot. Right now, it is out in the floor a good foot, but Ed assures me the carpenter will work magic and make it fit the hole. It lacks about 1/8 inch on one side, probably due to the uneven floor tiles, which are, by design a little rugged in style. We did not replace the floor.
This fridge has ice and filtered water in the door, and it is the new "french door" type, which is really great for a small condo space. Prior to our redesign, we could not open the refrigerator without making sure the dishwasher was closed. We've moved the dishwasher and now we have refrigerator doors that are half the size of the old doors. Plus, we have a little larger refrigerator, which is always nice. We are very pleased with the new one! Ed is donating our smaller old one to his office in Silver Spring. We chose the KitchenAid to match the dishwasher brand, although we did not replace the stove or microwave. Perhaps we should have, but it seemed just wasteful. We are wondering if matching brand names would help with resale of our condo at some point? We are told people want all the appliances to be the same brand. We have Maytag stove, and it is a nice basic gas stove which works fine. Just 4 burner which if fine with us. Microwave is over the stove, and it is Maytag also.

Still to do - hopefully today :

• finish the backsplash - this is major, as we are down to the parts where tiles need to be cut and fitted into the trim areas. Then grout.
• try to get the fridge in place
• connect the new garbage disposal
• connect the dishwasher and replace the insulation around it
• Corbels and wood trim installed around the new little bar area, will have to paint the trim later.
• Almost forgot, the cabinet pulls need installed - 50 screws!

Ah - one of my workers has arrived, thank goodness - it is the tile guy. He is a young, nice Mexican guy. He might speak some English, but mostly smiles and nods. I hope the electrician comes soon. The electrician is also my cabinet guy.
I must say, the workers have all been really nice and they also keep the work site very neat and clean up as they go. I think our workers have been pretty good. But, I think they are pretty busy, trying to do more than one job at a time.

Whatever doesn't get done today, will probably have to wait until January!

I did manage to go to work yesterday, get in an hour of Physical Therapy on my elbow, go to a podiatrist appointment and get my foot fixed so I can walk in Phoenix. All in all, a very good day.

We are flying to Phoenix tomorrow night and the fun will begin!

Kitchen shows some progress

The raw granite finally arrived, and we went to check it out at the stone and tile yard. It was really beautiful. I wish we could visit the far away mountain this came from, although I realize that could bother me a lot, thinking of tearing up something irreplaceable. But, I love it.

In this photo, you can see the new pendant lights, the "in progress" glass backsplash and the new kitchen faucet and granite. We selected the glass tiles called "Artic Ice", thinking of something neutral. However, as I'm sure Stan would tell me, glass has a color of its own. There is quite a bit of green showing up in these tiles. This does seem to work though, as green is one of my inspiration colors from the canyon. So, looks like I have greens, browns, and a variety of earth tones.

Here is the new stainless sink.

Unfinished, of course. But, still interesting.

Still on our punch list:

• Cabinet pulls or handles - we purchased 50 new screws of the correct length.
• Finish backsplash - back to Home Depot to purchase non-sanded grout in the right color
• Place the insulation back on the dishwasher so it will be quiet again.
• Install corbels under the overhang of our new counter
• Paint all new trim and patched drywall
• Purchase new bar stools in correct height.

What I love so far:

• The new faucet has a sprayer! I love it!!
• The granite is beautiful!!
  
  
  
  

Inspiration for my new kitchen

Barbara Nicholson, backpacking in Kings Canyon, California.

This was along the Woods Creek Trail (Road's End): Steady moderate climb. Very busy trail. Vistas, rivers and high lakes. Access to John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail. Trailhead to begin the Rae Lakes Loop going clockwise. First campsite - Paradise Valley (6.5 miles/10.4 km) Limit 25 people/day. We reached Paradise Valley to camp, I think we were about the middle Paradise site.

Last year I spent quite a bit of time alone in our condo in Maryland while Ed was in California. I prepared a lot of meals alone and ate alone much of that time. So, as depressing as that time was, I started thinking about exactly what it is that makes me happy - or might make me happier.

Some of the times I felt really happy were when we were out on a trail somewhere, usually far from paved roads and cars. Surrounded by trees and sky and usually water. I tried to think back to what colors were the most fun, and it struck me that I loved Kings Canyon quite a bit. This is located in the southern Sierras in California.

We did a backpacking trip into Kings Canyon and set up camp beside a beautiful river. I could see fish in the water, it was clear and cool. We bathed in the river, used our water filter for clean drinking and cooking water. It was - for lack of better words - just awesome! It is one of my most favorite memories! The trees are huge there and the mountains are high. The nights were cold, I remember sleeping with a pair of gloves on.

I remember standing by the river and thinking about the colors of the rocks and the water through the sun. This photo, of course, cannot begin to capture the vivid colors, but it serves to remind me how intense the colors of nature are. And - how much I love it.

I thought, if I could just bring a little bit of that into my condo I would be happy.

So it was that I set out to rethink my little kitchen. My plan was to bring a bit of color into the space, and perhaps some recycled glass counters. When I saw the cabinets painted the color of "River Rock" I knew they were meant to be ours. The recycled glass proved to be a real budget buster, so I opted for granite - I love the look of the rocks - and the granite would lend both the colors and texture - cool and smooth. I am using 1"x2" glass tiles for my back-splash.

The granite counter tops should be installed by this time tomorrow, so I'll have updates in the coming days, hopefully. As I researched granite, I realized it is probably not an environmentally friendly choice though. The You Tube videos I saw of harvesting granite in Brazil were scary - both for the workers and the environment. By this time I had already purchased my granite. However, I will love it and enjoy it. I wonder if we can't make environmentally good choices that are cost effective also. I hope that time will come soon. In the mean time, I'll respect my new rock!

It is working - it is making me happier just thinking about it! Of course, it is a vain and futile thing, to think that some thing will give happiness. It is the association and memories that bring the sweet happiness that lingers.

The Professional Photos from the NYC Marathon

The marathon is just over 26 miles, so Joey ran through all 5 Burroughs of New York City. Over bridges, across rivers, through Central Park. It is an amazing run. Ed and I managed to see him a several points along his route, but we were jumping on the subway and walking some to just get a vantage point! It was so much fun. People were about 5 or 6 deep near Central Park. Somehow, we managed to get to the "fence" so we could see.

Although I took several photos, the photos on this page are professionally taken. At these bg races there are photographers working along the route, then they offer photos to the registered runners. These are pretty neat!



Joey is just about left of center in this shot, you may want to click on it so it will be larger on your screen.

Thursday in Bethesda

You know its going to be a boring post with a title like that!

We are told that our granite counter top material has arrived. Ed and I will go look at it in the morning, and if it is OK, they can install on December 20th. I'll try to post photos of the slab. It should be ivory background with brown flecks and swirls. I think.

Since they cannot finish the kitchen in one day, Dec. 21st - We probably won't be able to get the kitchen finished until January. We fly to Amanda's on the 22nd, Wednesday.

Ed has built entire hospitals with less hassles than this tiny kitchen.

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We are not having snow here yet. It is very very cold, in the teens this AM on our walk to Metro. I'm looking for a warmer coat and have ordered a down coat from Lands End. We'll see if it looks OK and fits OK.

The older I get, the less I can enjoy cold cold weather. I am really looking forward to Phoenix and Amanda.

Two weeks to the fantasy Kitchen and other lies of the 21st Century

So, it is just a day past the infamous "Two Weeks" mark that remodelers often use. (We all knew two weeks was just another stall tactic, didn't we?)

My kitchen is still lacking running water, sink and counter top. No word on when our counter top might arrive.

Joey flew into town late last night, so we picked him up at the airport - then delivered him back to the airport in the very early morning hours for the flight out. Thank you Ed for getting up at 4AM, after being up until midnight.

Hopefully, Joey will not post to FB the photo he took of our spare room. Of course it is stacked to the hilt with boxes.
Think about your own kitchen. Think about how much stuff is in that one room. We had to pack every single thing out of our kitchen. We bought boxes - new ones (to avoid bugs and smells) at U-haul for $85.00.
Ed packed our entire room into the boxes and carefully stacked them - several feet high - in the spare room. Hey, whatever! We live in a condo - we only have two bedrooms. No where else to put anything.

Yes, I'm tired of the place being such a mess.
I'm actually tired of being forced to eat every single meal out - not having a choice.
I'm tired of the paper plates and plastic forks and plastic cups for a drink of water being stored on the dining "room" table.
I'm sure grouchy.

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Yesterday I FINALLY took the time to go through the paperwork from my Doctor's visit of Nov. 17th.

It was my yearly physical. My Dr. went through some reports with me. I had blood work to hear about, and I also had a very long report (several printed pages) for my bone density, a DEXA exam. I was quite worried about the bone density, thinking of my very recent broken bone. Hoping that was not the beginning of something bad. (It wasn't - the bone density looks good, stable.)

She went over these report with me while I was half unclothed, in a very skimpy torn paper gown that would not even cover a person Delia's size. I was uncomfortable, to say the least. She was writing and making a few notes as she read through the reports, so I figured I would look them over at home, which I'm doing now.
I did hear her mention something about a "pain in my back - tests are negative" I wasn't sure what that was about, trying to remember back a year....did I have a back issue? I didn't remember one. But, I was naked and wanting to get my clothes on. I didn't argue, after all she had a paper in her hand. and, after all, the test (whatever test?) was negative anyway.

Imagine my surprise as I looked at that report. The test was a spinal MRI, (I think), and my name was no where on the test result. As I studied it, I finally figured out that I had someone else's test results in hand. And - best of all - my doctor had sat there and read these results and applied this information to ME. As she listened to my heart and chest, as she told me to come back in 3 months, she was trying to figure out my "back problem" - which I DO NOT HAVE.

I finally figured out the patients name was a man, and his date of birth was there - not even close to mine. His address was different - lots of clues to the medical staff that this was not ME.

So, what to do now.

Shall I search for a new internal medicine doctor. ???
I guess.
Maybe I'll wait until next year.
::heavy sigh::

I told you I was grumpy.

Surely it is safe to throw this out by now... or is it?

My thoughts on "clearing out the clutter" were, partly, that if we hadn't touched it in several years, we wouldn't miss it and don't need it. 

So, I've begun the painful process of throwing out, re-purposing and recycling. I've watched the TV shows, listened to the experts, read the self help books. I know what I'm doing. For sure! I think...

Take, for example, my (well, our) sleeping bags. They are down filled and they are dusty, and possibly stale smelling. Haven't been used in years, since we left California. They were expensive, but, unused and just hogging up closet space in a "much too small" condo...
and yet... hard to recycle these.

Would anyone else know (or care) that I won the money to buy them at a slot machine in Reno, Nevada?

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One of the TV experts told me "Just because you clean it out or throw something away, doesn't mean you love the people attached to those memories any less." You won't be throwing out the memories, just putting the tangible object(s) to better use. 

That, I think, I do understand on some level.

Then why is it so hard?

• Let's see, three bookshelves full to the gills of dusty books. My collected works of Shakespeare? My old autographed Lee Smith books? I have already taken boxes to our "Friends of the Library."
• Miles of photo albums. Boxes of photos and negatives. Boxes of collected postcards.
• Dozens of Fiestaware coffee mugs in every color, in a packing box under my spare bed.
• Dozens of drinking glasses, mostly stolen from places we've been. Too many to get in the cabinets. How many drinking glasses do two people need anyway?
• A whole storage container of Beany Babies, practically new.
• Music CDs. hundreds. not all in the correct cases.
• Shoes. In a continuing effort to have comfortable shoes, I've managed to amass several dozen unlikely suspects which are now crowding the floor of my closet.
• Framed photos. Much to many for the wall or counter space I now have, while they looked fine in the big house in Citrus Heights. Oh Well. Now in boxes, which I lack space to store. Who wants to store them anyway? Much too much.
• Sheets. Somehow we have too many and lack a linen closet. But, we do need some sheets. How many for two people? and which ones? We have two sizes of beds in the condo. Why is nothing simple?
• Beach Towels. They are huge and we lack the linen closet. We do not use them. Haven't in six years although we do have a pool. I think I've been in it twice. Maybe 3 times. Share the excess with Amanda and Todd for their pool?  Keep them for another decade in hopes of that elusive retirement when I'll certainly use them? Ha.

2010 Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - 2nd to the New River Gorge Bridge in height

Hey - there is Mr. Ed!

This is quite a bridge! Not nearly as pretty, in my opinion, as the New River Gorge Bridge though.
We got to see this the day we went to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. We drove about 10 miles from Taos and found it, way in the middle of nowhere. There were Native Americans people selling things near the bridge, and we saw a tarantula. It is high desert area in climate. There were cool hiking trails near the rim, but, wary of falling with my broken elbow, I didn't venture out on the trail. This time anyway. Someone mentioned a bridge in Colorado that is cooler than this, I will have to look it up and make sure we find it on our next trip through Colorado. This was fun to see, a pretty cool bridge. I like the detail of the New Mexico symbol in the bridge shown in the last photo - This is on their state flag and license plates, very pretty.

Now we are in the Waiting mode - the infamous "2 weeks"

The guys from Home Depot came in and tore out the old cabinets, and now have hung the new cabinets. They have placed our appliances back into the proper places. Condo is a lot better now. Maid came in and helped run the vacuum and clean up.

I should show you the spare bedroom, stacked to the 6 foot level with boxes from u-haul with our kitchen goods. It will all never go back into that space. Ed packed the kitchen himself, my elbow is healing.

Still to be done:

• hardware on the cabinets;
• countertop install;
• sink install;
• faucet install;
• pendant lights installed.

The man from the Stone and Tile yard came yesterday and measured. They will now order the granite slabs and when they arrive and we inspect them, then we can have them installed. 2 Weeks??

We're eating out.

I have to go back to work Monday. I can hook my own bra now! And do my hair again.





Note we have lots of DRAWERS - not large cabinets like the old cabinets.

These two shots were after ripping out the old, but before installing the new cabinets.