Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Pot Pourri
I have had a white wicker armoire for several years. It has five drawers down the left side, one large drawer across the bottom, and a large shelved area behind the mirror. The drawers glide more smoothly than any I've ever encountered. The armoire holds an amazing amount of stuff. Most of all, I have a thing for white wicker and it just melts me to look at it. But the new bedroom furniture is dark wood and the armoire did not go. It was relegated to the closet (remember, my closet used to be a small room.) The closet door opened into the armoire and the whole setup was very unsatisfactory. So I was shopping for something that would meet my needs that also melted my heart. Fortunately, I ran into a sympathetic saleswoman who listened to my story and said "Why don't you spray paint the armoire?" Forehead slapping moment. It had never entered my head that I could paint the thing.
The armoire is now dark brown. It still has the best drawers ever and holds lots of stuff. It isn't ugly, it just isn't beautiful anymore. But it does go with the rest of the furniture, and painting it saved me a LOT of money, compared to having to buy a new dresser.
I've been doing a lot of framing and hanging of pictures. Next up is getting the built-in aquarium actually built in. I've had the guy out to measure; he gave me a bid, but he didn't grasp what I wanted. I think he understands now and is supposed to give me another bid. I think I am afraid to see the next one.
There are still a few things left undone or that need to be redone from the remodeling -- a couple of holes in the sheetrock where they got access to the bathtub plumbing, a yellow stain that I think is grease which has appeared on the kitchen ceiling since they supposedly routed the stove vent to the outside. The builder is always nice, always sincere, always apologetic, but nothing ever happens. So Monday morning I took pictures of the problems and drove down to their office, where I found the builder's wife. I told her that I'm so happy with my house that I plan to have an open house for the whole neighborhood, but I really don't want people seeing holes in the walls and grease stains and thinking that is the quality of their work. I got one visit and three phone calls that afternoon --- but still no work. Once the aquarium is done, I will be ready to have my open house, and if the builder's reputation gets damaged in the process, it's not my fault.
I am so tired of chasing people to do what they are supposed to do. It's not just the builder, it's some stuff with my company, it's stuff with my customers. One guy called me last week and asked if I would fill out data sheets for him, something normally done by engineering but I knew they wouldn't touch it until it became an order and he said they wouldn't place the order until they had the data sheets. So I said fine, I'll do it for you, send it over right now. That was Thursday afternoon. I called and I emailed on Friday and on Tuesday, reminding him to send me the information. This morning I had to leave very early and didn't get home until after 6:00. When I turned on my computer, there was the information, along with a note that he "had" to have the data sheets back today.
The best advice I heard today was this: instead of being frustrated by airport security lines, just be grateful that the Shoe Bomber didn't try to light his underwear!
The armoire is now dark brown. It still has the best drawers ever and holds lots of stuff. It isn't ugly, it just isn't beautiful anymore. But it does go with the rest of the furniture, and painting it saved me a LOT of money, compared to having to buy a new dresser.
I've been doing a lot of framing and hanging of pictures. Next up is getting the built-in aquarium actually built in. I've had the guy out to measure; he gave me a bid, but he didn't grasp what I wanted. I think he understands now and is supposed to give me another bid. I think I am afraid to see the next one.
There are still a few things left undone or that need to be redone from the remodeling -- a couple of holes in the sheetrock where they got access to the bathtub plumbing, a yellow stain that I think is grease which has appeared on the kitchen ceiling since they supposedly routed the stove vent to the outside. The builder is always nice, always sincere, always apologetic, but nothing ever happens. So Monday morning I took pictures of the problems and drove down to their office, where I found the builder's wife. I told her that I'm so happy with my house that I plan to have an open house for the whole neighborhood, but I really don't want people seeing holes in the walls and grease stains and thinking that is the quality of their work. I got one visit and three phone calls that afternoon --- but still no work. Once the aquarium is done, I will be ready to have my open house, and if the builder's reputation gets damaged in the process, it's not my fault.
I am so tired of chasing people to do what they are supposed to do. It's not just the builder, it's some stuff with my company, it's stuff with my customers. One guy called me last week and asked if I would fill out data sheets for him, something normally done by engineering but I knew they wouldn't touch it until it became an order and he said they wouldn't place the order until they had the data sheets. So I said fine, I'll do it for you, send it over right now. That was Thursday afternoon. I called and I emailed on Friday and on Tuesday, reminding him to send me the information. This morning I had to leave very early and didn't get home until after 6:00. When I turned on my computer, there was the information, along with a note that he "had" to have the data sheets back today.
The best advice I heard today was this: instead of being frustrated by airport security lines, just be grateful that the Shoe Bomber didn't try to light his underwear!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Catching Up
I have been a bad blogger, but there's been so much going on. We did our annual trek to Indiannapolis for the Indy 500. When the Professor had his plane, we could fly up, see the race, and come back the same night if we felt like it. Now he leaves a couple of days before the race and drives his Vette to Louisville, getting there just in time to pick me up at the airport. I have more sense than to spend two days cramped in a sports car, thank you.
The race was great, except for the idiot that ran into Danica Patrick; we ate at our favorite restaurant in Indiannapolis; and Monday morning we had breakfast in Louisville with Present Storm's cousin and family. They have a son confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy, but with a smile that could light up a city, and a zest for life that makes everyone who meets him feel good. Last year the Professor gave him a ride in the Corvette and this year the kid was asking for his ride almost from the moment we sat down. He would obviously be a skate boarding, roller coaster riding daredevil if he could, and this ride is a really big deal to him.
Last week I worked the Wind Power Show. 12,000 people came to it. The thing was huge! I guess everyone is hoping we can get so much electricity from wind that we can stop burning gas, but they only produce about 30% of the time and it's still a pretty expensive way to make electricity. You'd think that since wind is free, it would be cheaper, but the generators are small so it takes more of them and that makes the cost much more than one huge generator. But they gave away the coolest stuff at this show, including a personal fan that spells out messages in blue LED lights and a yard fan that lights up around the edges when the wind blows. The Professor and I were out playing with it in the dark, but we decided our neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate it.
Prof's daughter and family are moving to Connecticut so we had a long-planned meal at Brennan's kitchen table. We had to settle for lunch, which is only 5 courses instead of 7, but the wine flows just as freely. One of Prof's grandsons wants to be a chef, and the other really, really likes to cook, so they were ... ummm ... eating it up.
At the table. The blonde in the middle picture on the right looked familiar. It drove us crazy. I think I've finally figured out that she plays the ex-mistress on Brothers & Sisters. What, you want her name, too? 
This was a refrigerator inside the big walk-in cooler. The older one, "A", is a vegetarian and couldn't handle the meat smell, but "B" poked into every nook and cranny. Yes, fortunately, B is the one planning to be a chef.
Preparing Brennan's signature dish, Bananas Foster. I hope someone ate it. As for me, even if you soak bananas in rum and set them on fire, I still can't stand their taste.The waiter brought out six different desserts, supposedly so we would each take a bite and pass it around the table. No doubt this works with most groups, but everyone fell in love with exactly what they had and none of us would share. I seem to recall the Professor hunching over his dessert like a hungry animal hunches over his food. But, you know, we'd had a glass of champagne to start, and a different wine with every course, and they never let the glass get empty, so my memory may be just a little fizzy, um, I mean fuzzy.
