Done!

Here is my faithful piano, all fixed up, cleaned up, polished up, and ready to be tuned (and played). Now I just need to find a tuner in the area that won't charge an arm and a leg. I also discovered that E2 is missing two strings, so I plan to get those replaced as well.

On other fronts, I donated blood today. The guy who started the needle was pretty new. He started work just 1.5 months ago. I could tell he is still a bit hesitant and he was very careful.

Unfortunately, he was also a bit inexperienced. My veins are big enough, they are just a tad bit awkward to skewer. After he got it going I had to call one of the other workers over (he had gone on to someone else) and have them readjust the needle because the blood was starting to slow down. However, we got it all fixed up and completed the donation in a total of 13 minutes.

Last time I donated I worked to increase my heart rate and managed to finish in 7 minutes. This is still a far cry from my sister's standard (and highly fast) donation time of 4 minutes. I'm not trying to match her, but I am interested to see what techniques can be used to reduce the donation time required.

My car didn't start this morning. I suspected it was a bad battery lead and managed to get it started with my jumper battery. The Schwab Tire guys cleaned the leads up, but they told me they had to bang on the starter to get it running again. I hope I don't have to do that too many times (because I don't know where the starter is). I made an appointment to get the starter replaced, but they didn't have an opening until next Monday morning. I'm praying the Lord will keep it running until then.

On the work front, I'm learning how to use SharePoint Services to design a website. It is looking like this will be a great option for a project I'm working on right now. I am already wishing that I had gone this direction sooner.

White Keys Done

The white keys are done! They are all leveled out and I am fairly pleased with the results. Many thanks to the two piano repair men who took time to explain the process to me.

Now all I have left is the black keys. They are proving to be more difficult in one way and easier in another. They are easier because there are not as many of them and they are not actually next to each other so slight differences don't show up. They are harder because they are not actually next to each other and slight differences don't show up. What should I level them out to? If I level them out to each other, it is hard to do because they are not next to each other. If I level them out to the white keys (with an eye on the other black ones), what spot do I choose as the standard? How far down should they be in relation to the white ones? This and other questions are now swirling around in my head. I will need to make a decision soon.

In other news, work is almost back to normal (whatever that is). That means I have time to blog during lunch (which I have found works best because it helps me take an actual lunch).

Last weekend I attended the semi-annual Board of Director's Meeting for WFRW in Gig Harbor. The meeting went well. My duties were performed efficiently. The checks balanced at the end of the day. What more could I ask for?

I also had a few minutes this weekend to continue organizing our DVD collection. Dad has been organizing the basement and Mom made progress on organizing the house. My sister worked on organizing her room. There seems to be an organizing bug going around in our house. It makes me happy!

Quick Post

At the suggestion of a friend, I am posting a brief message to let all who care know that I am alive and well, just busy.

-The piano keys are now on the piano; about half of them have been leveled at least twice. I can tell multiple sessions will be involved before they are just right.
-I took advantage of the good weather on Tuesday and mowed the lawns (or some of them).
-My brother and sister-in-law were in a car accident on Wednesday, but are doing well. Not so their Ford 350 truck. Better it than them.
-Last night's cooking lesson went well. We covered "browning" hamburger and draining canned beans. She's getting good at chopping onions.
-I'm off to a meeting in Gig Harbor which will keep me busy through tomorrow afternoon.

Chicken Is Not Beef

The cooking lessons from last week have been expanded into a regular feature. My plans now include taking the young lady grocery shopping once a week followed by assisting her with the preparations for the slow-cooker meal to be cooked the following day. We are combining this with spelling lessons.

Last night was the first of these occasions. I carefully explained to the parent that the young lady would need to pick a recipe from the book, have it approved, and then make a shopping list for any ingredients not already in the house. All was duly noted and executed...or so everyone thought.

Here's a summary of our conversation after I picked her up from school. Me: "So, where is the shopping list?" Her: "I have it right here in my school backpack somewhere." The backpack is searched. Her: "I can't find it." Me: "Do you remember what was on the list?" Her: "We need an onion." Me: "What is the recipe you choose?" Her: "Chinese Chicken." Me: "So we need to get some chicken?" Her: "Yes." Me: "Do you remember anything else?" Her: "I think there was a spice we needed." etc.

When we arrived at the grocery store we looked through several cookbooks and, although we didn't find any Chinese Chicken recipes, we did notice that Chinese recipes often included ginger. After another discussion we decided that this was probably the spice they needed. So we got chicken, an onion, and some ginger.

As we carried the groceries into her house I saw the cookbook sitting on the counter open to the page continuing the recipe "Chinese Pot Roast." "Is this the recipe?" I asked. The response came back, "Yes." "It is for pot roast, not chicken." I state. "Can we just use chicken instead?" came the reply.

Ah well, at least it WAS ginger that we needed. A quick trip back to the grocery store produced a pot roast and the chicken has gone into the freezer for a future recipe. The spelling lesson went very well. The cooking lesson also went well. There is a marked improvement in the stick-with-it skills. She didn't leave the kitchen till the whole thing was more-or-less ready to go. She is getting good at chopping up onions (without rubbing her eyes). She is learning very quickly and is very enthusiastic about cooking.

I must admit though, her idea of measuring and my idea of measuring don't quite measure up. I have a precise, chemistry-oriented idea of what measuring means. Her style is more like that of a very good friend of mine (who is also a great cook). That style involves getting lots of dishes and counter tops dirty when preparing a meal. And as long as you measure close to the line, that is just as good as on the line. Right? (Wrong...at least for some things.) I find myself following her around the kitchen not only to give her advice on food preparation, but also to wipe up counters, and wash dishes while she prepares the food. We are also working on the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. (An important difference I might note.)

The skill of estimating also needs to be improved. The recipe called for browning the pot roast in a frying pan. The frying pan she selected didn't hold the roast...at least not without sticking up over the edges in several spot. Ah well, we all learned these things somewhere along the line. We traded frying pans and all was well.

On the home front, I have been getting home at comparatively normal hour and am trying to get the piano keys off the floor and back where they belong. Of course, since I am not one to do things half-way, I am carefully cleaning each key before putting it back into place. It is amazing how long it takes to clean each key. How does dirt get up under the edge of the key anyway? I understand how the sides of the keys get dirty, and this is the best time to remove 50+ years worth of finger grease, but it does take a while to clean all of the edges.

I have about 12 keys to go. Then the "real" fun begins...leveling them out. I tried it just a little bit on Monday night with the keys I already had in place, and immediately saw that it was going to be very tricky. The first thing I have to do is decide which "level" to use as the standard and make all the other keys match by inserting one or more of the various thicknesses of paper spacers. It is not as easy as you might think. I suspect that I will end up taking out just about every single key multiple times before I get it all nice and even.

Cooking Lessons

Cooking lessons are going well. The young lady in question really enjoyed going through the slow-cooker cookbook and selecting the four recipes she would be making this week. Then I showed her how to organize her shopping list into grocery store departments, and we went shopping.

She is also enjoying the cooking itself, although she tends to get distracted. Just about every time she completes a step she walks away from the project and I have to call her back. "What is the next step?" I say. "Oh yea," she says. Then she happily returns and reads the directions for the next step. We need to work on the "stick with it till you are done" skill-set. We also need to work on the "not skipping a part of the step" skill. When you are cooking, every sentence matters.

Our lessons have included such practical matters as: how to handle raw meat (and the cleaning with soap and hot water required afterwards); how to peal and cut-up onions (while avoiding touching your watering eyes); and how to do dishes. Much to my amazement, she acted like she had never done dishes before (except to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher).

We also review her homework every evening and discuss the five food groups at every meal. In our spare time we are working on a puzzle. Because she gets on the school bus so early each day, I have been getting to work early. I also leave work 15 minutes early to pick her up from the after-school program she participates in. Actually, I think it is a good idea (for single-parent families) to have a program where the child stays after school in a supervised environment (or at least much better than some of the alternatives). She gets her homework done, and there is no TV available.

Yesterday a co-worker asked me how I liked "being a parent." I said it was fine, but thought to myself that this was no comparison to the real thing; not to mention that it is a lot less work. I would be deceiving myself if I compared staying with a pretty-much-already-raised 13-year old for 4 days with the real job of parenting!

Activities

Last Thursday evening I squeezed in 1/2 hour on the piano project. I was able to get 20 keys cleaned and put back into place. Once I get the other 68 done, I can begin the not-unsubstantial task of leveling them all out.

On Saturday I continued the huge project of cataloging and organizing our DVD library. I was able to clear-out a section of our VHS collection to make room for the DVDs. Dad is working on burning the best of the VHS collection to DVD before the VHS tapes totally disintegrate.

At YRs on Saturday evening we watched the next section from "Commanding Heights," which was fascinating. We also discussed all of the initiatives and ballot measures on the November ballot. There were a couple that I had not heard about before.

Yesterday I went back to the doctor to get the results from my blood tests. I am happy to report that I am now certifiably healthy. The test results were absolutely normal and healthy. My good cholesterol was a bit high and my bad cholesterol was on the low side. The doctor was very pleased. I also discovered that I have a bit of athlete's foot. So the battle has been engaged.

Last night I managed to get home before 9:00 p.m. for the first time in almost two weeks and was able to get a limited amount of work done. However, I did not make any more progress on the piano. I was way too busy trying to get some essential stuff done like laundry, cleaning, and installing the new mini-blind in the study. I also disinfected the insides of all of my shoes as the doctor recommended.

This morning I got up early so I could be at work early for our annual business park owners association meeting. I typed-up the minutes and distributed an updated business park directory before noon. The meeting went well, and my duties as secretary are pretty much over again until next fall.

This evening I begin staying with a co-worker's 13-year-old daughter while he is gone on a business trip. I will get to pick her up from school and review her homework. I'm looking forward to it. For an evening activity I am going to teach her how to cook. I have decided that crock pot cooking is the most-likely-to-be-used method for their household. This evening we are going to learn how to plan meals and then go grocery shopping for the rest of the week.

Evenings Out

After enjoying an unusually long run of being home most evenings, I have hit a run of "evenings out." There are advantages to both of course, although I somewhat prefer to have them mixed together a bit more.

The good news is that the rain prevents me from doing the type of yard work that has occupied my evenings during the last month. Of course, one reason why the yard work was so urgent was because we knew the rain was coming.

The bad news is that I am not getting my inside projects done. This includes working on the piano which is in pieces, putting-up garden produce, and various and sundry chores. I have managed to squeeze in 15 minutes on the piano project a couple of mornings before I went to work, but now I'm to the "putting the keys back in place" step, which includes cleaning them up as I go. It will take quite a few 15 minute periods to do this if I can't work in longer time frames.

The good news is that I have the opportunity to visit with friends. Monday night was nothing momentous, just a board meeting. Tuesday night I went for a delightful tea at the home of a beloved friend. She taught the Bible study I attended last fall/winter/spring, and we enjoyed a couple hours of sweet fellowship and getting caught-up on stuff.

Last night I taught Bible study time for an Awana group. They are studying the book of Romans this year, and I was the "kick-off" guest speaker. Do you have any idea how many topics there are in Romans?!? It took me a lot of study and praying to select just one. In the end I selected "Romans: A Book of Truth" and talked about how important it is to learn truth and avoid listening to lies. As a bonus, there were several friends who are Awana leaders at the church, and I took advantage of my trip to briefly catch-up with them after Awana was over.

Tonight I go out to dinner with a new co-worker who wants to get better acquainted. She moved-up from California a couple of months ago, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to get to know her better.

Physical Exams

Well yesterday I finally did it. I got a basic physical exam. Since this was the first time since I was young that I have gone to the doctor when I wasn't sick (and I have rarely been sick enough to go to the doctor), it was quite an occasion for me.

I chose to go to a ND (Naturopathic Doctor) instead of a standard MD. After asking around I found one that came recommended as looking at the "whole" picture nutritionally, etc. instead of standard doctor fare. I also had to be careful to avoid one that was into "new age" stuff.

So far I am very pleased with the doctor I found. She explained things carefully, didn't suggest any unnecessary tests, and agreed with my assessment that I am very healthy. She had a few suggestions for adding supplements to my diet as I get older, but that was about it.

This morning I gave blood so they can do blood work on me. I'll find out my results next week.