Cabinet Pictures At Last

The kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors and drawer fronts are done, except for the special under-the-sink ones and the ones for the island (which are being done in a different color).

You can just see the top of one of the island doors in the first picture--the one that has the whitewashed look. The rest of the cabinet needs to be done that way before the drawer fronts can be installed.

Blog Readability Test Results

Interesting. I'm not sure what it means, except that I probably use more complicated sentence structures than those suitable for Elementary School. Using longer words I'm sure doesn't help either.

What I'm Thankful For

During this Thanksgiving Season we often (and should) take time to reflect on what we are thankful for. I want to take this opportunity to mention a few of the many things I am thankful for.

1. God - Thank You God for sending Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for my sins. Thank You for choosing me to be Your daughter. Thank You for writing the Bible so I can learn about You and what You want me to do. Thank You for caring about me as an individual person and for being very patient with me when I fall down. Thank You for all of the other things I am thankful for below...I only have them because of You.

2. Parents - Thank you Dad and Mom for being the best parents in the world. I know you aren't perfect, and neither am I, so we make a great combination. Thank you for raising me up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Thank you for helping me to understand that I need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that it is not something passed down from you or anyone else. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for teaching me that material things are not important, but spiritual things are. Thank you for teaching me that a sense of humor can cover a multitude of problems. Thank you for teaching me that we are all equal before God. Thank you for teaching me the importance of actions and attitudes. And thank you for giving me brothers and a sister. I'm so glad you didn't stop with me.

3. Siblings -
a. Thank you R&W for being my big brothers. Even though we are not close in age, I love you very much. Thank you for the great nephews and niece!
b. Thank you J for being such a great little brother. We grow closer the older we get, and I look up to you in more than one way. :-) I am so happy that you found your R! May God bless you and give you many years together serving Him.
c. Thank you E for being the best sister in the world! You are so wonderful that my only regret is that we don't have more sisters to enjoy all the fun we have together. You are my dearest friend and confidant. I don't know what I would do without you.

4. United States of America - Thanks to all of those who worked and gave their lives to raise-up the best country in the world. I realize that if it was not for the sacrifices of many others, both in the past and present, I would not enjoy the freedoms we have in this great country. May God bless America and draw her back to Himself.

Friends (in no particular order):
> CMR - You taught me what it means to be a friend.
> RH - You have encourage me by your willingness to obey God and wait for His leading.
> KD - You are the sweetest young lady I know. Your love for the Lord is an example to me.
> LH - You taught me what it means to listen to others. You also taught me lots about cooking!
> DE - Your learner's spirit and love for learning about God has challenged me in ways you can't imagine.
> CV - You have shown me how to endure tribulations and come away smiling.

Misc. Blessings:
> Health - Generally excellent PTL!
> Job - Meaningful, great co-workers, close to home, challenging, etc. What a blessing!
> Safety - By God's grace I have been protected from many hazardous situations. May I never take this for granted and always ask for and thank God for each day's protection.
> Sense of Humor - I feel so sorry for people who are perpetually sad. The world is a beautiful place and there are numberless things to laugh about. I only have to look at myself in the mirror in the morning to get a good laugh to start off my day.

I could go on...believe me! But this seems like a good place to stop for now.

I hope you have lots of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Season.

Now It Doesn't Work, Now it Does

On Monday we had quite a wind and rain storm. We lost power at work twice, for 30 seconds and 10 minutes respectively.

Monday night I went grocery shopping. It was a slightly larger than normal list. While I was on my way from Fred Meyer (where I did the bulk of the shopping) to Costco and Home Depot at the other end of town, my cell phone rang. The power was out at our house.

As it was too late to do anything about it, I finished my shopping and headed home. It was fairly cold out, so I put milk and fish right next to the frozen turkey and hoped they would stay cold.

We do have a generator, and after finding out that the power had been out since around 8:30 a.m. we decided to hook it up to cool down the fridge and warm up the water. We got it running, but after everything was hooked-up there was still no power. I fiddled for a while, but as far as I could tell, there was no power coming out.

The next day we prepared for work in the dark and with little bits of very cold water. Anything perishable in the fridge was a loss.

I checked into getting the generator fixed, and it is expensive just to get someone to come out and check into what might be wrong. Happily, my Dad volunteered to come take a look.

My Dad arrived this morning and fired up the generator. It was putting out the proper voltage. He tested the cord. It worked. He tested the breaker. It worked. Everything worked just like it was supposed to work. There is a possibility that there was some moisture which was dispelled by running it for a while earlier this week. Anyway, now it works fine. And we are going to do something about keeping down the moisture.

In other news, I talked to my young friend's math teacher this week. I am going to begin meeting with her twice a week instead of just once. She has quite a bit of math homework on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. On Wednesdays we only have 1/2 hour, but we put it to good use last night.

Tomorrow night I get to watch the movie "Amazing Grace" at a friend's home. I am really looking forward to it. If you haven't seen it yet, it is now out on DVD. It is the story of William Wilberforce, the man who ended slavery in Britain. I have heard that it is very inspiring.

Last weekend we went to visit my brother who recently moved closer and took him and my other older brother and nephew out for dinner. We celebrated my oldest brother's birthday (which was on Monday). It was a lot of fun to be together with them again.

Onions Again

We had a special request for more French Onion Soup, so last night my young friend and I began peeling and slicing onions. The recipe calls for 8-10 large onions. We cut-up 9. I think the book's definition of "large" and the store's definition are different. I'm not sure just how we got onions that were that much bigger than last time, but we filled the crock pot so full of onions that we could not fit all of the liquid the recipe called for into the pot. Next time we'll do fewer onions.

We also prepared the makings for Hamburger Stew. That is what we will eat tonight. It sounds pretty good.

Along the lines of impromptu lessons, this morning the topic of why heating food up in a crock pot also stirs the ingredients together was discussed. I have known about why things go from solid to liquid to gas for so long, that sometimes I forget that the knowledge is not inherent in everyone. It was fun to talk about how molecules go faster as they are heated and slow down as they get cold. My young friend was quite fascinated by the idea. Hearing that heating water turns it into steam was particularly interesting to her.

Tough Questions

There is a special joy that comes from knowing you have helped someone learn something. Teaching has always been one of my delights in life. Over the years I have had many opportunities to teach a variety of people a variety of things. From coaxing a baby to drink out of a bottle for the first time to teaching an adult how to use their computer, it all has an appeal to me.

Last night when I picked-up my young friend from school she was very excited. She had a surprise test in class and had to compute both the surface area and the volume of a cube. She was confident, based on our lesson the night before, that she had gotten the correct answers.

It seems to me that part of the reason why so many kids don't like school, and don't do well in school, is because they don't understand what they are being taught. It is hard for a teacher with 20-30 children in her class to take the time to explain things to the ones who didn't pick it up when she explained it the first (or second or third) time. Or perhaps they just need to have it explained a different way to suit their learning style.

Along those lines, last night the topic of God and the Bible came up. My young friend had some very tough questions going around in her head. What would you say to a 13-year-old who wondered why God would kill almost everyone on the earth (the flood) or why God would punish everyone for the actions of one person (Eve in the garden)? How would you explain what sin was to someone whose list of sins was a grand total of one: murder? (We did come up with some more BTW.) And what does it mean when people say that Jesus died for our sins?

I am very glad she is thinking about these things and, with the Lord's help, I hope I can adequately answer them. These sorts of questions are the ones that we all need to be prepared to answer when we meet people on our walk though life.

Tough questions are good, because they indicate that a high level of thought and interest has gone into them. Tough questions are also wonderful opportunities to share the truths of God's Word with those around us. I hope you are prepared for that day when you are asked some tough questions. And some day we will all be asked the toughest question of all: "Why should I [God] let you into heaven?" The wrong answer will doom you to an eternity of suffering in hell.

Math Problems

It has been a while since I have had to do mid-level math. That means the math that is more complicated than basic match (which one tends to use regularly) and not as difficult as really hard stuff. In this case, it was the issue of finding the surface area of a cube.

Supervising a 13 year old also involves helping them with homework. Last night most of the homework was math problems. The first set covered graphing. No problem. I have always enjoyed graphing. The second set covered finding either the surface area or the volume of a cube. I easily remembered the formula for finding the volume, but could not remember the formula for finding the surface area.

This is where my problem solving skills came in handy. I figured out the formula, or at least one of them. It involves finding the surface area of each of the three unique sides, adding them together, and multiplying the answer by two (because there are two of each of the three unique sides). It worked, and I think my "student" will be able to remember it for next time. This morning when I quizzed her, she remembered everything very well.

There wasn't time last night for much more than fixing dinner, eating, and doing homework. She has started basketball, which means the time after school previously used for homework is now spent at basketball practice. This means that homework will need to be done at home.

In addition to math, my young friend practiced her part in a play her "group" wrote at school for a project they are doing on the Nile River. I wish that I had seen the play sooner and been able to point out some basic flaws. But since they were putting it on today, there was no chance to make changes.

The story is, unfortunately, very politically correct environmentalism gibberish. The story is about a family with a cow that lives near the Nile River. A power plant is built nearby which pollutes the river and the cow becomes sick. The family goes to the plant owner and asks him to stop polluting the river, which he refuses to do with no regard for what he is doing to the river. They get half of the plant employees on their side and a toy factory is built nearby which takes away all the power plant employees. So the power plant is shut down and the owner goes somewhere else. Oh, and the cow gets well.

Although it was too late to change the story, I was able to share with her that not all power plants pollute rivers. And there are good reasons for having power plants. We also talked about what happens to human waste. I'm not sure just what they are teaching her, but she had the general impression that here in America we dump our raw sewage into our rivers. (Our conversation started when she asked me why people couldn't dump sewage somewhere besides into our rivers.) We talked about waste treatment plants and what comes out after waste is treated properly. It was a good conversation.

I can't help but wonder what other misinformation they are teaching at school. Maybe I really don't want to know. I would be too discouraged. I have a pretty good idea how bad it is without knowing all the specifics.

On a more cheerful note, yesterday's election went pretty well for conservatives. The initiative to make passing tax increases harder passed. The measure to make passing school levies easier failed. And the huge tax increase for transit failed. The one sad note was the passage of the measure to provide triple damages plus attorney fees for health insurance claims. People were voting with their hearts instead of their heads again. They don't understand what the measure really does, and I am sure the trial lawyers are rejoicing all over the state. (I called it the "guarantee attorneys get paid" measure.) I wonder if most people realize they voted themselves health insurance rate increases. I doubt it.

Cars n' More

My car started when I went to pick it up from the garage. They (bless their thorough hearts) kept checking just to make sure they had covered all bases and found that one of the "rods" that connect the battery to the car was worn down so that it did not provide a good connection. They replaced it and everything seems to be running just fine (cost: $44). The lack of a good connection may have contributed to the state of the battery. My mechanic suggested that I see if the problem is fixed before I go in to get a new battery. I cannot tell you how nice it is to know that you have a good, honest mechanic!

On other fronts, the autumn weather is presenting me with office temperature maintenance issues. I have only been in this office since June, so I have not experienced cold weather until now. I am learning how to regulate the temperature. This office has a very large south-facing window which gets the afternoon sun. However, the office starts out cold in the mornings.

To somewhat complicate the temperature regulation issue, the three rooms at this end of the building share a thermostat. There is one office on the north side; a large, windowless room in the middle; and my office on the south side. So my temperature regulation efforts go something like this:
1) Office door open during the night so the morning's automatic heat will flow freely.
2) Close office door when I arrive and turn on my space heater.
3) As the sun gets warmer, turn off space heater and then remove coat. If it is cloudy, I may leave my space heater and coat on all day long.
4) The afternoon sun usually makes my office warm enough so I open my office door for brief (or longer) periods of time to allow heat to escape into the large, windowless room next to mine.

Actually, it is a nice system. Since the windowless room in the middle is generally cooler than my office, I can open the door to quickly cool my office if it becomes too hot. And I am not inflicting my personal (warm) office temperature on anyone else (or wasting heat on a room that is infrequently used).

There are "noises" around the office that we will be hiring more people next year and I may have to share my office with someone else. I hope they like it warm.

On another note, I have had an unusual craving for Tootsie Rolls during the past two days. Happily, eating candy is not frequently part of my diet, so I doubt if eating several pieces of candy two days in a row will hurt me.

Weekend Meetings

On Saturday I had two Young Republican meetings, one for the state and one for the county. Between getting ready, driving to and from, and attending the meetings, my Saturday was more-or-less shot.

I took my car to the shop this morning and they called to let me know that it IS the battery. The battery has "sulphated" which means it doesn't build-up a proper charge and its charge is slowly going down. Happily, it is still under warranty and so I can get it replaced free.

On other fronts, my older brother Will has moved to Lynnwood! I am so excited! It will be so nice to have him closer. He has lived 20-hours away (one-way) since I was around 14 years old, so visits were rare. He came to visit on Sunday afternoon and it was so good to see him again! It was extra exciting to think that we would get to see him more regularly.

I also managed to squeeze in some more work on organizing our DVD collection. Just a few more weekends and I should be all caught-up. Then all I will have to do is keep-up with any new DVDs that are burned each week. My Dad has been working on burning our VHS collection to DVD, so there will be new stuff to enter for several months to come.

Mom and Dad are going on a short vacation to Disneyland in CA this week. It is one of those free trips you get from listening to a presentation on purchasing time-shares or something like that (they did not buy anything). They have never been to Disneyland, so I'm sure they will have fun.

This week I will be staying with one of my co-worker's daughter while he is gone on a business trip. This is the same young lady that I stayed with before. We will continue cooking lessons as well as work on homework. Her latest grades showed some improvement, which is very encouraging.

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.

Piano Pictures

Here is what my piano looks like right now. This was at the beginning of the evening. By the end of the evening I had removed over 50 years worth of dust (and various other items) from the inside.

You can see the straw that I taped to my hand-held vacuum to get into the tight spots.

The ziplock bags on top hold the pads and paper spacers for the center key pads. The piano guy gave me 4 (four!) different thicknesses of paper spaces so I can get the keys to be all the exact same height. As was explained to me, this is necessary because the felt pads are made out of an "organic" material. To be plain, it is impossible to get them all exactly the same thickness, so the paper spacers are to even things out. Before I put in the felt pads though, he suggested that I iron them!

So yesterday evening was interesting. First I mowed the back section of lawn (and it's a good thing too because it started raining after it got dark). Then I ironed 100 tiny round felt pads (they are about the size of hole punch protectors). After that I worked on removing over 50 years worth of dust and other accumulated stuff from the inside of the piano. At some point in the past the piano must have been kept near someone's Christmas tree...because there were a bunch of pine needles in there. And kids must have used it because I found little stickers in with the dust.

The next time I have time, I will begin putting those little pads into place, putting the keys on them, and then begin the exacting task of adding paper spaces to make them line-up just right.

Piano Keys on the Floor

Did you know that a piano can be taken apart with nothing more than a straight-slot screwdriver? Or at least it can be taken apart as far as I want to go with one.

Last night I began the process of replacing the center key pads on my piano. I put a sheet on the floor (because the inside of the piano is dusty) and began taking screws out of the piano.

I removed the several long parts that go over the keys before I finally got to the exciting part. I was warned to be sure to number they keys so they don't get mixed up. Otherwise I would face a giant puzzle. Happily when I got all the boards off the top I discovered that the numbers had already been stamped into the wood.

Now all the keys are lined up on a sheet in the living room. It looks weird to see them lying there. They seem so much longer, because they are actually more than twice as long as what you generally see. That also makes it seem like there are not as many of them there.

Then I began taking off the old and decaying center pads. Some of them fell apart in my fingers. I also got out my cordless hand vacuum cleaner. Boy was there a lot of dust and lint under those keys. I rigged the vacuum cleaner up with a straw so I could get into the tight sections. It worked very well.

Now I just need to find replacement pads, get them installed, and put the whole thing back together!

Nothing

I can't think of anything to say, so I'm not going to say anything. Except that I'm saying something to say I'm going to say nothing. It's a no-win situation. :-)