The View From Here: March 2012

February started out with a heavy, wet 10 inches of snow on Saturday the 4th. Not wanting to miss our exercise, Sharon and I suited up with our boots and parkas and went for a 1-1/2 hour walk around town. The wet snow caused many branches and trees to break. Fortunately we didn't lose any from our two hack berry trees.

The week of February 6 was spent moving all the furniture and file cabinets out of our south office into our north office to make room for new paint, carpet and tile flooring. I had to move into one of our small empty cubicles for two weeks, which was very challenging.

Every weekend was spent working on the ongoing remodeling project in the basement and by February 26 the ceiling and lights were done and the entertainment was very close as well.

On February 19 we celebrated Hannah's achievement of making the Dean's list at UNL! She and Derek joined us for lunch and we made three kinds of Indian curry chicken over rice. Way to go Hannah!

Entertainment center getting closer.

Ceiling and lights done!

Working on the ceiling.

Thai yellow curry, Thai red curry and Kashmir curry sauces.

Hannah celebrating her Dean's list achievement.

Office empty and ready for remodel.

Feb 4 snow

Indoor track at Concordia where we have been running.

Getting Back In The Groove

I have been slacking off big time since the new year on blog posts. A combination of being very busy, and lack of diligence. I will try to recap the month as best I can starting around Christmas 2011.

December 23 several of us from the class of 1980 gathered at the Doug & Vikki (Hughes) Gremel residence. There were about 11 of us who spent an enjoyable evening remembering fun times from the recent and not so recent past.

Christmas was a fun day with all the kids and their significant others over for a fun feast. The weather was in the 50's so we decided to make rosettes in the garage in the late afternoon. All the kids joined in and many fried rosettes were consumed by all.

I took vacation from after Christmas until January 3 and spent one day helping Derek and Hannah paint at Derek's house in Lincoln. The rest of my time off was spent diving head long into remodeling the basement stairway ceiling and family room. The family room project included new paint, new ceiling tiles, an new built-in entertainment center and lights. I made pretty good progress the first week then spent as many weekends as possible working on it. I also decided during this week that I was going to start up a serious diet and exercise program. Eat less and exercise more - not too complicated.

On January 9 we were forced to break down and buy a new kitchen sink, faucet and disposer since the old faucet was leaking badly. I was disappointed that the faucet only lasted 9 years but I guess you get what you pay for. The new sink installation went well and Sharon loved the way it looks! A winner!

January 17 - 20 was spent in Toronto, Canada attending the EDIST tradeshow at the Hilton Hotel in Markham. The trip out went without a hitch but my return on Friday, January 20 was delayed and complicated by a blizzard at Chicago O'Hare. After a 6 hour delay I was able to catch a flight to Omaha and then ride a shuttle to Lincoln where my vehicle was parked. It was a long, grouling day of travel.

The week of January 23 was spent attending the DistribuTech show in San Antonio, all my flights were on time which was nice. The weather in San Antonio was pleasant and the Riverwalk was beautiful. On Thursday an old friend and his wife, Randy & Ann McConnell met me at my hotel for dinner. We had a great visit.

The month ended with us selling our piano to make room for a game table in the remodeled basement family room. It was a bittersweet experience but the buyer's paid us cold, hard cash!!