KP - K9 - Kaopectate

The kitchen project (code name KP) is moving right along. Holes are patched, the "Textured" plaster has been accomplished, and the counter top is on order. My next assignment, should I accept it, (like I have a choice) is priming the "textured" walls followed by applying the lovely yellow paint job. The degree of difficulty has been fairly low. So, to make it a little more of a challenge, we've added a couple of "speed bumps". First we added two of our little wiener granddogs. Tina and Snoopy (code name K9) came to stay while a much more weighty construction project is underway at their house. Derek is having foundation and drainage work done to combat an ongoing "wet basement" problem. Adding the dogs didn't distract from the job at hand. They're really well behaved and only disrupt my progress when they insist that they MUST go outside to ward off some unsuspecting passerby. The main setback right now is something I brought to the party. You might say that the work didn't "poop" me out. But "it" (code name, never mind) has slowed down my tempo. (It's amazing how fast one can descend a ladder when the urge hits.) You might say, I've gotten a little behind in my work. I'm using my "affliction" as an excuse to take a couple of days off from KP. I like to say that I'm giving the plaster "texture" time to thoroughly dry, or as they say on The Cooking Channel, rest. Naturally Jo is anxious to "get her kitchen back" but she understands my situation because she suffered the same decease a few weeks ago.
Excuse me while I check out who's walking by. I think I'll check from the bathroom window.

What do you think, too much texture?
Maybe I used the wrong kind of mud!

I feel pretty safe with these two on guard

Tina on window duty

Snoopy in full attack mode

Do you hear what I hear?

About a month ago I posted a blog (partly tongue in cheek) about paying closer attention to the things around us. Recently a friend sent me this story which illustrates what I was trying to say.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work


Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell , one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, tickets for Joshua Bell 's performance at a theater in Boston were sold out and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing ???...

Like a violin playing mouse!!!

Enjoy Spring?

I really enjoyed Spring. This year it was on February 10th. Short but sweet. Short because it only lasted one day, sweet because I found some great chocolate cookies at the hardware store in "downtown" Fennimore.
I haven't posted a blog for a while due to operation KP. The progress report is as follows: all of the wallpaper is in a landfill somewhere in Southern Wisconsin, two new electrical outlets have been installed and one repositioned, (thanks to Jeanna's dad Ross) and the ceiling has been repainted. Next on the list, plaster repair, applying "Old World" plaster texture, painting said textured walls, new counter top, sink and faucets installed, take a vacation and never do anything in the kitchen to mess it up.
In my ongoing effort to reconnect with old friends and relatives I just fired off an email to a "cousin" who (or is it whom?) I have not seen in over thirty years. He and his family lived in Northern Wisconsin where we visited yearly when I was a kid. The neat thing was that his dad was a logger and we would regularly go to the logging camps during our visits. These were days before chainsaws and other modern equipment so it was a pretty exciting experience. Somewhere I have some old photos from the 30s and 40s and even some from around the early nineteen hundreds. As soon as I locate them in our vast photo files, I'll scan a few and share those with you.
I do have one photo to share today. This time it's not one of my family but it's of someone who was like a family member. It's my old buddy Jay Urban who has been a friend since second grade. Upon our graduation from high school in 1953, Jay and I wandered to downtown Chicago in search of our fortunes. We both got jobs as art apprentices and as they say "the rest is history" (or a very, very, very long story) The photo is Jay, who is now retired and lives in a small town on the Wisconsin/Illinois border, with one of the many "cool" cars he owned (and I coveted) in the past.
Well back to KP.

Jay in 1959 with his 1956 Porsche.
(And a pretty snappy dresser as well)

And the beat goes on . . .

After a weekend of babysitting, Superbowling, and overeating, it's back to the kitchen war. (Operation Kitchen - OK) We're getting ready for the final assault. One last stubborn stretch of wallpaper to attack and we're ready for it.

Just a few thoughts about the past weekend. Babysitting, as usual, was Grandma Jo's delight. She rarely put little Saffron down for two days. Got to admit, the kid's pretty cute and certainly good natured. She seems to really enjoy all the attention Grandma gives her. And, she has really become quite a mugger when a camera appears. Thank God for digital photography. Without it all of the KP funds would have been spent on photo processing. I won't bore you with the thousands of "Saffy" pics but, I can't go without throwing in a few cute ones. One thought about the Super Bowl. After spending many years on both sides of the bar, on Super Sunday my thoughts turn to one thing, football pools. What a gut wrenching fourth quarter it must have been for the participants in those pools. I've lost count of the score changes during the last couple of minutes. The dreams of dollars, from one or two to thousands came and went with completed pass or a painful penalty. The good that comes out of being on the losing end of a pool in a bar is that you usually get a free drink from the lucky sucker that won the big bucks.
Well it's time to load up my ammo and hit the wall. (Literally)
Here's Saffy!

Mr. Gorbachez Tear Down This Wall!

Words by a famous Ron? No, they're words by a not-so-famous Ron to Walter "Wally" Gorbachev concerning the Blume kitchen wall. Actually it's not really "tear down this wall" it's more like tear down the wallpaper on this wall. And Wally is Ron's alter ego. In the renovation, (code named Kitchen Project -KP) removal of old wallpaper is possibly the most important step, second only to what is to be done with the barren walls. Armed with multitudes of suggestions from well-wishers, sponges, vinegar water, steamer and scrapper in hand, Wally attacked the paper covered plaster/plasterboard. Find a loose corner, grab it, peel it back. Nothing to it, comes right off. As does part of the wall. After a couple of sessions of sponging, steaming and scrapping the kitchen has taken on the appearance postwar Berlin. President Reagan would be proud of Wally's efforts. In an effort to determine how to refinish the stripped down walls Wally is renting all of the World War II films available at the Fennimore video renting place. Right now we're focusing on war torn Italy for that "Tuscany" look. A paint color has been chosen, a new counter top, sink and faucet is being ordered, the bright (Empire) red appliances (toaster, mixer, tea kettle, garbage can and even dish strainer) are ready to be joined by wonderful, bright, cheerful walls. Arguably, it's only a matter of time. AND, they say time heals all. Wally defiantly stands, steamer and putty knife in hand, determined to overpower these formerly paper clad barriers. I'm not sure which matinee idol was responsible for the naming of Ron, Ronald Coleman or Ronnie Reagan but, for now, there is a recording of "The Great Communicator" speaking his historic words playing over and over and over again in the Blume kitchen.

The model for remodeling

Nobody likes the present wallpaper

Either a aerial shot of the Southern Hemisphere
or Blume's kitchen wall

Ooooops!

Starting to get that "Early Italian" look

Adding a personal touch

Weakend

This past week has proved to be eventful in spite of being quite uneventful. Since my last post, a bunch of little incidents popped up. A real big deal was that I went to downtown Fennimore (Lincoln Street) and got my haircut by Ed, the town barber. Ed's is a typical small town barber shop, complete with the rotating red and white stripped pole outside. The kind of place Norman Rockwell would paint. Folks drop in for quick trims or just to grab a cup of coffee from the eternal boiling pot in the rear of the shop and to shoot the breeze. You can learn about crops, cattle, hunting, fishing, golf and pretty much anything else that's going on in the area. The real significance of my haircut is, as usual, JoAnne seldom notices that I have been clipped so Sally (Summer) and I play a little game trying to guess how long it will take for Jo to notice. Normally we start dropping clues until she catches on. This time Sally tipped her off on Thursday. The fun part is that I can make up any date and she'll believe it. I can say November 22nd and she'll say, "really?".
Another nonevent was, that for the first week in months, I didn't have to fire up the old snowblower even once. But Thursday morning, moments after leaving for work, Jo summoned me to our deck. Seems that she wanted to show me some of the fancy frost work that the freezing fog had performed on our neighbor's pine tree. As soon as I had enough daylight I climbed out my upstairs "Computer Lab" window and got off a few shots of the pine ala mode. (see related story below about PInE ala mode)

Couldn't do better with a spray can

The weather rose to almost lukewarm (actually went above freezing on Thursday). But, to remind us that it's January and we're in Wisconsin it dove to below zero Friday night.
Eagle watching has been spotty this week mostly due to Eagle Days in Saulk City/Prairie du Sac last weekend and Eagle Days in Cassville this weekend. Our poor feathered friends are so busy packing and unpacking, making reservations for choice branches and sorting out invitations for personal appearances that they hardly have time to stop to gnaw on a dead carcass or scoop up a frozen carp. As much as I would like to take part in the festivities in Cassville this weekend, the subteen temperatures are going to keep me in warmer places.
One of those warmer places will probably be Menards where Jo and I will be seriously diving into our kitchen project (code named "Kitchen Project"). We've decided (agreed) on a counter top and paint color that will coexist with our red mixer, tea kettle, toaster and garbage can. Now it's just down to dollars and sense. I'm sure there will be an ongoing tale documenting the complete "KP". But, for now, we're still speaking to each other.
Here's the real highlight of the week. Friday (yesterday) was (drum roll) National Pie Day! I celebrated by cooking up a red raspberry delight. Actually Sara Lee prepared it, I just baked it. We lack things like Bakers Square and Marie Caulder so rather than messing up our soon to be really messed up kitchen with shortening, flour, sugar and berries I took the easy way out by taking to frozen route. I'm sure little Sally whipped up a double crusted creation for her and Uncas (and Sammy) to enjoy. But she's young, energetic and lives in a climate where any extra heat is as welcome as an extra scoop of ice cream on your pie. On the sad side, sort of concerning pie. Last week my beloved Chicago Cubs traded one of my favorite players, Felix Pie (pronounced P A). Hated to see him go but I guess he just wasn't destined to become part of the "Upper Crust" of the team and would end up "Filling In" for the next couple of years. Bye, Bye American Pie!

Pie, at Sally and Uncas' home

Pie, at my home

Pie, at home plate

One more "event" of the week. A 2009 project, other than "KP", is to reconnect with old friends. This week, due to Sally and Jo's last weekend photo sorting extravaganza, we reconnected with a family who were our neighbors and friends back in our Michigan lives. We have, electronically hooked up with the Cahills, Pat, Sue, Bill and Katie. Bill and Katie are the same ages as Derek and Summer respectively. Pat and Sue are just kids themselves (probably around Jo's age). It's great to be back in contact with them again. I look forward to finding as many old friends as possible this year so if you're hiding anyone out there, it's time too give them up. There may be a large reward for information leading to the opening of communications with long lost acquaintances.

Old pic of "the kids" the Cahills Billy and Kate in the rear,
Sally (Summer) and Derek in front

Pat Cahill memorialized as a staunch supporter
of a local athletic powerhouse
(he hasn't changed a bit over the years)

Well, it's off to "KP".
See ya next week.

If You Can't Take The Heat . . .

Wow! It's above zero and climbing. Put away the snow blower, get out the lawn mower. It won't be long now. Slush, mud, and flooding, all the wonders of late winter. The icy roads will become sand and gravel covered before turning into pock marked asphalt obstacle courses. But then, the most beautiful time of the year here in Southwest Wisconsin, Spring. Fields will start to green, trees will bud and blossom, pastures will be populated by future roasts and burgers. (and cheese for those burgers) Like giant puppies the Black Angus calves frolic in the fields unaware of fact that they're only a drive-thru window away from some one's "Happy Meal". An assorted variety of birds will show up at my feeders and huge flocks of migraters will head up the Mississippi to their summer homes "Up North". Meanwhile back at Blume House, preparations are being made for "Operation Kitchen". Although the project is not enormous, the psyching up process is epic. The whole job entails, wallpaper removal, painting and maybe a new counter top. (All of this to make our new mixer, toaster, tea kettle and garbage can feel at home) If I were to follow all of the helpful hints, advice and suggestions that we have received from friends and acquaintances, I should be finished by . . . ah, yesterday.
This past weekend, daughter Sally (Summer) drove down from Minneapolis to make good a birthday gift to JoAnne. She pledged a weekend of editing, sorting, archiving and throwing away our accumulation of millions of family snapshots. The dining room became photo central. Sammy and I hid out up in my computer lab and Uncas (Reid) stayed up in Minnesota claiming to be ice fishing with his dad. I guess the photo librarians made some headway (I put two garbage bags of throwaways out this morning) but, there are still a lot of crates of photos untouched. Finally on Sunday, I called a time out to give "the girls" a chance to get their eyes back into focus. I coaxed Sally away with the promise of going shopping and settled Jo down by having her talk over supper plans with Sammy while we were gone. Actually it was just an excuse for me to get out of the house for a little fresh air and maybe take a few more Bald Eagle pictures. (After all the temperature went above zero) We headed over to Prairie du Chein and found that frigid weather over the past weeks had pretty well frozen up almost all of The River. We did manage to spot three or four eagles and got a shot or two of one of them but I guess the large majority of their population had gone over the Prairie du Sac/Saulk City area for the Annual Eagle Days. They get a lot more respect over there as well as food and refreshments. Well I've managed to babble on much too long so I'll sign off with one new eagle pic. As I post this I realize that all my eagle pics pretty much look alike. Sorry!