HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE, AMY, BRENDAN

Let The Games Begin!!!!

Out with the Old

Since we have been at the cottage for 12 years, we have put on a new roof, new breakwalls in the front and back, a new deck and a new well.    Those are mostly external and structural improvements that have kept us functionng.   This year, we have decided it was time to spend some money on the inside.

So first things first, all of the plain pocket doors, pink shutter doors and standard doors have been replaced with 6 panel bifold and standard doors.     That was a slow process that moved along and finally got done.    Not really that noticable in the long run, but made it look a bit more modern.   Now comes the fun.

The old pink and white kitchen cabinets must go:

Though they did serve their purpose, and they were very cottagey, we need to move on.

I think we can keep the dude in the lower right.

Spent Friday cutting out the coutertop and yanking all of the cabinets.   It was unique because the guy build the cabinets himself and did it all in place.   So some were individual units, whilst the lowers were all on piece held together with so many screws that if a hurricane blew the house away, the cabinets would remain unscathed.

  Some were already burned, but here is the remaining fuel for the bonfire.   It was big, nice and warm.    Lot's of work.  

After those were out, the pantry (far right)  had to be initially set 1 inch higher so that the wall and fridge overheads could be moved up one inch also.   why one inch you may ask?   Because when we put the tile floor in, it will raise the fridge one inch thereby hitting the overheads and screwing up my work.   Always plan ahead when doing home improvements.   Remember what else you are getting done.   

The base cabinets didn't go in very easily.  It seems the reason the dude built his in place is because the floor has a slight roll to it.   As a matter of fact, the stove wall is 1/2 inch lower than in the center of the peninsula.   then the end of the penisula is 1/4 inch lower than the center.    So the little hill had to be accomodated for by leveling the cabinets with blocks and shims.   It took longer than I anticipated, but I did it the right way.   Thus the countertop should fit flush across the entire thing.

So the cabinets are in and the coutertop is ordered.   Should be a couple weeks for that.   They take final measurements this weekend.   I managed to salvage part of the old coutnertop and sink so that we have water for these couple of weeks.  Of course Nicole asks "Is this how this is going to stay?"   My little blonde girl.

On Monday, our carpet begins to be torn out and the tile flooring will commence.   That is a ten day window,   More to come with that aspect.  But there is an interesting side story.
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So I call Home Depot on Monday the 23rd.   I ask the woman when my tile order will be delivered?   It was ordered 3 weeks ago and they told me 2-3 weeks.  She says "We have enough tile, they just have to validate that it is all from the same dye lot."   

This raises my ire quite a bit because I say "That was supposed to be done 3 weeks ago.   If you didn't have the same lot, it should have been custom ordered.  I have a  contractor coming in one week to start laying tile.   If I don't have the tile, I guess you guys are going to pay for the delay?"   To which she responds "I'll have the manager Andy call you, but he is on lunch."  Okay, fair enough.   It is 10am, he starts early, I can wait.   

At 3:00 pm I call back......A dude name Joe answers.   I ask to speak to Andy.   Joe responds "He is gone for the day."   Pressure rising, blood beginning to boil.   I politely tell Joe my story and ask if there is another manager in the tile department.    He puts me through to Colleen who is a very courteous older gal by the sound of her voice.   I repeat my story to her.     Colleen apologizes and then says "Well we are really busy here, so we haven't really have time to check yet. "     

Now I am done being nice.   I lay the facts:   "I have spent over $10K with home depot on Kitchen Remodeling in the past three months.   Flooring, Cabinets, Coutertops, Doors, trim and hardware.    Can you give me your regional managers name?    He might have the time to look for me."

Colleen is quiet.  Crickets chirping in the background.  She responds, "I can check the order for you now if you hold the line for 15 minutes or I can call you back."  Unfairly, I snipe back "Like Andy did?    I will wait."

Ten minutes later Colleen is back and apologizes for the delay.   Tells me everything is ready to ship and I can pick the day and time to have it delivered.   I pick Friday,   I thank her for her dilligence and move along.

Something to be said for working with smaller specialty places like tile shops, cabinet shops, etc.   At the big box retailers, you are just another person giving the company money while they make minimum wage.   At the small places, you are their livelyhood.   

Anyway, I move along.

That is all the time I have.
Thanks, you've been great !!

TTS

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY, TOM

I'M SO HAPPY I COULD CRY...

43 YEARS AGO

THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOANNA

WIFE, MOTHER, HEALER AND MY BEST FRIEND.

Well, if you give a girl a house...

....she's gonna want a car.   Or rather, you find when you own a home that you need a bigger car to haul all the stuff from Home Depot and Lowe's and the nursery (plants, not babies) back to said home.   We were fortunate to have Brendan's folks come over the first couple of weekends with their SUV, but realized we really had to get one of our own.  I actually had originally planned to get one this year, as my Grand Am was 10 years old and I was feeling it was getting to be time...   Then I spent the down-payment I had saved for the new car on the house, so that got pushed to the back burner.   Serendipitously, a friend's son was in desperate need of a used car and wanted my Grand Am for about what I wanted for it.   Not like I don't have enough going on with the house and the wedding, but I just figured I might as well jump right in and do the car thing.   Got cash for the Grand Am on Monday and went to the dealership Monday nite to lease a Nissan Murano.

"How much do you want to put down on this lease?" the dealership dude asked?  In response, I pulled out the envelope of cash I'd gotten for the Grand Am and slapped it down on the table.

"And here is what I want to pay for a monthly payment," I added, sliding a piece of paper with a number written on it across the desk.   He came back about $7 over that number, but I can live with that.   The best thing I ever did was, when I made my final payment on the Grand Am, I kept making car payments to myself, that I socked away for the future down payment of my next car (or...house).   Over the years I upped the amount I was paying to myself, and I would use money out of the account if I had to make any repairs on the Grand Am.   My new monthly payment is a good amount less than I am paying myself, but I will continue to put away that full amount and use the excess to...probably pay for gas.    Anyway, I highly recommend the "continue to pay yourself" plan, so you don't have to come up with any new cash when it comes around to getting a new car.

It is REALLY nice driving a new car again after 10 years.   It is also odd but really nice having a car that doesn't use a key.   As long as I have the fob with me as I approach the car, I can open it by pressing the button on the handle.  Really nice not having to fumble for keys at all.  I just climb in and push the "start" button.  Fancy.    Getting high off the "new car smell", which Kevin has let me know is actually bad for me but what the heck.  I had cancer and that was bad for me too.

Looking forward to squiring you all around in it at some point.   But for now...we have trips to Home Depot and Lowe's planned for this weekend to break it in.

I present to you - the Murano.  Beep Beep.

Richard Prusinski Dead at 88

Prusinski Richard Age 88, died peacefully on July 6, 2012. He was the beloved husband of Alina for 15 years, father of Jan and father-in-law of Carol Lee. He was grandfather to two, Lara and Alexander, and great-grandfather to Addyson. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Virginia, and his sister, Virginia Baranski. He was an accomplished businessman, founder and Ceo of Architectural Research Corporation, and vice-president of other international corporations. He was recipient of many distinguished engineering, scientific and public service awards from both local and international organizations. He was the inventor of polymer concrete, and was known as the "father" of that industry. Visitation will be Tuesday 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at E J Mandziuk & Son Funeral Directors, Inc., 3801 18 Mile Rd., Sterling Heights. Mass will be held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Czestochowa at 3100 18 Mile Road, Sterling Heights. With internment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 17100 Van Dyke, Detroit.

Not sure he had any famous quotes.   But a good man none the less.   Wish I knew him.

That's all the time I have. You've been great !!

--TTS

HAPPY 46TH BIRTHDAY, TRILBY!

Another Classic Has Left Us

I remember listening to an interview with him years back. He said that he had routinely turned down roles where the script called for him to use profanity - which he refused to do.

Not sure if he stuck to that his whole career, but I was impressed by him throughout that interview.

Here are some other quotes associated with the actor. The last one on Women's rights is a hoot.

• "Spencer Tracy was the first actor I've seen who could just look down into the dirt and command a scene. He played a set-up with Robert Ryan that way. He's looking down at the road and then he looks at Ryan at just the precise, right minute. I tell you, Rob could've stood on his head and zipped open his fly and the scene would've still been Mr Tracy's."
• "The trick is not to become somebody else. You become somebody else when you're in front of a camera or when you're on stage. There are some people who carry it all the time. That, to me, is not acting. What you've gotta do is find out what the writer wrote about and put it into your mind. This is acting. Not going out and researching what the writer has already written. This is crazy!"
• "Everything I do has a moral to it. Yes, I've been in films that have had shootings. I made The Wild Bunch (1969), which was the beginning of the splattering of blood and everything else. But there was a moral behind it. The moral was that, by golly, bad guys got it. That was it. Yeah."
• "Ever since they opened the floodgates with Clark Gable saying, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn,' somebody's ears pricked up and said, 'Oh boy, here we go!'. Writers used to make such wonderful pictures without all that swearing, all that cursing. And now it seems that you can't say three words without cursing. And I don't think that's right."
• "No, I've never done anything (drugs). At least, not to my knowledge. I once took a bunch of goofballs by accident. They looked like candy. They were in a little bowl at a party. I grabbed a handful and went to town. That was some New Year's Eve. I didn't have a coherent thought till February."
• On his marriage to Ethel Merman: "Biggest mistake of my life. I thought I was marrying Rosemary Clooney."
• On his $5,000 salary for playing the eponymous lead in Marty (1955), which won him a Best Actor Oscar: "...I would have done it for nothing."
• On Women's Rights: "They tried it the wrong way. You can't expect anyone to take you seriously if you burn your undies and tell me I'm a pig. That's why it failed. Too many ugly broads telling me that they don't want to sleep with me. Who wanted you anyway?"

The Great Snipe Hunt

Tradition continued with the great Snipe Hunt at the cottage.   

The mission began with the creation of the Snipe Trap.   Two paper bowls taped together with a door on one end and a hole for the flashlight to shine through on the other.   The game was afoot.

Natalie with her Snipe trap

Traps were made by all participants and flashlights were handed out.    All hunters took to the yard looking for the Snipe.   Instead of paper bag rustling to attract them, we utilized the flicking of the Snipe door.   Afterall, Snipes are attracted to that type of sound.   The effort went on for some time, until Natalie grew skeptical.  

I dispensed with the skepticism momentarily as a caught a Snipe (rock in the trap that I rattled around.)  When they went to look, it accidentally got away.   What bad Luck.

So Cole continued the quest with little sueccess.    Natalie finally called my bluff, but I managed to convince her to keep propogated the ruse.   Which she did.   After all the boys also had their chances and grew frustrated, we finally clued them in.   Now they have that precisous memory which they can pass down to thier kids.

The Great Snipe Caper was Solved.


That's all the time I have, you've been great.

TTS

HAPPY 18TH ANNIVERSARY DANI AND TERRY!

World's Most Accurate Pie Chart

Enough Said.