Painting trip, Mom’s funeral
(posted from home)
(This post covers 7 – 19 November, 2008)
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Wednesday, 19 November-
We drove home last evening feeling greatly relieved. The services had gone well and there was so much positive energy from visitors and friends that our spirits were buoyed. We found ourselves hungry and stopped in Boiling Springs for a light meal at the historical old Tavern.
This morning we woke very early – around 0500 -- and my sniffles are back. I read a bit but there wasn’t really any chance I’d be going back to sleep.
I spent much of the day catching up on the blog and running small errands.
The day warmed up to almost 40 degrees this afternoon and I wanted to go for a walk but figured I had better wait a day for the sniffles to subside.
--------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 18 November-
We went out to breakfast this morning at Bob Evans’ and ran a few last-minute errands before the funeral.
Today was considerably colder than the last few weeks and in fact we saw a few snow flurries. The pastor did a very nice job with the service and my remembrance piece went fine (though I may have overdone it a bit with stories about Mom chasing my brothers and I around with a yardstick in hand).
The graveside funeral service was brief but poignant on this blustery day. As I sat listening to the preacher’s words, I could see the sun dropping below the distant clouds in my view across the casket. The sun’s revelation seemed to coincide with the words telling us not to mourn for her earthly life but to rejoice in her heavenly one and my sadness lifted a bit.
God Bless you, Mother.
--------------------------------------------------
Monday, 17 November-
Today we drove to the hour-plus to Maypo’s house. That afternoon we had the family private viewing for an hour, then a two-hour public viewing in the evening.
The viewings went fine. Labashi did a terrific job making up a large poster-board of photos documenting Mom’s life and Orat brought a thick album of family photos. Those served well for initiating conversations with our visitors and we learned many new things about Mom and her interactions with her friends, pastors, and our relatives.
Afterwards we sat around at reminiscing at Maypo’s house.
-------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 16 November-
I felt surprisingly good this morning so went to work writing the remembrance for the funeral. I struggled getting started but then one paragraph led to thoughts for another and by day’s end I just wanted to let it sit overnight.
I took my four-miler and foolishly allowed myself to get overheated, then chilled. Hopefully that won’t come back to haunt me.
-------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 15 November-
I must have picked up a bit of a cold or flu on our visit north this week. Or perhaps I was just exhausted from the unaccustomed work. I started to work on a remembrance for Mother’s funeral but didn’t accomplish more than taking a few notes. I napped for an hour in the afternoon and went to bed early.
-------------------------------------------------
Friday, 14 November-
This morning we got the call we knew would be coming sometime relatively soon, but dreaded. Mother died this morning.
We drove to Chambersburg and kept in contact with Maypo by cell phone along the way. We ended up driving directly to a meeting at the funeral home. By the end of the day all the arrangements were made and the obituary sent into the newspaper. The funeral director did a wonderful job of guiding us through all the details.
That evening we drove back home.
------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 13 November-
Today we started painting the walls of the refurb-house. The three-year-old wanted an orange room and by golly he’s getting it. The color is so bright, you need sunglasses to enter in the daytime. Our biggest problem was making straight-enough lines at the ceiling. The ceiling’s are white and it’s amazing how our eye detects even the smallest mistake in the joint-line, i.e., the intersection of the wall and ceiling colors. We finished the upstairs plus the living room today.
That evening we went out to a Five Guys hamburger joint for supper. The guest of honor was the newest member of our extended family, our eight-month-old grand-niece. This was the first time we were able to spend more than a few minutes with her. She’s a charmer.
------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 12 November-
Another painting day at the refurb-house. We worked 0830-1800 and managed to get the ceilings painted throughout the house and the worst room primed to help cover the many sins of past residents. Long day.
-----------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 11 November-
Today we started on the painting project at Orat’s new house. We didn’t even open a paint can yet, though. We spent all day repairing defects in the drywall. The quick-spackle we were using is pretty good. It’s easier to use than regular spackle and dries in an hour so long as you don’t slather it on too thick.
I’m not used to this working stuff so I was exhausted that evening. After supper I did rally a bit and took the kids for a walk to the corner and back. The three-year-old pirate barely got to the neighbor’s yard before he was having second thoughts on this dark night but his sister kept his attention diverted and we were fine until we came to a very dark line of white pines. I made the mistake of hooting like an owl only to find the kids were afraid of owls. But we all just held hands and that seemed enough for us to go on past the imminent threat of suburban death-by-sceech-owls to the corner. The seven-year-old had a little scary fun of her own. She claimed to see an owl in a dark corner of a neighbor’s yard and had me looking for it, then burst out laughing. Cool!
-----------------------------------------------
Monday, 10 November-
Today was a travel day. We drove up to Orat’s home near Rochester. He bought a house and could use some help refurbishing it. This is mostly a timing issue. His daughter and grandkids will be moving in when their lease expires on their apartment and he needs to have the house ready by then.
We spent the day making the trip north and had a beautiful day for it. I like to hit the Starbucks at Williamsport on the way up, then take a break at Mansfield. I always stop in at Coopers Sporting Goods there to see the used-guns inventory, mostly just for curiosity but also to talk with the nice folks there in this little family-owned business.
We spent the evening catching up on the news and playing with the little ones. My grand-nephew is three and his sister is seven. He’s into pirates lately and they tricked Labashi and I into a massive nerf-sword battle and general mayhem-making.
The jogging yesterday may have been a mistake. I’m having to take ibuprofen to keep the pain in my spine at bay. This pain shows up once in awhile when I over-do. I cracked a vertabra years ago and may be in for some chronic pain in the future.
-----------------------------------------------
Sunday, 9 November-
Today I fired up the Concours and rode into York. I wanted to get out on the bike on this pleasant 50-degree day and get the oil circulating and battery charged before we go away for a week. I rode in to Home Depot to again at the sliding compound miter saws for Labashi. We’ve been reading reviews and I’m a little concerned about how much sawdust they throw. The Milwaukee-brand saw has a good rating for dust-control but I don’t like the layout of controls. I was trying to figure out how I might improve dust control on the Ridgid or DeWalt models we like better.
Afterwards I visited the gun shop at Stonybrook to see what’s been going on since I left for Alaska. I talked with John and another guy I don’t know about the Alaska trip.
I took the rental DVDs back today but didn’t rent any more since we’ll be gone for a few days.
I then went to Rocky Ridge and walked and jogged my five-miler-- the end-to-end route. I started out walking but felt really good and about a third of the way through started jogging.
-----------------------------------------------
Saturday, 8 November-
This morning I worked on the blog a bit and read through my news sites. It’s amazing to me that I don’t read or listen to the news while traveling but when I’m home I spend a lot of time reading online news.
That afternoon we drove in to Sears to check out their sliding compound miter saws. We weren’t impressed by the Craftsman saws and name-brands are the same or slightly higher (in price) than the competition.
I did my four-miler late in the day and then we finished up “Weeds- Season Three” that evening.
-----------------------------------------------
Friday, 7 November –
Today I took the fishing boat out on the Susquehanna to see how it starts and runs after the long lay-over. The boat had spent some of the Spring and all of the Summer at my brother Maypo’s place but unfortunately he was so busy working he never was able to get out on the boat.
I was very surprised to have the outboard start immediately. I don’t think it even turned over a whole turn before firing up. In the past I’ve had problems starting it the first time after it hasn’t run for awhile but I’ve learned the secret. On these fuel-injection Honda outboards you don’t touch or adjust anything prior to starting. Just turn the key (once the water pickup is under water, of course). In the past I would move the fast-idle lever. But I now know moving the fast-idle interferes with the normal operation of the starting circuit.
I launched at the Fish Commission ramp at Goldsboro and spent about an hour running about. Today was (incredibly) a 70-degree day and I wasn’t the only boat on the river—I saw at least 25 empty boat trailers in the parking lot.
Back home I washed off the accumulated black gunk from the boat’s summer stay under trees and called it a day.
Late in the afternoon I walked my four-miler. That evening I picked up the Weeds- Season Three disk set and we picked up where we left off, watching three episodes. The quality of the writing has taken a definite downturn this season. Labashi is thinking of abandoning ship entirely but there are occasional bright spots and we’re on the last disk so I want to finish it out.
===== END OF POST ------
(posted from home)
(This post covers 7 – 19 November, 2008)
---------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 19 November-
We drove home last evening feeling greatly relieved. The services had gone well and there was so much positive energy from visitors and friends that our spirits were buoyed. We found ourselves hungry and stopped in Boiling Springs for a light meal at the historical old Tavern.
This morning we woke very early – around 0500 -- and my sniffles are back. I read a bit but there wasn’t really any chance I’d be going back to sleep.
I spent much of the day catching up on the blog and running small errands.
The day warmed up to almost 40 degrees this afternoon and I wanted to go for a walk but figured I had better wait a day for the sniffles to subside.
--------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 18 November-
We went out to breakfast this morning at Bob Evans’ and ran a few last-minute errands before the funeral.
Today was considerably colder than the last few weeks and in fact we saw a few snow flurries. The pastor did a very nice job with the service and my remembrance piece went fine (though I may have overdone it a bit with stories about Mom chasing my brothers and I around with a yardstick in hand).
The graveside funeral service was brief but poignant on this blustery day. As I sat listening to the preacher’s words, I could see the sun dropping below the distant clouds in my view across the casket. The sun’s revelation seemed to coincide with the words telling us not to mourn for her earthly life but to rejoice in her heavenly one and my sadness lifted a bit.
God Bless you, Mother.
--------------------------------------------------
Monday, 17 November-
Today we drove to the hour-plus to Maypo’s house. That afternoon we had the family private viewing for an hour, then a two-hour public viewing in the evening.
The viewings went fine. Labashi did a terrific job making up a large poster-board of photos documenting Mom’s life and Orat brought a thick album of family photos. Those served well for initiating conversations with our visitors and we learned many new things about Mom and her interactions with her friends, pastors, and our relatives.
Afterwards we sat around at reminiscing at Maypo’s house.
-------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 16 November-
I felt surprisingly good this morning so went to work writing the remembrance for the funeral. I struggled getting started but then one paragraph led to thoughts for another and by day’s end I just wanted to let it sit overnight.
I took my four-miler and foolishly allowed myself to get overheated, then chilled. Hopefully that won’t come back to haunt me.
-------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 15 November-
I must have picked up a bit of a cold or flu on our visit north this week. Or perhaps I was just exhausted from the unaccustomed work. I started to work on a remembrance for Mother’s funeral but didn’t accomplish more than taking a few notes. I napped for an hour in the afternoon and went to bed early.
-------------------------------------------------
Friday, 14 November-
This morning we got the call we knew would be coming sometime relatively soon, but dreaded. Mother died this morning.
We drove to Chambersburg and kept in contact with Maypo by cell phone along the way. We ended up driving directly to a meeting at the funeral home. By the end of the day all the arrangements were made and the obituary sent into the newspaper. The funeral director did a wonderful job of guiding us through all the details.
That evening we drove back home.
------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 13 November-
Today we started painting the walls of the refurb-house. The three-year-old wanted an orange room and by golly he’s getting it. The color is so bright, you need sunglasses to enter in the daytime. Our biggest problem was making straight-enough lines at the ceiling. The ceiling’s are white and it’s amazing how our eye detects even the smallest mistake in the joint-line, i.e., the intersection of the wall and ceiling colors. We finished the upstairs plus the living room today.
That evening we went out to a Five Guys hamburger joint for supper. The guest of honor was the newest member of our extended family, our eight-month-old grand-niece. This was the first time we were able to spend more than a few minutes with her. She’s a charmer.
------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 12 November-
Another painting day at the refurb-house. We worked 0830-1800 and managed to get the ceilings painted throughout the house and the worst room primed to help cover the many sins of past residents. Long day.
-----------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 11 November-
Today we started on the painting project at Orat’s new house. We didn’t even open a paint can yet, though. We spent all day repairing defects in the drywall. The quick-spackle we were using is pretty good. It’s easier to use than regular spackle and dries in an hour so long as you don’t slather it on too thick.
I’m not used to this working stuff so I was exhausted that evening. After supper I did rally a bit and took the kids for a walk to the corner and back. The three-year-old pirate barely got to the neighbor’s yard before he was having second thoughts on this dark night but his sister kept his attention diverted and we were fine until we came to a very dark line of white pines. I made the mistake of hooting like an owl only to find the kids were afraid of owls. But we all just held hands and that seemed enough for us to go on past the imminent threat of suburban death-by-sceech-owls to the corner. The seven-year-old had a little scary fun of her own. She claimed to see an owl in a dark corner of a neighbor’s yard and had me looking for it, then burst out laughing. Cool!
-----------------------------------------------
Monday, 10 November-
Today was a travel day. We drove up to Orat’s home near Rochester. He bought a house and could use some help refurbishing it. This is mostly a timing issue. His daughter and grandkids will be moving in when their lease expires on their apartment and he needs to have the house ready by then.
We spent the day making the trip north and had a beautiful day for it. I like to hit the Starbucks at Williamsport on the way up, then take a break at Mansfield. I always stop in at Coopers Sporting Goods there to see the used-guns inventory, mostly just for curiosity but also to talk with the nice folks there in this little family-owned business.
We spent the evening catching up on the news and playing with the little ones. My grand-nephew is three and his sister is seven. He’s into pirates lately and they tricked Labashi and I into a massive nerf-sword battle and general mayhem-making.
The jogging yesterday may have been a mistake. I’m having to take ibuprofen to keep the pain in my spine at bay. This pain shows up once in awhile when I over-do. I cracked a vertabra years ago and may be in for some chronic pain in the future.
-----------------------------------------------
Sunday, 9 November-
Today I fired up the Concours and rode into York. I wanted to get out on the bike on this pleasant 50-degree day and get the oil circulating and battery charged before we go away for a week. I rode in to Home Depot to again at the sliding compound miter saws for Labashi. We’ve been reading reviews and I’m a little concerned about how much sawdust they throw. The Milwaukee-brand saw has a good rating for dust-control but I don’t like the layout of controls. I was trying to figure out how I might improve dust control on the Ridgid or DeWalt models we like better.
Afterwards I visited the gun shop at Stonybrook to see what’s been going on since I left for Alaska. I talked with John and another guy I don’t know about the Alaska trip.
I took the rental DVDs back today but didn’t rent any more since we’ll be gone for a few days.
I then went to Rocky Ridge and walked and jogged my five-miler-- the end-to-end route. I started out walking but felt really good and about a third of the way through started jogging.
-----------------------------------------------
Saturday, 8 November-
This morning I worked on the blog a bit and read through my news sites. It’s amazing to me that I don’t read or listen to the news while traveling but when I’m home I spend a lot of time reading online news.
That afternoon we drove in to Sears to check out their sliding compound miter saws. We weren’t impressed by the Craftsman saws and name-brands are the same or slightly higher (in price) than the competition.
I did my four-miler late in the day and then we finished up “Weeds- Season Three” that evening.
-----------------------------------------------
Friday, 7 November –
Today I took the fishing boat out on the Susquehanna to see how it starts and runs after the long lay-over. The boat had spent some of the Spring and all of the Summer at my brother Maypo’s place but unfortunately he was so busy working he never was able to get out on the boat.
I was very surprised to have the outboard start immediately. I don’t think it even turned over a whole turn before firing up. In the past I’ve had problems starting it the first time after it hasn’t run for awhile but I’ve learned the secret. On these fuel-injection Honda outboards you don’t touch or adjust anything prior to starting. Just turn the key (once the water pickup is under water, of course). In the past I would move the fast-idle lever. But I now know moving the fast-idle interferes with the normal operation of the starting circuit.
I launched at the Fish Commission ramp at Goldsboro and spent about an hour running about. Today was (incredibly) a 70-degree day and I wasn’t the only boat on the river—I saw at least 25 empty boat trailers in the parking lot.
Back home I washed off the accumulated black gunk from the boat’s summer stay under trees and called it a day.
Late in the afternoon I walked my four-miler. That evening I picked up the Weeds- Season Three disk set and we picked up where we left off, watching three episodes. The quality of the writing has taken a definite downturn this season. Labashi is thinking of abandoning ship entirely but there are occasional bright spots and we’re on the last disk so I want to finish it out.
===== END OF POST ------
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 19:11
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