Snow Day

 We had a snow storm last night. Not a record storm, not even close. It started in the evening, and began to snow heavily in the late night. One of those storms that when you woke up during the night, you pulled back the curtains and checked the progress. Magical. Then, in the morning, there was a new, fresh, deep blanket that covered the old dirty snow, and all the foot prints. A clean slate.

A fresh snow. At dusk.

When I went out to shovel, the snow was still falling. Silent and straight down. No wind, and only the occasional muffled sound in the distance. Very peaceful. Later in the day, the wind would increase and colder air would blow in, typical in New York snow storms. Plows would push the snow, and traffic would increase. But for now, it was quiet and beautiful.

For some reason, this storm caused a wave of nostalgia to hit me. It reminded me of snowfalls that hit when I was a youth. We seemed to have many of them, and we always took advantage of the fun and adventure that they provided, We sometimes would go hiking though the nearby forests and glens in deep snow, but more often, we would go sledding.

Our neighborhood was perched on the side of a hill. Lousy for bike riding, but excellent for sledding. Sometimes, an impromptu block party would break out and we would all just sled down the street. In later years, a long sledding trail was built. I do not know who did so, but it was there. It started in a backyard at the top of the hill, went down what was almost a ski jump, and directly into a pine forest. After that, it wound in an out of fields and forests, finally ending in a broad field in the valley. Parts were ridiculously steep, there were some difficult sliding turns, and sections of gentle slope that took skill to keep your speed up. I remember researching the trail on topographic maps and the total drop was around 400 feet. It took something like 45 minutes to pull your sled back to the top. Most of those short winter days there was only a couple of runs before it got dark.

Katia prefers to stay in by the fire.

I often think of one particular day. I was alone on the trail. I trudged to the beginning with my Flexible Flyer (my parents house was near the top end), put down my sled, and took off. We always sledded on our stomach. The trail was too fast for sitting up. It was snowing, not enough to slow me down, but enough to help me steer. I never timed myself but this felt like a record run. I leaned into turns, dug the toes of my boots in to help me steer and slow down. I flew down the final slope and drifted across the flat field at the bottom letting my speed bleed off as a slid to a stop. I rolled over, and looked up into the snowflakes silent drifting down on to my face. Silence. Peace. 

I finally got up and looked around. Dusk had hit, and it was snowing harder. Street lights were on in the distance. Cars moved silently on the highway pushing pools of light ahead. Countless beautiful snowflakes drifted by, surrounding me. I had a long, cold climb home. I didn't care. In fact, I loved it.

So it's 2020...reflections on turning 60.

It's pretty easy to remember how old I am. I was born in 1960 so the math is simple. The thing is, I don't feel like I've been around for 60 years, but then I reflect back and I remember quite a bit of history. I was born only 15 years after the end of WWII, but we're already 18 years after the 9/11 attacks, which seem very recent. Young people graduating college this year will have only vague memories of that day, if at all. I remember when Binghamton still had passenger trains, and remember Walter Cronkite's vivid reports on the Vietnam War with the daily body count.

At a wedding a couple years ago. Advantage of being
bald is that it hides the gray hair. 

I remember when we lived in the "Valley of Opportunity", when Endicott Johnson was still chugging out shoes, and IBM employed thousands and thousands.  I went to see President Reagan speak at the Union Endicott football stadium to tout the area's economic stability.

My own career began in 1986 and was at the end of the era of teletype machines and facsimile maps. I was there when the first computer was delivered (an IBM PC with an 8088 processor) to the office and have worked into the era of full automation of products with the leverage of social media as a communication tool.

It's interesting to me how we do indeed tend to dwell more in the past as we age. I recall old timers always saying things like "back in my day..." and I fight the urge now to say that almost anytime any subject comes up. It's nice to fondly remember those days, and I suppose I'm lucky not to have a past contaminated with bad memories.

The present is good as well. We have our house, we have our health, and retirement is likely sooner rather than later. When I retire, I will miss the job, and especially my co-workers, but I will not miss the midnight shifts and the nasty trolls that understand nothing about weather but still feel qualified to criticize every forecast.

So what does the future hold? For starters, I am fully aware that the clock is ticking, and will take better care of my wife, myself, and my house, in that order, when the built in excuse of the drudgery of shift work is gone. I want to travel, and would like to show Cindy some of the amazing places I visited as an Incident Meteorologist.

Dad's passing was really a reality check for me. He retired shorty after Cindy and I got married, and had a solid two decades of decent health to enjoy life. He taught me one final lesson, and it's time to take that lesson to heart. It's time to go exploring. 

Yard work

Actual green grass on the side lawn. Please don't look too
closely at the "flower bed" at the back corner of the house. 

Believe it or not, I've had some compliments on our yard, specifically the grass. I started fertilizing last year, continued this year and actually have a somewhat green lawn, as opposed to half dead looking weeds. Of course, the near constant rain (and snow) over the last year or so has helped, mainly because I'm too cheap to constantly water the triple lot. Still, considering my usual abject failure with growing things. I'm quite proud of the progress I've made with the lawn.  As an aside, our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is doing quite well this year too. I've made an effort to keep it watered and added cedar chips around the base to keep the moisture in. The little spruce seems to love them.

Photo shows an arbor terrorist with a mission
and means to complete it.

Actually our land. Potential site for shed. Driveway easement
access to Grand Blvd seen in the back. 

A familiar face in an old red pickup truck showed up at our place on a Saturday back in May, and I haven't been able to get rid of him. When First Brother-In-Law Randy is set on a task, he will see it to it's conclusion, come hell or bad weather. Randy had offered to help me clean up the back of the yard, and haul away the debris. There were old logs, leaves and just plain old garbage along the back of the property adjacent to the spooky old house. Well, like pulling a loose thread on a sweater, one yanked weed led to another, and before we knew it we had literally expanded the property. As we cleaned and raked, it became apparent that we weren't sure where the property line was. Randy, being the real estate expert that he is, did some simple research, and after some measuring, we have determined that my property is even bigger than I thought it was, and the spooky house has less than we thought. Best thing is that what I thought was the neighbors driveway, is actually partially mine, partially city owned, with the rest likely an easement. This means I have driveway access to the back of the property off Grand Boulevard, and a nice level piece of asphalt for a potential storage shed.

Re-seeded park fence line, cleared back property line, and
spooky house in the background.

We continued to work, with Randy doing the lion's share, trimming trees to let in light, pulling weeds and vines, raking leaves, and yanking out stumps with the old pickup. Then Randy brought in two truckloads of topsoil and two bags of grass seed to get some green into the newly liberated property. We also re-seeded the fence line along the park after raking and clearing that side of the yard. Throughout the project, I would get a text from Randy saying he was at the house, or I would glance at the security cameras and see him working. He really worked quite hard with zero prompting from me, and only the occasional glass of lemonade from Cindy. Randy finally loaded up his tools and headed out just yesterday. I doubt very much that he's actually done, although it looks complete to me. I think he'll be back.

The neighbor's compliments are already pouring in, including the owner of the bed and breakfast across the street, also wisely noting that Randy was doing most of the work, as at the time, I was holding a garden hose in one hand, and a Yuengling in the other. Other folks walking by with their dogs, or just out for a stroll have noticed and complimented on the progress. It is a good feeling to rescue an old home from the inside, and from the outside.

Memorial Day

The flags are out. 

Memorial Day means different things to different people To many, it's the first holiday of "summer", although that's pushing it here in the north. Being that, it's traditionally the time to open pools, parks, and to get the boats out. It's a time for family gatherings, grilling, and just enjoying the outdoors. The freedom and ability to do such things is what makes this country great. Of course, like most things good, it has come with a price. Millions gave everything to allow us to enjoy our freedoms, whether that be as simple as grilling a burger in your backyard, or as important as speaking your mind at a political rally.

Part of the way Cindy and I honor their memory is to put about 40 flags on our property for the weekend. A simple task, and appropriate too since this holiday used to be called Decoration Day. Decoration Day was originally established after the Civil War as a day to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers. As time went on, flowers changed to small flags, and people began to call the holiday Memorial Day. Hopefully, as people walk or drive by the house, the flags will help them remember why we have the holiday, and remember those that allow us the freedom to honor it as we wish.

Molding finally done. I like the contrast between the
wall color and ceiling. 

On the home improvement front. the molding has been completed. The new compound miter saw worked beautifully and the angles came out nice. There are some minor gaps of course, mainly because the house is not square, and the walls have rolling waves in them, So, I have nearly completed caulking the gaps and nail holes in the molding, and it actually looks pretty good. Soon the paper I taped to the floor in November, will finally be removed.

It looks better in real life. Honest.

With the arrival of warm weather, work has moved outdoors, mostly of the general maintenance and upkeep variety. Last fall, after stacking all the firewood in the garage that would fit, we had about a half face cord left outside. It took me two tractor cart loads to bring that wood in the garage. My raked and re-seeded lawn is coming along nicely, mainly thanks to our persistent rain. It got it's first cut last week.

Despite my brown thumb, and questionable purchase decision, our little spruce tree is doing great. It's loaded with new growth and looks very healthy. I never let it go more than 24 hours without water as it tends to droop a bit in dry and warm conditions.

Healthy little tree. 

I came across an interesting blog that was very complimentary of our small city. The writer praised the architecture here in Binghamton that survived the urban renewal wave of the 1970s. He also liked our collection of interesting and eclectic bars and restaurants, many of which I have yet to visit. It really is amazing how this small city, with a struggling economy, has really had the downtown area blossom with so many interesting places to eat and drink. A lot has to do with the growth of Binghamton University, but I think the abundance of classic old buildings at a relatively cheap price, has certainly helped. I need to check more of these places out, and you should too. Several small business owners deserve to be rewarded for the effort and innovation, and the more new customers they get, the better.

Cold

We finally got some snow to go with the cold.

It's been really cold lately, record cold in fact, and it reminds me of the kind of cold we had back in the late 1970's. Back then, we had several days in a row below zero, pipes burst, and the old cars we drove in those days didn't start real well. I was just a teenager without responsibilities and enjoyed the brutal cold. Now, I own an old house, for which I am responsible to heat and maintain. Our old house, has been doing just fine, having endured cold winters for a 100 years, except for a poorly conceived addition, in which they built a half bath in an old porch. The plumbing for the bath runs through an unheated crawl space. Not good, especially if the temperatures fall below zero. When we moved in, the pipes were damaged from previous freezes and needed repairs. After they were repaired, I did my best to insulate the pipes and the floor. Last winter was relatively mild, and we had no problems. Over the Holidays, in anticipation of the cold, I shut off the water to the room and sure enough, the pipes froze. Of course, this was just before a big Holiday dinner we were having, and I was at work, so First Brother In Law Randy came to the rescue, and with the help of brother Ed, got the water running. No pipes had burst. If anything, it's gotten colder since and I have the water off. I hope we have no burst pipes. A summer time job will be to wedge myself into that crawl space and properly insulate those pipes and wall.

Katia enjoys the fire.

With the cold, we're close to halfway through our full cord of wood. Almost everyday, if we are home, we build a fire in the fireplace. If I leave Cindy keeps it going, including trips to the garage to stock up on wood. As inefficient as it is, it really does make a difference in keeping the downstairs warm, and it's great to look at. Katia has finally learned to lay on the rug next to the fire to warm up. Tiny little Natasha looks at the fire with interest, but generally wanders away and sleeps the day through up in our chilly bedroom.

We haven't had much snow, but much of what we've had came in two recent storms. A nasty rain, to ice, to snow storm left about half a foot and with some trepidation I went out to start the snow blower. I had started it in the fall, but figured with several below zero nights, it would be difficult. Much to my surprise, it started on the first pull. Off I went to clearing the driveway and walk, along with several of the neighbors sidewalks. One of them returned the favor as I slept off my graveyard shift and cleared mine after additional snow fell. We are lucky to be in a great neighborhood.

On the home improvement front, I installed the home security system we got from SimpliSafe. It was actually quite easy, with the hardware pretty much stick on. The package we got includes motion sensors, glass break sensors, panic button, and door and window alarms, along with two entry keypads and key fobs. I need to purchase a smoke alarm and CO detector. After you install it, the hard part begins. Thanks to living in New York, The Empire State, otherwise known as the Rules & Regulations State, the system has to registered and licensed, which means paperwork and questions. So, while the system is functional, it's turned off until I can get the blessing from the local 911 center.

Holiday Season

Tree is up and decorated. Missing the top
ornament though. 

It's never been clear to me whom or what decided that the Holiday Season runs from Thanksgiving to New Years, but I don't have a problem with it. I suspect that it was driven by commercial interests, i.e. retail and shopping, but it has been around for a long time. Certainly it has been so for my entire 50+ year life. I remember early on seeing advertisements on television saying "Seasons Greetings" beginning with Thanksgiving programming. I know many, if not most people, get upset when they see the wrapping paper and Christmas trees showing up in stores in October, but it doesn't bother me and having worked in retail in high school and college, I understand the reasons behind it. Certainly, the retail giants would not put the holiday items out if it didn't make sense and money for them.

For Cindy and I, decorating for Christmas begins just before Thanksgiving. It is early but logistically it works, with both of us at our jobs full time, and it allows us to enjoy a month of time with the house beautifully decorated. We both love the holiday season, and it fits into our more leisurely winter lifestyle. Evening consists of dinner in the living room, with a fire in the fireplace, Christmas tree lights on, village pieces lit up on the mantle. Cozy, peaceful. and bright. A defense shield erected to resist winter's cold and gloom.

In the middle of nowhere. 

We went out to get our tree, a Spruce of course, a week before Thanksgiving. We've been going to the same Christmas tree farm for years. The owner expects to see us before his official opening, but he doesn't seem to mind and is, I think, a bit amused by us. There is a problem though, in that he stopped planting spruce years ago, since fir trees have become more popular. Each year it has gotten tougher to find a tree that we want, and this year we finally struck out. It was sad to tell him on the way out, since we both knew we'd never be back again. After a couple of fails, we began to get nervous that we may not find a spruce. However, I took a recon trip one weekday morning and investigated a tree farm we had visited many years back. I was thrilled to see acres of spruce, nothing but spruce. Cindy and I returned a few days later and found our tree quickly. The farm is a throwback to the old days, with no attendant, at your own risk mud roads, and an honor system for paying, that consisted of a hole in the side of a small barn. You pay what you think the tree is worth. Awesome.

Over a brief Thanksgiving break from work, after decorating the tree, I also put up the outside lights. I'm old school there as well, going with 4 strings of C-9 lights. Not energy efficient at all, but they give off a warm glow that you cannot get with LED lights. I like that you can change out some of the bulbs with twinkle bulbs that give a very random and slow flashing or twinkle to the lights.  I did buy a couple of LED spot lights that I am using to eliminate the side of our house, which is now easily visible from Grand Boulevard since the leaves are off the trees.

Delicious bread. Some light, some dark. 

Also, Cindy and I spent a full day baking Christmas bread, which we will distribute to family. We are still getting used to our new oven and adjusting the temperature, so some of the bread turned out a bit dark, others a bit light. That was somewhat by design, as some like the bread darker, others lighter.

So, while we may be a bit early with things, we are pretty much ready for the holidays. It's nice to just relax and enjoy, and not be a part of the frenzy. We still have some shopping to do, but Cindy and I have really cut down on the gift giving at this point. We really don't need or want all that much, and it really helps keep the spirit of the season while lowering the stress.

Our little spruce

 I love trees. I believe I get this from my father, who also loves trees. During his teen years in the 1940s, dad worked in a cemetery that his father managed, often trimming and pruning trees. In the late 1960s, and early 1970s, into my early teen years, dad planted a couple dozen trees of various types, including a few spruce. He taught me what types of trees are good for various purposes and locations.

Healthy White Spruce

I like extremes. The highest, lowest, fastest...this is the weather guy side of me. I grew up rooting for the strongest thunderstorms and heaviest snowfalls. So, what has the to do with trees, and particularly a spruce tree? Well, the spruce, specifically the white spruce, is an extreme tree. It's a North American native, and lives further north than any other tree. It survives well north of the Arctic Circle in places, and has been known to survive temperatures to -70F (-57C). Another neat thing about the spruce is that it is native to New York, and is common in the Adirondacks. They grow just fine in the Binghamton area, and can be found growing naturally in patches on northern facing slopes in the higher elevations of the area. There are other things to like about spruce trees. They are generally bug and disease free, they grow in almost any soil, require little maintenance, and are, of course, the classic Christmas tree.

So, you would think that this desirable and hardy tree would be readily available for purchase, right?  Ah...no. I couldn't find a local nursery or garden store that had one in stock. You can find Norway Spruce (too droopy), Frasier Fir (too weak), and Blue Spruce (too blue), but none of them are native New Yorkers. This leads to looking online for a tree. But purchasing a tree online is difficult, because you can't see the exact tree you are getting, and it must be shipped, which is both expensive and dangerous (for the tree). Lacking other options, short of stealing one, I forged ahead. What I found on the internet, was a wide variety of options and pricing. I won't bore you with the details but tell you I ended up buying a white spruce for $19.99 plus $10 shipping. There were no details other than it would be potted (good thing), not bare root (bad thing), and would be shipped in 7 to 10 days. Good. Fall is a perfect time to plant and I would still have enough time to plant before winter hit. Purchase completed, I would begin to look for our tree in a couple of weeks. I moved on.

That's about 18" of baby spruce. 

The next day I noticed a small box on our front step. Uh oh. It couldn't be. It was. Inside the box was the cutest little spruce tree you've ever seen. I had purchased a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. After my surprise wore off, like Charlie Brown I immediately fell in love with the little guy and am committed to letting him grow. There were issues though. First, was the weather. Despite their hardy reputation, you do need to take care in transplanting a spruce because it may have been grown in a warmer climate. Fall is the perfect time to plant it, but in typical Binghamton fashion, our near term forecast is for temperatures in the teens at night, with wind. Not exactly normal fall weather. I could keep the poor thing in the basement all winter, and bring it out in the spring, but I wasn't sure that would be good for it either. Bringing it into the warm house could cause it to prematurely bloom, damaging for next year. Looking carefully at the tree, I could see no fresh sprouts so I decided it would most likely be safe outdoors, so I went out to dig a hole in the side yard. I dug the hole about three times as deep as needed, not like I needed that it that deep, but I then removed the rocks and filled it two thirds of the way back up with loose dirt. I put the little spruce in and filled the hole, then watered. I need to put up a post or stake so we don't trample him since just an average snowstorm will bury him.

Can you see the tree? This spruce has

plenty of room to grow. 

If I can do so, I may get a tiny set of lights to decorate our spruce this holiday season, but that's if I can find the tree again, and assuming it's not buried. Anyway, it will be fun watching the tree grow.

On the same subject, but at the other end of the subject are cold hardy palms. There are species of palms that are very resistant to cold and grow without protection as far north as Cape Cod. I believe I can get one to grow in Binghamton, on the south side of my house, with some winter protection. That would give me the most northern most tree, and a southern tree, growing on the same property! I told you I like extremes.

On the home front, we raked and bagged for the third time this fall. An article in the local paper advised that you can simply leave the leaves where they fall, or mulch them, and they will fertilize your lawn. I think we have too many for that, plus I just don't like the look of the sloppy, wet mess on the lawn. I did run over what was left to mulch before I planted the spruce. You can see the result in the above picture.

After discussion with my lovely bride Cindy, we've decided to move our work into the upstairs bathroom for a freshen up. At some point we need to do a complete remodel, but until then we cannot live with the awful paint job, cracked walls, and leaky caulk. So I caulked the tub, repaired the cracks, and have begun to paint. The ceiling is done, and I have the first coat on the wall surrounding the tub and shower. I've been forced to turn the heat up in the house to help dry the paint. Seems to warm for me but Cindy and the cats love it.

Rains, trains, and automobiles

I miss my blog. More importantly, I hope someone else has. I find writing the blog to be relaxing and a good way to chart and stimulate progress, and I'm gratified when people read it. Anyway, a couple of weeks after I wrote my last blog, we went on vacation and I just haven't found the time to write, and I miss it.  That does not mean I've gotten a lot of work done on the house, but we have been busy.

All aboard! Cindy is ready to go.

Relaxing in our roomette*.
 * - train speak for tiny room 

I had a bachelor party to attend in the Florida Keys, so we decided to combine that with our annual beach vacation. Flying would have been cheap and fast, but we wanted to spend a few nights in Myrtle Beach on the return trip, which would have been logistically difficult, so we decided to take the Amtrak Auto Train. The Auto Train runs from outside of Washington DC to near Orlando, 7 days a week. They load your car on train and you sit back, relax, and about 16 hours later, you're in Florida. They unload the cars and you are on your way. The real advantage is avoiding the traffic, frustration, and  general ugliness of 700 miles of I-95. The train leaves around 3 pm and arrives around 9 am so we opted for a sleeper, a nominal charge but gives you a private room for the entire trip, and a real bed in which to sleep.

After the train got going, we headed to the lounge car for a drink. We had a very attentive bartender and grabbed a table with a big picture window. They sold Amtrak playing cards (very cool) so we bought a pack and played for a couple hours. Dinner was at 5 (included in your ticket price) and was actually quite good. I had a filet mignon with veggies and a baked potato, Cindy a pork chop. After dinner,  we returned to our room to watch a movie on my laptop. By 10, we were tired enough to have the steward unfold the beds and we went to sleep. We arrived pretty much on time in Sanford the next morning.

A soggy yet beautiful pool area at Margaritaville Resort.

Then the rain started. As we headed south to the Margaritaville Beach Resort, we drove into a tropical wave which would plague us for the rest of the trip. The resort and immediate area of the beach front was beautiful, and rather empty since it was off season (go figure), but the weather was not conducive to relaxing by the pool. So, the next day we headed to the Aventura Mall, a monument to excess and where Macy's is considered low end shopping. The good news is that Cindy was able to find a dress she needed for an upcoming wedding, and I was able to find a Chili's hidden in a far flung parking lot. They were NOT selling $10 beers. The bigger takeaway though was the traffic. Horrific. Especially when you throw in the rain. Multiple lanes of traffic at speeds completely disregarding the posted limit, tailgating, and various other traffic laws. I just don't know how people put up with this day after day. It was far worse, in my opinion, than New York City.  I'm really spoiled living in a small town.

Lunch at the wharf in Islamorada.

On Saturday I headed down to the Keys to golf with the bachelor party while Cindy stayed back. If you've ever have the chance to drive the overseas highway, I highly recommend it. It is just spectacular and so different, even from the rest of Florida. I met the rest of the party for lunch that day, and then we went golfing on Sunday. I was actually surprised there is a golf course on the Keys. These are tiny islands, most of them and land is very expensive, but sure enough a 9 hole course is out there. While Cindy stayed in the rain, it was very hot and sunny on the course and by about the 15th hole I had enough.

I drove back to Hollywood and Cindy after the golf and the next morning we headed out on the full day of driving to Myrtle Beach and the North Beach Plantation. Unfortunately, the rain followed us. The wave was now a depression and there was a watch up for a tropical storm. Ugh. Luckily, the system started to pick up speed and moved out Wednesday leaving us a couple days of good weather before we headed home Friday.

As I write this now the entire area of Florida that we visited in threatened by Irma. I fear we are on the verge of a terrible tragedy. Settling and living in paradise does come with a price, and millions of people are about to have their lives completely changed, perhaps forever. I hope those who can, have listened to the authorities and evacuated and will wait out the storm in safe areas. Good luck to all in Irma's path. My thoughts will be with you.

I did manage to get some work done when we got home. I finished the electrical rewire of the garage, and I do keep thinking about when I might start to stack that huge pile of wood in the backyard. Then there's the saga of the replacement door, but that's a story for the next blog.

Stairs, a window, and plaster

Half painted stairs. They are completed now.

A decent amount has been accomplished since my last post, mainly due to a week off work and a decision to not to travel but to devote the time to projects. First on the list was to complete the stairwell painting. I had two readers suggest that I paint half the stairs (side to side) allowing access to the basement by us and the cats, kind of like a construction zone reduced to one lane (normal summer driving in Pennsylvania). I liked that advice and moved ahead. Now, I expected that Cindy and I would not walk through the wet paint, and for the most part , this was a correct assumption. It was however, a leap of faith to depend on Katia and Natasha to use their kitty smarts and stay off the wet paint, with a bit of guidance in the form of large objects placed blocking the "closed" section. Katia, whom I alternately call "smarty pants" and "Klutzia" because she is both smart and clumsy, turned out to be both. As I was working, she started down the stairs, carefully avoiding the wet paint (smart). As she passed me she cut over to the wet side, prompting me to yell her name. She stopped (smart), then sat in the wet paint awaiting further instructions (clumsy). I followed her down to the basement and she allowed me to inspect her feet, which were remarkably dry. Her cat butt, however, was a bit gray, so she was confined to the basement for a few hours, which she really didn't seem to mind. Natasha decided to simply avoid the staircase altogether and slept through the process, demonstrating her ability to "hold it" for several hours.

I finally installed (with Cindy's help of course), the final window on the first floor. In this blog I wrote about installing the windows, while also somehow forgetting to order one for the kitchen. I ordered the forgotten window back in the Spring and we installed it last week. If you remember, or re-read the blog, I was very proud of myself for measuring every window correctly, even allowing for "slop" since none of the old windows were perfectly square. Heh heh. Well, confidence is a dangerous thing and I ordered one window to complete the job, and it was wrong. Technically, I measured correctly but forgot to allow for a window frame that was off by a quarter inch. Rather than re-order and have a useless window, I decided to "fix" the old window. Cindy was notably impressed as I shaved down the inside of the crooked frame, smoothed and filled my work, and repainted. This essentially "squared" the frame and allowed the window to fit.

The offending wall.

Cindy proclaimed herself to be tired of looking at our ugly upstairs hallway and so that has become the next interior "room" to be repaired. Unfortunately, there are some special issues that need to be addressed in the hallway. First, on one wall, the plaster has pulled away from the lathe.  This gives the wall a spongy feel as the plaster moves. If left like this, the plaster will eventually crack and fall away. The thought of removing around 9 square feet of plaster was not comforting, so I did some research. I found a video detailing repair of such a wall at the This Old House website. Essentially, you drill multiple holes through the plaster (not into the lathe), inject plaster bonder, followed by construction adhesive. Then, you install several dry wall screws with large washers through the plaster into the lathe to pull the plaster back to the lathe. After 24 hours, you remove the dry wall screws, fill the holes, and remove the excess glue that has oozed from the holes. Then sand, skim, and sand the wall and your done. Sounds easy, right? Wish me luck.

Ugly, poorly installed molding. I plan to replace it with
prettier, poorly installed molding.

The other problem is common through the house. There is a large gap between the wall and the ceiling that had been covered by cheap molding. I removed the molding and will fill the gap with spray foam insulation and replace with a better quality molding. That is rather tedious and although I'm getting better at mitering and installing molding, the additional difficulty of nailing the molding to exterior walls, which are masonry, will cause me to take more time. I will not be installing the fancy crown molding that we have downstairs, perhaps something closer to what I installed in the vestibule.

I like being surprised, most of the time

Most of us enjoy movies and/or books of one kind or another. They generally fall into a certain category or genre, like a western, horror flick, or a comedy. They also, unfortunately, tend to fall into a standard form, and if you think about it, you can usually figure out exactly what will happen in the movie, almost from the opening credits. So, the trick for the director and writer is to entertain you along the way. Titanic is a good example of this. You know the damn boat is going to sink, so it's what happens before that unfortunate event is what is important. How did James Cameron attempt to do this? Well, I was not really a big fan of the film but for me, it was with fascinating CGI of the ship and it's engines, and just the general day to day operation of the ship. For many others, it was the love story. Forbidden love that is, between a First Class aristocrat, and a Third Class poker player. But this is where the movie lost me, because not only did I know the ship was going to sink, I knew the romance was doomed as well. Wouldn't it have been a better story if they surprised us and Jack survived? Think for a moment where the story could have gone then.

Random house photo. It was flag day and Cindy got a
bunch of little flags.

I don't mind a good romantic comedy. I sure have seen plenty of them with my Cindy. I just like to be surprised. Unfortunately, most rom-com's are just the worst offenders of this rickety standard plot fault. They meet cute, they fall for each other despite barriers put in their way, there's a big misunderstanding, they break up, but then something forces them back together at the end and TA DA! they live happily ever after. Still, it can work, and be worth your time, if the director and writer keep you entertained along the way. Examples of rickety plot but entertaining rom-coms include the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan films and the classic, When Harry Met Sally. There are two, however, that threw the standard plot out the window, and really came up with something special.. Both are kind of sleepers. The first, Definitely, Maybe, turns the romance into a mystery. In the film, Will (Ryan Reynolds) is going through a divorce, his distraught daughter insists on hearing the story of how her parents met, perhaps in hope that the telling of the story will rekindle the romance and head off the divorce. Will tells her the story in a series of flashbacks and you are there with the daughter trying to figure out which of his romantic partners is her mother. There are plenty of big laughs and twists, along with some really heart tugging moments.

The best, however, is a more obscure Hanks-Ryan picture called Joe vs. the Volcano. In the very beginning, Joe is told by a doctor that he is dying. But this isn't a death sentence for him, it is a release from his mundane life, and horrific job (he sells rectal probes). I'll say no more about the film and just let you discover what happens as Joe meets his inevitable(?) fate.

Random cat photo. Natasha keeping Cindy warm at night.

Horror films follow a formula as well. Slasher films are generally not scary to me. They can startle me, make me jump, but they rarely scare me. An exception is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That movie was so unsettling, I'll never watch it again. Same goes with The Exorcist. Got me once, good for you. Not again. Probably the most unsettling and scary film I've ever seen is Pan's Labyrinth.  It includes vicious murders, large intelligent insects, a brutal war, and a young girl that escapes into an underground fantasy world. Talk about not following a formula! I highly recommend it, and will never see it again. You should see it at least once.

My favorite film of all time is a horror film, that really doesn't follow the formula. In Silence of the Lambs a student FBI agent is sent to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the it takes one to know one theory to get insight on another serial killer, Buffalo Bill. As Clarice (Jody Foster), interviews Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to gain that insight, a strange relationship grows between them. They are both fascinated, and competitive with each other. Most importantly, they respect each other and as Clarice finally reveals the tragic story of how she ended up in an orphanage, watch closely as tears fill Lecter's eyes as he realizes he is finally having a real relationship with a person, not another psychopathic episode. "Thank you Clarice, thank you", he says at the end. You know at this moment, Lecter would cut off his own arm, rather than harm Clarice, which he does, ironically, in the sequel. Most everyone has seen the film so I'm not really giving away a spoiler to write that Clarice does indeed catch Buffalo Bill, with Lecter's help, so in some way it does have the expected ending, but getting there was so much fun. Despite some of the gruesome scenes and twisted practices revealed in the movie, I can watch it endlessly and enjoy looking for the subtle clues and nuances as the brilliant Lecter toys with the investigators while giving Clarice what she needs to solve the case.

Random vacation photo.  Spring break in Wildwood

I could go on forever on movies, but considering that this blog is not even about movies, and this edition might be my longest so far, I should probably wrap this up. My ideas for this blog entry began as I thought about the novel I'm writing. Yes, you read that correctly. I've been working on a book on and off for many years and I just can't tell if it is any good. I am attempting to surprise readers, without employing a gratuitous plot twist. Hopefully, I can be clever enough and keep readers entertained without them realizing where the story is going. Perhaps some day I'll drop the opening paragraph here in the blog somewhere, if I have the nerve.

Finishing up old tasks and moving on to new

Finished room. Finding the right curtains was tough.

Interior wall mirror. Hope it holds, 

I think I can finally say that the guest room is done. We decided on curtains...sorry...window treatments...so I installed new rods and hung them. I also hung an antique mirror that matched the furniture set. Hanging anything on the walls of "fort" Morford is tricky, since any exterior wall is solid cement, but the interior walls are plaster on lathe and no thrill either. Of course the spot where we wanted the mirror was nowhere near a wall stud so I ended up drilling a small hole just to get the nail through the springy lathe. This leaves me with a bit of concern about the quality and durability of the anchor in the wall. I plan to keep an eye on it and if it looks like it's loosening I'll have to go with plan B.

We're very pleased with the room. It's bright and airy, really just perfect for a guest room. I think it would be a bit much for us to look at every day in the master but it makes for an attractive guest room, The trick was to go with curtains that matched the brightly colored wall without clashing against them or the white woodwork. We ended up with a tan or almost cane colored curtain that has a basket type weave. They make the room a bit less stark and warm up the space without toning down the color.

Attic widow and frame. Not good.

Glazed and painted window. Some clean up
still to be done. 

In other news, I continue to work on the attic windows. I first removed the one attic window and frame last week. That has been glazed and painted, but before I could install the window, I had work to do on the frame. On our 2 story home, the attic is essentially a third story window, with two roofs in the way, the porch roof and part of the second story roof, making the attic windows kind of a dormer. In any event, other that renting a lift, there was no easy way to reach the outside of the window. This meant repairing and painting the windows had to be done from the inside. All in all it went pretty well. Scrapping and wire brushing the old paint was the most difficult part. I was able to reach parts of the window by leaning out the other window. I ended up with paint chips in my hair and down my shirt, plus I was rolling around on the attic floor as I tried to get to the correct position. Painting was tricky but a bit easier simply because it's less physical. I did end up with paint on my shirt and arms simply because it was impossible to lean out and not bump into the frame.

As I mentioned in the last blog, the windows and screens are worth saving as they are original to the house and have character. I might be less inclined on the 1st or 2nd floor but the attic is unheated and I'm not real interested in replacement windows or screens up there. Eventually I need to work on painting and re-glazing the 2nd floor windows which are more reachable, but behind installed aluminum storms. That will make the job a bit more difficult. So the attic windows are kind of glazing practice for lower windows that will be more visible.

Memorial Day was a full work weekend for us as I had a rare weekend off. In addition to the attic window work, we managed to get in some yard work including removing another large, overhanging branch leaning in from the abandoned mansion next door. Cindy caught up on some neglected housework. Early Memorial Day we went out for supplies and Cindy found some inexpensive flags so we decided to line our driveway and sidewalk with flags. I imagine our neighbors think we're a bit nutty but there's no shame in honoring those who have fallen, and those who serve and have served. So while Memorial Day is a holiday to be honored, there is no reason not to enjoy the freedom and liberty that has been paid for so dearly by our armed forces. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness provided for and protected by the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard.

A diamond in the rough

I'm happy. Really. 

So as I have written several times in this blog, my old lawn mower has given me fits since I began to use it to tackle my big yard. It did indeed run better last week but even so, a triple lot, old age, and a 22" push mower is an ugly combination. In any event,  I rarely make large purchases on a whim, and without careful research (except this house!). I've been pricing and researching riding mowers for over a year and had recently narrowed my choices down to John Deere, and Cub Cadet. I know that many people have a strong brand loyalty to things like tractors, especially John Deere, so I will tread carefully here. Entry level Deere lawn tractors are subcontracted to MTD, and, while well made, are not substantially different than most other small tractors despite being around 20% more expensive. Also, all parts and service must go through a John Deere dealer. Cub Cadet, well made and well reviewed are cheaper to buy and service, and even go on sale from time to time.

Last Saturday, I stopped into Tractor Supply since they sell Cub Cadet tractors and lo and behold they were on sale! The sale ended the next day so I left and stewed about it. In the end, I approached Home Depot and they agreed to match the price and honor a 10% coupon I had received in the mail. Done deal. I rented a flatbed from them for $20 bucks to get it home. It'a an XT1 Model with 22 horsepower and a 46" cut on the mower. My first run at cutting the grass, being slow and cautious, took 20 minutes. No more  telling Cindy I spent the day on the lawn! I still need to use the old push mower for trimming near the house and bushes and I was happy that it started on the first pull. I still plan to do some minor maintenance and keep my old buddy around for awhile.

Old glazing removed and wood scrapped.
 Ready to be glazed. Note the
diamond shaped glass 

A good friend gave us
 this sign. It hangs
on our porch. 

The other project I'm working on is the attic windows and screens. We've finally started to get some warm weather and the attic is heating up. We do have a roof vent but it really helps to put the screens in the two front windows to get the air circulating better. It helps keep the second floor cool as well.  One of my projects for this year is to continue painting the window frames on the house with the second floor on the agenda. I would like to do the attic windows as well but they are pretty much out of reach from any normal ladder. So, my plan is to paint the window frames from the attic. They are right next to each other so I will lean out the one window to scrape and paint the other frame. The windows themselves, and the screens, come out completely so they will be easy. However, the need to be repaired. The first set is on my work bench right now. The screen is destroyed so I removed the remains and the frame holding it in place. I scrapped the wood and filled the numerous holes and nicks. The window was in better shape, except that it needs to be completely re-glazed. I took all the old glazing off the window with a putty knife, and scraped and wire brushed the wood. I then re-glazed the window and am now waiting for the glazing to cure so it and the screen can be painted. Our nickname for the house is the diamond in the rough and this is at least partially because of the diamond pattern in the windows. This diamond pattern makes the window unique and worth saving, while at the same time makes the maintenance and repair a bit more difficult. We love these windows and have carried this diamond theme through the house with our window treatments and bed covers.

In other news, it's graduation weekend at Binghamton University which means the bed and breakfast across the street will be full with the families of the graduates, Something about this pleases me. I like seeing the people check in and enjoy the extra activity on our street. It reinforces my desire to maintain and improve our home simply because we have guests in the neighborhood. I like to sit on the porch and watch them come and go to dinners and ceremonies and feel a certain amount of pride in our town. With graduation weekend comes the annual bar crawl where students walk from the west side to downtown hitting the bars and celebrating. We are far enough removed from the festivities to have little affect from them, but we occasionally get a straggler on the sidewalk and an empty cup in the lawn. A small price to pay for having one of the top public universities in the nation located here.
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