October 2011 Archives

Awake: 6:09am Temp 39 sleep 5+59 windy - light rain overnight @ Nicktown.

After the KK meeting, I spent about (3) hrs going through our file cabinet to rid the folders of stuff no longer needed or noteworthy.

                             I've been keeping this folder system alive since 1962. Regardless of today's harsh weather, all (5) guys of the Zernick team are working on the deck today. I feel for them on days like this but when the bill comes to us, we feel for us.

Kathy did (2) laundry loads & emptied (3) boxes throughout the day. Mid afternoon, we motored to Carrolltown to pay our respects to Ernie's mother, Vera, who passed away on Wednesday @ age (92). Ernie was my classmate in high school.

Dinner: Italian beef from Fasano's in Chicago that Ernie brought in yesterday. Very, very good. Thank you Ernie.

We watched ½ of the movie: "The Life of Sam Dolin."

Lights out: 12:08am.

Awake: 6:20am      Temp 46      sleep 7+13       cold & overcast      overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, we gathered up things from our M.H. that we need to eat & spent the day in the house vs. stay in the M.H. We won't sleep in our home until the deck is finished & approved by the officials.

                             The vinyl material finally arrived for building the deck.                          Not a good day to start the deck but these guys are tough. I made a call to New Jersey & talked to a lady about our Jura coffee maker; they advertised a free help line. When I tried to talk technical, she told me I have (2) options: buy a rebuilt or pay $275.00 to have ours repaired. When I mentioned that I would like to rebuild it myself...she responded: Oh no sir, you don't want to do that. I made no decisions so far.

Next, I called Johnstown....looking for a foot switch for our Kirby vacuum cleaner. They have what I need so next time in Johnstown, it's on the list.

Dinner: beef vegetable bean soup.

Lights out: 12:10am.

Awake: 6:06am       Temp 54      sleep 6+55      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

After the KK meeting, I returned to our house & found that Mike the mason was finishing the entry piers & some minor areas here & there that had to be cleaned up.

Later, John visited & picked up the 2X4's that held the pool table slate togather for over (10) yrs.

Kathy called me around 12:25pm; "come over & see little Abbey Nicole" she said. So I left @ 1:25pm kind of anxious to see this young lady. Melissa, holding Abbey Nicole, & Kathy were in the living room when I arrived. I walked over, introduced myself & looked her over pretty good; she's not only cute, she's also beautiful. Yes, I was happy to hold her with my big hand. After she got a little uncomfortable & since she didn't know my voice anyway, I gave her back to her mama...but we will be back. Then I went outside to spend some time watching the climbing monkeys who were also riding their bikes in the alley. If there is something to climb on, these guys can do it. Here are Kevin & Matthew + Gregory still getting raspberries this late in the season; they usually have a 2nd crop of raspberries. Then Matthew & Andrew had to get ready for their Atrium class so that was our clue to say our goodbyes for now.

Dinner: we each split a small bowl of sherry chicken curry & a small bowl of chili, broccoli & a salad.

Rain began @ 10:25pm.

Lights out: 11:07pm.

Awake: 5:52am      Temp 48     sleep 6+31     overcast....sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

During our KK meeting, we met (3) people from Alaska who were motor homing from Anchorage & heading to Maine where they will leave the M.H., & fly back to their prospective homes. They knew someone who, many years ago, used to live in Nicktown & was buried in the Nicktown cemetery. They wanted to see the cemetery plot & Dave helped them out.

The Zernick team continued putting fascia across the front of our house & the dormers. What a nice difference with the fascia trim finished. Kathy called about 2:30pm; she told me that Melissa is ready to return home from the hospital but, due to a busy floor with other babies being born, she had to wait to be checked out.

By the time Kathy finished telling all the funny stories of the boys, Melissa had called Kevin to bring the boys to pick her & Abbey up. Kathy will stay at the Footes tonight; it'll be a pretty busy place & maybe she can be of some help.

I thanked her for the good call & then went outside & shoveled another (3) buckets of sand for the Foote sand box; I'll bring it tomorrow.

                 Here is a photo of the backside of our house with the fascia finished. Today, a rare occurrence happened with the Zernick team; they worked an extra hr & almost finished (2) dormers & a little more.

My dinner: Ono wild caught fish, squash soup, toast, celery & a Gala apple.

Lights out: 11:11pm.

Monday 17      October      2011    Minutes after midnight, I heard our cell phone ringing but I could not find it in the dark; then our landline phone rang. It was Melissa alright; "I think you'd better come out as soon as possible, she said." Kathy was waking up & got the message.

Weather outside: heavy rain with strong winds. We were in our Suzuki in less then (10) minutes. I dropped Kathy off @ their porch & made sure she was let in the castle. Then I turned around & headed back to our M.H., arriving @ 1:40am.

Shortly after 7:00am, Kathy called with good news: Abbey Nicole was born @ 2:35am; (9) lbs, (1) oz. 20 inches in length. Mother & child are fine. Wonderful news!

I felt I should stay here due to a delivery scheduled today; our replacement microwave to arrive between noon & 4:00pm. The person who delivers it is supposed to take the defunct microwave out & install the new one. Meanwhile, I advertised our new granddaughter, Abbey Nicole, to the Zernick workers...who were directly in front of our bus. They acknowledged the thrill.                      They are very close to finishing the facia all around our house.

Later, I made several phone calls to the Jura Company USA in Peach Tree, Atlanta, Georgia to no avail. Even Google was of no help.

Next I tried to get our Sirius radio working; this too, was taken out when the compressors quit working. I am beginning to feel like I can't fix anything? Not good. Then I went to the basement & fiddled around with the Ms-Pacman what a surprise; I got it working... & I played (3) games; fun.I needed that. Oh yes, our replacement microwave did arrive, was installed & I tested it. It works great.

My dinner: leftover tuna & noodle, leftover chili, & multigrain Tuscany bread, toasted.

Kathy called around 8'ish & we updated each other. Seems Nathan was very unhappy about Melissa going to the hospital & he screamed & cried for about 25 min, waking Gregory. When Nathan finally calmed down, he joined Kathy & Gregory in playing cars & then Kathy read several books to them. About 2:30am, Kathy asked the boys if they were getting tired; with a little encouragement, she got the guys back to bed just about the time Abbey was born.

Zach called while driving home from work; we probably talked for over an hr; his work, our house building, his trip coming up, the stuff we have of his that he doesn't want, etc. It was a good call.

Lights out: 11:21pm.

Awake: 6:30am      Temp 46      sleep 6+39      windy & cloudy       overnight @ Nicktown.

Sunday is more or less....our day off. But with all the stuff we have yet to organize in our house, we are not doing much socializing on our days off.

For instance, this morning I spent about (4) hrs going thru our file cabinet & cleared about 1/3rd of the old paperwork; and that was only the 1st drawer. During this time, Kathy was doing some laundry & organizing a back room.

Then Melissa called us after they walked back from attending Mass @ Saint Thomas Moore in Indiana, Pa. She is doing fine & wanted to know if we still planed on a visit today. "Yes" we told her. Unfortunately we still have about (18-25) boxes out of (44) stored in their basement & a library ladder since 2005. So we agreed to motor over, spend a little time with the boys, & then get those last boxes & ladder, load them into the Ford Van........... & I would bring them back to Nicktown & Kathy would either stay @ the Foote castle for the night or come on home. For weeks now, since Kathy started the babysitting plan to help Melissa every other week when she went for her pregnancy exam, Kathy, with a little help from her busy husband, has loaded up (3) buckets of good sand that the Bassett guys, due to a mistake, couldn't use. Kathy brought the sand to the Foote family's sandbox each time she drove there. So today, we did our duty & brought those buckets of sand again; this was # 3 bucket. Kathy was prepared to stay at the Footes in anticipation of Melissa's delivery, but Melissa told her nothing was happening, no contractions, so Kathy returned to Nicktown in our car.

When arriving @ our house, sprinkles were just beginning to fall. I had about (10) boxes sitting on the ground but under the entry dormer...& the dark clouds let loose. It was just a short burst so I soon continued removing the boxes.

A few min later, Kathy drove in & gave me some help. I was not interested in opening any more boxes, especially now.

Dinner: Reuben sandwich with chips.

Lights out: 11:13pm.

Awake: 6:44am      Temp 46     sleep 6+53      partly sunny & windy    overnight @ Nicktown.

Kathy stayed the night @ the Foote Castle & returned to our motorhome & house @ 2:00pm. She said that nothing was happening so she came back to get some things done inside our house. 

Meanwhile, I was hoping to get our Jura coffee machine working & surprise her when she arrived. The surprise didn't work of course...&.(2) hrs later & neither did our Jura. So I gave up for the time being; probably a glitch from being in the dark for so many yrs. Then I spent about (6) hrs thoroughly going through our file cabinet; so many papers are out of date & not necessary to hang on to so I let Kathy look over the "not wanted" stack & from there, they will end up in the burn pile.

Later, we attended 6:00pm vigil Mass @ our church & afterward, joined our group: Barry, Bonnie Lou, Theresa, John, & Ernie for some beer & Pizza...& some good laughs.

About 11:00 pm, Kevin called & said that tonight will be OK; nothing is happening.

Kathy & I finished watching the movie: "The seven percent solution" with Nicol Williamson, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall, Laurence Olivier, etc. Sherlock Holmes meets Sigmund Freud in this handsome, entertaining film adapted by Nicholas Meyer from his novel. Shifts gears from serious drama to tongue-in-cheek adventure, but stays on target all the way. 1976. Good story for us to stay awake with.

Lights out: 12:43.

Awake: 6:32am      Temp 56      sleep 7+35       rain off/on      overnight @ Nicktown.

Kathy called Melissa shortly after she got dressed to see what's happening: Melissa reported: not much is happening; every once in a while, she told us, she would have a contraction, but other than that, all is calm.

We have to stay on top of Melissa's condition due to the Foote Castle being (23) miles from Nicktown. Kathy plans to drive out this afternoon & maybe return tonight.

Meanwhile, due to rain, some of the Zernick workers are working inside & some are on another project elsewhere. I finally convinced Kathy to have the guys cut our big church pew in half & use both ends as a small sitting bench in the entry. She didn't get to see it until Saturday because she stayed overnight @ the Foote Castle.

During her absence, I spent hrs gathering parts: bolts, washers, nuts, etc to put my metal lathe together whenever I find all that I think is necessary. My scattered bolts were undisturbed so I replaced the missing photo with this new one.

                         Also, Adam & Ryan put the pool table light up & adjusted it.                               Dinner: leftover chili with elbow macaroni & toast.

Evening entertainment: a documentary on John Garfield; interesting.

Lights out: 11:51pm.

Awake: 6:40am     Temp 54     sleep 7+18     mostly cloudy     overnight @ Nicktown.  

This morning, the regular Zernick team are here & the irregular Bassett (3) guys are also here; all the guys are working on the south side....even the boss man from Bassett is working, Simon.

For breakfast, Kathy made us a veggie omelet; quite good. I opened (2) more boxes today: the 1^st one was all Volkswagen parts; most of the parts are unused. The 2^nd box was all metal lathe parts; both boxes were very heavy.

After all that heavy fun, I took our Hoover vacuum cleaner & cleaned the concrete floor, well, just the paths that are traveled.

Dinner: pork chops, fried noodles, broccoli, & apple sauce.

Melissa called us @ 10:45pm; she was having contractions...0hooo. So we are now putting ourselves on guard for Melissa. Kathy got out one of her small bags & packed it just in case.... for tonight. About (10) min later... heavy rain moved in & we went to bed.

I had photo coverage for these next (3) days & they were good....but I foolishly lost them by mistake. Darn!

Lights out: 11:17pm.                  

 

Awake: 5:55am       Temp 54      sleep 5+56       rain off & on      overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, K & I asked Bob & Nathan to build cabinets & library shelves in our bedroom; we gave them the spec's to work with & they got right after it.

Before they perused our master bedroom, K & I moved all the boxes (there were plenty & heavy) away from the wall.

Then Kathy motored to the Foote Castle to watch over the boys while Melissa went to the doctor to have a "non-stress test" for the baby. Since Melissa is past her due date, this is a routine test to ascertain that the placenta is still able to supply the needed oxygen for the baby to support life. And the baby is doing fine; all is good.

Later, I opened some more boxes & these are some of the goodies I found inside: A selection of nuts, bolts, screws, & rivets, washers, etc, all sizes. And the next box: look! I hit the jackpot.... GOLD....or maybe popcorn! Oh well, it almost looks like gold. While making numerous things out of brass using my larger metal lathe, I collected the filings, & shavings, put then in a jar & thought that some day, I could sell the brass shavings for BIG $$.

Later, I turned on the World Series baseball game; just getting a sneak peek of what works & what doesn't work. Oh, I see that burned out bulb to be the 1st glitch. By the end of the workday for Bob & Nathan, here is the start of the process on the cabinets. Dinner: Chili with elbow macaroni & corn chips; great!

Lights out: 11:22pm.

Awake: 6:02am      Temp 54      sleep 6+22      mostly cloudy      overnight @ Nicktown.

Today the Zernick team are working all day on the facia & Mike the Mason is working by himself for only (2) hrs; they are pulling him off for another job. He told us that he will return soon.
Yesterday when Kathy got back from her grocery shopping, she was so elated with seeing all the fall colors while driving on the highways,This morning, she asked me if I had gotten a good shot from our house to the lower field. I had to admit, I waited too long for a good fall photo.                               And today, the leaves are flying everywhere.

Back In my workshop, I epoxied a plastic handle on our Stir Crazy popcorn popper; We will soon find out if we cleaned & got enough oil off to make the handle hold solid.

Since I had used my air compressor yesterday to pump up the tires on the old tractor mower, Bob agreed to help push the mower into the dumpster today. Just before the guys came up to help us out, Kathy cleared a lot of junk in the dumpster making a path & a easier push for Bob & his gang.I decided not to repair this mower; I haven't the time nor the space to do the job.  

By the way,here are the flowers that Lou Ann gave Kathy last Friday. Nice bundle, huh! I try to fly the helicopter game a few times every other day to keep the contacts clean & sharp. Plus, this is helping my hand-eye coordination.                             And I try to do the same for the penny slot machine. Dinner: Tilapia fish with Dijon & pako coating.

Lights out: 11:59pm.

Awake: 6:25am Temp 53 sleep 6+53 mostly cloudy overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, I got the Hoover vacuum cleaner out & thoroughly cleaned my section of the basement floor in my workshop.

Kathy went grocery shopping in Ebensburg while I went outside & cleaned up some of the paper mess in & around the south side of our house & then added it to our burn pile.

I opened about (3) more boxes & then went outside again & took some stuff out of the now unused pump house. Later I will move this stuff back in after I've moved the pump house.

Then, using my air compressor, I pumped up the tires on the old tractor mower which should make it easier to roll.

                      Here is a picture of the butternuts that Hirk gave me last Friday.                                                 I am drying them out?

Dinner: Leftover Dad's sausage soup.

Lights our: 11:40pm.

Awake: 7:00am      Temp 49      sleep 7+15      sunny       overnight @ Nicktown.

This morning, I planned to get the Kirby vacuum cleaner in our house & try to make it work. Kathy told me she plugged the Kirby in but got nothing. So to the workshop I went; after plugging in the Kirby, I too, got nothing.

Using a screwdriver, I took the body off & exposed the off/on switch; using my Fluke meter, I traced voltage to the off/on switch but nothing past that. I suspect the power switch is bad.
This Kirby has been in storage for over (10) yrs so probably the mildew or rust, dust or whatever...blocked the contact switch. So I put it back together & then into our Suzuki. Whenever we are close to a Kirby dealer, I'll have a professional take a good look at it.

Around 1:00pm, a truck pulled into our circular drive; it was Scott & his stepson. They are from Keith's Country & Billiards in Altoona & will put our pool table together again. Scott has been dealing with pool tables ever since graduating from high school &, according to the experts, his reputation is top notch. Scott is the guy wearing a hat. After getting the outer framework screwed together, (3) heavy slates were put in place & then the leveling began; a very critical thing which took about (20) min.                   Next, they melted bee's wax to fill in spaces between the (3) slates.                              Every nick & cranny has to be filled in & leveled.                                           Then comes the stretch felt.                                                and fastening with staples. The rails were stripped & recovered with the same stretch felt. They & the leather pockets were attached.                                and now, the test; oh wow! Very, very nice. This only took about 3.5 hrs. We thanked them for their good work & then Kathy & I played (3) games of -8- ball. It's so nice to have our pool table back in action again. While all of this was happening, Kathy kept track of the pool table resurrection & also did (2) loads of laundry.

Dinner: Sherry Curry Chicken with brown rice& golden raisins.

Later we called Melissa & got updated on her pregnancy...nothing's happening yet!

Lights out: 11:32pm.

Awake: 5:38am       Temp 50      sleep 5+45      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

K & I motored to Barnesboro this morning mainly because I thought our Suzuki had an antifreeze leak. Al's tire checked it thoroughly & found nothing wrong. I'll be watching my fluid carefully. Since we were in Barnesboro, Kathy did some shopping @ Giant Eagle & en route home, we stopped @ the Krumenacker Builders Supply & bought (5) pulls for the cabinets behind the bar. We also talked with Byron about the order of vinyl for our decking.

Back in our house, we decided to get rid of all the cardboard laying on our bamboo flooring in the basement &, after it was picked up, we each got a vacuum cleaner & cleaned up the game room floor & my laboratory floor. We also made some space for our pool table to be ready for when the guys come to put it together.

Next, we attended 6:00pm vigil Mass & afterward, stopped in the Nicktown bar & had a good time hanging out with Barry, Theresa, John, Mel & Linda. A large pizza & beer went with our good time. Back in our M.H., we finished watching the movie: "All quiet on the Western Front" with Les Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, etc. Vivid, moving adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's eloquent pacifist novel about German boys' experiences as soldiers during WW1. Time hasn't dimmed its power, or its poignancy, one bit. Academy Award winner for Best Picture & Director. 1930. War is still hell.

Lights out: 11:45pm.

Awake: 5:53am      Temp 46      sleep 6+31      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

We skipped our KK meeting due to another meeting in our basement. Jason & Mike were the 1st to arrive a little before 9:00am.
About (20) min later, Stoney & his sidekick, Bob, showed up.

Stoney is the owner of the Geo business near Summerset, PA & knows the Geo system inside & out. He & Bob came here today to make sure 1st of all, our system is working ok; & 2nd, he wanted to tell us about certain things to watch for when changing from summer to winter weather & today, he was also checking on the air in our lines. Bob does the classroom work with Stoney; Jason & Mike may be going to their classes later this month. Kathy & I paid close attention to their suggestions. All together, our meeting lasted about (1.5) hrs or more. After our breakfast @ 11:55am, Kathy started doing (2) loads of laundry.


    Later, Carol & neighbor Chuck came over to visit us so we gave them an up-to-date tour.                                       Chuck is doing much better these days.            I emptied another BIG box late afternoon....with many good things to organize.

Meanwhile, Lou Anne called & wanted to know if they could visit us, bring some butternuts along & possibly have a tour of our house. "Sure, come on up."

Hirk gave me quite a few butter nuts & we gave them a grand tour. Lou Anne also gave Kathy a very pretty pot of flowers. Mason Mike spent most of the day by himself as Sky, the helper, was taken to another job. He did get a good start on the front Peers though.

Dinner: Ham ala King with Como bread & green grapes.

Lights out: 11:53.

Awake: 6:05am     Temp 43      sleep 6+37      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

Mike, the mason & Sky, the helper, are working all day today. They have most of the front side almost completely finished.

                                                       This is the South wing.                                              The front entry & looking West.                                                     And the North wing. Later Scott from REA called to let me know that Friday's plan on the Geo is a go. "Wonderful" I told him. Meanwhile, today Kathy continued making phones calls to change our address to PA.

Late afternoon, cousin Joe visited & I toured him inside our house. We had a lot to talk about regarding the electrical mechanical games.

Dinner: Tuna steak, rice with golden raisins, a mixed salad & green grapes.

Lights out: 11:22pm.

A: 6:45am      Temp 47      sleep 6+58      clouds ...sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, we talked with the Zernick team & they let us know that Phase (1) has been completed & the inspector was very impressed with their work.

                                 Here is a sample of their plank structure.                              .The next step is the vinyl flooring for the deck.

Before our breakfast in our motorhome, Kathy & I started changing our addresses from: Anchorage, Alaska to Pennsylvania. We had a pretty good start this morning but there's a lot more to do.
Later, after breakfast in our house, Kathy motored to Indiana, PA & did some shopping before baby sitting the Foote boys while Melissa checked with the doctor about her pregnant condition.
After Kathy left, Scott called from REA to let me know that Stoney, the owner of the Geo thermo business that we have in our home, might be visiting us & our Geo on Friday along with Jason & Mike. I am looking forward to this, I hope it happens.

Next I wrote some checks out for September & October; then I called for our Alaska mail & also let them know that we will be changing our addresses. Kathy returned from baby sitting around 5:00pm & had a wonderful time with the boys.

Dinner: Dad's sausage soup with multi grain Tuscany bread.

Lights out: 11:28pm.

Awake: 6:22am Temp 47 sleep 6+53 fog..drizzle overnight @ Nicktown.

                                 The Zernick team, some of them hiding,                                          & Mike the Mason + Sky                                             all worked a full day today.

                       Sky sawed a lot of bricks in half to fit the angles of our house. The workers were certainly bundled up during the morning, & that fog didn't lift very high until way after quitting time. After my epoxy cured from yesterday's Helicopter mending, I was able to get the Helicopter working about 80% of the time. It's a fun game to maneuver; almost like flying a real helicopter.

    Then I started checking out the penny slot machine; within minutes, this too had a glitch.                                    That's all for me on these gadgets for today.

Dinner: Maryland style crab soup with Como bread.

Starting @ 7:00pm, K & I attended the closure of (40) hrs devotions @ the Nicktown church. There was a fairly good crowd.

Lights out: 11:47pm.

Awake: 6:25am       Temp 40      sleep 7+01      off & on rain all day     overnight @ Nicktown.

We wore our Alaska outfit to the KK meeting this morning; we're just not adjusted to this kind of weather.

The Zernick team & the mason guys didn't show up this day; however, tough guy Sky, worked ½ day getting the bricks & scaffolding & boards ready for when the masons do continue.

                   Bob & Adam worked inside on Kathy's shelving around the fireplace. Kathy's Cloisonné bell had the chain broken off on the inside hanger; we both thought it couldn't be fixed...but later, I spent some time in my workshop & with patience, I managed to get the chain wire soldered. She was delighted.                                    This is the outside of the Cloisonne bell. I also emptied another BIG box containing VW parts & some more tools & a desk or bench adjustable light.

Later, I started working on the helicopter game; a small section of the cab was broken so I stirred up some epoxy, brought the bright lights over for faster curing & patched up the cab. Tomorrow, I will visit the helicopter game again.

Dinner: Dad's sausage soup with Como bread; delicious.

Lights out: 11:29pm.

Awake: 7:57am Temp 34 sleep 7+53 snow with rain overnight @ Nicktown.

                I couldn't believe my eyes seeing snow on the ground on October 2nd!              Where is our beautiful fall weather or Indian summer? Tell us Mother Nature! Over in our house, Kathy made hot oatmeal with pecans & walnuts for breakfast. It was very cold outside & raining so we spent most of our day in our M.H., & on our computers.

Dinner: leftover Peasant bean soup with added chunks of hamburger & Como bread.

We finished Tonight's movie: "Night People" with Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Bjork, Rita Gam, etc. Sensibly told, intertwining plots of Cold War espionage; filmed on location in Berlin. 1954. No question about this story; that's because all of this was: "Top Secret."

The night was still young & Kathy was so beautiful....so we started another movie: "All is quiet on the Western Front." We watched ½.

Lights out: 11:24pm.

Awake: 6:33am      Temp 42       sleep 6+29      rain      overnight @ Nicktown.

Today is Homecoming for IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) & we were invited to join the Foote family rain or shine. We did our best to dress warm & dry.

I really didn't want to do this due to the weather but under pressure, I went along with the flow & to spend time with the grandkids +Mel & Kevin. In spite of the cold temp & rain, the parade streets were fairly well packed with people. We were a few minutes late but we found the Foote family minutes before the parade started. The Foote boys were kept busy picking up candy thrown to the by-standers by the parade participants: candy, lollipop, gum, bead necklaces, etc.                   Just have a look @ these well dressed gentlemen across the street:                        Hey, wait a minute! One of those gents has been beheaded?

                             Now look @ that float; that's a Pack-man!                    We have one of those only it's a Miss Packman & a lot smaller.

And look @ those girls twirling their batons & they are on fire. They aren't cold, they have their lit batons to keep them warm! 1st time I've seen that! After the parade passed by, we crossed the street & walked about a quarter mile to the children's tent where the (3) older boys played some games, ie. "Ring Toss" & "Pick a Duck." Matthew & Nathan also had their pictures taken & made into 2" pin-on badges. They also got some balloons & a motorized small fan. Melissa had taken Gregory to the Children's Library & although we were all wearing rain coats, our hands were cold & our feet cold & muddy, so we all Joined Melissa & Gregory.                    We took our layers of clothing off & warmed up for a good (45) min. Next Kevin & Melissa took us & the boys to the University food cafe & we spent well over an hr feeding our bodies. Kathy & I each started out with a mixed salad, & then we each concocted a stir fry meal of chicken, veggies, fruit, pasta, & rice.

Aside from the Foote boys eating healthy food, they were certainly engrossed with Mathew's many trips to the salad bar to bring back servings of vanilla and/or chocolate pudding. Ice cream was also a hit for dessert & then we had to leave. The walk back to the Foote Castle was not as bad since the rain was down to a mist.

All in all, we enjoyed the day.....watching & being with the Foote boys, who really are tough kids; we heard no complaints or whining along the way.

We said our goodbyes, attended the 4 pm Mass at St.Thomas More & did some light shopping @ Giant Eagle & heavy shopping @ Wal-Mart.

Back @ our M.H., Nick Skyped us for about (30) min & we had no video, but we updated each other on what's new & different anyway.

Lights out: 12:05am.

Awake: 5:40am      Temp 52      sleep 6+06       cold ...windy & partly sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

Today again, we have one Mason & Sky, the mason's helper. Both of these guys are bundled up.

On the other side of our house, the Zernick team continues working on the initial platform for the decking.
                    I am not sure who this fellow is, but he's nicely bundled up as well. One of my jobs today was taking the door off our wine cooler & adjusting it correctly; according to the manual, if the light goes out, the wine cooler is properly set; so far, nothing's changed.
I opened (2) huge boxes this afternoon; (4) beautiful 1965 Pontiac hub-caps were in one box along with other items, & the 2nd box had (2) shop manuals for a 1965 Pontiac; chassis & air conditioning + a lot of miscellaneous car parts.

Wine time in the hex: with sour cream & onion bunnies.

Dinner in our M.H. Peasant bean soup with Como bread.

Lights out: 12:04am.

Awake: 6:12am      Temp 55      sleep 6+35      mid afternoon rain      overnight @ Nicktown.

Our KK meeting this morning was very busy & active; I didn't know this was going to be, otherwise I would have saved my show & tell for another day.

Anyway, I introduced my miniature out-house building. I think most of the members enjoyed seeing it. Back in my workshop, my workbench is getting very cluttered & I still have many boxes to open. Simon, the Bassett on-the-job boss, was in & out today; but Mike the Mason, & Sky the helper, are slowly moving along.

On the backside of our house, here is Bob trying to maneuver a heavy truss with some help on the other end.                     And here is Bernie filling a pier with sand & gravel & then cement. Shortly after noon time, Kathy wanted my help on putting the bed frames together. Interestingly enough, of the (3) bed frames we have, each one of those frames were constructed differently. I admit, we had Nathan figure out our master bed frame but the other (2), we wanted to take the challenge. I figured out this bed frame;                                      & Kathy figured out this bed frame. On the south wing, here you can easily see the ledger board nailed onto the brick wall using huge screws.                                    Here is a section of our deck so far.                                 And another outside view from the ground. After the mason & his helper left around 3:30pm, Kathy called Dave & asked if he was interested in having some more cardboard; "Yes!" was the answer & he hustled right over with his daughter.

We slid about (10) or more heavy cardboard bundles onto his truck bed & daughter Jill agreed to hold down the cardboard for the short ride back to their home.                               Dave was driving carefully away from our house;                                                when Jill yelled to stop; All you could see of her were her feet & hands so both Ron & I started running to the rescue.                             . ..and here we are trying to get her balanced again. We haven't heard any more about the cardboard tossing series...yet.

Dinner: Salmon, rice, & sauteed spinach with red onion.

Lights out: 11:34pm.