Quiet on the home front

My youngest offspring is off in Ireland for six weeks. She's been gone just a week now and life at home is very quiet. Almost zero drama. We'll see how long before my spouse and I kill ourselves due to the oppressive silence. My daughter is by all accounts enjoying herself and is staying with her boyfriend at his folks home in a very small village somewhere between Limerick and Cork (I think). She'll get a great feel for small town, nothing to do except go to the pub lifestyle. Should be interesting. The small town life seems at first glance to us suburbanites to be ideal and serene, but I imagine for me it would get old fast. I know after living on Oahu for three years I couldn't wait to move back to CA.

Good aim

Reading the note on the picture brought back some great memories.

I was there (at the airport) quite awhile ago and saw this. It's true, I aimed at the fly and finished before I realized it wasn't real. And while the floors are indeed very clean, I still wouldn't want surgery in there.

Hallway Improvements

Almost finished with the replacement of the hall carpet with pergo flooring. The old carpet was badly worn with many holes to the pad and the nail strip showing along the entry way. We went with August Oak laminate. Still not convinced that it's super easy or long lasting. I did learn a lot and that should help me when I do the spare room with the same pergo. I'm not quite done and will be doing the baseboard and transition pieces sometime within a week. Pictures when complete.

The MTTS event will be only one day in SF. Instead I'll be going to Europe through my company and on the way home I hope to arrange a tour of the MINI plant in Oxford. Won't know about the tour until sometime next month but the trip is in September around my B-day.

Too bad about USA soccer, still not too shabby.

I'm in a AC/DC mode right now. I'm trying to complete the CD collection but funds are as always not easy to free up.

MTTS 2010

I'm still trying to get the spouse to agree to let me go to at least one of the MTTS events this year. I think the single day in SF is going to happen, but everything else is unlikely.

I'll be tearing out the carpeting in the hall next week and installing wood flooring. I'll also paint the hall and have the space heater changed out to something newer with a thermostat.

The grandson is walking all the time now, he's just over a year old and still very cute. He's looking more like his dad everytime we see him although the genetic influence of my daughter is still strong in the hair and eye color. Should turn out to be a good looking kid.

I'm enjoying the world cup so far, USA drew a draw with England, great relief there. Also getting excited about the Raiders upcoming season now that Russell is gone and their draft seemed good for a change.

Welcome back

It's been almost a year since I posted or even visited this site, so I'm long overdue for an update.

I'm the proud grandpa of Michael Robert. He's a great little kid and seems to be very happy with life.


















This picture is one of my favorites of him.

Came across another picture on a great website yesterday.


















I've been a bit under the weather lately with a persistent dry cough. Most likely the hangover of the last cold I had. I got the codine syrup for the cough and it's been getting better, but I'm still not fully recovered. I guess that's why I have the time now to revisit this site.

Later.

More life changes

Found out a couple of months ago that my middle daughter is pregnant. She's 26 now so age was not a factor for shock. She had a live-in boyfriend of about a year and I had no idea they were that serious. He's a great guy and all but at the time they weren't married or even engaged. I guess I'm just old school that way, but I think people should be married before starting a family. But I harbor no ill will to either of them (or anybody else) for living the way they see fit. Anyway, I'll be a grandpa for the first time. Woohoo.
And then yesterday my daughter and her boyfriend made it legal. I think they did it for healthcare reasons and not because her parents wanted her to. Fun day and I met the groom's father for the first time. Very nice guy, smart and funny too. He's in IT at the company he works for and loves his job based on his leisure reading material. He's married to a very cool woman who's also smart, funny and a teacher (just like my daughter). And like me, she loves her hard science fiction.
Hard to believe it's been over 6 months since the last post, but there it is. I finished the living room and will be giving a blow by blow account sometime soon (with pictures).

Still working on Living Room

I'm still mired in the living room / home improvement project. This thing seems like it will never end. Of course, I am a lazy sod. I have finished the painting of the walls and still have the trim around the doors to do. I spent the Labor day weekend cutting tile and managed to cement a few to the floor. Only time will tell whether I did on okay job.

I recently bought the book Infected by Scott Sigler. He's a podcaster that reads his novels in chapters and gives them away free. Earthcore has been my favorite of his, but I've enjoyed everything I've heard so far. Highly recommended.

Just went over 20,000 miles in my MINI. That was in about 16 1/2 months. I think I may cut down on the driving a little and take public transport more. I would like the warranty for time and milage to be over very close together. Another body modification is on the way. I'm going to replace the chrome trim around the grill with black trim. I'm slowly getting rid of the major chrome trim.