Miscellaneous Saturday

Here are some pictures of our Saturday. We got up early to travel to Frankfort to take Grandma Mary out for breakfast. We ended up in Flora eating at the Flora Family Restaurant. But I need to digress.




BEFORE we left for Grandma's, we discovered that our "HAVAHART" little critter trap had snagged a pesky chipmunk that had been wrecking havoc in our flower beds. We packed him up in the trunk and let him loose in some cornfield between here and Rossville. May he raise all the little chippers he wishes and may he never come back to our abode again (now to trap the rest of his pesky little family).



See that little havoc-wrecker running toward the cornfield? It's that little brown blur in the greenest grass area.




Erin, the last picture is in response to your request to see the concrete damage to the driveway while removing the basketball goal. We hope to get a borrowed jackhammer this next week to break away the concrete surrounding the goal post and we might even tackle the driveway.

Oh, Baby!

Sunday after church we left for Mark and Lori's house to see our newest granddaughter, Claire. She is a sweetheart.






While there, Deke continued to work on the built-in bookcases for Mark and Lori. Months earlier, he had constructed the base units (sans doors) and planned on installing the upper bookcases the three days we were with the Joneses. Everything went normally for the first couple of days so while he worked int he garage, the girls oohed and ahhed over the baby and did some little jobs around the house:

Lori and I painted a twin bed

Had a picnic lunch with Mark on base over his lunch break

Even got to sit outside enjoying coffee on the deck one morning!

AND THEN:

For two days, Deke had worked in the garage making the upper bookcase units for the built-ins. We all pitched in to help cut, glue, sand, assemble, prime, paint, paint, paint etc. Everything was going smoothly right up to the time of installation.

The right-side base unit before upper bookcase and paint.

The right-side unit after constructing, painting and installing (sans doors, shelves, and trim).

The trouble came with the left-hand unit. Everything was tight. We shoved, pushed, sweated, hit, grunted, and hammered the unit in. Why isn't this thing going in right? Lori, get me the rubber mallet. Thud, thud, thud, thud. Moved one inch. Lori do you have a sledge hammer? Wham, wham, wham, wham, wham.




Moved two more inches. Wedged in tighter than a woman in an old-fashioned girdle. Whack some more. Scrape paint, tear drywall, scuff marks on new paint job. Miserable. I don't believe it but this thing has to come out. How are we going to get it out now that it's wedged in so tight that we can't budge it one way or the other? Lori, hand me that sledge hammer.

After almost 2 hours of this, Deke crawls up inside the unit and begins whacking it with a sledge intending to take it apart. Fortunately the face-frame comes off in one piece

We finally wedge the top bookcase free and can't believe our eyes.

Peering inside the opening, we find that we've literally beat the crap out of the wall. Ripped drywall, exposed 2x4's- the whole bit. We literally pounded it through the back wall.



So now it's plan B and we were supposed to have been on the road heading home 3 hours earlier. Deke cleans out all the glue joints and reattached the face-front to the frame after cutting down 1/8 inch on each side. We try reinstalling the top unit and now it won't sit flush on top. What's going on? The base unit is not plumb on one side. So now we have to take out the base unit. Tug, pull, prod, ply, grab, yank. The thing won't budge. Fulcrum. No prybar. Shovel. Won't budge. And then in total frustration, Deke did a "Jon Varnell." Yep, he walked up to that unit, looked it in the face, placed both hands in some position, planted his feet and literally lifted that 400 lb base unit out of the niche. It was a miracle. Lori and I witnessed a true miracle.

After cutting the base unit and leveling it, we reassembled the whole thing and called it a day.



We were 6 hours overdue for leaving IL, and still have hours of work yet to do installing all the trim, crown molding, dentil work, doors, shelves etc. So we kissed our kids and beautiful granddaughter, posed for one last photo and headed up the road. We started a little after 6 PM and pulled into our driveway @ 11:05.

It was all worth it.

Carroll County Fair

Deke and I went to the fair last night. It's a sad affair compared to when I was a kid but we still found our pork tenderloin sandwich, PSI IOTA cookies, and some antique tractors.

















Check out the soft ice cream. These cones are SMALL and cost $1.00. Eat your arteries out, big city folk! Pam, that's Marsha Trapp serving the cones.

The End of an Era that Never Was

Remember that old basketball goal in our driveway? The one that guaranteed a trip to the ravine if you missed the backboard? Well, it's gone. At least it's on its side and down for the count. As soon as someone figures out how to get it out of here, it goes to the youth at Battleground UM Church. Deke dug down on each side of the post about 3 feet to free the cement, then Farmer Bob came with his tractor and pulled it out. Deke estimates the cement weighs about 3/4 ton. In the process of pulling it out, the driveway concrete crack REALLY cracked so now we have to replace two large slabs. That means jackhammers, cement trucks, concrete workers and a bottomless $ pit. Oh well, so much for a good deed!

God's Bounty

Spent an hour or so in the garden this morning weeding, hoeing, spraying, picking and pruning. Gorgeous Indiana day with lots of sunshine and humidity. Just some pictures of my morning.

See the hummingbird on the feeder?

VBS

All this week I have been spending my mornings helping out with our Vacation Bible School at church. Since I volunteered late, I was appointed the go-fer gal, doing all the odd and unusual jobs where needed. Today I spent most of the morning caring for a 7 year-old autistic child whose mother was one of the team leaders. Interesting.




I came home at noon only to speed back out the door to take Mom for her weekly hair appointment in Flora. I still need to mow and weed the strawberry patch. Oh, I stopped at the edge of Flora to purchase our first sweet corn. I know it will be yummy. Flora fair starts tonight so we're going tomorrow to get Deke's hair cut and walk around the fair grounds. Should be a thrill. Post forthcoming.

Dentist Appointment

Mama Jo's lower partial wasn't fitting correctly so I made an appointment with Heath at Flora to see what could be done. Apparently having it out of her mouth for those days in the hospital allowed her teeth to shift just enough to cause pain when it was inserted. Heath simple filed down the protruding edge and like magic, the apparatus slipped in as smooth as silk. No cost. Try getting that kind of service in your big city!!!

Mama Jo and I came back to our house, ate lunch and will sit on the porch for the remainder of the afternoon.

Mama Jo gets her partial refitted. Dr Heath Jones to the rescue.

Happy 4th of July!

Last evening we spent a delightful evening at Max and Dianne's house in Lafayette celebrating our Independence Day! Dianne and her mother decorated the patio area beautifully with red, white and blue everywhere. We talked and talked around the table until the mosquitoes got the upper-hand (hee hee).

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

(l-r) Deke, Cindy, Ken, Tracy (Scott's girlfriend) Scott, Marian, Dianne, Ann (Dianne's Mom), Grandma Mary. Max took the picture.