Our Weird Weekend

On the off chance you read only 1 sentence and then move on to your next internet adventure, I just have to start with this picture.  I call it The Leaning Referee.  It cracks me up. 

The last thing Julie and I were thinking as we left Redding, Ca. on our way to Salem to visit Joel, Carissa and Ryan - was that we would get stuck in a blizzard.  Well, as the intensity of the rain increased and the temperature dove - that's exactly what we were faced with midday Friday.

The snow was driving down and it was freezing so fast we ended up with big chunks of ice on our hood.

We think we got on the road just before they implemented a chain requirement.  We had no chains.  No warm clothes to deal with the cold in case we ended up stalled or in a ditch.  And, we had gone only 10 miles in over an hour.  With 110 miles more of mountains - we eventually had to rethink whether we could make it to Salem and back to California before Sunday night.

We decided against it after fishtailing a few times.  It was time to turn around and head home.  We called Joel and profusely apologized.. then sadly headed back towards sea level and out of the snow.

Michigan's club hockey team was playing the ACHA 2001 Division II Nationals in San Jose last week.  So, as we were driving home we realized we could possibly make it to the semi-final game between Michigan and Michigan State.  Out of the blizzard and into the freezer.  I mean rink.  Eric and his brother Kyle play for Michigan - so Julie was a true trooper and rooted for the Maize and Blue!  This is Kyle.

Here's a moment of quiet contemplation for the Michigan goalie.  I hope he enjoyed it because Michigan State played an excellent game and put constant pressure on our goal.

But Michigan put pressure on Michigan State's goalie as well.

However, in the end MSU prevailed.  Sigh.  This weekend just wasn't working out for us ;)

One of the saddest moments was meeting up with Eric after the game and seeing the pain and disappointment in his eyes from the outcome.  In some ways it's great to have those emotions.  Many people will never achieve the great results Michigan did and ever get in a position to lose such an important game.  But it was hard to see and there really wasn't much to be said that could erase the feelings.  We could just express our joy in being able to see him and his brother play in person.  It was a real treat and we won't soon forget their play.  They really did do great.

Then, it was time to go back home.  Here's what our Saturday looked like.  We lit a fire and watched March Madness as we moped about missing Joel and all of TH2.  A weird weekend.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh

When the sun is high in the sky and the temperature climbs towards 70 our hearts skip a beat.  So, you can imagine the joy we've been experiencing the last couple days.  California is delivering on its promise!   Ahhhhhhhhhh... 

We took advantage of the sun this afternoon to do a bit of gardening.  Below is the Japanese maple that we added to the front yard.  Some friends of ours are doing a major renovation and they were going to have to remove this beauty from their front yard.  So, they were generous enough to let us come and transplant it.

We lost a plant a year or so ago that needed replacing.. so we think we found just the place for it.

Julie loves working in the yard.  She's weeding a plant that Janice gave us a few years ago.  It's doing great. 















Oh.. and this is dump week!  Here's our 2010 pile!  It would have a couple more items in it.. but our stuff has been pretty popular.  We had an old tub out there but that lasted about 10 minutes.  The spot rate for metal is $110 a ton (according to the young man that picked it up and carried it off).  I am so proud of America.  This is still a country where if you want to work hard and put in some effort you can find creative ways to make money.  It's fun to watch people come by and pick through the pile for 'jewels' that we thought so little of we threw them out!

After the yard work I went for a nice, long walk in the sun.  The flowers are out and spirits are lifted up! 

Clean out

Every once in awhile our waste line clogs because of the Magnolia tree we have in our front yard; a romantic gift from our house's previous owner to his southern belle wife.  Our city has always been fantastic about coming and performing a clean out because the 'issue' occurs in the part of the line that is under their easement on our property.  Essentially, it occur right under the tree because the roots LOVE the moisture and 'nutrients' the waste line offers.

Well, recently the city told us they needed to install a 'clean out' which allows them to do their work from the yard.  To date they have done the clean out from the manhole in the street.  No more, now they insist on working from the yard so that the city employees are not at risk working in the middle of the street.

So, they came last week to install the clean out.  Here they are getting started.  The equipment you see helps them figure out exactly where the pipes run into our yard.

Once they figured out where the lines go it was time to dig down to them.  So, they brought out the heavy equipment and started digging.

They figured they had to go about 4-5 feet down to find the pipe to tap into and put in the clean out.

By the time the hole was dug out they had removed about 1/3rd of the roots to our Magnolia tree.  We'll have to see how that works out.  We're wondering if it will show trauma signs.

Here's a longer shot of the digging.

Once they got a guy into the hole and he started cleaning out around the underground pipe - he looked up from the hole and realized... that there already WAS a clean out in the yard.  They had almost dug it up with the bucket!!   It was buried just far enough below the surface of the ground that we've never 'discovered it'. 

The guys from the city water department were pretty embarrassed to say the least. Apparently, their records weren't too good and they failed to note there already was a clean out.

Well, they put the dirt back in the hole, put the sod back on top of it, and raised the existing clean out up to ground level.  Too funny - they had to dig a 5' deep hole to find the existing clean out!

Card Night

Last Saturday was card night at Team Henderson's. Joining us for the festivities were Auntie, Team Logan, Team Logan2 and some additional friends. Julie L friend Brandy from school came home with her for the Thanksgiving weekend so she joined us. Also, Tim's nephew Mark is in seminary down in Pasadena (LA area) so he was in town for the weekend as well. Maggie and Corbett joined us as well to round out a stellar roster of players.

Corbana (Corbett + Hannah) rocked in Spades. I hate to admit it - because I was on the receiving end - but those two are formidable. Unstoppable. I don't know whether to be proud that we raised such a good card player or upset that she couldn't show her parent a little respect. Hmmm...???

The 'small table' hosted the spades and euchre games. Take a special look at Karen who I believe won the award for most hideous sweater ;)















The dinner table was devoted to group games. We played Golf as well as prediction. Brandy, Julie's friend, is a quiet force in the card realm. We started out wondering if she was a cardtard. We ended the weekend realizing she was a shark as she won two consecutive games of prediction. Pretty sweet. That's Brandy in the green sweatshirt.















Here's Mark mugging it for the camera.















Oh - did I mention that Indy played too? She rocks!















Julie planned the event and the theme was ugly Christmas sweaters! Here's Corbana in matching sweaters. Apparently they shopped in the twins department at Goodwill to find these beauties. Corbett's fit especially tight ;) Maybe matching sweaters is their key to spades victory.















I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Julie scheduled this event at the same time as the Stanford v Notre Dame game. All I'm going to say is that the night was bitter sweet. I hear the people that I had to give our tickets too had the time of their life at that amazing game!

Open for Business!

The guest bathroom was complete enough to be 'opened for business' on Saturday. Hannah was in town for the Thanksgiving break and her friend Maggie joined her. We also had 13 or so guests for a card night - so it was essential we got it up and running.

It's not quite done. I've got to lower the towel rack (don't ask). And we're having a mirror built to match the vanity. We've got to get the original mirror cut to size and delivered to Dr. Rose (our carpenter) to be built. We also have some pictures to hang. But, other than those minor details - we're done!

Here's a look from the doorway.



















Here's basically the same picture - but with the shower curtain opening to the other side so you can see the shower controls.



















We included an arched shower curtain rod that moves the curtain further from you when showering. It gives the shower a more expansive feel.















Here's another view.. that gives you a better view of the vanity.



















This is the custom vanity that Julie designed and Dr. Rose built for us. It is beautiful. So much so, in fact that we didn't want to mount the toilet paper dispenser to the side of it. Julie came up with this beautiful floor model as an alternative. The vanity top is a product called piedrafina; which is a marble product. It matches the shower surround. The sink is a very cool Kohler rectangular sink that Julie picked because it is relatively deep. Hannah commented that it is really good for hair washing.



















This is a closeup of the faucet Julie picked out - in polished chrome. The sink faucet, shower controls and towel rack are from the same collection. Sweet!















I think this project turned out really well. We're happy and everything seems to work ;)

Next... our bathroom??

Here Comes the Floor

The bathroom is coming along nicely. The walls were taped, mudded and textured this week. Then, the folks doing the tub surround (the three walls around the tub) were able to get in and do their measurements. They are off fabricating the walls now (along with the matching vanity top).

Next step is the the floor. We're off and running on that today. Here's the prep work; laying the mortar bed for the tiles.















Here's the completed, leveled mortar bed. We'll let this set up tonight.



















The tiles are waiting and ready to be deployed - though. So, this week should see a floor going in!

Persistence

I am not naturally gifted in many areas. Certainly, this week I've learned another area I am not gifted in: drywall. In fact, I would venture to say that I am profoundly not gifted in this area.

However, while slogging through the bathroom (yay! I'm finished!) - I have come to realize that there is one character trait that you can possess that assists in coping with the absence of other gifts. Persistence.

At the end of the day I am relatively willing to just keep going. Keep moving forward. Keep waiting and keep hoping that things work out. Keep trying.

There is no question that having unlimited skills would be ideal. But that is not within my control. What is - is whether I am going to quit when things are hard. Or boring. Or .. just a test of my will.

As I was using twice as much dry wall (thankfully it's cheap!) and 3 times the amount of time a skilled person would probably require to get the job done - I was tempted to get frustrated. Instead, I decided to simply keep moving. Eventually it would be done. It couldn't take forever. So, just keep going. I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to finish.

The final result wasn't great; but it is acceptable - maybe even good. More importantly, it's done. And now I know that if I just keep going when doing my next dry wall job... I will succeed. That, I think, is the very best payoff of being persistent. It infuses you with a sense of hope for the future. What is better than hope?

PROGRESS:

I called in an expert - Brian, who led the charge on the plumbing and electrical changes. He is a true 'sicko' who 'loves plumbing!'. I was just the shopper/helper-bee!















As a result of his expert help the tub is in! and the bathroom has been re-plumbed with copper and some electrical changes are complete (adding a ceiling fan/light as well as moving some of the existing fixtures).

With those tasks completed.. it's time to put things back together. Step 1: drywall. CHECK!

The Washlet

Holy cow! How in the world did I submit a blog post for Tubz without mentioning the Washlet! Thanks to Julie for triggering my Alzheimer's racked brain. Here's the deal.

Recall that I mentioned that Tubz is a 'customer participation' showroom. Well, when you go into their public restroom they 'kick in up a notch'. BAM!

Our customer service rep said we 'must visit the bathroom'! Certainly, a public restroom isn't normally a destination spot. At Tubz it is. Why? Because they (mens and womens) feature the Toto Washlet. Check out this beauty.











Immediately as you recline onto the seat you enjoy a soothing warmth from its heated seat.

Then, once you've done your business the Toto Washlet gets to business. And it's business is cleansing your.. well, you get it.

A multi-feature remote control provides any number of 'services'. You can wash the back. Wash up front. Pulsate. Steady Stream. Reposition the jet stream to just the right spot. Blow dry.

How civilized!

How did I forget this? My, oh my, oh my.

Tubz

You haven't heard much about the bathroom project the last couple weeks because Jules has been in tub-hunting mode. As it turns out, you pretty much have to nail down your tub and tub fixtures before you can do much of anything in a bathroom remodel.

One of the issues Jules was facing however is .. 'how do you pick out a tub without laying in one and seeing how it feels?'. Well, that is where Tubz comes in.

Jules found Tubz while perusing web sites trying to find anywhere to look at times in person. Tubz is located in Fremont (in the east bay) in an industrial warehouse type building. And what a jewel it is. There are over 200 bathtubs of all ilks (soaking, whirlpool, bubble, two person, .. and on an on) within their showroom. And, you can take off your shoes and lay down in any of them you want! What a great idea. I dare say if you can't find your tub there.. you just aren't trying.

I didn't think to bring my camera.. bummer.. because it would have been hilarious to show you pictures of Julie laying around in all sorts of tubs to find just the right one to soak in after a long, hard day. I was cracking up.

And the good news! Jules chose a tub! Yay!

Oh.. Tubz also has a host of toilets on display. How funny to have a bunch of people walking down the line sitting on toilet after toilet trying to find just the right throne. This is definitely the most entertaining place to shop I've been to in quite awhile.

The way Tubz works is that you grab a customer service number right when you enter and then you do your own perusing until your number is called. When it was our turn to speak with a customer service person we got the owner. That man definitely has a passion for tubs and toilets. I learned more about the history of the whirlpool tub (he invented the recessed and rotating spray nozzles!) and toilet technology that day than I ever wanted to; especially toilets. Let me cut to the chase for you; buy a Toto. Trust me to have thoroughly evaluated the dirty details and skip the tour yourself.

Once we had the tub selected, pieces just started falling into place. We now have ordered the tub, toilet, fan/light and vanity sink! We already had the vanity picked out, the floor tiles and wood trim selected. So.. we are getting sooo close to ramping up for more action in the bathroom.

Way to go Julie!

Ahhhhh.. the 5th of July!

Team Henderson hosts an annual 4th of July Celebration. We enjoy a big barbecue (this year featuring hamburgs, foot long all beef hot dogs and salmon) and time of fellowship with our friends.

We love America. We think it remains a most amazing gift from God to us and we are grateful for being here, enjoying freedom and being able to give something back for all God has done for us.

We had a great time and the fireworks display was spectacular with an impressive finale - as always.

I didn't take any pictures during the party.. but I know Aaron and Emily had their camera out.. so hopefully we'll post some pictures of the event soon (after I swipe some from Emily's Flicker account ;D ).

As much as we enjoy the excitement of the 4th.. we love the slow, leisurely pace of the 5th. The house is clean. The yard is spik-n-span. So, all there is to do on the 5th is enjoy a slow, sweet nap. Here's Julie and Indy doing just that on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

























































It's time for me to nestle into the couch and take my nap! I hope you all are enjoying your Sunday!

Bengie's Dugout

Last week we completed some renovations to Bengie's Dugout. Here's the updated version with flags, retractable roof and signage. Julie did a great job!

Bengie's Dugout

Bengie Molina Henderson moved into spacious new digs Friday night. Bengie, named after quite possibly the slowest player the San Francisco Giants to ever play seems to be adjusting well to his little dugout.

Mrs. MacGyver!

My wife is Mrs. MacGyver! Boo-yah!!

Everyday we get up, walk outside in the rain, pick up our paper, walk inside, dry it out and open it up to find the headline: Drought! Governator Declares Water Rationing Plan! California To Raise Water Rates in Response to Drought!

Then we walk back inside, get ready for work, drive to work in the pouring rain, watch it rain all day long and then drive home in a pouring rain ;) [you don't think I have a little cabin fever do ya??]

Anyways, I'm preparing to go on a short trip to San Diego to see my nephew graduate from Marine Corp basic training and the pool was getting very full again. So, I called Julie on my way home last night to let her know I was planning on draining some water from the pool. I didn't want to spend the weekend worrying about it overflowing. You see, the forecast is for rain all weekend - combined with continued Drought!.

It's not that big a deal to pump some water from the pool.. but it's a bit of a nasty job and not one I look forward to with yearning.

Not any more!! My audacious, spectacular, gynormously wonderful and talented wife totally rocks! She had been anticipating the next pumping.. and found some couplers that make hooking the drain hose up to the outtake of the pump a complete breeze! When I got home she was running around in the back/side yard with a mini flashlight in her mouth and a wrench in her hand.. putting the final touches on our new drainage system [in a driving rain of course]!

Once again and may I repeat for all...: BOO-YAH!

My wife totally MacGyver'd that baby! And it only took 2 trips to the hardware store!

Julie - you are awesome!!

Giving New Meaning to 'Wingmen'

Julie and I were watching some TV yesterday when we noticed a weird sound coming from the TV. So, we turned the sound down and low and behold the sound didn't go away. Instead, it was now more distinct! We raced to the door.. ran outside.. and looked up to see the following:















The sound we heard was hundreds of crows screaming as they were flying. We watched the huge pack of birds while trying to figure out what in the world was going on. They were clearly purposeful in their flight.. as they chased across the sky. However, we couldn't quite understand just exactly what they were up to.

Suddenly, we saw a hawk (we think) fly by with a crow in its talons. The victim's friends were all rallying to its aid - chasing the perpetrator all over the sky! At one point the hawk settled into the tree just behind our house (see below).. with all the crows circling and trying to aid their friend.















I'm not sure it did any good. But it was a very interesting sight to behold.