{Excerpts from my Daily Diary for May 2014}
Thursday, May 1st
Up at 6:30. Mary left her lunch on the table, so dropped it off at the bus stop on the way to work. How is it possible to forget to bring lunch? Isn't that the thing that makes life bearable at school? Or work?
Friday, May 2nd
Adam's 20th Birthday. Are we going to celebrate it? Not sure. Cheryl has the presents wrapped and sitting on the table, but Adam is out gaming with his friends. Guess we'll celebrate later. Sigh. I could sure go for some cake and ice cream.
Saturday, May 3rd
Supposed to get a lot accomplished today in the shop, but instead spent the day playing taxi-cab for the daughters, shuttling them from one event to another. They have more of a social life than we do!
Sunday, May 4th
Baby Dedication at church today. Not sure why they picked today; it's not Mother's Day! Had a hard time focusing on such things, though, since my mind was elsewhere. Finally, after all was said and done, it was time to go to Harbor Freight where my new shop crane was waiting -- and on sale! That's my new baby.
Monday, May 5th
Too busy to put the shop crane together. Rats. Why does work always get in the way of fun?
Tuesday, May 6th
More delays. Work was long and tedious, then after dinner it was time to head over to the school for the final Music Concert. That lasted til nearly 10. Too tired to put my shop crane together. Oh, well, at least there was ice cream.
Wednesday, May 7th
The cats woke me up early, for food. Stupid cats! Why can't they find something useful to do?
Friday, May 9th
Friday night is pizza night, so picked up Papa Murphy's pizza on the way home from work. Ulterior motive: easy dinner means more time to put together my shop crane! Yay! Can't wait to get that engine installed!
Saturday, May 10th
Finally, at long last, there is time to play with the shop crane. Spent the morning figuring out how to put it together, then loaded the new|used engine into Serenity. Was going to finish hooking it all up, bu there were other more "important" chores on the agenda. Like mowing the lawn. And defrosting the freezer. And taking pictures of James and Lena as they head off to the Prom.
Sunday, May 11th
Mother's Day! We should take her someplace special today. Or get her something nice. A card. Some flowers. Something. While I'm thinking, I bought some Krispy Kremes from the Teens at church (they were doing a fundraiser). Can't say 'No' to sugar, right?
Monday, May 12th
The cats woke me up early again. Stupid cats! *** After work, Cheryl and I attended the Band Boosters meeting, where she was voted in as President. I'm already the guy in charge of the marching band trailer. This year is going to be interesting.
Tuesday, May 13th
The guys at work are going out to Olive Garden, so I invite Cheryl to come join us. Cheryl arrives on time, but we can't find the guys from work. Where did they go? We never found them, so we had a nice, quiet lunch to ourselves. Date lunch!
Wednesday, May 14th
Tonight is the High School Band Awards dinner! Plaques and Certificates for the kids, yummy desserts for the adults. OK, we'll let the kids have some desserts. Maybe.
Thursday, May 15th
Time for the monthly allergy shots. It's so nice not to be sneezing my head off this spring! But now I have no excuse not to mow the lawn. Sigh.
Friday, May 16th
I can't stomach pizza again, so tonight I pick up dinner at the Chinese restaurant up the street. Cashew chicken, sweet'n'sour chicken, and lemon chicken. Yum!
Saturday, May 17th
Tonight is the Jazz Dinner Dance. Lots of good food (from the Olive Garden!), great music (with James playing electric and standup bass!), and even some dancing. Not us, though. We're just not the dancing type. Maybe next year, when I finally get some rhythm.
Sunday, May 18th
Had a marvelous afternoon playing with the Subaru in the garage. The A/C belt was slipping, so tightened things up a bit. After removing the radiator fans so as to get access to all the adjustment bolts. Inadvertantly busted a couple of the fan mounting bolts due to rust. Had to improvise. Hope those bolts hold up!
Monday, May 19th
Time to get this basement bathroom under way. Called the plumber. He didn't answer. Left a message. Odd sense of foreboding. Is it really time?
Tuesday, May 20th
Jan's birthday. Happy Birthday, Jan!! Also, tonight is Convocation for James. His artwork is on display in the vestibule outside the auditorium. Cool.
Wednesday, May 21st
James starts his first day of work. He's officially a working man!
Thursday, May 22nd
Art Department Open House at the school. I take a break during lunch to attend. There's food! Later on, Dick and Jean Green arrive, just in time for Graduation. Yay! James is a High School Graduate!!
Friday, May 23rd
Taking the day off to spend with the family. Working on the downstairs closet. Chatting. Eating. Enjoying some company.
Saturday, May 24th
James grills steaks for dinner. Hey, can he do this every night this summer?
Sunday, May 25th
The Shapins come over for dinner. Cheryl gets a huge splinter in her foot, and Carolyn "operates". The operation is a complete success! (Wait til we get the bill...)
Monday, May 26th
Memorial Day. Working on the basement to get things ready for the plumber. Eating lots of food. Then working some more. Wondering when the basement will finally be done.
Tuesday, May 27th
Working from home in the morning, waiting for the plumber to arrive. When he finally does (he got a little lost), he sketches out what we want done. Seems like a simple job. Cut through the concrete to set the shower drain, then lay the lines in for the toilet and sink. OK, maybe the concrete work won't be so simple.
Wednesday, May 30th
Working on the basement bedroom walls. Mom & Dad arrive around 9. Figuring out where everyone is going to sleep. The air mattresses aren't holding air. Rats!
Thursday, May 31st
Dad and I build the uniform stands per Cheryl's sketches. Last-minute prep for the Graduation Party for tomorrow. Then we head down to the Grand Rapids Art Museum to see the kids' artwork. And some of the other exhibits as well. We bump into the Langosch family and I get to spend some time with them as well, doing some painting in the shop downstairs.
Thursday, May 1st
Up at 6:30. Mary left her lunch on the table, so dropped it off at the bus stop on the way to work. How is it possible to forget to bring lunch? Isn't that the thing that makes life bearable at school? Or work?
Friday, May 2nd
Adam's 20th Birthday. Are we going to celebrate it? Not sure. Cheryl has the presents wrapped and sitting on the table, but Adam is out gaming with his friends. Guess we'll celebrate later. Sigh. I could sure go for some cake and ice cream.
Saturday, May 3rd
Supposed to get a lot accomplished today in the shop, but instead spent the day playing taxi-cab for the daughters, shuttling them from one event to another. They have more of a social life than we do!
Sunday, May 4th
Baby Dedication at church today. Not sure why they picked today; it's not Mother's Day! Had a hard time focusing on such things, though, since my mind was elsewhere. Finally, after all was said and done, it was time to go to Harbor Freight where my new shop crane was waiting -- and on sale! That's my new baby.
Monday, May 5th
Too busy to put the shop crane together. Rats. Why does work always get in the way of fun?
Tuesday, May 6th
More delays. Work was long and tedious, then after dinner it was time to head over to the school for the final Music Concert. That lasted til nearly 10. Too tired to put my shop crane together. Oh, well, at least there was ice cream.
Wednesday, May 7th
The cats woke me up early, for food. Stupid cats! Why can't they find something useful to do?
Friday, May 9th
Friday night is pizza night, so picked up Papa Murphy's pizza on the way home from work. Ulterior motive: easy dinner means more time to put together my shop crane! Yay! Can't wait to get that engine installed!
Saturday, May 10th
Finally, at long last, there is time to play with the shop crane. Spent the morning figuring out how to put it together, then loaded the new|used engine into Serenity. Was going to finish hooking it all up, bu there were other more "important" chores on the agenda. Like mowing the lawn. And defrosting the freezer. And taking pictures of James and Lena as they head off to the Prom.
Sunday, May 11th
Mother's Day! We should take her someplace special today. Or get her something nice. A card. Some flowers. Something. While I'm thinking, I bought some Krispy Kremes from the Teens at church (they were doing a fundraiser). Can't say 'No' to sugar, right?
Monday, May 12th
The cats woke me up early again. Stupid cats! *** After work, Cheryl and I attended the Band Boosters meeting, where she was voted in as President. I'm already the guy in charge of the marching band trailer. This year is going to be interesting.
Tuesday, May 13th
The guys at work are going out to Olive Garden, so I invite Cheryl to come join us. Cheryl arrives on time, but we can't find the guys from work. Where did they go? We never found them, so we had a nice, quiet lunch to ourselves. Date lunch!
Wednesday, May 14th
Tonight is the High School Band Awards dinner! Plaques and Certificates for the kids, yummy desserts for the adults. OK, we'll let the kids have some desserts. Maybe.
Thursday, May 15th
Time for the monthly allergy shots. It's so nice not to be sneezing my head off this spring! But now I have no excuse not to mow the lawn. Sigh.
Friday, May 16th
I can't stomach pizza again, so tonight I pick up dinner at the Chinese restaurant up the street. Cashew chicken, sweet'n'sour chicken, and lemon chicken. Yum!
Saturday, May 17th
Tonight is the Jazz Dinner Dance. Lots of good food (from the Olive Garden!), great music (with James playing electric and standup bass!), and even some dancing. Not us, though. We're just not the dancing type. Maybe next year, when I finally get some rhythm.
Sunday, May 18th
Had a marvelous afternoon playing with the Subaru in the garage. The A/C belt was slipping, so tightened things up a bit. After removing the radiator fans so as to get access to all the adjustment bolts. Inadvertantly busted a couple of the fan mounting bolts due to rust. Had to improvise. Hope those bolts hold up!
Monday, May 19th
Time to get this basement bathroom under way. Called the plumber. He didn't answer. Left a message. Odd sense of foreboding. Is it really time?
Tuesday, May 20th
Jan's birthday. Happy Birthday, Jan!! Also, tonight is Convocation for James. His artwork is on display in the vestibule outside the auditorium. Cool.
Wednesday, May 21st
James starts his first day of work. He's officially a working man!
Thursday, May 22nd
Art Department Open House at the school. I take a break during lunch to attend. There's food! Later on, Dick and Jean Green arrive, just in time for Graduation. Yay! James is a High School Graduate!!
Friday, May 23rd
Taking the day off to spend with the family. Working on the downstairs closet. Chatting. Eating. Enjoying some company.
Saturday, May 24th
James grills steaks for dinner. Hey, can he do this every night this summer?
Sunday, May 25th
The Shapins come over for dinner. Cheryl gets a huge splinter in her foot, and Carolyn "operates". The operation is a complete success! (Wait til we get the bill...)
Monday, May 26th
Memorial Day. Working on the basement to get things ready for the plumber. Eating lots of food. Then working some more. Wondering when the basement will finally be done.
Tuesday, May 27th
Working from home in the morning, waiting for the plumber to arrive. When he finally does (he got a little lost), he sketches out what we want done. Seems like a simple job. Cut through the concrete to set the shower drain, then lay the lines in for the toilet and sink. OK, maybe the concrete work won't be so simple.
Wednesday, May 30th
Working on the basement bedroom walls. Mom & Dad arrive around 9. Figuring out where everyone is going to sleep. The air mattresses aren't holding air. Rats!
Thursday, May 31st
Dad and I build the uniform stands per Cheryl's sketches. Last-minute prep for the Graduation Party for tomorrow. Then we head down to the Grand Rapids Art Museum to see the kids' artwork. And some of the other exhibits as well. We bump into the Langosch family and I get to spend some time with them as well, doing some painting in the shop downstairs.