Blog Entries July-Sept 2008

Week Ending 09/27/08

Our first day in the Keystone State began with a quick breakfast at the hotel, a return trip to Beaver County Airport (BVI) in Beaver Falls  for a much-needed plane de-bugging session, and a Wally World supply run. After returning to the city, we set off on foot for Point State Park--so named because it is quite literally the point where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers converge to become the Ohio. This past summer I spent a fair amount of time in a Kentucky hotel that overlooked the Ohio, so it was interesting to see where the river actually begins.

  Point State Park as seen from the Fort Duquesne Bridge

The Point as depicted in an 1817 sketch by Mrs. E. C. Gibson

After the park, we headed downtown. I had been struck by the impressive city skyline when we arrived on Saturday night, so I was anxious to get a closer look. The varying styles of architecture, ranging from centuries-old Gothic stone churches to modern glass skyscrapers, makes for an interesting visual contrast.

This six-building PPG complex is known as "the crown jewel of the Pittsburgh skyline," and rightfully so as the distinctive spires on the tallest building are visible from virtually any vantage point around the city.

       The skyline as seen from Station Square

On Monday evening, we took the "T" over to Station Square where we shopped the mall, ate dinner at Houlihan's, and rode the 138-year old Monongahela Incline cable car for a stunning view of the city from on high. We decided to make a return trip to South Side on foot Wednesday night -- 2.5 miles round-trip. The featured entertainment for those dining on the patio at the Hard Rock is a fountain display with colored lights and water choreographed to music.

Station Square fountain as seen from our table at the Hard Rock

Wanting to infuse ourselves with a bit of uptown culture, we enjoyed dinner and a play at The Cabaret at Theater Square on Thursday night. Shear Madness is touted as "America's favorite whodunit comedy." While I can't speak for the rest of America, Scott and I found it to be well acted, entertaining, and funny.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the Senator John Heinz History Center. En route to the "largest history museum in the state of Pennsylvania,"  we happened upon an array of street vendors peddling produce, baked goods, artwork, jewelry, clothing, candles, flea items, sports memorabilia, and ethnic foods. After experiencing a Pittsburgh-style Philly cheese steak at Peppi's Sandwich Shop, we continued on to the museum. The multi-level brick structure houses loads of interesting and informative displays depicting the rich ethnic, industrial, historical, and sports heritage of "the city of bridges." 

More next week! :-)
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 09/20/08

Saturday was by far the most exciting day of our week. In fact, the days leading up to it were largely spent preparing for it.

We departed Front Range Airport at 8:00 a.m. mountain time en route to Pittsburgh, PA for an anticipated 1-2 week stay. Most notable during the first 2.5-hour leg of our journey east was a last-minute change in fuel stops. Scott had planned on landing at York Municipal, for "the cheapest AV gas in Nebraska." About 10 miles from the field, he radioed his location and intentions but was told that the runway was closed due to "an accident situation." Plan B would take us to Crete Municipal Airport, about 34 miles and 13 minutes south of our course. According to the folks at Crete Aviation, the crash took place around 4:00 p.m. the previous afternoon and resulted in two fatalities--the instructor (a friend of theirs) and his student.

Shortly after entering the Cornhusker State, the seemingly endless absolutely flat terrain finally began giving way to topography that was a bit more interesting to look at.  From our vantage point, the effects of water on the land were clearly visible.

In addition to the appearance of slight hills and meandering tree-lined rivers, the landscape below us was suddenly dotted with towns. Living in the densely populated suburbs of the Mile High City, I lose sight of the fact that there is still a vast amount of undeveloped land in America. I find myself feeling more connected to the rest of the country as we traverse large expanses of it from several thousand feet. 

As we began the second and longest leg of our flight (3.25 hours), Stand by Me, the movie adaptation of Stephen King's "The Body," was my choice for in-flight entertainment. As we crossed the Missouri river into Iowa, the hazy blue skies that we had been flying in all morning gave way to columns of billowing white.

A QTA (quick turn around) at Logansport/Cass County Airport for petrol, potty, and Pepsi before beginning our shortest and final leg--just shy of two hours. While we would be staying in downtown Pittsburgh, 339A would once again be hangared by Prospect Aviation at Beaver County Airport in Beaver Falls. Upon landing at BVI at 6:23 EST, we transferred our luggage from the plane to the rental and ate dinner at Sal's Ristorante & Bar a short distance from the airport before driving the 45 minutes to our hotel.

Coming in for a landing at BVI

My travels with Scott have taken me to a variety of locales, but this is my first time in the big city. While I was certainly expecting some activity on a Saturday night, I was surprised to find the 'Burgh absolutely abuzz with home-game excitement as the Pirates and Astros faced off at PNC Park across the street from our  hotel.  

    The stadium at PNC Park as seen from the south shore of the Allegheny.  


More next week!
___________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 09/13/08

As friend Carolyn and I made our way from my townhome in Littleton to Denver International Airport late Sunday morning, we couldn't help but be excited; we had been anticipating this day since last November when we made tentative plans to join gal pal Victoria Rosales on a "quilting cruise" sponsored by her friend/boss-owner of Bolts in the Bathtub. Under the watchful eye of our mascot Dale the Dall sheep, our two-hour flight from DIA to Los Angeles International  was smooth and uneventful. Unfortunately, adorable little Hector the sea otter didn't do as well by us on the return flight. 

The Monarch of the Seas as seen from Catalina Island
click here for more pics

Although our ship wouldn't be underway until late Monday afternoon, we agreed that arriving the day before would eliminate stress due to potential unexpected flight delays. Upon our arrival at LAX, we met up with Carolyn's youngest sister Laura who had flown in from Washington State. Following a short wait at the luggage carousel, we were on a shuttle headed for the Crown Plaza Hotel--our digs for the night compliments of hubby and his frequent-guest points. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant before returning to the room to fall asleep to a movie.

Following a good night's rest and a Starbucks coffee, we were in front of the hotel awaiting the shuttle that would take us back to LAX to meet Carolyn's other sister Marilyn flying in from Vegas. Carolyn and her two sisters have a great tradition of taking a trip together once a year, and this cruise opportunity just happened to coincide with their typical travel time.

Our foursome became a group of nine as we hopped yet another a shuttle from LAX to the pier with five ladies from Dawn's quilting group. (I guess I should mention that while we four are not quilters, we were graciously permitted to be part of the quilting group on this cruise.) The 45-minute ride took longer than the process of offloading our bags, clearing ship security, and heading to the holding area where we awaited our turn to board the Monarch of the Seas. Our four-day eating frenzy commenced as we stepped aboard and headed to the Windjammer Cafe on deck 11 for a buffet spread that would leave even the heartiest of eaters wanting for nothing.

After settling into our "Oceanview" stateroom and stowing our stuff, Carolyn and I decided to explore the ship in search of the Meet & Mingle Expo for a sampling of shipboard services and amenities. As I contemplate the best way to explain the amusing event that transpired next, I'm reminded of a phrase New England Mainiacs are fond of using: "You can't get theyah [there] from heyah [here]." In our case, this was quite literally the truth. It would have been comical to anyone observing as we descended an aft staircase from deck 7 and were visibly perplexed to find ourselves not on deck 6 but on deck 5. After a couple trips up and down the stairs to make sure we hadn't somehow missed deck 6, we decided to try the elevator. Hmmmm . . . no button for deck six. It was only after a ship employee explained that 'tween deck 6 could only be accessed from the front of the ship that we understood what was going on. As someone who's known to be directionally challenged, it's not surprising that it took me 'til day three to get the hang of which stairs would get me to where.

Our cruise began in San Pedro with stops in San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada, Mexico. I thoroughly enjoyed the buffet-style eating on demand, the relaxed formal dining experience with the quilters and our engaging waiter Raj each evening, kicking back poolside to read/snooze/visit, taking a Pilates class, indulging in a warm stone massage, taking an early-morning walk topside, and sightseeing.

Beautiful San Diego skyline as seen from the ship

Thanks to Scott for such a great birthday gift--he'll be hard pressed to top it next year when I turn 39! ;-) Thanks also to those involved in planning and logistics: Victoria, Patricia Liefeld of America's Vacation Center Travel Agency, Cathy, and my most excellent roomie Carolyn who made our trip reservations, drove us to/from the airport, brought me my morning coffee with a smile on her face, and was just an exceptional traveling companion!

Disembarking and clearing Customs was a tad more involved than boarding had been. Were it as difficult for illegals to cross our boarders as it is for citizens to get back in, we wouldn't have an illegal immigration problem. But that's a rant for another day.

A shuttle ride back to LAX, a few quick goodbyes, and we were checking baggage and getting boarding passes for our return  flight to Denver. I was excited when Frontier offered to put Carolyn and me on a flight that left 2.5 hours earlier than the mid-afternooner we were originally ticketed for. My excitement began to fade with the captain's first announcement that three  missing screws from a maintenance panel would have to be replaced before we could depart the gate. Our anticipated 15-minute delay stretched into 30 ... and then 45 before we were de-planed to await the arrival/insertion of said screws. Suffice to say that we probably would have gotten home at the same time, if not sooner, on the original flight. Oh well ... such is the life of a traveler.

On Saturday, Scott flew me to Salida for breakfast at one of my fave places. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to fly over the rockpile. I appreciated the birthday texts, phone calls, and emails that I received from well wishers throughout the day. Later that afternoon, Cassie and Tyler joined us as I opened gifts/cards and, of course, enjoyed that all-important slice of chocolate cake. Life is good!

Scott had his own traveling experience in 339A as he made his way back from Texas. The coastal facility where he was working opted to evacuate and sent him packing on Thursday. The flight to Seadrift took five hours. The flight home, which involved maneuvering around a huge low pressure system across the middle of the country, took three times that long. 

More next week! 
____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 09/05/08

About 50 friends and family members joined us at a Labor Day BBQ we co-hosted with friends Gary & Carolyn Zilik at their Front Range hangar on Sunday. In addition to a lunch of burgers, brats, beans, watermelon, cookies, and assorted chips and drinks, Scott and Gary shared their love of flying with 14 guests giving plane rides in their RVs.

Click here for more pics

Scott and 339A headed for Seadrift, Texas on Tuesday for an anticipated 1-2 week stay. My week was uneventful as I made final preparations for my very first cruise. More about that next week!
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/30/08

Aside from an enjoyable  Sunday morning breakfast flight to Pueblo Memorial Airport, the only noteworthy event that took place last week was the completion of our flooring project on Tuesday night (for more on that, read the previous two posts). Well ... We're not exactly finished as we still have to replace and paint the baseboard and install the transition pieces. Scott's work schedule is fixin' to pick up soon, so not sure when we'll get to it. Just getting the flooring down was a big check mark in the done column of our home improvement project list. 

More next week. :-)
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/23/08

Our floor-covering saga began last September with our DIY hardwood flooring installation (see previous post). The rant continues ...

After completing the project Labor Day weekend of '07, we joked about how we wouldn't want to be the ones having to rip it up one day since we had been quite liberal with the nails. Well, in an ironic twist of fate, the joke was on us and we were the ones having to deal with a jillion nails. Surprisingly, though, it came up quite easily. The adage about many hands making light work proved itself as Scott, Tyler, and I made short work of the nail extractions. Thanks to Tyler for giving up part of his Saturday to help us out!

Our attention quickly turned to the very substantial window leak that we discovered upon removal of the flooring. The installer of the home security system had compromised the integrity of the window by drilling through the metal frame--not once, not twice, but three times--to run wiring inside the wall (perfect example of someone having just enough knowledge to be dangerous). Consequently, the rain water that should have been caught and channeled out through the exterior drainage holes was running through the window frame, down into the wall, and onto the sub floor.

After putting a call in to the company whose name was on the system control panel, we learned that although they had provided security services to both the original  and subsequent owners, they had not done the installation and could not, therefore, be held accountable.

It was actually quite fortuitous that Saturday's deluge brought the leak to our attention before we had laid the new flooring. Otherwise, a second re-do may have been in our not-so-distant future. I was surprised by how well the moisture barrier, the one Mr. inspector had deemed inadequate, did its job in keeping the hardwood itself dry underneath.

After church on Sunday, we began laying the Armstrong laminate. While we had anticipated the "angle, angle, lock system" to be easier than nailing had been, this didn't initially seem to be the case. The surface laminate may be tough stuff, but the locking system underneath--not so much. At the end of a very frustrating afternoon, Scott had figured out the correct angle for ease of locking, and we completed up to the area where the window had been leaking.

Before heading off on an impromptu business trip to Delaware on Thursday, Scott completed the window repairs. Upon his return on Saturday, we picked up where we had left off.

More next week. :-)
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/16/08

Church; a nice drive into the mountains to help out some friends; continued cleanup, organization, and hanging of window treatments in our basement; and playing with Google Maps is how we spent our Sunday. Scott also started a honey-do project installing under-the-counter lighting in our kitchen, which made the cook very happy.

Aside from lunch at Panera Bread with friend Carolyn and seeing Cass off on her first day back at college on Monday, not much to report through Thursday.

We had some chilly, soggy weather move in on Friday and hang in for much of the weekend. While I would've preferred to be curled up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a hot cuppa of Joe on Friday, I had errands to run. I enjoyed the rain anyway. Scott, who had been watching the weather and knew what was headed our way, got his flying fix on Thursday afternoon.

As an aside, whenever I hear or use the expression "cuppa Joe," I think of the time I was about to drink a cup of coffee and Cass asked if I was having a cuppa Job. Anyone familiar with the hardships of this poor man would certainly agree that a cuppa Job isn't something one would enjoy or have by choice. (Cass told me after reading this blog entry that she heard the expression cuppa Job on the Rugrats. For better or worse, you just never know who or what is influencing your kids.)

On Saturday morning, we ripped up the hardwood floor that we had installed in our living/dining room area over Labor Day weekend just last year. This is a real point of contention for Scott and me, so fair warning that you are about to enter ... The Rant Zone.

When we bought our townhome last February, the living and dining rooms were carpeted with this ugly green color similar to the one we just painted over in the basement.

Realizing that carpet in such a high-traffic area wasn't a good idea, we decided on hardwood. Based on our research of the various types, we opted for engineered as it is supposed to weather foot traffic better than actual hardwood ... mistake #1. We were in the process of shopping around when someone recommended that we try iFLOOR. They had a good selection and their prices were lower than some of the larger chains, so we decided to buy from them ... mistake #2.

Regarding mistake #1, engineered hardwood is not as tough as it's touted to be. While the origin of numerous scratches and dents that appeared in our absence is shrouded in as much mystery as an episode of The X-Files, it eventually became obvious to us that even normal use easily caused scratching and denting. As disheartening as this was, it was not what prompted us to chuck $2,000 worth of hardwood into the dumpster and start all over again.

    $2,000 worth of hardwood flooring after installation (09/07)

        $2,000 worth of hardwood flooring on its way to the dumpster (08/08)

Regarding mistake #2, within a couple months of installation we began noticing curling and lifting of the edges and corners on a handful of planks.  

There was no particular pattern or location, it just happened randomly here and there. As time went on, this phenom worsened to the point that we decided to contact iFLOOR. A local store rep advised me to send him an explanatory email with digital pics which he would forward on to the appropriate corporate folks. I complied and was eventually contacted by a Claims Division rep. After a few emails back and forth, he reluctantly agreed to send an inspector at their expense. Yes, he actually had the audacity to suggest that we pay for the inspection.
 
Scott accurately predicted even before the inspection took place how this was gonna shake out: The inspector would find some installation faux paus to which iFLOOR would attribute the curling and lifting. Mr. Inspector (a person whom we were assured had no affiliation whatsoever with iFLOOR) generated his report and determined that the problem was indeed installation related (floor not acclimated long enough; use of an improper moisture barrier--one, I might add, that is sold by Home Depot for use under  hardwood flooring; and nails being "overdriven" through the tongue with a pneumatic nailer).

This reasoning falls short, however, in light of the facts: 1) the curling and separation of the laminate from the wood happened on less than a dozen boards interspersed over the surface of the floor, which, were it truly related to insufficient acclimation and/or an improper moisture barrier, would surely have happened to many or all planks and not just a few, and 2) the curling occurred on the non-nailed edge, which would not be the case if the problem were truly related to the nails being incorrectly inserted into the tongue.

Bottom line, iFLOOR accepted no responsibility whatsoever for the defective flooring they sold us. And not only that, after informing us that we were at fault with no hope of financial recourse, the rep then asked that we reimburse them for the inspection that had been done! I, of course, did not dignify his request with a response. Moral of the story: iFLOOR does not stand behind their products, so if you purchase from them, you take your chances.

The floor-covering saga continues next week. . . .
___________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/09/08

Our new week began much as the previous one ended ... painting. If you've been following our blog, you know that in order to call the top-to-bottom re-painting of our recently purchased town home done, we had to finish the basement (which comprises the movie room, the laundry room, a small bath, and my soon-to-be craft room).

On Monday, I was happy to accompany Cass to the Denver-Metro campus (aka Metropolitan State College of Denver) to talk with an adviser and arrange her fall schedule. She had been toying with several different options but finally decided that she wanted to resume her studies at DM with journalism as her major rather than general business studies as before. We are quite pleased with her decision and willing to do whatever we can to get her off on the right foot. Since classes begin on the 11^th, we were cutting it kinda close in terms of scheduling, but it all worked out in her favor.

A couple months ago, while shopping for a day planner at FranklinCovey, I promised to get Cass one when she started back at school. Not surprisingly, she hadn't forgotten about it and wanted to pick one up before classes began the following Monday. On Tuesday a.m., it was back to the FranklinCovey store in the Park Meadows Mall. Shopping for school supplies has always been one of the highlights of each new school year for Cass, and picking out her planner for college was no exception.

We officially finished painting on Friday and started the process of cleaning-up and putting things back in order. WOO freakin' HOO!

We flew to Greeley-Weld County Airport on Saturday, as we have done more than a dozen times before; but on this particular morning, we had the added pleasure of meeting up with RV-9A builder Mel Bickling and his wife Sue who treated us to breakfast.

A quick stop at Platte Valley Airpark for "cheap" gas ($4.60 per gal--0.57 cents less than FR), and we were headed back to Front Range. We enjoyed some quality time in the company of a few fellow Front Rangers before heading back to Littleton. The afternoon was spent doing one of Scott's favorite things--shopping (for basement window treatments). He was a good sport about it, though. The work of the past few weeks was well worth it that evening as we enjoyed watching 633 Squadron in our freshly-painted, neatly-organized movie room.

Cheap really is a relative term since this pic taken in April of last year shows AV fuel at just $2.97 a gallon in GA!

More next week! :-)
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

07/20/08 - 08/02/08

07/20-07/25 were spent plugging away on our basement painting project and making preparations for Oshkosh AirVenture (see slideshow)--chores, planning, shopping, packing and so on--nothing exciting.

Saturday the 26th we departed Front Range Airport at around 1:00 pm with Gary & Carolyn Zilik. Our destination was the home of friends Jim and Vicki Baker in Goodland, Kansas. As we finished loading up the RVs before beginning our 60-minute jaunt to KGLD, we received a text message announcing that the Baker Hotel was now equipped with Wi-Fi, brownies were in the oven and beer was on ice. Sounded great to us! Shortly after landing, our hosts arrived with coolers chock-full of icy cold beer, water, and soft drinks.

Upon our arrival at the homestead, we enjoyed an array of assorted goodies, some of which were prepared with ingredients picked fresh from Jim & Vicki's impressive back-yard vegetable garden. Good stuff! Later that night, after a Pizza Hut pigout, we enjoyed the brownies that had been baked that afternoon topped with ice cream and JimmyB's made-from-scratch hot fudge sauce. In my humble opinion, there's no dessert on the planet that is tastier or more gratifying than brownies with ice cream and hot fudge. As our engaging conversation wound down and we turned in for the night, I pondered how blessed we are to be friends with such good people.

On Sunday morning, we ate our fill of a breakfast spread that included a delicious egg casserole `a la Vicki before heading off to the hangar to ready ourselves and our airplanes for the next leg of our trip. At 7:40 a.m., the skies above Goodland were already a  steamy 81 degrees. We climbed in search of cooler air to an altitude of 9,500 feet. The mid-sixties temp range, coupled with the toe-tappin' tunes of Glenn Miller, made for a pleasant 3-hour flight to Richland Center Municipal Airport in Richland Center, Wisconsin.

A quick 30 minutes after departing Richland, we were in the conga line over RIPON headed toward FISKE. This year's entrance and landing were much less harrowing for me personally than 2007's had been. This was no doubt due at least in part to having experienced it once already, but another contributing factor was that this year we didn't arrive during heavy incoming traffic. My garbled memories of our first flight into Osh conjure images of planes from virtually every direction making the big squeeze into one line, looking up in shock to see another aircraft uncomfortably close above and to our right, and having a large warbird practically run us over on final, prompting Scott to get out of line and head back to RIPON to try it again. But, I am happy to report, this year it was smooth sailing toward that big purple dot as we came in behind the Ziliks under the concise verbal instructions of the controller.
 
After landing on runway 36L and a short taxi to homebuilt camping (unlike last year when an inexperienced volunteer sent us  a  l  l     t  h  e     w  a  y    a  r  o  u  n  d  through the grass instead of allowing us to make the immediate turn that would have taken us right where we needed to be), we were parked and setting up just a few rows from where we had camped last year. As someone whose teensy-weensy bladder oft demands middle-of-the-night potty runs, I'm always happy to be in close proximity to a bathroom.

While Gary, Carolyn, and I made a supply run to the Red Barn, Scott finished setting up. In my absence, a couple stopped by and talked with him about our Turks & Caicos travel story. They had read it (both online and in Sport Aviation) and wanted to let us know that we had "inspired" them. After reading about  our RV adventure, he had a renewed motivation to press on with the building of their RV-6 and she began anticipating the trips they would take in their own homebuilt airplane with a bit more enthusiasm. I was sorry to have missed them and wish I knew their names so I could make contact. Mostly, though, I was honored and humbled to learn that we had been an inspiration to someone else.

Aside from the high humidity, which this Colorado girl of ten years is no longer accustomed to, the weather was good with only one evening sprinkle. We thoroughly enjoyed: time spent in the company of friends, reconnecting  with friends we don't often see, and continuing to expand that circle of friends in making new acquaintances; investigating the exhibit hangars and the Fly Market; attending forums; watching an aviation flick at the Fly-In Theater; hearing multi-generational astronauts speak about the U.S. space program and laughing at the comedic genious of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (WARNING: language/adult humor/off-color jokes) and his wooden sidekicks (not to mention The Guitar Guy) at the Theater in the Woods; visiting the EAA AirVenture Museum; watching the air shows; and stealing a lazy hour here and there relaxing in the shade of 339A's wing.

We were also happy to have met Sport Aviation Senior Editor Mary Jones who was instrumental in getting us published. While we would like to have seen Gary Senise and his Lt. Dan band and John Travolta, whose appearances took place after departure day, my only real regret is that taking in Jeff Dunham's show meant missing one of my all-time faves at the Fly-In Theater, complete with introduction by Indiana Jones himself. Whose idea was it to schedule two events like this on the same night, anyway?!

We turned in early on Thursday night and fell asleep to the distant sounds of a band playing somewhere on the grounds. Friday morning it was wheels up at 8:30. The temps during the first leg of our return trip were hot but not unbearably so; I can't say the same about the second leg. While the York Municipal Airport / FBO service and lunch at the Chances R Restaurant were top notch, the flight from York to Denver was oppressively hot with outside air temps reaching 98 degrees by our virtual mercury (even hotter on the ground). For a visual of how excruciatingly hot it was inside the cockpit, click here. A safe landing back in Denver and our Oshkosh adventure was at an end.

Saturday back in Littleton was spent doing what else ... painting. Thankfully, though, the project is almost finished. On a more pleasant note, we enjoyed time spent with daughter Cassie and a phone conversation with son Stevie.

More next week! :-)
___________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/19/08

Picking up where I left off in last week’s entry, we and the Ziliks had breakfast at the Country Bounty, my favorite place to eat in Salida, before making the 1.5-hour drive back to Pine. What a great weekend we had playing on the river, spending the night in Salida, eating out, and going to the movies.

As we made our way from the mountains to the suburbs, our thoughts turned from weekend fun to the monster in our basement … the unfinished painting project. You can guess what we spent the rest of the day doing. 

The rest of the week was pretty unremarkable. Scott and 339A were in Lamar, Colorado on business Monday through Thursday. Cass came over for dinner, a movie, and a sleepover on Thursday night. The weekend, beginning on Friday evening, was spent working in the dungeon, I mean the basement. We made good progress, though, getting both the movie room and my craft room painted and applying two of the three coats of white it took to cover the hideous color in the laundry tomb. In fact, the entire basement was painted in this dark and depressing gray-green color that we are soooooo happy to be covering up. Look for before and after decorating pics that we'll be posting later on.

More next week! :-)

_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/12/08

After attending a 9:00 church service on Sunday morning and stalling as long as we could, we reluctantly headed to the basement to paint. Since buying the townhome last February, we've re-painted all upstairs and main-level walls and ceilings. The basement portion of our project has been looming over our heads for months, but we've been away from home so much that we haven't been able to work on it. We managed to get all surfaces in the largest room prepped for painting before Cass came over to join us for pizza and a movie. We knew even before our little Star Wars fanatic arrived which movie she'd pick for us to watch, we just didn't know it would be Attack of the Clones ... again.

Not much to report for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. While Scott was at the office,  I did the usual household chores and errands. We continued plugging away at the painting in the evenings. During Cassie's Wednesday night sleepover, Mrs. Doubtfire was abruptly interrupted by a power outage.  After about 15 minutes by candlelight, we decided that turning in a little earlier than planned wasn't a bad idea.

Thursday, a memorable day for me, began with Cass and I spending some quality time together at the Aspen Grove open-air mall--one of our fave places to shop in Littleton. It was a particularly hot day, so our light summertime lunch at the Panera Bread Company was enjoyed under a tree on the patio. My great day didn't end as we headed home, though; Cassie had given me a certificate for a spa pedicure at Salon Foushee for Mother's Day and my appointment was for 3:00 that afternoon. Thanks to her thoughtfulness and generosity, not only did my tootsies look and feel great after my delightful pedi, but I felt pampered and loved. A gift that can accomplish this is the perfect Mother's Day gift indeed!

On Saturday morning, we headed to the mountains to meet up with Gary & Carolyn Zilik for a weekend play date. Destination: Buffalo Joe's for some whitewater rafting (be sure to check out their videos). Upon our arrival in Buena Vista, we located BJ's and then headed to the Evergreen Cafe for a spot of breakfast.

Our rafting excursion began as we donned our gear, took a short bus ride to our input point on the river, and received additional instruction from Jacobi, our rafting guide. Long serene stretches were interspersed with short bursts of excitement.

Scott & Deb: back row / Gary & Carolyn: 2nd & 3rd from front
(click here for pics)

Carolyn, a first-time rafter, is such a daredevil that after experiencing the Brown's Canyon run, she's already jazzed about trying the more challenging Numbers run.

A bit of freshening up at our hotel in Salida and then dinner for four at the Twisted Cork Cafe, followed by soft-serve ice cream downtown and taking in the movie Hancock. The Storyville Cinema's "vintage" seating, pervasive cinemuck (made up word or sniglet referring to the sticky goo on theater floors), and less-than-perfect film quality made for a unique, yet fun, movie-going experience.

More about the Zilik/Mills weekend next week! :-)
___________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb