Last Cub Scout Rocket Launch

Yesterday was our last cub scout rocket launch. Of all the activities we've done with scouts, this has been my favorite.

CP put together his own "der Red Max" this year and it looks great. He is uber proud of it, and he was able to get a couple great flights with sucessful recoveries. It was fun to see CP fired up and having fun. There was a guy with a hi-power version that flew on three 29 mm H-engines. Somehow he was able to get at least two of them lit.

Two years ago we bought a hi-power kit and built it up. Fiberglass fins, tubular webbing shock cord, plastic body tube, etc. It's pretty beefy. Last year I sank another $40 into it and got the 38 mm motor mount & casing. This year took another $40 and I got motor spacers and a G-motor (biggest you can get without being certified). The flight went off without a hitch, despite a 20 mph wind. The G-motor took us up probably a bit over 1,000 ft. Next year we'll get certified and fly it on some bigger motors that should be able to get us up to 5,000 ft. I need to get started on building an altimiter, accelerometer, radio tracker, ...

Kohler

I went with my boss to the storybook village of Kohler, WI. Normally we stay at the Kohler hotel on the Kohler campus. This time, however, they were booked solid, and I couldn't get approval for the $500/night American Club, so we stayed in Sheboygan. Our hotel ,the Harbor Winds, was right on the Sheboygan river and only a few blocks from Lake Michigan. The riverfront has been renovated and is beautiful. We dined at all four of the "Stephanos" restaurants: brick oven pizza, organic foods diner, English pub, and his flagship Italian place. Tasty!

Kohler has a Lola race car in the lobby of their engine facility. Pretty sweet little car. Kohler powered, too.

I had a chance to play at Blackwolf Run, but my game isn't up to PGA standards. We had lunch at the clubhouse on the 18th greens. Everyone on the course was struggling as they finished up. If good golfers were playing that poorly, I can't imagine how I would have fared.

Airshow

Gramma & Grampa came to town for the boys' birthdays and the airshow. We got to see the Blue Angles perform, which is always awesome. We also took home a piece of history, which was even cooler than the Blue Angles. The Confederate Air Force (or whatever it's called now) had their "Fifi" B-29 on display. Grampa took the boys thru the cockpit tour, and then we got to meet a real live WW-II B-29 pilot that was signing autographs on actual pieces of Fifi for $10. How cool is that?!? We now have an actual piece of the aluminum skin of a flying B-29, complete with grease & dirt on the unpainted side.

Game Day!!!!

Today is the first day of college football season. Nebraska is taking on Chattanooga in Memorial Stadium this afternoon. Before that, Penn State is playing someone (?), and our old neighbor JRO is in town and coming over to watch it.

We're busy getting the basement cleaned up for its inaugural party. I can't wait to watch the Huskers in HD on the 132" screen!

GO BIG RED!!!

Final Weekend of Summer

This is it! Summer is over as we know it. The boys go back to school Tuesday, and my class starts next Wednesday. Happy happy, joy, joy. JP will be enjoying a few hours of peace & quiet each day again. (A bit different from my P & Q's, but that's OK.) This weekend we attempted to close out some of our projects.



JP took the boys to the zoo & Sunken Gardens for our token summer vacation trip. We've been so busy with the basement, we didn't take a real vacation. Sorry kids, the Lincoln Children's Zoo is all you're getting this year. Oh, and a ginormous xbox screen, and a place to hang with your buds, and some peace of mind for you parents.



This weekend we framed in the circuit breaker panel, built the A/V cabinet, and then sanded and stained the deck. I hate trying to lay in the sun on my stomach - being bent over for five hours while sanding & staining cured me of that complaint.

Basement Progress

This weekend we worked on the basement. Again. Finished up the baseboard and quarter-round, installed the fireplace base, and built the mantle. Everything is painted and looking good. All that remains are the A/V cabinet, and fraiming the circuit breaker panel. The boys enjoy the cool darkness getaway from the summer heat.

Airsoft Arsenal

The boys have been mowing the lawn twice a week and saving up their money. CP actually asks to mow now. They have discovered the cool world of airsoft weaponry. For $20, they can get a full-sized plastic AK-47, FAMAS, or G-3 that shoots pop cans like nothing else.

Florida!

I had a business trip to Orlando & Tampa last week. Four days of looking at mowers and talking to mower mechanics, mower salesmen, mower distributors, mower operators, etc. I used a few free hours to hit SRQ and soak in the beach scene. I was able to get a sweet hotel on South Lido for the night.

I guess this is as good as a reunion can get for the PV class of '86. The classes of '85 and '87 are so organized and with it. What happened to my class? Anyway, I was happy to be there and see some old friends.

Harvest Time

Valentine likes to help with the fresh veggies out of the G's garden.

Carpet!!!

Aaaahhhhh..... Finally! Today our carpet was installed. The saw is back in the garage, and all we have left is another hundred feet of 1/4-round, the fireplace, and the A/V rack.

Just another basement weekend

This weekend, we did what every other couple does when they've bitten off more than they can chew: we worked on the basement some more... We caulked the baseboard, we primed the baseboard, we finished painting the baseboard, we installed the casing around the office closet, we finished the casing around the storage room door, we caulked and painted the casing, we installed the window sills, we installed the laminate flooring transition wolding tracks, we installed the remote control and glass for the fireplace, we babysat the neighbors' fluffy dog, we babysat the other neighbors' tiny dog & cat, we entertained guests for lunch today, and we moved everything out of the bare areas in anticipation of carpet on Monday!!! School starts back up in four weeks - all I want is to have everything done and a free weekend in the sun before class begins. At least we had a beautiful sunset storm.

Basement Sofa

Here's the large sofa and the larger window opening...

Basement Progress

This week we received the new sofa for the basement. JP fought for an hour and a half with the delivery guys about getting it downstairs. It was a long, hot day for them, and they did not want to even try to get the pieces downstairs. If JP signed a damage waiver, then they would give it a shot. No thanks - we'll just wait for TP to get home from work...

I got home from work, had a bite to eat, calmed JP down, and then we tried to get the sofa downstairs. The first attempts were launched from the kitchen. We tried big end first, small end first, skinny dimension first, fat-wise first. It finally became obvious that the pieces would not be going down the stairs.

When we framed the windows, I made a special window sill for the office window so that if/when we wanted to get something big thru the window, it would have a better shot. So we drug the sofa outside and tried to slide it thru the basement window. Nope. Again, we tried the curved end first, armrest end first, skinny side up, skinny side to the side, etc. The sofa was 41" and the window 39". So close, but there's no way to shrink a 10-foot sofa down by two inches.

Now what?!? It was getting late and I was hot & tired & sweaty from wrestling with sofa in the window well. Our last option: pull the window out of the house! Of course! Why not? It only took half an hour to remove the siding, nails, & seal to get the window frame out of the house. That gave us the precious two inches of clearance we needed to easily slide the big pieces downstairs. I wasn't going to go thru the hassle of reinstalling the window, but I was so sick of it I figured I'd better, because it wouldn't be any easier the following day. We had everything buttoned up by 9:15. Good thing, too, because we had a humdinger of a storm that night.

Last weekend (4th of July), we installed the double doors for the office. They were primed and had the glass masked with plastic film. We were surprised that they required so much work. For what they cost, I expected that they would have been closer to being finished. Whatever. They look gorgeous now.



Also last weekend, we installed the laminate floor. Just click it together, right? It took 12 hours to install less than 400 square feet. It was a lot more work than I ever thought it would be. We went carpet shopping yesterday and came away with nothing. How can carpet be so expensive?!?

Today we finished the bathroom - caulking, towel bars, etc. Only need a mirror & shower curtain.

Fireworks!

This year the boys had fun, as usual, playing with their fireworks. AJ was here from California and help to keep the boys busy for a couple of weeks. JRO brought us some bottle rockets to shoot out of the homemade RPG. How much better can it get than that?

Storm of the Year

Tonite we had the best storm of the year, so far. High winds, golfball sized hail, creepy clouds, and a light show that was second to none. We were spared the worst of it. However, 5-10 miles south of us got POUNDED. Of course, that's where all the fireworks stands are. They got rained out last year, and the night before opening day, they received an inch of rain.

Busy Week

Last weekend, we tiled the shower. This week we finished it up with grouting and cleaning. Thursday nite, JP laid the tile floor while I was at work.

This weekend we completed the bathroom floor and then attacked the fireplace. We were able to get it all done, including grout. JP wired up the last remaining outlets, so now the electric system is complete except for the fireplace wiring.