Projects and Activities.

Since I have no real health news to share, I thought I’d share what we’ve been doing over the last couple of months. For those who haven’t been reading along, my health is currently stable – white count is normal, no swelling in the lymph nodes.

We’ve been pretty busy over the last few months. I had to look back through my pictures to remember everything! I’ll start with July. We drove to June Lake the weekend after Independence Day to stay with Jen’s parents and sisters and Jim, who is the boyfriend (now fiancee) of Jen’s youngest sister. We also met up with an old friend of mine (Ross McG) and his wife, who live in Mammoth. There was some mountain biking, some fishing, some hiking, and general relaxation all around. We would have had some lovely scenic photos, but the smoke from several fires obscured the views. Here’s one of us at Monitor Pass, on Highway 89 between 395 and 50.

As I mentioned last time, I’ve been wanting to build a shed for some yard tools so the garage can actually be used for its intended purpose. Contrary to what many think, cars go in the garage. It shouldn’t be a place for all the junk you think you might need someday but never really use. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that stuff has no place in the garage. I am saying that it needs to be organized, and tools and recreational equipment have first priority in the garage. So Sean V. was kind enough to donate part of a Saturday and help me set up forms for concrete and dig out a little dirt where the garbage cans go. I have a feeling I’m going to hear about this picture…..sorry, Sean, but it’s the best one I had!

Alas, my intentions were sidetracked by the Interior Decorating Committee. According to the IDC, it is more important to get things inside the house squared away before tackling any major projects outside. My priorities were re-established with the goal of finishing the living room by September. We had lofty goals: install recessed lights and a ceiling fan, run wires for surround sound, build a bookshelf addition, and paint. Suffice it to say that the living room and adjacent rooms were a mess for the better part of late July through…tonight, when I took the last of the boxes and miscellaneous parts out to the garage and trash.

I started with a small hole in the wall. Jen wasn’t too nervous…yet.

I soon realized that the hole needed to be bigger so I would have room to run all the cables. Around this time, Jen started to wonder what she’d been thinking when turning this project over to me.

Cables everywhere! At least now they’re in the wall instead of on the floor, right?

Drywall patched, textured, and almost ready to paint. While it dried, I headed under the house to run some more cable.

Tommy S. shared his electrical knowledge while I supplied the attic labor for installing the ceiling fan and recessed lights. Note to self: next time, this is a winter project!

Rob C. provided excellent advice on wood selection as well as plenty of time and tools on the bookshelf addition. My idea was to add on to the existing white bookshelf, down the adjacent wall, with angled shelves in the corner. Rob made it work!

The finished bookshelf, painted to match the existing bookshelf, and with audio/video components connected.

Finally, we have a finished living room!

We have also been enjoying the fruits (or vegetables?) of our labor in the garden. Ok, it’s not much, but we planted four tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, cilantro and basil. The cilantro died quickly, but the rest of it is actually growing and producing. We are learning about proper irrigation and pest control, too. Here’s a photo of something I found on the tomatoes.

While I’m mowing the lawn, I occasionally come across other fauna in the yard. One Saturday I looked in the branches of our plum tree and saw these little guys.

This past weekend, we went camping at D.L. Bliss State Park, which is just north of Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe. We were originally invited by Virginia J., a coworker and friend of Jen’s. It was a double date for the weekend. We did the usual camping stuff: campfire, smores, card games, hiking, napping.

This concludes our summer. We hope you’ve enjoyed yours as much as we have enjoyed ours!