Bathroom Remodel Complete

Countertops are on; plumbing in; and the pulls are in
Take a look at the finished product and let me know if you see what is different than 80% (based on our observations) of other remodels of this sort (and it has nothing to do with me being inthe picture)

We are very happy with the results; it is a big improvement over the original. The inset sinks and higher counters are fantastic. We haven't put things away in the drawers and cabinets yet, but it looks like we will have a lot more room.

Thanks to Douglas Bernhardt.

Bathroom Remodel - Countertops and plumbing done

The new countertops are on and the plumbing installed.

Tomorrow (Thursday September 29) the grout goes on and pulls (aka handles) are attached.

Freedom From Fear Chapters 1 & 2

I've started reading the Pulitzer Prize winning Freedom From Fear by David M. Kennedy. It is a part of the Oxford History of the United states covering 1929 - 1945.

I thought it would be interesting to read it prior to reading David Halberstam's The Fifties. I am so glad I did; this book is fascinating. This is a huge book; over 859 pages; I've read the first 2 chapters "The American People on the Eve of the Great Depression"and "Panic".  I know have a much better understanding of the causes of the depression.

I'd always assumed that blame for the Great Depression could be laid at the feet of Herbert Hoover. I'm rethinking that. Kennedy lays more of the responsibility on Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover's predecessor. It was Coolidge who said "The Business of America is Business".  He was knows as "Silent Cal"and was very inactive president. His philosophy was to ignore problems as long as possible because 9 of 10 of them were resolved before you had to worry about them. Trouble is when that 10th one shows up it is a whopper and you aren't prepared for it. Hoover was a member of the Progressive Movement and felt that there is a place for the Federal government to  combat unemployment with public works. The government should not stand idly by while there is economic difficulty.

After the crash and through 1930 Hoover tried to use four forces to combat the increasing Great Depression

1. Get the Federal Reserve to reduce rates. The trouble was it is independent and the governors did not see eye-to-eye with Hoover
2. He jawboned industry to maintain wage rates to encourage consumption. That worked for a while.
3. He used the Farm Board (created by Congress at his request as a result of a deep agricultural recession in the late 20's) to help support agriculture prices. Unfortunately the Farm Board had also created crushing tariffs that went against the long term interests of the country.  Additionally, the Farm Board wasn't capitalized with enough money to be useful
4. He fought for stimulating public construction projects. Because of the small role of the government there was only about $200 million to spend on construction projects to help boost the economy.

As I've been reading these two chapters I've been thinking about today's Conservative and Tea Party movements. They are proponents of small government and want to get back to the America of the past. I'm thinking they are yearning for is this time between the end of World War I and the crash of October 1929.  I just don't see what was so great about that time. Because there were not big construction project like the Tennessee River Valley Authority much of the country was dark after the sun went down. The judiciary were activist on the conservative side supporting industry's union busting programs of yellow-dog contracts which forced laborers to agree to never join a union. This was a period where there was no social security, no unemployment help, no resources at all for the workers. People worked 12 hours a day, six days a week. There were no, or very weak child labor laws.

The bank failures occurred because most of the banks (thanks to Andrew Jackson) were single institutions. As the panic grew people withdrew their savings; in order to get the money to pay the depositors, the banks had to sell their assets at fire sale prices, so that they didn't have enough funds.

The Great Depression was caused because the small/weak Federal Government let industry have it's way. Given the reality  of the restricted abilities of small government there was little Hoover could do. As Arthur Schlesinger said "No American could have provided a fairer test of the capacity of the business community to govern a great and multifarious nation than Herbert Hoover"  (quoted on page 55). We see what a disaster occurs when laissez-faire rules above all else. 

Bathroom Renovation 2010 - Cabinets Are In

The cabinets were installed today; they look great.

Ignore the flash; my nephew Christopher would be chanting "available light, available light"

Douglas called and asked where the pulls were. Oops; we got so focused on picking sinks we completely forgot to get pulls! I laughed and told him "Um, they are still at the store!" :)

It's been a little challenge to remember to go into the other bathroom in the morning and at night to wash up. But it will be all so worth it.

Jeeves & Wooster - The Inimitable Jeeves

Just finished the 11 short stories which comprise The Inimitable Jeeves. These stories were originally published between 1921 and 1923 with the novel form coming out in 1923. The heart of the book; or at least the recurring theme is that Bingo Little falls in love and needs to get back into good graces with his uncle who provides Bingo with a monthly allowance.

Finally in the end Bingo marries the actual Rosie M. Banks (unbeknownst to Bingo) whose latest novel about love conquering class was  The Woman Who Braved All. Bertie is persuaded to pretend again to Bingo;s uncle that he is the author using the Nome d'plume Rosie M. Banks. Then Rosie finds out that they've been lying and Bingo's uncle calls her an impostor  and things get topsy turvy. To make it better, all the embarrassing things that occurred in the 11 stories are brought up as evidence to make people think

Bertie is a loonie so everyone else can live happily ever after. Poor Bertie, he gets the short end of the stick time and time again. He's a little wacky but not as wacky as his friends and relatives think. He's a victim of his own good nature.

Okay, I just re-read and rewrote the summary 3 times and it's still confusing. That's how good P.G. Wodehouse is; you just have to read the whole story and laugh along the way.

All in all I think if you are interested in reading Jeeves and Wooster stories, I'd start with one of the early true novels and give the short stories a miss.

My current plan is to take a brief intermission from Jeeves and Wooster and read some history of the 30's, 40's and 50's. First up is David Kennedy's Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and  War, 1929-1945 

Then David Halberstam's The Fifties

That's the plan anyway; things may change but that's part of the fun.

Bathroom Remodel - Early stages

Our master bathroom remodel is getting underway. As remodels go it isn't very extensive. We are getting new cabinets, countertops, and sinks. The shower and bathtub are fine so aren't getting tossed. The cabinets were definitely showing their age. The new cabinets will be about 3" higher.

Here are some pictures of "before"

With that huge mirror (which is staying) it's hard to get a good straight on shot with a flash and without yours truly in it.
So...

Problem 1 solved; but dang who is that old guy in there?

We are getting a cabinet between the toilet and shower; much taller than our original little Home Depot cabinet we bought when we moved into our 2nd house about 20 years ago.

Douglas Bernhardt, our contractor and great family friend for many years, came by to do the demo.

Carla and I have little 5 gallon buckets we can use to wash in :)

Thursday the cabinets go in; then the template for the countertops. Then next week the countertops and plumbing will be installed.

Stay tuned.

Labor Day: New Deck and Grilled Chicken

We had a productive yet relaxing Labor Day weekend. We went over to John and Karen's house on Friday after work for beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres. We had invited them to our house but our deck wasn't quite finished so we we decamped to their backyard. It was a wonderful evening; beautiful weather and great company. Just what I needed after a stressful day at work with 3 separate production problems.

We don't have a backyard; the deck is it and it is a bit cramped. We had the rel-squad over in June for our niece Megan's graduation party and felt very pinched. In addition it was sloping down away from the house and the railing was an accident waiting to happen. So we had Douglas Bernhardt give us a bid on extending and improving things. He did a fantastic job. It had to be propped up at least 2 inches in a number of spots.

After the work was done we needed to re-treat it. We planned on doing it ourselves (really! we considered it). But we felt it needed more than we could do in a couple of weekends in the fall. So, we had Mike Johnson come over to tell us what he could do. He is a friend of Andrew's; we've known him since he was about 12 or 13 - a great kid (pardon me: young man). He stripped the finish from the old boards, reset dozens of nails that had popped up, sanded, and stained it. He did a fantastic job. You can see here the improvements in looks, size, and finish. If you've got some work to do; I definitely recommend him.

Saturday afternoon we went to an art fair in the Pearl district to find a painting for Carla's birthday. We saw some nice things but nothing for the house. We'll keep our eyes peeled the next few weeks. On the way back we stopped for a beer and some appetizers at Nel Centro near my office. The pomme frittes there are among the best I've ever had.

Sunday I was on a mission to get a new pair of jeans. I walked from one end of Washington Square Mall to the other: Sears to Penney's. Advertising works; I hadn't planned on going to Penney's but I had seen an ad for Lee jeans on sale at Penneys on Friday night. I'm glad I went - got 2 nice pairs of jeans. They were the best fitting of everything I tried.

I also went to Lowe's and picked up a new motion detector light for the side of the house. I've been meaning to do this all summer and summer is winding down. I installed it while Carla was making dinner; it was a success: it works and I didn't electrocute myself.

Monday we went to yoga at 10:00; Jeanette is a great yoga teacher, I try to go anytime I have a Monday morning available (usually just  a few 3-day weekends a year). We did some core work and  twisting. It felt great; I wish she taught in the evening one night a week. We got home and laid down an insect barrier around the foundation. We've had a lot of bugs and spiders getting in the house; an expected side effect of living next to this wonderful green space. After lunch the deck was dry so we moved our furniture and what-not back up.

Earlier this summer we played croquet and ate some fantastic chicken during a "Dinner's for Eight" evening at the Blickenstaffs.  The chicken was butterflied, rubbed and grilled under bricks. I saw a similar recipe watching America's Test Kitchen later in the summer and had it in mind to try. You can get  my working copy of the recipe here. Jeff was coming over to dinner so tonight was the night. I brined the chicken this morning; then butterflied it and rubbed it in the early afternoon. At  4:30 we were ready to cook!

The Weber was doing the work. I just had to sit down and drink a beer. Looking out over the new railing of our deck I savored one of the last views of the green before Fall comes and takes down the leaves:

I made those benches over 20 years ago out of some lumber left over from our deck at our first house. No way did I expect them to last so long.

Flipped the bird a couple of times and it was ready

Carla had sautéed some broccoli and garlic; Jeff sliced some cucumber and put it on the salt block. A few cherry tomatoes from the garden and dinner was served

My plate

Back to work. Carla's summer vacation is over; my uncle Jake and aunt Sally are planning on packing up from their summer place in Concho, Arizona back to Cottonwood. I talked with him this evening and they are planning on taking the southern drive home across the Mogollon Rim. Andrew and I made this drive a couple of years ago on our way to Tucson. It is a beautiful drive through a gorgeous white pine forest.

Reading: Catching Up Fall & Winter 2009

October 3, 2009

• Myths to Live By
• Author: Joseph Campbell
• Copyright: 1972
• Publisher: Penguin Compass
• Pages: 266
• Rating: ***
• Part of my mythology reading series

October 15, 2009

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Another part of my mythology / hero-journey series. I have a whole write-up on this mythic story back in October 2009.
• Hansel and Gretel (and other stories) . 
• It's interesting how many stories, legends, fairy tales, and folk tales can be seen through the archetypal  hero journey lens. They travel across water to an unnatural land where they battle a powerful force, then return home with riches to bestow boon on their family. Of course there are also psychological forces at play: the wicked step mother, who mysteriously is dead after they kill the witch.

October 31, 2009

• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
• Author: Michael Chabon
• Copyright: 1988
• Publisher: Harper Collins
• Pages: 297
• Rating: ***
• Both my sons, but especially Andrew, really like Michael Chabon so I picked this up. It was a good story about growing up in the 80's with a young man finding himself. 

December 5, 2009

• A Christmas Carol
• Author: Charles Dickens
• Copyright: 1843
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Pages: 75
• Rating: ****
• I love this book about redemption and try to read it every year around Christmas. I gave copies to my group this year as a Christmas present.

December 19, 2009

• A Briefer History of Time
• Author: Stephen Hawking. Editor: Leonard Mlodinow
• Copyright: 2005
• Publisher: Bantam Dell
• Pages: 146
• Take away: Gravity = Accelaration

Catching Up - Friday Night LIghts

September 2009

Going back through my Bento database I figured I could get caught up on my book reports for the past year.

Author: H.G. Bissinger
Pages: 366
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Finished: September 12, 2009
Rating: ****

Dang, I was lazy and didn't write a review in my Bento database so now I'll have to remember!

I know I read this because I enjoy the TV series. Remembering back the main thing I remember about this great book on high school football in Texas is how seriously they take it; it's more intense than college football in Oregon. Also, the amount of racism in the town of Odessa. As I think someone said in the book; the schools became desegregated but not integrated. The blacks are used as long as they can produce on the football field but as soon as someone is injured, they are just another "n-word".

I've read a couple of books now by H.G. "Buzz"  Bissinger, the other being Three Nights in August about Tony LaRussa manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buzz does a great job of drilling into the moment in time and making it real.

Not Happy with Jeeves in Springtime

Just finished the short story Jeeves in Springtime where he is supposed to help Bingo Little get hooked up with a certain waitress over the objections of Bingo's rich uncle whom Bingo relies upon for an allowance.

Jeeves does his usual solve two problems at once schtick, but it is all for Jeeves' benefit and not for Bertie's or Bingo's. Jeeves ends up using the situation to break up with a woman he was seeing (Bingo's uncle's cook) and makes it so Bingo can't get with the waitress because Jeeves is interested in her.

Sounds complicated? It's a little funny but I don't think Jeeves is out for his own benefit. Or maybe I've missed something over the years and I'll come to get a whole new outlook on things.

Jeeves Takes Charge

I just finished 6 early Jeeves and Wooster short stories, the last being Jeeves Takes Charge first published in 1925. In this story he is staying at his Uncle Willoughby's place in Shropshire. Bertie has just hired Jeeves after having sacked Meadowes, his earlier gentlman's gentleman,  upon finding out he was a kleptomaniac.

Bertie is engaged to Lady Florence Cray who is trying to improve him by having him read some philosophical treatises. (Craig Delk, you'd probably like the book he was reading but it was by no means suitable for poor Bertie). Meanwhile his uncle has been writing a remembrance of his early days telling about wild times with his old friends who are now established and reputable men. Florence has read a couple of the stories and tells Bertie he must destroy the manuscript before it reaches the publisher or the engagement is off. She is worried what a scandal the book will provoke.

Bertie grabs it and is almost found out; Jeeves saves Bertie from great embarrassment by safely storing it away just before Bertie is to be found out as the thief. Bertie is very relieved at the engagement being on and very happy with Jeeves' performance. The next day the manuscript makes its way to the publisher and Florence breaks the engagement. Bertie is very unhappy with Jeeves, who had sent the manuscript in, and fires him. Jeeves discusses what he will later call "the psychology of the individual" where he explains that the gentlemen mentioned in the book will be quite pleased to be seen as having been wild in their younger days. Jeeves, not being an employee any longer, explains to Bertie why she was not a suitable match. Jeeves had discovered that Florence was going to have Bertie start to read Nietzsche who, as Jeeves put it "is fundamentally unsound".

Upon reflection Bertie sees that he would have been unhappy in the marriage and rehires Jeeves. Bertie is so happy that he has Jeeves give away his suit that Jeeves did not approve of, Jeeves had already given it to the under gardner the night before.

There is a very similar structure to the Jeeves and Wooster stories. The two have a disagreement about some aspect of grooming (the suit) Bertie is engaged; has to take on some sort of task for which he is unsuited, almost gets caught until Jeeves saves the day usually solving at least two problems in one fell swoop. The engagement is off and Jeeves gets his way on the grooming disagreement.

However, this story also has a few striking differences from later stories.First and foremost is his reaction to being engaged to Lady Florence Cray; in this story he is quite content with the idea until the end. Normally he is in a panic about it from the start. Wodehouse also goes on and on about Florence's "profile".  Girls' looks are mentioned in other stories, but he really piles it on in this one.

We also see Uncle Willoughby who I don't think is mentioned in other stories - I'll keep my eye out. This uncle apparently is the source of Bertie's fortune.

Finally, Jeeves' extensive lecture about Lady Florence's short comings and recounting the other servants view of her is very atypical if I remember correctly. Perhaps I'm wrong about that - I'll keep a look out in my later readings.

I seem to recall this story in some other setting; I'll also keep a look out for a retelling or reworking of the story.

These things are just what I was hoping to get into as I read all the J & W stories.