To be discontinued . . .

Looking for inspiration from my sister to keep posting on my blog, I find instead that she is putting pictures of my nieces and nephews on her facebook page.  So I have decided to have another go at facebook, being mostly quiet, posting photos when I have them, and completely avoiding sarcasm.  Yes, that's me without sarcasm: don't tempt me, Catherine.

If you want to, "friend" me on facebook.  If I "unfriend" you, please take it personally.  It does mean I don't like you, and I think you know the reason.  Remember that time. . .

I don't plan to post here anymore, but you should keep checking everyday anyway, Catherine.

Katie Gates Requiescat in Pace

Grandma Katie passed away on June 2.  Her funeral is today, June 9.

An obituary and some photos may be viewed at  http://www.santapaulafuneralhome.com/?pagetype=memlist

The Boat

Gregory's and Christopher's den built a boat.  The plans came with a few parts, the hardest ones to make on your own.  The boys cut wood, created splice joints, glued and screwed it all together.  (The den leader sealed the joints with fiberglass tape and epoxy.)  And they had a great time trying it out on one of the ponds at the College:

The design is from Uncle John's Boats out of Louisiana.  We didn't have any paddles, so we used bamboo poles to push off the sides and the shallow bottom.  The boat moves so well, you could even use the poles as paddles.

Pox (updated)

Well, Veronica does not have them . . . yet.

(Update, 4/23/12: Now she does.)

Easter Shots

Didn't even try to get them all together . . .

Laurence is still healing from Chicken Pox.  So far, no one else has broken out.

Veronica Victoria

It has been too long: here are some pictures of our good little eater.

And the serious face:

Eight weeks old tomorrow.

Step Three: Kids at Play

Help from our friend, John J.

The result:

Step Two: Success

The post is in.

The hole is full.

All is plumb.

The boards clamped to the bottom of the pole keep it from sliding down too far into the hole.  The top of the pole is supposed to be exactly 108" above ground level.  In a couple of days, we will add the backboard.

Step Two: Failure

Q. Should you trust printed directions?
A. Never.  Nor did I.  They said to make the hole 36 inches deep, fill it with concrete and insert the pole 36 inches into it.  I added a couple extra inches of depth, but could have used six inches more.  The pole just wouldn't go down all the way.

Q. What do you do when you have a 12 foot steel pole sitting in 36 inches of concrete and you don't want it to set?
A.  You get it out . . . FAST.  Pole first and then the concrete.  The pole must weight 75-100 pounds.  Just pull it up.  The concrete was 7 bags at sixty pounds each plus about 6 gallons of water at 8.3 lbs per gallon for a total weight of about 470 total pounds.

Q. What is the (relatively) easy way for a smart person to get so much concrete out of such a deep hole?
A.  I haven't the foggiest idea.  But it is out.

Q. What next?
A. In the morning the sun will come up and we will try again.  Maybe dig the hole deeper.  Maybe make the concrete a little soupier.  Maybe . . .

Step One

A few years ago I poured this little pad for our portable basketball system.  Now we are installing an in-ground system, but we need a hole.  After spending myself with hand tools, it was time to admit that I am too old for that sort of thing.  So I rented this little jack hammer and used some child labor.

Everyone got a turn from Alan to Stephen.  Then, I took over and did the real work.  Even with this power tool, I was able to produce a little sweat.

In case you thought OSHA wouldn't like me doing this work with kids playing tetherball so nearby, here is one showing a little girl using the jack hammer in flip-flops.

More than one person had asked me how thick the concrete was.  I assured them it could not be more than three and a half inches thick.  As you can see in this picture, I was off by 5 inches.  Without that jack hammer, I would have never made it.

The hole is about 38 inches deep.

A Californian in Wisconsin

Isabel and Theresa visited Nora.

What the New Year Has Brought (so far)

A Bilingual Household

So, if you don't understand "Please knock," you get "Knock por favor".  We try to be helpful.

A Chicken in the Backyard

Just showed up.  Quieter than a dog.

A New Scooter Stand

I'm sure you see the problem: It holds nine scooters, but we have only seven.  Obviously, we need a couple more.