DRD's New Sink

Here is a detailed pictorial progression of the installation of my dad's new kitchen sink and my dad's account:

Today Jon and Terri are here.

Like you, they were somewhat distressed by the appearance of my kitchen sink. Not only was there that broken faucet handle, there was a metal gasket around the outside of the sink that had bent upward and had deteriorated and rusted. In addition, there was some chips in the enamel of the sink bowls.

So we went to Menards (the Lafayette version of Home Depot, Lowes, etc., and came home with an entirely new sink.

As it turns out, Son Jon is a master plumber and before I even knew what hit me, there was a whole new kitchen installed and functioning.

The thing is absolutely gorgeous.

So here is the photo documentation:

This, above is just some of the crap in the kitchen while we were working.

This is the installer.



The old sink assembly is going to Habitat for Humanity for either their use or sale in their salvage store.

The instruction call for all of the extraneous hardware to be installed before the thing is put into place. So we did that.

The installation also involved a new faucet assembly which you can see here.

Fortunately, the old hole in the counter was a perfect match for the size of the new installation. So there was no cutting or fitting involved.

And there you are!!

What an absolutely gorgeous deal. We calculate that the property is now worth at least several thousand dollars more than it was yesterday.

The clean up included scrubbing the kitchen floor, etc., and now everything is back to better than were it was before we started.

I could never have done any of this myself, but Jon has obviously done this sort of thing before and he is much more flexible in his young, energetic and supple body than am I.

DRD

PS

These were the major supervisors for the entire project:

Denver, CO

Thanksgiving found us in Colorado for time with family and friends.
Turkey Day was spent with Laura, Steve and William.
Steve's family came including Steve's 95 years young grandmother! Fascinating woman, and still sharp as a tack.
We managed a whirlwind tour of Colorado Springs, on Saturday.
Apparently we never got the memo, but all of our friends from college days now live in Colorado Springs. First stop was at Jere and Michelle's house. Their two girls are just as cute as their mother! Sorry to say they were not in top form... unless projectile vomiting in the norm in their house. C'est la vie. I'm sure by the next visit they will have recovered.
Next was Patty and Roger. 3 lovely children and a happy relocation from Cleveland, OH. It's hard for people from Georgia to believe that moving to Colorado represents a net reduction in your annual snow accumulation.
And finally, Kevin and Lauren. Wow, the girls have grown so much since we last saw them in Monticello, IN. All seem happy and well in the wild wild WEST.

I'm sure another visit will be scheduled as soon as the new Holloway arrives in January.
Good luck Laura. We're all pulling for you. er uh? pushing for you? Call us when the baby is here.

Gainsville, FL

We had a nice visit with our friends the Terzians.
Sevan, Leann, Tolar, and Christopher.
Highlights included multiple trips to the driving range. If the kids don't manage to make something of themselves through academics (highly unlikely) they both seem to have promising golf careers ahead of them.
Our favorite had to be the night at Satchel's Pizza.
Good pizza, good beer, good blues with "Hamhock and Slide", and of course Bocce!
Looking forward to our next visit.
And remember...if you're not a Gator fan, then you're Gator Bait!
Tolar has style skills no?

And clearly Christopher will keep Led Zeppelin on the air waves for another generation.

Cumberland Island '08

Another wonderful trip to Georgia's gem, Cumberland Island.
I've posted a photo album here.

Here is a video of me flying my kite on the beach.




For the record, I flew the kite while walking down wind on the beach from Greyfield to Sea Camp (roughly a mile). In the process I passed several wild horses who looked on with much curiosity.

Patio Lights

Lighting a patio has to be easier now than it ever has been.
After drawing a rough design of what we wanted, I went to Lowes and bought everything I needed.
It basically involves a power converter that plugs in to a standard outlet.
The converter enables you to simply "plug-in" fixtures where ever you want them.
Then simply bury the cable.




And here is one of two Confederate Jasmine vines growing up the trellis in along the fence.

Man vs Squirrel

This is a great example of living in an old house.
I thought I had a rat.
But after a week of no activity in my traps placed in the crawl space,
I awoke on Saturday to see a squirrel emerging from the vent for my furnace.
So after securing that opening I decided it was time to finally deal with the remaining water damaged door to the crawl space.
Of course the opening was not even close to square. The bricks around the opening were crumbling.
So after building a concrete form, and pouring a new footing for the opening, I built a custom door and frame with jams and a locking latch.

Beignet Party

Even though this Saturday was record heat here in Atlanta, Terri and I decided to throw a beignet party for the neighbors. I mean nothing really beat the heat like fried dough and pipping hot coffee. I used Grover's "Taco Cooker" to great success. It's such a versatile tool. We had a great turn out and plan to do it again once the weather cools off a bit. Maybe this fall.

Bone Garden Cantina

I'm publishing it to make it official. Today marked the first day of business for a new restaurant in Atlanta - Bone Garden Cantina. I went for lunch with my friend Jay who knows the owners. Same people who brought you the Vortex Bar and Grill. This is a mexican day of the dead themed joint, with taco, empanadas, tamales, etc. Very good. Destine to be a local favorite. Good luck. And I can say I was there on Day 1.

Back In The Saddle Again

Yesterday was my first ride in to work in almost 3 months. Since injuring my right leg, I have been unable to enjoy what were probably the 3 best months of bicycle weather we will have all year. C'est la vie. I'm just happy to be back ridding again. I'm still not 100%, but my goal of recovering before Tiger Woods returns to competition has been satisfied. See you at Torrey Pines Mr. Woods!

DC Visit

Memorial Day Weekend, Terri and I flew up to Washington D.C. to visit my sister Anne and her family.Terri got some swing-time in with Rose and Margaret.

Nothing says "happy boy" like cheetos!

DC

For Memorial Day Terri and I flew up to Washington D.C. to visit my sister Annie, Jon and the kids. We spent the night downtown to have a little get away before traveling out to the burbs. We stayed at a really cool hotel - Hotel Monaco. You can even request a goldfish for your room while you stay there (which of course we DID - her name was "Bonnie Parker") The hotel is right across from the National Portrait Gallery (which we went to) and the Spy Museum (which we did not go to - except the gift shop). We had a really nice meal at Indebleu. A short ride on the Orange line took us out to the Gick's neck of the woods. We had a very relaxing time. Watching Rose, Jon, and Margaret play constantly. Rose sang us wonderful made-up songs while playing her new guitar. We especially enjoyed the neighborhood walking trails and swimming pool. Lots of fun. Looking forward to our next visit.

Brick Patio

Mr.Magoo has a new doggie pad.
The guys putting it in did a great job. It's about 20'x14'

Wedding at the Fox

Our friends Steve Patrick and Nikki Cross got married at the Fabulous Fox Thearer on February 29th.
Being "Leap Day" the photographer had all the couples leap for their pictures.
Here's ours.
The reception was in the Egyptian Ballroom.

William on the WEB!

My nephew William is on the Web!
Check out his blog here.

Asheville, NC

Terri and I had a wonderful time visiting our friends Liz and Kerry at their new home in Asheville, NC.
A relaxing winter weekend spent strolling the streets of downtown Asheville in search of art, food and drink.



Liz and Kerry have a nice accounting of our time on their blog.
Kerry and I came up with a new "ism" to live by.
"Life isn't A big party...it's a series of little parties"

Bachelor Weekend in TN

At the risk of violating every sacred oath regarding "Bachelor Weekends" here is a less than total accounting of what went on during my friend Steve Patrick's bachelor weekend.
Steve's brother Joe secured this amazing mountain home as the location. Conveniently half way between Ohio and Atlanta. From this deck we looked out on the Northern border of the Smoky Mountains National Park. Quite a view.
I think this place sleeps up to 20. We surely had enough steaks and cigars for 20 or more. We did our best to deplete the supply while doing very little else. I won't discuss any deviant behavior. "What happens in Gatlinburg stays in Gatlinburg.
But I will say the hands down favorite show we watched was some old Bob Ross shows that Steve brought from his extensive collection of all things 20th century. HAPPY TREES!

Lemons

This is our lemon tree. I believe it's a Myers Lemon Tree.
It is under the house right now, waiting for it to warm up outside.
Terri wants to make Lemoncello out of these 2 beauties. Yum.

Super Bowwwwwwwl

Super Bowwwwwwwl 12 was another storied battle of balls, beers, and babes.
ok well the babes didn't really battle that much. But they were in attendance.
A new victor was crowned and Kerry Kenemer's upgrade of the winner's trophy revealed to the masses.
I bowled my personal best with a 179-152 combined total of 331. A few pins shy of the winner, but respectable still.

I have vowed to get my own ball, practice more, and win it all next year! Yeah, right. I think we've all heard those words before. That's right...just last year I made the same proclamation.
Worth mentioning...
Terri bowled extremely well. She had a peek at the prize for first Turkey, but came up a few pins shy.
Liz brought home the cash prize for second lowest score. Congrats.
Tripp narrowly averted taking the dreaded 2nd place "Egg" in consecutive years. Sorry Brian.
And Alex Kenemer managed to best his dear ol' dad. 'move over pops, the new kids in town.'

Squirrel Dinner

So I came last night. Let the dogs out and had a beer.
While I was waiting for the dogs I looked up and saw these two hawks having a nice squirrel dinner.

For the record, Terri and I had chicken.

Route to Work

I've been ridding my bike to work for a while now.
People sometimes ask how I get here.
Here's a Map showing my typical route To work.
My route home is slightly different.

View Larger Map">

Smokin' Sunday

This morning, after my first cup of coffee but before breakfast,
I put my smoker to work for the day.

Darby, the sous chef.

Butt

Smoke

TCM Spots

I had the pleasure of editing these image spots for TCM over the holidays.
My first time working with David Byrne, writer/producer for TCM.
Tripp Rhame of Spitfire Studios shot the spots using his new "Red" Camera.
Edited in HiDef, the spots are currently airing on TCM in standard definition.

My First Blog

Welcome to my blog!