Author: Chuck

Kitchen Cabinets

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The upper cabinets hung and painted

It has been a busy week. The boys weren’t with us last weekend, so we had some time to get chores done. The missing upper cabinet didn’t get in until Tuesday, so no kitchen progress. But I did get lots of time in the workshop on Sunday. I haven’t had a full day to work in the shop in a long time. It seems that most free days are filled with home improvement projects. It was nice to take a break from home projects.

We picked up the new cabinet on Tuesday, and hung the cabinets that night. Susanna painted the cabinets and the doors this week, and tonight (after the boys went to bed) we reinstalled the doors.

I still need to finish the wall under the cabinet, and caulk the joint between the counter and the wall, but the end is in sight.  It is already a much more useful kitchen layout. Next, I’ll have to finish the island that I have in parts in the workshop. Maybe I can get that done in early January.

I’ll post pictures from workshop projects next week. The boys and I worked on Christmas projects, so I don’t want to post pictures until after the holiday.

A nice view of me installing the upper cabinets.

Let us mourn

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Let us mourn for the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Newtown. It is often far too easy to ignore violence when it takes place on the other side of the world, or even half-way across the country. It is much harder to ignore when it occurs close to home (on the other side of the state).

Friday’s events were too close. From the initial panic when seeing a news flash of an elementary school in lockdown in Connecticut – knowing that both Will and Ben were in their elementary school at that time. To the relief on finding that it was on the other side of the state. Then the sadness as the news of the real horror of what happened started making it to us.  As we collectively grieve the horror, we should not forget those who are grieving a personal loss today.

Remember those that were lost:

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel Davino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana M Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hocksprung, 47
Madeline F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Russeau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N Wyatt, 6

Kitchen Progress

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First lower cabinet installed

I’m still waiting on the missing upper cabinet to arrive. This gives me time to work on the lower cabinets.

I ripped out the existing cabinet. It is in pieces in the front yard (here’s to hoping that Susanna gets time to move the debris under the garage tomorrow).

I was able to get the lower cabinets in and get the counter and sink installed. Our original plans were to take the evening off and watch a movie, but decided instead to see how far we could get on the kitchen instead. Tomorrow I’ll make a trip to the store to get the last piece of piping to finish the sink drain and we can get a working sink back.

And (for those following the story), Tucker spent all day sleeping on the dog bed. He got up to go out twice and eat dinner. He is still sleeping. Serves him right for disappearing for 15 hours.

Kitchen with new counter and cabinets mostly installed

Sunday Projects

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Putting the ceiling fan back up after adding the ceiling medallion

I spent some time this morning finishing up a project that had been hanging over our heads for a while.

When we repainted the living room, we had discussed adding a ceiling medallion. So I finally got around to ordering the medallion. It arrived last week, and this morning I installed it.

Fan and medallion installed

 

Disappearing Dogs

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Yesterday, the Targa and Tucker decided to take a little vacation from hanging out at home. They took off on the hike I took with the boys and them. We were pretty far in the woods when Tucker got a scent of something and off he went. Targa went in pursuit.

It was early afternoon when we went hiking. They hadn’t returned by nightfall, and we all were starting to get worried.  The boys started talking about putting up “Lost Dog” signs on every third telephone pole on Sunday if they didn’t come back before this morning. We even took a drive around the block to see if we could find them.

Nothing. Not even a Tucker bark.  We went to bed in an extra quiet, dog empty, house. Will woke up a couple of times in the night to check if they got back. I had strange dreams about finding the dogs, only to wake up to discover it was a dream (but thankfully they were dreams – I also had a dream where Will and Ben decided to steal from a toy store – maybe I had too much wine before bed).

Finally about 4 AM I woke up to the distant sounds of Tucker barking.  Yes, he is loud enough to hear through the window when he is far away in the field across the street. I went outside and called for them, but it was too dark to go looking for them.

Will woke up at six and went downstairs to find the dogs sitting at the back door. Dirty and very very tired. Tired enough to not protest a bath.

Sankta Lucia Concert

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Celebrating Sankta Lucia is a Swedish tradition that Susanna has brought with her. According to by Agneta Lilja, Södertörn University College (posted on sweden.se):

The Lucia tradition can be traced back both to St Lucia of Syracuse, a martyr who died in 304, and to the Swedish legend of Lucia as Adam’s first wife. It is said that she consorted with the Devil and that her children were invisible infernals. Thus the name may be associated with both lux (light) and Lucifer (Satan), and its origins are difficult to determine. The present custom appears to be a blend of traditions….

The concert is a celebration of light, with Lucia wearing a crown of candles and each member of cast carrying a candle.  According to sweden.se:

The real candles once used are now battery-powered, but there is still a special atmosphere when the lights are dimmed and the sound of the children singing grows as they enter from an adjacent room.

Tradition has it that Lucia is to wear “light in her hair,” which in practice means a crown of electric candles in a wreath on her head. Each of her handmaidens carries a candle, too. Parents gather in the dark with their new digital cameras at the ready.

The star boys, who like the handmaidens are dressed in white gowns, carry stars on sticks and have tall paper cones on their heads. The brownies bring up the rear, carrying small lanterns.

The Yesterday we shared in that tradition by attending a Lucia concert in Hartford. The boys found the concert a little boring, but it is good to experience new things (and learn to sit though things that aren’t as exciting as watching a movie). This is the second year we have celebrated the holiday here. Last year we attended the concert at the Swedish Church in New York City.

The concert last night was very nice. Of course, the big concert in NYC the year before was amazing – there was no comparison between the two. Of course the concert at the Swedish Church is significantly more expensive and a much longer trip.

SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge

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Recently Newark Mayor Cory Booker made national news by accepting a challenge to live for a week off of “food stamps.” According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC.org) the average food assistance (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP) in this country is $4 per person per day. This led to an interesting discussion with Susanna on our drive home from New York on Saturday.

Could we, as a family, survive off of $4/day per person? It would be a challenge. We have Will and Ben living with us (on average) 3.5 days a week. That would bring our weekly grocery budget to $84. That is significantly less than we spend per week on food, and we don’t often purchase meat.

What good do these SNAP Challenges do? They certainly don’t make it easier for those on food assistance to get by. It does seem that it is easy to forget how well off we are compared to some. I know we have had many discussions around the dinner table about being thankful for what we have. Yet it is easy to only focus on those who have more than us. I often hear the boys talk about how lucky some of their friends are to have more toys or more electronics than they do.

Maybe a week long food challenge like this would help us all appreciate what we have. It won’t change how easy or hard it is to survive when you have to rely on assistance to get your basic needs (food and shelter). Maybe it will give us more empathy for the less fortunate. Maybe if enough of us found more empathy, we would find a way to do more to help the less fortunate.