Forest of Trees

I was thinking of a quote from Tom Althouse, " 
“There is beauty all around us,  
and the light finds us when we realize,  
we are all part of that beauty and worth the cherishing."
This rings true so much in today's world, when so much of the youngest generations psyche is so heavily influenced by the constant stream of electronic social and marketing criticism, either active, passive, positive and negative. It's hard for kids to be able to filter through what is real and not real, important and not important, genuine and self serving. As parents in today's world, we are charged with helping to guide our kids through the tumultuous social/digital world which is a task that feels like trying to find your car keys in a dark room.  Michelle and I have found through trial and error that coming back to the simple things in life is likely the best way to keep our kids, and ourselves grounded. Simple things like a meal together at the kitchen table, or a simple walk outside to simply  breathe the air and see the real beauty.
The obvious analogy is that a walk in the woods is fraught with challenges, each tree or bush could be considered  an obstacle, but if you change your point of view those "obstacles" are what make up our world. When you look at the big picture all those obstacles together help shape your world into a thing of beauty.

Keeping that in mind, I tripped on another "obstacle". I was making a trip into the city to pick up Jeff and his cronies from the pool. I stopped in at the paint store and handed them the previous can and said...."I'd like another please bartender!" The helpful sales person said " Sure!...let's see Advance paint, in Chantilly Lace and a semi-gloss" and she went into the back to mix.

Now I distinctly remember buying the paint and discussing with the sales rep at that time, that my goal was a super smooth and shiny finish, she help up the product and said "this is it!".....and I trusted. Now that I was in another Benjamin Moore dealer, the sales rep had made a point of reading that the can was a semi gloss....it took a few seconds but I quickly made my way to the back of the store and said...." This will sound stupid, but is there a high gloss in this product?"
I think you know where I'm going here. My point is NOT that you should trust no one, my point is that you can always ask the obvious clarification question without sounding confrontational. I did not, and it cost me time more than anything....but I'm going to do it all again......

Now that the temp has dropped outside I can no longer spray in the driveway. And the open spray in the garage was too messy. So I have created a temporary spray booth.....yes I asked permission and YES I have a very UNDERSTANDING AND PATIENT WIFE!

But I mean look at this, one top coat.....

And this is dry!!

Microwave magic

I would say it was the early 80's, a magical time really. The advancements in technology was astounding....well, to us. Keep in mind we were coming out of the 70's, and anything more technical than a disco ball was mind blowing. I distinctly remember standing in front of  the door of this new kitchen appliance with my nose pressed to the glass of this thing called a microwave. It was huge, it was loud, and it was expensive. But it magically heated things up!
How far we have come. Now microwave ovens are relatively inexpensive, small, lite, and quiet. No longer relegated to just the kitchen, they are found in dorms, offices and even RV's!

The challenge with an install in an RV is motion. The appliance cannot simply 'sit' on the counter. Fillmore moves and shake,bounces and rumbles. Not really an install situation conducive to the appliance staying put.
In Fillmore the location for the microwave will be above the fridge. I know I know, not tremendously creative or original but from a space and functionality standpoint it is where we want it to go. So with the install space defined it was time to fabricate a surround/trim

The trim fits the cabinetry well, now we just have to get a mounting plate for the microwave to hold it steady during travel and to set the appliance at the correct height for aesthetics.

In the shop, all looks well. Now it was time for the dry fit!

Things will look better when the cabinetry is painted, but things look good! 

Now that everything looks nice and I'm happy with the fit, it was time to tear it all out and move the cabinetry to the shop for filling and sanding. Haven't quite figured out where I will spray the cabinets. I wasn't real popular taking up the garage to to the bathroom walls.

One more kick at the can

Now who remembers playing kick the can as a kid? I am sorry to say I don't think my kids have any idea what that game is. Basically a game of hide and seek. If you are caught you go to a detention area, the only way to get free is if an un-caught participant sneaks up and frees all the captured team mates by kicking over a can or bucket. Incredible feeling of elation when you are stuck in the jail and you can see your team mate slowly sneaking up on the can, on the flip side of that coin, a tremendous sinking feeling of despair when as the guard you hear the sound of the can clanging down the driveway reverberating off the sides of houses in the neighborhood. But, you take a moment to re group and then set the bucket back and start again. Slowly rounding up the escapees and ultimatley giving them one more chance to kick at the can...

So with the thought of nothing lost, it was time to regroup,repair and  repaint

 

This time I was even happier with my finish, and smart enough to get some help to get the walls to the drying table.

Round, Round We Go

The vision of Bill Murray in Groundhog day comes to mind, I feel like I have been here before, and I have. As a matter of fact I have lost count how many coats of paint I have sprayed on these walls. Its decieving really how little paint is actually sprayed when you do paint, so it's not like the walls are 1/4" thicker than they used to be. It's just that I'll lay down a coat, then find some reason why I am unhappy with the finish. I'll sand, fill, sand repaint....repeat.

But this time was different......

This time I was happy. I liked the coverage, I liked the surface. All I had to do was transfer them to a drying rack....

And then that's when hell broke loose. It was my fault, I was pushing the clock. I had to leave to drive Anna to dance and I was pushing it down to the wire. I transferred the first wall in, no problem. I went to move the second.....and it slipped and hit the first panel on the rack. It got gouged and the paint on both got marred...........uuuuuuuuuhhhhhghghghhgh!