Welcome to the   May 2006 BLOG. Didn't see the end of last month?
Click here: April 06 BLOG

May 30, 2006 Tue

Time to install the new desk that Ann put together last night. Here is a before - the old desk.

The first thing was to unhook all the electronic stuff, and set it on the floor.

Then set it all back on the new desk.

Something has to be done about these wires ~~

That's better - all hung up and out of sight.

May 29, 2006 Mon

Ann at work in the living/dining room, now that some stuff has returned to the office. By judicious juggling of available space, she achieves some semblance of normalcy.

That accomplished, she begins assembly of a new desk, to replace my old one. At this, (amongst other things), Ann is very good.

Evelyn doing homework.

May 28, 2006 Sun

Happy hens make this sound:

Hmmmmm - seem to have forgotten how to do this - ?! (insert a sound file)

May 27, 2006 Sat

Here's a progression of sorts - the office, where the stairs poke through the wall, as it looked back in February.

Then it got drywalled, and Ann painted -

And today we finally put the door on, and finished trimming the new floor. We're about done in here, except for moving everything back - we went with white trim, instead of taking the time to stain.

By using an 'old' door and trim from another room, it makes the new under stair closet look like it's always been there.

The door came from here - our old closet. This is the wall (well, both walls) that is coming out, to combine the old bedroom with Evie's old bedroom, and have one larger room with a walk in closet. To the left are the stairs - we need another door there, eventually. There is still a ways to go!

May 26, 2006 Fri

A day of working around the house - mostly (for me) the office floor project. Ann did prep in our 'old' bedroom.
Remembered to take a 'before' picture:

After:

This product (Japanese engineered wood flooring) will eventually go in the living room/dining room, too. Here, two pieces are laid out end to end to see if they 'snap' together, like the upstairs laminate. They don't. This stuff must be nailed down.

There was a certain amount of guesswork, you see, because this is what the instructions looked like:

Well into the job, now.

Done! Most of the day, the better part of eight hours. Trim is still to go, which must be stained first.

May 25, 2006 Thu

These were taken today with Evie's old Olympus, a D-380, bought used off Ebay for 75 bucks. At one time a several hundred dollar camera.

May 24, 2006 Weds

Boxed up the Olympus C-750 UZ and sent it off to the factory. I'll be using Evie's old camera for the next week or so. We got it for her on Ebay when my old camera (that she was using), finally quit. It takes fine pictures for the internet. You'll see.

Speaking of pictures, Adam sent along these:
Yes, those are Newman's (the dog) real eyes.

Added a train movie to the RRDave website today.

May 23, 2006 Tue

Oh no. Our trusty Olympus digital camera is acting up. Some of the buttons have stopped working. Dang. It did get a tad damp, the other day, due to circumstances beyond our control. I.e. rain. This is bad.

Here's Roma - the perpetually scowling cat, also sometimes called - 'The Bitey One'. She's climbing onto my lap for some petting, with a very satisfied look. Why?

This is why. It accounts for that slightly 'off' flavor the water in my cup has had.

Pulling up old carpet. Uggh. Then the pad. Then the tackless carpet strips - a real nuisance. Followed by the painstaking removal of about a zillion staples, the ones that held the pad in place. A job that gets progressively harder instead of easier. But, it's done. Ready for the new bed!

Working on a site for videos, rather than have them clutter up this page. A very tentative effort maybe found
HERE

May 22, 2006 Mon

Well. Here is a new thing. Movies online -

This was taken yesterday at the Waterfront Festival - the band is 'Troublemakers'. The lead guitar player, John, works at the island music store - I bought my Fender and Amp from him a couple years ago. They put on a great show, as the video portrays:

The other day we mentioned using 'butt plates' to hang doors on their hinges. Here are two different sizes. The butt plate assures that the hinge mounts are consistent - they mark the area(s) where the hinge will be set into the frame and door edge. One taps them smartly with one's hammer, and they leave grooves the correct depth for chiseling. None of this is necessary with a 'pre hung' door - and thus the popularity of those things.

This is the beginning of Phase Three - combining Evelyn's old bedroom and ours into one larger room. Ours is now empty - time to throw out the old carpet.

We are temporarily sleeping in Evie's old room - it confuses the animals.

May 21, 2006 Sun

Happy Birthday Ambie!

May 20, 2006 Sat

Will someone get this HAIR OFF MY NOSE!?

All year we wait for the Waterfront Festival! The best cheeseburgers anywhere. I had two, this year.

Although it started out cloudy, it soon turned very pleasant. The main idea of the Waterfront Festival is these tents, where one may make various purchases. Also there are boat rides, boat tours, boat sales and model boats. The are also lots of 'project' tents for kids - Ann usually works at the Anacortes Youth Arts tent (with Barbara), and did again, this year. There is a Corvette Show and plenty of general entertainment - from music to magicians. Last year I didn't take any pictures, citing general laziness. I suggested at the time that the place looked the same as always, so look at last year's pictures. Well - I lied. I did take a few pictures last year - I just looked at the May 05 blog. Maybe it was some other year that I recall being lazy?

And in fact, that (looking at other years) is a definite and easy possibility. If one were to type the word 'waterfront' (or any other word of one's choice) into the search engine on davesmock.com

One would be rewarded with this page, that has links to all and any pages on the website that refer to 'waterfront'. By clicking on said links, those pages will pop right up! In fact, this is how I was able to prove to Evelyn that she had climbed the rockwall twice in previous years - (though she elected not to attempt it this year or last) - when she was sure that she had only climbed it once. It isn't often my memory is better than Evelyn's.

The parrot pirate guy   is my personal favorite of all the entertainment. The things he gets his birds to do are amazing. They fly free around the entire festival area all day, and come back to him when he calls.

A first this year was a demonstration of water polo - in kayaks.

A sad symbol of railroads - abandoned tracks. These belonged to Anacortes' own narrow gauge hand built railroad.

Barbara and Ann at the fish painting tent

You know I gotta' be happy about this - my favorite around the house trousers now need 'braces' (suspenders) to hold them up, I am getting so skinny. Well, I did lose a few pounds. . . plus the elastic in the waistband has given out. When I noted this to Ann, she surprised me with the suspenders. I find that I like them! I haven't worn them out of the house, as yet.

May 19, 2006 Fri

A banner day, of sorts - by and large, with the exception of a couple very small trim details, the upstairs is DONE!
Trimming out the bathroom door was the last thing. Well, the last thing I have to do - Ann still has a few items to attend.
This was Evie's bathroom only a few weeks ago. . .

Same view, now.

We changed our minds about the size of the trim between the time the tile was set and the time the trim went up. This meant some creative noodling to use the four inch trim boards -


Evelyn made a 'fifties day' poodle skirt ~

Then she and a friend went to the 'Fifties Sock Hop' tonight.

May 18, 2006 Thu

The upstairs bathroom door made it this far last night ~~

This morning Ann helped me carry it upstairs before she left for work.

Roughed into the opening

Hardware installed, and trim started

Inside trimmed out - This is the first time I've ever installed 'pre-hung' doors. All the other doors over the years were hung by hand, a board at a time, using butt plates to locate the hinges. I'll show you a butt plate, tomorrow.

May 17, 2006 Wed

Ann has started filling the attic storage space -

The cats have found a new place to sleep - the upstairs guestroom daybed/couch

The same pose from Dec 2002

This set up, utilizing the new clamps and a 'fence' for the saw created two moldings out of one -

Utilized here, at the top of the stairs, where the carpet meets the flooring.

Here's the other half, in the bathroom doorway -

May 16, 2006 Tue

Ann's hard work makes this room at the top of the stairs go from THIS to this ~

Here are our other two grandsons, Ambie's Max and Malcom~~
Here's Malcom~

Maxwell

Himself, Chico, still the Boss Dawg - here taking the primo spot in the sun~

Much to Tizzy's chagrin

May 14, 2006 Sun

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Birthday to Sue

We picnic at Deception Pass with Barb and Paul and their children, Paul's Sister Mary and husband Mike and their children. A total of 14 of us grilled burgers and dogs, and managed to eat way too much.

The weather cooperated, so we could walk and hike. Eric and Dillon went way up in the rocks of the Pass.

All three hens are a-laying

It's ROMA the cat

May 12, 2006 Fri

Evelyn's room is done, but for the bathroom door. Since the bedroom door is installed, she can move upstairs! We figure the upstairs will never be this clean and organized again. :)))

Curvy shower rod and curtain


Above the stairs cubby hole and retreat

closet

Ev's room

Finished door

The happy - 'I'm done here' look. . .

Well, except for the top of the stairs guestroom part, which still has a tad to go ~~ there's always tomorrow.

May 11, 2006 Thu

Well. Just WAY too busy, these days. This because the upstairs is nearing the point where Miss Evie might move up there. So, there isn't much else to post, except these pictures. We have managed to get on the scooter most days, if only to ride errands, like the grocery and hardware. I'll take library books back in the saddle bags. Ditto rented videos, though staying awake to watch them is often a problem.

Here we see that the floor and moldings are in and done, also the glass block window onto the stairs. Well, all but the last block, sort of the 'keystone' block, if you will. We had to wait for Ann's help to get that one set in place. That's the bedroom door, waiting patiently for installation.

The door has made it as far as the rough opening.

Finished, but for the stairway side trim.

Installing the shower curtain and rod that Ann ordered - it arcs out from the tub - we'll get you a picture.

blockhead.

May 07, 2006 Sun

The flooring is installed in both rooms, and the trim work is started. This is another Ann painting area~~

Hard to remember that only a few weeks ago the top of the stairs looked like this:

And before that was a hole in the roof~~


Progress makes happy

Ann is picturing the carpet. . .

Clean up is a constant chore - sawdust goes everywhere.

Now. Here's an

interesting BLOG we've run across~~

Yahoo! It's flooring, on the floor. YES! Although Ann is not in the picture, she worked hard with me all day long. This was actually yesterday and the flooring got finished today, Sunday.

May 06, 2006 Sat

This is how one 'seats' a new toilet onto its wax ring seal.

Performing that same operation about ten years ago at Dad's house in Plymouth, MI.

Ann searching for a good stud

Trying to be helpful

May 04, 2006 Thu

Trying a new 'stitch' program. This backfired, in that Ann looked at the picture and began - 'Oh, we have to move that wood and sand, and the furniture can be re arranged, we need to find a better place for the ladder,' etc.

A boat caught fire in the water by Dick's house - the Swinomish Tribe was called on the send over their new water craft which has fire fighting capabilities. Too late - burnt to the water line and sank like a stone.

Here's our grandson Hogan - thanks Amy!

Our two Toy Fox terriers - Holy Terrier, the holy terrors.

May 03, 2006 Wed

We are fortunate and proud to own several of this gentleman's carvings. Kevin is a Swinomish Tribal Member and Senator, that we know through Ann.
Wood Carver Kevin Paul

This website demonstrates the amazing powers of ten,
starting far, far away. . .

May 02, 2006 Tue

We are returned from a quick trip to AZ where my Uncle Floyd was memorialized  by the family in a loving ceremony held at his church and his home. Ann and I arrived Friday and left early Monday morning. We went to my Uncle John's on Friday, Aunt Jo's on Saturday, and the Memorial was held Sunday. We got to see family that we hadn't seen in a long time, and meet others for the first time. We were also able to visit with my Mom.

5 AM and dazed at the airport after two espressos -

Sister Mardi visiting with Mom

Mardi with the memorial donated by Gram and Grampa Shacklock, our Mother's Mom and Dad

Aunt Jo and her children - Sue, John, Debi, Cindy - receiving the Flag during the Navy ceremony

With my Mom's brother, John

and Mardi and John's wife, Linda

Floyd's son John Shacklock and Edy

Frank and Louise (Aunt Peggy's daughter and husband)

With Aunt Joan

My Mom's sister Peg, husband Steve (Robbins) and son, Doug

Sisters - Mom and Peggy

I was terrible about taking pictures. If it wasn't for Ann's efforts we wouldn't have these few. We're so sorry to have been unable to have a photo of everyone that was there. Perhaps you would send along some of yours?

Ann and I in Tempe, searching for the upside down triangle building that Ann remembers from twenty years ago -

Found it

Refresh page from top

Return to TOP of PAGE