15 May 1989

53.5 miles Carlsbad, CA to Lake Henshaw Resort, CA

Day 1 was rainy and quite cool. We had a dunking of my bike ceremony (rear tire in the Pacific riding to the Atlantic to dunk the front tire) at the beach in Oceanside. We actually started riding from Uncle Joe's house in Carlsbad. Phil got a flat tire 3 miles outside Oceanside. Traffic was heavy early today, but got better further inland. People have been friendly. Ate so I would not bonk today - ate figlets, crackers, banana, cheese and tortilla and fig newtons. Tortilla, beans, and cheese for dinner. it's cold but not raining since we stopped riding.

I'm tired and my legs hurt. In general so far, so good. Beer for Phil, decaf for my at Henshaw Restaurant. Loud music from our neighbors woke us; Phil yelled.

14 May 1989

Happy Mother's Day!

A.M. Rain, Uncle Joe had planned to take us on his sail boat, but that isn't going to happen today due to the rain. He gave us a whirlwind tour of San Diego. It is a beautiful city, a place I'd like to return to someday. Last minute bike shop stop, mostly for Phil to get spokes and stuff. Good dinner at Soup Plantation: huge salad, soup, bread and fruit bar.

Packed our bikes and had an early night.

13 May 1989

Lousy sleep on train. Arrived in LA about 8 am and departed for Oceanside at 10:30 am. Uncle Joe and my bike were both there, so I'm 50 cents richer. (oh, Phil, ye of little faith)

There were a few minor scratches on my bike the Avocet isn't working. I hope to get that fixed at a shop today. Overcast Day, long nap, bike assembly and dinner at Neiman's (good Mahi-Mahi and Snicker's pie) with Joe, Brett, Alana. Met Jan when returned.

12 May 1989

Boxed my bike today.

Diagram for front low rider.

Amy, Doug, Jim and Jane's bunch and Phil and I visited Wupatki and Sunset Crater.

It was cool and drizzling w/ some showers.

(started synthroid)

Dinner at Ramona's, beer at Charley's with Jimmy and the Wazoo Peach Pitters.

Jenny, Crystal, Chris, Cindy, David, Phil, Kirsten, Paula, Leona and David all were there to wave good bye at the Amtrak station. Departed for LA at 10:20 pm.

To California!

11 May 1989

Phil arrived at midnight in Phoenix, AZ.

David and I picked him up after a visit in Sedona with Amy, Doug, Jim, Jane, Sam and David. It was cold and damp in Flagstaff today. Phil and I went for a jog in the snow at Buffalo Park! What a way to start the trip!

Leona, Jenny, Phil, David and I went out to Kachina for Dinner and margaritas. Had an early night to make up for little sleep.

Bathroom remodel: Days 19-23

Monday - (9/20) - Contractor patched drywall and installed hardware on drawers and cabinets.

Tuesday - (9/21) Dehumidifier taken away, drywall patched

Wednesday (9/22) - Peace at last, no leaks. Now for wall color decision. I painted two more color samples. Do we want to go with a warm buttery yellow or a cool blue? (the yellow won)

Friday - (9/24) - While on the golf course, playing in my first ever golf tournament, the plumbers called. I was too afraid to answer. When I got home, I came home to... glass shower walls installed. Hooray! Now we're looking good.

Bathroom blahs: Day 2

Blahs Day 2: Today the plumber showed up early. I truly think he was just as upset as I was about the leak. He promptly assessed the situation and replaced a part (the vertical piece that's in the tank). He said the plastic threads must have cracked and he replaced with a new part that has brass fittings. T from the office brought over a huge dehumidifier by 9:30 am. They assured us that no damage was done to the subfloor, newly installed tile or newly installed heated pad.

We'll see.

Bathroom blahs: Day 1

This evening we discovered a leaky toilet. Yup, the same toilet that was just installed last week. It leaked over our newly installed tile floor, new sub floor and into our basement crawl space. I'm so upset; I feel like I never want to see these workers back in my house again.

Grounds For Sculpture

Brad, the girls and I visited Grounds for Sculpture today in Hamilton, NJ. We had never been there before, but were prompted to visit because of the exhibit featuring Keith Haring's work - Keith Haring: A New Dimension. Today, being a gorgeous fall day and the last day of Keith's exhibit, seemed like the perfect day to venture out. We weren't sure how the girls would like it, but they ended up loving the place. It was way better than we had imagined and we all look forward to returning to take in more of the grounds.

Photo of Keith at work (on display at GFS).

Dog, 1986

cut-out plywood with laquer and silkscreen

50" x 38" x 2"

Some of the more interactive sculptures.

Bathroom remodel: Days 14 -18

Days 14 - 18:

Monday (9/13) - measured for glass at shower. I bought mirror and light fixture.

Tuesday (9/14) - installed cabinets.

Wednesday (9/15) - installed toilet and shower/sink fixtures.

Friday (9/17) - finished electrical work for light fixture, heated floor thermostat and GFI outlet.

Bathroom remodel: Day 13

Day 13: Tile complete

Monday the contractor, plumber and glass guy are scheduled to be here.

Bathroom remodel: Day 12

Day 12: Tile in, spaced and ready for grout.

Bathroom remodel: Day 11

Day 11: shower seat installed

The seat is a nice beige/gray color. Not pink, as it appears in this photo.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a nice weekend. No further work was done on the bathroom.

Saturday night we camped out in Mom and Dad's backyard. It was great fun: sat by the campfire, roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and made s'mores. Sunday we celebrated Charley's 76th birthday. Today, IKEA in the morning then Brad went to the Phillies game and the girls and I ate corn pie at Mom's. It was magnificent corn pie!

Bathroom remodel: Days 6 - 10

Days 6 - 10: walls primed and ceiling painted, NuHeat electric floor mat installed (Yes, you read that correctly. We're going to have a heated floor!), floor tile laid. Tile NOT yet grouted.

The tile guy is slooow, but he's supposed to be good.

Tree trimming

I decided that having a bathroom remodeled and getting ready for my oldest's 7th birthday party was not enough, so we decided to have a couple trees trimmed. The majority of the work was done on our ash tree out front. Looks nice huh? Next time, I will take the photos from the same place.

Before:

After:

Bathroom remodel: Day 5

Day 5: Contractor sanded in early a.m. as requested so we could celebrate Taite's birthday!

He showed up with a plant for her; what a good guy!

Bathroom remodel: Day 4

Day 4: contractor spackled; painter visited for estimate

Bathroom remodel: Day 3

Day 3: new dry wall and pipes and marker fun!

Bathroom Remodel: Day 2

Day 2: new subfloor and half wall for shower