Last week, several massive storms blew through Chicago and dumped lots of rain. We had 4 inches one night - and there had been rain the night before and the night after. Good for the lawn - I do not water much so it was not growing. Unfortunately, the rain means that now I might have to actually mow it again! Well, during those storms there was a lot of lightning. We lost power twice, and lost internet connectivity. After being given the run around for several days by AT&T, Rachel was able to connect with a rep last night who determined that our modem is wacky. So still no internet, and probably none until Wednesday. Thankfully, she sweet talked him into replacing our modem for free! That is why there have been no updates and why we are in the public library right now catching up on work.
At home, the house has been a disaster.
Rachel devoted a couple hours last night cleaning up - doing dishes, laundry, cleaning up the clutter. I am very thankful for that! It was looking bad. The kind of bad that causes you to stress out just thinking about it!
The airlock on the kitchen is down, but the work continues. The cabinets are 75% installed, and the final ones will not be difficult at all to do. There was a lot of troubleshooting to do; our corner cabinets were major problems because our walls are quite out-of-square. That meant a lot of putting the cabinets up, pulling down, up, down, shim, up, down, shim, repeat. Even cabinets from Ikea I guess are not capable of fitting every shape of room.
The floors are completely done and look great, I think. It is coming together and the end is in sight. The guys are coming tomorrow to measure for our countertops, which is a big milestone.
Meanwhile, I keep having periodic dreams about the kitchen. Last night I dreamt that a friend came over to check on the quality of my work, but criticized me mercilessly when he found defects. Time to work on some new projects, I think! This week I hope to go golfing and do some other fun summer things.
But I cannot say that it has been all work and no play. Last week I did very little housework, because during the day I was down at the Field Museum for a PD seminar. It was decent - the best part was all the tours of behind-the-scenes collections and lab spaces that "normal" visitors cannot see. We also toured the fancy new research facilities at the UofC. Apparently, if you want a great view as a prof at UofC, go into Biology.
In other fun news, we celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to see "Chinglish" downtown. This play capitalizes on the cultural misunderstandings that result in business interactions between China and America. Timely, funny, serious, had Chinese, and we could relate to a lot of the subject manner thanks to our own experience. We also splurged on a fancy Chinese dinner. Yum!
Softball season is wrapping up - the playoffs begin next week. We won by forfeit in our last 2 games, but scrimmaged yesterday so that my 109 block drive south to the field was not in vain.
Finally, Andrew's 3 month birthday is tomorrow! He is developing more personality, which is fun to see. How should we celebrate?
-alan
At home, the house has been a disaster.
Rachel devoted a couple hours last night cleaning up - doing dishes, laundry, cleaning up the clutter. I am very thankful for that! It was looking bad. The kind of bad that causes you to stress out just thinking about it!
The airlock on the kitchen is down, but the work continues. The cabinets are 75% installed, and the final ones will not be difficult at all to do. There was a lot of troubleshooting to do; our corner cabinets were major problems because our walls are quite out-of-square. That meant a lot of putting the cabinets up, pulling down, up, down, shim, up, down, shim, repeat. Even cabinets from Ikea I guess are not capable of fitting every shape of room.
The floors are completely done and look great, I think. It is coming together and the end is in sight. The guys are coming tomorrow to measure for our countertops, which is a big milestone.
Meanwhile, I keep having periodic dreams about the kitchen. Last night I dreamt that a friend came over to check on the quality of my work, but criticized me mercilessly when he found defects. Time to work on some new projects, I think! This week I hope to
But I cannot say that it has been all work and no play. Last week I did very little housework, because during the day I was down at the Field Museum for a PD seminar. It was decent - the best part was all the tours of behind-the-scenes collections and lab spaces that "normal" visitors cannot see. We also toured the fancy new research facilities at the UofC. Apparently, if you want a great view as a prof at UofC, go into Biology.
In other fun news, we celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to see "Chinglish" downtown. This play capitalizes on the cultural misunderstandings that result in business interactions between China and America. Timely, funny, serious, had Chinese, and we could relate to a lot of the subject manner thanks to our own experience. We also splurged on a fancy Chinese dinner. Yum!
Softball season is wrapping up - the playoffs begin next week. We won by forfeit in our last 2 games, but scrimmaged yesterday so that my 109 block drive south to the field was not in vain.
Finally, Andrew's 3 month birthday is tomorrow! He is developing more personality, which is fun to see. How should we celebrate?
-alan
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