More Painting and a Phone Call

The painters are making great progress and Earl and I installed the chair rail. He brought his son's power brad-nail gun and it was pow pow pow and we were done. The painters filled in the nail holes and repainted the chair rail and it looks GREAT! They also started and finished the master bedroom. It looks awesome. The color we picked is perfect. (Pictures once we get some curtain up.) It's cheerful without being overwhelming. All that's left is the doors on the first floor and the master bath. The painter is coming tomorrow (Saturday) for a while to do the doors. I expect they'll be done on Monday.

Later today I received a call fro an old pastor friend who was in Wilkinsburg when I was there. His church is having service to honor and support the military families during this time of War. It's their 6th annual service of prayer and support. It seems the person (Military Chaplain) they'd scheduled to preach became sick. And my friend was told I am back in the area by a mutual friend. So he called me. I'll be preaching tomorrow (Saturday) at the Concord United Methodist Church in Beaver Falls at 6 p.m. The sermon I preached last Sunday in Cranberry will fit perfectly with a little tweaking. At first I thought I might wear my uniform, but upon further reflection, I don't think I can fit into it LOL. I'm looking forward to seeing my old friend and sharing with them in the worship service. God is Good.

Go Pitt!

The painters are back. The laundry room and small powder room are done as are the loft, living room, dining room and the kitchen is done except for the chair rail (which Earl and I will install this morning.)We're pleased with the colors and the way it's turning out. Looks sharp and fresh and clean. (I'll put more pictures up once the chair rail is installed.)

We went to lunch yesterday with the two retired clergy couples we've known for decades. We had lunch at the Olive Garden in Robinson Town Center. It's always a good time when we connect with them. Lots of laughs and stories to tell. Afterward, Dee and I shopped for some new window treatments for the house now that the walls are painted. We're following through on the ideas the designers gave us. We think we found some things we like. Also, we returned a picture that no longer matches the kitchen. We'd picked it up a couple of weeks ago and they took it back as a return. Later we stopped at McGinnis Sisters to get some cheese and pears. Dee's co-workers were all happy to see her and gave her hugs all around.

When we got home we watched Pitt beat Xavier to advance to the Elite Eight in the March Madness NCAA series. And then, watched a 2006 remake of the Shaggy Dog with Tim Allen. Cute story and fun to watch.

A "red letter" Day

Things are moving along as the color appears more and more on the walls. Here are a couple of pictures of the Kitchen in process. Rich and Paul were joined by John pictured below.

Today they do the bottom of the kitchen walls and the second coat on the loft. As well as the laundry room and small power room (I think).

Yesterday I went to Rotary and heard a good program on "Girls Hope" an organization that helps "at risk" girls who have promise for a future if they were out of the toxic environments of their home lives. They really do wonderful work. I imagine they have a website that shows their residences and mission with the girls. They really do give "hope" to girls. A very deserving organization.

Afterward, Dee and I went out for some coffee and a we stopped at Tuesday Morning shop to browse at their stuff. It's always an interesting place to look around in and see what they have we might enjoy. Whjen we got back home, the painters were departing for the day. We spent the evening watching television and putting some of the pictures and blinds back oup where the painting is done.

Color Glorious Color

Well, this is the week of the painters. Today is their third day here painting all the walls on the first floor. They've finished the BIG room that includes the living room and dining room and hallway and stairs to the loft. Today they do the loft and the kitchen. Here are a couple pictures of the work so far and one of the Kollinger Brothers doing the work.

Kerri had her doctor's appointment this morning and everything is going well. The Dr. said she'd gained about 30# and that that was good considering she's been on bed rest for several weeks. She continues to pray that baby Julian won't come until after Patrick is done with his course on April 4. Baby Julian is due on the April 17, 2009 so we're getting into the "anything can happen" territory.

Bogmeister practice went well. I invited them to the "Bar Louie Party" I'd won, and then found out that Bar Louie has pushed back their "open mic" starting date. It's now after Ester. So we'll postpone going until then. I also found out it is a "martini party" not a margarita party that I won, and that it's for up to 30 of my friends and not 20. So I'll keep you posted as to when we'll do that. Bogmeisters plan to sing that night in the open mic contest. Should be fun.

The raccoon trap was removed by the guy that owns it for another site where his grand son wanted it set up. He'll bring it back in a couple of days. And we'll have another go at it.

Last night we watched a movie with Queen Latifa in it. It was fun to watch. It's called "Last Holiday". We laughed a lot and it's a good story line. We'd recorded it from one of the channels earlier in the week.

Earl and I went to the Men's Bible Study yesterday morning. I led the study and discussion since the pastor was taking his wife to the airport. It went well. Then Earl came over to the house and we worked on measuring and cutting the chair rail for the kitchen. He had a large power saw that did mitre cuts for angled edges. He brought it from his son Ron's house. We set it up on the deck (in the sun) and got things ready for installing the rail at the right time (kitchen will be two colors with the rail as an accent color).

Finally, I'm reading a book called "The Definitive Book of Body Language" by Alan and Barbara Pease. It makes for fascinating reading. The authors point out that more of our communication is non-verbal, rather than verbal. They analyse hand shakes, sitting, standing, smiling and other facial expressions and on and on and on. They say that gestures are in groups and that when you "read" the groups of non-verbal signals you can tell what the person is really about. Hummmm. I'm only about 50 pages into it, so I'm anxious to see what else they say.

A Busy Day - Dancing, Singing and March Madness

Yesterday, Saturday, I went to the Church to practice with the a cappella quartet for our Maundy Thursday song. Dee went to WW. We met up afterward for lunch at Bar Louie's. We had two coupons for lunch and decided to use them. It was a good lunch. she had the Hong Kong Salad and I have the Turkey Burger in a Bowl. The latter had lots of salad with it. We both liked our lunches. During the afternoon we just hung out and started putting china and pictures away in preparation for the painters coming on Monday. I also worked on my sermon for today (Sunday). In the evening we went to a Band Booster's Dance at Seneca Valley Intermediate School. We'd never been there before. There was a Big Band dance band and two of the school jazz bands that played. The latter played when the "Big Band" took their break. The music was excellent. We got there early for a lesson. It was review, but always nice to see how they teach what the do. The Millers from church told us about it. Their son plays in one of the high school jazz bands. It was a nice evening. We left about 8:30 p.m. so I could finalize my sermon for today.

Today, I left home early so I could lead both services at church. Both the pastor and the assistant were gone, so I had to do the whole thing - announcements and all. It's different than I'm used to and so was a little stressful in that I didn't want to forget anything and didn't want to appear clueless. It went well. I taught the little kids a song and a dance step to go with it. And of course everyone in the congregation had to learn it too. It was a fun song, easy to learn and everyone joined in in a good hearted fashion. Lots of fun. I felt the total worship experience of the whole service was both varied and worshipful. Very satisfying after it was all said and done.

The Campbells were there and so we went to lunch with them afterward at First Watch. Earl is going to make the chair rail for us for the kitchen. The painters come tomorrow and start their handiwork. I'm looking forward to seeing the color on the walls.

Our neighbor came by this afternoon, and indicated that there is another raccoon that came up on his deck about 4 a.m. this morning. It was eating his suet that he puts out for the birds. I called the my friend the "great raccoon hunter" and he's bringing his trap over this afternoon so we can get rid of the critter.

We were happy to watch Pitt win over Oklahoma State and advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Boston. Good game. We're not really basketball fans, but this March Madness stuff is fun.