Margo's Blog » Family

what used to be the shower

margokp — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:28:31 +0000

We’re into Day 4 of the bathroom remodeling and I’ve had to move out of my bath in search of one that has all necessary pieces functioning. Yesterday the shower/tub was taken out with a Saws-all and lots of sweat, leaving a big hole. More work to be done on that today… taking out the rest of the insulation, building the framework for the shower, and possibly putting up the cement board. The guest bath is all tiled and grouted, and electrical boxes have been moved, next is the rebuilding of the vanity. Just need to survive through the pounding and the mess….. did I mention the layer of dust that lies on everything in my bedroom? It’s going to need thorough cleaning in the end.

…and so the demolition begins

margokp — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:36:41 +0000

The workmen including tile guys, electrician and plumber all descended on the house this morning to begin the two week long process of the renovation of 3 of our 4 bathrooms. Good thing we have that 4th bathroom that won’t get touched so we have a workable toilet and shower during the process. We spent the afternoon yesterday emptying cabinets and closets and boxing up all the contents while keeping aside the essentials we will need day to day.

This is what will get done:
Master bath: new granite counter, new vessel sink, heated ceramic tile floor, new tiled shower, all fixtures and lighting.
Guest bath: granite counters, heated tile floors, new sinks, fixtures and lighting.
Basement bath: new granite counter and tiled floor.

and now a couple of “before” pictures of the master bath….

I’m just hoping that the drywall dust and the tile dust doesn’t mess with my sinuses, otherwise, I’ll be checking into the nearby Holiday Inn with my knitting basket and laptop. Will report back with updates.

Introducing……..

margokp — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:23:41 +0000

My new wheels. Starting off the New Year riding in style. The week before Christmas we went up to Grand Rapids to look at cars. This was to be my Christmas present, however since I was getting one this spring, I don’t really count it as a Christmas gift.. anyway, we checked out the new Jags, but I wasn’t really impressed and on we moved to Cadillac where we went to look at the CTS. While it was a comfy fit, it was smaller than I had hoped and I do like lots of room around me. The DTS was in the showroom and I fell in automotive love. The first color we chose, Bob’s choice, Tuscan Bronze, had a greenish tint to it. They found one sitting in West Virginia, but the dealer there wouldn’t play nice, a second one was located in Boston, but because of the bad snowy weather that hit the east coast, that transport company said they wouldn’t drive in it. It was all a good thing, because we went back to the dealer and I decided that the first color wasn’t what I wanted….. what I wanted was the Grey Flannel… a very dark grey with a hint of blue in the right light… and a black interior. So nice. It arrived yesterday morning from Missouri and today we went and signed the paperwork, handed over a check with way too many numbers on it and drove it home. Parked on my side of the garage is my 2010 Cadillac DTS.

Home for the Holidays

margokp — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:40:54 +0000

Christmas always used to be so special for me, having the whole family together and just enjoying each others company. In years past, with everyone spread across the country, it wasn’t so easy to be together so those times when we did gather were even more important. This year my sister and her family came here and of course Alex was home too. Although our time together was only a day and a half, we made use of every minute together. I loved it.
Next year we’re planning something special, someplace warm, someplace without snow, someplace all 7 of us will be in the same place for more than a day and a half.

A Walk in the Garden

margokp — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:38:05 +0000

A few weeks ago we took the ferry across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin to visit my sister and the family. Even though we are a short boat ride across the lake, or a bit longer car ride through Chicago, it’s been six months since I’ve seen them. Of course its not like there hasn’t been good reason… like me being sick and all, and them being busy. During our visit they took us to a garden nursery where they were going to pick up some day lilies for their yard. This place was lovely.. such a natural garden setting and I loved walking through the pots of flowers, exploring the greenhouse filled to the brim with exotics and pottery and finding feathered friends… roaming chickens and peacocks. So many picture taking opportunities…..

New Year and Christmas Past

margokp — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:45:01 +0000

Its a whole new year ahead of us and for some a new start to making goals and resolutions… neither of which I do. My thought is that if there are changes I want or need to make, any day on the calendar is good, why wait for once a year? I know I wouldn’t keep a resolution if I made one, so why bother. What a year to look forward to beginning with the inauguration of a new president… how exciting is that?

We had a lovely Christmas visiting my sister and her family in Wisconsin. It was the first time since last year that all seven of us were together. My niece flew in from L.A. on Christmas morning, and sadly we only saw her for the day since we left the next. The braided shawl I knit for my sister was received well, however I don’t think she’ll wear it. The vest I made for Bob got finished Christmas Eve as everyone else was watching a movie. I think he did like it and I know he’ll wear it. We got the ‘kids’ Flip Videos and they enjoyed playing with them. Next year though, I think I’ll make it easy on myself and get everyone gift cards.. not personal I know, but then everyone can be happy with what they get.

Here are some glimpses into my Christmas holiday….. Hope yours was wonderful!

Nut Puffs

margokp — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:29:13 +0000

Bob asks me the other day where this hand written recipe came from. He found it on the kitchen floor. It was my mom’s recipe for a nut cookie, in her handwriting. There are a couple of her recipes tucked into an old cookbook, also hers, sitting on the cookbook shelf. I haven’t taken out any books from that shelf in ages…. but there was this recipe sitting on the floor, all yellowed with age and stained with finger and food smudges.. it must be at least 40 years old, if not more. The only reason I can think of for that recipe to be there was mom’s way of telling me to make these ‘Nut Puffs’ for Christmas. I put the recipe on the counter with a firm resolve to make them… and days go by. This morning when I come down to put the dogs out, the timer buzzer on the oven is ringing… what? no one even used the oven yesterday, there was no reason to set the timer. It didn’t make sense until I finally made those Nut Puffs today, put them in the oven and set the timer…. then it hit me, I’m sure it was my mom making sure I bake today. I just took the first batch out of the oven.

This will be a hard Christmas for me…. you see it was 10 years ago when my mom’s cancer came back and at this point in time she was in Hospice. We tried to have Christmas for the kids in spite of what we were feeling. My sister’s family basically moved in for several weeks, so they could be near because we were told mom could go at any time. It was a holiday of running back and forth to the nursing home, wrapping gifts for the kids and trying to be brave. She was comatose, heavily sedated and wouldn’t have known us or the grandchildren anyway. Mom made it through the holidays passing away in the wee hours of January 2nd. It doesn’t take a recipe or a batch of cookies to remind us of her. Ten years is a long time, but I think of her almost every day and this year even more so… we have her cookies.

….And he sings joyfully

margokp — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:28:43 +0000

The Holland Chorale performed their Holiday concert at Dimnent Chapel this past weekend in conjunction with the Holland Symphony. I haven’t heard either perform before and was quite surprised at the quality of the music and musicians. They did a number of pieces from classical to the more popular including a humorous look at the 12 Days of Christmas with each ‘day’ sung in a style of music past, from a Gregorian chant up to a Sousa March. It really was really quite good. Okay… from a person who doesn’t impress easily… I have to admit. I was impressed. Good for Bob.

29 years….

margokp — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:02:53 +0000

It’s been 29 years since Bob and I got married… that time went by so quickly and so much has happened during those years. The loss of our parents, our son becoming an adult with his own life, my family moving across the country, and the two of us retiring from our jobs. As I look back on our lives, we’ve had lots of good times, many great times, and some that we’d like to forget, but each made us stronger. Sure we argue, or rather we discuss loudly, our political and religious views aren’t always the same, but neither are our ideas of a good movie. For 29 years we’ve taken each day as it was given to us, blessed that we had those days and excited about the next. So Bob, I love you…. and here’s to another 29 years. Happy Anniversary!

A walk down the aisle.

margokp — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:41:59 +0000

We were up near Toronto this weekend for a family wedding. This would be Bob’s cousins on his father’s side. The girl that got married is one of a set of triplets and the second to be married. The first wedding, Sarah’s, was in May and we went to that one too… but it was quite the unusual event. A big tent outside with port-a-potties, a come as you are gathering. It also consisted of a pig’s head and a naked cowboy. Don’t ask. Maddie’s wedding this weekend, was a traditional church ceremony with a traditional hall reception and it was lovely catching up with cousins we haven’t seen in 20 years. Valerie is the third triplet and she’s not looking at marriage for several years. They’re only 23 years old and she’s already feeling the pressure of having two married sisters. I told her that she has time and not to listen to what other people tell her. One of the best parts of the weekend was seeing Alex and meeting his new girlfriend, Sara. She’s a lovely person and to be honest would be welcome in the family if that’s what they wanted, but no pressure here.