RichC | June 21, 2018
Last weekend I notice one of the ceiling fans was no longer working … we could have used it with temperatures in the 90s – hey, it’s summer weather and to be expected in Cincinnati. Anyway, after taking apart the old Hunter fan, I could tell the inside was “growly” which indicated some corrosion. I […]
RichC | June 17, 2018
It doesn’t get all that much better for Brenda and me than spending some time with Katelyn, Taylor, Megan and of course Annalyn over Father’s Day weekend. Unfortunately we missed Drew as he had a medical conference in Chicago and hospital rounds upon returning to Toledo over the weekend (Katelyn took advantage of the time […]
RichC | June 16, 2018
Frustration in tech land! Power out – now the cable modem or router won’t reboot properly! If you haven’t following along with my updating the progress on the Florida condo, I’ve been adding bits and pieces to “home automation” besides the normal “construction updates” to the kitchen (and eventually bathroom). Most of it has been […]
RichC | June 11, 2018
As usual the spring pine pollen left a mess of the patios and any furniture left outside. The annual chore of power-washing and cleaning our outdoor living space seems to get tougher every year … and the moving of furniture on and off the patio heavier. Nevertheless, I completed the project after a full day […]
RichC | June 10, 2018
It is hard to believe that my son Taylor is 29 years old today!?!?!? It doesn’t seem possible that he has been pretty much living on his own now for third of his life? He has certainly made us proud at the way he has grown up and handled a difficult decade that faced him […]
RichC | June 7, 2018
Several of the parts for our now 10 year old Kubota ZD326s have arrived so I started the process of cleaning, greasing and replacing the "broken and beat-up parts." I’m still waiting for the air filters to arrive from China, but have the Kubota branded oil filter and Chevron Delo 400 SDE 15W040 diesel oil […]
RichC | June 5, 2018
Happy Anniversary to my partner in life for 36 years; what a great life we have (photo from Hueston Woods near Oxford Ohio when in grad school at Miami University 36-1/2 years ago, which was just a couple months after our August 12th 1981 engagement). Little River Band Happy Anniversary […]
RichC | June 4, 2018
It continues to surprise me how coyotes can continue to live in and around relatively populated areas like Liberty Township, Ohio … but as mentioned several times in the past, we continues to see them boldly hunting rabbits and other small animals (keep an eye on your small dogs and cats!). While mowing the lawn, […]
RichC | June 3, 2018
Brenda and I enjoyed a retirement luncheon celebration on Saturday for my brother Ron (again) after his career working "mostly" at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. We had a great time with some of his co-workers, friends and family (his granddaughter Teagan with Keira and Ben above) at the 571 Grill in New […]
RichC | May 31, 2018
Since the Quartz countertops were finished early and I was still available for the install, it was time to move on it now. Better to have them installed than stored somewhere until my next trip to Florida (a few more photos for the Condo1718 archive below).
RichC | May 30, 2018
Adding a few more gadgets to the condo update this weekend as we are one step closer to getting it looking as if we’ll have a kitchen again … or at least a livable abode for the winter renters (or next owner). Hopefully the few extra upgrades I have opted to add will not go […]
RichC | May 29, 2018
Spent a little more time working on the condo kitchen over a stretched Memorial Day weekend since a replacement range needed to be received (gas version was shipped by mistake on first order). Thankfully was also able to get the templates made for the countertops after adding the stub wall support and some final cabinet […]
RichC | May 21, 2018
It is hard to believe that my YOUNGER brother Ron is retiring at 56 years old?!? Shocking, but I’m sure welcomed after a long career with the US Air Force working first in Ogden, Utah and the last 30 years at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. We were very close brothers when […]
RichC | May 20, 2018
First … Taylor and his girlfriend Megan had a great trip to Florida and enjoyed staying aboard Encore. Their weather wasn’t perfect much of the time, but the clouds and rain did prevent the sunburn that we all too often end up with when vacationing in the Sunshine State for a short time. A couple […]
RichC | May 15, 2018
I can’t resist archiving a few more photos from Katelyn and Drew’s Google Cloud after spending a few days with them last week and over the weekend at my brother’s for a small family get-together (reunion) and to celebrate my brother’s retirement from Wright Patterson Air Force Base — hard to believe he is retiring […]
RichC | May 13, 2018
So far we are two for two in my brother and I getting our families ALL together twice each year as we are planning. This past weekend was to his house after Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn spent a couple days with us back from their trip to the Smokey Mountains. We all had a good […]
RichC | May 12, 2018
Spending a few days with the family and our granddaughter Annalyn has got to be one of the best things about our stage of life. We had a good time spoiling her by doing a few "local to Liberty Twp/West Chester, Ohio" thngs like getting ice cream at The Cone and trying out a "new […]
RichC | May 7, 2018
Now that our granddaughter is walking around much FASTER, the staircases in our house are high priority safety fixes for her visits. We liked the “nautical flavored” ones that I put up for Katelyn and Taylor in Hudson Ohio, so I am duplicating them. Although I already set up a “gate” heading to the basement, […]
RichC | May 5, 2018
Just a couple more panarama catch-up photos for the archive from the updates to the condo kitchen. Brenda has been a great help and we both "enjoyed" working together.
RichC | May 2, 2018
The new Hitachi miter saw put to use on the condo kitchen crown molding … and a little paint finally being applied by Brenda. Wanted to get these couple new Ikea kitchen photos archived before they are lost.
RichC | May 1, 2018
New tools are my jewelry when it comes to presents … and Brenda agreed to buy me a new 12" Hitachi sliding compound miter saw so I could more easily work on a couple of projects (after promising to do them this year). Hm, what have I gotten myself into??? The first project is to […]
RichC | April 29, 2018
Don’t you just hate making a long drive and getting stuck in a long traffic jam? This past week I ended up sitting and inching forward for over an hour while on I-75. It was frustrating knowing just how many more hours I was planning to spend on the road. On a much lighter note, […]
RichC | April 26, 2018
Routine: Alarm at 5:50AM, brew coffee, fix oatmeal, shower then shave (probably backwards), watch/listen to news and business information by tuning into Morning with Maria on FoxBusiness (Gen Jack Keane‘s reflection on iPhone in photo left earlier this week). I’m probably not the only one who is more comfortable having a morning routine than winging […]
RichC | April 24, 2018
The four grandparents (BR & BR — Barb, Randy, Brenda and Rich) enjoyed being with Katelyn and Drew as they dedicated Annalyn at church this past Sunday morning – April 22, 2018. Knowing that they have publically vowed to raise their daughter with the help of their church family at Waterville Community Church in the […]
RichC | April 18, 2018
I have teased my “good humored” son far too long about his “girlfriend” from Wayzata Minnesota a few years ago (click here for old photo). So with that “old joke” aside, I think it is about time to officially include his friend Megan on the blog and mention we are excited to see them spending a […]
RichC | April 15, 2018
Now that our granddaughter Annalyn is walking, our THREE (ugh!) hardwood staircases are serious safety hazards. We thought about the normal commercial gates, but Brenda mentioned she really liked the nautical sailing ones that I made for our kids when they were little tykes in Hudson, Ohio (a lame attempt at a reference to the […]
RichC | April 14, 2018
This past week has been a busy one for me. I was off to Florida for a few days to check on the condo in Delray Beach after our winter renter and to start the demolition of the kitchen. It is a project that is way past due and I’m not sure I know exactly […]
RichC | April 13, 2018
A lot has happened in 5 years of marriage, on the other hand, those 5 years have flown by! Today is Katelyn and Drew‘s FIFTH year wedding anniversary; Brenda and I are wishing them much happiness and many more great years together … and Annalyn is in awe (photo). As for the milestones, they can […]
RichC | March 30, 2018
Now that our home theater has seats again, we are able to enjoy movie watching … sort of. When Katelyn and Taylor were home last weekend, I realized our old LG Blu-Ray DVD player didn’t work(it was a remote issue without any button overrides on the box). That frustration was followed by an older home […]
RichC | March 29, 2018
It is exciting to share the happy moment of a birth … especially when it is a member of our family who really has wanted a baby. Brenda and I are SO very happy for Madison and Nathan … as well as grandma and grandpa Skinner (Brenda’s sister Chris/Jerry). Riley Howard Kling did not arrive […]
RichC | March 29, 2018
After noticing once again my business email box pushing the limit on storage, I did the normal "sort by size" in order to delete old and unneeded larger emails with hefty attachments. This is a common practice for me as several times each month my servers automatically back-up databases and email a .ZIP archive and […]
RichC | March 26, 2018
We had a great weekend with Annalyn and Katelyn at our house for niece/cousin Madison‘s baby shower here in Cincinnati. Since Katelyn arrived on Friday, it gave us an extended weekend together … and “Daddy Drew“ a weekend “off” to both catch up on work (and hospital rounds) and probably a little sick to his […]
RichC | March 21, 2018
Pulled up Tuesday 3/20/2018 afternoon’s Raspberry Pi Cam photo of the backyard and Wednesday 3/21/2018 morning’s images (click for larger) — what a different a few hours makes.
RichC | March 21, 2018
Wouldn’t you know it … as soon as I take the snow blower and chains off our multi-use John Deere tractor that I use to clear our driveway … we get a forecast of more snow. Murphy’s Law I suppose? Earlier in March as the weather warmed, so Brenda asked when I would have the […]
RichC | March 18, 2018
Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn are back from their busy trip to San Diego. It is great to see them taking advantage of their medical conference trips and extend them into a fun family time. Katelyn was a bit nervous flying alone with a 1-year old to meet up with Drew after his conference, but it […]
RichC | March 11, 2018
Ah yes … the stress of a mom flying by herself with a one-year-old … it can be stressful. My daughter Katelyn flew to San Diego, California “alone” with Annalyn on Saturday and reported that all her “distraction” preparations paid off … well she didn’t exactly say that … BUT that fact that she was […]
RichC | March 10, 2018
There was a day that I thought my two kiddos, Katelyn (below) and Taylor (above) were by far the cutest little munchkins … but I’ve decided that I was wrong. My granddaughter Annalyn (right) is DEFINITELY the cutest one around by a long shot. I’m sure there are a few other grandparents who know […]
RichC | March 4, 2018
It is hard to believe a full year has passed and that “my” little girl’s daughter is already 1 year old. We’ve been looking forward to celebrating together and I’ve been tinkering with a requested gift idea – a magnetic board. Katelyn asked if I could make something that Annalyn could stick her magnetic symbols, […]
RichC | March 3, 2018
The new kitchen décor favored by Brenda is growing on me. Initially I fought the oversized glass crystal cabinet knobs (more expensive) and three rather than two crystal oriented pendant lights (I had already wired for two and had to add a third – $$$), as well as the excessive number of cut glass drinking […]
RichC | March 1, 2018
I’m chuckling at the “famous portrait” subject line, but then again, how many people actually have a portrait of themselves painted by an artist? (might as well make this a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT post) My grandmother, Ruth Walker Bluhm, was an artist and painted a portrait of her first grandson in the 1960s. She was […]
