Electricity That's Real

I haven't had a work day since the 4th (my dad's birthday) due to mt mom getting married on the 11th (absolutely fantastic!) and another weekend spent at a retreat looking into my faith and what God is asking of me. I could go on and tell you about the work during the week on the floor in the laundry room and how it's taken 4 nights to complete as opposed to the 2 nights it should have taken, but I'm sure we all don't need that downer. Although I'll show you the pics because it's another notch in the tiling ability belt.

Instead, let's focus on some things that have come to be a bigger impact on me than I thought would or could have. First is the addition of a handful of new family members to the O'Bannon clan. Over the past 12 months ALL FOUR members of my family (2 sisters, brother and mother) have gotten married. Interestingly enough all have met the life partners online - don't know what the says, but it's a fact. I'd like to think that it means we are in a changing society and that this tool which I use to tell my story is also growing to become a social tool for long term relationships as well as looking up random information on a search engine.

My mom waited for her date for many reasons, not the least of which were to be after the others in the family. A further example that she has always put her children first. Another is that she and her new husband Greg wanted a smaller, more intimate setting as it fit their stage in life better. It turned out to be a fantastic day weather-wise and a truly beautiful ceremony.

It's not too often that a child gets to see the union of their parent in matrimony. I have struggled somewhat over the past few months with my future stepfather, not because of one reason or another due to his lacking, rather I think it was because of my wanting my father in the role of my mom's husband more than anything else. Although my siblings and I have many times discussed how we all wished Mom would find happiness and we all admitted that it would be tough for many reasons when that did happen, I never realized how or to what extent that difficulty would be for me. I'm not saying that Greg is replacing my dad, or that he even wants to - or that anyone thinks that's possible, but he is taking a role in the family that was for many years my father's (and even in some ways was mine) and now must be changed to be owned by Greg. It's a tricky business of melding two families together that are fully grown, have their own rhythms and have defined roles for everyone already in place. To have new roles or new places to fill is an adjustment that takes work and takes opening the mind to accept.

At the end of the day I saw my mom happy again. Not just 'oh the Vikings just won' happy, but 'a glow from the heart, eyes twinkle like they haven't for over a decade, cheeks are rosy from constant smiling' happy. My heart was full for her and Greg. I know my father was watching closely. He'd be happy to know that my mom is being taken care of and that she has someone to take care of as well. As I stood near the back of the line during the ceremony holding Ellie, I noticed again what it's like to see the electricity between two people that cannot be interrupted.

That made me happy.

A Window And Doors

That won't stop the bats at all

October 4th seems so long ago - and it kind of is - about 2 weeks. It was a beautiful day to do work when the temps were still in the 70s, now unfortunately the leaves are turning faster and the mercury seems to be plummeting. I had a couple of guys stop over the help and I bet you can guess who - Kirby and Ron - yep, but the surprise was Jon the concrete block guy!

Jon came back to finish the glass block window in the master shower (so we dont' get any bats this winter) as well as fill the gaping hole left behind by the HVAC guy that installed the vent for the downdraft in the kitchen - so we don't get bats this winter. Yeah it's a theme that I believe in strongly. Anyway, Jon finished all but 3 block that ended up being an odd size and I had to find them later in the week. Not many places carry a 6x6x4 glass block, so I had to be patient, and risk bats in the house. Well I didn't get bats, but I sure did acquire a LOT of flies that are now dying off. Anyway the window turned out great as did the brick by the kitchen.
Jon preps the last row/then adds final touches

Placing the last brick/WTF?! Did he use a canon?

Just a tappy-tap to clean it out


Kirby meanwhile started on the new baseboards and door trim in the master bath. First was puttying all the nail holes with 'spackle' then going back with primer - all very exciting. He had to leave at noon for football (he IS a standout WR at high school on the west side - just ask his dad!) so his dad took over. Ron was setting up the door in the basement to be primed. Rather interestig little maze he created that would allow the sprayer to hit both sides in one application. It sounds like a great idea until the sprayer (eventually me) keeps bumping his fast --- into the newly sprayed doors either because he needs to get on the treadmill and/or the doors may be a touch too close to each other. Either way RON did a great job ingeniously hangning the doors so that they pivot and all can be completed soon. I was hoping for that day, but that's another story.
As usual laying on the job/But having fun!

Ron's a scary man/Very Scary


I sanded and painted doors and ran around town looking for more paint, and then spent 4 hours cleaning out the darn sprayer because it gunked up while waiting for me to find more paint - and the original paint was too old, so needless to say I wasn't in the greatest of moods. All of that on top of the fact that I've never painted anything indoors with a paint sprayer that needed to be a 'finish' piece. So the pressure is on to make them look every bit as fantastic as the wood already in the house.
Details/It's ALL in the details...


Shana as always took a few pics while bouncing in and out of the house to take pics for me and take her own as a professional photographer of weddings and families and high school kids and little kids - pretty much anyone that needs a family memory recorded. thank you Shana.

It was a great weekend and we got a lot accomplished and I'm looking forward to installing the tile in the laundry room, master bath and some other flooring not yet determined in the master closet. Gotta paint int there yet ;-)

A Day At The Races

My seat at turn one by the pit row exit

Every night I'm doing something at the house or at church and it gets to be too much some times, really. I know the end is near but sometimes I'm not sure if that end is going to be the end of this house or the end of me. I'm not really sure why but it seems like I can't sustain my drive for this work as long as I used to, I get tired quickly in comparison to last year. I think there are probably a number of reasons for that, but I get tired just thinking of all of the reasons. So instead of doing either activity that gets me tired, I took off the weekend of the 28th and did something I've never done, I went to a NASCAR race in Kansas.

Many people, millions even, attend these races all across America and have every bit of a 'cult' following as any NFL, NBS, MLB or MLS weekend may have. (Sorry for you non-sports junkies, those abbreviations were for the major sports in America.) I don't know a lot about NASCAR and it's never really captured my attention, but I'm open to learning any sport - especially if the tickets are free - which they were. There are other sports that interest me like rugby or polo or even horse racing - the betting is the difficult part, but NASCAR has always been on the outside fringe of that. Anyway, it was a great way to get out of the usual scenery, take in the beautiful fall/summer afternoon and hang with a few guys.
The flyover of helicopters/Across from the pit exit
Last lap before start/AND THEY'RE OFF!!

The last few cars on the start


It was a fantastic time. The two things that 'they' tell you that no other sports that NASCAR has, the cars go by SO freaking fast and it is SO LOUD I can't tell you. As the cars pass by you can actually feel it in your chest (we were 12 rows off the track so I'm sure that helped) and you can feel the heat of the cars and track as the race wears on. Amazingly the 160+ laps went by surprisingly quickly, much faster than any race I had channel surfed on TV. Another thing the TV doesn't catch are the workings of the racetrack, like the trucks that have jet engines - literally jet engines! - attached to their rear ends to help clear the track. Man you talk abou losing your hearing - that'll do it. Another TV miss is the array of people at the races. Talk about the 'everyman's' sport, if you include all the tailgaters that don't even come in to see the race - I think just about every demographic is represented. As the guy I was sitting in the stands with, the greatest thing is that every week, EVERY team is at the race. Whereas in the NFL or MLB it's this team vs that team - only. It took a second to sink in, but that's kind of neat. Could you imagine seeing all the NHL teams playing in one location EVERY week?

My only real hang up was the one thing TV does well was help the uneducated fan know what the heck is going on and what car is where in the lineup. As I said, these cars are going 180 mph and you only see the numbers on the doors as they pass by - did I mention at 180 MPH? They also all have color schemes that to the knowledgeable fan are identifiable (somewhat like when I walk into a bar and glance at the TV, I know it's the Bears vs the Bucs in 2 seconds b/c I know the helmets, colors, etc.). Again, seeing these cars at wierd angles and having them move so fast, it's hard to stay on top of things. Thankfully there are restarts due to crashes, equipment failures and such so the pack gets straightened out.

Back to the good things, we had earphones that allowed us to hear what the racing teams are saying in the cock pits. Interesting concept I think. Could you imagine what would happen if all fans could hear in the headsets at an NFL game? Each team knows what the other is doing and it all comes down to one executing better than the other. Finally, I got to sit next to a guy that knew what was going on and just a great guy to talk to. I don't get to talk with him often, say once every 3-4 months b/c he's from Pella and a friend-of-a-friend kind of thing, but a great person to know and have contact with. God does amazing things in our lives and he puts people in our lives for a reason. I had no idea who I was really going to hang with going into this NASCAR experience, but it was a great experience that I'm glad I took the time to be a part of. Thank you to Russ and Keith for the ticket, thank you Daryl for the knowledgeable track side banter, it was a great escape for a few hours.

Crazy Bath Day

The weekend of Set 20th was a day of beautiful weather AND progress. Good friend Steve N. stopped in again to help, little did he know we had a messy todo list in store!

Our main task for the day was to prep the master bath shower walls for tile as much as possible. We hung the blue board like pros and finished in no time (3 hours). Although I'm a big fan of the rotozip tool - I'm not a big fan of how much of a mess it makes! Function over form I always say (something that Leslie many times would frown upon) as it gets me to my end goal much faster.
Steve posing for the pic/WHILE I actually work

Hanging this new Durock is SO much easier


We also got the opportunity to finally put Ellie back into her room after the floors finally dried after being re-surfaced. The walls still need touching up and base boards installed - but she was excited to have her own 'brand new, just for Ellie' bed. This new arrangement really opens up the room and makes it feel once again big, especially for a house of this age. It allows her to really make a mess - and she's happy to oblige;-)
Temporary layout of bed/Until the wall is fixed and painted


The other bathroom has seen some progress as well. Although it seems the guys are having to hop scotch their way around the room due to availability of materials, they make a little progress each week and i think you can kind of get a sense of where the room is headed. It'll be a beautiful space when completed and Ellie will have many years of 'beautiful' moments in there I'm sure!
The tile floor/Tub surround

Overall room without glass door/The shower floor


This week just a little progress without much 'lifestyle' notes as I'll add more to come. We also got the glass block in for the master bedroom window so the brick layer can start on that ASAP and then the tile guy is at full go.. oh that reminds me, I should confirm that he actually has me on his schedule...crap.. gotta run.

Ellie Update 9-08

What a Great Summer!

Hello all,
In previous entries I have talked about being inspired and doing things a bit differently, both in life and on this blog. One of those minor changes that I'm hoping to make is a new 'section' of the blog called 'Ellie Update'. What seems to be a straightforward name and hopefully meaningful addition, I hope to do a couple of things. First, folks have mentioned in the past, but I think I was reminded again recently by a good friend that the house is great to hear about but don't forget about me and Ellie, that those images are what 'bring it home' as it were. So I'm happy to oblige, and I'll be doing just that. Secondly, I hope to write stories about our everyday life, not that many will be life-altering, rather just everyday moments that stick out from week to week for whatever reason. I think as life continues on retaining the connection to Ellie and me is harder as everyone continues in their own direction. Finally, I see a lot of other people in Ellie and through Ellie and it always strikes me when it happens.

Beginning then the inaugurel edition of this section, I'll grab the low hanging fruit by showing a few images of our summer. Some were taken by me, some not. I'll try to keep it brief so you can just enjoy this little girl as she grows up right before our eyes.
Cooling off at the fountain/And very wet but happy

BIG slide ride!/In the main concourse

Finished - a bit uneasy/NOT happy this ride is over


A bit earlier in the summer we went to Adventureland Park - a local amusement park that was a work-sponsored day. We had a fantastic time and it really felt great to create awesome memories.
Started out rough/Soon the Tea Cups made it all better

Great fun spinning/the more spinning in the air

and waiting in line/to spin more in the air...

and then on ground - more spinning/then some water to cool down

LOVED the spinning/The water though...

Lots of fun since Sam took the worst/group shot

Then we drove the boats

Then headed for more water AND spinning/Everyone has fun

UNTIL SHE gets wet/So we got slushies

And fed the fish

THEN to the bumper cars!/Boys vs Girls

Finish up on the train ride/and a little smooch

It was a long day/ EVERYONE was t-i-r-e-d ;-)


Like I said in the beginning, what a great summer we've had. Although the progress on the house may have suffered a tad, the memories that were created are more important hands down.