tastewar.com

Basement Project

tastewar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:13:09 +0000

We had our favorite contractor do a quick “facelift” of our basement. Removed one partition wall, added a new one and a small, additional partition to create a laundry area for the first floor apartment. Hopefully, we can create an inviting space for the kids to be able to play down there without a complete remodel. The ceiling, walls, and floor were painted to clean and brighten up the space. Then with the help of Susan’s sister, Nancy and niece Melissa, we added some color to the walls.

Happy Thanksgiving!

tastewar — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:15:35 +0000

Yes, this is a bit late. Here’s a poem I wrote for our family football pool mailing list, as I’ve been in the habit of writing one for the weekly mailing. Usually, they are football related, and they are always written under pressure of time. So don’t judge too harshly

Pause for a minute to reflect, on the men and women we elect,
On the soldiers who our freedoms protect, and all who warrant our respect.
And be thankful.

Think, if you will of all we expect, the greed that can our souls infect,
When we our blessings do neglect, and God’s great offered peace reject.
And be thankful.

So on this holiday connect, with family and friend and seek to perfect,
Creation; and in joy bedecked, let the Hallelujahs go unchecked.
And be thankful!

The House

tastewar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:15:41 +0000

In the fourteen years we’ve spent in our house, we’ve been blessed to have only four tenants, all of whom have been really great. But I am enjoying our current tenants the most, because they are… My parents! With their health on the decline, the upkeep of their own house became more and more overwhelming. So after fourteen years of our asking them, they finally acquiesced and moved in downstairs about a month ago.

Their house is now on the market, so if you know anyone looking for a lovely, small home in southern Connecticut, with a bigger-than-average yard, and a finished basement with an awesome workshop, let me know.

It’s been a while

tastewar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:27:25 +0000

I’m not much of a blogger. Having the summer trip provided me with an endless supply of material to write about. But (my) ordinary life hardly seems worth writing about. Another roadblock for me was that I wanted to “preserve” the trip blog as a sort of whole. And in fits and starts, I have, I think, accomplished that. There is now a Trip Diary page which lists the posts related to our Big Trip in chronological order. The blog format is nice if you’re “following along” in that the most recent entries appear at the top. However, if I were to tell someone today that we had a great trip this past summer and that they can read about it on our website, the standard blog ordering (reverse chronological) is less than ideal. So with some help from the WordPress community, I was able to code up a page that presented the trip log entries in Forward chronological order, as a diary would be. Which I think you will agree is much more friendly for the newcomer.

Feature Creep

tastewar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:58:28 +0000

I’ve added a couple of new pages (see the “tabs” along the top) for a photo gallery and a map showing pictures along our route. Enjoy!

Statistics

tastewar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:51:59 +0000

7593 miles (~375 gallons of gas, ~$920)

0 accidents

0 tickets

2 warnings

34 nights away from home:

6 camping nights (5 sites)
13 homes of friends and family (6 homes)
15 hotel nights (15 different hotels; 14 continental breakfasts)
25 different places

823.5 hours together as a family, almost always sharing one vehicle, one hotel room, one tent, etc. (minus 12 hours one night when Susan and I slept in a different family home than the kids, and minus a 3 hour anniversary lunch outing) = 808.5 hours.

55 hours of audio books (Harry Potter 6 & 7; a Roald Dahl collection; and InkHeart)

9 National Parks and Monuments

101 blog posts

197 comments

551 photos

If you’re doing your math, you might notice that the nights didn’t quite add up – that’s because one night, the kids stayed at one house while we stayed at another!

Fin.

tastewar — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:43:34 +0000

We arrived yesterday at about 2:15 p.m. Feels good to be home, but we had some floors refinished while we were gone, so that meant lots of furniture to move before we could settle in. Which leaves today for unpacking, tomorrow for “rest,” then Monday it’s back to work!

98.5% There

tastewar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:41:48 +0000

Yesterday was our longest driving day, covering about 465 miles, and leaving about 120 miles for today. We are currently having a relaxing morning with my parents in North Haven, Connecticut.

New Record!

tastewar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:31:52 +0000

4 states in just over half an hour. Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania.

C8H10N4O2

tastewar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:08:54 +0000

Mmmm…