Generous Benefactor

Hey gang!  I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what's been going on around here.

As usual, I'm spending my free time working on the house.  No surprise there, right?  In other news, due to some government idiocy, along with other union hate, the trust that handles teachers' health benefits will sunset.  Teachers will be forced back into the EUTF, which handles the benefits for state workers.  The EUTF is insolvent.  They have come on record in the past saying that they cannot handle taking in all the teachers.  Even Gov. Lingle, who hates teachers, have said the EUTF is insolvent.  So what's going on?  The high ranking idiots based their decisions on incomplete reports (but take it as gospel), and believe by adding the premiums from teachers to the EUTF, it will magically become solvent.

It gets better.  Teacher have until Nov. 24 to make any changes in their health coverage.  The EUTF provided a memo with some old premiums listed, along with a note saying it will change in January.  But if you ask them what the new premiums will be, they will tell you they won't know until January... but you have to make your decision in November.  Oh, and good luck getting in touch with the EUTF.  They have a memo that says don't email or call since they don't have the staff to answer questions.

On the bright side, we finished our path.

Still have to add more plants.

Jess sent us a big gift card for Home Depot.  We tried to refuse her money since she moved to the insanely expensive MN where it's so cold you have to have a furnace fired by the flames of Hell.  However, she persisted, and to keep refusing would be rude.  So we went ahead with some more home improvements.  (We also had a 10% off coupon for 1 receipt for up to $2000)

We bought the $10 ceiling fan electrical box to mount the craigslist fan in the Elspeth Suite.  I had to get a cordless drill to do the work too.

I figured out what the previous owners had done in the room.  There used to be a fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling.  There was a box in the ceiling for fixtures, and it was mounted really well to the joist.  I'm sure it could support the weight of a ceiling fan if... if the threaded holes for mounting stuff weren't broken off.  Looked like they broke the box when they changed the fixture, and instead of replacing the box, they shoved some drywall anchors into the broken holes and used drywall screws to mount the fan.  Yikes!

Now we have a prettier and better quality fan in the Elspeth Suite.  The only problem is that it is a 2 bulb light rather than the 3 bulb of the old fan. 

Next thing we tackled was the dining room door.  It was big and sturdy, being a solid wood slab, but it looked dirty and the old threshold broke off so I had a temporary one that stuck up real high.  Plus, the little lady wanted a white door.  We decided on w steel 9 lite door.

The old door didn't come out easily.  Instead of shimming the door evenly, it was flush to one side of the framing.  I couldn't get my reciprocating saw into the gap, so I had to pull the nails.  Glad the previous teacher that had my classroom left a nail puller in the closet.  Oh, and the slab was heavy, thanks for asking.

Here's Wendy cleaning the rough opening.  The tile grout used to be flush to the old, non-existent threshold.  It didn't match up flush with the new door.  We had to chisel it out.

After dealing with crappy screws that stripped faster than a horny teenager on prom night, we got the door in.  I finally got to use the brad nailer I got with my air compressor.  Notice how my choice of orange for the vestibule works well with the red of the dining room.

Much more inviting than a big, brown slab.  Now we realize we'll need a curtain hahahaha.  K-Mart had some magnetic mount curtains... guess we'll go there.  Also notice that the vestibule has carpet... sort of.  We installed carpet tile to soften things out.  We used it to help connect the Elspeth Suite to the main house.  Like a carpeted mini-hallway outside.

Now for the main attraction.  When Jess came over to see the house, one of the first things she pointed out was the ugly, faux-marble ceiling fan.  She actually said that her house warming gift to us would be a new fan.

It's not that ugly, right?

Well Jess, you'll be glad to know that you got us a new fan.

And you know what the best part of this story is?  Right after we got the new fan and door, we got another Home Depot gift card.  This time it's from Wendy's mom and dad.  Wonder what we'll do next?  Floor moulding?  Fix all the screens on the house?  New window treatment to replace the miniblinds in the living room?  Hmmmmm.

Path to Glory

I'm supposed to be working on my Curriculum Studies homework right now...

Here's what happened since we hung the chandelier:

Wendy found a $160 ceiling fan on Craigslist for $45.  We bought it to replace the ugly faux marble fan we have in the living room.  However, although the fan can be mounted as a flush mount or angled ceiling mount, it's missing one part that we need.  So that fan will go into the Elspeth Suite since that fan's blades we sagging more than my waistline.

The Cassels lent us their chainsaws, so we took out the last African Tulip tree in our yard.  We also cut out most of the stumps in the yard.  We also hired a professional tree trimmer to take down the palm trees that were growing in the power lines.  It cost us $50, but we really didn't want to try to take down the trees ourselves since they could have dropped on the power lines or the neighbor's house.

This week we cleared the area between our front door and the garage.  We put down some edging and dumped a bunch of gravel.  We're not done, but here is where we're at so far:

Hoosier Daddy?

Say that title slowly.  I was doing that on the drive to the store today.  Got Wendy pretty annoyed too.

My Hoosier Mom and Hoosier Dad send me a card for my birthday.  Although it was one day early, I opened the envelope, just in case it was Ding-dongs.  Inside the card was some money!

"That's the same amount of money they gave me for my birthday, and I'm related to them," cried Elspeth.

Guess we know the pecking order for kids in the McDowell family now.  I'm right up there with blood.

Thanks mom and dad.  We used the money to get lunch at Garden Island Barbecue.  That's a restaurant I've been asking to go to for the last month, but always get vetoed.  With the remaining money, we're going to try and pick up a nightstand we saw on craigslist.

Swagging Swag

The old dining room had a ceiling fan.  Problems with the ceiling fan include:

• it was a cheapo piece of doodoo
• we never used the fan while dining
• it wasn't centered properly
• the lighting was harsh

We decided to get rid of it.  At first, we were planning on moving the dining room fan over to the living room.  The living room fan is a bit ugly.  However, it turns out the living room fan is a higher quality fan.

One day we were in the middle of our weekly Home Depot tour when we passed a clearance shelf.  On the shelf there were 2 chandelier priced at $39.  One was a large pendant-style light in black.  The other was a 3 light set up in brushed nickel.  Wendy wanted a pendant light.  I wanted something with multiple bulbs.  I won and we got the brushed nickel chandelier because I'm bigger and more menacing than Wendy.  (Actually, the pendant light, though a good size, lacked girth.  It looked too scrawny, and the black was too dark.)

It took us about 3 hours to take down the fan and install the light.  The fan took 10 minutes.  The chandelier took forever.  The directions were sparse.  There was just one sheet of paper.  The directions would mention parts by their names, but no reference sheet or diagram was given.  We had to guess which part was which.  There were 4 diagrams on the paper.  One showed how the light bulbs should be spaced.  Another showed how the chandelier mounted to the ceiling (this was helpful).  A third showed wiring... black wire goes to black, white goes to white.  The last diagram was just a side view of the light.  What would have been helpful would be a diagram showing how the top, middle, and bottom sections of the chandelier go together.

The best part of the instructions was something Wendy couldn't stop talking about.  The instructions kept mentioning balls and nipples.  Twist the balls on the ends of the nipples.  Wendy amused herself for 15 minutes straight giggling and saying, "balls and nipples."



We think it's a big improvement over the fan.

We got the swag hook in the garden area of Home Depot.  It's the exact same hook that is found in the lighting area, but in a different package.  It was also $2 cheaper.  Also, the original list price of the chandelier was $170.

Other improvements since last time:

• guest bathroom is now ice dance (light blue)
• we have a fridge.  an LG top freezer
• master bathroom painted violetta
• roses dug up out of the yard and potted
• my-side garage door opener died :(  new one on order
• Elspeth has a drafting table and is now painting flowers
• vestibule in the garage painted vintage orange (the women thought it was ugly, but all our visitors love it when they enter.  Ryan knows his colors)
• removed a dead rat, dead chick, and a nest from the attic
• installed soffit vent covers to keep rats and bird from building nests in the attic and dying
• motorcycle now parked in the garage

 Next step:

• landscape area in front of bedrooms with native Hawaiian plants
• get fake rocks to cover cesspool access covers
• landscape area between garage and front door.  We're planning on a rock garden/potted plant garden
• build a walkway from the driveway to the front door.  Either pavers or concrete.

House pictures

I spent the whole day digging out the ginger and heliconia in our yard (minus lunch time).  I had Elspeth take some pictures of the house so we could share.


Dining room to living room.


Living room.  Hard to tell, but the walls are safari.


Mid-century modern dining room table with McDonald's taro pie.


Kitchen.


Kitchen again.


Living room from hallway.


Foyer.  The kitchen cart will be removed some day.  Probably before we have kids.


Clearstory.


Guest bath.  Just recently painted.  Waiting until the paint cures before the shower curtain and mirror go back up.


Guest bath.


Bedroom #2 is currently our office.


Bedroom #1.  The brightest room.  Currently occupied by Elspeth.


Master Bedroom.  The purple really helps when trying to sleep.


Master.


En suite.


The mini-mart is very close.


The backyard hibiscus.  We'll have to trim it soon.


Backyard.


China.

Elspeth forgot to take pictures of the laundry room.  It's a really bright yellow.  Makes you feel all cheery doing laundry.  It does have a shower, toilet, and laundry tub.  I guess that makes it a .75 bath.  So our house must be a 2.75 bath.  However, we also have another shower outside of the laundry room, in the backyard.  We don't have any fences up, so it might not be a good place to be naked.  Hmmm... maybe our house has 2.85 baths?

What can you do with $50?

Wendy is out in Kalalau Valley for a week, and Elspeth is working at a night event at the NTBG.  Ryan is home bored, listening to the dishwasher.

So what did we do with the $50 Nick and Emily sent us?

1.  Changed all the locks on the house.
2.  Added deadbolts to all entry doors.  The entry from the garage has a keypad system.
3.  Added missing knobs to closets.
4.  Sprayed the entire house with Home Defense Max.
5.  Used Spectracide all around the yard.
6.  Replaced broken jalousie glass and straightened out screens.
7.  Changed all incandescent bulbs to CFLs.
8.  Replaced bathroom dimmer switches with illuminated switches.
9.  Added door stops to some of the doors.
10.  Waxed window rails.
11.  Cleaned windows.
12.  Steam cleaned the carpets.
13.  Patched drywall in the bathrooms, laundry room, living room.
14.  Painted the master bedroom purple, the tardis and dining room red, the living room safari, the laundry room buttery, and the guest bath blue.
15.  Moved all our stuff over.
16.  fixed the 3-way switches in the hallway.
17.  Replaced the vertical binds on the sliding glass door with sheer curtains.
18.  Fixed the speaker connector in the living room.
19.  Removed shelves from the entertainment center and patched the holes... including the one Wendy made with a prybar.
20.  Removed mini-blinds from the laundry room and added etched glass contact paper.
21.  Got a new washer and dryer combo.
22.  Put shelf paper in all the cabinets and pantry.
23.  Poisoned all the Guinea Grass.
24.  Caulked the laundry room shower.
25.  Got various tools and a roll-away tool chest.
26.  Replaced one of the garage door openers, fixed the non-working one.
27.  Installed a new threshold on the dining room entry, repaired the garage-side door one.
28.  Replaced the door sweep on the laundry room door.
29.  Fixed all three toilets. 
30.  Felled 2 out of 3 African Tulip trees.
31.  Took down a bunch of palm trees.
32.  trimmed the Heliconia and ginger out front.
33.  Got new hoses.
34.  Got new trash cans.
35.  Got a midcentury modern 7 piece dining room set, hutch, and side table.
36.  Got a heavy coffee table.
37.  Got 3 bar stools for the counter overhang.
38.  Patched some roof shingles.
39.  killed a bunch of ant living in fire detector.  Darn thing went off randomly and it was mounted all the way up the clearstory.
40.  Hung a mirror.
41.  Got a fire extinguisher for the kitchen.
42.  Replaced the motion sensor light for the driveway.
43.  Repaired the laundry room exterior light.
44.  Got a mini-fridge.

Fifty dollars goes a long way, eh?

I was going to post some pics, but Wendy didn't take any with her good camera.

I'm a Homo...

...wner.  The title has been recorded in our names and now we own the TARDIS house.

Dogsitting is Hard Work

Maybe we should think about hiring a landscaper too.  I wonder if we know anyone who does landscaping...

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We get the keys to the house tomorrow!  We've already purchased a washer, dryer, and lawnmower... though it looks like Bank of America mowed the yard one last time today.  I also have 9 door knobs/deadbolts ready to go, including an electronic keypad.  Woooooo!  We'll be all high tech so we don't lock Elspeth out of the house.

Weekend Recap

Here's the weekend recap for all of you not stuck in the tropics:

Friday day was spent signing loan and title papers.  Elspeth wandered around the block (heh, now she's been around the block a few times) checking out the local stores while we were signing papers.  We later got Elspeth a pair of hiking/walking shoes in preparation for a big hike we got coming up.

Friday evening was spent grilling hamburgers on Jess's gas grill.  Mmmmm outdoor grilling.

Saturday day Wendy brought over some of my chocolate cream pie to Aunty Lucy.  I can't remember what I was doing while she was gone.  I think I watched Red Cliff, a movie about a major battle during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China.

Saturday evening, Elspeth, my mom, my mom's friend, and I went to the bon dance in Waimea.  It was rather small with little people compared to the other bon dances we went to.  The lack of crowd did have its advantages though.  There were no lines for food.  We got some andagi (the doughnut thing I made during Christmas that looked like cow scrotum) and some authentic flying saucers.  Elspeth got to see how they made them and also got to eat one.  She liked it!


Elspeth learns a dance from my mom.

Sunday morning I spent some time looking up door locks.  One of the first things I'm going to do to the house is change all the locks.  The previous owner used to have his construction crew stay at his house.  We're not sure how many keys might be out there, so prudence suggests changing all the locks.

One of the brands I was interested in was Kwikset.  They have nice looking knobs, and some of their locks have a feature called Smartkey.  With Smartkey, you can rekey a lock in seconds without having to remove the cylinder.  Since I need 4 knob/deadbolt combos and 1 keyed entry set, Smartkey would let me set all those locks to work off one key without having to pay extra to have the store rekey the cylinders.

Lucky I did some research.  There have been many complaints about Smartkey.  It seems some locks randomly reset themselves, locking their owners out of their own homes.  And since it is a complete reset, even the original keys don't work.  I'm going to pass on that and think about going with Schlage... though I'm not sure how to pronounce the name.

Sunday day we head off to the other side of the island.  The McDowell clan did not venture to the north side of the island, so this would be a new experience for Elspeth.  We grabbed lunch at a Burger King.  Argued over Edward or Jacob.  Stopped by a grocery store for drinks and ice.  Wendy managed to pick the slowest checkout line.  She has a knack.  Then off we went to Hanalei, home of Puff the Magic Dragon.



Hanalei Beach Park.  Located on the windward side of the island.  The windward side gets most of the rain, so it's lush and jungle looking.  It's also a favored destination for tourists (though tourists like the dry, sunny south side of Poipu too) and expats from the mainland.



Let's get a picture to show Emily.  Smile Elspeth... no, a real smile...

What do you mean, 'a real smile'?  (throws hands in air) *click*





Hanalei Bay.



My wife getting naked.  She decided not to swim and stayed on the beach reading magazines.  Her entire front-side got roasted medium-rare.



On the way home, we couldn't wait for dinner.  We stopped at Pizza Hut to eat.  When we got inside, my co-worker Penny (6th grade social studies teacher) kept calling out to me.  I was later told that she was trying to show her daughter and friends who their 8th grade teacher was going to be.  All I heard was, "blah blah blah Mr. Kishida blah blah."  I'll apologize for being rude the next time I see her... which will be on the 20th.  We have to go in and work on some pacing guides together.

When we were leaving Pizza Hut, Wendy took over the driving duties.  I was beat from the heat and swimming, so I asked Wendy if we could go home, shower, leave off our clothes, and just hang out.

"Honey, if we don't have clothes on, you'll surely be hanging out," Wendy said as she put the car into drive.

Sunday night almost zzzzzz but Wendy sat up in bed and started talking house stuff.

Monday morning zzzzzzzzz    !!!!!!!!!!!!  Landlord banging hammers preparing forms for a new concrete slab.

Lose a Bet with God?

Last night, Wendy and I spent the evening reading A Year of Blind Dates to each other.  We took turns reading alternate chapters out loud.

http://www.amazon.com/Year-Blind-Dates-Single-Search/dp/0830748105

After a couple of chapters, I looked at Wendy and said, "I don't think Megan is a good Christian."

"Why?" Wendy asked.

You see, although Megan, the heroine of the story, is a good person who sometimes is a bit too critical of others, she's a selfish Christian.  When she signed up to a special matchmaking dating service, she stated that she wants someone who shares her faith and that was a non-negotiable.  And that's fine.

She attends church regularly.  She is a member of a Bible Study group.  She prays regularly.

So what makes her a bad Christian?  Well, after a series of bad dates, she has a breakdown in her car, during which she has a conversation with God.  Now here's the part that bugged me.  She stated several times in earlier chapters that she trusts God, but in her car she questions his plan.  Not really looking like trust, but it could be a moment of weakness due to stress.

But here's the kicker.  She demands a reward.  From God.  For being good. 

She tells God that she's been a good Christian.  That she's always trusted him.  That she believes in him.  Then she says because of that, he needs to give her someone to keep her from being alone.  Even I don't have the brass ones big enough to give God an ultimatum.

"I'm that kind of Christian," Wendy retorted.

"You make demands of God then throw fits if you don't get it?" I asked.

"No, not really.  But when the funding for the spider research was running out and I had several job options, I asked God to help me and give me a sign.  But he didn't and I was like, 'come on!  Just give me a little hint!'"

"I think that's different.  You weren't telling God to give you a job because you go to church."

"True," Wendy replied, "but like Megan, I was lonely too and I kind of argued with God about it."

"And who won that argument?" I asked.

"I got you, don't I?"  Wendy smiled.

"So you lost."  And I smiled right back.

*********************

Wendy has field work today.  She took a helicopter over to Makaleha.


According to my students, it's like she has the man job and I have the woman job.  She rides helicopters to study endangered plants out in the middle of nowhere.  I'm doing laundry and making a chocolate cream pie.

*********************

Our official closing date on the house is the 16th.  We're going to go in to the bank tomorrow to sign a bunch of paperwork.  After we get the title, Elspeth officially becomes our slave... errr servant.

Unfortunately, after all the waiting, delays, setbacks, etc (we've been on this deal since February), closing feels rather anti-climactic.  It's like all the banks sucked the fun out of buying a house.  Oh well.  Guess we'll get our jollies from picking on Elspeth.

32%

Hey, check this out.  Hawaii has the highest percentage of mixed-race marriages in the nation.  Thirty-two percent of the HI married population are mixed race.  (article here)

You know what that means?  The longer Elspeth stays here, the greater her chances of marrying a non-white guy.  Woohoo!  She'll be carrying on the family tradition of multiracial inclusiveness.  I love this family.  Not only did one daughter marry a Mexican, but the other daughter also married Nick!

Stay tuned, Kiddos.

Fourth of July Weekend

It all started with Wendy saying, "we should take Elspeth to the beach."  Wendy Didn't want her little sister to be in Hawaii for a week and not been to the beach.  So off we went to the most upscale retailer of swimsuit fashions:  Walmart!  (We're poor, and I also needed a new pair of shorts since my waistline has been growing faster than the economy.)

On Sunday, Wendy took Elspeth to church.  I guess the sermon about Tiger Woods being a Buddhist made him cheat and thus his game sucks according to Fox News, would have gone over better if they didn't serve coffee in the middle of the service.  Little Sis had to sit outside and didn't get her free breakfast or smoothie.

But things got better.  We had Pizza Hut for lunch.  Mmmmm.  Pizza....  Then we hit the beach!

I think you guys remember the beach.  Salt Pond.  It was really sunny.  Barely any clouds in the sky.  And the water wasn't too dirty from the rains the day before.  It was rather clean for Salt Pond.  So we spent a couple of hours swimming and sun bathing on the warm sand, under the bright Hawaiian sun.  Sure beats having to do mortal combat with stupid neighborhood boards.

For dinner, I busted out the grill the Wiersums left us.  Made some might good tasting steaks.  Seasoned with Hawaiian salt.




Purple sweet potatoes too.

Elspeth claims it was the best steak she had ever had, and ate everything except for one last bite.  Goes to show that Wendy married me for my culinary prowess.

That night, when we were alone, Wendy and I did something married couples rarely do.  We read to each other out of a book Wendy borrowed from Jess' place.

The next day, while Wendy was sleeping, I used the internet and computer to do what all normal males do with the internet and computers.  I played video games and watched old school music videos on Youtube. 



We picked up Elspeth on the way to Poipu for lunch.  We got the usual burgers and fries.  Wendy had a fish taco though.  Then we checked out all the overpriced shops in the shopping village.  There was a cute outfit in a window that Wendy and I thought was nice, but the price tag said otherwise.  $150 for blouse and skirt?  No way.

We finished the day with gelato.  Yummy yummy gelato.  My tongue still aches from having to lick up all that delicious, creamy, chocolatey Belgian Chocolate ice cream.

So, how was 4th of July in Indiana?  :D

*******************************

So we got a general contractor to come out to the house.  He reported that the roof should have 12-15 years of life left, and the damaged shingles are not causing immediate damage and should be replaced some time in the future.

Our loan officer emailed me this morning about homeowner's inn-sewer-ants.  She asked who we were going to go with since we're at that stage of the process now.  I'd like to be optimistic and say that we could be closing at the end of the week.  However, I'm learning that buying a house is a study in Murphy's Law.

Flat Elspeth

What do you do with a Flat Elspeth? (Think Flat Stanley)



Take her through Hanapepe Town and bring her on the Swinging Bridge.



Take her to lunch at a local cafe where she gets to try real saimin and not the instant ramen she grew up with.  Then watch as Wendy explains what's in the saimin.  Flat Elspeth learned that the real thing does NOT taste the same as the instant.



View the Hanapepe Valley near the dead carcass of a feral pig that some jerk hunter left behind.



Take her to her job orientation.



Have her meet Hunny the dog and remeet Jess.



Go over the job responsibilities, including not to panic if you hear screams of terror next door.  It's just the nursing home's demented patients.



Learn how to cope with living in frikkin paradise in a beautiful house.



To take care of a self-maintaining dog.



While walking in the tropics.



You can also take your Flat Elspeth to see the Menehune Fishpond.  It's an ancient Hawaiian fishpond used for aquaculture.  It was said to have been built overnight by a race of mythical beings known as the Menehune.



Pose by Wailua Falls, the scene from the opening of Fantasy Island.  Boss, boss, the plane, the plane.



Be a spokesmodel for the GE Geospring Hybrid Water Heater.  It heats water using a heat pump.  Like a refrigerator in reverse.  With Hawaii's warm air, it would save a bunch of money on electricity.  However, the home buyer tax credit got extended, so if we finally do get the house, we have money for a solar heater.



Avoid local food by going to a deli sandwich place.  Notice the product placement.  Hawaiian Sun Guava Nectar.

So that's proof that Elspeth is alive and well.  We are treating her kindly and feeding her.  If you wish her to remain safe, send us $1 million dollars in small, unmarked bills.

********************

After three days, we finally found a contractor that will come out to the house and do a roof inspection.  Sigh.  This house thing has been keeping me up late at night.  We're starting to cut things close to the 7/16 deadline.