Good Friend

I've been fortunate in my life to have a few very special friends, friends who have supported me in good times and bad and with whom I or Kathie and I have enjoyed many fun, memorable times. Here is a photo, taken a couple of days ago, of me with one of those most special friends.

David visited us the past few days after attending his 50th high school reunion in central Iowa. We had a great time reminiscing and catching up with each other and enjoyed a couple of fun outings, including dinner with Rob and his family and a drive out to the area of Cedar County where I was raised. We talked about the possibility of traveling together with our respective significant others and maybe other friends some time next year when each of us turns 70 (yikes!). It would be great if we didn't have to wait even that long to see each other again.

Fritz's 1st Birthday

Yesterday was Frederick's (Fritz's) first birthday. Betsy had a party for him last Sunday, to which we were invited. Here is a part of what happened that day (in Fritz's imagined own words):

OK! I'm ready for this party to get underway. Got my bib, and the tray is ready. The decorations are up. Let's get going!

Alright, Mom! Nice cake! Let me have some of that. You can skip all that singing, cuz I want some of that yummy looking chocolate cake.

That's a decent sized piece for starters. No need to get me that silverware. My hands and fingers work just fine.

I don't want to let a crumb go to waste, so licking off the plate works well for that.

I like all of it, the frosting, the chocolate cake part, the sprinkles. Yum!

This is so incredibly good. Why don't you let me eat like this more often?

OK, I'll try to be more dignified. Did I tell you, Mom, how much I appreciate the cake and this party?

Dad, did you see the balloon Mom put up for me? Quit trying to lick my fingers! I'll take care of that myself!

Mom! Mom! Mom! Grandpa's taking pictures of us. Try to cooperate.

Thanks for changing my clothes. I tried to be neat with the cake, but it was so incredibly good, that I may have gotten a little on my clothes. And maybe some in my hair. And maybe a little on my fingers. And around my mouth. Oh! There are gifts. Look over there, Mom. Let's open gifts.

See these cool books I got? Henry? Clara? These are my new books. Mine! Mine! Mine! My grandparents gave me these books. What a great birthday party I had. Thanks everyone. Special thanks to you, Mom and Dad, for making all the arrangements.

Losing An Old Friend

A strong straight-line wind blew through our Iowa property last week and, unfortunately, snapped off a significant part of our beloved white pine. This poor tree has had to withstand a number of weather events in recent years, including ice storms, and so the cumulative damage in terms of broken limbs was becoming more and more evident. Last week's storm was finally too much.

In a week or so, we are having it removed. Our plan is to plant some new trees in the yard soon, including a couple of new white pines. I guess we won't be around long enough to see them achieve the stature of this one, but there may eventually be stately new replacements in the yard.

More on Garage II

This posting is mainly for those of you interested in construction projects–you know who you are! However, for the rest of you, I'm starting with a picture of our mountain ash tree, a tree that stands a short distance from our front door. It is particularly pretty this year, with lots of clusters of orange berries. I recall that two years ago, it had only one such cluster, so it has really come along. Those of you interested in the garage can read on. The rest can glance at this photograph and then find something more useful to do.

After the brush and a few dead trees were cleared from the site, loads of dense sand were brought in and compacted onto the footprint for the garage. The compactor even made the cabin shake! I enjoyed watching them use a laser to get this perfectly level and at a graded height equal to that of the existing garage floor.

The area from the driveway to the front of the garage and the other sides of the site were graded for eventual access and water runoff.

Next, forms were put into place for pouring the concrete. Lying on the ground in front of the site is the drain which was integrated into the garage floor. Plastic sheeting was put down over the entire area.

The temperature and humidity were fairly high the day this was all done, so I didn't envy the guys having to work the heavy concrete into place. Rebar was placed around the perimeter and in the perimeter footings.

I had never seen one of these gadgets before–a motorized unit that did the initial smoothing of the concrete surface.

After all the concrete was poured, there was some final finishing and polishing.

This picture may give you a better idea of where the garage is situated. It is parallel to Garage I and about eight feet away from it. The curb around the perimeter of the pad has now been poured too, so construction can start soon. Remaining steps prior to that are to make frost stress relief cuts in the floor and to pour a four foot apron at the front of the garage entrance and to do some finish grading.

Garage II

You know how one thing can lead to another? Remember that new bigger boat? Well, getting it into our existing garage was going to require some changes. It might have been possible to enlarge the door to that garage so that the boat could be backed in, but even then the boat would have consumed all the available interior space with little, if any, room for maneuvering or other storage. So, we decided to add a second garage. This one will stand between the current garage and the road to our property (that is, further away from the lake), and it will be larger, of course. In fact, it will be large enough for the new boat, additional storage, and vehicle parking, especially in the winter. In past winters, the boat has filled the garage, so that when we were here, we had to leave any vehicle outside. This has been somewhat inconvenient, given the big snowfalls we have experienced the last few years.

Anyway, enough rationalizing. Excavation and grading started yesterday, and so I can share some early pictures. I love watching big equipment like this at work. Skilled operators make the backhoe arm seem like an extension of the operator's arm and hand. Next steps will involve fill, packing and then the pouring of the new garage floor. That should happen in the next few work days.

Oh, did I mention that the new garage will be finished on the inside? That will give us options for temporary sleeping space for guests or for me to store my electric trains or even make larger train layouts! I know, I know. Boys and their toys.

More Lake Fun

While I was in Minneapolis with Will and his family, Kathie hosted some of the members of her investment club. (Might have had something to do with my departing the premises.) All reports suggest that they had an excellent time on a pontoon outing and some fishing, golfing, and other playful activities. Here they are at Treeland's posing with the model of the world record Musky. Later, all but Kathie gathered in front of the fireplace back at the cabin before heading home.

Following their visit, we enjoyed a long Labor Day weekend with Jessica, Mike and Maia; Tom and Kristen; and Travis. Another pontoon boat outing was called for.

We stopped for a picnic at Chipmunk Island.

Tom and Kristen also posed with the Musky when we returned the pontoon boat.

Later in the weekend, Mike and Tom stoked up a fire, so that Maia and everyone else could make s'mores. Maia may have preferred roasted marshmallows to s'mores.

I got this nice group picture of all the family members before they headed back home on Monday.