One Thing Leads To Another

So we were in Lowe's the other day and I noticed some returned special order railing on clearence. I thought, hey I could use that railing, if only I had a covered porch to attach it to. Well in true form we decided to create a need for the railing and built a covered porch over the weekend. I built the trusses from 4x4 cedar and we will be finishing the underside with tongue and groove cedar. It turned out great, the funny thing was we spent $300 so that we could save $300. We had always wanted to cover the porch we just didn't plan on doing it over the weekend.

The bathroom is done

Some of you may remember 2 months ago when the wife was on a business trip, I tackled a serious project with a stupid goal of finishing it in two days. Weeks before her trip I noticed the toilet wax ring was leaking and the floor was in need of major repair. I didn't tell her about it knowing she would be gone for a couple days and I could tackle it without trying to figure out what facilities she could use(having only one bathroom sucks). Well it didn't go as planned and she came home to a wreck. Two months later the job is complete and it came out great. We did it all, new fixtures, new window, new door, new faucets, new hardware, new tile, etc. One snag we ran into was a shortage of tiles for the shower and yes they had been discontinued and were no longer available. We can't do anything normal so I suggested some kind of carving in a tile to make up for the tile shortage and she suggested a Celtic Knot. I carved the design into the travertine and it worked great. Above are some before and after pictures.

Remembering July 4

I have always loved this holiday. Probably because it contains some of my favorites; like blazing hot days, sparklers, flags and yummy barbeques. My military brat status also plays in to the mix. One year I mentioned to my mom how I could remember going to a fireworks show as a kid and having the humongous colorful blooms straight above us, and then being very much afraid of the hot embers floating to the ground. She was amazed at my memory. This particular July 4 was spent in England when I was 3 or 4 years old. I can still remember being mesmerized by the pretty stars, and the terror of burning ash. In Edwards, they always had a big show, but spent the entire week before watering the entire area. If you don't know geography, Edwards is located in the middle of the Mojave desert.
When Bryan and I were dating, we spent one July 4 on the mountain above Kaysville. His parents had a mattress that needed transporting, and we stuck it in the back of his truck then made the trek up the old firebreak road. We could see Lagoon, Cherry Hill, Davis High, and even some fireworks up in Clearfield area, all to the tunes of Smashing Pumpkins.
At 12, my family moved to Utah so my dad could be living in his home state when he was ready to retire from the military. Somehow, special permission is given to Hill AFB to allow the F-16s to do a flyover from Ogden to Salt Lake (maybe further). We always sit on our roof and wait for them to come by. My parents live on a deadend, and are the last house, surrounded by a huge field, so the jets always came right over us. We now take my dad's POW flag and American flag up top and wave so the men & women flying know we appreciate them. One year they came so close, you felt you could reach up and touch the under belly of the jet.
As a teenager, my parents started to have a July 4 barbeque for the entire Garrett family. Everyone would show up for yummy dutch oven chicken and potatoes, and then cobbler later. My uncle Kyle would always make up homemade root beer. Then one year, my Uncle James came with his family from California. They had a tradition of buying fireworks, and this soon was added to the barbeque. Each year, much time is spent getting a gigantic case of fireworks, and then taking inventory of all there is and putting together a spectacular show. Then we watch Lagoon and Cherry Hill's fireworks from the frontyard. Plus all the illegal fireworks from the neighbors.
And then there's my favorite tradition. When we moved to Logan, we learned that Romney Stadium does their fireworks show the night before July 4. Who knows exactly why; some say it's a practice run for Stadium of Fire (but it's nowhere near as good) and others say it's because it makes the valley more money as supposedly no one would come to Logan for July 4. Whatever. Anyhow, my house is located directly south (and a tiny bit east) from the stadium, and if you sit on the rooftop, you get a wonderful view. We take up blankets, mosquito repellant and the camera and have a 'blast' (that pun's for you Dad) watching the show.
I love my July 4 memories. I'm glad that a bunch of farmers with pitchforks were pushed over the edge by a tea tax. Their sacrifice for the love of liberty allows me to enjoy a day of summer bliss.

Missing My Kitty

I never would have pegged myself as a cat-lover, but I loved my kitty. When we moved to Logan, and picked a house straight across from a field, Bryan kept mentioning we needed a cat. And that's when Kit came into the picture. We found her on the side of the road, abandoned, along with the rest of her siblings. Sadly, she was the only one left alive; barely. Her eyes were filled with goop and she made no protests when I scooped her into my hands. She was a teeny ball of fluff. We brought her back from Death's fingertips.

Naming her was a pain. We had the hardest time thinking of one that would fit her personality. I kept mentioning Polly Prissy Pants, but it just didn't really fit. When I took her to the vet, they asked for her name, and I stumbled. We had been calling her Kitty-Kat, and I couldn't tell them that. What would they think? So I mumbled Kit, and it stuck.

About a year and a half ago, we lost Kit. Our neighbor mentioned her dogs had noticed her laying motionless across the street on their early morning walk. We were already at work, and didn't find out until that evening, when someone else had already taken care of her. Without the usual closure of losing a pet, it was hard to really feel she was gone. She was just on an adventure, or maybe mad that I threw a prize mouse away and was keeping her distance. But when a week went by and no food was eaten, the sad realization sunk in.

I miss her terribly, but no longer sit on the porch waiting for her to wander over. I know she's no longer here with us. But once in a blue moon, I'll hear her meowing outside the window. It's nice to think she hasn't forgotten us, and maybe misses us as much as we miss her.