Just Discovered Photo Booth

Yesterday Kurt Goble introduced me to Photo Booth on my MacBook Pro.  I didn't even know it existed.  Very cool.  

This Was My Monday

No, we're not really that lousy at housekeeping.  Work on our new kitchen begins tomorrow morning bright and early.  Since I'm working all day today and tonight, there really wasn't any time to get it done, so I spent the entire day yesterday working on it.  

The old kitchen actually photographs pretty well.  What the pictures don't show is the almost non-existent finish on many of the cabinets and drawers.  Some are practically down to raw wood.  The white tile shows everything and the grout is next to impossible to clean.

Our current pantry (top picture) has been quite the obstacle course in the six years we've lived here.  In order to reach anything in the back, you had to remove stuff and then practically stand on your head to dig out the wanted item.  You wouldn't BELIEVE the strange things I found tucked away back there!  The new pantry will be wonderful.  That little built-in desk (you can only see a portion of it) will be removed, and the pantry will be easily accessible.  There will be three pull-outs and three shelves, so it will be great!

What really got the ball rolling on the project, however, is the florescent light unit pictured in the "after" shot below.  The ballasts are all shot and the light was always dingy and so--florescent.  That whole area will be opened up, giving a "high ceiling" effect with crown molding--incandescent can lights will be installed.  Of course the inevitable domino effect set in, so the yucky "blonde" cabinets will be replaced with cherry.  Actually, the only thing surviving from the kitchen will be the dishwasher.  (The oven actually died last week. The 'fridge is on the brink.)  So, aside from the national economy tanking, this is pretty good timing for the re-do.  It will be a long month, but we're looking forward to the adventure.

The "after" shot of the kitchen.  

Everything but the dishwasher is history.

In the new kitchen, it will be to the right

of the sink.  The new oven will go to the opposite

side, under the cooktop.  Where the oven is

now will be new countertop/cabinet, with

microwave overhead.

The dining room and table became the staging

area for the kitchen pack-up.  As you can

see, there was quite a bit of "stuff" to deal

with.  More boxes were lined up behind where

I was standing to take the picture.

I was so glad we were only packing up

ONE room.  After helping the Templetons and

Johnsons move pretty frequently over the

last few years, this was really not that

big a deal.  (It helps when you don't

have to seal boxes or pack them for

the jostling that comes from being trucked.)

Now everything's tucked away in its

home-away-from-home for the next

four weeks.  The dining table is in the garage,

where all the kitchen drawers will be 

stored.  All the plates and glassware (and

coffee mugs) are in our master closet. 

The all-important coffee pot is in our

bathroom.  Bring on the demo crew!

Busy, Fun Weekend with "The Girls"

This was a fun weekend...kinda exhausting, but fun.  We picked up Haley and Lexi from Grandma Connie Saturday morning.  From there we went to Michaels Crafts and the girls were able to exercise their artistic gifts in pumpkin decorating--no pumpkins were harmed in the making of these crafts! (Nor were any children!)

Haley was very "into" the project.  She did most

 of the cutting and gluing of the foam onto her

 pumpkin.  I helped her with the hat, but 

she did the rest of the work on her own.

Lexi needed to take some time out from her labors

 to play with the pumpkin eyes.

Lexi's finished project.  (I think he kinda looks like me!)

Haley kept adding things to her pumpkin.  I

think the green fuzzy things are ears.

We went to Disneyland and met Brian, Jennifer

and Emily at California Adventure.  That Emily is

the consummate Disney fan already.

Today after church we all had lunch at Boston Market

 and then went to the Johnson Brothers Pumpkin Patch.

  All the girls rode the ponies.  We were worried about Emily,

 but we shouldn't have.  She LOVED it. Only cried

 when it was time to get OFF the pony!  (I didn't get

 any stills of her for some reason, but she's

 in the video below, pigtails flying!)

Lexi had a good time, too!

Note Brian and Jennifer in the background

getting Emily settled on her pony ("Rainbow")

Let's hurry up and RIDE!!!  Emily's hands

are SOOO busy and so expressive.  They're 

always moving and are so fun to watch!

Sisters 4-ever!

Haley's smile always gets me!

The video below starts with our visit yesterday to Prehistoric Pet Store.  The girls love looking at snakes, iguanas, and other reptiles. They really enjoy feeding time...feeding live worms to turtles and fish. It's a bit "yucky" so if you like you can fast-forward to the bumper cars at Disneyland!  The pony ride at the Pumpkin Patch is at the end of the video.

From the Photo Album--More Pictures Through the Years

Kristi holding Jennifer when 

Jen was about 2 months old

I got some more pictures scanned and thought I would share.  Most of these are of Jennifer and Kristi together.  I'll be posting more soon.

Old photographs are such a blessing after a couple decades have passed.  I envy young parents today who are able to capture hundreds--THOUSANDS--of pictures so easily through digital technology.  Back in the "olden days" of film and prints, one was always limited by how much film was available--and whether or not it was on sale.  Oh yeah, flash cubes were always a necessity, and were often lacking.

Thankfully, scanners make it possible to convert old, faded prints into digital jpegs.  I scanned these and emailed them to myself in a matter of 10 minutes or so.  The most time-consuming part of it was trying to make the images "pop" as much as possible.

Okay, since I posted this, I've learned that I made at least 5 captioning mistakes.  Rather than completely rewriting them, I'll add corrections.  Seeing how wrong I was will probably be rather entertaining.

Jennifer got her tricycle!  This was taken

the year we lived in the "ghetto"--student

housing at Southern Baptist Seminary in

Louisville, KY -- around 1983.

[Correction 1:  This was in our house at

Johnson Bible College!  We never took that

china cabinet and La-Z-Boy to Seminary.]

These next 5 pictures are the reason

I hit the old photos in the first place.

Kristi posted pictures of Haley and Lexi

riding the cars at the Catholic church carnival.

These pictures were taken at the 1982 World's Fair

in Knoxville.  Kristi was 7 and Jennifer was 4.

Another day, but still at the World's Fair.

Kristi's loving driving!

Love that big smile on Jennifer's face!

The girls exiting one of the kiddie rides

at the World's Fair!

A typical Easter at the Sewell house--matching

dresses and hats for K & J.  They REALLY 

loved dressing alike!  (Right!)

[Correction 2:  As you can see, the dresses 

aren't exactly the same--but pretty darn close!]

A little cookie decorating!  They loved baking

things with Lyn.

A classic.  Kristi and Jennifer singing

in their air mics.  Note Kristi's finger--

one way, Jesus?

[Correction 3:  Okay, not a correction, but

a comment. . . Don't you love the socks?]

Kristi and Jennifer with their cousins, Josh, Jonathan,

and Joanna Troyer. (Uh, the guy with the beard

isn't family!)

Kristi and Jennifer with Mickey--at

Disney World one Christmas vacation.

[Correction 4: Lyn says this wasn't really at WDW.

Since they're in shorts, it wouldn't have

been at Christmas--even in FL]

This was taken the year the Louisville Cardinals

won the NCAA basketball championships.

The girls and I the spring we vacationed at

Desert Springs--Marriott Resort Hotel.  I 

think we were about to head to one of the

hotel restaurants for dinner.

Kristi and Jennifer standing in front of

our house on 14th Street.  Curtis and his

family lived right next door to us.

Jennifer and Kristi standing in front

of the Rockets at Disneyland--this was on

Christmas break the year Kristi was in Norway.

[Correction 5: This wasn't the "Norway Year"

after all.  I'd forgotten that Kristi had gained

quite a bit of weight because of all that

great Norwegian chocolate, bread, and goat cheese!]

In front of the Christmas Tree--the year of

Kristi's coming-of-age experience in Norway.

[Correction 6:  This was ACTUALLY the

Christmas of 1999, a few weeks before

Kristi and Curtis got married.]

Lyn and Kristi--both a little sad at the airport

before Kristi headed back to Norway.

You can see the pain in Lyn's eyes.

Kristi and me at LAX--time to say good-bye!  We were

smiling, but not real happy at that moment.

Sheesh!  I look like I'M from Norway!

Me and My Girls - Long Ago

Kristi's blog yesterday caused us to go on a search for pictures of Kristi/Jennifer driving the carnival cars at the 1982 World's Fair.  We found them...and a whole bunch more.  I'll be posting a lot of them, now that I'm figuring out how to use our copier as a JPEG scanner!  

I wanted to start with this picture, because it's always been a favorite of mine.  It was taken in our house at Johnson Bible College when the girls were probably 5 & 2 or 6 & 3.  I always loved this picture, and seeing it reminds me again of how much they look like Haley and Lexi.  (I'm seeing Emily in Jennifer here, too!) It's so neat to relive those experiences through your grandchildren!

What A Night!

It truly was a wonderful evening.  We left home about 3:15 and were tucked away in the parking lot across from the Pantages about 45 minutes later. We started walking up the Boulevard looking for a place to eat.  We found a couple of places that looked interesting, but all were closed on Sunday.  (We thought this was a bit odd.  I assume being closed on Sunday is some kind of business decision not based upon "religious convictions."  Being located on sleazy Hollywood Boulevard rather negates that mindset--in my opinion.)

Anyway, after walking several blocks, we basically stumbled on a restaurant "around the corner." The restaurant was Miceli's, and the sign "since 1949" really caught our eye. (The whole evening was a continuation of my birthday--the tickets from K & J were a birthday present. Because Lyn and I were both born in '49, it seemed "fated.") Well, we loved it. The ambience was amazing.  The food was okay--not as good as our little neighborhood spot (Basillico's) that we enjoy so much--but tasty, nevertheless. Being surrounded by such history was fun. (Tons of Hollywood celebs past & present have eaten there. Also presidents and senators and other political stars.) It was just a delightful way to pass the time before the show. And the rolls were to die for!

And the show itself . . . All the build-up we'd gotten was right on the money.  It was a brilliant piece of theatre. I was glad I'd not read the book beforehand, because having the story unfold without so much foreknowledge made it all the more special.  

There are so many deep themes running throughout WICKED: judging on appearances, labeling (the very title of the show is a lesson on false labeling), friendship, self-image, peer-relationships, family loyalty, etc.  Oh, and let's not forget animal rights.

I can now understand why young teenage girls are finding the show so much more than an entertainment. As they are feeling their way through life, dealing with their own self-images, WICKED really preaches a powerful message: it's okay to be different.

Loved it.  Thanks again, Jennifer and Kristi.  It's was an experience we'll long remember. (And hope to repeat!)

WICKED -10.5 hours away

This is the day!  Can't wait 'til tonight.  Thanks again, Kristi and Jennifer for the tickets.  It's gonna be witchin'!  Full report will follow!