DIY Girl

I have spent the past couple of weekends painting (not the kind that ends up in a museum) and re-decorating couple of rooms in the house. I repainted the basement, installed shelvings in Jackie's bedroom, and switched few furnitures around. In the living room, we had to remove our 37 inch LCD to make room for a new 46 inch (beautiful!). The 37 inch is now in Jackie and Berna's bedroom - a nice upgrade from tube TV which is now in the guest bedroom. God bless Berna for being a good sidekick - what a tremendous help. Poor Don could not provide his manly strength because of his back.

I dragged Jackie with me to Home Depot to pickup door hinges and screws last Sunday (Father's day). I had her carry one of the hinges so she feels that she was helping mommy - she loves to help. She helped us paint with her own little paint roller. Of course she got tired quickly and in the end was content to just watch us do the work. While I was looking for the appropriate wood screw, Jackie was busy looking through the bolts and screws on the lower shelves. Still looking through the gazillion different screws and trying to find what I needed (I needed a particular color, black, which they did not have), Jackie asked what tool to use on the thing she was holding. Without looking, I told her a screw driver. She said, "But mommy, this does not have the thing on top". She was right, you can't use a screw driver on a bolt with smooth head. Then she asked if a bolt is just like a nail that you use a hammer on. What an intelligent question. I couldn't tell her the name of the tool to use, so, as always, I just told her to ask Daddy.

The living room is my next painting project - brilliant white for the ceiling, and perhaps some shade of gray for the walls.

May Happenings

Since I had not posted all of last month, here's a recount (I'll try not to bore you) of the month of May.

We attended my cousin's wedding in Kenilworth, New Jersey. It was a beautiful ceremony and fun reception. Jackie had a wonderful time dancing with her great uncle. It was really nice to see my relatives again after so many years.

Coming home from New Jersey we acquired an additional passenger - my aunt from California who also attended the wedding. She stayed with use for 5 days. I took a few days off from work to be her tour guide/chauffeur. The Sunday we got back from New Jersey, I was called in to work in DC, just for couple of hours. We took my aunt to Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Air and Space Museum) in Chantilly, VA - a very impressive place. Go if you haven't gone. We watched Forces of Nature at the IMAX theater - Jackie had her ears covered (with my hands) the entire time. She does not like very loud sounds.

Jackie missed her last hip hop class, but she started piano lessons with a new teacher. The new teacher is very good. He is a retired high school teacher. Kinda eccentric looking with resemblance to St. Nick - white hair, long beard, big tummy. She had about 7 lessons with the previous teacher, and I found out that Jackie was never taught the proper posture. I sat in her first session with the new teacher and immediately he emphasized the importance of the hand position and form. I really like this guy - he is a keeper. Jackie already made big improvement in the way she plays. He was quite impressed with Jackie's ability to read and play the music in her piano books.

Don had his birthday on the 27th. We did not have a birthday party, but on Sunday (Memorial Day weekend) I invited Beth over to play Rock Band. I got sick that day - with fever. But, even with fever I thought I was a good host, and was able to play Rock Band with Beth, Don, and Mike. I played the drums, Beth played the guitar and later did the vocals, and the two boys did the guitar. By the time Beth left, around 8 p.m. I was under 2 sheets of blanket shivering. It was around 2 a.m. when my fever finally broke. I was ill with fever and sore throat for several days and had to take Tuesday off.

At work, May was a frantic month for me. My main project was to complete the IT equipment inventory for the entire company, which is a very tedious task. I am so glad it is done - at least for now.