Another world

We drove home Sunday from visiting with friends in Burlington North Carolina. On the way home, we kept an eye out for flea markets where I might find some interesting piece of junk for the upcoming flower show and the design I am doing.

We spotted the BIG FLEA MARKET billboard and determined to stop in and see what they had. We fell into another world. A world of stun guns and fried twinkies. Hip slung babies and chihuahuas. Conversations drifted by, "I don't do no..." and a variety of other languages.

This was not a world in which I was comfortable. I saw my Oxford-shirted husband walking down the aisle and thought he stood out like a spot light. He is comfortable pretty much anywhere and with anyone. He views my uneasiness as prejudice, but it is my isolation from much of the diversity of the world that leaves me unprepared.

KIVA - the easy way to help the world

I just received another notice from KIVA. I received partial payments on my micro-loans and so I had accumulated over $25 in my account and could turn around and lend it again.

Most people have heard of micro-loans and so had I but it took me awhile to find time to investigate. When I found out how really easy it is to loan money to entrepeneurs around the world, I was truly amazed. I currently have 8 loans outstanding in such diverse places as Mozambique and Cambodia, but each loan is only $25. This same $200 keeps recycling from one small business person to another. As the loans are repaid, the money can be loaned out again.

This is one-to-one. No politics. No corrupt governments taking the aid. The repayment rate is extraordinary since each loan is administered for free and local to the business person.


$200 is not a lot of money to us. To any of us, even now. But to Thanh Thi Vu in Vietnam, a loan of $450 allowed her to buy pigs and sedge for her mat weaving. In addition to harvesting wheat twice a year, this income supports her and her three children. Her loan is already 67% repaid.

For my lender photo, I used a picture of my mother as a young woman. In her journal, read after her death, she wrote, "I hope our kids are very generous, when it comes to worthy causes. All the good you do comes back into your own in some form."

Find an entrepeneur you can identify with and loan them some money to make their ambitions reality.

The winter begins - time for thought

Tonight we will have frost. For Georgia, this is very early. The green tomatoes and beginning peppers are still in the garden, with only those that had a hope of ripening brought in during yesterday's warmer afternoon. The fish in the pond are hunkering down with no further interest in food. They will enter the winter in a semi-dormant state, near the bottom of the pond. The cyperus has been cut back, it's umbrella palm foliage was cut last night and relegated to the compost pile. On warmer days, the fish seem to feel exposed without the foliage cover that hides them from hungry blue herons. We talked about floating a hula hoop covered in landscape fabric to give them some security through the season.

Last weekend we bought an upright freezer. This was necessary if we are to have a turkey for Thanksgiving. When the kitchen was remodeled, the contractor failed to leave sufficient room for our refrigerator, so he had to buy us another one - but quite a bit smaller - with a useless freezer. The new freezer was installed in the garage, where it sits happily sucking up energy.

We have been trying to vote. Early voting in Georgia started on Monday with some folks waiting in line for up to 8 hours. This morning, thinking the frenzy may have passed, Larry headed out early. He called to report that at least a thousand people filled two lines outside the polling place. Everyone is anxious to have their say. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, today they are very cold as temps sit in the forties.

I voted today for an office building in Buckhead - one of our commercial districts. I voted by writing them a letter of support. The Pinnacle Building has chosen to kill the building's outside lights at night to save energy. This public display of personal responsibility pleases me. I wrote to them to thank them for making a responsible decision. There seems to be a disconnect between our use of energy and the fuel crisis, not to speak of the water crisis in Georgia. Electricity uses water and fuel.

During the Carter years, the President wore his cardigan and we turned off our lights, even giving up Christmas displays, in an effort to help ourselves. Have we lost the ability to help ourselves? Are we no longer able to take personal responsibility in a way that impacts our national destiny? Try for a minute to think of a problem that would not be resolved through personal responsibility. There are so few. Even diseases for which we believe ourselves blameless are often linked to our own health decisions.

Speeding. Cars exceeding the speed limit. They are hurrying to get back to the gas station where they can complain about paying too much for gasoline. According to the Energy Dept., every 5 miles that we drive over 55, adds 20 cents or more per gallon to our expense. DRIVING FASTER EATS MORE GASOLINE! What part of this do we not understand? We not only use more gasoline, but cause more accidents. This is a no brainer to me. It is stunning to me when I read of states where they are considering RAISING the speed limits.

Anyway - Winter. With the garden asleep and a warm, comfortable home, there is time to think.

Substantially Complete

When people ask if the kitchen is finished, I honestly didn't know how to answer. Then our lawyer friend David gave me the legal term - "substantially complete". I think this means you can't sue if you threw them out before they finished. So our kitchen is substantially complete.

Without dwelling on the unfortunate problems that cropped up, which we can't now do anything about, I can honestly say that it looks great. The cork floor is terrific even though it will never lay flat due to the uneven slab on which it was placed.

So Larry and I will finish those last details that need doing. These will all be handled in my lifetime, though not anytime really soon. The before and the after.

Week 11 of the Remodeling

I skipped week 10. The good thing was that the floor was installed. The cork is wonderful in feel and appearance. When you walk on it, it feels soft and somehow warmer than the old floor. Strangely, the first time I walked on it I felt that I was standing on something taller - although it can't be more than half an inch or so.
Like everything else, it was a challenge. The pocket doors to the living and dining rooms had to be removed and one cut shorter to clear the new floor. This involved removing the door trim - twice - which by then was so beat up that it had to be replaced.
As we anticipated, the refrigerator was a problem. It did, indeed, fit in the space provided, but only if we don't plan to open the door a lot or remove the drawers. This is why I didn't blog last week. I was generally too upset to be civil. The options included tearing out the cabinets, backsplash and granite and moving the desk unit over to where it should have been, OR , buying a new, smaller refrigerator. I opted for the new, smaller frig. We will lose 2 cubic feet and have to adjust to a bottom freezer unit, but we gain 3 inches in the width and don't have to move anything. At this point I just want this over with so we can move back into our kitchen. This was the speediest solution. On the bright side (I'm trying to see the bright side) we will gain an ice maker.
Long before we moved in, the water line behind the outside wall had frozen and split. When we installed our refrigerator with icemaker there was water flowing out from under every cabinet in the kitchen. We shut it down. When we replaced the refrigerator, we opted not to get an icemaker because we didn't want to tear the wall out for the repair of the line. So, with this remodeling, we had access to the wall and installed a new, plastic water line, on the correct side of the installation, in case we ever replaced our frig. So things work out as they should.
The dishwasher... did we discuss the dishwasher? Ours didn't fit. Well actually it did fit, but then the drawer next to it wouldn't open. The contractor took my dishwasher and found us a new one with a flat front, no curve, that will allow the drawer to clear. It is a nice dishwasher, a KitchenAid with a stainless interior, which is what we had. It loads in a sensible way, unlike some that I've seen. Again, the up side is that this one more closely matches the new, brighter kitchen. Ours was black - but nearly new - so we hadn't planned to replace it.
I figured out a way to get back some of the drawer space that we lost. Larry had brought home a good quality drawer from a piece of office furniture. They wanted the furniture but not the drawer. It is a nearly perfect fit for underneath the cook top. The carpenter has expressed some doubt about mounting it there because of the proximity of the gas flame shield. I don't know how to check on that, but I can't imagine that there would be real danger from flames beneath the cooktop. We really need this drawer because without it we have no place to keep cooking utensils. And if there's anything I love, it is kitchen toys.
So the drama continues. The wonderful flooring refuses to lie flat in the laundry. The new refrig arrives Thursday. Was the backsplash sealed today? I don't know. The new door frame needs paint.
Life goes on. I am hosting bridge Wednesday whether or not we are done. I never imagined that we would still be trying to finish.

Tuesday, Week 9

I think I can see the light now - at the end of the tunnel, I mean. Today the tile man finished grouting the backsplash, while two carpenters started at the top of the "punch list" and worked their way through it. They even suggested some things that never made the list!

The kitchen has turned out to have a Tuscan look to it, which was unintended, but I like it. Now I wonder if the table and chairs will match. If the chairs look too country, I can slip cover the backs. We wouldn't want to give up our big, sturdy oak table. But the tile has definitely given me a longing to fill the kitchen with lemons and rosemary sprigs, strands of braided garlic and big jars of olives.

Tomorrow afternoon, the flooring man will start on the cork floor, expecting to finish sometime on Thursday. The pocket doors will be challenging, but he seems unfazed. He even took the installation directions home to read - a man - took directions to read! Will wonders never cease? Leon has been doing floors for 27 years so I'm guessing that he knows what he's doing.

Monday Week 8

It was a busy and productive day. We finally have appliances and they look great. I hesitated about the bisque oven and cooktop but they match perfectly.

Steve the electrician arrived early to complete his long list of jobs. He provided an outlet for the cooktop, hooked up the oven, hung the light fixture, changed out switches and outlets, and added bulbs to the canister lights. He mounted the plant light above the sink, to benefit the plants that will live on the window shelves.

Bud and Red came and finished a lot of the finish carpentry work that remained, including placing and installing the bookshelf on top of the desk countertop. They will add a cabinet door to the top to hide our less attractive cookbooks.

Winfred, the plumber, finished everything on his list. Installing the dishwasher, sink, and cooktop. We actually have water in the kitchen now. Pretty exciting. Winfred had also installed the hot water recirculating pump that we have benefitted from for several weeks. Larry loves being able to shave with hot water for a change.


Several challenges remain. It seems doubtful that the refrigerator will fit back in it's space. One of the only two drawers left in the kitchen runs into the dishwasher. Some of the lights aren't turning on. Tomorrow is another day.

Tomorrow, my brother, the kitchen remodeler arrives about lunch time. His commentary will no doubt be priceless. Too bad I can't make him the dinner I promised.