New to this...

So it begins - another family of amateurs takes its first faltering steps into the blogosphere.

We are Scott and Lee Ann McAlpine, average folks with a remarkable and thoroughly ept teenage kid named Annie currently lighting up our lives. You probably know all about us already (else why visit here?) but in case you found us by accident, here are our most essential details:

Annie: Just turned 16 but forgot the "sweet" part; current nickname "stonewall" refers to prowess as a lacrosse goalie; uncanny parallels to Harry Potter (excepting gender, nationality and that toothy scar) include being unwittingly trapped in a family of muggles.

Lee Ann: Beauty with attitude; grace in motion, especially over a 3 foot double oxer; master of all situations involving photosynthesis, jerky neighbor kids or a glue gun.

Scott: Past his prime, but learning to embrace his inner codger; consumer culture dropout wannabe; inconsistent at finishing anything, but knows that if he gets it started and leaves town Lee Ann can be counted on to punch it out in his absence.

The photos following are of our next house project. "The Tower House," built in 1886 near Wilmington Ohio, is in considerable disrepair but called out to Scott at an auction last fall. This happens to him a lot, a symptom of some deep-seated disorder that keeps our family forever living in a cloud of plaster dust and haunting architectural salvage barns looking for obscure fragments of 19th century millwork.

Here's the news roundup for this week:

• Annie took her driver's test ... and passed 90 percent of it! Attagirl Annie! She will be polishing off the remainder in about a week, no sweat.
• Annie's first-year Lacrosse team has a record of 7-4 and their next game is Monday. Dad will be there to cheer her on and to commiserate with other parents in the stands about how nobody understands the rules or knows what is happening on the field.
• Lee Ann's horse barn is moving to a new location over the next few weeks, so she is very busy. Her special project is digging up and transplanting the landscaping plants from the old place to the new. It's been a workout for our old pickup truck.
• Scott is still in delayed retirement status as he works to get his company through its current rough patch. The latest plan is to reduce to 4 day weeks June 1, then to half time August 1, and then to remain as a part-time employee going forward for a while to help with acquisitions and special training events. This is how people end up working until they die.

It is Sunday morning and raining like crazy in Lebanon, but sunny weather should get here soon.