Morning Walks

Since the weather got warmer I have been taking walks before work. These photos show some of what I see from the pedestrian byways of Cincinnati's riverfront parks. On a good morning I can walk about four miles before I go in to the office at 7:30 a.m. It's a good way to start the day!

My Drug Friend

Yesterday I went to our doctor for a physical exam. It was the intrusive kind you get when you hit 50 - I'll spare you the details. The news was mostly good, except that my blood pressure is too high. So as of today I am taking lisinopril, a generic ACE inhibitor.

This is sort of a rite of passage to the elder years - my first neverending prescription! Before you know it I will need one of those little seven-day pill holders to keep all the drug doses organized. Here's hoping that, with the help of modern pharmacology, I will be driving Lee Ann crazy for another fifty years.

Tower House Sink Wall Complete - Almost

This wall has appeared in previous photos as naked studs, but in the last few days I finished the plumbing and electrical work and was able to cover them at last. The wall surface is mostly tongue & groove boards laid horizontally, except for a section of drywall at the top. The boards will form the backsplash area behind the sink and the back of the wall cabinets. I just have a small section to the right of the base cabinet left to close up with beadboard wainscoating and this will be done.

Something For Everyone

On Thursday Annie and I drove up to Kent State for a college visit. The campus program was only so-so, but on the way out of town we saw this amazing restaurant. The building started out as a classic barn-shaped structure, but at some point it sprouted medieval turrets and parapets. But the real touch of class was the x-wing fighter sitting neatly in the parking lot. I wonder if Luke Skywalker and R2D2 were inside ordering barbecue.

Update - Tower House Kitchen

Here are some views of the kitchen project I have been picking away at. Photo #1 is the base cabinet I am building using pieces of an old built-in stepback I got at auction last fall. Note the new plywood shell. In photo #2 you see our Chambers gas stove which has been in storage the last three years. It's all hooked up with a new gas line and ready to cook. Photo #3 shows our white enamel icebox, which we will use for pots & pans storage, and photo #4 is a close-up of the cast iron sink we bought in Louisville a few weeks ago. I love this kitchen, and it's going to look great once I get it put together.

Annie In The Kitchen...

Here's a rare case where Annie is in the kitchen and not just passing through. She was busy this afternoon between homework and her closing shift at Whit's making Ghirardelli Classic Brownies. SPOILER ALERT - if you are a college friend of Annie's, a care package of cosmic chocolate goodness is headed your way.

Annie Turns Seventeen!

Can you believe it? Annie is seventeen today. I forced her to pose for this archival photo.

Yesterday we made a visit to Wittenberg College in Springfield, OH, and it was a beautiful day. Here are Annie and Lee Ann touring campus.

Since 2003 I have put on a recurring safety training session called Safety School. It is three days long and new supervisors from my company's scattered locations come here to Cincinnati to attend.

The photo is of the belt and buckle we just started giving to participants at last week's Safety School. I think these are pretty cool. I found a custom buckle manufacturer on the internet and sent them a sketch of the design I wanted. Now here it is, in cast brass!

I am thinking that, because of this, some little bit of my creative energy might survive into the distant future. Archaeologists could be digging these buckles up a thousand years from now and saying, "What the heck is this thing - and how was a primitive culture able to design an object of such beauty and perfection?" Hey, it's not the Great Pyramids, but it's something.