Nick - Getting Fatter!

Here's Nick, two months into his rehab program under Lee Ann's iron fist. As you can see, he looks a lot better. He is growing (currently 16.3 hands) and filling out (note that neck muscle!) but still has a ways to go.

Real Winter!

It continues to snow in Ohio. We are getting 4 to 6 inches today, then another one to three inches overnight. And there is another storm tracking toward us that may bring more snow at week's end. All this is on top of the snow from the last couple of weeks which, because of below-normal temperatures, still is on the ground.

This reminds me of winters in Michigan when I was growing up. And I'd really rather have snow in February than just dead grass to look at, that's for sure. But it has been too cold to work at the Tower House so I am feeling restless and unproductive - and ready for the weather to break.

At least I got a little breather a few weeks ago. I spent Feb 2 thru 5 in Houston for a work-related training event at my company's facility there. It was rainy and overcast a lot of the time, but temperatures got to the mid-sixties. And I may go to Florida in a few weeks. And then, it will be almost spring!

Annie now has been accepted for admission at five colleges, with two still pending. She has gotten merit aid offers from some of the schools, so we are getting some idea of cost, but probably won't have the whole picture until mid-April. The deadline for picking a school is May 1, so she has about two months left to pull all the facts together and decide.

And Now...The Greener Version

I finished painting the island cabinet. It is now the same green as our built-in kitchen cabinets around our sink. This project is done now, except for replacing the pulls. Lee Ann really likes it!

Kitchen Island - With Top

We still have some work to do, but this is the general arrangement...

Kitchen Island Top

Our little kitchen at East Main has never had a lot of counter space, and cabinet storage is minimal too. When I started disassembling the 1980s kitchen at the Tower House, I saw that the cabinets were nice solid wood and figured I could use them someplace else. Eventually I hit on the idea of building an island from a couple of the base cabinets.

But I needed a top for the island. Lee Ann and I kicked around several ideas for it. Then I saw a Craigslist ad for a guy that works in butcherblock. I called him and he agreed to build the top I needed - and here is an "in progress" photo he sent me yesterday. Looks pretty good! He uses alternating red oak and poplar, 1.5 inches thick. The base cabinets are already in place in our kitchen, and I hope to have the completed top set in place sometime this weekend. More pictures soon.

Michigan Relatives Blanch In Horror!

It's true - daughter Annie just might become a Buckeye. She received an acceptance letter from Ohio State University yesterday. OSU has good programs in Annie's areas of interest, campus is a moderate distance from home, and a number of her high school friends are planning to enroll there. Also, it has that desirable state-supported college attribute - affordability.

So that makes two acceptance letters (OSU and Roanoke) and five schools she has yet to get a decision from (UCLA, Washington & Lee, Miami U, Earlham College and Kent State).

Snow Falling...

Our corner of Ohio is getting its share of fluffy whiteness this week. Tuesday was the first snowfall of the winter that needed shoveling, and today I have been out twice to clear the sidewalk. We have about four inches on the ground, with another inch or so due to fall tonight. Annie is off sledding with friend Megan - still a kid at seventeen.

We have hit a lull in the college applications process. Annie has been getting letters confirming that various schools have received her application materials, but acceptances won't come until close to February 1. Wish her luck!