SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS

I believe in supporting small business. It's good for the economy.

Shopping at Walmart is good for my economy, but purchasing items from entrepreneurs is good for their economy.

My grandson, Silas, is one such entrepreneur. He sells used merchandise. He also builds custom bird homes and sells them, too. I bought one. And Silas' quality workmanship cost me only $16.00.

Using only the thickest plywood, and reinforced with an abundance of screws, this custom bird home is built to last.

Adequate caulking around the roof insures a leak-free environment for the winged residents of this sturdy home.

Pencil marks on the exterior of this bird home confirm that precise measurements were taken prior to construction.

SPENDING A DAY'S WAGE

After Devon received his salary for our two man job, Debra and I took him to a couple of places to spend it in whatever way he saw fit. He made some pretty sweet spending choices.

Then the three of us headed to Kid Time, then to the movies, then home.

First spending stop: Walmart.

Eighty percent of Devon's salary is spent on Gobstoppers (jawbreakers) and Bottle Caps (soda pop flavored candy).

Final spending stop: Dollar Tree.

Remaining twenty percent of salary spent on a 3-pack of Certs fruit flavored mints.

The bike rack at Kid Time was just like a real bike. Except it didn't move and it wasn't very comfortable to sit on.

Framed at Kid Time.

An old fashioned sewing room.

An old fashioned classroom.

An old fashioned office.

Leaving Kid Time and heading for the movies, Devon is way out in front of us.

Watching Dr. Suess' The Lorax was especially cool wearing those cool 3-D glasses.

After watching the movie, we went home. With water temperatures in the pool still around 35 degrees, Devon chooses to hop in anyway.

With water temperatures in the hot tub at 102 degrees, I choose to brave the elements with Devon while Debra chooses to take pictures.

TWO MAN JOB

A few weeks ago, I cut down a tree that was dying in our front yard and putting our house at risk with a possible fall. Instead of digging up the roots, I decided to bury the base of the trunk and level the dirt to make it even with the rest of the lawn.

Such a task required rototilling some dirt in the back yard, transporting a few wheelbarrows full of dirt into the front yard, spreading the dirt around the trunk of the tree, re-seeding the lawn over the dirt, and tamping down the dirt.

Fortunately, Devon was here to help.

Devon and I move the wheelbarrow from the garage into the back yard.

Devon and I move the rototiller from the garage into the back yard.





Devon and I add gasoline to the rototiller before starting it.

Devon and I loosen the dirt with the rototiller.

Devon and I shovel dirt into the wheelbarrow.

Devon and I move the dirt from the back yard to the front yard.

Devon and I dump the dirt around the trunk of the fallen tree.

Devon and I spread the dirt with a rake.

Devon and I re-seed this portion of the lawn.

Devon and I tamp down the dirt with a tamper.

Devon gets paid for helping with the job. Yesterday he asked if he could be paid $2.00 for this job when I told him about it. During the job this morning, he attempted to renegotiate his salary to $3.00. We asked Nana what she thought the job was worth. She said $5.00.

ICE CREAM, UNO AND RAPUNZEL

After picking up Devon in Cottage Grove this afternoon, the two of us dined at a Devon-Top-Choice Restaurant before driving back to Medford.

Soon after merging onto the freeway, Devon asked if we could turn on the radio. He spent the next two-and-a-half hours changing stations and adjusting the volume. The whole two-and-a-half hours! I was pleased to observe that he stopped several times on Christian stations and sang along with whatever tune was playing at the time.

After arriving at the House on Hybiscus at around 7:30 p.m., we played a lengthy game of Uno (that eventually never ended) and enjoyed some Girl Scout Samoas Cookie ice cream.

I was not aware that we owned the DVD, Tangled, until Devon discovered it on a shelf. The three of us settled into watching the Disney version of Rapunzel until about 11:00 p.m., when we all went to bed. Devon, who has already seen the movie several times, also functioned as the "movie commentator", pausing the movie periodically to explain to Nana and me what just happened and to alert us to get ready for what was about to happen next.

Ice cream and Uno.

Master shuffler.

The movie begins.

The audience watches.

The movie was pretty funny.

AVOIDING DEMOLITION AND RECONSTRUCTION

Two things Debra has hated about our house over the past ten years: (1) The bathtub and (2) The shower.

Both are over 40 years old and both are seriously scratched and stained. We've considered replacing them, but the cost of demolition and reconstruction of both bathrooms has been prohibitive.

Then we discovered that tubs and showers can be effectively refinished.

And that's the route we decided to go once our tax refund reached our bank account.

John backs his van into our driveway on Saturday and begins his 4-hour task.

A venting tube vents toxic fumes from the bathroom into the back yard.

John preps the bathtub.

The refinishing begins.

Before and after.

Before and after.

Before and after.

Before and after.

Before and after.