Bathroom (RE)construction!!

So,
Before we went away on vacation Lebette and I DEconstructed the master bath so Jon and Danny could do all the work to bring it up to date.

Well..............Mr "Jerry Riggs", who lived here a while ago, had 'out of code' plumbing and electrical work (see the blog entry from early March). So it took a while for the contractors to get the bathroom back up to code and then work on reconstructing the tile/walls/shower.

Here ya go: Old room with fake, useless soffit and cabinetry......New room with soffit gone, suntube in place, and built in closet....

New mirrors and black granite counter top

Tub (not the old one-piece) surrounded by tile. AND deep soak to release those stressful days at work

European Vacation

Lebette and I headed off this month to visit friends living in the Netherlands. It was before the silly season at work for both of us and we hoped it was after the bad winter in Europe.

We were right!
First off was to see the friends who live in the village of Handel Netherlands, which is in the southern part. We had a chance to watch Nat Man score a goal in his teams 3-1 defeat of the neighboring village.

Another day was spent With BotBot and his mandatory swimming lessons. Good thing the pool was enclosed and heated....unfortunately it fogged up the camera lens, and this was the only photo to turn out.

Life in the village is good, with everything from school to church less than a 10 minute walk away. Plenty of time off to go and even watch the village motocross races one weekend!

Check out the next post for life in France vacationing with the boys!

Bayeux France

Off to visit the Normandy beaches with BotBot and NatMan...

First off was the Cathedral at Bayeux, which holds a tapestry (actually next door) from the late 1070's that recounts the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The tapestry is over 200 feet long and an amazing accomplishment. I list it as a must see when visiting the Normandy region of France.

All around the cathedral were the gargoyle waterspouts. This one looked kinda fuzzy with the grass growing out the top!

Then it was off to the Normandy beaches! The beaches where Allied forces stormed ashore in 1944 to retake Europe during WWII. The beaches were impressive, and the first wave of guys off the landing craft sure faced a daunting defense. The weather was suitably cold and rainy, which was perfect weather to appreciate the sacrifices made back then....

After spending the afternoon along the beaches we headed off for Mont St Michel. The views were amazing, as was the construction of the inside of the Cathedral on a 240 foot pyramid of rock out in the ocean (bay really, but who cares!). Dinner was cheap, and if you have time, the hotels on the rock are fairly cheap (less than $150 per night for a room with toilet/shower) during the off season. Check it out!

Now back to amsterdam!!!

Amsterdam !!

Ahh, the good life. Strolling along the canals of Amsterdam and watching the sites....no I do not mean the red lit ones! Lebette and I spent 2 nights at the beginning and end of the trip at the Waterfront Hotel in Amsterdam, just off Singel canal. (hotelwaterfront.nl). The room was nice, although next door is a night club that was a little loud at night, but then again they were kind enough to loan us a bottle opener for our wine one night!

Anyway, the flower market was just around the corner where you can order tulips to be delivered to the US.....when they are in season during the summer. However, you can pick up tulip bulbs at the airport that have been US FDA certified to bring back. And for the really fun loving crowd they plenty of young cannibis plants for you to........take home?plant? I don't know what to do with those plants.

The Dutch love their bicycles as a form of transportation. Here is a picture of the 4 level bike parking garage at the main train station in downtown Amsterdam! That is a lot of bikes...and most of them looked the same to me. You think you have a tough time finding your car in a mall parking lot...imagine this.

Home (DE)struction

Well,
Nothing like a slow weekend spent with a claw hammer, a sledge and a pry bar trying to demolish a bathroom. Here are some pix of the bathroom, before, during and after the demolition. Things we found...

Very scary wiring....from one outlet to another with plugs underneath the counter top!

Decent tile......right on top of beautiful 70s linoleum....so much for proper backerboard.

No waterproof wall board here.....

Oh yeah, after spending all day Saturday pulling down cabinets, vanitys, drywall, I was going to run to the dump early Sunday morning to make room in the garage for the car. Forecast weather: maybe 1/2 to 1 inch of snow starting at 8 am, turning to rain by noon. That is the largest 1/2 inch of snow I've ever seen....and it didn't stop until 4 pm!!!

AF Memorial

Today was blustery and cold here in DC, but in honor of my fathers service we went to the AF Memorial next to the Old Navy Barracks on the hill above the Pentagon. The view of DC from the memorial is awesome!! A must see, although I would wait for a warmer day next time. Looking straight up from the spires is a dizzying experience.

Where am I this week?

Well, another trip to another European capital completed. This time I was off to Stockholm to visit the Swedish Air Force. Their hospitality was unparalleled! I only had a chance to spend one day walking around downtown, but here are some pictures of the old town, a rather curious stairway and of course me in front of old town! Great trip, and timely, since I'm betting by the end of October you would only see a parka in that photo and not a sport coat!

I didn't realize that Stockholm is considered the "Venice of the north" The capital is spread across several islands in the mouth of Lake Malaren and the Baltic Sea. A beautiful town to walk around and explore.

Critters in the night

Imagine my surprise the other night as I relaxed in the hot tub after a tough day, and I hear scratching along the fence. Off goes the family dog to defend his yard and raise a rucus along the fence line. After retrieving our fearless guardian Lebette informs me the "Oh, that is just Blossom" Blossom I ask? "Don't you remember when you were in Afghanistan and I told you we had a 'possum?" she replied. So here is a picture of Blossom our pet 'possum that Bacchus does NOT like. Thankfully Blossom just hangs out on the fence and lets Bacchus bark at her. (let's hope she doesn't have baby possums under her coat).

Home improvement part deux

Well, I finally got a chance to see my parents after 18 months, so of course we spent lots of quality time catching up on past events, family, and sight-seeing.....obviously you don't know my family very well. The entire week my parents were in town we spent doing home improvement projects, to include ripping up the tile of our guest bathroom. Once the old tile was up, imagine our surprise to find another layer of tile down there. Once that was up, we retiled the bath, replaced the comode, vanity and sink top. Finally we replastered the walls and repainted. This was all two months ago, and I am finally getting around to putting the molding back up and painting the trim! Aah the joys of home ownership!

Here are the photos of two layers of tile and the old wall, then the new tile and threshold and the new vanity/sink/mirror

Anniversary

Lebette and I celebrated our anniversary by visiting the birthplace of our nation...Philadelphia Penn. We decided to make an adventure of it and took an Amtrak train up there from our local train station. How cool was that....no lines, not having to remove my shoes & belt for security, $20 bucks to upgrade to business class, no seatbelts, plenty of room to roam, and wine and food from the minute we left until we pulled into Philly...very fun. We are already planning our Boston run.

We spent three days wandering around the town enjoying the sites, eating wonderful food (yes, even a cheese steak or two), and celebrating my bride not knocking me off after all these years. We both feel great that we are better Americans for visiting Independence Hall, seeing the Liberty Bell and seeing the very chair George Washington sat in over 300 years ago!
The weather cooperated nicely and was wonderful the whole time we were in Philly.

Here are a few pictures of the Hall, Ole Glory flying outside, and the Liberty Bell.

RIAT & Farnborough Airshow

After my trips to Berlin and London this spring, I quickly returned 4 weeks later to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo (www.airtattoo.com) and Farnborough Airshow (www.farnborough.com) in the UK. In my international affairs job, I had the opportunity to attend senior USAF leadership meetings with the leaders of 17 other Air Forces around the world. Oh, and by the way, I got to watch a lot of flying demos, drink champagne, and sweat in the 104 degree heat in my suit. (One of their hottest summers on record I'm told). The pictures are of the RAF Red Arrow show at RIAT, the cockpit of the Airbus 380, and a booth (chalet) at the Farnborough air show where corporations rent out spaces to hold meetings and working lunches.

I went straight from the Berlin Air Show to London England for a conference for 4 days. I won't complain since the weather held out wonderfully in London!

Here is Hyde park in the spring, along with a good ole' pub to down a few pints!

Well,


It has been an interesting spring. First I went to Warsaw (see the last blog) and was home for a few weeks before going to the Berlin Airshow in May!! Here is a picture of one of the cathedrals in downtown Berlin....




and the Airbus going through its demo flight. The weather was rainy and overcast most of the days we were there, but the show put on by the big aircraft was impressive. I wouldn't want to be on the Airbus during this demo flight.

Where in the world....

This month finds me in Warsaw Poland. I'm visiting as part of my job, and will have to spend 10 wonderful days here in Poland. I spent the afternoon of the first day wandering around the "old downtown" area of Warsaw. This town is full of history and beautiful old buildings. I walked through the Saski park and visited on the Polish Tomb of the unknowns before getting to the downtown district. And of course, you can't enjoy downtown life without a good Polish beer.

Christmas care packages from everywhere!

To all the family and friends who've sent stuff over the last few months.
Thank you, you have made the anticipation of mail and the holiday season fun. I never knew what to expect in the package as I opened it up. This is just one day's worth of mail I received: a Christmas tree from the wife, more sweet snacks than I can eat for the holidays, Dutch candy from god-children, Tabasco sauce from in-laws, books and puzzles from relatives who I haven't seen in years. Everything sent was awesome. I have shared some with roomates, the rest with the Army troops that are here that I work with every day. Thank y'all for the mail / presents / care packages. You have made this deployment very easy. Have a Merry Christmas and god bless you all.
Monty