Monkey Business

As Sarah mentioned earlier, we got a new camera for Christmas. Our bulky old 2.1 megapixel was just not cutting it anymore. So I researched a bunch and settled on the diminutive Canon PowerShot SD780 12.1 megapixel. Besides the significant improvement in image clarity afforded by the increased megapixel rating, this camera has a lot of other cool features our old one didn't have. And so, I've found myself on several occasions looking for an excuse to try out this or that new setting.

The following are a product of that, as well as an excuse to show off our little Petra.

Little Drummer Boy

For as long as he's been able, Paul has tried most every Sunday after church to run onto the stage and play the drums. And even from early on, we could tell he had a good rhythm. His Grandma Kuhlman even has a couple drum practice pads that Paul likes to mess around on. I've let him mess around a bit on my bass and his Mom's old guitar, but those don't really seem to interest him. But the drums are almost like a magnet to him.

So after much deliberation we finally decided to invest in a junior-sized drum kit as a Christmas present for him. We were able to pick up this little kit for a pretty good deal new, though we had to settle for purple. Oh well, Paul likes purple. And, more importantly, he really seems to like his new drums.

Christmas and dreams

We've been enjoying our Christmas break. Mostly.
Paul and Julia both got a stomach bug the week before Christmas. So did my mom. All that excitement meant that we drove to my folks house Christmas day rather than the day before. It was still a good time. I got to play a few rounds of Yahtzee and a word based card game called Scrabble Slam with my sister and brother-in-law.

I don't want to tick through Christmas presents. I am delighted with and grateful for so much of what we received. But one gift we're really excited about is a new digital camera. I think we're going to be able to get some nicer pictures with it, which the blog should see the benefits of soon. It has a "kids and pets" setting that is supposed to help deal with wiggles and sudden movements. Me likey.

Steve subsequently downloaded a new version of Picasa, which is software for managing photos. This version has face recognition capabilities, so Steve has been been helping it sort and name the people in the photos we have stored on the computer. It's pretty wild. It recognized that one of the photos on the fridge in the background of another shot was a face. Hi, Elli.

Paul and Julia have spent quite a bit of time amusing themselves with their new Lego sets. They need some help to build things, but then they are happy to play with the new constructions for a while. Steve is great at coaching them through following the Lego instructions.

This amuses me - So Maggie got a toy pheasant for Christmas. As soon as we unwrapped it and gave it to her, she ran off with it and started playing. She is as happy with that pheasant as any of the rest of us are with our new toys. Paul squeaked the pheasant at the top of the stairs, and Maggie came bounding up. This morning Steve said, "Maggie! Go get your pheasant." She ran into the other room and came back with it.

Petra didn't eat well during her middle of the night feeding last night. I think that caused me to have some wacky dreams. (She has recovered and is eating fine now.)
I know this is convoluted, but I was dreaming
that I was dreaming.
(Are you still with me?)

I woke up from one dream and realized that I was walking up stairs. I must have been sleepwalking. I looked in my hands and, good grief, I was carrying a corn stalk! I went to wake up Steve. "Honey, I've been sleepwalking and look!" I showed him the corn stalk. There are no cornstalks in our house, but there might be some on the far edge of the neighbor's field. I said, "I don't want to know where I've been. I hate to think how far I sleepwalked outside in my pajamas to get a cornstalk."

Then I woke up (for real), and realized that sleepwalking must have been a dream. At least there was no cornstalk in bed with me.

Later I told Steve about my dreams. "... and I was carrying a cornstalk up the stairs."

"Wait a minute - that was part of the dream, right?"
"Right," I answered.
"That's good. I hate to think where you would have had to sleepwalk to get a corn stalk."
I reassured him, "No, that was part of the dream."
"So what's this cornstalk doing in Maggie's crate?"

Very funny, Steve.

Snowy Fun

Last Saturday saw the first decent snowfall of the season for us. (Its a little unusual that it was this late, but no complaints here.) Anyway, because it was merciful enough to snow on a Saturday, it meant that I could be home to play in the snow with the kids. Through the course of the morning we made a snowman, a snow chicken, and a snow fort, from which we had a snowball fight. And since it was around 33F, it wasn't so harsh outside and we could enjoy ourselves a bit more. Good times.

Its Beginning to Look...

...at least a bit more like Christmas here at the farm. We got the wreathes put up on the outside a week or so ago. And we got the candles in the windows during the past week. But it took till Saturday to finally get the tree up and decorated.


But I have to say it was worth the wait. In years past we closed off part of the dining room and set the tree up in there. There just wasn't room in the living room to make it work. However, with the bookcase nearly complete, we could shift things around to open up a nice big spot for the tree. (That's part of what delayed us getting the tree up, in fact.) And having the tree up in the living room next to the fireplace just seems so right. We're definitely liking this arrangement a lot better.

There's still a few other decorations that still need to be setup. And we'll need to do some post-decorating cleanup soon, but the house is looking quite a bit more festive. Now I suppose I better get some shopping done to get a few more things under the tree.

Leaps and bounds

Petra is 6 weeks old, and seems to have made a real leap in her interpersonal relationship skills. We see her eyes more and more. This week she started smiling at people. She smiled at grandma one evening. And Friday morning I witnessed her smiling in response to a greeting from Martha, one of our church's nursery school workers. It figures that mommy doesn't get smiles, but Martha would. Ah well. It's cool.

Paul has been making leaps and bounds in Kindergarten. They are hard earned improvements in his writing and coloring skills. And he is starting to sound out words. He is still behind many of his classmates. I'm trying not to freak out about him being behind many of his classmates. I keep reminding myself that he is a sharp little guy, and learns quickly. He'll catch up. And meanwhile he is learning about the value of hard work, which is far more important than being smart or being first in his class.

Julia is starting to sound out words too. She picks up a lot while we're working with Paul. She is also making dramatic improvements in drawing and using scissors. The other "leaps and bounds" for her relate to the bumps and bruises on her head. Between rough housing with her dad and brother, and just her 3 year old carelessness, she's had a bunch of hard knocks. But it doesn't seem to be slowing her down.

It's amazing to watch them grow and develop.

Some Fun Kid Pics

Its been really cool to see how much Paul & Julia are enamored with little Petra. Sure, there's plenty of times they're content to play elsewhere. But its fun to see how much time they do spend around her, doting on her.

Anyway, here's some fun pics Sarah captured recently of the 3 of 'em.

Significant Bookshelf Progress

As I fully anticipated when I started this project last winter, the built-in bookshelf work pretty much stopped in mid-March when the garden, mowing, etc. started up. And just like clockwork, it resumed in late October, when the garden, mowing, etc. stopped. Amazing.

Over the past week or so I've been working on the finishing (i.e., stain, urethane). I'll order the cabinet doors and start adding the trim during Christmas shutdown. But man is it looking good now, especially compared to how it looked most of the year.

Hopefully one more coat of urethane in the middle section and then we can move the TV over. The cabinet section and the top section still need additional coats. And I haven't built any of the adjustable shelves for the top portion yet. Maybe over Christmas shutdown.

So here's a photo retrospective of this book shelf project over the past year.

Before demolition (12/26/2008):


Bones of our house (12/29/2008):


Progress through March (3/22/2009):


More-or-less current (12/5/2009):

Family of 5 (+dog)

We actually managed to get a decent shot of us a couple weeks ago. All of us. Mostly even looking at the camera. Not half-bad for a such crazy, sleep-deprived group.

too smart for their own good

Not that my children would ever get into trouble, but...

Some of Paul's toys are in time out for a while. Paul has a calendar in his room. Steve showed him on his calendar when he could get is cars back. Steve even drew a picture of a toy car on the date. The next morning, Paul crossed off all the days on the calendar up to the picture of the car. "Mommy, I can have my cars back now!" Sorry Paul, it doesn't work that way.

Julia was standing in the corner in the kitchen for time out. To amuse herself she figured out how to stand on the baseboard. Not the little pieces of quarter round at the bottom. No. She was standing on the moulding that is 8 inches tall and beveled at the top. My reaction was, "Julia get DOWN, how are you DOING that???"

Petra has a cold. We all do. I have been using the baby-snot-sucker a.k.a. bulb syringe to help her breath more easily. I consider it a developmental milestone that she has figured out how to swat the bulb syringe away from her face. Good job, Petra. Now quit it.

Map of a newborn

Taking care of a newborn can be hard. There's mind numbing tiredness. There is the specter of infant mortality. But there are some things that are so precious to me to see, that fade away so quickly.

Petra is already growing out of many of her newborn features. I want to write down some of the things that charm me.

Those froggy legs, curled up against her.
Her dark blue eyes, unfathomable. We only catch glimpses of them.
A perfect little coconut head.
Ephemeral smiles.
Her cries sound like something torn from her. They can be hard to bear when I'm tired and I just need some sleep. But when I step back a moment, I think her newborn cries are beautiful. They brought tears of joy to my eyes at her delivery.
Thumbprint ears.
Button nose.
Each finger is a work of art.
And the way babies let their hands float sometimes in their sleep. Gravity doesn't seem to work on them.

Petra is starting to gain some baby fat. Her head has already grown and her legs are starting to stay stretched out more. It's all good. I want to drink in every minute.

Backlogged notes from home

Baby is sleeping.
I know I should be too, but I'm not sleepy. Here are a few notes I wanted to write down before I forgot.

October 26, Julia had her first official dentist visit. Now let it be noted that Paul's first dentist visit was to check and make sure some teeth he had bashed were okay. His first two cleanings saw me holding his hand or sitting in the exam chair with him. For Julia's first cleaning, I was in the room next door having my teeth cleaned and straining to listen and make sure that my kids were behaving. She had Paul with her to "hold her hand." The hygienist assured me that both children behaved well. Julia had her teeth cleaned. They talked to the dentist about the virtues of NOT grinding their teeth (mostly for Julia's benefit).

Paul's big news was that he had a loose tooth. My reaction - "Is his supposed to??"
Answer: yes.
Relief!

When I asked Paul and Julia what their favorite part of the dentist visit was, they both answered, "The cookie dough." Flouride treatment flavoring has come a long way since I was their age.

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While I was in the hospital after delivering Petra, Paul correctly used the word hypothesis in a sentence. Thank you PBS "Dinosaur Train."

That Sunday Steve and Julia drove in one car to church, while Paul, Grandma and Grandpa drove in another. Julia told her daddy that there were two people in their car, and three people in the other.
Steve asked, "So how many people are there all together."
She thought about it and answered, "Five."
"How many people are there with Mommy and Petra?"
And she correctly told him there are seven.

We are pleased and impressed with our smart little nippers.
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And it's good that we are pleased and impressed with them, because Paul is struggling a little bit with Kindergarten. We've found out that he is the youngest person in his class. He has never been interested in writing or drawing, and the fine motor skills he needs for writing letters really shows it. In addition, he is really independent and obstinate. While I trust that independence and persistence will serve him well through his life, it also presents special challenges when trying to teach him literary skills he just isn't that keen on.

The good news is that he has made a LOT of progress already with writing and literary skills. And it seems that his saving grace in kindergarten is that he is funny. Mrs. Hathaway confessed that sometimes she has to choke down laughter when she is correcting him.

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One week after Petra was born, Paul lost his loose tooth. My parents were visiting that weekend, so they got to help with Tooth Fairy duties. I don't want to give my children too much money for teeth. But I found out that Mom and Dad got quarters for their teeth. You could buy a lot more for a quarter in 1956. Dad said you could get 2 candy bars and a soda pop. (Which then contributed to getting more teeth out I think.) So we let the tooth fairy give Paul a dollar coin for his tooth.

A week later we took the coin to the dollar store. Paul's toy pick? A gun. Arrrggg!!! I vetoed the pistol that could only be used for pointing at people and saying, "Pow! Pow!" But I yielded to his request for a cheap Nerf-like gun that shot ineffective suction cup bullets. We're using the toy to teach respectful play - no shooting people, pets, no pretend shooting people.

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Julia is doing really well in preschool. No trouble with age appropriate fine motor skills with her. And because we are working with Paul on literacy skills at home, she is learning letter sounds and recognition too. Her teacher reported that she was the first child in her class to figure out that if you build your cardboard brick tower against the wall, that you can make the tower higher. Her teachers are enjoying having her in the class.

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We're all doing pretty well. Not enough sleep. Kids are crazy, but they still think Petra is really cool. People bringing us meals has been a great blessing. Steve should be given some sort of award for being a Master Baby Swaddler. Oh - and for diverting Paul and Julia in the mornings so I can have a little more sleep.

Peace.

Which way is up?

Everything is inside out and upside down. But beautiful too.

More Petra Pics

Sarah is recovering more quickly from the C-Section this time, which is especially good since she'll be coming home to 2 very busy kids tomorrow. She & Petra are both doing well in the hospital, and we were able to bring the kids up to see their Mom this afternoon. They weren't allowed into the mother/baby ward, but Sarah was up to coming out to the lobby to visit with them for a bit. And Grandma & Grandpa Kuhlman were able to see Petra again. She did quite the job of charming Grandma, too...smart little girl already. Anyway, here's a few pictures from the day

Welcome to Petra Grace

Sarah gave birth at 9:07 this morning (10/30) to Petra Grace (aka Farm Hand #3) through the modern miracle of scheduled C-Section. Mother & baby are both doing really well and plan on coming back home to the farm sometime on Monday, probably. Our third farm hand is starting life at a modest 7 lbs. 7 oz., and 21.25" long. She looks a lot like her brother & sister and came out with a lot of dark hair. So far we know that she likes eating & sleeping.

Paul & Julia are a little unsure, but excited. And because of the H1N1 stuff, they're not allowed into the Mother/Baby ward. So they won't get to meet Petra in person until she comes home from the hospital. But they'll get to watch some video I took of her first bath, and maybe meet up with Sarah tomorrow or Sunday.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Praise the Lord for the smooth delivery of our wonderful baby girl!

Mommy Shape

I'm feeling much better today than I did yesterday. Just for a grin, I took my measurements this morning. I'm not going to post what they were. But all three measurements were about the same number, plus or minus half an inch.

So if the ideal woman's shape is

an hourglass,

then I have achieved


jelly bean.

Definitely Fall

Here at the Kuhlman Farm, Fall is in the air. The temps are swinging wildly between 30's and 60's, the leaves that remain are all different colors, and the sense of needing to prep for winter is fully in my mind. Add to that the impending arrival of Farm Hand #3 on Friday, and things are pretty busy.

Ah, but business is nothing new here on the farm. On the plus side, Oktobeerfest & the fall chicken processing are done and behind us. And while I won't be totally free to do whatever, I have next week off and will hopefully be able to get a few things knocked out.

In the spirit of fall, and to help get all you southerners a bit in the spirit, here's some nice fall pics of the kids:

about to pop

Last Friday a friend asked me if I felt ready to pop.
My response was something like, "I don't know about popping, but I have definitely achieved weary. But it's cool."

It is cool.

Today I feel like popping.

I'm a little achey. I keep asking myself, "Is that early labor? Or is it just late term pregnancy?"

I'm tense with the anticipation of a new baby. Julia has started grinding her teeth. Paul has been a little more prone to bad dreams and restless sleep. They are both showing signs of being a little anxious. Steve has a dream list ... er I mean to-do list of things he would like to get done before the baby comes.

But it is still cool.
I've been reflecting the last few days about what a gift it is to be able to carry a baby to full term. I have been blessed with a body that is remarkably well equipped for pregnancy. I have had pretty easy pregnancies. Today I am uncomfortable and wondering if we will make it to Friday. Even so, I am really grateful to God for the privilege of being able to carry this child.

It would seem that my body is not so well equipped for delivery, but I have been blessed to live in an age where modern medicine allows me to give birth to live babies.

Well I'd better get back to taking care of my mobile little ones...

Theories to live by. Or something.

I needed to write about something other than what has been on my mind - namely the boggling amount of flu & respiratory illness going around lately. I hope people find this diverting.

Some of these theories may have originated from other sources. I am merely citing the sources from which I heard them.

Lowell’s theory on eating fish:
Nobody actually likes the taste of fish. Whenever somebody tries to get me to eat fish, they say, “Here try this. You’ll like it. It doesn’t taste like fish.”

Dave’s theory of helicopter flight:
Helicopters can’t actually fly. They are just so ugly that the earth repels them.

Stephen’s theory on the existence of God:
I can’t understand how people can be atheist when God made a fish just for salads and pizza.
(This theory was stated just after asking for anchovies on his salad at an Italian restaurant.)

My mom’s theory on romantic lighting:
The moon is more romantic than the sun, because it would hurt your eyes to gaze at the sun.

Steve’s theory of thermal momentum:
Sarah said, “Thanks for helping me cook, Steve, but I am not ready for the milk to be warmed yet.”
Steve said, “I’m just getting its thermal momentum going in the right direction. What? It has thermal mass doesn’t it? Then it must also have thermal momentum. You should write about thermal momentum for your master’s thesis. Okay, what if I toss the warm milk across the kitchen? It would have thermal momentum then.”

Steve’s Dad’s theory on getting your hours in at work:
If you come in late, you have to leave early. You don’t want to be late twice do you? The problem is that we keep coming in early, so we have to leave late.

Maggie’s (the dog) theory on communication:
If I stare at you really hard, you will understand that you must let me out or else I can’t be held responsible for the puddle that is going to appear on the floor.

Sarah’s theory on humor:
After studying college physics for an hour, absolutely ANYTHING is funny. Like the name of the units of resistivity and conductivity. Ohms and Mhos. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.

Paul’s theory on humor:
If it is funny the first time, then it is funny the one hundred fifty-first time. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.

Sarah’s theory on how the Trinity is like a doughnut:
Imagine we’re 2 dimensional people living within a sheet of paper. Then the Trinity is like a 3 dimensional doughnut. If it goes through the paper, then the paper people can only observe it as 2 separate circles. But from a 3 dimensional perspective, it’s one donut. In the same way God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit look like three persons, but there is really only one doughnut. (I may have been studying physics for a while before developing this theory.)

Julia’s theory on clothing selection:
If brightly colored stripes on pants are beautiful, and brightly colored flowers on shirts are beautiful, then brightly colored striped pants and flowered shirts are beautiful together. (I just think she is beautiful.)

My Dad’s theory on driving in unfamiliar and very rural places:
If you follow the power lines long enough, you will eventually find civilization.

communication and gender

Paul: Daddy, help me find my new book.
Daddy: But Paul, I don’t even know what it looks like.
Julia: Umm… It’s a rectangle.
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I’ve been listening to a college lecture series on tape about communication and gender. The professor is Deborah Tanner, author of “You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.” She’s quite an engaging speaker, and I have really enjoyed her observations and learning about her studies.

Some of the trends she has observed through recording small children and adults include (paraphrased):
- women use talk as a social glue which holds relationships together,
- in expressing a want or arguing for something, it is more acceptable if a woman demonstrates how getting her way will benefit others as well,
- women are more likely to value sameness, and that can be seen in finding sameness through conversation
- men are more likely to have competitive relationships and can perceive a woman’s attempt to establish sameness as an attempt to put them one-down
- men are more likely to have a tacit understanding that war-like behavior is fun (e.g. Nerf war, animated arguments)
- men are more likely to use war-like behavior to build relationships

It has been interesting then, to observe some of my children’s behavior through the grid work of understanding Tanner provides.

On demonstrating how satisfying a want would benefit others -
Mommy (looking at the grocery advertisements): Hey kids, what do you think we should buy at the grocery this week?
Julia: Let’s get bacon! Because Daddy really really really really really likes bacon.

On valuing sameness (Okay, and also trying to steal the spotlight) –
Over supper, Paul had just finished telling us about a bad dream. I commented that it sounded like a bad dream. He answered with a, “Yeah.”
A few moments later, Julia announced that she had a bad dream too. She then proceeded to repeat Paul’s dream verbatim.

On using war-like behavior to build relationship –
We had taken the children to a “Big Sibling” class. Each child had been given some stickers on a piece of paper. While sitting on the floor with the other children children, Paul started flapping his piece of paper in the face of a little girl who was about the same age. I could tell from the way he was grinning at her, that he was trying to be friendly. Fortunately, she accepted his behavior in the spirit in which it was intended.

My kids aren’t strictly stereotypical, but it is fun to notice these trends. I think listening to the lecture series has helped me understand different modes of communication (especially male) better. I’ve realized that Steve has done quite a bit to accommodate my need for talk to feel connected.

chrysalis time

Something I miss about my younger self is how much I used to sing.
I remember singing incessantly when I was a child. Especially if there was a background sound with a musical tone. I almost couldn't help myself.
I would harmonize with the vacuum while mom was cleaning.
In college I would work on homework in the laundry room while my clothing was washing, and I would catch myself composing simple repetitive melodies in the same key that the machines hummed.

I don't sing as much now. I haven't been in a choir in a couple of years because of other demands on my time. I'm out of practice, so my voice and range are not as nice as they used to be. And recent head colds keep reducing me to only speaking when necessary.

So imagine my delight today when I caught myself composing and humming a little melody in the kitchenette at work. I was waiting for the microwave to heat my lunch, and my tune was in the same key as the microwave's hum. I didn't try to sing, it just happened.

The singer in me is still there, she's just a little buried right now. She'll come out again.
I'm walking in the hope that the precious things in ourselves will re-emerge after a season.
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Green-Clouded Swallowtail
words and music: Detweiler
recording: The Cutting Room Floor

We wake each morning in a foreign country
We walk the outer edges of our room
I think of you in terms of buried treasure
A jilted bride emerging from a tomb

Oh your shadow is still breathing
The close and holy darkness will unveil
Mother she's not dead she's only sleeping
Green green-clouded swallowtail

Coming Attractions

T-minus three weeks (or less) & counting until Farm Hand #3 arrives on the scene.

Sarah is great with child, and is plenty ready to be done with being pregnant this time. The doctors are reporting everything's normal and proceeding well, so that's good.

The nursery is closer to being a usable nursery again, as the nesting instinct is setting in. Efforts around the house have been a little slowed by all the illness floating around our house, but progress is being made. Now if I could just find a little time to work on the shelves, so we can move the TV over, so we can clean out the corner, so we can set up the pack'n'play in the living room.

The kids are, at least on some level, aware that a new baby will be coming soon. But clearly their world's gonna get another big jolt soon.

Now to the sticky point...a name. When Paul was born we seemed to have no trouble settling on a name...we even picked a couple back-up boy's names for any possible future brothers. So of course our next two are girls. Many of you will recall the struggle we had settling on Julia's name the last time around. And this time it appears to be no different. After months of pondering & discussion, we've come up with the short list you'll see in the blog poll. We each have our favorites, and they're not matching up real well. So we'll throw it open once again to all of you to help us decide. We reserve the right to pick a name different from the top poll choice, but we'd like to see a little feedback on our choices to help us make up our minds. Thanks!

Physics and small children

My children were playing quietly, so I was just able to sort and put away some stacks of papers. Did I mention that my children were playing quietly? I just walked into Julia's room and all of her books and most of her toys are on the floor. It reminded me of an e-mail I had written in January of 2006. Hope you enjoy.

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I think I have discovered a new law of physics. I call it Conservation of Mess. I developed my theory yesterday while trying to do some light housecleaning with an active toddler in the house. The basic principle is that it is not possible to destroy Mess without Mess simultaneously appearing somewhere else, perhaps in a different form.

For example, if I fold laundry and put it away, then bars of soap and spare combs simultaneously appear across the nursery floor. If I dust the dining room, then toys show up under piano bench. If I wash dishes, then peanut butter appears all over the toddler's face.

Don't be fooled into believing that this phenomenon can only be found in the homes of small children. Early in our marriage, Steve and I discovered that you can't clean the kitchen without somebody simultaneously deciding that it is time to start preparing the next meal. Conservation of Mess is simply easier to observe and measure in the homes of small children.

Sometimes the Conservation of Mess is very hard to observe because of Latent Mess. This form of Mess occurs when Mess is "cleaned" by piling photos in a box in the closet. It is still Mess, and can be released with the slightest perturbation.

There is also Black Hole Mess. This is a condition in which the Mess is such a permanent part of the landscape that it actually sucks in light, preventing the owner of the Mess from observing its presence. Black Hole Mess is very common on desktops, sewing tables, and workbenches.

And even if you think that you have destroyed significant quantities of mess in your house and on your property, don't be deceived. Somewhere - maybe in your own neighborhood - somebody just discovered that their 2 year old has found the Sharpy permanent markers.

Oktobeerfest '09 Rehash

Thanks to everyone who came out Friday night for the 5th annual Oktobeerfest. It was another great party this year...in fact, here's what a few of you all had to say about it:

"Excellent!" - Stephanie W. (First-time Beer Drinker)

"Best Party of the Year!" - Brad P. (Beer Aficionado)

"Best Beer Party Ever!" - Don W. (Homebrewer)

Judging by the crowd, the number of cars, the amount of beer, & the number of brats consumed, I'd say we easily topped 130 people in attendance, making this the biggest Oktobeerfest ever. Y'all consumed an impressive amount of beer/root-beer, and an even more impressive amount of brats. There were 19 dozen brats prepared, and the last of them was eaten as we were cleaning up later that night.

Thanks to everyone who helped with various tasks, and to everyone who brought some food to share. Thanks to the Farm Fresh Eggs band for all your prep & fine playing, & thanks to Paul Cary for recording us (Here's one of the tunes we played.). Thanks to our judges and judging staff for all their "hard" work picking the best of the beers. And thanks to everyone who came out...a large part of what makes this party is the excellent-ness of the people who come. So thank you all. And finally, praise be to God for the awesome weather, and for peace & safety for each & every one of us.

Sadly, I haven't seen any pics yet from the event. So if you've got any good pictures you took that night, I'd love to see 'em. Thanks!

Singing Kids

Paul & Julia both like to sing. Right now their singing is mostly limited to children's songs or songs they've heard on TV. More often than not they'll start singing something they just heard recently. But every now and then some song will pop in their head that they haven't heard in a while. And its funny to hear what they come up with and what words they remember.

So yesterday morning Paul got up too early and was downstairs having breakfast with us. All of a sudden he starts singing "Put Another Log on the Fire," which he's heard a few times on the Muppet Show DVDs we've got. Absolutely hilarious. And he remembered probably about half the words, at least, which is pretty darn good since he hasn't heard it in a while. In case you're not familiar with it, here's the youtube version of it:

Oktobeerfest '09 Results

Here's the complete & official results of the 5th annual Kuhlman Farm Oktobeerfest. Thanks to everyone that participated by entering a beer into the judging, and thanks again to all our judges.

This year saw 50 unique beer entries in 4 categories. Our 8 member panel of judges was divided up such that 2 members judged each category. In the event of a tie, a runoff judge provided the tie-breaking rating.

The beers were poured by our judging moderator and his staff into numbered, non-opaque cups so the judges could see color, consistency, head retention, etc., but were unaware of what beer was in each cup.

Each beer is judged on a simple 1-5 rating (5 being the best) for overall quality. Pretzels were used by most judges to cleanse the palate between choices.

It all sounds very official, but, as a 4-time judge, I have to report that its darn fun. If you'd be interested in judging in future years, please let me know...we're always looking for more judges to hopefully improve our beer rating accuracy.

Congratulations again to all our winners!

Oktobeerfest '09 Reminder

The day is nearly upon us for the 5th annual Kuhlman Farm Oktobeerfest. That's right, tomorrow, Friday (October 2), the festivities will begin around 6:30pm. Bring some beer/root-beer, a jacket, and maybe a lawn chair, and come on out.

Preparations are in full swing right now. The lawn's been mowed, the barn mostly cleaned out, the band's mostly practiced (gettin' together again tonight), and a lot of the tasks have been delegated (thank you!). We've got a special treat for you this year in that we'll be serving homemade Bratwursts & Wiesswursts (thanks Greg!). With the high chance of rain tonight & tomorrow morning, I'll be waiting till tomorrow afternoon to set out the seating around the bonfire. I'll also be tarping the brush pile this afternoon to try to keep at least a portion of it dry.

The experts are predicting a wet morning tomorrow, but hopefully the rain will move out before most of ya'll start arriving. But be prepared for a bit more mud than last year.

Should be another great party this year, so lets not spoil it by having folks drinking too much & driving. The loft will once again be available for anyone needing to sleep it off at the farm before heading home...just bring your sleeping bag.

We're looking forward to seeing a bunch of you at the farm tomorrow night!

Autumn preparations

What Steve said was something like,
"Honey, could you do something with the butternut squash you picked?"

I don't think this is what he had in mind.


But I made homemade chicken noodle soup yesterday, and I didn't have time to do something sensible with the squash like BAKE them.

It is hard to tell from the photo, but Paul's pumpkin face (drawn in red) is complete with eyes, mouth, nose, cheeks, eyebrows, hair, and a beauty mark.

I'm afraid that our garden has fallen into neglect this fall. We might get one more small orange pumpkin. We just got busy with other projects and lost steam on tending the garden. The remaining vegetable plants are hard to find for all the weeds.

Work on the shelves for the living room stalled in favor of fixing the mold and plumbing problems in the bathroom. Steve did, nevertheless, move the boxes of books out of the nursery. They are stacked in the guest bedroom for the time being. He also pulled a tub of baby clothing out of the attic for me.

The dresser that we had used for our previous two babies is in Julia's room now. I wasn't sure where all the baby clothing would go. Through judicious shuffling, organizing, and cramming, I made space for all the clothes in the cupboards and drawers of the nursery (it had been a kitchenette in a former life). It felt nice to give an afternoon over to my nesting drive.

The kids had fun coloring their squash and pumpkins. We sat outside and used permanent markers. Maybe Thursday I will actually cook a few of the butternut squash.

a few pregnancy observations

The kids’ worry that mommy’s tummy will explode seems less far fetched now.

There should be some kind of rule against having acid reflux and hunger at the same time.

I got dressed in my Sunday best, then tried to sit like a lady while I buckled my shoes. No dice.

Don’t bother shopping for maternity pants after 33 weeks. Nothing fits right. It isn’t even like I’m trying to avoid looking ridiculous. I am way past that. I have accepted and even embraced the ridiculous. I would just like pants in which I can walk across the room and have them neither dig into my flesh, nor start sliding down. Bib overalls it is.

Don’t shop for a maternity swim suit after 35 weeks unless you feel like weeping.

I keep forgetting that turning sideways will NOT help me squeeze past a chair or table more easily.

I feel like I’m spending an inordinate amount of my time eating, sleeping or trying to rest, and running to the bathroom. Maybe this is just to help make me more sympathetic to my coming newborn?

Devious

Julia has been picking up a lot of the "little sister" type behavior recently. I mean, I can't complain too much. For the most part Paul & Julia play really well together. But there are certainly times when she does things specifically to get a reaction from her brother. She watches him intently, especially when she's doing something to try to provoke a response. And you can just see the little wheels turning as she processes whatever reaction she receives from him.

At some point this evening Paul had been playing with a toy and sharing it with me. After watching for a bit Julia wanted in on the action so I let her play with it some. Paul, who had a pretty rough day today, was not interested in sharing with his sister 'cause "she doesn't know how to play with it right." It was just a toy car, but he ran out of the room crying while Julia happily played with the car. When he returned I suggested to her that maybe she had had her turn and now it was Paul's turn again. She looked up at Paul, judged the sadness on his face, and said a dismissive "no" while returning to play with the car. This sent Paul into hysterics for a few moments until I calmed him down and diverted him temporarily to something else. As soon as she saw he was less interested she immediately said "okay Paul, you can have your cars back now." Nice.

A little while later it was time for our evening video. It was Julia's turn to pick. Paul had already suggested, several times, what he wanted to watch. Julia selected something else. She ran upstairs to show Paul her selection, to which he responded with disappointment and tried to persuade her to change her mind. She ran back downstairs quickly, ran straight to me, and said "put this in quick before Paul get's downstairs. He wants to watch that movie," while pointing at the one he'd been suggesting. Nice.

He might be bigger & faster than her, but she's already learning how to play him like a fiddle.

last weekend's notes

We had an eventful weekend.
Steve took a vacation day Friday to work on the bathroom. He and his dad disinfected the boards in the ceiling and painted them with Kilz. Then they put up dry wall, and framed in an access panel. The good news is that after all the weird fumes and dust he inhaled, Steve’s lungs still appear to be working. I’m just pleased that I no longer have to vacuum ceiling floaties out of the bathtub before the kids take a bath.

Saturday morning Paul had his 3rd soccer game. He’s doing better at paying attention, and his coaches have noted his improvement. Steve and I still spend a fair amount to time admonishing/threatening him before each game or practice. It’s not that we are disappointed that he is not a star player. But we do want him to focus and try. Between soccer and kindergarten, “Paul, focus!” has been our theme song lately. He does seem to be making friends with his teammates, and that is good. And his skills have noticeably improved. It’s progress. Under duress.

Saturday evening we made it to our church picnic. It was really pleasant. They provided face painting for the children. Paul got a dinosaur on his cheek, and Julia a chocolate chip cookie. She smeared her paint pretty quickly, but at her age, she was charmed to get the cookie design in the first place.

Somehow Steve and I carved out enough time before the picnic to make a pie for the pie contest and a massive bowl of fresh salsa. I won 3rd prize in the pie contest! I’m delighted. I think Steve probably could have won a prize for his salsa. I was amazed by the volume of salsa that was consumed that evening. We didn’t think it was even one of our best batches.

Sunday we sort of collapsed. After church and a lunch of fast food take out, we spent a lot of time on the couch watching football. Julia even zonked out for a while and had to be woken so that she didn’t spoil her bedtime.

At one point the kids were sitting next to me, and I told them that the baby in my tummy could hear them. How? I explained that her ears were working and that she was surrounded by water in my tummy. So she heard things the way that they could hear when they were lying in the bathtub. One of the kids asked how she could breath, and I told them that she didn’t have to breath yet. (She’s just sucking off my oxygen, the little goober.)

That conversation led to some interesting observations during lunch yesterday. Paul said that when I drank milk, it added to the water that surrounded the baby. If I kept drinking, my baby bump would get huge and I would have to sit way back from the table and use long arms to eat. Nice.


On that note, thanks to Susie (I think) who put some of her 2nd prize winning pie on my pie pan. My baby bump and I enjoyed it very much Sunday evening. :-)

Sarah's vocabulary

I like words. I enjoy living in the U.S. where the English language and ethnic diversity has given us such a wealth of words to use. I’m amused by our gigantic unabridged dictionaries.

I enjoy learning about regional differences in the use of words. I think that people in most of the U.S. recognize that a sucker is a foolish person. Here in the Midwest, a sucker is also a lollipop.

I like being able to change the nuance and connotation of what I say by the careful selection of words. I think it’s funny when dad claims, “I’m not stubborn. I’m resolute.”

So perhaps my fondness of words is what drives my annoyance with pizza.

I can never be sure what pizza means.
There are the basics – pepperoni pizza, Chicago style pizza, New York style pizza, mushroom pizza…
But then there is white pizza. White is an important distinction for me, because I’m limited on how much tomato I can eat. I went to a local pizza place several times before I realized that their “gourmet” pizza was in fact a white pizza, and that I could eat it even if I was not tomato happy. If white “pizza” had a different name, then I would have known right away.

Some pizza is topped with feta cheese. This is another important distinction, because Steve doesn’t like feta.

Then there is breakfast pizza with eggs on top, dessert pizza, stuffed pizza, and “mexican” pizza. The pizza we ordered in Tokyo had a tortilla thin crust and was topped with sweet corn. We elected not to order the tuna pizza there.

I’ve had pita pizzas, tortilla pizzas, and french bread pizzas.

Surely, these cannot all be considered the same food.

I would like to reduce the definition of pizza to a food with some sort of yeast dough crust and tomato based sauce. It should include some combination of traditionally Italian seasonings (oregano, basil, and/or rosemary), and cheese from an approved list (mozzarella, provolone, or others as approved by a panel of qualified me) Add toppings as you see fit.

Which brings me to the problem of my own homemade barbecue pizza. It doesn’t really match my own definition of pizza. I’ve got the yeast dough crust. Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce is sort of tomato based. Okay, having read the ingredients, I’m forced to confess that it is really sugar/corn syrup based, but there is some tomato in it. My barbecue pizza lacks any of the required traditional Italian seasonings. And I top it with shredded cheddar - not on the approved list. (It also usually has cooked chicken or pulled pork and sauteed onions as toppings.)

But I don’t know what else to call this dish. I need a new name for it. You know, I’ve never been to Oklahoma, but I’m sure they have lovely barbecue there. Maybe I can name this food an Oklahomer.

Steve, get ready to revise the meal plan this week. We’re having Oklahomer for supper on Friday.

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my dad's birthday.

Dad is one of my heroes.

He taught me the joy of eating Appalachian food like ham and bean soup with cornbread. He also taught me the fun of trying foreign and exotic cuisine. Thanks to him, the seafood department at Kroger will forever be known to me as the weird fish counter. I was home from college on Christmas break my freshman year when mom found Dad and I in the kitchen, stuffing squid for his work potluck. Mom asked us to kindly NOT use her icing pipette to stuff seafood again.

Dad is an electrical engineer in a metal processing plant. He helps to keep the machines running and to manage the selection, installation, and implementation of new equipment. If the machines stop working, he gets called in the middle of the night to come and make it all better.

He and his coworkers keep in touch across the large facility by using walky-talkies. He was telling me recently that they have call names, but one of they technicians had already been given the call name, "Sparky." Sparky is a pretty typical nickname for electrical engineers. So what name did they bestow on dad?

Oops1.

I laughed when he told me that. What a reputation to have! Oopsies in that kind of plant can be very expensive. But after a moment of thought I said, "Dad, given the crazy high voltages that you work with - if you are alive and able to say, 'Oops' after a mistake, then you are doing pretty well."

I think Oops is also an interesting testament to the kind of language dad uses too. I almost never heard profanity at home.

Happy Birthday, Dad.
Love,
Sarah

A-Layin'

It seems that all that motivational speaking my Dad's been doing to the young hens has finally started to sink in...they started laying last week. It appears at least 2 of 'em have responded, 'cause they've been giving us 1-2 eggs a day since last Monday. Assuming the others aren't too far behind, we'll be starting regular egg sales in another week. And the sign will likely go back out in front of the house after Oktobeerfest in a couple weeks. Mmmm, farm fresh eggs.

Of course, with the young ones laying, the 12 old hens are about to enter the next stage of life. If we can just find a spare Saturday sometime in the next few weeks, we'll have some folks over to help us transition these old hens from the coop to the freezer. Stay tuned for further details....

I want my children to know about faith

I entered a new Sunday school class at church this week. We’ll be studying Hebrews Chapter 11, sometimes called the Hall of Fame of Faith.

We started the class by looking at some of the reasons the book of Hebrews was written. One of the reasons was that this body of believers was facing pressure, probably the beginning of persecution, and were falling back on means other than the gospel for security. The book specifically admonishes them to avoid depending on old rituals from Judaism.

I was reminded of a field trip I made with my high school youth group to the local mosque. It was really fascinating. I am glad to have had the opportunity to hear Islam (or one “denomination” thereof) explained to me by somebody on the inside. The mosque was sort of having an open-house, and they had a speaker cogently explaining the 7 Pillars of Islam and other foundational beliefs. He was explaining their practices.

It was really quite clear. Simple. Alluring. You just make this really simple profession, and you are in. The 7 pillars are clear cut observances. They are taxing enough to challenge the faithful, but they are doable. And measureable. Monotheism and a strong moral code. Can I explain how appealing all this was?

I had never heard Christianity spelled out in such clear detail. There are a number of reasons for that, but I would like to focus on one reason in particular.

Christianity is not clear cut.

It can’t be.

And the book of Hebrews spends a fair amount of time homing in on the reason why Christianity cannot be clear cut.

Christianity is about faith in the work of the Trinity. Faith is not particularly easy to define. It is a mark of a trusting relationship. It is acted out in obedience to God’s call and his word. You can’t measure faith. Maybe God can, but you and I cannot.

The writer of Hebrews was warning his brothers and sisters not to trade faith for formulaic observances. He didn’t want them to trade relationship and dependence on God-the-Three-in-One for religious exercises.

God given religious observances and exercises are good and important, but they must be regarded as tools to get to Him. This is good news, because it means we don’t fail life if we stumble in our observances and exercises. This is bad news if you, like me, crave defined parameters and concrete results. I want to know if I’m getting an A+ or C- in bible reading. Do I need to try harder? Can I coast a little? What is the minimum number of points I need on the final to pass the class?

Faith in God, the creator of all the stars, the savior who walked the dusty roads of Palestine, the indwelling Spirit, is bigger than I can define. It deserves more than formulaic observations. I can’t say, “Okay God, I’ll go to church 50 Sundays a year, and then you have to make sure my family stays safe.” It is a wild relationship that will not be manipulated.

Dear Baby Kuhlgirl,

Because we love you, your father and I will not let your older siblings name you Nugget, no matter how many times they suggest it.
Neither may they name you Fish, nor Glowfish, nor Necklace, nor Bubbles.
And we won’t let them name you Paul if you are a boy, or Julia if you are a girl.

Your father has vetoed Zinnia and first names that start with the hard K sound. Your grandparents were only joking when they suggested Esmeralda.

And even though I suggested it, I promise I would never actually name you Francis Bacon Kuhlman.

Precious girl, you may not love the name you are given, but please know that we really are working on giving you a name you can live with.

School rules

Julia came home from preschool with a band-aid on her knee. As she reported it, "A big-gartner knocked me down." A note from her teaching aide said that she had been bumped over by a kindergartner on her way in to school in the morning and scraped her knee on the concrete. Poor girl! It's a good thing we have had lots of practice with scraped knees this summer.

She told me that the kindergartner hadn't even said sorry. So we talked a little bit about trying to be considerate.

Julia also got to report some of the class rules that she and her schoolmates helped to develop.
Don't hit.
Don't push.
Don't kick.
Don't stomp like this! (complete with Julia demonstrating by swinging her foot up as high as her head.)
Don't eat the play dough.

"Julia, were there any rules for things you are supposed to do?"

Share.

Sound like good rules to me.
--------------------------
It seems like Paul is doing as well as can be hoped in Kindergarten. They get to have a stamp on their hand if they do a good job of listening and following the rules all day. He's only missed out on the stamps a couple of times so far. I think once was for interrupting the teacher, and once was for not paying enough attention to know that she had called on him. Sounds like my boy.

Today I was really pleased, because he started reciting some of the rhymes they have been learning to go with different colors. He was really pleased to see my reaction for some of the funny rhymes.
Blue, blue is sick with flu.
Yellow, yellow, sat in Jello.
Purple Purple had to burple.

hee-hee.

Baby bump

A few weeks ago, one of the books we got from the library was "Baby, Baby, Blah, Blah, Blah." I liked it really well, and I think the kids appreciated it too. The main character is a little girl named Emily, who likes to make pictorial lists of things she likes, and things she doesn't. When Emily's mom announces that they are expecting a new baby, Emily's pigtails stand straight up. She's not sure how she feels about the whole thing. The book says that as the mother's baby bump grows, a worry grows in Emily's mind.

Emily sits down and makes a list of things that she thinks will be nice about having a baby, and the things she thinks will not be so nice. She talks through her lists with her dad. The father reassures her that while things will be upside down and inside out, that there will still be plenty of love for her, and things with new babies will make the family even better.

The book opened an opportunity for Paul and Julia to talk about some of their worries, and for us to anticipate some of the nice things about having a new baby. (Primary worry: Mommy's tummy will explode. Primary nice thing: Getting to teach the baby to walk. Eventually.)

My baby bump is getting bigger. This weekend we established that I should not try to carry all the laundry downstairs at once (no mishap, just some sore muscles) and that I need to be more careful not to trip over the dog when we are running around (lightly skinned knee only.)

Last week, I tried to let Paul feel the baby kick. We were watching TV on the couch, and baby was wiggling up a storm. He felt my belly, but seemed generally unimpressed. It's hard for wiggly tummy's to compete with Diego.

Last night Julia was sitting on my lap while I read her a story. She looked around and said, "The baby is kicking me!" I hadn't noticed that the baby was wiggling that much, but sure enough, she was. After the story, Julia put her head to my tummy, looking up and giggling a little each time she felt a wiggle.

My big brave girl

Julia’s first day of preschool was Monday. I didn’t choke up when she got on the bus. It helped me to know that she was following her big brother up those steep steps. She was not alone. I did, however spend most of the afternoon jumping at the sound of every big diesel vehicle that went down the road. Was that a bus!?!

Before she left, I asked Julia to practice saying, “Bus 39 takes me home.” I had heard enough stories about small children wandering into the wrong bus line at the school. I wanted to give her and the drivers some extra tools to work with should something go awry. The thing is that my little girl has spent a lot of time lately pretending to be werfing schnauzer puppy. So, “Bus 39 takes me home,” became “Werf werf-werf werf werf werf werf.”

Okay, so maybe we should first practice using real words.

The bus was predictably late bringing them home. I had only just started to envision calling the transportation office to start tracking down my kids when they did arrive. I was deeply gratified to get a great big bear hug from my big girl.

Oktobeerfest 2009 Invitation

Fall is in the air. The days are getting shorter. A slight chill is on the breeze. The nights are getting cooler. The trees are beginning to turn. The birds are gathering in preparation for their journey. It's almost time for the fifth annual...


OKTOBEERFEST
Make plans now. You will not want to miss this beer-tasting event, where there will be:

• Beer
• Bratwurst
• Bonfire
  
• Blues Jam

Oktobeerfest
Mark your calender (and RSVP)

• When: Friday, October 2, 2009
• Where: Kuhlman Farm
  
• Time: 6:30pm - ???
• Details: The party is outdoors and in the barn so dress appropriate - including shoes that can get muddy!
• Suggested Donation: $2
  

Here's how it works:

• WE supply the Barn, Brats, Bonfire, & Blues Band.
  
• YOU bring a 6-pack of a carefully selected beer for the tasting (homebrews & rootbeers welcome!)
• You leave one bottle at the judges' table and put the rest out to share.
• There will be token prizes awarded for the best beer in several categories, but mostly it is an opportunity to sample some beers you might never have tried and to have a good time with friends while doing it.

Hope to see you there!
RSVP oktobeerfest.kuhlman@gmail.com

To Je Život (That's life) - Part 2

We quickly ran downstairs and sized up the situation. The "rain" that Dad was experiencing was clearly the result of a plumbing problem. (Why does it always have to be plumbing!?)

A section of 1.5" drain line ran roughly horizontal from the back of the upstairs sink into a T connection. The bottom part of the T connection, which should've connected to the pipe running vertically down through the wall, was wide open. Apparently the threads on the vertical piece of pipe rusted through and there was enough sideways force on the connection to cause it to completely separate. So for the past month and a half, at least, our upstairs sink was draining mostly into the basement, with a portion of it hitting some nearby pipes and spraying onto the back of the ceiling in the bathroom. Nice.

On the plus side, all of the other upstairs plumbing uses a different route to the septic, so it was only the upstairs bathroom sink. And the basement under that portion of the house is pretty much a dirt-floor crawl-space, so there shouldn't be much problem there.

Anyway, at this point we needed to run to my folks house to get lunch and get Paul to his soccer game. After the game Dad and I hurried back over and setup the ladder so I could get up for a closer look. Not only was the vertical pipe going down disconnected from the T, but the vent pipe going up through the roof was also disconnected. This is probably why the problem seemed to be worse when it rained...'cause any rain going in that pipe would be mostly landing on the back of the ceiling. Sweet.

I climbed on up into the short shed-roofed attic space and used the sawzall to cut out the offending sections of pipe. After surveying some of the other plumbing & insulation foolishness up there, I extracted myself from the ceiling and Dad & I left for Home Depot. We picked up some PVC and rubber junctions, along with some of the parts necessary for adding a bathroom vent fan, some insulation, & some pipe insulation.

Upon our return we got the plumbing repaired, installed a bunch of pipe insulation, and significantly improved some of the other insulation in the area. About this time Sarah returned home and proclaimed that this was the best anniversary present ever, while my feet dangled out of a hole in our bathroom ceiling.

With any luck we oughta be able to do some electrical improvements in both bathrooms this weekend, as well as get the vent fan/light installed. I doubt we'll get the ceiling completely repaired, but we oughta be well on our way to making that happen.

Here's a couple pics of the current state of our bathroom skylite.

Paul's First Game

This past Saturday saw Paul enjoying his first soccer game. He's playing in the 5 year-old's division and he's the youngest player on his team. Most of the kids played their first year last year, so he's at a bit of a disadvantage. But its just for fun at this age, they don't keep score or anything.

For Paul, soccer has been a challenge so far. Most things he tries he only keeps doing if he's okay at 'em. But compared to the other kids, he's not very good at soccer. So he gets frustrated and ends up messing around a bit more than the others. But we're convinced he needs a challenge, so like it or not he's still playing.

Over the past month of practices he's gotten better, but he still frustrates easily. During the warm-ups and the first part of his game Sat. he did okay, actually. But the rest of the time he was just out there running around not even looking at the ball. At least he was running...and he did seem to have a good time.


On the plus side, it was a gorgeous day out, and he got some good exercise, even if he was more of a distraction than a participant.

We're gonna have to figure out some incentives for motivating him to try a bit more....

To Je Život (That's life) - Part 1

Saturday morning after dropping our friend Vojta off at the airport, I was sitting at my folks house, digesting some wonderful pancakes, discussing with Dad what we should do. August has been a rather busy and unusual month for us, but the sudden return to normalcy brought a certain lull with it. Normally I have my weekend tasks planned out, for the most part, well in advance...but not this day.

After kicking around a few ideas we decided on balancing the couple ceiling fans we installed back in July, and taking a look at the wet ceiling issue we've been seeing in the downstairs bathroom. The ceiling fan balancing went smoothly enough, and required no additional HomeDepot visits, so that's cool. On to the bathroom ceiling.

First a little background...back in early June there was a massive hailstorm that caused a good bit of roof damage at our place. About 4-6 weeks later (early-mid July) we started seeing the drywall sagging a bit over the tub in the downstairs bath. We've been monitoring it since then, and it seemed to only get worse after a good rain. We're currently working with a contractor to get the roof replaced, so we weren't in any big hurry. But I thought maybe we oughta at least get the wet drywall out of there and give the stuff above it a chance to dry out a bit before the roof work. So, with that in mind, we cut a roughly 2' square out of the ceiling over the tub.

As could be expected, the drywall and other layers, along with the insulation above them, were a wet disgusting mess. We got all that cut out and cleaned out, and gave a cursory look around with the flash light to identify any obvious culprits.

We noticed an old vent stack, like a stove pipe might've once protruded from, covered with a rock. This is clearly visible from the outside of the house, but we assumed the vent underneath went down to the basement. Nope, it just opened up right into this attic space. Nice. While that's clearly problematic, its been like that for a long time, so its unlikely that's the only source of water problems. Nothing else obvious, but its sunny outside, so a minor roof leak wouldn't necessarily be visible.

Okay, time to clean up for Paul's soccer game. I head upstairs to wash up a bit in the upstairs sink while Dad cleans up a bit in the downstairs bathroom. As I'm finishing up my cleanup, Dad comes upstairs to report that he's being rained on. Nuts.

(To be Continued...)