Christmas Star

 We have a history of watching celestial events together.  When our children were young, we would wake them at night to watch an eclipse, comet, or meteor shower.   While they complained, we notice they do the same with their children.  After we both read the novel “Dear John” by Nicholas Sparks, whenever there is a full moon, we watch it, holding hands, saying “I love you” to each other.

 We received an email from the Carolina Preserve Social Director describing the best places to watch the alignment of the planets.  At dusk, we made a two minute drive, expecting to be by ourselves, but there were 20 or more people already there looking at the planets over a small lake.  One even had a telescope set up.  We had a great view of Jupiter with a fainter view of Saturn almost touching Jupiter. 

 On the way back to our house, we both said how glad we were to see such a rare event.  Then I added, “If I were trying to find a manger in Bethlehem, I think I would have better luck using Google Maps rather than follow the Christmas Star.”

 Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Kitchen Cabinets

 

Most of Aloma’s magazines show new kitchens with white cabinets.  Our kitchen cabinets are lightly stained cherry wood.  Months ago, I suggested we paint our cabinets white.  It was just a thought.  After I completed my outdoor projects, I started looking for things to do inside.  I told Aloma that I would be willing to paint our kitchen cabinets.  She agreed.

 I knew that I just couldn’t slap a coat of paint on them, so I checked how-to articles and watched a professional show the process on YouTube.  I could tell it was time-consuming, but I didn’t have anything better to do so I decided to give it a try. 

 I had to remove the doors and the hardware and use a degreaser to clean the wood.  Then I had to sand everything before I could brush and roll on a coat of primer, let it dry, then add a second coat. Since I had to paint the front and back of the cabinets, I had to let them dry overnight before painting the other side.  I lightly sanded after each coat.  Finally, I applied actual paint, two coats, sanding between the coats.  All of this took eight days, working about four hours a day.  During those eight days, I followed the same process for the hanging cabinets.  The day before Thanksgiving, I hung the doors back and, for the first time, appreciated how good they look.  I did a good job.

Aloma loves the new look and told me that I’m her hero. 

 I was exhausted.  I ask my friend, Bill, if I ever mention painting another cabinet, to come over and hit me over the head with a 2x4.  He said he would look forward to it.

Seasoned Man

stevelem@gmain.com