Grands and Alarms

Well, Good MORNING! Good Monday Morning.  

We are well into our second full week of retirement and it seems to be going well.  Last week he was struggling a bit.  He admitted to missing the guys, missing the rush rush of the day but NOT missing the grind of the out sick employees, the grumbling of the contractors, just the mess ups of the day.  He's lonely.  I've been in "the shop" - studio most everyday and that seems to help him.  What I do not miss is the alarm going off every morning.  It was my phone that had the alarm go off and at night now I actually turn my phone off.  We've been sleeping in till 6:30 or 7:30 every morning but when at the cabin, and when the temperatures FINALLY get warmer, I will be up earlier.  I love to catch the early morning in the summer, to listen to the birds start their morning.  Last night he had fallen asleep in his chair and came to bed about 1:30, of course making so much racket he woke me up. I hate that because I find it so hard to go back to sleep.  I was laying there just as he finally turned off his little night thing when I heard an owl.  Then again.  I decided to get up to go to the bathroom and it was closer.  I asked if he heard it when it was much louder.  He said he did.  There were two of them talking in our backyard. SO COOL!

I've been working on this little guy lately and will continue today.  It's coming along.

This weekend I had Snicklefritz for a couple of nights and we had a grand time.  I'm sure there will be a time when she will NOT want to stay with me so I soak up all I can get.  Her momma came over to take her home on Saturday, which she decided she was not going to do!  Her momma helped me to clean out the linen closet and to dig around in another closet for my high school class stuff.  We have a meeting this week and I could not put my hands on the main box of memorabilia.  I found a little bag but not this.  She found it under Christmas storage!  So happy to have it.

Also I started to clean out the bar area in the kitchen.  It has my special plates, napkins, silverware, candles, little salt/pepper shakers, etc., that kind of stuff.  I purged it and moved my cloth napkins into their own drawer.  Rethinking some of it and will tweek.  Also found these 50 birthday napkins probably leftover from either mine or Robert's 50th, many MANY years ago.  It's just in time because son-in-law #2 will turn 50 Wednesday.

While having Snicklefritz here she loves, absolutely LOVES to brush my hair, especially if I've just washed it and it's still wet. So we played with hairstyles.  

Mine has gotten so very long now and I'm trying to decide whether to continue growing it or chop it off again.  She was NO!  This kiddo loves to mess with my hair and I love it too.  We also played manicure and I did a very nice manicure job on her very long nails.  They were haphazardly filed and I evened them up and put a nice pink polish on them.  She was thrilled.  Her mother cannot stand to be anywhere near a file.

It was a fun weekend with beauty shop, painting with her and just hanging watching Jungle Book, The Lion King (the recent one) and more.  We chatted an brushed each others hair, ate mini Oreo's and three-way.  Love my grands!

Retirement

Week one of retirement.  Honestly we haven't slowed down much.  He's been working hard to get the "now" rental units up to speed for showing to rent.  I go in every morning to do a bit of work, paying bills or making a deposit.  I've only been able to paint once so far and today will be the second time to attempt but I still have to leave to pick up Min.  They have a doctors appointment in OKC this morning so she will be with me till around 3-4 today.  

After the auction last week, in the wee hours of the early morning the next day we had some gremlins thinking they were going to get lucky.  The last employee/friend who came to the auction still has access to our cameras (he works on them for us.)   He was looking at the cameras over his morning Diet Pepsi when he saw an interloper in the compound.  Sure enough, about 3:30 in the morning behind the pole barn with some handy wire snips in two different places the fence was cut open.

I suspect whoever it was probably was at the auction and thought they would get lucky.  Well, he was dead wrong.  Most of the expensive stuff was already picked up and what was left was safely locked away in armed buildings.  IDIOTS!!!  Idiots that cost us over $800 to repair the fence and reposition the cameras.  Really pisses me off that someone wants to do this kind of work for what they think is an easy buck when in reality it's NOT AN EASY BUCK!  

Onward where my blood is not boiling.

Watched Min on Wednesday so they could make their weekly trip to OKC.  It was such a beautiful day so we played outside a bit.  Probably not a good idea with her horrible allergies but she will get used to it.  This kid loves to be outside.

Inside later we watched this guy on a PBS station paint.  I'm not too much of a fan of his but it will suffice till my soaps are on.  She seemed to be entranced by it all.  It was too cute.  

Later in the day of course we watched Jeopardy and I was amazed when she started singing the Jeopardy song.  I couldn't get my phone fast enough.  Too CUTE!

She sure is trying to be a big helper for her little brother.  It's very sweet.

Painting beginning...

I took the photo several years ago while we were in NYC for the Allied Artist show at the Salmagundi.  I snapped the photo and he quickly caught sight of me as I put the camera down trying to look innocent.  He just had a great look and I thought would make a great painting, someday.  Looks like it's SOMEDAY!  

Auction Day

It is done.  The auction is done.  Everything is gone, with the exception of one drafting table and my beloved desk.  

Since last week the auctioneer has been gathering and coordinating everything to get ready for yesterday.

There were pallets of everything you can imagine, all very organized.  Yesterday it was very methodically auctioned off to high bidders, everything we have amassed over the past 44 years, less the property, in just a few short hours, gone.

Fork lifts, skyjack lifts, vehicles, trailers, etc.  It was quite amazing.

The sale was to begin at 1:30 but the preview, if you wanted began at 10 am.  We got there at 7 am and did not leave until 8 pm last night, trying to find SOMEPLACE to get a bite for a very late dinner. 

We also were overjoyed to see lots of old friends, family and old employees of the past, some well over 30 years ago since last seen.  There were probably over 100 people there and the auctioneer told Robert that it was because of our reputation as one of the best electrical contracting companies in town that the attendance was so high.  Plus, some were quite jealous of us getting out, retiring.

We even had some extra little munchkins come and see all the whoopla going on.  We raised our girls in this company and now their babies get to say goodbye to it.  I couldn't stay inside while it was all going on, the curiosity was just too great.  In fact, because it was such a beautiful day I got a sunburn on my chest because I was out so long.  

It was a bit surreal to see all we have worked for gone in just a few hours.  He was a part of every bid, every handshake, every person that walked through.  Always.  

A penny for your thoughts my love.

HAPPY EASTER

 HAPPY EASTER

It was a most glorious day.

He's Home

It was a grand day in our lives, a REAL "Grand" Day!

Max is home and after 3 months since his birth he is home and we got to hold our grandson for the first time.

THIS cannot be perfect enough.  Min was just on cloud 9 to get to hold her little brother.  She was calling him Maxi-Poo before we got there.  I'm very glad their little family is whole now.  It is not without a lot of work on their part.  Max has tons of stuff hooked up to him but he is also only 3 months old, still a BABY!  

Now he grows and we wait for surgery #2 in a few months.  There is still a lot to do and that little Min will be with me more than not still.  There are many doctor appointments they have, back and forth on the turnpike, once a week, but he is home.  That smile on Granddad's face says it all.  He could NOT wait to hold his first grandson.

Her smile too.

Absolute perfection.

Closing Day

 Friday was our last day of business and Robert has been saving this bottle of Crown Royal for nearly 43 years. In 1980 a few weeks before Christmas he bought a case of it to give out as gifts to customers and others who helped us in our first year of business. On Christmas Eve he worked late on a customer’s remodel and had one bottle left which he tried to give away to them. They politely turned down his gift saying they were not alcohol drinkers. He kept the bottle and told me we would open it when we retired. Ironically we live two houses away from that same customer he tried to gift that Christmas Eve. We broke the seal this morning and had a shot (it was 5 o’clock somewhere, lol). Here’s to 44 years of success in business, to our friends and customers and our very supportive family.