Memorial Day 2010

What a beautiful HOT weekend we are having. Tim and I decided to stay in Maryland for the 3 day. The traffic is not worth the fight, and we have lots to do here too.
Tim spent the weekend in his long final push towards finals. I helped with a Humanities paper. I think he wrote 5 papers and took 4 tests so far! Only 2 weeks to go and 5 classes will be done! YIPPIE!
I also puttered a bit in my office. I think I'll post photos to shame myself into cleaning it up.
Monday I slept in and then headed to Mom's to do the first soldering on our lamp. The finish line is in sight. The lamp is in it's ugly duckling stage. Today we spent 5 hours just spot soldering the joints together. We have 662 pieces and that makes a lot of little spot soldering. We also started outside and had to move inside as the pieces started sliding off the wax. It was 99 degrees today (Bethany and Andy you came at the right time!)

Before we began on the porch, we did not get 3/4 of the way around the top part before the sides started sliding off! Funny now, not then! :)



Rosie the riveter! Oh Momma the soldier!
Note the pure concentration.


They fell off in this position too, but were not slowly sliding down the sides!



So we are ready for class! Yippie! The end is really in site! Now to learn to make the solder look perfect, get the lamp base made to accommodate the top, attach the ring to the bottom, solder the inside, betina it, clean it and then we are done!

From Christmas to Memorial day in 6 short months of a project!

Confessions of a clutterholic

So here you have it. My husband it a neat man. I keep telling him he could make a living organizing other peoples lives, mine included, but I am too emotionally attached to my "stuff". He keeps the rest of the house spotless, save one counter in the kitchen that I sometimes get my clutter gene going with, he does not tolerate that too long and then he proclaims it is time for me to tame the counter. I do, but it all just arrives in one tidy pile to my office, hold on, you'll see below. I need to get a hold of all this paper. I need to organize it. Believe it or not I do get rid of stuff. I just have way too many interests to keep them all in check all of the time! But no more excuses, cause I know I'll feel better when this is under control.

Kate had the audacity to tel me the Chee was bad in here! REALLY! I had not noticed! She loves to state the obvious.

Here is the list of my self imposed rules to help tame this here now office:

1. No more hearts or free cell card games until I can see my table. I'm going to clear the game counter and have Tim keep me accountable. (Tim's office on the other hand is immaculate).
2. Only use the birthday cards I have on hand to send birthday greetings, no more new cards until I am down to less than 20. (oh this is going to be a hard one, so everyone hold on, expect post cards and hand stamped Happy Birthday cards!)
3. File papers on hand and try to make everything else electronic.
4. sort sort sort!

Sibley and Hopkins

The big news today at work is Sibley Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital are going to be affiliated. No news in the details, but this is a biggie for my little private hospital in NW, DC. Hope this all goes well.

So I better post

Having just cruised all my blogs I usually read and seeing no new posts I was disappointed. So, thought I, I better update mine as it is almost a week since I myself have posted.

So my week in a not too exciting nutshell:

Monday: 24 hours of call, 16 hours of work, tired Heidi
Tuesday: 24 hours of call, only 12 hours of work, Heidi getting numb! Tim had class and had dinner on the stove for me when I came home, he is the best.
Wednesday: 8 hours of work, Home and to bed by 7pm! Tim in class till 9:30 pm.
Thursday: 8 hours of work, managed to have the energy to stop by Mom's on the way home.

Learned that I have a quick tongue and need to not be so honest all the time. Hold my thoughts and be careful about what I say. I had always thought honesty was the best answer, sometimes being quiet is the best and then that can bite you in the buns too. Sometimes I am dammed if I do, and dammed if I don't. Life is complicated. I really do the best I can and never mean to hurt anyone.

At Mom's did the final inspection on the glass of the lamp and we are ready to "spot solder" the glass to we can really solder and start the final steps! The spot soldering keeps the pieces from shifting and falling off while the lamp is tilted to be flat. We are so close to ready. Tim needs to drill a hole in the dome so we can mount it on the nifty Tim lamp leveler that he built for us to use when we solder. The lamp needs to be level so the solder won't run....you'll see in photos, once it gets to that point. Had a lovely dinner with Mom and scooted home to bed. Tim went down to the beach after school tonight as he wants to do a spring cleaning in the Dove Knoll house. I love a man that loves to clean! He is the best. He is busy with school too.
Friday: worked 7 hours, zipped home to finish some wash, and rode to Rehoboth Beach with Kate for the weekend. This is car week in Ocean City (oh joy), and Karen, Garry, Drew and assorted crew are in OC. Kate came to attend the birthday dinner on Saturday night. She stayed in Rehoboth in the calm of Dove Knoll.
Saturday: Tim made us a wonderful breakfast. Kate and I did some major damage shopping, she shopped, I looked. Had a nice day. Kate went to Embers in OC, I took a nap!
Sunday: Quiche for breakfast by Tim today! More shopping in Lowes, they have the best garden center in Lewes. Kate left early to be home in time for the season Closure of Lost. Tim and I puttered, I planted a new catmint (very pretty perennial with purple flowers and smells like mint, but does not take over), some morning glories and sunflowers seeds under the new trellis. We left for home by 3pm so I could watch my 60 minutes and see Lost too.
And that brings me around to today, Monday. A crazy day at work, we all arrived to 10 add ons, soon to be 12. Wonderful staff, we all got most of them done by 3pm.

Once again home to dinner by Tim. Yummo, sausage and sour kraut!

Hope everyone else has had a productive week. Know you are loved. I sure do.

How can she be 24?

Twenty-four years ago today my sister and her husband submitted an application to the only adoption agency in the DC/MD/VA area that Kate was not affiliated with due to her being the director of a special needs foster care program in Northern Virginia. She did not want any impropriety or special favors from an agency she already worked with.
On that very same day, 24 years ago, my niece Karen Holly Haywood was born into this world by a loving birth mother in Columbia Maryland.
Who would know that two such divergent paths would then meet on that fateful day in July, 14 months later?
She brought all the hopes and dreams of my sister and her husband to fruition. She was loved and cared for by a mother who gave up her career to be home with her blessing from heaven. And heaven sent she was, with blue eyes, brown hair and the love for two parents who wanted her so badly. She crawled into her father's lap and it was love at first sight. She bonded with Kate like no other. She was home and home she has been. I remember that day like it was yesterday (or maybe last month!)

Happy Birthday Karen Holly Haywood. May the next 24 years be as special as you are.

A chocolate cake made with love my her Mom. She is really getting quite domestic!




TA DA!
24!

A belated Mother's day May 16, 2010

Mother's day snuck up on me this year. The gift we had made for Mom had not yet arrived, and I am busy with work and helping Tim with his 5 classes this semister. Luckily Kate and I were on the same page to post-pone Mother's day, but just a week as I had planned on being in Rehoboth and Kate needed a day to herself to be celebrated as a mother. I am not a mother so it was just another day to me if we could celebrate our mom the next week, hopefully with the DVD in hand.

So, we put off the celebration for Margie Jane Sturgis Kestner until May 16 at 11:30 at Kates. I brought a fruit salad and Kate set a lovely table. See below.



There were 7 of us. Mom, Kate, Garry, myslef, Karen, her friend Matt and nephew Drew. Kate had a great meal; develed eggs, green salad, fruit salad, ham sandwiches, mac and cheese, and the iris dishes of our Grandma.

We 3 sisters had a DVD made of about 20 old home movies Mom had given me over 20 years ago. I finally found a place to convert them to a format that will last (I hope). We saw our great grandma Mimi Mae Minnie Maude Browne Sturgis, Richard Earl Strugis, Emily Blanceh Sturgis, cousin Bruce, lots of a baby Michael Sturgis Kestner, a blink of Frances Katheleen Kestner, and a bit of Heidi Teresa Kestner. There is footage of Dad and Mom's wedding that Mom did not remember ever seeing! Dad and Suriotha.....wonderful. The 3 of us girls in the back yard at 4104 Blackpool in Rockville. A true gem of a DVD, all 1 hour and 45 minutes of it. A huge success and I'll work on getting everyone copies.

Panel 4 cut and "only the foil" to go

This has been an amazing process. Mom was very overwhelmed at first. The thought of 664 little tiny pieces and 4 panels to cut really had both of us frozen for a time. After the second class we realized we needed to jump in the pool and go for it, others arrived at that class with a panel done and we had not made one cut in glass! We got one panel cut and from there Mom has been the deadline Queen. She gets all the flowers cut and puts just a little pressure on me to come and do the "easy" squares that I volunteered to cut when we were picking out a shade. Little did we know what we were in for or I think Mom would have said no thanks, and never looked back. Now she is already talking about "the next one we do"! The "we" may have to be Kate, not me, but I somehow see more "easy top part squares" in my future!

Below you can see what we were up to tonight on the final panel. The lamp really is looking quite impressive. I love the foil in copper, but it will look so much better once we get going with the soldering.


This is only 3/4 of the panels, although is looks complete, it is not. I agree with Bethany that it actually looks better in person.




Here is proof that I too have been cutting glass.




Mom making sure all her flowers are just right.



This is what I arrive to for each panel waiting for the blue sky and borders to be cut.



Panel 4 with almost all the glass grinded, it is cut, just needs to be grinded and fit on the dome shade.

Tim is 48 today

The man of my dreams is having a birthday. Nothing too profound from me. I have had one hell of a week and it is only 3 days long! Imagine if it were 5!

Tim is the answer to my prayers. He is my companion and love. He is the best thing that has happened to me. He can be gruff at times, but underneath that hard exterior shell is my bear. He his a cuddle love. He takes care of me and makes me feel special. We have each other's back. He makes me laugh and knows how to make me feel better. He is good to my Mom and even gets along with my sisters (yea)! He is a great communicator and makes me voice my opinions, even when it is not what he wants to hear. He is great with money and we both agree on how to do things. If anyone can put together a BBQ grill together, they can do anything together!

We are taking a 3 day weekend and going to Rehoboth, once he gets home from school tonight. We may even splurge and eat out. (We are on a HUGE financial diet due to one income and 2 houses) He only wants a skin tag clinic for his present. I'll cook his favorite meals and let him watch all his science fiction all weekend when I am not snipping on him.

Happy Birthday my love. I look forward to many more birthdays with you.



This is July 2009 in Milwaukee on our vacation last summer. A fun trip. It is the most recent one of us I can find in a pinch.

One better disc, and 3 panels foiled

Mom had her kyphoplasty today and is actually feeling better! YEA! So glad there are procedures to take care of aging, broken back bones. Everyone drink their milk.

Mom is really doing so well that she insisted on going to our 5th of 6 stained glass classes tonight, she did fine. Only complained about her neck! And we got many oohs and aaahhhs about our 3 done panels. Bethany said it looks better in person! I'll add photos soon.

I am too overwhelmed with the past 5 days to post about our Kestner/Kuchta/Haywood vacation. Just see Bethany's, she is doing a great job so far! Letme just say I'll vacation with Bethany and Andy ANY time. But I will add my thoughts too.

Let me get past this week. I'll back post! I cheat like that all the time, so just when you think you've seen all my thoughts! I put new ones in!



Here is what we took to class tonight, impressive, but the back side is blank!

Less then 48 hours in NYC

I have looked forward to Andy and Bethany's visit for over 6 months. Bethany had asked for suggestions on her blog as to what to do for their 10th wedding anniversary. Many suggestions were made, including mine to come to DC and see our part of the world and all the east coast family in their homes. I was blown away that it had been 10 years. That is the last time all 4 of my siblings and I were together. April 15, 2000. They were babies and we all wished them well. Had a fun rehearsal dinner in a Chinese restaurant you had to take your shoes off and climb on the floor to the tables.......authentic is what you'd call it I guess. She was a beautiful bride in her white sneaker's and Andy the cherub groom. She 19, he 20, oh youth!

(Andy is my brothers 4 child, 3rd son of a total of 6)

So as I had casually suggested they come to DC and see all our sights, I knew that Bethany thought east was Mt. Rushmore (in the west). She, having never been near, must less across the Mississippi river. I never in a million years thought we would be so lucky to have them actually come! They talked it over, decided yes and we were a go! Wahoo! Bethany and I e-mailed back and forth for months, picked times, when they could come, how she would line up care for her 4 sons. (Her Mom and Dad are gems to take on 4 under 9 for 6 days!) Then Bethany casually throws in they want to go to NYC too and see a show and have Lombardi's Pizza. Andy had seen a blurb on the food network about the best pizza in NYC (turns out I had seen the same one, cause I recognized the numbers in the bricks once we finally got there). OK! I've been around the world and somehow NYC has always intimidated me. Time to get over my fears and bite the bullet and do this! We picked a weekend, I bought the tickets, Bethany found the hotel and we were a go: 2 days DC, 2 days NYC. Hold on to your hats!

Fun is an understatement. I hope my old brain holds on to these memories for a long time. From the moment they arrived (half an hour early) to the moment they left everything worked out perfectly.

Below are just a few of my faves from NYC, more on the trip to follow.


Holland Tunnel, a long one.



Andy and Bethany in their first EVER cab ride! NYC



Andy and Bethany in time square hours before the SUV arrived! 5-1-10 (Anyone know how to turn this? It is right in my photos......)


We stumbeled upon Bubba Gumps for lunch in Times Square. Fantastic meal and fun stuff in the shop. The shirt says: "My Momma says I'm special"!


Proof we made it to Phantom of the Opera, amazing. Bethany looked smashing in her dress.


It truely is the best pizza ever, nothing will ever come close!

That is all for tonight, I am beat. Night.