Before and After

I have taken a few pictures along the way of how the apartment is coming along, so I thought I would post the before and after shots of one room just to give you an idea of what a difference all our work has made.



This is the bathroom (as you can probably tell). Mom removed all the gross paint stuff and wall paper and replaced the sink with a vanity. And voila!


white paint above... sponge painting below... so much better!

On Paint and the Past

For those of you, who have been wondering where in the world I have been for the past several weeks... well, I have been kinda busy sanding, painting, and generally fixing up my parents' rental apartment. I have had a lot of time to think (it's impossible to talk with sanders going, so I was pretty much stuck with just my own thoughts). While I was sanding one of the doorways, the layers of paint chipped away, and beneath the beige, white, off-white, green, and white (in that order) paint, there was a beautiful, polyurathaned wood. I couldn't help but wonder what IDIOT would cover that gorgeous wood with PAINT?!?!?!? It got me thinking about how often that happens in real life. Generations never appreciate the one before it. In an effort to write their own history, they tend to try erasing the one prior. Once several generations have passed, eventually someone digs up the history and can appreciate what once was. Sometimes they take the time to remove the falsehood and mystery that recent history used to shroud the past, but more often than not, they are unwilling to put in the time and effort it would take to return to the way things were - to a time of honor and honesty, when men worked for a living and a person's word was his bond. Instead they just slop on their own shade of paint - pretend they never saw that glimpse from the past - that it doesn't exist.
Now, I am not saying that all history is good history or that all paint should never be painted over, but it is important to know what has been, before moving forward into what will be.

Old Rag

CJ and I wanted to hike all of Old Rag (we started out a few months ago, but it was too late in the day when we set out and so the setting sun forced us to abandon our trek before we managed to summit Old Rag). This time around: mission accomplished!



It began all wooded and in the shade, for which we were very thankful - it was rather warm out.

As we got up near the top, the rocks were more prevelant (it became more of a rock climb than a hike) and the trees were rather dead looking.

The views of the surrounding mountains were breathtaking!

When we finally reached the top, we were more than ready to be there!

My feet were sore...

As we started back down, we ran across a deer (at 3,000' elevation!). We were rather surprised to see her, but she didn't seem the least bit disturbed by us. =)



When we reached the bridge (on our return hike) near the beginning at the trail, we could not have been more thrilled. 3 hours up and 4 down (we took the long way back)... we were EXHAUSTED!

Red Fuzzy Dice

I was having a bad day till I drove up behind a little old man, driving a quinessential red 1960s Cadillac. It was in MINT condition! Just a thing of beauty. As I got closer, I caught a glimpse of the big, red, fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview. That just made my day. =)

Gender Reveal Parties? REALLY?!?!?!?!

Apparently, it is a new trend...

Rather than find out your baby's gender in a doctor's office, the docter puts the gender of the baby in a sealed envelope. The pregnant woman then brings that envelope to a baker, who will bake a blue or pink cake, according to what is in the envelope. The couple throws a big party with all their family and friends, and they cut the cake to find out what they are having... boy or girl?

What will they come up with next?!

The Waltons

While CJ was busy at the US Open (that is a golf event, in case you were wondering), I had a whole day to myself (what to do, what to do...). A recent blog post got me thinking about the TV show The Waltons, a show I often watched with my family in my adolescence. I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to drive down to Schuyler, VA and see Earl Hamner's childhood home and the place that began the Walton saga (since CJ had never watched The Waltons, I knew he would not find any of it very interesting).

When I arrived at the museum, I was surprised that it was set up in the Schuyler public school (the school the Hamner children attended). As it turns out, the school closed in 1991, and the museum was set up some time after that. Different school rooms were set up as various rooms in the Walton house (as seen on the TV show).


In this collage of pictures, you can see the set of John-boy's bedroom, the kitchen, and Ike Godsey's General Store.


The set of the living room



The current General Store


Earl Hamner's boyhood home (smaller than Hollywood's depiction of it)


The little, white, Baptist church


Here you can see how close the General Store was to the Hamner home... there was no traveling down the mountain to get there. It was practically in their front yard!

This is the actual camera and equipment that was used in the filming of the Waltons.