Home Remodels 2017

Cold weather puts me in the mood for taking down wallpaper. Something about the smell of old paste makes me really nostalgic. It also gives me and the kids something to do when we are trapped indoors. These pictures were taken a year ago when we started these projects. Don't worry, we finished them a long time ago. In fact, I think Alice has grown 5 inches.

Those are 10 layers of wallpaper you see being torn from the wall. No small task, but the kids love doing it. To the right you can see the completed stairs and landing. Ryan did a great job putting a substantial handrail in.

We found this original hanging light stored in a dark basement corner. It looked so much better here than the 1980's etched glass number that until recently graced the stairs.

 The next project was fixing the downstairs bathroom. The beautiful oak wood trim and door had been painted with three coats of white paint. It takes a lot of toxic paint stripper to get that off.  This was the nastiest home improvement job I have done to date.

Once again I failed to get a pre-demolition picture. I was just so excited to get all the paint, tiles, claw-foot tub and over-sized vanity out that I completely forgot. Or maybe it was the fumes from stripping the wallpaper that clouded my memory.

Ryan was in charge of removing the built in cabinet that was nearly unusable because the toilet was right in front of it.

 Here is an example of wallpapering the ceiling. The ceiling is so easy to do once you get used to the numb sensation in your arms. There are no windows or doors to cut around.

Before: (photo from previous owner's for-sale photo gallery)


After: The finished bathroom with a Moroccan flair. The key to a great bathroom is ease of cleaning (hence the vinyl that looks like tile but doesn't have dirt-trapping-grout, and the solid-surface countertop with integrated sink lacking a grime catching joint too).

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Last month I went to Argentina for an International Nutrition Conference for some continuing education hours. I feel like I need to be very clear that I was there to increase my understanding of the current research, effective interventions and strategic planning that goes into insuring healthy food for everyone. 

This might not be apparent in the pictures I've included. I would hate to bore anyone with pictures of me + slideshows, me + research buddies, me + free food, and me + my name badge, to name a few awesome selfie opportunities. I have merely included the view of the train station from one of the lecture rooms.

I think it's always good to get yourself oriented and acclimated to a new city as soon as you can by walking or riding a bike all over it. I was nervous about this bike tour, but thankfully going up and down the hills of Tennessee with Carl on the back had adequately prepared me. 

Here I am at the Boca Juniors soccer stadium. A shout out to all the fans!

Could this be a tourist trap? How could a resist? I am a sucker for these picture opportunities.

A little known fact is that they celebrate Mother's Day in Argentina on October 15th. What a fun surprise for me at church. I wonder if I made it on their facebook page.

I don't remember seeing such vertical fruit stands in any of my other trips. It's quite mind boggling to me how they get the stuff out of the middle.

On one day of particularly tedious lectures I opted to broaden my education by taking the ferry over to Uruguay. I rented a bike and made it straight over the cobblestone roads for the most picturesque of locations and the "handcrafted goods". I've become really suspicious of such goods since many of the same goods can be found in tourist traps all over the world. But it's fun to look around and chat with the vendors.

 On the way out of the country I caught a bus, got totally motion sick, and stumbled to the temple on the outskirts of town.  It was so good to be there.

Johnson Family Reunion

We're fully recovered from the non-stop excitement that was the Johnson Family Reunion this June, so it's time to look at back and re-live some of the highlights.

photo copyright - racheljonesphotos.com

Only room for 2 on Grandpa's lap for story time?  That won't stop some curious grand-kids.

A lot of people think the best part of the NASCAR Bristol Motor Speedway tour is after you get 'out' of the transport van.  We make a strong case here for the opposite.

Warrior's Path, Watauga Lake, Steele Creek . . . did we hike enough that week?  It depends on who you ask.  These kids can really hit the hills though, by anyone's standard.

Craft time was a big hit.  There's nothing quit so fun as customizing your own fidget spinner.

No reunion is complete without a dose of memory lane embarrassment.  Love that perm, Michelle!

Thanks for coming to Tennessee - see ya'll in 2 years!

Vacation to Utah

We took the family out to Utah for Royce & Harly's wedding and lots of extended-family fun.  I think that there is nothing as thrilling as luggage and kids on public transportation. Here we are having a great time!

We got to visit with my Grandma Johnson in Salt Lake. The kids are clutching their new treasures from their Great-grandmother's collections.

We got to try out a new hike nearly everyday around the Sandy mountainsides with Celeste & Skye. It was so nice to smell the crisp air of the desert mountains and climb over rocks.

Our favorite hike was up the Temple Quarry site. So many rocks to jump on, and so many mountain goats to impersonate!   You might be able to tell we never did really see any mountain goats; we've got a lot of improving to do on our impersonations.

And the real reason we went to Utah --- Congratulations to Royce and Harly! Here are all the cousins together in front of the Provo City Temple.

And here are our kids in the fountain. It was so hot that I thought it wouldn't hurt them to get a little wet and cool off. The great news is that no one fell in, although Carl was unusually wet by the time we headed home.

So much fun in so packed into such a short time.  I don't know when we'll get so many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and grandkids in one place again!

Summer Food

The best thing I ever did was teach the kids how to decorate their own cakes. I do have to approach my desserts with half-closed eyes now. That is a serious riot of color.

Another brilliant idea I had was to teach the kids how to make salsa. We only had one minor mishap involving a knife and a finger. Now they cut bell peppers with butter knives (by choice).

We managed to grow some potatoes this year even though our gardening strategy left something to be desired. Maybe we planted them and then totally ignored them. No watering, no weeding and no singing to the plants. I don't know how they survived without the last one.

We were really successful at growing zucchini. This "little" friend was waiting for us when we got back from a vacation to Utah. We tried to disguise it as a doll and give it to Amber. She wasn't fooled.

The grapes did really well and made for a fun harvest and I got to use my juicer.

Happy 4th of July!

Before we begin our demonstration of patriotism manifested in crepe paper and pom-poms, I thought we could take a moment to enjoy our little garden. We wish you all lived close so you could help us eat all the delicious vegetables.

Those little yellow flags waving in the breeze are cucumber beetle traps, covered with the stickiest glue I have ever had the misfortune of brushing up against.

 Here you can see Helen harvesting a Japanese cucumber. As a side note, if you cut up a baby zucchini and put it into a pasta salad innocently among cucumbers, Amber will still sniff it out. I don't know how she does it.  She has been awfully suspicious of my salads as of late.

Now for the chants of "U-S-A" and "Happy Forth of July"! We opted for a bike/trike parade as our main event this year. We once again were reminded that 'some' is good and 'more' is better when it comes to tape and streamers. The goal was to dazzle the eyes and ears.

 

Last weekend we went down to Columbia, SC, for a quick temple trip. It was so nice to drive back up into the mountains afterward where it is so much cooler. Palm trees are very nice in postcards, but in real life they require temperatures too close to 100*F for my liking.