New front door

The home improvement projects at our house just keep on happening!

We had money left over from our Disney World trip (believe it or not) and we decided to use it for a project we have wanted to take on since we moved into this house nearly three years ago: a new front door. The existing door was ugly, had gaps all around it, was in bad condition and afforded no privacy. That last point particularly bothered me; I felt as though anytime I walked through the hallway at night, I was on display. If I did not want to answer the door, there was hardly any way I could avoid doing so without the person at the door knowing that I was ignoring them.

So we bought a new door and painted it a rich red that is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite stores, and we also had enough to buy a good quality storm door. Two weekends ago, we started the installation process.

Note: In this case, and in any home improvement project, the pronoun "we" is really more of a royal we, since James really does 95% of the work. I only fetch tools, hold things in place, sweep up and ooh and ahh.

It is safe to say that James never wants to replace a door again! It was not a simple case of hanging a new door on the old hinges; he/we wanted to do the job right and replace the entire door unit, which meant cutting the old frame out of the house structure and installing the new one. What a task! What a mess! There was much swearing and sweating, but James finally got it done. Even though the project was not yet finished, it was already a 100% improvement.

Last weekend he finished the job. He installed the storm door, and finished cleaning/painting/installing the around the door trim. Every time I walk down the hall or the stairs, I admire the new front door and enjoy the privary it provides.

Good job, James!

Before:

That's what it's all about

I adore the Olympics. I will watch any event at any time, although I admit that water polo bores me beyond reason. And I have some serious quibbles as to why China was even awarded these games, but I am still watching. I adore the concept, the pageantry, the back stories, the competition, the pride.

For me, it is not about the medal tally. Certainly I want my country to succeed and to represent us well, but I don't get caught up in the medal count or not rooting for any athlete who is not from the US. On the flip side, it aggravates me that some in the world go to the Olympics with the sole goal of beating the US. Sheesh, people.

It is amazing that countries send delegations to the Olympics knowing that they will likely not win any medals. So it thrilled me to no end to watch Benjamin Boukpeti win the nation of Togo's first Olympic medal ever, at any time, in any sport. He won the bronze medal in the men's single kayak competition and the joy on his face when he learned he had won was priceless. And how wonderful for Togo!

Of course, I have since learned that Boukpeti is French, born to a French mother and a father from Togo, and that he last visited the country as an infant. But he still went into the competition ranked 56th in the world of kayaking, and he beat all but two other athletes. How cool is that?