So...juvat, what's with the Frogese in the title?
Well, y'all know Sarge, he's always trying to add a little Haute culture to the Blog. Besides, it gets Beans familiar with Google Translate in case he ever leaves the South and needs the directions translated for him.
But in any case, it's been an event filled week or so. So...Let's get the weekly report started.
In the "Took 'ya long enough" Category, Mrs. J's Birthday, Christmas, Valentines Present is finally finished.
What started off looking like this.
At a midway point, looked like this.
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| The "Donut" at the bottom is actually a rock with an indenture in the middle. Wanted to use it for visual value. But it was too thick to fit. Bummer Dude! |
Went through a couple of "What if" points.
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| I thought the back lighting looked cool, but that was me holding a flashlight underneath. Couldn't find string lighting that looked any where near as good. |
So it ended up like this.
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| Yes, Beans, those are stir sticks epoxied to the floor when I spilled some while pouring. I didn't want to accidentally step in it. |
Now, just got to find some strong backed young folks to move it into Mrs. J's office. That desk is heavy, just ask my back. Cautiously moving it around the shop without banging it into something, was difficult to say the least. The aforementioned young folks will also be needed to move an even heavier desk from Mrs. J's office over to my Sister's place. Then C'est Fini!
But...Mrs. J loves it. And that's good enough for me!
On the next higher level of importance in this stage of my life, Miss B is continuing to make progress. Mrs. J and LJW are doing the Baton Pass on feeding and "other necessities" required by infants. Miss B is progressing with food quantity consumed and thus weight gain. The latter being a key indicator of preemie progress.
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| A Nap....What I would give for a Nap! An older picture, but... |
Unfortunately, during a recent checkup with the Pulmonary Team at the Hospital in San Antonio, they happened to mention (for the first time and after several meetings...Thanks!) that Preemies on O2 typically do not get weened from it until they turn two. That caused quite a bit of anguish with the non-medical people in the room. See...Little J is in Honk Honk and will be there for another couple of years. The US Consulate there will not allow anyone on O2 to live there as a child of a staff member unless approved by a medical review board. That approval doesn't generally happen since a medevac back to the States, if needed, would be very expensive. Miss B is 7 months actual age (4 months adjusted age, it's a preemie thing and I'm not sure I understand what the difference in significance is) and therefore, if still on O2, won't be able to rejoin with her Dad for another year and a half.
Suffice it to say, the family is looking into a second medical opinion and "other" State Dept options.
Other than that bit of bureaucratic set back, Miss B is smiling and goo-gooing and pretty much everything else a pre-crawling baby does for a living. She even managed to roll over onto her tummy last week. I'm not a pediatrician, nor have I played one on TV, but I've been told that's a very big progress check point.
You GO, Girl!
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| She has an amazing capability to spit the Nook a considerable distance. Hence, my finger is resting gently on it to prevent bending at the waist and picking it up for the umpteenth time. |
And, finally to end on a high note!
Wednesday, Mrs J and I are sitting in the living room watching something on the Boob Tube, wholly uninterested, but occupied.
Mrs J's phone rings and it's a video call from MBD and SIL. The usual greetings and "howya doin's" are exchanged and there's a brief pause. Then MBD drops a bombshell. (No, you eavesdropping Fed jerks, not THAT Kind! MYOB!)
MBD is pregnant with Grandchild #3, due first week in November! No gender determination yet, but we're thrilled.
So...That's how my week has been. Hopefully your high's have been at least that level and your low's...well, maybe not quite so bad. The Big Guy has a plan, I just haven't figured it out yet.
That's the way it is, straight from the Horse's Mouth!
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| Merlot sends her best wishes! |
Peace out, y'all!
*It's finished and... more updates
The grain on that table really jumps out juvat, well done. Here's hoping a special exclusion can be found for Miss B. Spit the Nook, now there's a band name for ya.
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteYeah, when I first stained the wood was when the first note of excitement hit. Kinda a "Hey, this might turn out pretty good" moment. Then the epoxy worked out pretty well. Then the "Sanding, Sanding, Polishing, more polishing...." happened. But, all in all, it was pretty enjoyable. Not a lot of brain power required for most of the steps. Which is good, in my case, for several reasons. We discussed the string lighting, it just looked kinda fakey. She's going to put it right in her office window which faces south east, so we should get some interesting effects from sunlight. Pictures to follow, I hope.
Thanks
Good report, thanks. I hope you've got the battery and sine wave backup done.
ReplyDeleteLife happens while we are planning things out.
Michael,
DeleteThe Whole House Generator guy came by this week and will be getting us an estimate shortly. He said delivery of the generator is about 4-8 weeks out. So, hopefully the weather/electrical grid holds up til then. Probably going to order one of those smaller generators from Amazon for the JIC role.
Yes, yes it does.
Dude, even my mostly forgotten High Screwel French allowed me to translate that. Seems it (HSF) is surfacing like dead fish in a pond after all these years.
ReplyDeleteThat's a neat desk. Too bad you couldn't have used said interesting-looking rock with a hole in it as a pencil/pen holder in the surface, though you might look into doing that as a paperweight.
Sucks about your brand-new floor, though. Seen that at many a surfshop and surferdude's residence. Get enough layers built up and you can have your very own version of Fordite (a mineral-looking 'rock' made of years accumulation of car paint. and you can polish it up like a gemstone, so resin would look even cooler. saw some cable-drum table tops where they filled in all the holes with, yes, broken layers of old resin and resined over the whole thing. very interesting.)
Good news to a point with DaKid. As much as LJ misses his family, the weird political climate over there isn't exactly getting any better. It may be The Big Guy Upstair's way of saying "Let's just keep mom and DaKid safe for now. Easy to extract LJ, not so easy the whole family." Yes, it sucks, but...
And congrats on the incipient #3. Whoohooo.
Beans,
DeleteGreat Idea about the pencil holder/ paper weight. The latter would be easier, the former MUCH cooler. Gotta put my thinking cap on for that.
The floor doesn't bother me too much. The change in feel helps me keep aware of where I am in the shop vis a vis walls/tools/windows etc. etc. etc.
Good point about Little J. Gotta see what his feelings are.
Thanks, we're very excited.
Grandkids (Congratulations!), a nice looking desk and sticks glued to the floor... not bad for a Monday!
ReplyDeleteRob,
DeleteThanks, yep, on a hot streak, One Monday in a row!
Some great news and some not so great news, but Beans has a point with family being in different locations. Many of us can attest to the strains placed on a family by one being separated from the others, but as you point out G-D has a plan, it’s up to us mere mortals to seek HIS reasoning and allow it to be revealed in HIS timing. A second medical opinion along with “Prayers Up/Knees Down” are enormous next steps.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure Mrs. Juvat will appreciate the new table. In today’s world it’s tough to find enough size 2 hats with size 17-18 shirts to do some heavy lifting or other manual work. Since I fit that classification, and if we can take a break every 2-3 minutes I’ll volunteer to give a hand. Just give me a call.
Cletus
Cletus,
DeleteI appreciate the offer, but Mrs J has authorized Affordable Movers for the job. A bunch of my former students work for them and I think one of them is either an owner or the son thereof. So, kinda keeping it in the family. Besides...Neither of our backs is on the improving side of life.
Agreed, vis a vis, Beans. Been to Honk Honk when we were stationed in Okinawa. Loved the place and I think that's what stuck in my brain. Unfortunately, it's not 1987 anymore. Will need a bit more information on what medically is in store for Miss B and what Little J and LJW's thoughts are. LJW is reachable, Little J not quite so much.
Thanks again for the offer. I appreciate it.
Great news about the little one, and the long time need for oxygen increases my knowledge about it from almost nothing to just a bit more.
ReplyDeleteNot the glue sticks that my mental image has!
That table is absolutely awesome. On the subject of moving heavy stuff, don't. But an inexpensive arm sling can be donned when the movers show up to assuage one's conscience.
We installed the new float, bowl, and float valve on the generator yesterday and it started and ran fine under a load test.
That means we can put replacing it on a back burner until we talk to our electrician about getting a transfer panel installed.
JiP,
DeleteYeah, I've learned a lot about NeoNatal Care that I had no idea about in the last few months.
The sticks I think will stay. If nothing more than a reminder ala Han Solo "Don't get Cocky, Kid!"
No, my participation in the moving thing will be limited to reaching in my pocket and pulling out the Visa Card. Just turning it over on the work table to work on the underside was tense. Didn't want to drop it on the top to avoid scratches and such, but also didn't want my fingers under it either. Going to have to put some thought into that issue on any future "heavy" projects. Pulleys and winches perhaps.
Beautiful work, juvat!. An order of magnitude better than my wood butchering. A question - would it have been better to have worked on the bottom side first before the top was finished? And thanks for the good news about little Miss B.
DeleteDon,
DeleteMost probably. But this was the first round and I didn't have a real idea what it would look like coming out of the mold. The bottom wasn't the big problem per se. I just wanted to put some framing on it, to keep it from twisting along the sides of the "River" . Didn't know how well that would hold. The big issue I didn't think through from the start was the sides and how I would finish them up. I ended up putting molding around them to hide the problems with the epoxy. It wasn't all smooth and lovely like the top. Then I had to fill in the gaps on the edges of that. Then came staining it. Suffice it to say, I learned an awful lot about putting one together. But Mrs. J has one and I'm not sure who else I'd build one for.
Thanks.
I love everything about that desktop. Have since you showed us on Christmas! Such beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteRe: 4 mos corrected/ 7 mos actual - since she wasn't supposed to be born 3 months early, doctors and therapists figured out a way to not hold that against preemies. So they use the corrected age when tallying what skills/ weights she should have or be able to showcase. 😀 That will stop once she hits age of 2 (corrected) aka October 2024, and incidentally when we will be at our next posting. We did get a bit of better news about O2 later in the week, just initial report was a bit upsetting.
LJW,
DeleteThanks, That's what I thought was the answer, but wasn't sure. I figured there's enough knowledge out there in our readership to answer for me.
Yeah, that initial report was upsetting all the way around.
Was that Little Juvat's Wife Actual? If so, we are so happy to hear about the continued good fortune and progress. You're in all our prayers.
DeleteHey, I know the start date on #3!!! Very familiar timing there.... ;) I concur with Beans. What we deem setbacks may be God's way of protecting us. I've had inane little things delay me only to see an accident on the way. I was 10-15 minutes behind an assassination in Houston. He was DRT* in a brown and tan '78 Olds 88. I drove by in a brown and tan '78 Olds 88. He was hanging out and leaking all down the side of it..... I don't remember what the delay was, but "thank you Lord" anyway.
ReplyDeleteThat nook..... should have picked up some of that epoxy while it was wet....... and added a string to it from the ceiling. That way, it'll just swing away.... and probably swing back and give her a black eye..... never mind.
STxAR,
DeleteHoly Cow! I'd say you used up a large chunk of your lifetime supply of Luck there. Or, alternatively, when you get the chance sometime far in the future, you should buy your Guardian Angel a beer or several.
Nah, I use that time as relaxation time. I don't have to think or do very much to keep her happy and that gets my blood pressure down a bit. Win/Win.
My dad was the same way, able to skate out of situations that no mere mortal could skate. Like the time he was in Miami right after the Revolution in Cuba and was eating at a brand-new Cuban restaurant, left, got a block away and the restaurant blew up. Seems there was a lot of, ah, er, gang-v-gang, clan-v-clan and Republic-v-nottotalmarxist violence in Miami at the time.
DeleteI've experienced that, too. Many a "I just don't want to go out now or today" moments where, yep, stuff done occurred that would have impacted me if I didn't have that feeling. Same with Mrs. Andrew. And the one day she ignored it she cracked the engine block of her motorcycle through her leg on the way to work when some jerk ran her over.
HE can't affect big changes anymore. That's part of the whole 'Him dying on the cross' thing. But subtle hints and reminders can and do occur. Or our brains just process lots of background information that we are unaware of. Or both. Or it's space aliens or something.
That desk is incredible, really nice work juvat.
ReplyDeleteBad news about Miss B not being able to travel, OTOH, Hong Kong is now part of a country that we might go to war with in the next decade. Family together is nice, in a potential warzone, not so much. God will reveal.
Grandchild #3? Awesome!
Sarge,
DeleteThanks, yeah, I'm pretty happy with it.
The travel thing is one of those Lose/Potential lose situations. The losing paternal input is a reality and bad. The Potential lose of being in a warzone is not a certainty (yet) but, you're right, would be much, much worse. Like I said, the Big Guy has a plan, hasn't chosen to share it with us yet.
Thanks, we're all pretty excited. My initial recommendation for a Male name was unanimously disapproved. I mean, what's wrong with Herkimer Aloysius?
At least in these modern times the speed of communications is usually only the speed of light. And if Little Juvat has access to a sat phone, well, little to no amount of jamming by the Godless ChiComs can stop that. So zooming and skyping and whatever else the kids these days can do.
DeleteIt's not like the bad old days of the pre-1990's when written communications were the norm.
And it's also a good indication when things will go sideways, when the now-normal electronic comms go wonky, which is why having access to a satphone might be a good thing. Wonder how much satphone service is? Oh, look, Iridium is about $110 a month, sans phone I believe. That can get expensive quick but might be a 'prepper' thing LJ can do for security if he and LJW so deem. That whole '2 is 1, 1 is none' thingy, dontcha know. And a lot of sat phones can serve as an internet link.
Hmm.. Come on, Mr. Musk, bring out Starlink Sat Phones...
Beans,
DeleteFunny you should mention Brother Elon and Starlink. Our Starlink connection has been down for a couple of weeks. Put in the help request right after it happened. Finally got a response today. There's a whole Starlink status website. One of the threads on it says the Rooskies are jamming it because of Elon's support of the Ukrainians. I suppose it's possible. who knows in this day and age.
I hope the State Dept has an EFM program like the military, although faster progress for Miss B is the prayer target.
ReplyDeleteTuna,
DeleteAs I understand it, the State Dept does have a similar program although smaller and it piggybacks off the DOD's capabilities. That's the big reason behind the review board and the process. And probably the reason behind the time line. Agreed, prayers are better/more reliable at this point.
Probably more difficult with State though since so many postings are OCONUS.
DeleteAgreed!
Delete#1 The desk is gorgeous! Good job!
ReplyDelete#2. So glad Miss B is gaining weight and rolling over! I hope a fix can be found to reunite the family sooner.
#3. Congratulations on the next grandchild!!
Mary F.
DeleteThanks, I'm pretty happy with it, and Mrs. J is VERY happy, which is always a good thing.
Thanks on both #2 and 3. Don't know what the right answer is for #2, but...
That's my response above. Not sure why it didn't recognize me...
ReplyDeleteMary,
DeleteBlogger is sometimes, well, let's just say, Finicky!
Congrats on finishing the table, looks great! And good/bad on
ReplyDeleteThanks OldNFO, appreciate it.
DeleteGah, hit enter too soon! The little one vs the State Dept is a no win, sadly...
ReplyDeleteNow, I've NEVER, EVER, NEVER done that. Well not in the last half hour anyhow!
DeleteUnfortunately, I think you're probably right.
Beautiful desk!! And very efficient of you to combine 3 gift giving occasions into one!! Giggle...after all there was more than a little competition for your time...speaking of which...
ReplyDeleteYup, preemies get to age in 2 ways cause they are playing catch up...although it sounds like Miss B is keeping up her awesome progress with doing the turn-over exercise. Now ya have to watch out--as soon as she realizes those arms and legs can propel her across the floor, she will be on the move!!! So far as chase the Nuk--look at it this way--you will get all your steps in, plus keep your flexibility and core strength up doing all those bend-overs. She is just doing her darnest to keep ya in good health!!
I would agree on the potential benefit of the family staying in the US for right now...things just look waaaay too weird to be hanging out anyways close to the "Far East". God knows what he's doing, so start looking around for the window that is opened since that big ol' door was shut.
Fingers crossed all continues to go well with #3!!! That is awesome!!!!
And yes, my first thought about the method of translocation on the desk was "call a mover". I never realized they would do "little things" like help ya move stuff around inside your house, always thought they would just do the moving from house A to house B across town/city/country type stuff. Found out different when I moved my last time, which was the first time I ever used a mover. Sounds like you have good contacts all set up.
Suz
Suz,
DeleteThanks, I think, however, I'm not going to bring the 3'fer up. Might be pushing the envelope too much.
Short of being a bit smaller than her cousin (the only recent new baby experience I have) and of course the breathing/feeding tubes, she seems to be fairly normal. A bit fussy at times, smiles a lot, poops/pees/pukes pretty much regularly. And the Docs all are happy with her progress. Mom does have an appointment with a different pulmonary team just to see what they say. We'll see.
I see your point about HK. No good answer's there. We'll have to see what we will see when the time comes.
Re:#3 Yeah, we're pretty happy about that. 15 months ago we were wondering if we were EVER going to have GrandKids. Now...Well, Thank You, Lord!
We've used these guys several times, both for whole house moves (to our property and to our new home) as well as moving smaller loads that just take a couple of hours and a small truck. Good guys and we know most of them, so got a pretty good confidence level in them.
Thanks, Suz
Juvat, I too am in awe of your ability to spin one present into three separate occasions. This is husbanding at its finest! (And the desk looks super cool as well).
ReplyDeleteGreat news on Miss B, bummer on health impact. Hopefully something can be worked out - to your point, when Nighean Gheal returned to Honk Honk two years after she was there the first time, it was different - the difference in that case largely being due to The Plague.
And many congratulations on Grandhild Number 3!
THBB,
DeleteIt is indeed a rare talent. A lot of things going on and not much time or bodies to take care of them. But, Thanks, Mrs. J is in agreement with you as to the final product.
I think the answer on the HK thing is not to worry about it too much. The primary focus is Miss B getting the Breathing thing fixed. Once that's established, then we'll see what the options and risks are. Never make a decision before it's required.
Thanks, we're looking forward to meeting the youngster.
Just a whole bunch of awesomeness in that post. Congrats and best wishes!
ReplyDelete