Day 16 - Part 2

Tuesday, November 11, 2008
10:30:28 PM/22:30:39

Today is Veteran's Day here in the United States. In Downieville, all the living members of the United States Armed Forces (both current and former) gathered in front of the bell/siren tower and had their celebration. Most of the people present were in Vietnam. However, there were 2 people present that served in WW2, one of them being Gene Schutt. Dr. Frank Lang, who wore his dress blues from the USAF for the commemoration ceremony, led the celebration events, as well as had a little 'program' during the dinner that was served at the Grubsteak Restaurant. Two current members of the US Army were present, one of whom literally just returned from the front line in Iraq (less than a month ago), and another of whom had returned within the past 3 months from his third tour in Iraq. It was interesting to listen to these people talk about both the current conflicts and ones long past. I tried my best to pay close attention, but given all the noise, my ears were not willing to fully cooperate, thus, I had to have Jerry fill me in on the parts I missed. Overall, it was a good day. I could say that something other than rain would have been more appropriate, but then again, to the men and women who served in the armed forces, rain was the least of the worries they've had to face in their lives.

With the house finally in living order, Jerry and I have been able to begin seriously looking at colors of paints, types of carpeting, and exterior highlights. We've chosen to repaint the entire house white again, as it will be both a painstaking and perilous chore to try and paint the lower 4 feet of the home's river front, for there is not but a large shrubbery line of California Blackberry bushes, and overly thick Pussy Willow bushes below the back deck. We went into Grass Valley today so we could get some groceries, and wound up hitting the B&C Hardware store before we went shopping at the market. At the B&C we found two very nice porch lights. One for the side and the other for the front. We also found a good selection of door knobs, handles and locks, as well as the brass kick plate for the bottom of the front door, which we intend on painting a color that will match the overall trim of the home. I was hoping to get a more modern looking door, or possibly one that had a better window on it. However, being able to paint it and restore the original door will also suffice. With any luck, we'll be able to find a very nice screen door to put on the back door area, and a good solid basement door so that we won't have to body slam the basement door just trying to open it, much less have to have the never-ending fear of literally busting through the thin center panelling.