A room with not much of a view

Once again Thomas and I set out for Chicago. We used Simon's new SAAB and, given its history of going into "limp mode", I was more than a little anxious about making the drive. Plus, we had strapped Thomas's bike on the back and, because the seals on the car doors are so damn well made, the bike rack hooks prevented the hatch door from closing completely, which made alarming alarm bells and flashing dashboard lights go off at random moments during the drive. (Not completely random--only when I was having to make a snap decision, like swerving out of the way of a semi truck, or trying to navigate downtown Chicago's 10 loop freeway exchange system. But I digress...) As has been mentioned before, Thomas is a harsh task master: no permission granted to fill up the gas tank ("Gas costs too much in Michigan--wait until we get to Indiana where it is cheaper." (How, our readers may ask themselves, could Thomas possibly know regional gas prices? Good question.) Then, when we got to Indiana and Thomas begrudgingly allowed me to stop to use a bathroom, he again refused to tolerate time to be taken to put gas in the car. ("Are you crazy? The tank is half full! Keep going!") First thing I am doing once I ditch him tomorrow is fill up the damn gas tank. Other than the alarming car noises, the drive was relatively uneventful. The first 10 minutes were the most exciting, when I almost drove completely off the freeway on ramp (I was trying to help Thomas figure out why the cd player wasn't working) and I almost rear ended a San Franciso trolley. (Why was a SF trolley on the freeway anyway?) Then next hour was quiet and then we drove into a massive rain storm--visibility was zero, mainly because I had no idea how to work the windshield wipers. I did figure then out by the time the storm passed---they work mirror image to the way mine do in my car. After that, the drive was quiet. I had brought along some tea to drink and Thomas groused, "Where's my tea?" I had in fact bought myself two bottles of tea but gave one to him without complaint. I then started eating an apple and Thomas immediately whined, "Where's my apple?" I HAD brought along (for myself) two apples, but without hesitation, pointed to the second apple I had brought and offered it to him. He picked it up and grimaced, "You took the better one!" Around dinner time at home, middle of the day Chicago time, we arrived at our usual hotel. I parked in the usual parking lot (which Simon has recorded in previous blogs if you are dying to remind yourself of what a parking lot in Chicago looks like). We did not get our usual 11th floor room, but a room on the 3rd floor. Here it is:

Thomas refused to enter the hotel with me when I went to check in because he was convinced they wouldn't allow bicycles in. So, he stood by the car keep watch on the bike while I got the "all clear." Not only do they tolerate bikes (I would think so, at the rate they charge per room) but the doorman held the door open for me as I wheeled the bike in.) Thomas complained that I had taken the better bed (I had taken the one farther from the bathroom, figuring he'd want to be there since he stays up many hours later than I do) and the outlet I had chosen (despite the fact that he has two outlets right near his bed).  Sheesh.  The manager who checked me in said that, while our room "doesn't have much of a view" it is "very quiet."  He wasn't kidding about the lack of view:

So far the noise levels strike me as utterly average.

After checking in, Thomas mandated that we "rest" (which seemed to be him gaming) for 30 minutes before going out to eat.  (As usual, he claimed he wasn't hungry in the least yet polished his plate.)  Then we went to the car to (a) make sure I had locked it properly and (b) open it up to root out a shirt for Thomas to wear tomorrow and (c) lock it up again.
Tomorrow the plan is: get up, eat breakfast, Thomas go to his dorm and check in, he gives me the "all clear" signal and I drive over with his stuff, we load it into those giant boxes on wheels, he moves in to his room while I park the car again and check out of the hotel, and then we shop at Target to get everything we didn't bring (milk, butter, little cheeses...). Then, if weather cooperates I'll be home before Flint dinner time.

Thomas sets off back to Chicago

He's traveling a lot lighter this year so it turns out we STILL haven't used the roof rack.

The Duck House Gets a New Door

This is actually the second new door Jami made.  The first one was too fragile and the chickens broke it when they sat on it.

Starting the kitchen make over

Upgrading the kitchen is long overdue. The problem was that we really didn't have a bright idea of how to do it until just a few months ago. We decided to get rid of the normal fridge and get an under the counter fridge and an under the counter freezer. I am certain that that would give us enough space, but Simon was unconvinced, so we got a HUGE fridge/freezer in the basement.

Ugh--this is only a small portion of the grunt under the fridge. Most of it was dragged across the floor by the Lowes fridge removal people.

Here is the basement fridge. Right now it is very inconvenient to run up and down the stairs every time we need cold food, but it is good exercise!

The plan is to get someone (but who??) to pull out two cabinets, then call an electrician to install an outlet in the wall where the cabinets were, and THEN get to Lowes tp get the fridge and freezer installed. THEN we are going to build shelves to get everything off our counters...and THEN we are going to paint and redo the floors....

Brighton High School

That's Brighton, MICHIGAN, of course.  A wealthy small town close to Ann Arbor.  I'll be teaching a class there at 7:45 IN THE MORNING all this coming semester, so I took a drive down there to check it out.  The drive's not bad - 40 minutes, almost all freeway - and at least this isn't happening in the Winter Semester, but there will be MUCH GRUMBLING when it's pitch black when I'm getting up at 6 to drive down there...

 This is the room I'll be teaching in.  The door was locked, so I had to take this through the tiny window in it.  (I was led here by a helpful lad who claimed he was old for his year and would be a Freshman this year (but knew the layout of the place because he has two older sisters).  He was about half Frederick's height and looked to my eyes about ten.  I said I hoped he was in for a growth spurt, which, in retrospect, was pretty tactless, but he agreed cheerfully enough.  The place was full of newcomers as today is the day for registering for this year.)

It's room C12.

This gives you a taste of what Brighton is like:

 "London Beauty"?  Clearly nobody has watched Eastenders.

Painting the stairwell

When we bought our house in 1999, we bought it off a couple who bought up old houses to renovate and flip.  We are eternally grateful to them for giving it a new roof (still going strong) and all new double-glazed windows (likewise) but they also painted the whole place with super-cheap white paint.  We quickly painted all the downstairs rooms, and did Thomas's rooms in sky blue and grass green (since replaced) but never bothered with our room or the landing/stairwell.  We fixed the former a couple of months ago and liked the creamy color we chose so much that we have finally come to the stairwell.  Here is me struggling to reach the really tricky high parts.

Or something.

Roof rack!

After splashing out and getting the fuel gauge on my new (to me, actually 2007) Saab 93 fixed (for $350!!!) I couldn't resist splashing out on a roof rack.  I have long harbored the desire to get a kayak for Frederick and me to row around things (or down the Flint River) and now there's nothing stopping me!  (Except my natural miserliness about spending money.)  It will also be useful at the end of the month when the time comes to ferry Thomas and all his worldly goods back to Chicago.

This is the Saab dealership - one of the few remaining in Michigan, and conveniently located next to the nearest Meijer.  The roofrack was apparently one of only 4 left in the US, and made in Poland, apparently, even though all Saabs, including mine, were made in Sweden.  The nice man who attached it said in the good old days all American Saab dealers got flown out to Trondheim and shown the factory, including a hangar under a mountain, and given a massive feast featuring 7 different glasses for 7 different beverages.  That was before GM bought it, GM lost it, the Swedish government bought it, and then sold its assets (but not its name) to a Chinese firm.  So now you know.

Thomas in Devon

These all date back to August 13th, before Thomas left for Granny and The North.  They're either in Lydford Gorge or a place called Grimspound (sounds very similar to the Famous Grimpen Mire of Hound of the Baskervilles.  Thomas is playing the Hound.)