tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81241589514718311852024-03-14T05:11:55.139-07:00John IwaniszekJohn Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-57803623125291104302012-02-05T08:55:00.000-08:002012-02-05T09:00:16.280-08:00<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /></span>I am going to add some shelving in the basement to clean up the canning/brewing section of the junk pile.<br /><br />Here is a preliminary drawing with the shelves based on the ones I built in 2009 you can see in <a href="http://iwaniszek.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-cantilever-not-cantilever.html">this post right here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a1g4M_UwOBSD_eK88gyRGCuG_1bAA7-Hp_F3jjUpinvr7kHht2IGdRM1Pv58yFSrJ1yuALz5vDJcVINf9CQ54gkSQyK-F9P9PFj_1b-_NOaQrAYxGo3y7c2NnRcaza9V-QQlBXc6uugo/s1600/shelves.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 577px; height: 439px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a1g4M_UwOBSD_eK88gyRGCuG_1bAA7-Hp_F3jjUpinvr7kHht2IGdRM1Pv58yFSrJ1yuALz5vDJcVINf9CQ54gkSQyK-F9P9PFj_1b-_NOaQrAYxGo3y7c2NnRcaza9V-QQlBXc6uugo/s200/shelves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705697004164246674" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-4917281477966230792012-01-28T07:55:00.000-08:002012-01-28T08:13:33.861-08:00Susan and I met for Yoga practice Thursday after work. We went to this nice little sidewalk cafe after called Cafe Caturra. I had a half sammich with chilli and Susan had lamb meatballs which were delicious.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjdgFRVeo5R71LVSL9Ljt4-6Ht_6w8olZ1NA61DBMydXviIVaSKIVNXeiRfQqj76ED3No_JvaHgwBIQx76HazL6_Vt9eIe_iGxylT-5dEpKo3SGUqFo3G1Pin01jaUPk0G6hLEMPQAdyA/s1600/P1260014.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjdgFRVeo5R71LVSL9Ljt4-6Ht_6w8olZ1NA61DBMydXviIVaSKIVNXeiRfQqj76ED3No_JvaHgwBIQx76HazL6_Vt9eIe_iGxylT-5dEpKo3SGUqFo3G1Pin01jaUPk0G6hLEMPQAdyA/s200/P1260014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702714202176150434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPfDTRcZZRavuCK1TPloQt0W7NBWk7U-Ezq_1AtBhj6K-XRJmP1VJOonUyh34VQLUmHlefzl4xV7z_XhQD06WzRb4Oxfp7BvTfQ1ZSwS0YccleIm8CLK12PcMrAX6mCnpUt4FRAiQvpW6/s1600/P1260003.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPfDTRcZZRavuCK1TPloQt0W7NBWk7U-Ezq_1AtBhj6K-XRJmP1VJOonUyh34VQLUmHlefzl4xV7z_XhQD06WzRb4Oxfp7BvTfQ1ZSwS0YccleIm8CLK12PcMrAX6mCnpUt4FRAiQvpW6/s200/P1260003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702714176992747346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsHqW2VCn47qLNWhsNeBBNPyaEAw9m0fe_aTzdrpEEvOopHH9LF69Swl1JYbcfHiUjCpJmv2Ycp6516EmLFMjuNF2sYn9Zcl5buule6fx1w41R2pmidF-uUnLBU2rYc_zBZW2x8TAaLFW/s1600/P1260015.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsHqW2VCn47qLNWhsNeBBNPyaEAw9m0fe_aTzdrpEEvOopHH9LF69Swl1JYbcfHiUjCpJmv2Ycp6516EmLFMjuNF2sYn9Zcl5buule6fx1w41R2pmidF-uUnLBU2rYc_zBZW2x8TAaLFW/s200/P1260015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702714207338644402" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-79265691764461558582012-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:002012-01-25T16:30:02.329-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHyxfqv84XNhiZPlxp7WOjGjGT8dAzkvwIVBmABcPM4vKX7qtaQzlen76lOZBtHego19UfbiGu9SE468RIo-6zdxXs9mCpi4kVgbkTsNB1p8jek6b6Bq8a4KddNRtzzDxTBjC1IAp5P-G/s1600/daily+times+001.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHyxfqv84XNhiZPlxp7WOjGjGT8dAzkvwIVBmABcPM4vKX7qtaQzlen76lOZBtHego19UfbiGu9SE468RIo-6zdxXs9mCpi4kVgbkTsNB1p8jek6b6Bq8a4KddNRtzzDxTBjC1IAp5P-G/s200/daily+times+001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701729345997870002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-xlM56cWaRsAyx0K5Yvigjc8SZZ6n0z0_0lkdfEJPq9_tvdrybTztFI8iIcHt_m9kEiVu0o0wywxUxbL-6ySStbWwLzJicJ19-UQtIpEmhsU4TkrtVUaLPSY6FyWV8CjWCA3xUEAFCOU/s1600/daily+times+007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-xlM56cWaRsAyx0K5Yvigjc8SZZ6n0z0_0lkdfEJPq9_tvdrybTztFI8iIcHt_m9kEiVu0o0wywxUxbL-6ySStbWwLzJicJ19-UQtIpEmhsU4TkrtVUaLPSY6FyWV8CjWCA3xUEAFCOU/s200/daily+times+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730091003070354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeP4VhCXDwFfSCnXNuazA1s7lcttJaEvO1NCqh5grE5_R1nZx_mB36jBmMGF-fO7HCoI1pt5K3vlUPJNGptwaF6bwobPf-aKlAkKuGBcLZ6xG2wC4TmuDy18nKoaJwGxIO1k0OzJGTPKy/s1600/daily+times+006.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeP4VhCXDwFfSCnXNuazA1s7lcttJaEvO1NCqh5grE5_R1nZx_mB36jBmMGF-fO7HCoI1pt5K3vlUPJNGptwaF6bwobPf-aKlAkKuGBcLZ6xG2wC4TmuDy18nKoaJwGxIO1k0OzJGTPKy/s200/daily+times+006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730073886912050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUZtJ-ZCmGxhEqurJdFZMpQsqq7J2qwbo9r2pIqzop1Bk5Zol1w3QaryDqih_ju_UjiZ27LrFjQlutwO9NmtQ-ao1m7PAu5sIDo0pGeDgvYXC9YFXZIhLqyQho4TMEQSx4XWV6Tons7Na/s1600/daily+times+004.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUZtJ-ZCmGxhEqurJdFZMpQsqq7J2qwbo9r2pIqzop1Bk5Zol1w3QaryDqih_ju_UjiZ27LrFjQlutwO9NmtQ-ao1m7PAu5sIDo0pGeDgvYXC9YFXZIhLqyQho4TMEQSx4XWV6Tons7Na/s200/daily+times+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730069237091698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAeV4ovjwkqe5mLdU4zOIqMNKe0FC1UObWFi5Cm1T89_r5NPL13K8ddIhLpb0nDK5KZTDUBcuBZEvsmBGjZSr-VNDgkUxkSxWxUCY4laDIvoin0O736ahXBG3_Gt-LxB3ArGOni6EOoj2/s1600/daily+times+003.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAeV4ovjwkqe5mLdU4zOIqMNKe0FC1UObWFi5Cm1T89_r5NPL13K8ddIhLpb0nDK5KZTDUBcuBZEvsmBGjZSr-VNDgkUxkSxWxUCY4laDIvoin0O736ahXBG3_Gt-LxB3ArGOni6EOoj2/s200/daily+times+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730023150901922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uwnp1CeKUjtip66JHq-3p8l0hSMW-G8WhuyA80Eb4RI61MwfMYnSlHB0PHyqrs1hszx-34MFIEWbV-RgGOfRnTxYxEU3f64UDj099nqINnM4kuSHzOuFBPrktvPEE7dJCFPzNpxcoEnN/s1600/daily+times+008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uwnp1CeKUjtip66JHq-3p8l0hSMW-G8WhuyA80Eb4RI61MwfMYnSlHB0PHyqrs1hszx-34MFIEWbV-RgGOfRnTxYxEU3f64UDj099nqINnM4kuSHzOuFBPrktvPEE7dJCFPzNpxcoEnN/s200/daily+times+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730103937200498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHyxfqv84XNhiZPlxp7WOjGjGT8dAzkvwIVBmABcPM4vKX7qtaQzlen76lOZBtHego19UfbiGu9SE468RIo-6zdxXs9mCpi4kVgbkTsNB1p8jek6b6Bq8a4KddNRtzzDxTBjC1IAp5P-G/s1600/daily+times+001.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9rLN8d0XVZecSpSzb114lDCyQYbGAqHYeg2i3TbH62SqEtRljG3XdDpiATb-Dl13fY2CdbFmefEccOMYeIA87vYjdObyWvbX2uiMSZNyGpwFjCj6i3w2KAzXILhl2OK_8Q0IetiuxK9P/s1600/daily+times+002.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9rLN8d0XVZecSpSzb114lDCyQYbGAqHYeg2i3TbH62SqEtRljG3XdDpiATb-Dl13fY2CdbFmefEccOMYeIA87vYjdObyWvbX2uiMSZNyGpwFjCj6i3w2KAzXILhl2OK_8Q0IetiuxK9P/s200/daily+times+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701729503673881074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszYB58nVV4JcOJGNDgTpfBrYY7Q2amMvAEyYo_Gs61AOOJSgrRm8kYR2l9jX9X7jG-Vqx4uhyphenhyphenKGkMemtA_FfjagcnvvzLB6GgT5OhaZqAIkePAjv6W_siJ_x6AsJqcG6FuCn2orwBORHr/s1600/daily+times+009.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszYB58nVV4JcOJGNDgTpfBrYY7Q2amMvAEyYo_Gs61AOOJSgrRm8kYR2l9jX9X7jG-Vqx4uhyphenhyphenKGkMemtA_FfjagcnvvzLB6GgT5OhaZqAIkePAjv6W_siJ_x6AsJqcG6FuCn2orwBORHr/s200/daily+times+009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701730265897057234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Michael and I went to the book fair at his school (Centennial Middle School) and then went to Raleigh Times for burgers and a pint. We had good time relaxing and I took these snaps.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszYB58nVV4JcOJGNDgTpfBrYY7Q2amMvAEyYo_Gs61AOOJSgrRm8kYR2l9jX9X7jG-Vqx4uhyphenhyphenKGkMemtA_FfjagcnvvzLB6GgT5OhaZqAIkePAjv6W_siJ_x6AsJqcG6FuCn2orwBORHr/s1600/daily+times+009.JPG"></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-53043211033351888822012-01-21T07:47:00.000-08:002012-02-05T09:14:41.250-08:00How to Make BreadThis is my bread formula:<br /><br />1120 gms flour<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqPe4tKujfVp8z4ruwqmaLmSOkJHu2QbNIeShyphenhyphenpBpiUsp65-B4oPFIIjIC22xDc8AU47NcbqK6Fxy9AsoZpNFEJIBg0DAKcoqB09aurEgJJtjeIvt1eS2LSJPvSq98ACpBmiXeu2c0CW3/s1600/flour.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqPe4tKujfVp8z4ruwqmaLmSOkJHu2QbNIeShyphenhyphenpBpiUsp65-B4oPFIIjIC22xDc8AU47NcbqK6Fxy9AsoZpNFEJIBg0DAKcoqB09aurEgJJtjeIvt1eS2LSJPvSq98ACpBmiXeu2c0CW3/s200/flour.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700115572864591170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />One tablespoon each yeast and salt<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hpBLjqBvtMvKaZaKLIterw-i6KSNoaFQE5a09h7oZEzs_MMPjCVxmf8iQiYyNS2GtbGLdqsZYrswi1QhpX-PxBMtqMobc4YeT0zQEwfeqqjDuX4xuz8dIbCEDIbXVdZ64mNzbQOlCCwb/s1600/yeast+and+salt.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hpBLjqBvtMvKaZaKLIterw-i6KSNoaFQE5a09h7oZEzs_MMPjCVxmf8iQiYyNS2GtbGLdqsZYrswi1QhpX-PxBMtqMobc4YeT0zQEwfeqqjDuX4xuz8dIbCEDIbXVdZ64mNzbQOlCCwb/s200/yeast+and+salt.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700115932610146370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />700 gms water<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-za_HntW0v2QQVi7IsqXwwIeECNBbcXriaGzcKjgBvR8_DK_EacCUnzCGhi0bO0Jk2PVSEFqcgih6F5znb79Xona2Sf9Z_P40dTzy7YaeIr_sSdvwSPI7s6fuNNCAmHgWEoN_XMZtZZU/s1600/water.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-za_HntW0v2QQVi7IsqXwwIeECNBbcXriaGzcKjgBvR8_DK_EacCUnzCGhi0bO0Jk2PVSEFqcgih6F5znb79Xona2Sf9Z_P40dTzy7YaeIr_sSdvwSPI7s6fuNNCAmHgWEoN_XMZtZZU/s200/water.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700116352016375330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mix<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEa8YRR8IYpIutxvURmTXIzmREs_ypw4yG1MEMjzgVXmHL3-DFIBuYZs3mCUHKLA5UBMcrR7yv3ir7YcBcoQ3pQVCMhG69VuZmeJNqmQFCrgIO8zDhmyt7gj_PI6GR48vgztD2Cz2zBxH8/s1600/mix.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEa8YRR8IYpIutxvURmTXIzmREs_ypw4yG1MEMjzgVXmHL3-DFIBuYZs3mCUHKLA5UBMcrR7yv3ir7YcBcoQ3pQVCMhG69VuZmeJNqmQFCrgIO8zDhmyt7gj_PI6GR48vgztD2Cz2zBxH8/s200/mix.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700116699994574226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After the dough is mixed cover it with a plate and let it rise on the counter for a few hours until it is quite spongy. Then move it into the refrigerator to ferment for at least a week. After a week, you can start pinching pieces off for loaves. The dough will last in the fridge for around two weeks. The longer the better, but it's best at around a week and a half.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPWEPvdV0pOHLnULmuxQBOzHKczi4dgGU7G2yhgJPNL3Ydj19EgYnmyI1Frs97LmZSQW9KOwl0fystEvo-N27cM5H_3tVXiZm-U2BHow1-opsorpfseTWxvr-XdIxq02nZSexQc8E1WUs/s1600/shaped+loaf.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPWEPvdV0pOHLnULmuxQBOzHKczi4dgGU7G2yhgJPNL3Ydj19EgYnmyI1Frs97LmZSQW9KOwl0fystEvo-N27cM5H_3tVXiZm-U2BHow1-opsorpfseTWxvr-XdIxq02nZSexQc8E1WUs/s200/shaped+loaf.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700117747851552050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There is enough dough in this recipe to make three loaves this size, or five pizzas, or three pizzas and one larger loaf, etc. It is relatively dry loaf fitting in the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/professional/bakers-percentage.html">baker's percentage </a>where the water's weight is 66% of the flour's. This is a batard dough.<br /><br />Let the loaf rise for a few hours (the race is not to the swift but to the sure). When the loaf is risen, preheat the oven to 500 degrees (F). When the oven is ready, score the loaf, put it in the oven (middle is best) and perhaps pour a cup or two of water into a preheated old cast iron skillet dedicated to this purpose.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixntrhR7zlGYtZnI5E3iCj8J62uXe3kIGcn8a_r68x4LvlJVQzvnSWCw9kKTjO7VG5t6zJHRBP7qylf4LOlsvPZeU0so20BlrumTs3jiLcES1hP4-33cfPchF3OrI72Rkm2uRwpbtaqJKQ/s1600/oven.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixntrhR7zlGYtZnI5E3iCj8J62uXe3kIGcn8a_r68x4LvlJVQzvnSWCw9kKTjO7VG5t6zJHRBP7qylf4LOlsvPZeU0so20BlrumTs3jiLcES1hP4-33cfPchF3OrI72Rkm2uRwpbtaqJKQ/s200/oven.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700118860023337458" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In around 30 minutes, this is what will emerge:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem6ulwd5S6zY8E0I9sQ7V07YAzOvTu6dWQnl-po4Hl65bvFXmOo-pxNwSmG03LF2EBbEvL4QD9z0r3t2w5IKqZRogUy-5wzlJ75sNHcystYscWqvlPuJX3o5ydtVhbfMO1p0LtU1d3m-K/s1600/baked+bread.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem6ulwd5S6zY8E0I9sQ7V07YAzOvTu6dWQnl-po4Hl65bvFXmOo-pxNwSmG03LF2EBbEvL4QD9z0r3t2w5IKqZRogUy-5wzlJ75sNHcystYscWqvlPuJX3o5ydtVhbfMO1p0LtU1d3m-K/s200/baked+bread.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700119443678128642" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-18667140478730579392009-08-30T16:14:00.000-07:002009-09-02T10:13:59.480-07:00Repurposed FurnitureRecently, I have been looking for some kind of cabinet to hold all of my home theater gear. I have a plasma TV, a stereo receiver, a CD player, a multi-format compact disc/DVD player, a Computer, and a cable box I need to store in an uncluttered, artful way.<br /><br />I found myself browsing a used furniture store in Raleigh and there I realized that all used media cabinets on the used furniture market were designed for bulky CRT televisions. I needed something that can accommodate a large rectangular monitor and several electronic components, and keep the wiring organized.<br /><br />I thought about modifying some existing furniture, but I was focusing on buffets and sideboards, until I saw an old trestle table that looked like I could retro-fit with a cabinet.<br /><br />I bought the trestle table shown below (after correcting the color with some mahogany stain and slicking on some thinned polyurethane) and added a custom cabinet with matching stain and shelving for all of the components.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g8zs37jfOw99S34tjpoAlsfwsY-ufuHmewn1HYL8_Q8rdATVPTBXv7FLNoS0Om1SB_uWki9RGLdi8EakxbqKT4RFzr6LrQURSriJadcwlBK3H2EvZhYY3DHIhaep0ItrnggJPdGQsUTX/s1600-h/trestle+02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g8zs37jfOw99S34tjpoAlsfwsY-ufuHmewn1HYL8_Q8rdATVPTBXv7FLNoS0Om1SB_uWki9RGLdi8EakxbqKT4RFzr6LrQURSriJadcwlBK3H2EvZhYY3DHIhaep0ItrnggJPdGQsUTX/s400/trestle+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375901538007728386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPNpbWYe2bKkzOp7-9XMyGVWfWkVi8vqOm116eiPCwNHFJCkrmIz6Y1hUPQKfFgVOshCzU2D6nsup9jyNyuVXGWP9C1dcpYe4gcsaJ6RZPxip7zoVEauCtbNFZvH8-Y0jv4H9XEnHGSJY/s1600-h/trestle+01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPNpbWYe2bKkzOp7-9XMyGVWfWkVi8vqOm116eiPCwNHFJCkrmIz6Y1hUPQKfFgVOshCzU2D6nsup9jyNyuVXGWP9C1dcpYe4gcsaJ6RZPxip7zoVEauCtbNFZvH8-Y0jv4H9XEnHGSJY/s400/trestle+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375899767678183650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCllvVt7FQLRiTZ2QZjB2I1rworsD7t9dq8N3FU8K5EFzFI0YIfRqFG2uTo-eZEpggexvgS4fB1QXkLlbJJ3AGcERG7q-FS5-LYSwa8mdmGC_Vxitq4K-QsA5XIVmNw_JFTrpkUpO6Dny4/s1600-h/media+cabinet+01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCllvVt7FQLRiTZ2QZjB2I1rworsD7t9dq8N3FU8K5EFzFI0YIfRqFG2uTo-eZEpggexvgS4fB1QXkLlbJJ3AGcERG7q-FS5-LYSwa8mdmGC_Vxitq4K-QsA5XIVmNw_JFTrpkUpO6Dny4/s400/media+cabinet+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375900669167542578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK3mr9K_HwlK65WlvpFZW__AAIrm-wb6ylvHe8oxpQ8_Ly-bFPvTPMdvdMAm2zF54wKocJyXRWOCgUbvBk1jgVI-RyB9SyHMVA9tFpVo1sNrfF0Y8bdg3GWgXKCLbFOUiwxipRrSgA3SE/s1600-h/media+cabinet+01-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK3mr9K_HwlK65WlvpFZW__AAIrm-wb6ylvHe8oxpQ8_Ly-bFPvTPMdvdMAm2zF54wKocJyXRWOCgUbvBk1jgVI-RyB9SyHMVA9tFpVo1sNrfF0Y8bdg3GWgXKCLbFOUiwxipRrSgA3SE/s400/media+cabinet+01-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376481157225911714" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-8477836820577710152009-06-15T18:27:00.000-07:002009-06-16T18:01:25.622-07:00Lifting RuelOne of the things my mother gave me before she died was a marble bench she purchased to memorialize her close friend, Ruel Smith.<br /><br />Ruel was a very bright and intellectually active man well into his early nineties. He enjoyed playing Risk with his children and elaborate word games with my mother.<br /><br />Earlier in his life Ruel had a strong interest in trains. He designed elaborate model train layouts and acquired a large collection of cars, track, transformers, switches, and circuitry.<br /><br />My mother thought of his interest in trains as his life's dream. She chose to remember him with a stone bench that had a silhouette of a train consisting of an engine, a coal car, and a caboose passing a railroad crossing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ4_u7EPXZrbejnG9xJ4TkLYmOchi5gPOa0OSqCxgz72jExVr1bbNG7KDrID0-mIYeZAhINQvxlmIsSQchv4tuCe_Cp9WRHsqoX7gYtV_BlNMS0I3rJZ__53JLXpAFn6cEGVrxxtAmuGz/s1600-h/mon+centered+ver+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ4_u7EPXZrbejnG9xJ4TkLYmOchi5gPOa0OSqCxgz72jExVr1bbNG7KDrID0-mIYeZAhINQvxlmIsSQchv4tuCe_Cp9WRHsqoX7gYtV_BlNMS0I3rJZ__53JLXpAFn6cEGVrxxtAmuGz/s400/mon+centered+ver+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348069171457062994" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Me, My brother Matthew, and my nephew Kenny loaded the bench onto my truck in Tennessee. However I had no ready team of bulls to unload it here in Raleigh, so I decided to construct a modular hoist frame to use in conjunction with a cable winch to lift the largest piece out of my truck.<br /><br />It took a few weeks to stitch together the time to build the frame. It worked very well as you can see in the photos below.<br /><br />Lifting from the truck bed:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnc4hirYdCXW5MVMS9dNxjAyLFFR_-pXbVsqCpTrohHEZGzOWX-totJ0KeNV-rnYDNOB0idFTkCg_KHe_WvkBUoshyphenhyphenQR2Zih6HLyxH3xrz4Ejn6vfaSrWlARjBsUI2l-ZZdJ8c-agRhF0M/s1600-h/frame+before+lift+01+ver+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnc4hirYdCXW5MVMS9dNxjAyLFFR_-pXbVsqCpTrohHEZGzOWX-totJ0KeNV-rnYDNOB0idFTkCg_KHe_WvkBUoshyphenhyphenQR2Zih6HLyxH3xrz4Ejn6vfaSrWlARjBsUI2l-ZZdJ8c-agRhF0M/s400/frame+before+lift+01+ver+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347739211305562130" border="0" /></a><br />Block suspended in air:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsimFyg50Q9e-Bi2fe89IAZyIX6HJTeHI7i171WSuHsX_0Ze0EkJnlW-9vJCfnEEEwX6ctglpjXtNMvQTqNXBg93Pf7X0ZqToSYK3hoBw1xUlk7wZLaVB3eUdeznWaxg7B2IKofae7P5kM/s1600-h/marble+lifted+truck+moved+ver+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsimFyg50Q9e-Bi2fe89IAZyIX6HJTeHI7i171WSuHsX_0Ze0EkJnlW-9vJCfnEEEwX6ctglpjXtNMvQTqNXBg93Pf7X0ZqToSYK3hoBw1xUlk7wZLaVB3eUdeznWaxg7B2IKofae7P5kM/s400/marble+lifted+truck+moved+ver+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347740172947195458" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-44673794686197575522009-05-26T19:08:00.001-07:002009-05-27T06:05:48.773-07:001941<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuZ0ak2ClEYg77FXj9zZWGwi2LaF-PLED3I35sTdNKT55eamHA488Li8rjHQ8CvZf1AsojOf65nxaKD41BpE3PNhVQWOQLnTQVBxWtFs-W_nyOhEq0fJLBF_czdgjDC7mzTZDKu7y46Gw/s1600-h/gerry+high+school+class+landscp.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuZ0ak2ClEYg77FXj9zZWGwi2LaF-PLED3I35sTdNKT55eamHA488Li8rjHQ8CvZf1AsojOf65nxaKD41BpE3PNhVQWOQLnTQVBxWtFs-W_nyOhEq0fJLBF_czdgjDC7mzTZDKu7y46Gw/s400/gerry+high+school+class+landscp.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340489078956013538" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-77241246516815283602009-05-26T09:35:00.001-07:002009-06-03T10:53:31.612-07:00We Will Remember<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdq1POWl_4RdDggVA6IyFT7oMS0vppYIxNIdzlJgKU0-RzdpdvPRV7KR7VssGSSOx44za0e2T0YAseogag6_B-62tnyGdKnQauNP25VOCcFjPB-HZC9bgUaupF4TYoo9Bu0v3DG3YUURm/s1600-h/Gerrie+profile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdq1POWl_4RdDggVA6IyFT7oMS0vppYIxNIdzlJgKU0-RzdpdvPRV7KR7VssGSSOx44za0e2T0YAseogag6_B-62tnyGdKnQauNP25VOCcFjPB-HZC9bgUaupF4TYoo9Bu0v3DG3YUURm/s400/Gerrie+profile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340172615926519714" border="0" /></a>Geraldine Patricia<br />Kelly Iwaniszek Steele<br /><br />23 February 1927<br />to<br />22 May 2009<br /><br />Daughter<br />Sister<br />Wife<br />Mother<br />Grandmother<br />Great-Grandmother<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Preceded in Death by her Parents Samuel Asbury Kelly and Bessie Mai Kelly; Brothers Michael Kelly, Curtis Denton, and Raymond Denton; and Son Samuel Stephen.<br /></div></div><br />Geraldine is survived by her Sons John Richard Iwaniszek and Matthew James Iwaniszek, her Daughter Elizabeth Anne Iwaniszek Richmond Wells, and Step-Son Steve Steele.<br /><br />In addition to the children Geraldine bore, she accepted into her fold Peggy, Susan, and Kathy Hisey, Jim Long, Her brother Raymond Denton’s surviving children:<span style=""> </span>Charles, Karl, Sandra, and Steven.<br /><br />Her Daughter-In-Laws Susan Adams (John) and Opal (Matthew), and Son-n-Law David (Elizabeth) were a source of great satisfaction for the contentment of her children.<br /><br />Geraldine was a passionate believer in the existence and example of The Christ, Jesus, of the Christian Bible.<span style=""> </span>She strived, though often fell short, to live her life in the way she believed Jesus prescribed.<span style=""> </span>The scripture she quoted the most, either in song or her own hand were The Lord’s Prayer and Corinthians 13.<br /><br />She often sang The Lord’s Prayer in church choir:<br /><br /><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoBodyText2"><span style=""> </span>Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. </p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">Give us this day our daily bread<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. <o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">Give us this day our daily bread. <o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color:red;"><br /><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">…And while the Lord’s Prayer defined her posture and faith in Christianity, she found that the following from Corinthians 13 defined her motivation to nurture, shelter, and clothe the many people who found themselves in her care:</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color:red;"><p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"> <sup>1</sup>Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"> <sup>2</sup>And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"> <sup>3</sup>And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"> <sup>4</sup>Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"> <sup>5</sup>Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;</span></p></span><p style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"><sup>6</sup>Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 102);"><sup style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-family: times new roman;">7</sup><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:times new roman;" >Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all thing</span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /><span style="color:red;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color:red;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Geraldine’s Message to Her Loved Ones</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">“Words of advice to my loved ones:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Hate no one, you can hate actions, life-style, etc, but not the person; he or she is a child of God even as you and I are.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Never go to bed angry.<span style=""> </span>If you want to continue an argument, postpone it ‘til tomorrow, but love each other all night.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Reach your hand out (as you are able to do so) to the poor and the needy as Our Savior taught us to do when the opportunity presents itself for if you don’t<span style=""> </span>the chance may never come again and you will regret it the rest of your life.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Take care of the land and god’s creatures.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center">Don’t be afraid to love people as this costs nothing to you but is priceless to the recipient.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">When you leave, leave it in better shape than you found it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color:red;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Continue to love one another and when you think of me, think of the happy and funny times.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color:red;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I love you all.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" align="center"><span>- Geraldine Steele 20 April 2009</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color:red;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://costablanca-anglicanchaplaincy.org/Images/birdofpeaceClipArt.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 181px;" src="http://costablanca-anglicanchaplaincy.org/Images/birdofpeaceClipArt.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span></p></span></p>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-38284199452256135252009-02-25T16:51:00.000-08:002009-02-25T17:08:57.993-08:00The Tap RootHere are some more pictures. This is Stephan Iwaniszek and Victoria Yaz. These are the two people who founded the Iwaniszek family here in the United States. Stefan immigrated from a small Ukrainian village call Lukowe in 1900. When he came here he was already 40 years old. He married Victoria and proceeded to produce 10 children (two sons and eight daughters).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqX9pZa4bzuyVs2zfScUZKM94EuJlEXtnG9dH-i1X2yS9VwmuxeRZ7peGd796LbaYsqziy6za_k-Cih90uMgT4D3nNQ7XEWzqD1SnWCkEiv22QB0zZNzy67Y3mKTDm4wix_PJVWcDZQNAa/s1600-h/stefan01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqX9pZa4bzuyVs2zfScUZKM94EuJlEXtnG9dH-i1X2yS9VwmuxeRZ7peGd796LbaYsqziy6za_k-Cih90uMgT4D3nNQ7XEWzqD1SnWCkEiv22QB0zZNzy67Y3mKTDm4wix_PJVWcDZQNAa/s400/stefan01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306905875893452146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipG07ycRCCJxXZq7P-bGyAUYkgavQ6z4c3DksHiPBWuPQxARAOFHNQo7bx4curdAQ8mlV2MUsfIhOvFvOHL-6mn-cn4IKKB0FJHfUH2Dvvd-FVUNVoaG5hb4ZO5zmCaE9QhFbggTBd86E2/s1600-h/victoria01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipG07ycRCCJxXZq7P-bGyAUYkgavQ6z4c3DksHiPBWuPQxARAOFHNQo7bx4curdAQ8mlV2MUsfIhOvFvOHL-6mn-cn4IKKB0FJHfUH2Dvvd-FVUNVoaG5hb4ZO5zmCaE9QhFbggTBd86E2/s400/victoria01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306905953140524786" border="0" /></a><br />He was killed in a hit and run accident while he was on his way to work in the coal mines. He was probably in his mid-60's at that time.<br /><br />Victoria lived into the 1950's and my mother and father took care of her until she died. The three of them are pictured below one fall day in Livonia Michigan, a long time ago in a world that is very different from today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElWzVBi8CUhORUWv7gfH8xTpzF3SMMUY0ithcXE0QU1ZBg2ZyKef_QgSEEQtxihmr9-lBMoNukMLMRBu-iXrqdsxsmz1uOab5JYYuvfOwh-qYzt1l95OQR_TXEJaMq8IThjVfTcGdqcCe/s1600-h/john_victoria_gerry.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 369px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElWzVBi8CUhORUWv7gfH8xTpzF3SMMUY0ithcXE0QU1ZBg2ZyKef_QgSEEQtxihmr9-lBMoNukMLMRBu-iXrqdsxsmz1uOab5JYYuvfOwh-qYzt1l95OQR_TXEJaMq8IThjVfTcGdqcCe/s400/john_victoria_gerry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306906049954866258" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-14632397890462609012009-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:002009-02-25T16:38:56.428-08:00The Roots<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4AnB97gwz64ak5hX4cXEZ2GwDRTxoq_rRey3OanSTFSktFcwLFmsABg9RDYCeKWldJugYdcGpG4vcvF8gFSEb7tCjmNmtX-YeJhcIMI7AO2ArCgnzRCVqgnwSDwnozP9YNh3jSWh3VOh/s1600-h/john_adam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4AnB97gwz64ak5hX4cXEZ2GwDRTxoq_rRey3OanSTFSktFcwLFmsABg9RDYCeKWldJugYdcGpG4vcvF8gFSEb7tCjmNmtX-YeJhcIMI7AO2ArCgnzRCVqgnwSDwnozP9YNh3jSWh3VOh/s400/john_adam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306178011924174770" border="0" /></a><br />The two dapper young men you see above are John and Adam Iwaniszek. They were the only sons of Stephan Iwaniszek, Ukranian immigrant, and Victoria Yaz, of Krakow.<br /><br />John, my father, was born in 1922, and as of this writing is still alive. Adam, born in 1912, died in the early 70's. This picture was taken in Livonia, Michigan after World War II.<br /><br />The two branches of the Iwaniszek family are strangers to each other, separated by time and geography. John's family started in Michigan and migrated south to Virginia and then dissipated throughout Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina.<br /><br />Adam's family spread from its foothold in Maine to Florida and to the west. Adam's branch has been the most prolific and is represented by several generations spanning in ages from the 70's to infants. John's family (those that I think of as his family - he actually has two daughters from a previous marriage who are now in their late 60's) started late but now has a couple of great-grandchildren, although none bearing the Iwaniszek name. So far that honor belongs to my son and my brother Matthew's two daughters Megan and Sara.<br /><br />Dad was a soldier, a builder, a tool maker, and a farmer. Adam was a bootlegger during prohibition, but had no trade beyond that that I am aware of.<br /><br />There is a family story that Adam was on a run one night and realized that the police were chasing him. He drove his Ford coupe into the night until he came to an isolated place and then he set fire to the jalopy and its cargo. He earned nothing that night but an infernal debt to the man whose liquor he was transporting.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-44373169586577591412009-01-28T18:32:00.003-08:002009-01-28T18:36:52.429-08:00Best.FoodBlog.Ever<a href="http://fxcuisine.com">Right here</a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-38888365529781046302009-01-20T05:54:00.000-08:002009-01-20T05:57:34.710-08:00Snow Day!Some snaps:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLLotovgZ1RKNdbH88wbphkf8XgVBnCepohNKFORGug0TXAN1iHQ46Duipx1ZAIehgsklrXS3bZ1ijWtNGsYEH6t7_-bOOy0mYmJugNzHU-2Ooqwvg6eZO0NjtB1uHs3A8LnC6fdqC6l1/s1600-h/snow+house.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLLotovgZ1RKNdbH88wbphkf8XgVBnCepohNKFORGug0TXAN1iHQ46Duipx1ZAIehgsklrXS3bZ1ijWtNGsYEH6t7_-bOOy0mYmJugNzHU-2Ooqwvg6eZO0NjtB1uHs3A8LnC6fdqC6l1/s400/snow+house.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293374273563659922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDOrqAH5zLthSzm-8SmDJNO2q-dkA803ViMeZB7Za8z_ytViQVufQLceTAb2xuTLpxXBq2DDQb8A0E091WYGRSUMTtFeYTfuXtPW6cDiaToaJxy8dVQ_a7Bb8q6VxQwv2UMvBLtLkjHNi/s1600-h/mixed+leaves.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDOrqAH5zLthSzm-8SmDJNO2q-dkA803ViMeZB7Za8z_ytViQVufQLceTAb2xuTLpxXBq2DDQb8A0E091WYGRSUMTtFeYTfuXtPW6cDiaToaJxy8dVQ_a7Bb8q6VxQwv2UMvBLtLkjHNi/s400/mixed+leaves.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293374585694292050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxTRshrgJwa9j3F1C0gRc9MyjHG6a2c9BHRfVbjWkmhd8SC6dH0OABEloc-kZx6vsLVhxQdxiTAEPQpCSeXu7aNELjCT-Cf4IpIg-cED-5TKQEzBEZKlduqmSHL9Q07KfGMosGRHpFo0v/s1600-h/nandina.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxTRshrgJwa9j3F1C0gRc9MyjHG6a2c9BHRfVbjWkmhd8SC6dH0OABEloc-kZx6vsLVhxQdxiTAEPQpCSeXu7aNELjCT-Cf4IpIg-cED-5TKQEzBEZKlduqmSHL9Q07KfGMosGRHpFo0v/s400/nandina.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293374431670067394" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-43239323714677674082009-01-17T11:26:00.001-08:002009-01-17T11:32:31.663-08:00High SchoolI went to Jonesville High School in Jonesville, Virginia. It was a small rural school and we were living in a time very different from today.<br /><br />Here is a picture of my graduating class from 1977. I'm the goomer in the top row, third from the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJu5GSdgi0UsqeeVDKZUiIJF37d_t-9VNJEE8CjTCo0pZORuO2ohSkuhpbvajOyS3yUSecMQVdun1_uITSK_FEDyXjmFS_7dGZyGY9FEWbiWl4BvAX8KExhstQzs3xutYjS8grr0MLxh0S/s1600-h/Jonesville_Grad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 413px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJu5GSdgi0UsqeeVDKZUiIJF37d_t-9VNJEE8CjTCo0pZORuO2ohSkuhpbvajOyS3yUSecMQVdun1_uITSK_FEDyXjmFS_7dGZyGY9FEWbiWl4BvAX8KExhstQzs3xutYjS8grr0MLxh0S/s400/Jonesville_Grad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292347411879447458" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-56528219278391061122009-01-02T15:22:00.000-08:002009-01-03T07:30:21.138-08:00It's CAN-tilever, not CAN'T-ileverI built some cool shelves this week. Thanks to Mathhias Wandel at <a href="http://woodgears.ca/shelves/index.html">Woodgears</a> for the design and inspiration.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD10GvlSGavWTuUdtt9BgMQiQKQuyr1WkNh3A51yDcqjgJuodA5sK46G0Bvk1-2i2QVe1r5uQ8s6Mx60Es1rp5maiY-78pOl9NLsl8cHmPIlQBxBu1EL3Xu9CkWiN48XqTFaxjJa3DpH6x/s1600-h/shelves+front.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD10GvlSGavWTuUdtt9BgMQiQKQuyr1WkNh3A51yDcqjgJuodA5sK46G0Bvk1-2i2QVe1r5uQ8s6Mx60Es1rp5maiY-78pOl9NLsl8cHmPIlQBxBu1EL3Xu9CkWiN48XqTFaxjJa3DpH6x/s320/shelves+front.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286865533267496114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I like the design because it makes use of a cantilever bracket that seems to give the shelves an air of lightness while belying their real strength. The shelves ( made from 3/4" plywood) are attached to the supporting wood. Attaching them in this way stiffens the shelves and distributes the weight of the load across the brackets more efficiently than if the plywood was simply laid across the brackets.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOr_swWuAsYttnEkaOhgtJYVyhWIoFJPvLz8LKIXZIFiKUllQ5UY4Ocou5fVkRFPIJXUnqNART_XhmhvKPwULfyGVa7NBO7ewdjmdmSj_D_VAMpFOiv6eXZY6T5yoj_IAdlY1nd8jxckl/s1600-h/bracket.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOr_swWuAsYttnEkaOhgtJYVyhWIoFJPvLz8LKIXZIFiKUllQ5UY4Ocou5fVkRFPIJXUnqNART_XhmhvKPwULfyGVa7NBO7ewdjmdmSj_D_VAMpFOiv6eXZY6T5yoj_IAdlY1nd8jxckl/s320/bracket.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286865985829094226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I suspended the shelves from the floor joists using simple carriage bolts. The whole thing is hanging from the joists. If we wanted to, we could easily swing the unit up out of the way for... I have no idea why.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4chDWVgRUcgJXZC7v1oWAwBqrC3P82j71RRBYDK7AgHSDhTyvxO_gl5Qs3WRN9S7lNxEDHVglhJ9zNjAO81hG7ZPbghAK9Sj8n6SvnF6qeh35M0esC13J6YCspE67wK-ZsXdP_Co4A7M/s1600-h/shelves+side.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4chDWVgRUcgJXZC7v1oWAwBqrC3P82j71RRBYDK7AgHSDhTyvxO_gl5Qs3WRN9S7lNxEDHVglhJ9zNjAO81hG7ZPbghAK9Sj8n6SvnF6qeh35M0esC13J6YCspE67wK-ZsXdP_Co4A7M/s320/shelves+side.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286865788277334386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The shelves are remarkably strong. I (183 lbs) can hang from them with no sagging. Of the shelves. I still sag.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-1892205103966491402008-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:002008-12-30T09:54:27.625-08:00Fortune Cookie<div style="text-align: center;">Be magnanimous,<br /><br />Be trustful,<br /><br />Be hopeful and patient.<br /></div>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-44815573032078885952008-12-07T18:28:00.001-08:002008-12-07T18:33:58.999-08:00Happy Holidays<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbk1AuG34gyWN-A6bff0oPvBw89EeMzYazPFfieaRE8fvm7uelINNEFRviiN_yxtBotyVQ8_sqwT0BhaIE1CvkZibN5kq1YsjslcJ2ZPs2xC5HvpJ6tjnDrn-diz1jRc1SEnDnkmuVT5h/s1600-h/xmastree02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 472px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbk1AuG34gyWN-A6bff0oPvBw89EeMzYazPFfieaRE8fvm7uelINNEFRviiN_yxtBotyVQ8_sqwT0BhaIE1CvkZibN5kq1YsjslcJ2ZPs2xC5HvpJ6tjnDrn-diz1jRc1SEnDnkmuVT5h/s320/xmastree02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277240623547160290" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-80125552116230499602008-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:002008-11-27T13:17:30.079-08:00ThanksgivingI have always loved Thanksgiving. It remains a time to rest and spend time with your family and eat a lavish dinner of harvest bounty.<br /><br />My family could not reunite this year, but we all phoned to wish each other well. We live in different parts of the South and for some of us it is a two day trip to visit.<br /><br />For the most part we love each other and wish only the best. Everyone has done reasonably well and we have plenty. Those of us who don't have plenty, have enough. The spirit of generosity is alive in all of us and we see one another's strengths, despite our obvious weaknesses and faults.<br /><br />We've lived long and a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and most of us have moved on from the insults and taunts we dished out and received as children. My sister and surviving brother stay in contact and are proud of the others accomplishments.<br /><br />As I have mentioned before, we were a blended family that by the mid 70's consisted of three cousins (originally four except one, Karl, chose to remain in Michigan for reasons unclear to everyone, even him, when we moved South in 1974). Charlie, Sandy, and Steve lived with us as brothers and sister and experienced our triumphs and failures as family. Sandy and Charlie are now dead, but Steve is still alive and living in Johnson City, Tennessee with his girlfriend, Angie. Angie recently bought a new house so they have been enjoying their new single family detached lifestyle.<br /><br />Steve had a terrible heart attack a few years ago and has not been able to work since.<br /><br />He has become extremely bitter towards the surviving members of his family to the point where he regularly maligns us on his weblog. He has invented little names for us. My father and mother he calls Uncle Adultery and Aunt Rageaholic. Me he calls Cousin Smart Ass, my brother Matthew he calls Cousin Psycho, and my sister Elizabeth he calls Cousin Skank.<br /><br />Today on Thanksgiving he posted two items where he maligned his family in the cruelest fashion. I can't be sure of his motives, but clearly he is thinking of us and it is causing his bile to rise.<br /><br />He has forbidden me to contact him and I don't think he even knows we read his blog. But I do.<br /><br />I am shocked by his lack of generosity in his treatment of his living relatives. It is ultimately a poor reflection on him as a person, and not on us, that he uses such harsh terms to characterize our lives together.<br /><br />I will not lose hope that one day he will try to rekindle our relationship (we used to be very close), but every post I read of his <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%27http://monkeymucker.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-day-memory.html%27">where the hatred and venom</a> he usually reserves for his political rants and strangers is directed towards the people who love him and grew up with him, the less I think that it's worth the effort.<br /><br />Be thankful for those who love you and who brought you to where you are today. Life is difficult enough without spending it hating.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-52146159249802483992008-11-02T09:21:00.000-08:002008-11-02T09:34:30.066-08:00Kitchen RenewalWe spent the summer renovating our kitchen.<br /><br />Here are some pictures of the kitchen BEFORE:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnUZyyVmX7t7yI6UgI74tDsueAjBkbS3rCRefnQ8ONFJLTxNyHDQj_BEqcGV3KOQRlGypBl_pYLDuZJ6_iLKCActXlGa1TvCa5FBRJG72TKf5USK0nKziRIKh7jG9CgE4wQ2ar0_p9bfi/s1600-h/oldkitch_left.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnUZyyVmX7t7yI6UgI74tDsueAjBkbS3rCRefnQ8ONFJLTxNyHDQj_BEqcGV3KOQRlGypBl_pYLDuZJ6_iLKCActXlGa1TvCa5FBRJG72TKf5USK0nKziRIKh7jG9CgE4wQ2ar0_p9bfi/s320/oldkitch_left.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264112016722931474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpTX0ENAY_bkObM77iLU3QzLC9cuZ-i5Jes7y7aW8rIrfeGMg_DYf1j_lpK3VrDi8qe0fHxyMlnRjb7k8ipWpY9DOMLwKQb3r1dj3RnT1x9pkzReZRyNEolznLuuSd1YjrDJiF7bh3txL/s1600-h/oldkitch_right.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpTX0ENAY_bkObM77iLU3QzLC9cuZ-i5Jes7y7aW8rIrfeGMg_DYf1j_lpK3VrDi8qe0fHxyMlnRjb7k8ipWpY9DOMLwKQb3r1dj3RnT1x9pkzReZRyNEolznLuuSd1YjrDJiF7bh3txL/s320/oldkitch_right.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264112357652732450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePMx1FpqF1_NNL_kBrddlBEwhpeX-d_tmikiV3hyphenhyphen5_sOGjx-wcTd-YDQtCBAZVMDyWEw1AnLsSl_S6VukNY-3iLEpOB6m0oJS3pn5dPdd-KLgutWiCEfgko-4yWbTF6tG466oCrNzj2l3/s1600-h/oldkitch_counter.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePMx1FpqF1_NNL_kBrddlBEwhpeX-d_tmikiV3hyphenhyphen5_sOGjx-wcTd-YDQtCBAZVMDyWEw1AnLsSl_S6VukNY-3iLEpOB6m0oJS3pn5dPdd-KLgutWiCEfgko-4yWbTF6tG466oCrNzj2l3/s320/oldkitch_counter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264112755731959570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These are from the demolition phase:<br /><img src="file:///C:/photographs/kitchen/oldkitch_demo01.JPG" alt="" /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXgkoQmfNEkyh3SHXV2x4lynj8jUWtNNIMGHWBYSJDc8WFSK5-AIUGqTDidWszlezE4CpWcXZ3i3aYNW8ex-pxcxJYVm0Wrwpl1F3NMeHhGaiUmqnhNt9Cjvt44NCflcXmyrvPKTeAUe8/s1600-h/oldkitch_demo02.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXgkoQmfNEkyh3SHXV2x4lynj8jUWtNNIMGHWBYSJDc8WFSK5-AIUGqTDidWszlezE4CpWcXZ3i3aYNW8ex-pxcxJYVm0Wrwpl1F3NMeHhGaiUmqnhNt9Cjvt44NCflcXmyrvPKTeAUe8/s320/oldkitch_demo02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264113643859171122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><img src="file:///C:/photographs/kitchen/oldkitch_demo01.JPG" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoTpjKm0KY_1tHWhRy9phmxamC_q9If678v6vUYJWtEy-7ZP944JCYPTW5cffSpNA2t2kkWzAdsyj8Bqki61qRHraO55sYbBz6-ASEBMZCJvnkDnRhdRxvL_V5vJKuJ1fgsNiN3TIC6IN/s1600-h/oldkitch_demo01.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoTpjKm0KY_1tHWhRy9phmxamC_q9If678v6vUYJWtEy-7ZP944JCYPTW5cffSpNA2t2kkWzAdsyj8Bqki61qRHraO55sYbBz6-ASEBMZCJvnkDnRhdRxvL_V5vJKuJ1fgsNiN3TIC6IN/s320/oldkitch_demo01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264113509373439682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here is the final product!:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTRmOgO9AlIDXV7Nuxh_ooa7aQx2jlVYhrUZqSlobw9KewfY8YO5MqLf-83Jt-_gsa1YkdlmkXQnWZttvCS2M9kEQwVnPosIq7P5g3OT9QofhUyQfkwcha-QTkli987kwYq887_9WwR6F/s1600-h/newkitch_e.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTRmOgO9AlIDXV7Nuxh_ooa7aQx2jlVYhrUZqSlobw9KewfY8YO5MqLf-83Jt-_gsa1YkdlmkXQnWZttvCS2M9kEQwVnPosIq7P5g3OT9QofhUyQfkwcha-QTkli987kwYq887_9WwR6F/s320/newkitch_e.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264113854267006418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilq33DJA_X4CM96Y1opibxIzIiy2Bdl0eYbjHxRQ0BG3kEES1rzq-pucLUNGeVJFvEU4RlhDAYP06odiFwYuo2DF59tU1oNulCPMghIBz1whOug07dQLNKLlesMCSTioVLB995_7AGmIkr/s1600-h/newkitch_se.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilq33DJA_X4CM96Y1opibxIzIiy2Bdl0eYbjHxRQ0BG3kEES1rzq-pucLUNGeVJFvEU4RlhDAYP06odiFwYuo2DF59tU1oNulCPMghIBz1whOug07dQLNKLlesMCSTioVLB995_7AGmIkr/s320/newkitch_se.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264113959286854050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSSi5hZXJmCRbQNzNllsDPibaKqaEs1zfYwkfEzcv3szVIBBHdCwSbeV-WH_Wk4YKfjX7_Obvdza40NbgKai4riqJpV5wXmVZVHsSs_RhHcX8XiRSxA8_JSJUhSA6LEtJonXYEmx0p1YP/s1600-h/newkitch_sw.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSSi5hZXJmCRbQNzNllsDPibaKqaEs1zfYwkfEzcv3szVIBBHdCwSbeV-WH_Wk4YKfjX7_Obvdza40NbgKai4riqJpV5wXmVZVHsSs_RhHcX8XiRSxA8_JSJUhSA6LEtJonXYEmx0p1YP/s320/newkitch_sw.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264114025304312130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTRmOgO9AlIDXV7Nuxh_ooa7aQx2jlVYhrUZqSlobw9KewfY8YO5MqLf-83Jt-_gsa1YkdlmkXQnWZttvCS2M9kEQwVnPosIq7P5g3OT9QofhUyQfkwcha-QTkli987kwYq887_9WwR6F/s1600-h/newkitch_e.JPG"><br /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-62340474760706305702008-11-02T09:18:00.000-08:002008-11-02T09:20:55.841-08:00Some Family<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhOL5esvC01mNTMHyb-v4B_0NxhdTUybVXtOYXg5SI_wb8YvXIwBG3LP5msrY-dTfGcAr7ye67NJp7gpfKxKrdIacR8j61s75YGmT8zLSpXQQP5RlaZnXfoB0p-cJuDjBTSxBUMJ2IKZd/s1600-h/summ_fam08.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhOL5esvC01mNTMHyb-v4B_0NxhdTUybVXtOYXg5SI_wb8YvXIwBG3LP5msrY-dTfGcAr7ye67NJp7gpfKxKrdIacR8j61s75YGmT8zLSpXQQP5RlaZnXfoB0p-cJuDjBTSxBUMJ2IKZd/s320/summ_fam08.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264111340385802578" border="0" /></a><br />Here is a nice photo of us at the beach this summer. We are standing against the railing of the observation deck of the Hatteras Lighthouse.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-52399797550390863252008-10-17T15:45:00.001-07:002008-10-17T15:45:49.534-07:00Make of this what you will<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.minddisorders.com/images/gemd_02_img0090.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.minddisorders.com/images/gemd_02_img0090.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-85339681402959702752008-10-13T14:11:00.000-07:002008-10-13T14:21:38.752-07:00Nail in Knee - UpdateThere is no nail in my knee.<br /><br />Here is the X-ray:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oHKWNMMuwu4jZ1sujUewBUdAC1kGXdplS0A0htL_Bx13KG2P3nNnKQMAFeR0vWL4UP1tz9xEIv21XuP4-EtzkI80MNb1dJdWktc4HF6xR01dywJxv5s3usQ7ctjDUFuwXo9T4tSYC8oX/s1600-h/mystery+metal.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oHKWNMMuwu4jZ1sujUewBUdAC1kGXdplS0A0htL_Bx13KG2P3nNnKQMAFeR0vWL4UP1tz9xEIv21XuP4-EtzkI80MNb1dJdWktc4HF6xR01dywJxv5s3usQ7ctjDUFuwXo9T4tSYC8oX/s320/mystery+metal.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256751086339603970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />See the little fine wire in the lower right of each image (click on the image to make it larger)? that is a piece of wire of unknown origin lodged in my calf. This doesn't eliminate the alien tracking device, but I think polonium pellet is ruled out.<br /><br />The knee pain is just some random injury I must have incurred recently. Nothing serious. It will probably eventually go away.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-71316706775549661602008-10-09T17:25:00.000-07:002008-10-09T17:34:05.289-07:00Mystery Metal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivM6vbeDKcKPlLFfqz1rOQBNW9zbagJnyAAh-3h6ZTlAsUbpLqDMq-uv6WHCdVJ178xJ-mw45YIlXUFuqphh8YFrzCtyUH57fgo8cx1PrxtytgGwoxcFeHv1060Pu1riX9xmaGrVSckRCR/s1600-h/mystery+metal.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivM6vbeDKcKPlLFfqz1rOQBNW9zbagJnyAAh-3h6ZTlAsUbpLqDMq-uv6WHCdVJ178xJ-mw45YIlXUFuqphh8YFrzCtyUH57fgo8cx1PrxtytgGwoxcFeHv1060Pu1riX9xmaGrVSckRCR/s320/mystery+metal.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255316551542657746" border="0" /></a><br />I recently had an X-ray performed of my right knee. The reason was that I had a strange pain in my knee, but only when I was on all fours (table-top pose in yoga) and only if I rolled my knee in the right position.<br /><br />It feels like a pin or tack poking into my bone when I am positioned properly. I asked the Doctor and he claimed (with much certitude and haste) that I have a torn meniscus.<br /><br />I went for the X-ray and he called a few days later to tell me that he had, "Some weird news."<br /><br />I have a 2.5 centimeter piece of metal in my knee.<br /><br />I have no idea when this happened. I do not recall any such incident, and the candidates for such an inclusion are so large that I can't believe I would not have noticed them inserting themselves into my flesh.<br /><br />The photo is a collection of likely suspects I gathered from around my house.<br /><br />I am going to see the X-ray Monday (13 October) so the mystery may be solved then, but I might not know for sure until the thing is removed.<br /><br />The objects are:<br /><br /><ul><li>shirt pin (round head)</li><li>flattened staple from a staple gun (my personal favorite)</li><li>shirt pin (flat head)</li><li>finish nail</li></ul>Enter your favorite in comments.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-25283021210080079522008-09-14T10:57:00.000-07:002008-09-14T15:13:12.243-07:00Brewski IwanesskiI make my own beer. I realize that I can't be objective in my opinion of its quality, but I think it is as good or better than most craft beers we can buy in this area. And that includes Big Boss, Highlander, Foothills, Carolina and many from out of state.<br /><br />Now, When I say it is as good or better, I need to qualify that by saying that style for style it compares well to the other beers, and since I make only three different styles, then the comparisons become more circumscribed. Those styles are nominally Autumn Amber, Pilsner, and a dark Porter. The Autumn amber and Porter are the easiest to make from a brewing standpoint, but the Pilsner is not difficult either; it just takes more time to brew.<br /><br />That is not to say that I haven't made some bad batches. Some have been foamy (too much priming sugar or other fermentable sugars, at the time of bottling), some have been an acquired taste (my wife doesn't care for my autumn amber), and one in particular was an experiment born of hubris. Not undrinkable, but not very good, to say the least.<br /><br />I stick to the formulas that depend on extracts. When you start working with whole grains and mashing, then you're talking about real work. I am probably going to stick to the commercially available extracts, just because the time and work involved is so much less and the product is quite amazingly good.<br /><br />We have been working on remodeling our kitchen all summer so the beer operation has ground to a halt. All we have left in the basement is about a case of undrinkable and/or foamy beer that we haven't touched until recently.<br /><br />The batch in question is P5, my fifth Pilsner batch from early this year. I have notes on when I brewed and bottled it, but its been sitting in the cellar for around 4 months. Its problem is that it is foamy.<br /><br />It tastes good, but it's a pain to pour because it is just too excitable. However, once you get it in the glass and get past the giant four inch head, it is really great beer. So the trick I've learned is to take a chilled bottle outside, pop the cap, and let it quietly erupt from the bottle for 5-10 minutes. After that time it is relatively easy to pour and it is still cold and delicious.<br /><br />So raise a glass to St. Jimmy Carter (who legend has it signed a tax bill that functionally legalized home brewing thus ushering the new renaissance of beer) and drink to the patriots and brewers out there doing the good work of our nation.John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124158951471831185.post-82247836943648316992008-09-06T08:45:00.000-07:002009-07-28T19:53:40.705-07:00FamblyThis is a sort of tribute to my Cousin Steve, as well as a clearing of the air for the benefit of the readers of his weblog. You need not read further unless slow moving trainwrecks hold a special fascination for you.<br /><p>Steve and I are estranged now since his heart attack a few years ago, but some things he has written on his blog recently lead me to the inescapable conclusion that the guy I loved and thought of as a brother really harbored a festering resentment of me and my immediate family.<br /></p><p>His weblog (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://monkeymucker.blogspot.com/">http://monkeymucker.blogspot.com/</a>) is an eclectic mix of campy items he has collected from print media ephemera, amusing fabulist stories, shaggy dog stories, and his own political rants. Among these items he has posted several heartbreaking pieces in tribute to his mother, father, sisters, and brother (all since passed).<br /></p><p>He has one surviving brother who he has not devoted a piece to, but who he mentions once in passing. The items about his parents were remarkable eulogies to people who otherwise would not be so honored and he treats them with great respect and affection, as is their due.<br /></p><p>The pictures of his mother and sisters are works of art probably shot and printed by his father in the fifties and sixties. They should be seen by all because of their remarkable composition and the vivaciousness of their subjects.<br /></p><p>Go here for some of them as well as the usual collection of family photos:<br /></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-sandy">http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-sandy</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-linda">http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-linda</a><br /></p><p>Other pictures exist in his flickr account:<br /></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-family-flickr">http://tinyurl.com/monkeymucker-family-flickr</a><br /></p><p>Steve is a brilliant, creative person who is a complex mix of passion, humor, bitterness, and anger. Like with any person you feel affection for, you take the good with the bad. His sense of humor can be quite biting at times. Cruel, even. You can see it in two posts where he ridicules a less than beautiful couple and in the way he uses the picture of a disabled carny to make a (mostly clever) political joke.<br /></p><p>We (his cousins) are very proud of him and have followed his avocation of acting, stand-up comedy and painting as closely as he would let us. He is a published writer of mysteries and has won some magazine awards for his short stories. He is firmly embedded in his community and has legions of friends and readers who follow him very closely.<br /></p><p>His is brilliant, but (as you will see later) he is also forgetful. If you have the patience, read this post where he describes his early life living in the Redford, (a suburb of Detroit) projects and the poverty he was born into: <a href="http://monkeymucker.blogspot.com/2008/08/most-expensive-thing-in-world.html">Monkey Muck: The most expensive thing in the world</a>.<br /></p><p>I think that it is clear that his family experienced some serious deprivation and this led to a strong feeling on his part of food insecurity, among other issues surround attachment, that haunted him for some time.<br /></p><p>He describes a happy, if troubled existence in the projects. His family was stalked by poverty, death, mental illness, and family violence, but he (as any son would) remembers the good times and honors his parents and siblings with a graceful pen. I spent Christmas breaks with them and I always enjoyed my visits. My cousins were like rare butterflies to me and I loved them dearly and were fascinated by the stories they told and their apparent (and relative) sophistication. They were from the city and I was from the country. I was a bumpkin who treasured going to the big city to ride the buses, walk the streets and play in the urban parks and shopping centers.<br /></p><p>He witnessed the death of his younger sister when they were all merely crossing the street to buy some candy. His father was schizophrenic and his mother and father were eventually divorced. Finally, around 1972, his mother died and the four remaining children were left with nowhere to go. Their mother's relatives were unable to care for them and so they<br />came to live with us.<br /></p><p>This is the part where Steve's story diverges from fact. Or more specifically, key facts are left out. The man and women he refers to as "Aunt Rageaholic" and "Uncle Adultry" are my mother and father.<br /></p><p>At the time of his mother's death, we (the Iwaniszeks) were a family of four natural sibling and two foster sisters (related to each other, but not to us). The Hisey girls were teenagers and their oldest sister had married and moved out before the cousins moved in. The remaining two were semi-transient and lived with us but moved out periodically for reasons I can't recall. But the upshot is that the Detroit cousins moved into a family that already had six to seven kids taken care of my mother and father on our farm in rural Michigan. We also had others come and live with us and leave (another foster brother, the son of one of my mother's friends, and a true charity case my mother took in for a year).<br /></p><p>Besides characterizing my mother and father by their signal character flaws (unfair, given the vast set of qualities they possess that made our home what it was - my mother's cooking, her singing, the sheer herculean effort she expended to care for so many children, the expansiveness of her heart and her generosity, and her exhuberance; my father's creativity and industriousness and his labor to feed, cloth and shelter so many, and his service in Italy during WWII), Steve maligns my mother by terming her "greedy" and implies that somehow she was profiting from taking in her brother's children and raising them.<br /></p><p>Their mother didn't work, so it is not clear to me that they qualified for social security survivor benefits. There may have been some kind of child welfare payments available in Michigan at the time, but I don't know what, if any, was available to compensate for the upkeep of four children recently orphaned. Their father was still alive at that time, so perhaps he provided some child support when he was working. Whatever the case, my father (who made no more than 30k a year in the 70s) was the sole breadwinner for a very large blended family.<br /></p><p>I think that the point I am trying to make is that my mother was not motivated to raise her brother's children because it paid well. It was out of a sense of family duty and the love that we all had for those kids we treasured and spent our summers with.<br /></p><p>Reading his posts, I can't escape the sense that the cousins harbored deep resentment towards me and my brothers and sister. They must have been in terrible pain over the loss of their family and the dependency that they had no control over. Their lives contained a series of tragedies not of their own making and the winds of death and madness buffeted them from all sides. The farm that was supposed to be their haven was very chaotic at times and we all had to pitch in a make it work. The sheer logistics of cooking, washing clothes, and keeping so many children healthy and in school required that the kids perform lots of the work.<br /></p><p>I think Steve is forgetting the incredible, almost hallucinatory, good that came from living the lives we had.<br /></p><p>We had the freedom (once the work was done) to run wild through the woods and fields of Michigan (and later, Virginia). Every summer day we traipsed to the lake to swim or hid out in the woods, or played in the yard. We put up hay and cared for cows and chickens and grew vegetables in our garden. The house was crowded and we fought like cats and dogs, but we were kids and we had the freedom most kids would envy if they even knew it was possible.<br /></p><p>Steve's filet-mignon post is a shaggy dog story structured around its punch line. It is very likely that my mother did use the comparable price of filet mignon to illustrate how expensive some of those foods were to limit portions. But remember we had a huge family and when you cook for crowds like that, there has to be some restraint on portions. One way is to pre-plate the food, but we sat family style and passed the plates and took our portions from the serving platter. It is very easy to take so much that the last person in line gets nothing so Mom had to keep a watchful eye on the kids to make sure everyone got a share. If you haven't lived like this then it is difficult to grasp. There was plenty of food. It may not have been particularly lavish or luxurious, but it was good and the cousins were known to brag about it to their friends and family.<br /></p><p>We moved to Jonesville, Virginia in late 1974. I think that was turning point for our family where we began a descent into fragmentation and bankruptcy. Yet most of my memories of that period are good. Once again we found ourselves in an expansive rural setting. The schools were not the best, but almost all of us made it through and beyond. When I left for college, I had been preceded by my oldest cousin. He was expelled for cause (I don't know what the cause was, but I believe it was academic negligence - failure to attend convocations) and he went on to the Navy and proceeded to edit himself from our family's lives until close to his death a few years ago. (Steve's tribute to his brother is quite nicely written. Charlie is fortunate to have someone who eulogized him so eloquently. I doubt many people will experience a similar honor in their lives.)<br /></p><p>Steve's sister Sandy followed me to Berea College, but dropped out in her first year. Her story is told on Steve's website as well.<br /></p><p>My mother was always entrepreneurial. In Michigan she had a catering service. In Virginia she had a little painting business, and then established a restaurant. I think that it is true that she somehow came in to possession of Steve's settlement money (he was the only minor left<br />in his family under her roof). The other cousins blew through their money from that settlement, but Steve's was still in the bank. Clearly, that was not responsible of my mother as Steve's guardian, but in her defense, she thought that the restaurant would be a success and that she would be able to pay Steve back with interest. That's not how it worked out.<br /></p><p>In fact, the events that transpired after the restaurant was opened led to the dissolution of my parent's marriage, their bankruptcy, and my mother's falling into poverty for several years after. All this time, my cousin was my mother's dependent, along with my younger brother (now deceased by his own hand). My mother was able to build a successful business starting in her sixties and worked until her late seventies. She is struggling financially now after a disastrous business miscalculation but she is still working and lives independently. She is 82 and the sole survivor of her side of the family.</p><p>So you can see that there is much more to the story about when he and his sibling were "sent to live with Aunt Rageaholic and Uncle Adultery". Much he is leaving out either because he forgot or because to leave the details in would not fit the narrative he is trying to build.<br /></p><p>Steve is a brilliant. His creativity is unquestionable. He has the makings of a great writer. It is sad that he feels the need to cut off so much of his childhood and to derogate the people who raised him and the family who loves him. That he does it so easily and publicly is a shock to me and my sister. I can only hope that my mother never sees it.<br /></p><p>I want this estrangement to end. My sister and I have reached out with Christmas cards and gifts, but he doesn't seem responsive to our attempts to continue to include him in our family, if only to get a civil note in the mail or an occasional telephone call. I doubt that this post will help in that endeavor, but I can't let his mischaracterization of our family stand without rebuttal.<br /></p>Thank you for your patience with my family drama. But without drama, what would families be?John Ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504464158133804298noreply@blogger.com0