VINO

Monday, July 14 - Paul is not a great fan of sitting around doing nothing. So with time on his hands, he decided to re-visit a former hobby – wine making. He used to make quite a bit of wine, but traveling in an RV isn't exactly the best environment for making wine. He has about a six-week window of opportunity to make wine from a wine kit. That way, he can bottle it before we hit the road.

We went to Akron to a very good wine making supply company, The Grape and Granary. They have just about anything a wine or beer maker needs. They even have a nice tasting room. We tasted various choices before deciding on our wine making kits.

We went “all in” and chose three kits. Two semi-dry Rieslings (Columbia Valley Riesling and Green Apple Riesling) and a very nice semi-dry red wine (Luna Rossa).

Lucky for the wallet, Paul has been receiving gift cards for the wine store, and other wine making supplies for Christmas and his birthday. So he was able to get back in to wine making without breaking the bank. Like all hobbies, it cost money to have fun.... :-)

The first order of business is to prepare the ingredients for fermenting. Following the directions provided in the kit makes this a fool proof undertaking. After adding the contents to the fermenting tank, Paul added some water and then the yeast. Ahhh...that sure made the basement smell good!

The wine fermented for seven days in the tanks, and then Paul transferred it to an air-tight carboy (a 5-gallon glass jug) where it will remain until the fermentation is complete. He will need to “rack it” (transfer it to a clean carboy) several times to eliminate any solids that have settled to the bottom.

It is working already.

Once the wine stops working, he can bottle it and store it until we fly home for the Christmas holidays. Should be a fun holiday!

We will make our apologies ahead of time. We might not be leaving as many comments as we usually do. Why? you ask….This is Wedding Week. Marsha and Kelly finished up all the planning for the week on Sunday. They both have a list for each day. Carrie will be flying in on Wednesday. A few things still on their list are buying flip-flops for when their feet are killing them (around 9 p.m.) they can keep dancing, food for the “after” wedding party on Sunday, double checking with all those involved in the decorating, and church ceremony, etc., etc., etc. Wedding photos in the next blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

BUSY WEEKEND FOR THE GIRLS

Thursday, July 3 – With the wedding just around the corner it was time for the girls to celebrate. It began with Carrie, our youngest, flying to Canton from Houston.

Kelly, Carrie, Marsha, and some close friends and relatives got together for happy hour on Friday night. They had a great time and finished up the night rendezvousing with the guys who had their own happy hour/dinner at a local pub.

Aunt Katie, Kelly, Carrie and Marsha

Girls just want to have fun.

Kelly with Marsha and future mother-in-law, Jackie.

Saturday was the Bachelorette party for Kelly and her friends. They spent the day at a resort area, Put-In-Bay, on Lake Erie. They enjoyed themselves touring the island and visiting several of the local taverns. We are sorry, but we cannot post any of the photos of that day/night. Let your imagination run wild.

Sunday was one of the days Marsha has been waiting for for a very long time. She was throwing a wedding shower for Kelly. She's been working very hard on this celebration. It was held in the party room of a local golf course. Carrie and the bridesmaids did a fantastic job of helping her get everything ready. Jackie, Dave’s mom, and Chris, Kelly’s Godmother and Aunt, chipped in with making the favors and taking care of the lovely cake table. Marsha says a HUGE thank you to them all. The celebration was so much fun. Kelly was thrilled with the entire day.

This is what welcomed Kelly to her bridal shower.

Enter the bride with her entourage.

 

Carrie, Kelly and Marsha.
 

Kelly and Aunt Chris.

Get a group of ladies together and it is nonstop chit chat.

A flashback of Kelly’s life.

Toasting the bride-to-be.

Kelly enjoying one of her many, many gifts.

In just a short 16 days, these two will be Mr. and Mrs. Dave DiCato.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

FINITO, FERTIG, FINI, TERMINADO, FINISHED!

Friday, June 27, 2014 - The kitchen remodel project is complete! Since our last post, Paul installed new vinyl soffit, fascia, and siding. He then put the finishing touches on some outside electric. Marsha then planted some bushes and flowers to complete everything on the exterior.

Marsha gets the grunt work yet again!

BEFORE

AFTER

Fortunately, just as we completed the exterior work, the counter top people called to arrange installation of the counter. It sure turned out wonderful. We are delighted.

Paul spent a day struggling with the plumbing. Adjusting the old plumbing to fit the new sink and faucet, while fumbling under the kitchen cabinet is not a great way to spend a day. With some frustrating moments and some hard work, the plumbing was completed and we again had running water in the kitchen.

The last job to tackle was installation of the tile backsplash and grout. 

We can FINALLY say the kitchen project is DONE!!!

Before

After
 

Next…Kelly’s wedding shower on Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!