steve-o
Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

Family

I Make Art

I had a project I wanted to get finished over Christmas vacation. Unfortunately, I didn't get started on it until after my birthday, so it took me up to last week to wrap it up. Ever since we moved into the condo we've had a blank space over the fireplace. It's been daunting to think of the selecting the right piece to hang over the fireplace so we finally settled on a non-traditional pick:

A Steve Carr original.

I've not really painted since junior high so I was a little nervous. But I have the "Little Engine That Could" mentality so I went for it. Jessica Pendell graciously lent me here painting supplies, a huge array of various brushes, so I had all the tools I needed. Kelly helped me pick out the base colors so it would match the living room decor. We picked a canvas that would fit in the allotted area, something like 28" high and 36" wide, so I was ready to go.

Like I said, it took me a few weeks to work through it, a total of ten to twelve hours total, but I'm pretty satisfied with the first effort. Here it is:

No official title, I just always wanted to do a montage of Cincinnati landmarks. I did a good job with some of them [I liked the Tyler Davidson Fountain and the Roebling Bridge] and struggled through others [still don't like the white Central Trust building]. I'm not sure that all the buildings are straight either.

It's crazy because I thought I'd be relieved when I finished but I'm not. I now feel somewhat paranoid because I see the painting all the time while in the living room; I'm constantly see the flaws I left out there. If anything, it's a good opportunity for me to come to grips of my imperfections. I did the best I could. I might even try it again sometime, but it'll be a few years to be sure.

If anything, Kelly likes it, so it works for me.

Crap

I didn't relay the problems the we experienced at the homestead on Friday. I guess I was trying to block the negative experience from my mind. You usually don't worry much about your toilet until there's a problem. A simple flush on the second floor yielded us a water leak that seaped through to the ceiling on our first floor, ran down the side wall and ended up in the basement. Fortunately, Carr Electric Heating and Cooling also specializes in plumbing.

After removing the toilet from its base, we discovered that the flange was cracked during installation [I remind you that we purchased a totally remodled condo, so this installation was performed just a little more than a year ago]. Instead of replacing it, they decided to try to seal it with a few screws and washers. This worked as long as there wasn't any problem with the flow. Once it happened, the water leaked through the flange into the ceiling area. Wonderful.

Thing is, we know of two other people who have had similar plumbing problems that this developer was responsible for. In all the instances, they messed up the installation and caused major water damage. The plumbers were dopes. It must be said.

Thankfully, the water damage to our drywall was minimal, but there's an area where you can see the effects. My parents stopped by on Saturday to visit and my father and I were able to get the toilet set properly with a new flange. Remarkably, everything works fine when you don't use broken parts.

We're past the warranty on our unit so the only way I could recoup the damages would be a lawsuit. And even though I have many a lawyer friend who would be willing to help out, it's just not worth it. I took some pics of the damage that I'm going to email them to the developer and kindly ask for a few bucks for the paint necessary to cover it up.

We still love our place, but working with the developer has been a nightmare. In the future, I'll drop the extra cash for a hardcore home inspection.

Ha ha!

Kaelyn's developing well. We continue to teach her sign language and she now understands the following signs: milk, bath, yes, no, and bye. If she had to, I think she could get a job. In addition to this, she continues to work on her sounds. Recently she's been immitating us when we do a few certain sounds. If something on TV makes us laugh, she'll laugh. She also has a gutteral-type of laugh that sounds like "he-he-he-he-he-he." If we do it, she'll respond

It's really cool.

But my favorite is a sigh that she's started doing that sounds just like Nelson on the Simpson's. For those who aren't Simpson's fans, first repent, then listen to what it sounds like here.

Smart baby or smart-alec baby? You decide.

I Am Sick . . . Again

I like to think I'm one of those people that can't be held down by illness. But I'm not.

What started as a little cold last week has stuck around seven days. I haven't tasted my food in a week, nor can I inhale to tell whether or not Kaelyn needs a diaper change. This morning I gave in and called the doctor. He said it's a sinus infection/bronchitis thing that has sucked in my right ear tunnel and could cause me to lose my leg.

I made the leg thing up.

I know have a combination of three pills and an inhaler I'm supposed to use so I can get over this thing by the weekend.

At least it's not hepatitis.

I Own '07

Like most bloggers I took the holiday off so I could recharge. It seemed like everyday during that break something came up that I thought would make an interesting post. So now I'm back and raring to go. I'll be spending the next few days covering some old news. Read it if you like, otherwise commense with breaking your resolutions.

Still Alive?

Yes, just enjoying a brief respite. Working out of the house is awesome except that it's difficult to really take a break. Our Vegas trip last January was relaxing but that was immediately followed by Kelly's hospitalization, Kaelyn's birth and my Hepatitis. Since then it seems like we've been going non-stop; I've been drooling over the prospects of this week for months. We always like to take off the week between Christmas and New Year's and the death of my grandfather added to the need for this break. Now that it's finally here, we've been living it up.

Tuesday we didn't leave the house and took down the Christmas decorations. Yesterday we left the house only to buy groceries. In that time we watched all of seasons one and two of The Office on DVD. It's feels great to do nothing but watch TV and do some reading.

And since the demise of the Bengals I've been on a self-imposed sports fast. I never realized how much I watch ESPN.

So not much to report here, hence, my blogging absence. I do, however, have some stuff I'm stoked about unleashing in the new year.

Start your countdown now.

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Enjoy Your Day

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I've been rather silent since the passing of my grandfather. I was incredibly busy and stressed, but we all made it through. I'm sure I'll write up a few thoughts about it later this week. As a Christian, Christmas doesn't mean all that much to me. Of course it's great to celebrate an event in the life of Jesus, but why don't we bring the same kind of passion to Easter [pun intended]? Regardless, it's a still a unique, fun time of the year. Good food, good carols, and the opportunity to see practically everyone in your family. We had a great time in Lexington and will head over to my parents this afternoon.

I guess this year was supposed to be different now that we have the little girl, but it seems pretty normal. She's still way too young to comprehend the difference and she's suffering through a cold [which hasn't damped her chipper attitude]. And even though Kaelyn doesn't fully appreciate it, all the family have loved seeing her struggle to open up her gifts. I'm sure she'll be much more into it next year.

So I hope you're enjoying your holiday. Blessings.

Avoiding Death

Kelly got this 48-hour bug that knocked her out today. Apparently it's going around all over the tri-state area. The best we can figure she picked it up Tuesday at work, which means I've had constant exposure to her for the past couple of days. So now I wait to see if I'm going to get it or not. I have been popping my multi-vitamin consistently the past few months but I don't think that's the kind of protective supplement I need to get me through. I think the waiting is as bad as actually getting the virus. If I feel even a slight twinge in my stomach I get paranoid that I'm five minutes away from hurling. Wonderful.

For now, I wait . . .

Smiling . . .

. . . is what I'm doing after a wonderful night. Melissa and Jessica were the champs and watched Kaelyn as Kelly and I went to see a movie. We haven't been to a movie theater since before Kaelyn was born, so we were due. Kel's choice to see the Will Ferrell flim Stranger Than Fiction. Since it's been out a few weeks nobody else wanted to see it so we had the whole theater to ourselves [I, however, received no hickies]. Great flick but I'll have some interesting social commentary about our cinematic experience tomorrow though.

We stopped by Steak 'N' Shake to pick up some shakes and made it home in time to watch some shows we DVR'd. Last night's Studio 60 was great; if you're not watching, you're missing out. I told you Sorkin dramas rock.

We also watched a half hour special Channel 9 aired tonight concerning the revitalization of Over-The-Rhine. The report was a very positive examination on how far this part of the urban core has progressed in the past five years. I can't remember the last time I watched a news station in this town report something positive about the city. Good things are happening, people. If interested, you can catch parts of Visions of Vine Street online.

So it was a great night that's left a grin on my face. And did I mention no hickies on my neck?

Wore'd Out

Tim and Mandi had their little boy late this morning. They called us at about 2:30am to ask if they could drop of Kasey and Tyler. So we had an early morning camp-out in the living room. It was fun having them play with Kaelyn, but incredibly hectic. Major props to y'all who have 3+ kids. They're with us again tonight and will hang with us until tomorrow afternoon. And since Tuesday is Kelly's day at work, it's me with three kids. St Anne, save me and I'll become a monk.

Jaxon [cool name] is the eighth niece and nephew, with a ninth hopefully coming next week. And with Kelly's brother getting engaged last Friday, there's no shortage of family news.