Week 42, and Merry Christmas!

Adrienne & I were busy with lots of small doings this week.

First, there was Christmas. We had our usual table-top decoration, made from a discarded bough of a Christmas tree, ornaments given by family and friends, and paper decorations we made ourselves:

Under the tree (and the table), were numerous presents:

The big box in pink on the left contained a circular saw, which I have had my eye on for a few months to speed up the completion of a few of my projects around the house. Top of that list is replacing the fence/wall under Adrienne's office that separates our property from the property of our neighbors to the north. Here it is, off to a decent start:

This fence/wall is key because cats, raccoons, rats, and other assorted animals like to hang around in the 2-foot-wide space between the houses. Do you know who likes to chase animals? Pickles, that's who.

The fence/wall is made with reused scrap materials from other parts of the construction project. Eventually, it and the siding to the right of it in this photo will be covered by a panda-and-bamboo mural.

Meanwhile, Adrienne was busy this week putting up a magnetic knife rack in the kitchen:

Much better than rummaging for them in a drawer! Big improvement!

Additionally, I spent much time this week with more mouse-proofing in the kitchen (yes, again), also using materials left over from construction, and with rearranging the garage so that we can finally get all of our stuff out of storage (i.e. this giant pile under the green tarp):

What's that above the green tarp? It's Amanda's excellent birthday present, described in Week 27! I put that up this weekend, as well. Looks great up there!

Lastly, one thing that Adrienne & I share is a love for getting rid of things at the New Year. We spent Saturday combing through our bookshelves for books we want to donate to the Friends of the Library or use for art projects, and ended up clearing 8 1/2 feet of shelf space!

Next week: I should be able to finish the fence/wall project, and should also be able to make more progress in reclaiming the garage. I am hoping to schedule a week with Mr. Bunkport in mid-January to get things wrapped up and (hopefully) get the house painted, as well. Keep your fingers crossed for us that the weather holds!

Week 41

This week, we tried to make more progress on the bathroom counter & backsplash downstairs. Mr. Bunkport took the counter out of the form today:

With all the rain we've been getting, it hasn't hardened enough to sand it down and seal it yet, even after five days. So now we just wait.

Week 40

Four things this week!

First, I finished sanding and sealing the back door. Just in time for a massive rain storm! (I skipped taking photos, because you can't see a before/after difference. It looks great, though, and is similar in color to the counter.)

Second, I replaced a piece of backsplash next to the sink that came off at some point a couple months ago. Probably when that half of the kitchen came off that one time.

Before:

After:

Third, I took out this bush that mysteriously died:

And replaced it with this succulent planter, made out of red concrete garden borders that were part of the garden when we moved in (every single plant in the yard was surrounded by these things), and old clay pipe fragments that were dug up out of the pit during the excavation phase of the project:

Here's how it looks, from across the yard:

Over to you, AJ, to work your plant magic!

Speaking of plant magic, after all this rain we've been getting, that random lily that the construction workers saved from the excavation in Week 7 is very happy:

Fourth, Mr. Bunkport came over on Saturday to fabricate a concrete counter for the bathroom sink. I got to help out and learn how to build the forms and pour the concrete. Here's the counter after we finished:

And here's the counter after Zoey stepped on it:

Mr. Bunkport should be coming back sometime this week to install it in the bathroom, and then pour the backsplash. That might be all that happens for the rest of the month: Mr. Bunkport is going out of town for Christmas, and it'll be a busy couple of weeks for me, so I don't think I'll be getting to any more of my projects before January. Once January hits, I think we'll be able to wrap up the remaining big items on the to-do list, and then hopefully it will just be a matter of waiting for some paperwork to go through. Actually getting close to the end!

Week 39

Back on the ranch this weekend.

On Saturday, an HVAC guy came to replace the old transite (asbestos-cement) flue for the heater, & do some maintenance on the heater itself. Done!

On Sunday, I did a couple things on my to-do list:

Job number one was yet more mouse-proofing in the kitchen. This round involved taking a countertop off a set of cabinets to stuff more steel wool in various places. While I had the countertop off, I also fixed a drawer, and, using my brand new jig saw (!), made an improvement to the shelf I had put in The Disaster Cabinet (which, as you may recall, is not a cabinet with disaster supplies, but rather a cabinet that is a complete disaster -- see the previous post here. Shelf Version One kept falling down, leading to the return of the disaster state.).

Job number two was putting our fine fruit and veggie basket back up:

Next week: sanding and sealing the back door, and replacing a small piece of backsplash next to the sink. Maybe also doing a walkway project in the yard, while the ground is still soft after the week or so of rain we've gotten.

Tribute to Jack in the local paper

The day after the funeral, we got a call from the Schools reporter for the Lowell Sun. She had seen Jack's obituary, and noting how he had dedicated his career to the schools in Lowell, wanted to do a piece on him. It appeared today:


Generations of kids knew he cared
Firm and funny, 'Jack' O'Brien left impact on students, colleagues at Lowell High

By Amelia Pak-Harvey

John "Jack" O'Brien, a city native, was

a leader at Lowell High for decades, 

serving as housemaster for 25 years before 

being named master in 1992. He died on 

Nov. 21 at 74 after a battle with cancer.

LOWELL -- Former Lowell High School administrator John "Jack" O'Brien was a fair but firm educator who stood his ground.

That's how City Councilor William Samaras, a former Lowell High headmaster, remembers the high school's former master.

When disciplining students, O'Brien would still listen well, Samaras said.

"Even if he were to administer a punishment for the student, they would basically thank him," he said. "They never left the office angry, they knew why they were being punished."

O'Brien died at 74 on Nov. 21 after a courageous two-year battle with cancer, but his legacy lives on in all the students he affected.

"He was there for them, I think as a teacher, administrator, educator in general," Samaras said. "You can't ask for any more than that."

Former Lowell High Master John
"Jack" O'Brien at a party for his retirement
in 1994. After retiring, he took a position as
a staff representative for the United Teachers
of Lowell.

Raised in Lowell's Centralville section, O'Brien taught for a few years in Fitchburg before returning to Lowell High, where he was chosen as a housemaster in 1967 and for the higher position of master in 1992.

He met his wife, Linda, at a staff party in 1989 while she was teaching at the school.

"He was fair and he was funny, and you just loved to see him coming because he always had this big smile," she said, holding up a picture of O'Brien smiling into the camera.

She remembers finding a former student almost everywhere the couple went.

"So many times we'd go somewhere and bump into a guy in his 40s and 50s," she said. "He'd say 'Oh Mr. O'Brien, you were tough but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have graduated.'"

But O'Brien also stood up for teachers. After retiring from Lowell High, he took a position as a staff representative for the United Teachers of Lowell.

"His sense of fairness and commitment to the community, the kids and the educators was phenomenal," said UTL President Paul Georges.

As a staff representative, O'Brien helped provide services for teachers and other members of the union.

"He wasn't afraid to communicate that he cared about you," Georges said. "Particularly with students, and particularly with us as a group."

O'Brien still worked with the union two days a week before he died, working with Michael Earle as he transitioned as the new full-time representative.

For Earle, O'Brien was the person who convinced him to go into education.

"When I got out of college in 1969, it was Jack that said, 'You ought to try teaching,' " Earle said. "He was at the high school and he became my first boss."

Earle remembers O'Brien as a teacher, mentor and dear friend.

"He just was so dedicated not only as a teacher and a master at the high school, but also as a union leader," he said. "He worked so hard to make sure that all the people that he represented had just a better life in their job."

But O'Brien also wasn't afraid to say how he felt, and sometimes threw in a little humor too.

During his time as master at Lowell High, O'Brien used to make coffee for the whole office, brewing one pot of decaf for Samaras.

Samaras recalled a time when the two had reached a disagreement. The next day at work, Samaras said, they both went about their jobs without speaking to each other.

But Samaras was talking rapidly and feeling a bit jumpy.

When he faced O'Brien to make amends over the disagreement, O'Brien agreed to clear the air.

"By the way," he asked Samaras, "how many cups of coffee did you have today?"

Samaras thought he had six cups of decaf.

"He said, 'No you didn't,' " Samaras recalled, laughing. "'You had regular coffee. As a matter of fact, I put extra coffee in there.' "

Both of them had fun together, Samaras said, finding the funniest part of a conflict as well as a way to break it down.

"One time we were laughing so loud my secretary thought one of us was hurt and came running in the office, opened the door and said, 'What happened?'" Samaras said. "She just turned around, she was so mad at us for scaring her and we laughed even more."

O'Brien's sense of calm and clear guidance carried through even to his last days.

While being prepped for surgery for the last time, a young anesthesiologist couldn't get the needle in after trying twice, his wife said.

The young man started to get nervous, and O'Brien asked for his name -- it was David.

"He said, 'David, just relax, you're going to get it,' " she remembers her husband saying. "'I'm fine.'"