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Anthony and Grandpa Paul decided to go to Gladwyne Playgound a late Saturday afternoon and surprise... no more playground! All of the gym equipment, slides, swings, etc had been removed and the fenced gate was locked. The sign read,"Closed for Renovation". The climbing equipment and swings in the "big kids" area are too big for Anthony and a lot of big kids were running around playing "tag".
Grandpa decided to take Anthony to play carefully on the big kids' equipment for a few minutes. Anthony decided to play with the bark chips on the ground... he kept playing with them as a child often plays with sand in a sand box. He kept this up for 30 minutes. When Grandpa decided it was time to go home and start dinner, little Anthony was having such a good time that he didn't want to leave. His little head was shaking and he kept saying, " No, no, no, no". That's his emphatic way when he doesn't want to do something Grandpa wants him to do. Oh well, perhaps 10 more minutes. It really does not take much to entertain a toddler... they seem able to entertain themselves with bark chips, an empty box or whatever comes to hand. Almost as good as FAO Swartz!
Handyman Repairs Garage Door
Rachel picked up Paul at the Logan Express Bus Terminal at Shopper World in Framingham... he had actually arrived earlier than planned from Philadelphia. As they drove back to the house, Rachel wanted Paul to move some investments around, but Paul wanted to run some chores while the day was still young. So, as Rachel pulled into the garage to drop Paul off at home before she had to return to work, something was strange with the garrage door. Loose cables were dangling from the ceiling. A big, big spring about 18 inches long lay on the floor. Oh, oh! Looks like the door is broken. Rachel had to get back to her office and she drove off without closing the garage.
Hmmm... that's a minimum $100 service call thought Paul. So, off the Home Depot with the broken parts. After cruising the isles for 15 minutes, Paul found the necessary replacement parts. Then he needed advice on how to install them. Finally after talking to 2 Home Depot associates, he found a 3rd one who really knew how garrage door worked and gave Paul detailed instructions on the repair and installation. Back at home, the Handyman pulled is tool box and went to work. 45 minutes later, the door was working good as new! Total repair cost? $12.95! The Handyman strikes again. With a big smile, the Handyman went upstairs and canceled the appointment with Boston Overhead Door.
Save Money
When purchasing automotive tires, we have found that places like Sam's Wholesale Club, BJ's and Costco are the cheapest retailers. Paul recently purchased a couple of Michelin's for his Lexus. The price quoted at Sullivan's Tire was $165/tire. At BJ's, the identical tire was $128/tire. Quite a savings when you are purchasing 2 or 4 tires!
Now we were surprised at BJ's when they didn't have the tire "in stock" and had to special order for us. Go ahead and order we told them. Well, they wanted for us to pay for the entire price of the tire in advance before they would order it. Not a deposit, but the entire price. This kind of surprised us, but we did pay in advance and a week later, everything worked out fine.
Spring Gardening
It's early May and we are trying to get rid of the moss on the front lawn of the Weston house. Rachel suggests ( more like insists) that we pull the old moss out and reseed. The Handyman is in favor of liming and watering to kill the moss and let the grass seed under the moss come up as the weather warms. They do both!
Lots of Spring cleaning to do in the garden. The leaves that are tangled in the scrubs have to be removed by hand and twigs and branches from the last winter storm have to be picked up. Rachel buys a dozen new ground cover junipers at Home Depot and Paul spends the better part of a day planting them by the pool patio. The original junipers were eaten by mice or wood chucks the winter before last and killed and removed last Fall.
Last Fall, we spent two days planting new tulip bulbs.... about 100 of them. This Spring the new tulips are beautiful and so very colorful. It's take a couple of weeks, but the garden is getting into shape.
Q-Vin means VIP
The Q-Vin Korean-Japanese restaurant is located at 545 Boylston Street right across from Copley Square. It's only about three months old and if you like Jap Chai, and sushi and Bogogi Beef and other treats and are really hungary, then the Q-Vin lunch buffet is the deal for you. All you can eat for $8.95/person.
The Weston Food Critic give this eatery a 20 for food, a 20 for atmosphere and an 18 for service. We'll go back again, so that's a pretty good endorsement from us. Uncle Ron's favorite dish.... California Sushi. Paul's favorite dish,,, Bogogi Beef with white rice.
Follow AAA Travel Services
Paul, Kevin and Ron planned on a car trip to Philadelphia in mid-May, and they checked the "Excite Travel Maps" and the "Yahoo Map Planners" on the internet, as well as the AAA trip tiks. The AAA Tip Tik was the only route that really avoided Manhattan completely. The others either crossed NYC via the Triboro Bridge and left NYC via the George Washington Bridge. AAA suggested crossing into NJ further north at the Tappan Zee Bridge near Tarrytown and running south on the Garden State Expresssay, thus completely avoiding Manhattan.
As they aproached within 25 miles of Philadelphia, it looked like the travelers were going to make the trip in 5 1/2 hours... that would be a new record as it normally require 6 hours if there is no traffic. That's the big "if". Just outside Philadelphia on the NJ Turnpike, traffice slowed and then stopped. In all, the trip took 6 1/2 hour ( not bad), but the Tappan Zee Bridge is the way to drive when one has no business in NYC.
Jiffy Lube
Jiffy Lube has the best hours and the best service. With David and Heidi's busy schedule, the Handyman often uses the Jiffy Lube on City Line Avenue off the intersection of Conchehoken State Road for simple oil and filter jobs. Their are open for service on Sundays which is more than can be said for local service stations.
For %28.00, they change the oil and filter, check the fluid levels, vaccum the inside of the car and almost always recommend another part like a new air filter. Usually, the Handyman just has them vaccum out the old one and keeps on trucking.
Bath-Shower Tiles Repaired
The ceramic soap dish came out of the wall, exposing interior wall, wood and the downstairs to water when the shower in the guest bathroom was used. Actually, if you ran the shower, water would eventually run down the walls and ceiling of the downstairs and cause serious damage and expense. The Gladwyne house is 35 years old, so one does expect these types of repairs to occur with some regularity. Did David or Heidi know a tile man who could make the repair in short order?
To prevent damage in the short-run, the Handyman took a small piece of plastic about a foot square and with duck tape, sealed the hole to prevent water from entering easily. Then he asked that whoever took a shower in the next few days to make the shower as short as possible so as to case as little water damage as possible.
David was going to be out of town on business for another week and to schedule a tile man with no supervision was to ask for a big service call bill. Even if home, a service call would be a minimum of $100! So, off to Home Depot and a little advice from a knowledgeable sales associate. You can see from the article to the left, why Home Depot is one of the top retailers in the USA. $5 worth of morter and $3 worth of grouting and two hours worth of work and wha la! All fixed! The Handyman strikes again.
Anthony loves fish
Grandpa Paul has started cooking fish for Anthony three times a week when he visits. Anthony seems to love it and eats his fish with gusto. Normally Grandpa buys flouder... cooks it the same day with a dusting of flour and a bit of butter.
Grandma Rachel wants Grandpa to use Chilean Sea Bass... normally $16/pound! However, her instructions are to always look for fish "on sale". That's when it is freshes and tastes the best!
Ron visit Valley Forge
Ron visited Valley Forge National Park on his visit in May to Philadelphia. It's always interesting to see the sights of history, particularly when one is familiar with the military history of the Revolutionary War. Ron his quite familiar with this part of history. So, on a Sunday morning, right after Anthony had his substantial breakfast, Paul ( the guide) and Anthony ( the entertainer) took Granduncle Ron on a tour. Not only is Valley Forge very interesting, it is a beautiful park with well maintained lanscaping.
Anthony and Grandpa Paul decided to go to Gladwyne Playgound a late Saturday afternoon and surprise... no more playground! All of the gym equipment, slides, swings, etc had been removed and the fenced gate was locked. The sign read,"Closed for Renovation". The climbing equipment and swings in the "big kids" area are too big for Anthony and a lot of big kids were running around playing "tag".