The Long Goodbye

Tammy's father passed away late last night. He had been living three hours north of us in a retirement home in Virginia, Minnesota for the last couple of years after injuring himself in several falls at home. Forced to live out his final years away from home was a difficult transition for him. Tammy's family went through some strained times as not everyone was in agreement about how best to proceed when it became apparent that he could no longer care for himself.

Tammy's intuition prompted her to drive up and see him last Thursday. His Alzheimer's has advanced so much in the last year. She didn't get the sense that he remembered her nor did she feel that he had long to live. I got a call from Tammy's sister and her mother last night around 6:30 saying that he wasn't doing well and that the nursing home advised them that they should come. Tammy was at work and I texted her with the information. She told me she didn't think he would make it through the night and to keep her updated. I asked her if it would be inappropriate for me to text her should he pass. She said that would be fine. I suppose some may think that would be insensitive. I suppose I'd disagree. A little after 11:30 Cindy called to say he was gone. I'd been texting Rachel throughout the night as she was at her dad's house. This is the first loss of this sort she's been through but she's doing fine.

Morey retired from the mines in the mid-'80s. He was a diesel mechanic who performed maintenance on huge trucks with tires taller than you or I. He loved to hang out with the guys at the Senior Center and have coffee. He enjoyed his yearly pass to the golf course until several years ago when he could no longer play the game. In addition to his job in the mines he also used to do cement work on the side. Tammy worked for him one summer during high school striking joints as he laid foundations. He was a simple man who left many friends and loved ones behind, including me.

Our garage floor project is done. There was a lot more to it than I imagined and I'm glad I hired the job out rather than opting for the do-it-yourself-kit-in-a-box approach. Not that those don't work but I was afraid of the headache I'd be left with after a few years once the epoxy bond had begun to release and the only good fix would be to remove the entire finish. Our floor was quite pitted and that alone was enough to deter me from doing it myself.

The part of the project which surprised me the most was the amount of flake it took to do the job. I'd have guessed they'd maybe use 20-30 lbs of the stuff; not even close. Skip measured up 300 lbs of flake figuring the job would take 250 lbs but wanting to have some extra in case his numbers were wrong.

I took video of nearly all phases of the job with the exception of the final clear coat where they sprinkle aluminum oxide over the surface to give it a non-skid finish. Here's the first of three videos. The end of each video comes with a link in the last few seconds to link you to the next video.

We're happy as can be with the results. I'm guessing that Keith will have the cabinets for us sometime in the next few weeks and we'll be able to wrap the entire project up.

My search for the right TV and cooler for the space continues.