Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters

For those of you who are fans of J.D. Salinger, the title of today's blog is for you!

We saw great progress on the house this past week, with some of the coolest ceiling features I've ever seen! Almost wish we didn't have to cover them up with drywall; they are real masterpieces, and Doug and his gang have put a lot of time and attention into the detail. I have a photo or two of them for you to check out. And that photo you see is of me and Elyse, my pal that I wrote to you about in last week's posting. It was a BEAUTIFUL day at the beach in Del Mar; nothing like hanging out by the Monongahela, close to her home in Pittsburgh.

Each week I learn something amusing about our project. I've been informed that the inspector that I referred to as "humorless" in an earlier post actually DOES have a sense of humor and is now reading my blog! Pretty cool. And it appears that yet another neighbor of ours was not following code and was reported to authorities, forcing them to change their landscaping project! Not sure how or if that was related to us in any way, but Jay and I are keeping a low profile in the 'hood these days.

I see that a few more folks are now following this blog, and really would like to see more of you sign up to be followers. For those that sign up, you can expect a special gift from me when this whole project is done. It's real easy, just click on the upper right part of my blog page and follow the instructions.

Today, of course, is an epic day for the country as we forge into new political waters. I, for one, will be deliriously happy when folks stop calling my home, business, and cellphone with their highly personal recorded messages, asking me for my vote. We have a TV ban going on in the house today, because we just can't deal with media and their nuttiness. By newstime tonite, we'll all know the results, anyway, so watching them count the numbers, state by state, well it all just seems sort of silly to us.

It's a busy month for us, between decisions on Durango, our trip to Florida for Jay's 1/2 Ironman race, a trip to Phoenix to check out the Ironman Race there, a visit from Jay's parents and our nephew Shawn and his wife Lindsay. OH yeah, and the whole Thanksgiving thing which has taken on a whole new twist with my inability to digest things like eggs and dairy (no pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, butter, deviled eggs, green bean casserole - stop, you're killing me). At least meat and veggies are in, so we don't have to go the tofurkey route.

I'm getting excited about what Rachel is cooking up for lighting ideas, and John has been tremendously helpful in helping me visualize some other modifications on sinks, lights and cabinets.

We had some rain today - how nice! but Rob and I were disappointed that the pool isn't yet holding water. Just kidding Dan.

A final note about one of the best evenings I've had in a long time - cousin Elizabeth and her man, Ron, treated me to a night out in the Beverly Hills area on Saturday, when I was there for a nutrition conference. We dined at the Mulholland Grill, listened to some jazz at a cozy bar next door, then toured Mulholland Drive, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and landed at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons for dancing and cordials. Did have one movie star siting, Harry Hamlin, who still looked great (although not quite as great as he looked in Clash of the Titans). OMG, the music was unbelievable, and the company devine! It certainly made for a rough morning at my conference on Sunday, but well worth it. When I can grab a photo or two, I'll be sure to post.