Sorting the Trim
Liz, looking over the window trim. We set up a set of horses, where we were able to stack and assess each piece.
Posts Tagged "liz"
First Fire on the Last Day of the Year
Our first fire! It’s New Year’s Eve, and better late than never. Glad we got this in, in 2025.
I do have to say – this has been a long, long time coming. With the cost of fixing and updating a fireplace, we’ve held off on this for years because our money was better spent elsewhere – on more critical, infrastructure type work for the house.
To have this done and working is… difficult to describe. It’s a nice, warm feeling, both literally and emotionally.
Liz the Mason
Liz was a whirlwind around the house, today. Of the many things she was working on, she applied some mortar between the fireplace and our newly installed hearth.
Christmas in Chicago with the Holders
The Holders were away on a travel vacation over Christmas proper, but flew back in to Chicago yesterday. And so we made plans to hang out, and to have a late birthday dinner/celebration for Kirt.
After showing folks around our house (and our newly updated floors)… we decided on something for our afternoon: mini-golf.
Christmas in Indy, Day 4: Christmas Day
Post breakfast, everyone gathered in the new addition (a part of the house that I still refer to as “new,” despite it being over 30 years old). L to R, it’s Stacey, Shane, Liz, me, Nathaniel, Jasmine, Jahnu, and my mom (photo courtesy of dad).
Christmas in Indy, Day 3: Christmas Eve, Game Night, and Putting the Chinese and American in Chinese American
The goal is to steal a jewel from the museum. To do so, you need to move the locks off the top of a jewel, relocating them onto other locks… and to move the jewel onto a pedestal in the middle of the board.
The catch: each player gets to use just one tiny hand. The crew gets 90 seconds to complete the task, without bumping any of the lasers.
Christmas in Indy, Day 2: Dinner at Seasons 52
A pretty slow day, today. I was working, but everyone else mostly lazed around the house. Towards the evening, we all gathered at my sister’s house.
Stacey and Shane treated the whole family to a nice dinner at Seasons 52, over at Keystone.
Christmas in Indy, Day 1: Top Golf
But Stacey proposed something new – going out to Topgolf. We did the math, and this excursion ended up being cheaper than an escape room (and for 2 hours, instead of just 1).
I’ll be honest – I wasn’t exactly sold on this, as I don’t really play golf. And I wasn’t sure how much fun it would be. But I was wrong! We had a blast!
Cleaning Day
Liz, working in the living room, stuffing rope insulation between the flooring and drywall.
Detail view of the work. This stuff has a strong odor (it smells like a Pirate’s locker room), but does dissipate. Eventually.
Blackstone Holiday Party
Really, really fun night chatting with everyone. It’s been a long while since I was in grad school, a long while since I’d been in the company of academics. It was fun to talk about books and politics, and all manner of current events with folks. Really great company, and a really great time.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society, December 2025 Outturn
I love this photo, as it feels like an renaissance painting. Of note: Max and Lauren, with two drams each of the Hakushu.
Early Christmas in Valparaiso
Group shot of everyone, enjoying some Vichyssoise (a traditional favorite, though I’ve only ever had it hot).
Working Downtown, Post-Work Errands, Returning to the Floors
With the workers coming back today, to address the various issues we found… Liz and I couldn’t stay home. So we did what we used to do in the old days – head downtown, to work onsite at our respective offices.
Grand Rapids Christkindl Markt
Late morning, several of us took Grace to the airport for her flight back to college. On our way home, we stopped off at the Grand Rapids Christkindl Markt.
Morning Run, the Colby Escape Room, Cookie Decorating
Late in the afternoon, several of us headed out to The Colby Escape Room, in Whitehall.