Basement wall Part Du

The repair crew was to be here at 8:00 this morning. But did not show until 11:15 am. They did call saying they would be a couple of hours late.

Pictures of the holes in the garage. They will return to finish the job tomorrow morning.

More to follow....

Same Bat Time...

Same Bat Channel....

Basement wall

This is a couple of pictures of our stairs that go down to the basement.

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the wall has a crack about 24 inches down. This is because the garage is on the other side of this wall. And the garage floor is pushing the wall in toward the basement. In fact it has move the top 24 to 30 inches of this wall in about 4 inches!

Therefore the crack. The garage floor is being pushed by the driveway. Which is being pushed by the street in front of our house. This is caused the the kinetic energy of the cars and trucks coming to a stop at the stop sign on the opposite side of our house.

Three months ago the city came out and cut the first 8 inches of my driveway and took out the concrete and replaced it with asphalt. This in turn has created a buffer between the street and my driveway.

Now the fun part. I have to take down this wall and take up the carpet on the stairs, so that a crew can come out tomorrow and reinforce the wall. They will drill 4 holes into the wall and insert 14 foot rods through the wall into the ground under the garage floor. Then they will drill 2 foot diameter holes in the garage floor and dig down about 4 feet. They then attach plates at each end of the 4 rods and torque up the rod to reinforce the wall.

I will take and post pictures as the work progresses.

Monday, Monday...

Monday morning. Kalleigh was baptised yesterday and hope to have some pictures with in the next day or two. Ran accross this video. One of my favotites. Hope you enjoy it also.

Still Thanksgiving...

We picked up Natalie this morning, then went by church to clean and fill the baptismal font for Kalleigh's baptism tomorrow.

We are leaving in a bit for my niece Shelly's home for Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, brother, sisters and their families, who could make it to St Louis this weekend.

We will miss those of our family who could not be here this weekend.

Kalleigh's great-grandpa Twente ( my dad), will be baptising Kalleigh tomorrow. Then she will be confirmed by Elder Vicki Gunther and Elder Judy Rice.

I will be giving the sermon.

Yes, I am a member of the priesthood in our church. I know this might seem a little strange for some of you who know me outside the family and church family.

Happy Thanksgiving

We would like to wish all of those who read this blog a very Happy Thanksgiving.

The one Thanksgiving day that stands out is one that happened in about 1990.

I was working as a Ground School Instructor at Trans World Airlines. And that year I had to work Thanksgiving day. We had contract training with an airline from Sweden. And with almost all commercial eating establishments closed at least until evening. The other instructor and I talked to our wives and they agree to fix a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people.

We had all the traditional eats, turkey, masked potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, salad, string bean casserole, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, etc...

This was the first time for those pilots from Sweden to experience this type of American food. Some were even skeptical of even trying some of the items (cranberry sauce). But everything was devoured.

But the most requested recipe was the pumpkin pie recipe! They had never tasted it before and the just couldn't get enough of it. So, Susan told them the recipe was on the back of the pumpkin can.

So that later that week I took quite a few of them to the local grocery store where each of them I took, bought at least 1 if not 2 CASES!

Once they got home they were going to have their wives make them pumpkin pie.

That year we got not only to share our special meal with them but a large part of our American culture. The Good culture part, sharing and caring for and with others no matter what nationality, color, religion.

May God Bless you and yours the Holiday season.

November 20, 1970

Today is our Wedding Anniversary.

Yes, 37 years, two children, four grandchildren, 2 apartments, one mobile home, and three houses ago, we were married at the Methodist Church in Blue Springs Missouri.

Shannon helped me put together this video that briefly shows Susan's and my journey to this point in our lives.

There were a lot of songs to choose from, but I felt that the two I chose best expressed my love and life with Susan.

I wish her a Happy Anniversary with all my heart and love.

Home

Got home yesterday morning.

Please make sure you come visit tomorrow. SPECIAL blog!!!!

DON'T MISS IT !!!!!!!

More tomorrow......

Still in Hong Kong

Scheduling called last night and said that we will be leaving Hong Kong for Anchorage this evening. That should put us in Anchorage at about 5:00 pm tomorrow evening.

After that they don't know what is going to happen.

But, I do know one thing. I am off on the 17th, but I told them that I would stay out 2 or 3 extra days if they need me.

Have to be home for our wedding anniversary on the 20th!

Or I just don't go home.......

Still in Hong Kong

We went shopping again over to Stanley Market. Got to get out of here, I am almost out of money! LOL.....

When we got back to the hotel we found out that we are going to be here at least until the 18th.

Not much else happening other than us being here for a few days longer than expected.

Until tomorrow....

Hong Kong

OK are you ready for this.........

We left Hong Kong on Sunday morning local time. Got into Anchorage Sunday afternoon. About 12 hours of flying in about a 14 hour period. We made a fuel stop in Hrabrask, Russia.

When we got into Anchorage we were told we were flying BACK to Hong Kong 13 hours later!

So, this morning Anchorage local time, we flew non-stop PANC (Anchorage) to VHHH (Hong Kong). 12 1/2 hours. We flew over Tokyo and got these pictures of Tokyo Bay and MT Fuji.

Then as soon as we got into the hotel in Hong Kong, we took the subway over to the Golden Computer Center. The other two guys I am with bought some things. I was the tour guide. Got back and went to Sticky Fingers. A local bar across the street from the hotel the crews go to for drinks. Those of you that know me know that I don't drink. So, I was the designated driver (remember the bar is ACROSS the street from the hotel) LOL.......

We are here until the 15th. Then we go back to PANC.

Life as a freight dog....

Stanly Market...Hong Kong Island

One of the captains I work with, Dieter Goerke, and I went to Stanley Market yesterday. It is an all day trip. We first board a ferry boat that takes us from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, accross Victoria Harbour. Then we take a 1 hour bus ride from the Hong Kong Central District thru Hong Kong Island to the other side, to the Stanley Market.

Once there we go SHOPPING.

We shopped for about 2 hours, looking at all the different stuff for sale. From silk scarfs to shoes, from jade to clothing, from purses to watches. I stopped by a shop that we go to to get "Greg Norman" golf shirts. These same shirts retail in the USA for about $80.00 each. Here I can (and did) get 4 for $200.00 HKD (Hong Kong Dollars). That's about $25.00 USD. Talk about a bargain!

We ran in to a couple of other Kalitta Air crew members that are staying at another hotel. We didn't even know they were in Hong Kong! We went to a cafe/bar a block away from the market and sat and had some drinks and onion rings. The restrooms were marked - Squat & Squirt for the women, and Stand & Aim for the men. It was funny to watch men not read and understand the signs on the doors of the restrooms.

After talking and drinking for about an hour, Dieter and I started back to Kowloon and our hotel. But we first went to Aberdeen Bay. These are some pictures I took. We road on a small boat to a floating restaurant called the "JUMBO FISH BOAT". The first picture is of me in front of the main entrance.

We started our excursion at about 9:00 am and got back at about 6:45 pm.

Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong this afternoon (midnight CST). But not without problems.

We get to the Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are 5 of us. The company has us all listed under 1 locator number on Flight 731 with JAL (Japan Airlines), flying from Japan to Hong Kong. The first problem is we notice that as she is checking us in against the list of crew members vs passports, she has a confused look on her face (universal look). She is looking very closely at MY passport. She then starts making a number of phone calls (speaking in Japanese) of course.

Finally she starts to find the living face with the passport picture and calls me up to the counter. She then informs me in broken English, that I am not on the list of crew members on the locator number the company gave us, and therefore I do not have a ticket to Hong Kong.

I ask her if she has any seats left on the flight that I could buy now. "Hy" (prounced Hi, Yes in Japanese) she says, but only in First or business class. I said go for it! I give her my company credit card and she goes about ticketing me on the flight to Hong Kong. I sat in business class.

Now what I have just explained in a couple of minutes, actually took about 1 1/2 hours to transpire!

Next stop.....Hong Kong.... 1 hour wait to go though customs!

Next stop ....and 1 hour drive from Hong Kong airport to Kowloon Regal Hotel.....

Check in at the Regal Hotel.

Again everyone has a reservation except guess who?......

Yes, me again! And they are booked up! No room at the Inn.

Okay, I'll just go over to the Peninsula (Hotel in Kowloon where James Bond stayed at in the 007 movie Man With The Golden Gun). Going to cost someone more $$$$. Either my company or the Regal or our handler in Hong Kong (Jardine Aircraft Services), they take care of our transportation and Hotels. Someone forgot me again, and now I am really pissed!

One of the Hotel managers shows up and says he will make things right and get me a room here. (Rats....not going to the Peninsula).

Got the room and will be here until the 11th. Then back to Anchorage, AK.

More later....

Toyko, Japan

Got into Yokota AFB early Tuesday morning local time. Yokota AFB is just outside Tokyo. We then took two taxi cabs to the other side of Tokyo to Narita, Japan. This is where the new International airport is located. We are staying at the Nartia Hilton. Scheduling says that they will commercial us to Hong Kong sometime tomorrow. Sorry but no pictures for today. Passed Mt. Fuji on the way in this morning, but was still a little too dark to photograph.

Well on to Hong Kong tomorrow.

Waikiki Joy Hotel

Melissa in scheduling wanted me to lake some pictures of the hotel rooms we stay at when we are in Honolulu.

The picture of the toilet is there because it has a couple of unique features. The seat is HEATED! It also has a rinse feature fro your bottom end.... LOL A bidet.

We have a kitchenette and a large Lani with patio furniture!

All in all, a nice place to relax in paradise.

God it's a tough job..... but someone has to do it...... LOL...

We leave for Guam and Japan later this afternoon.

Oh...I forgot to tell you the plan has changed. They commercialed me yesterday afternoon from LA to Honolulu. We are flying for the military to the Air Force base just outside of Tokyo, Japan. We will make a fuel stop in Guam. We are doing a heavy crew, 2 captains, 1 first officer and 2 flight engineers. I LOVE heavy and double crews....$$$$$$$$...... I get paid for the time I work at the controls and the time I sleep in the back !

So will be out of touch for a day or two.

LAX

Got into LA late last night. But good news is that I get an extra hours sleep.

Going to be here until Monday night. Then I DH (deadhead) on 1 of our planes back to Honolulu. Then 8 hours after I get back to HNL, I return back to LAX.

Still every hazy here in the LA basin from all the fires.

CHIEFS vs Packers today @ noon KC time.

HAWAII !!!!!!!!

Got into Honolulu early this morning.

Fly back to LA tomorrow afternoon. Then commercial back to Honolulu for a trip that is supposed to leave Honolulu for Japan and Okinawa on Tuesday.

We had a small generator problem last night about 300 miles east of Honolulu. Accomplished the checklist, and removed the generator off the electrical system. No big deal. Kind of like one of the problems they give us in the simulator each year. So. I guess training does payoff.