mike and ruth

We are making steady progress on the restoration of our home. I wanted to post a photo of the current state of the kitchen so here it is. You will notice that we still need light fixtures too. I want at least one of them to have a ceiling fan but the others are not too sure of this. Fell free to share your comments in this or any other regard.

The office has been completed and we are moving things back into it this week, as well as working on plumbing in the bathroom. I purchased a new toilet and a new faucet for the sink as well as drain equipment for the tub. I replaced the water valves which were the friction type with a rubber washer with ball valves that should be easier to use, and should last just as long if not longer. The “baseboard” in the bathroom will be done with tile this time which should look really sharp. (We hope to also do the bathroom in the basement in a like manner.) I will post a photo of this work soon, when it is completed.

We really appreciate your encouragement and really hope to be back in our own home really soon. It has been a long summer away, but we really appreciate Grandma’s willingness to put us up. She is a gem. We just want to give her a little more peace and hope to do so soon.

We have been working day after day at the house and the progress is becoming a little more evident than it has been in the past.

This photo shows the beautiful job done by the reglazing that was done last week (doesn’t that look great?) and the newly-laid porcelain tile that Derek and I put down a week ago. Rosie did the grout, and it looks wonderful. Thanks Rosie and Derek! I have since been working on the drain in the tub which has been a real challenge but I should have this back in place this week along with new faucet washers and seats for the controls. We also hope to get painting done in the bathrooms (we already have the paint) and purchase a new toilet, and then hopefully we should be in a position to move back in while we get the rest of the house done. There is more work to do in the office and basement, but we are ready to get back in after being displaced for over two months. Grandma Hill has been very accomodating with us (thank you!) but we believe she is also ready to have us back in our own home.

We look forward to the blessing of our newest grandchild, Daphne Helen Green this weekend, and then after Labor Day Melodie will return to BYU-Idaho for school. We will miss her! Mom and I would like to find a day for a mini-trip to some location with the girls before school starts again but don’t know if we will be able to or not.

We recently went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house.

What a beautiful place! Peaceful, serene, elegant, and other adjectives do not adequately describe this edifice. There are many photographs available online of this (and other) LDS temples. Here is a link to that site: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/oquirrhmountain/gallery/

We had the privilege of participating in the extended dedicatory services (away from the temple) of this building. A great opportunity to reflect on the love of our creator for his children and His concern for their well-being in this weary old world of ours and the differences cultures have one with another.

We have been rather disappointed with Farmers Insturance company and our adjuster for what we feel is a rather uncooperative attitude as opposed to “what can we do to help”. At first they seemed to be forthcoming although the connection they had with the restoration company didn’t work and help took over six hours to arrive after the flooding was discovered and reported. Thanks to family and neighbors the water removal process was already well under way when Service Masters finally arrived to help out. Since then we feel like they have minimized our losses (sheet rock repair and painting) and denied our claim for many things we believed should have been covered including some of our floor coverings. As a result we are trying to take care of some of these things ourselves. The kitchen cabinetry was affected by the warping of the underlayment, but we were told that unless the warping was evident to the eye or specifically to the operation of doors, etc, it would not be covered. We decided the cabinets needed to be replaced anyway.

Here is the way our kitchen looked before cabinets were removed. We painted the kitchen after their removal to prepare for the new kitcehn fixtures and carpet.
The second photo is of the intermediate stage, taken today, of the installation process for the new cabinets we purchased at Home Depot. They aren’t custom cabinets but seem to be built quite well.

I will post a “finished” photo when the project is done. Randy Hickman and his son Brian from Randal Construction are doing the installation for us. I will update you on other portions of our home as we get to them. We are still unable to live here because the bedrooms and living room have been filled with items from the kitchen, hallway and closet, bathroom, and office, where flooring was removed due to water damage. We are grateful to Ruth’s mother who is hosting us for the present time and to Rosie who hosted us the first few weeks.

Our brother Neil was called and has accepted a position at a Trombone player in the Orchestra at Temple Square.

Mark had heard he was invited to participate, and saw him during our rehearsal on Thursday at the Conference Center with members of his family. We found that he was there to be set apart and we were able to join in this process. Neil is currently serving as the President of the Utah Music Educators Association among many other things he does, along with teaching choirs at Woods Cross so he is very busy. Mark and I look forward to seeing him a little more often, now that some of the time he will be at rehearsals, concerts, and recordings at Temple Square with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in the future. Congratulations!

You may have heard that we had a flood in our home in late June when the toilet tank split open down the corner. Nobody was home and water spilled into our house for several hours. What a mess! We have decided that while the house is torn up for repairs, this would be a good time to purchase the new kitchen cabinets and countertops we have wanted for a long time. 30 years of wear and tear with a large family have taken ther toll on the kitchen cabinets and the counter surfaces.

We recieved notice yesterday that the cabinets were ready for delivery and to expect a call this morning sometime during a 4-hour period notifying us that they were in the area. We got the call today and came over to get the new cabinets into the house. It was quite a chore getting these three pallets of cabinets over to the house with only a pallet jack and two workers.

Mom and I took the stacks apart and the cabinets into the house, and then took them out of their protective cardboard coverings. Only one was slightly damaged. The system we enjoy of commerce and interchange is such a nice convenience! These cabinets were built in Indiana and shipped to us here in Utah, and delivered to our home for installation. We did not have to pick them up ourselves and it is a good thing, as the truck is not usable at the moment. More to come after they are installed!
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We take many of the wonderful things we enjoy in our way of life for granted, such as the great invention of having water inside of our homes for various uses. When something happens to interrupt this convenience we realize just how important it is to have access.

Our neighbor across the street said his wife heard running water late at night when it was quiet. A quick check in their home indicated that there was no leak or water running inside of their home, so he went outside to check the sprinkler system for their yard and lawns. He could hear the sound in the meter box. When the water valve to their home was shut off, the sound could still be heard. He called the city and they came out to check. Sure enough there was a break in the line between the main and their home. The water main is on our side of the street.

Today the crew brought a backhoe and some skilled labor to replace the leaking line. They dug about 4 feet down in the street to the main water line on our side of the street, and down to the connection to their meter, also about about 4 feet deep in their lawn. They used the old line to pull through the new line under the street, avoiding having do dig across the entire street to replace the line.

Here they are pulling the old galvanized steel line out with the backhoe, which had the new copper line attached to it. When the old line came out, one end of the new line was attached to it. All they needed to do was attach both ends of the line again. The far side to the meter across the street, and the near side shown here,

to the water main. Then a dump truck with sand filled the bottom of both holes (most of the one in the grass) and then soil and rock back into the hole in the street followed by road base. They came by today and put black top pavement over the spot. Amazing work guys! It makes me grateful for the work these people do for us, and also for the many conveniences we enjoy in our society. We have great friends and neighbors who look out for each other.

One of the many historical highlights of the choir tour took place early in the morning in Iowa. (Pictures are by Gerry Avant of The Church News.) We arrived at a park near Council Bluffs on June 24th at 6:30 am for a photo session at Progressive Park, on the banks of the Missouri River. The early time was scheduled in hopes of avoiding the heat of the day in the humidity. The experience was memorable for us as well as for the people who were watching — including the owners of the park. It was a great start to the day for us.

It was my great privilege to participate in the most recent tour of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a singing member of the choir. We visited several midwestern cities and sang concerts in Cincinnati OH (with the Pops), St. Louis MO, Des Moines IA, Omaha NB, Kansas City MO, Norman OK, and Denver CO. We sang for a few small groups of senior citizens and visited some historic sites on the way.

The trip lasted about 13 days and involved about 320 singers, 60 orchestra members, 150 guests, 25 crew members, and all of the associated luggage and other equipment required for the trip. We began by taking a flight to Cincinnati and took 11 buses to the other venues as well as three luggage trucks, four semis with full-size trailers for equipment, and four support vehicles. The tour ended at Denver with a concert at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater.

We returned to Salt Lake City the next day. What a trip it was! This kind of trip is not a vacation, but a rigorous effort every day, but what a great experience.