No. 70: Go to a Presidential Library

No. 70: Go to a Presidential Library 

Wow! Actually accomplished something on my list for a change.

Last weekend while I was in Texas, I attended a wedding in Dallas with many of my High School traveling friends. We had Saturday morning free and Martha Anne suggested a trip to the George W Bush Presidential Library. Hey! Visiting a presidential library is on my list, Number 70 to be exact.  So we went.

I wasn't sure what to expect...a museum? A library with books? Boring?

Me, the library entrance, 

and a beautiful Texas day.

Museum most accurately fit the bill.  As a bonus there was an exhibit on the First Ladies and their accomplishments.

In the beginning, the most a Presidential spouse could hope for was 

recognition of her "Hostessing" abilities. 

Gotta start somewhere. 

Lady Bird Johnson made life more beautiful.

She reigned in the highway billboards and sowed wildflowers.

The world can always use more beauty.

Laura Bush was a teacher. 

I love this quote. 

Allison, Kathleen, and Martha Anne watching a movie 

on the First Ladies. 

The change and inspiration these women have brought about in their unelected position is amazing. (I'm waiting for a First Man so the exhibit can be changed to First Spouses. I'm also waiting for our current First Lady to do SOMETHING. Or maybe not. Maybe she is doing us a favor by not doing a thing.)  Thrust into the limelight, they became style leaders, opened up our eyes to addiction and mental illness, made breast cancer a subject that could be discussed rather than brushed under the rug and beautified our nation.

Fully inspired, we headed into the permanent museum exhibits.   While I'm  a Texas girl, I wasn't a huge fan of George W.   Truthfully I didn't think he was that smart. At least he did have the brains to surround himself for the most part with people who were smart. That helped. I was proud of the way he handled 911. And he was and is a good person.

The exhibits are fun.  Interactive. Educational. In his eight years as President, George W. dealt with a lot.

His most Presidential moment was his response to the 911 terrorism attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

Wow. 

Steel from the Twin Towers. 

Just this in the middle of the room.

So powerful.

Some of his other highlights included Medicare Part D which is the Senior prescription drug plan, creating three national marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean that protects almost 200,000 square miles of aquatic life, his relief for AIDS which has saved lives and helped prevent the spread of that horrible disease, and his capture of Saddam Hussein.

He had his failures too. Those weren't exactly the focus of the library.

There was a wonderful film of his daughters talking about their life with a Presidential father. Bush is a family man and it was nice to see that aspect of his life. His dogs were highlighted. Loved those Scottish terriers.

Was he a great President? Probably not. But he did the job as best as he could. I love this quote and wish our current President would read it.

Respect.

Earned, not a given.

Easily lost. 

My favorite part of the library? 

The Oval Office. 

I got to sit at a reproduction of Bush's desk. Complete with the magical red button. 

Don't I look comfortable and in charge? 

Sign me up. 

I've raised teenagers,

I'm sure I could run the country. 

We finished the day with lunch at the attached cafeteria. Just like Disney World, the library empties into a gift shop and there's a restaurant near by. A winning formula.  Café 43 had surprisingly good food and it was a wonderful way to end our visit.

Me, Martha Anne, Allison and Kathleen 

Great friends,

great day,

great visit. 

No.70 is in the books.

No. 80: More Home Repairs

No. 80: Let There Be Light


A little carpentry, a little electrical, a little plumbing.
I decided No. 80 would be some electrical work. Need to be well rounded, you know.

At some point I'm going to be able to build my own house. Or at least repair it. 

The front light at the cabin went out. I tried to open the fixture to get the bulb out and discovered a stripped screw. Couldn't get into it.  This is an original fixture from before we bought the place. I had already replaced bulbs in the side yard light and knew they were about $8 apiece. I whisked off to the hardware store with the grand idea of maybe just replacing the fixture. Two new bulbs for the front (IF I could get into the fixture) would have been $16 and a new fixture was $26. Easy decision. 

The existing light. 

Originally the entire top half of the cabin was

painted that lovely shade of green.

Ugly fixture, bad paint job- what is there to love here? 

With neighbor Sue on stand by to call 911, I flipped the breaker box. I've never switched out a light fixture before but I have certainly seen it done enough. How hard could it be? Not very, as it turns out. 

With the power off I unscrewed the original fixture.  A dead and deteriorating wasp nest fell out which leads me to believe it wasn't sealed that well in the first place. Like most of the electrical work in this cabin it was done a bit on the fly. There was electrical tape around one of the connections and fabric tape (huh?) around another. 

It took no time to remove the original and then I attempted to install the new fixture which I had been sure was identical to the first. Oops. No.

Like my painting shirt?

Getting those wires attached....

Almost.

(The scissors in my back pocket were for getting into the packaging,

not for any actual electrical work.)

The original screwed in at the center. 

This one had two screws on either side. Because the junction box wasn't recessed, the original owners had placed two pieces of wood on either side to make the light fixture level with the junction box. Of course, the screws on the new fixture did NOT match up to the screw holes on the junction box. And there was no wood, just air to connect to. A little wiggling and I finally managed to screw the fixture in at the top of the junction box and attach the bottom screw to a wood piece. There was a slight gap which was sealed with foam sealing tape. I figured the hubs used that with the back light fixtures, so it must be ok. Silicone caulk sealed the deal.

Trying to shove everything into the junction box.

The light works beautifully. The cabin has not burned down. Yet.

What an improvement!

I think I can, I think I can.....

Many thanks to neighbor Sue for taking pics and helping me make sure the breaker was off!