Applause Please

The Dread Piano Chambers is done! (well almost, there is this one part that I thought wouldn't show, but it does, and now I have to do it, and I was going to buy a new bench but then I had an aneurysm when I saw how expensive they were and that I would just have to paint it to match, so I'm redoing the bench now too)

Feast your eyes on this sight:
Before pic:
Before I went crazy with the piano it had splotches of white paint all over the front. Otherwise it was probably fine. (I started this DPC project in August of last year, before I really got into documenting everything with pictures, so this is the best before picture I have. See that sexy pink bench? That's what I'm redoing now)

After:
I'm a little bit distressed about the distressing. I want to love it because I put SOOOOOOOOOOOO x10 to the 3,000 power much work into it. But I just kind of like it, I don't really love it. I don't walk in and think, "Dang! I'm good." I think, "Sheesh. That was a lot of work. And gosh, who beat up my piano?" I have refinishers remorse! But I am kind of determined to love it.

I guess my piano and I will have to have therapy. Anyone know of a good piano/person relationship therapist?

Perhaps I should just "Fake it til I feel it."

At first, I planned to refinish it with a beautiful stain that brought out the original grain of the beautiful wood. The best laid plans of mice and men. . . can be ruined by a power sander and high grit sandpaper in one instant. (Do you think that could make a good poem or book?) So now it is black. Then since I was having such a hard time with it, I decided to distress it. Now I am not sure about that.
Maybe instead of piano therapy I need some retail therapy-- some decorations to accessorize my beautiful, unique piano (see I'm already trying to fake it).

Other news from the world of us: Mike and I took "Excited and Confused" to a whole new level on Monday night. It was a full moon, what can I say? We took our mtn bikes up to Snowbasin and biked up Cold Water to an overlook of Ogden with only the light of the moon (and Ryan Watkins) to guide us. Wow! It was awesome. I haven't been on a mtn bike (on a mountain) for two years now, so I was a little bit worried about my first endeavor being in the dark on an unknown trail. Really, it was probably better that way, because I couldn't see a lot of obstacles I just went over them and afterwards thought, "Hmm, that was probably scary." My butt is only a little bit sore.

On Saturday we went to HAFB airplane museum. Once a year they have an event where they open up the planes and let people climb inside. In each plane the guide was usually a veteran that had flown the plane. We heard some great stories and Kenzie loved sitting in the "pirate's" seat. (I tried to explain, but she has selective hearing). Pictures:
Mike in the navigator's seat of the C-130

Hannah got a lot of enjoyment out of this trip.

The C-130 from the outside. It's huge. Mike kept saying, "And they did all this before computers. Can you imagine?"

Kenzie in the "pirate's seat" of the C-130. Obviously this was our favorite plane.