Seeing Green

Here’s a brief flood update…the meeting with the adjuster went well.  Our job is to get the basement dried out; insurance will cover all of our losses (carpet, personal property, etc.) up to our allowed amount.  In fact, Jeff, Mike, and Von will even get their labor reimbursed for Sunday!  The adjuster told us that we had done all the right things before he arrived, which was encouraging.  Now it’s just a matter of letting the dehumidifiers run, getting a carpet guy out here, and getting moved back down.

As I keep telling myself, it could be much worse!

While waiting for the adjuster, I spent Tuesday afternoon finishing the project I had started on Sunday afternoon before my kids found the “giant mud puddle” in the basement: re-covering my dining room chairs.  The last time I had this done was six years ago, and the chairs have had a lot of wear and tear and rips and stains since then.  I got online and decided that I could probably do the job myself this time with the proper tools.  Of course, it’s ironic that we’re doing this just before we welcome an all-new maker-of-messes into the family, but here’s the before and after!

 

 

Jeff laughs when I pick out curtains or fabric for anything in our main living area.  It is ALWAYS a variation of the same colors…maroon, gold, green.  I’m nothing if not consistent!  I had leftover fabric, so my next project is a matching valence.  I have it cut out and pinned, but my 30-year-old sewing machine no longer works after three years sitting in storage.  So, I guess I either have to borrow or buy one.  But I think I’ll worry about that after the mess in the basement is cleaned up.

Anyway…Tuesday in Washington DC was the day my brother Thad was to graduate from his Diplomatic Security training program, something he had spent the last eight months working toward.  We were due to report to the State Department Building around 11:00 a.m. to clear security and get seated before the noon ceremony.  (This is where Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s office is, so security is TIGHT.)

We had planned right along to squeeze in a visit to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing before the graduation, so we were up early and on the subway to try to make the first tour at 9:15.  Zech and Alyse were going to meet us over there, and that all went well.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is one of the places where money is printed in the United States, and this ended up being a really great tour.  Again, due to the weather, we found no crowds and only about 15 people total on our tour, which began with a brief video about the money-making process and continued with a guided walk through the actual factory.  As you might figure, no photos were allowed, but we got to see money rolling on the presses, people performing quality checks, and stacks of bills, cut and uncut, lying around.

Here’s one interesting fact:  check the serial numbers on your bills.  If there is a star at the end of any of them, you have a relatively rare Star Note.  Hang on to it; they are valuable at collectors’ items.  Starred notes result when a batch of bills doesn’t pass the quality inspection, and the serial numbers have to be rerun on a second set of bills.  Of course, none of us had a Star Bill in our pockets!

We ended our tour in the gift shop, where we could buy anything from bags of shredded money and other such cheesy souvenirs to beautiful engraved pieces of art and uncirculated bills.  The Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes all of the invitations to official White House events, and they carry a line of beautiful engraved prints.  Jeff and I bought a small print of the Bureau building and a Christmas ornament made of shredded money.

We also could find out how much a million dollars (shredded) we were tall!

I would highly recommend touring this sight if you ever visit Washington.  It’s lots of fun!  Plus, if you happen to be a teacher, tell the tour guide that.  My sister-in-law, Alyse, asked the guide about a copy of the video we were shown at the beginning of the tour, as she teaches graphic arts and wanted to show it to her students.  The tour guide brought her a free goody bag filled with small bags of shredded money, two DVDs, and lots of brochures and worksheets about the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  Very cool!

After this tour, we rode the Metro back over to the Foggy Bottom area of town and walked to the State Department building, where we joined other friends and families of graduates in the security line.  And I’ll tell you all about that next time!