Kristina Lunde

The Lord is my strength and my song.
Psalm 118:14a

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September 28, 2019 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

The Tub Incident: Why I Love My Husband

Reason #541 for why I love my husband is the incident with our tub. I caused this problem myself, which ultimately tested (and proved!) my husband’s patience.

First the backstory

My husband Craig is the muscle and brains behind our cabin/house remodeling project. I am not a handy, tool-wielding, Minnesota woman who likes construction projects.  Give me construction on TV, done quickly between commercials, where I never have to experience budget overruns. Not an option with this project. I am in the middle of it, but not talented enough to contribute significantly. I sand, seal, paint, (and repeat!) on the many surfaces throughout the cabin, not that I am accomplished at this or enjoy it. But that is my job, so I try to help and not hinder projects.

Craig and I have fixed up and sold three houses in the last seven years. He does the construction work; I sort, pack, clean, and paint. The three family homes needed help; I did not choose the activity. I don’t have that fantasy of flipping homes; I would rather watch that on TV. Although we have worked on houses, living within the construction zone is a new experience for me. Once I came down the cabin stairs to see Craig hoisting a six-foot-wide, wooden, load-bearing header to support the opening for our fireplace. I rushed over to help him, chiding him for not asking for help. Not that I am brawny or full of upper arm strength, but I was the only human being available to help. I helped him lift the beam, but we discovered that the sheetrock needed further trimming before the header would fit in the space. We had lifted, attempted to fit, cut out, and repeated the process several times before the header set snugly into place.

“On TV when they do this, the header fits right in the first time. And when they need to lift, 20 people come from backstage to help the hosts and pick up the beam,” I remarked wistfully. No one comes to help when you are in the deep, dark woods working alone on projects! Craig accepts help from this wimpy wife because he has no other option. So I try to help and avoid causing extra work for him. Until the tub incident.

Current Incident

Finishing the area above the tub surround, just below the ceiling, is a task I had done before using a step stool in the tub. The first time was a second floor bathroom with an old-fashioned porcelain tub. The second house I painted was a fiberglass tub on a concrete basement floor. This time I used the step stool on the second floor tub, to sand and seal the knotty pine – times three coats. The step stool had a u-shaped back leg support and two front legs. As I sanded up near the ceiling, I heard a crunching sound as the short ladder gradually pitched forward. I jumped off when I realized that the legs were sinking.

Sure enough, when I pulled the stepladder up, the front legs had pushed the drop cloth down as they pressed the tub.

The stool legs completely punctured the fiberglass, breaking holes through the entire tub surface!   

My Confession

Did I mention that Craig was on a fishing trip when all of this happened? And that this is our only bathroom?! Sickened by the tub holes, I wondered how this could have happened. I took no comfort in the fact that, according to many online sources, ladder-feet punctures are the most common need for fiberglass tub repair. Repair or replace the tub? I didn’t know which, nor did I want to make that decision myself. When I asked friends about the incident, the story became a comedy routine as everyone had a good laugh at my expense. To avoid ruining Craig’s fishing trip, I resolved not to tell him until he was on his way home from the remote resort in Canada. Meanwhile, I collected offers to shower elsewhere, or even come to live with friends if Craig was very upset. I knew he wouldn’t be that mad, but I still felt terrible that I had done this.

On his way home from Canada, fish tales swirling through his mind and happy after spending man-time with brother and friends, Craig took my call. I explained the events to Craig, emphasizing how much I loved him. He was ever so patient and kind, despite the unspoken fact that I stupidly tried that with the step stool. Unlike Craig, I know nothing about load-bearing subfloors, structural support, or the tensile strength limits of fiberglass.

The Fix

My dear husband patched, epoxied, and sanded the tub to fix my mistake and repair the tub punctures. Craig did not scold or get mad at me. His patient, labor-intensive, problem resolution impressed me. I deserved to be chewed out for my carelessness, but he never complained. For Craig’s loving response to my mistake, I am grateful and honored.

 

Thank you God, for reason #541 to love my dear husband.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cabin, construction, DIY, husband, tub

February 4, 2019 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

An Ode to the Polar Vortex in Minnesota

The vortex we now have is polar,
Coming from the cap.
The temperatures are deadly;
Climate change takes the rap.

The weather became lethal
Creating wind chills very low.
Temps are in the minus range;
It’s way too cold to snow.

Put on a hat and mittens!
The temps are below zero!
Your Mom’s advice is wise:
Keep skin covered if you go.

Minimize time outdoors—
Or consider staying in.
In a span of minutes,
Frostbite can begin.

A blanket, boots, and shovel
Plus a full gas tank in your car—
Be prepared for this weather
Even when you don’t go far.

Cabin fever is a problem,
This isn’t just a snow day.
Now we’re trapped inside
‘Til warmer weather comes our way.

There is nothing like Minnesota:
Reflections on white snow
Of blue sky and sparkling sun,
Even though it’s 45 below.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: humor, Minnesota, poem, weather

October 1, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 2,410 Comments

Website Crash. Repair. Reload. Repeat.

A crash.

Like a toddler after a morning full of physical activity or a college student after finals week?

No, an ill-timed crash.

Like what my blood sugar does when I try to be coherent after too much starch, not enough protein/fat, and a long interval without nutritional intake?

No, a precipitous crash.

Like the stock market in those typical, yet thankfully seldom, fall incidents of market correction?

No, an abrupt crash.

Like the crash of my dear offspring driving our family car into my sister’s vehicle, innocently parked and not deserving the mangling it received?

No, that was more of a crunch than a crash. Besides, no one was hurt. Whew.

This was an uncontrollable crash. Spontaneous. Unexpected. A nasty surprise. A headlong disappearance into the ether of ones and zeros. My website completely and repeatedly vanished. The internet swallowed my keystrokes, words, and links, leaving my site with a binary blank.

Without berating my technological incompetence any further,

Or describing my sad review of correctly installed plugin, authenticated route to cloud storage, appropriate file for storage – and my dismay at the completely empty back up file?!

Or detailing the patience of my web guru as he scoured, repaired, and reloaded, while I tangled and wrangled with his instructions,

I concede defeat.

My apologies:

To those who planned to access my Bible study videos from this website (otherwise, check YouTube for the Bible on the Bluff videos to accompany the study guides),

To those who read my blogposts,

And mostly to my website guru who patiently corrects my (partially self-induced) messes.

My question to the internet ether:

What are you doing swallowing my website whole?!

Your regurgitation of said contents would be most appreciated. You don’t need to explain why you did it. No questions asked. Just give it up and leave me alone. Cease and desist with your electronic messing of my stuff.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: computer, crash, website

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,259 Comments

My Broken Delete Key

There once was a writer wannabe

Who had a broken delete key,

But the words in her head

That had to be said,

Just wouldn’t come out perfectly.

broken computer keyboard

Instead, she used the backspace

When her writing needed an erase.

As her manuscript arose,

She had to edit more prose;

There was backspacing all over the place!

delete & insert keys

Soon the neighboring key broke down,

There was no more ‘insert’ to be found.

The broken keyboard excuse:

A writer’s pathetic ruse?

Yet there were still plenty of keys to press down.

[Originally posted July 2015]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: broken keyboard, computer, delete key, writing

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,099 Comments

Minnesota Spring

Thick fluffy snowflakes cloud the night sky. My son, hopeful for a snow day and school cancellation the next morning, wishes the spring snow to continue, thicker and colder. Wistfully remembering my early season snow excitement last November and December, I grouse at the April nuisance that postpones the long awaited end of winter. Morning yields over one inch of slushy, white mush on the ground. Daytime highs in the 50s melt the offensive layer with spring promise of greenery and warmth in the annual exchange for frigid temperatures and stark vegetation.

Two days later, the sun warms life to a record seventy plus degrees. Neighbors show themselves outside for the first time in months, greeting fellow around-the-block-walkers with mutually complimentary weather acknowledgements. Children assemble in yards and driveways after the indoor play season. The little boy down the street looks smaller, until I realize that the toddler in the driveway is last year’s baby, and the preschooler peddling his wheels toward me is last year’s toddler. New strollers in the neighborhood identify expanded families. Empty nesters proudly parade a new puppy. Sadly, we circle the long block with one less dog this spring.

Winter and spring.

Growth and change.

Life and death.

Seasons of our lives.

[Originally posted April 2015]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Minnesota, spring

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