Down on the corner....

Out in the streets!.....welll that is some lyric from some southern rock group....

The tile is all up, with the grout yet to be done, and our floors are getting re-done this week. we are now in "pack up" mode, and will be that way for a couple of days. Wed is the first day where we will be having the floors sanded, who knows about thurs and fri?

Here are some pictures of the final tile job and a couple of the concrete countertops with the tile.


















So we will continue to move our materials upstairs, and leave the floor downstairs as nice as we can. Not sure how much it really matters since it is impossible to get all the KELSEY hairs up and out of it.

My girl works hard!

Now during this whole blog update / house remodel stuff I believe that I have failed to mention or state just how hard my wife works at all of this. This whole thing is a team effort. I can't really think of a project that hasn't been 50/50 other than the concrete countertops. From paint, to drywall, to floors, my wife works hard!

Anyways.....another hard night of tile. Well it really isn't difficult work, measure, cut, sticky stuff, place it, second guess, adjust, add spacers, curse, step back, adjust, re-cut, smile. (I have really only been doing the cut, measure, and curse part of all of that, Sandy has been doing the rest)

Tonight we didn't get as far as we really wanted, mostly due to the late start and the fact that the walls on this old house have some wavey-ness. After making some minor adjustments and having some small fits on some hardi-board, we started. We wrapped up around 9:30 tonight with about 60% finished product. Hopefully we knock the rest of it out tomorrow and are able to grout this weekend....oh this weekend is going to be HUGE!

Here are some before and mid-point pictures for all the picture freaks

Next stop on the subway.....

The Backsplash!

In just over 4 hours we were able to tile the east side of the kitchen backsplash. It is really amazing to see what change it brings to the whole room. The under cabinet lights make a great difference, and the bright-whiteyness of the tile make the concrete countertops POP!

We are going to knock out the west side of the kitchen tomorrow. With the grout coming later this week.

Bondo? Check! Old Trim? Check!

Well the boys showed up to help me out with the trim. We salvaged the trim from the old kitchen door opening and were limited on what we could use. Instead of screwing it all up we called in Isaac and Eric to knock it out. One little mess up, wrong angle, and we would have been out of luck. Something that we couldn't afford. So call in the pros

They did a fantastic job too! We don't call in PRO's that often, but we have been extremely luck with those we have worked with.

Now on the the baseboards, touch up some paint and to tile the backsplash. Not too much left to do in the kitchen or dinning room. Now for the upstairs, and the bathroom, and the floors.

Speaking of floors, we had someone by today to give an estimate on getting them redone. If anyone out there has used a contractor that has used the Controlled Dust System or CDS please send me an email or comment. This guy seemed to be a real pro and we liked his ideas.....just curious what others experiences are.

I hate / love that gigantic oak tree.

It's a love hate relationship, me and the oak. Sure it was around here long before me and has some sort of "squatters" rights, but that is just crap. Hell that thing was probably a seedling back when Jimmy Carter was born, it's just gigantic. I love that tree during the summer, as it shades our house from the southern sun. Protecting us from the rays of heat that would warm our stone house and create an oven. I love that. I love the massive branches that allow for Maxwell to set up a swing and hang from it. I love the squirrels that live up in it that taunt my dog. It gives and give during the summer. And come fall.....IT'S WAR!


Soon it will begin its air-raid. Dropping acorns from 20-30-50-100 feet. Falling to the ground with some sting. Making the yard appear as if an acorn truck decided to dump its load. It will slowly fill up the gutters with tops and bottoms. And then the leaves. The leaves aren't huge, but from my calculations ( a true hillbilly guess) will total about 4.3 million come years end that will make home in my gutters, on my back porch, and all in our newly seeded yard. And there isn't much I can do about that. ......OR IS THERE?


Today while at church, yes I have started going back to church....(LOWE'S) I found some gutter filter guards that look like they might do the trick. They slide up under the first row of shingles and snap onto the gutter. In theory the leaves and acorns should roll off. That is in theory, who really knows how they will stand up to the beating that this tree will unleash in a few weeks.








The Grass in the yard is doing really well. Thanks to the rain every now and again, a small sprinkler, things are turning green. We honestly were not sure how to do it, but how hard could grass be? Kyle across the street seems to think that we have done a great job, and he is a pro when it comes to gardening.

Holding up well.

Things have slowed down alot around here since Gauley season started. We knew that was going to happen, and it's ok with us. With little projects all around, and with everyone coming to our house for Turkeyday, we have plenty to do. And some projects are just starting.

The Yard is starting to grow. We are about 10 days after seeding and the little bits of green are taking over the drab brown of the straw. The next couple of days should be great for the grass, but this weekend is not. I am sure that we will be able to find something to do.

It's great to have a kitchen that you can cook in. Not just cook in, but prepare foods in. Just the fact that we have a space for everything is awesome. Spices, flour, bulk goods, pizza stone...it's all right there. The working triangle with-in the kitchen is big, but is working out great. We can both be in there, cooking and working and not banging elbows. It's nice.

Lately I have been playing with my pizza stone and the gas grill. I can't get off my Thai kick, so I made a fantastic pizza using chicken sausage, fresh basil, peanutbutter sauce, and some veggies....mmmmmmmm yeah!

The grass might be greener-

Well it is that time of the year where we load up every friday and head north to WV. Gauley season is one of the greatest parts of our life. Although we won't get on it all 6 weekends, we will do our best to get up there as much as possible. And since we are doing all of that, we won't really have time to be working much on the house. Here is a picture of OX and myself in a shredder on the upper g.


We did have a chance to tear up the back yard last week. I worked a tiller Friday afternoon and sandy worked out all of the not-so-level spots while I worked an event Sat. Morning. When I got home we started the seeding. I hope that it works. I have never planted that much seed before, like an entire yard. If it works out, our yard will be awesome. The concrete polishing didn't really help out that much, so its really great that we decided to just go for it. If you were going to till up your yard I would recommend something larger than the 5.5hp tiller that United Rentals rents. There is a larger version, comes on a trailer, but I don't have a hitch.

We are thinking about hiring someone to do all of the floors and on the edge about doing the upstairs. Time is a wastin.

Bocce Ball, Meatfest, and working in the woodshop

Jerry did a great job this past weekend with Meatfest 2006. Chris cooked it all but thanks to Jerry's planning and use of the house, everyone had a great time. We had a fantastic Bocce Ball tournament, 17 people played and in the end Andy cheated me out of a point to take home the trophy. It's all good, I don't think Andy had ever won a trophy in his freakin life,,,,,just kidding. He played some great rounds and really pulled it off. It's all good, there will be a winter tournament and I am confident to whip his butt.

On monday Jerry and I made some nice trim for the kitchen bar tops. We could have gone to the store and bought premaid stuff, but there is just something about making what you want. We ripped some red oak 1x6 boards down, and ran them through the router table. by doing it this way we were able to make it the "just right size". It wasn't hard at all to do this.

The molding went up without a hitch (meaning I made all my cuts right) and really does look good. Now I have yet to paint it but, it has already made a difference. I hope to get the paint and grout done tomorrow or Friday. Here is a pic of the trim installed (unpainted)

On a side note, the SC in-laws have been making an extreme push on their own kitchen. We are talking a total gut, top and bottom, and underneath. I was totally blown away by the amount of progress that they have made down there. While they are just passing the half-way point, where ya start to put things back together. It was very entertaining to walk into someone else's project.

I am pretty glad that we didn't have to cut a hole in our kitchen floor. And Stoked that I didn't have to wear Tyvek to get the project done.

Crikey!

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/yoursay/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_crocodile_man/

The news from australia - http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/

http://media.theaustralian.news.com.au/20060904-irwin1_player.htm

From Australlia- http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20355109-601,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20355589-601,00.html

Sydney - A selection of quotes from television star and wildlife enthusiast Steve Irwin, who died on Monday after being fatally stabbed in the chest by a stingray's barb.

"Crikey!" His catch phrase, exclaimed repeatedly during his television show whenever something interesting happens.

"I get called an adrenaline junkie every other minute, and I'm just fine with that."

"I have no fear of losing my life if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it."

"I bled a lot. I got hit across the face. We couldn't film for seven days. I got hit, whacked, underwater, across the face. I finished the shot, got into the boat and blood started coming out." On one particularly close shave.

"Crikey, mate. You're far safer dealing with crocodiles and western diamondback rattlesnakes than the executives and the producers and all those sharks in the big MGM building." Comparing dealing with deadly animals with show business.

"Crocodiles. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem."

"Fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lot of mistakes."

"It is all about perceived danger. In front of that crocodile I was in complete control. Absolute and complete control. That is my profession.

"I would be considered a bad parent if I didn't teach my children to be crocodile savvy because they live here, they live in crocodile territory." On the 2004 controversy in which he was filmed holding his infant son while feeding a snapping crocodile:

"To hear people say that it was a publicity stunt, that I'm just like Michael Jackson, well, it just tears me up. It makes me sick to my stomach to be compared in that way." On the same incident.

Do What you Love, Do it with excitement, Do it with Passion, Do it every chance that you get!

Sometimes things just hit ya

Friday marks the 1 year of being here in this house. It is hard to imagine it, but a full year has gone past. A lot has been done and accomplished, and a few more things need to happen. Most importantly, it feels great to be back over here on the east coast.

Sometimes a little piece of your raising or up-bringing will sneak up on you. Like this evening, over a nice salad and piece of steak, there we were having a really nice conversation. Talking about work, about friends, about us. All at the dinner table. We have never really spent much time at the table for meals because it never really felt like the place to eat. But now it does. The kitchen is tied in to the dinning room, making it feel warm and welcoming. That is how I grew up. I learned and communicated with my family around the table. The table was always where the day was discussed, homework was finished, and weekends were planned. It's a very important part of the house.