Sunday, October 31, 2010
Be wise, ORGANIZE!
I've been thinking fondly of turkey and the Annual Christmas Day Sledding Classic lately. Please leave a comment below stating whether you will be coming to Muskegon for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, all three, none of these holidays, or a combination. The possibilities are endless! Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Some cabinets, and a hole in the wall
First of all: Happy Birthday, Rachel!!
Now I know a lot of you have been wondering about my kitchen renovation (Dad!), so here are a few pictures of the cabinets, which now have stained doors. The drawers are close to being done, but I rushed a little on the staining and need to strip them back down (because the color didn't turn out right).
I also decided to put a window in my dining room, and over the last few evenings I framed out the space for it from the inside. As it turned out, most of this wall was rotten anyway (from old water damage), so I'm glad I was able to remove the damaged wood, which literally crumbled in my hands. I'll feel better about this wall when I replace the siding (hopefully in the spring), and can remove old sheathing and replace with something a little more solid.
But, for now, I'll have a window in this wall, which will really let some nice light in the dining room.
The unblemished wall (at least on the surface).
What lies beneath.
Supporting the ceiling joists so I can cut out the studs I want to remove.
And here, the studs I want to remove.
The wall, mid disassembly.
The header beam that will replace the studs I removed.
The header beam in place and sealed in vapor barrier (plastic).
Putting the drywall back up.
And, lastly, the wall is ready from the inside. Now I just need to cut out the sheathing and siding and install the window. Stay tuned: I might try it this weekend. I should figure out how to liveblog the event. (I think I need an intern.)
I'd like to take this opportunity to open the floor for discussion of rebuilding rotten walls. Has anyone in the audience recently opened and rebuilt a wall that was in needed of major repair? Anyone?
Now I know a lot of you have been wondering about my kitchen renovation (Dad!), so here are a few pictures of the cabinets, which now have stained doors. The drawers are close to being done, but I rushed a little on the staining and need to strip them back down (because the color didn't turn out right).
I also decided to put a window in my dining room, and over the last few evenings I framed out the space for it from the inside. As it turned out, most of this wall was rotten anyway (from old water damage), so I'm glad I was able to remove the damaged wood, which literally crumbled in my hands. I'll feel better about this wall when I replace the siding (hopefully in the spring), and can remove old sheathing and replace with something a little more solid.
But, for now, I'll have a window in this wall, which will really let some nice light in the dining room.
The unblemished wall (at least on the surface).
What lies beneath.
Supporting the ceiling joists so I can cut out the studs I want to remove.
And here, the studs I want to remove.
The wall, mid disassembly.
The header beam that will replace the studs I removed.
The header beam in place and sealed in vapor barrier (plastic).
Putting the drywall back up.
And, lastly, the wall is ready from the inside. Now I just need to cut out the sheathing and siding and install the window. Stay tuned: I might try it this weekend. I should figure out how to liveblog the event. (I think I need an intern.)
I'd like to take this opportunity to open the floor for discussion of rebuilding rotten walls. Has anyone in the audience recently opened and rebuilt a wall that was in needed of major repair? Anyone?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A Very Belated Birthday Thank You!
I truly feel badly to not have acknowledged sooner the very nice camera you all gave me for my birthday. Poor thing sat in the box, nearby, waiting for me to get to know it and give it a try. David came to visit, one evening last week, and gently coaxed me into checking it out. It is very nice, and promises to relieve me of some of the frustration with my old camera. It has many nice features, is very user friendly, and takes the image I'm trying to capture. Yes!!! Though, I honestly haven't tried it out a great deal, but will be putting it to the test more now that David helped "break the ice." I understand there was a lot of effort, and communication, that went into the choice of this gift. "...and you'll be proud to know that hands on testing, many consumer reviews, and many many emails went into the purchase of this gift! (very Mom style)" I can only imagine the thread of e-mails between you kids! Thank you all, very much! I am grateful for the gift, but even more for the loving thought, time, and effort that went into the selection and purchase of it. Took a couple of pictures of a pretty tree nearby, with my new camera, to include with the post. Same tree and same time, just opposite sides.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Ella Celebrates the Big Five
A couple weeks ago Dad and I drove up to Hancock to hand deliver some birthday gifts for Ella. By Rachel's calculations, it had been seven years since I'd last been up to their house. I found that difficult to believe, but I also trust Rachel's memory better than mine.
Peter also had a difficult time in picking up on the festive spirit. I walked outside just as Steve stepped away with Dad to look at the garden. Peter had not anticipated this departure and has yet to learn that not every goodbye is necessarily sad.
Finally around 4, Ella's friends began to show up. Quite a few visitors turned out to help her celebrate. Steve and Rachel worked on cooking up Ella's dinner request, which was headlined by grilled sausages and home-made macaroni and cheese. The birthday partiers played in the park across the street. Somehow amongst all the swings, the toddler swing developed a coveted reputation, and the kids did an admiral job of eventually learning how to share the lone toddler swing.
Once the cake and ice cream portion of the party rolled around, Peter had an easier time grasping the mechanics of birthday pleasure.
For Ella, of course, the birthday dinner and cake were mere chores to be dutifully tended on route to the true birthday business. Ella received some special deliveries from Grandma Sandy and Aunt Lisa. Ella also learned with some small protest that sometimes a visit from Uncle David is a gift in its own right.
Buoyed by ice cream, Peter's jolly spirits showed no signs of abating. As birthday toys were being given their inaugural spins, Peter made a triumphant entry wearing oversized rain boots, heartily pleased with himself.
In fact a number of times during the visit, we found Peter exploring a few unguided steps by himself. Although still more efficient with the crawl, Peter is well on his way to putting that behind him.
The next day we made a visit out to Steve and Rachel's pastor's house in the country. Ella and Elisabeth jumped on their trampoline while Steve checked over his bee hives near the woods and prepared a few boxes for harvesting. He and Dad also studied the short electric fence around that hives and debated whether recent damage could have been caused by a hungry bear.
That night we went out for pizza and had a delicious end to a birthday weekend. The next morning Dad and I loaded our things back in the car and headed back to Muskegon.
We drove up from Chicago and hit a pretty bad storm upon entering the Upper Peninsula. We rolled into Hancock (and over a few curbs) sometime after midnight. Between the late arrival and the allergy medicine that I took, I was out pretty hard until morning. I woke up on the couch in the dim morning to see Ella and Elisabeth both standing before me in hardly-subdued anticipation. When I told me "good morning," Ella was quick to answer me with "Yes! And Happy Birthday!"
The day barreled quickly forward, although not without a little angst, impatience and outright warring between Ella and Elisabeth.
Peter also had a difficult time in picking up on the festive spirit. I walked outside just as Steve stepped away with Dad to look at the garden. Peter had not anticipated this departure and has yet to learn that not every goodbye is necessarily sad.
Finally around 4, Ella's friends began to show up. Quite a few visitors turned out to help her celebrate. Steve and Rachel worked on cooking up Ella's dinner request, which was headlined by grilled sausages and home-made macaroni and cheese. The birthday partiers played in the park across the street. Somehow amongst all the swings, the toddler swing developed a coveted reputation, and the kids did an admiral job of eventually learning how to share the lone toddler swing.
Once the cake and ice cream portion of the party rolled around, Peter had an easier time grasping the mechanics of birthday pleasure.
For Ella, of course, the birthday dinner and cake were mere chores to be dutifully tended on route to the true birthday business. Ella received some special deliveries from Grandma Sandy and Aunt Lisa. Ella also learned with some small protest that sometimes a visit from Uncle David is a gift in its own right.
In fact a number of times during the visit, we found Peter exploring a few unguided steps by himself. Although still more efficient with the crawl, Peter is well on his way to putting that behind him.
The next day we made a visit out to Steve and Rachel's pastor's house in the country. Ella and Elisabeth jumped on their trampoline while Steve checked over his bee hives near the woods and prepared a few boxes for harvesting. He and Dad also studied the short electric fence around that hives and debated whether recent damage could have been caused by a hungry bear.
That night we went out for pizza and had a delicious end to a birthday weekend. The next morning Dad and I loaded our things back in the car and headed back to Muskegon.
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