It is beautiful!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
It is finished...almost
Holy Cow! Look at the master bath. What can I say, Mike and I are good, although we did have help from friends. The counter came today and we can assemble the faucets tomorrow. The only question that remains is lighting. I don't know if the pictures will turn out, but you can put your vote in for what lights you like best.
It is beautiful!
It is beautiful!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Mike's 35th Birthday
I must say that Mike is a spoiled man. His birthday fell on a Tuesday and on Friday he was still celebrating. Lucky guy! Here are some of the top pics.
At home, we celebrated with Banger and Mash, a favorite of Mike's. He had the privaledge of eating from the "blue plate" and enjoyed his meal. It was followed by some cheese cake.
We went to Sybaris, a locally owned restaurant, to feast upon the delicacies. This year they didn't do the "Octoberfest" which was a bit of a disappointment. The food was still fabulous, and Mike got to wear the Happy Birthday glasses.
Our friends Josh and Jess were with us to celebrate the night. We were a jovial foursome and greeted the two older couples next to us. The sweet older lady asked Mike to come closer so she could get a good look before guessing his age of...25. Pst! Mike, of course, quickly agreed with her.
At home, we celebrated with Banger and Mash, a favorite of Mike's. He had the privaledge of eating from the "blue plate" and enjoyed his meal. It was followed by some cheese cake.
We went to Sybaris, a locally owned restaurant, to feast upon the delicacies. This year they didn't do the "Octoberfest" which was a bit of a disappointment. The food was still fabulous, and Mike got to wear the Happy Birthday glasses.
Our friends Josh and Jess were with us to celebrate the night. We were a jovial foursome and greeted the two older couples next to us. The sweet older lady asked Mike to come closer so she could get a good look before guessing his age of...25. Pst! Mike, of course, quickly agreed with her.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Sturgeon fishing on the Columbia
In April Susie and i went to an auction for the school that is a part of our church. One of the item to bid on was a full day of fishing - our choice as to the time, location and type of fishing to be done. We talked to G Brown - the sponsor of the trip and determined that Sturgeon fishing was the deal. So yesterday morning, we started out pretty early and met G Brown and Kevin (his fishing partner / deck hand) and headed up to the Columbia.
Neither Susie nor i have ever been Sturgeon fishing, so it was a great new experience. G Brown has a 20' jet boat and it had one of the best engines i've ever heard! He uses the boat for all kinds of fishing, and likes to use it as a ministry. He often takes kids from under-privileged homes out, and is a staple for the ACS auction. He's a model for taking this things he's been blessed with and using them to bless others. It was a pleasure being out on the river with him and Kevin.
We started fishing at some seemingly random spot on the river and almost immediately after Susie had put her line in the water, she got a bite. We all watched anxiously for a follow-on nibble, but no dice.
After almost an hour in that spot, one of the lines started bouncing, so elbowed my way past Susie and grabbed the fishing rod. We had been instructed to set the hook like we mean it, so i gave it a grand jerk and started reeling the bad boy in. It didn't take all that long, but it was a fun reel. I could feel that he wasn't a huge fish since i was able to muscle him when i wanted to. I got him to the boat fairly easily and we popped him into the boat to see if he was a keeper. Keeper length is 46" and he was slightly under 40", so we took a couple pics and released him back into the water. (ok, i'm kidding about the elbowing, but it makes for a better story.)
Unfortunately that was the only fish we caught all day. We got a couple other nibbles, but none that resulted in a fish. We changed spots a couple times and saw a couple other boats bring in fish. About mid-afternoon the wind came on strong and started whipping up whitecaps, so we packed it up and headed in. It sure was fun being out on the water and away from work for the day. It was also great to meet and fish with G Brown and Kevin.
Neither Susie nor i have ever been Sturgeon fishing, so it was a great new experience. G Brown has a 20' jet boat and it had one of the best engines i've ever heard! He uses the boat for all kinds of fishing, and likes to use it as a ministry. He often takes kids from under-privileged homes out, and is a staple for the ACS auction. He's a model for taking this things he's been blessed with and using them to bless others. It was a pleasure being out on the river with him and Kevin.
We started fishing at some seemingly random spot on the river and almost immediately after Susie had put her line in the water, she got a bite. We all watched anxiously for a follow-on nibble, but no dice.
After almost an hour in that spot, one of the lines started bouncing, so elbowed my way past Susie and grabbed the fishing rod. We had been instructed to set the hook like we mean it, so i gave it a grand jerk and started reeling the bad boy in. It didn't take all that long, but it was a fun reel. I could feel that he wasn't a huge fish since i was able to muscle him when i wanted to. I got him to the boat fairly easily and we popped him into the boat to see if he was a keeper. Keeper length is 46" and he was slightly under 40", so we took a couple pics and released him back into the water. (ok, i'm kidding about the elbowing, but it makes for a better story.)
Unfortunately that was the only fish we caught all day. We got a couple other nibbles, but none that resulted in a fish. We changed spots a couple times and saw a couple other boats bring in fish. About mid-afternoon the wind came on strong and started whipping up whitecaps, so we packed it up and headed in. It sure was fun being out on the water and away from work for the day. It was also great to meet and fish with G Brown and Kevin.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Building the vanity
I really enjoy working on woodworking projects in the garage. I'd enjoy them more if i had a great big shop and i didn't have to shuffle the cars and tools in and out of the garage, but i'm not complaining too loudly. One problem though, for the most part, i'm not the best woodworker out there - i can get things done, but not always to exacting specifications. So when we started working on the bathroom remodel, i secured the services of one Josh P Williams; although he managed to avoid the camera lens.
Josh flew in on a Friday night and after some Saturday morning planning we headed to Home Depot and then on to the Hardwood Center. A couple hundred dollars later and we were back to the garage and ready to get to work.
The overall design came from a picture in Pottery Barn that Susie found. Needless to say, it was very cool, but would have left a hefty dent in the savings account.
We used Alder wood since we knew we were going to stain it. It turned out to be the least-expensive of the woods we found but still were able to find some good sections of the right thickness. I've never used Alder before, but it quickly became a wood that i'd use again in a heartbeat. It cut really well and has a beautiful grain. In a way it's a shame to stain it, but for what we want, we need a really dark color.
If you thought the last picture i posted of the mess a planer makes was impressive, just take a look at that pile!!! We ran most of the boards through to get them to an equal size. It made for a great pile of sawdust (which i now surrounding the blue berry bushes).
It took about 2 days to make the vanity, with a couple breaks for fun stuff in between.
The next steps are to stain and finish the vanity, install it in the bathroom, then call the counter-top guys to come measure for a new top.
Josh - thanks again for your help, it looks awesome!
Josh flew in on a Friday night and after some Saturday morning planning we headed to Home Depot and then on to the Hardwood Center. A couple hundred dollars later and we were back to the garage and ready to get to work.
The overall design came from a picture in Pottery Barn that Susie found. Needless to say, it was very cool, but would have left a hefty dent in the savings account.
We used Alder wood since we knew we were going to stain it. It turned out to be the least-expensive of the woods we found but still were able to find some good sections of the right thickness. I've never used Alder before, but it quickly became a wood that i'd use again in a heartbeat. It cut really well and has a beautiful grain. In a way it's a shame to stain it, but for what we want, we need a really dark color.
If you thought the last picture i posted of the mess a planer makes was impressive, just take a look at that pile!!! We ran most of the boards through to get them to an equal size. It made for a great pile of sawdust (which i now surrounding the blue berry bushes).
It took about 2 days to make the vanity, with a couple breaks for fun stuff in between.
The next steps are to stain and finish the vanity, install it in the bathroom, then call the counter-top guys to come measure for a new top.
Josh - thanks again for your help, it looks awesome!
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