California Visit

A bit delayed, but here are some photos of my trip to see John, Erin, Owen and Marcus. Brian flew in, too. There was plenty of good food, running around with nephews, Speed Scrabble, poker, and assorted fun. Erin put me and Brian to work helping pick out and install a new light fixture in the dining room. You can see the before and after pictures down at the bottom of this post on the Johnson's blog. 

It was really a team effort. Erin looked on line and found a couple she thought would work. It took Brian, John, Erin and me to take the old one down. It was heavy and awkward and ugly. Here it is waiting for me to take it apart and put it in a box. Erin found a woman to give her $200 or something for the whole thing and the ceiling medallion that was up with it.

We were a little concerned about getting that medallion down. Mostly just the unknown as to how it was up there. Luckily, the B was masterful with a putty knife and it was only up there with a couple finish screws. 

 

Once all that was down, Erin and I went to pick up the new fixture and assorted items to patch up the ceiling around where the medallion was. Brian did a fine job with spackle and sanding. I put up a coat of primer and we installed the new one. John played a very important role in getting the boys out of the house for a while. Brian was the height and muscle behind the whole operation. Owen was the vacuum cleaner operator to clean up our mess. Mar was just busy being cute. Erin finished up the painting in the next couple of days. I was the consultant/supervisor. ;) 

Here's a picture of Brian and me with the finished product.

 

deck = done

well...for now anyway. I know I posted months ago that it was finished, well now it actually is. The inspector came out yesterday. So, now I can take that orange sticker off the front door!

New Curtains

So, there was a window treatment sale at JC Penny, and I took advantage. I do have to say that the lady was very helpful in helping me pick a good color. What do ya think?

Living Room

Not sure why, but David and I thought that we needed a change in the living room. I played around on graph paper for a while, but you still don't get a good idea until you see it in 3D. So, we moved things a few times and settled on a new configuration. I'll take pictures soon.

After rearranging the furniture, I did my reading for class. Reading math is way harder than most of the reading I've done in the last 8 years.

Fun Filled Weekend

This was SUCH a fun weekend. Friday night, we had dinner with David's parents and our nieces - Amanda (11) and Avery (3). Then we all went and saw the fireworks for Tug Fest in LeClaire, IA. After we got back late, David took Miner for a walk on the river at 11:30 PM. They got home around 1:00 AM. Miner was pooped all Saturday morning.


Saturday afternoon, Amanda and Avery came over. They spent the night with us Saturday night. Avery and I colored in coloring books outside while Amanda and David finished screwing down all the deck boards. Then we made cheesy dip and chips for a snack before going to play putt-putt golf. That was fun. Avery did really well. She wouldn't play the holes that had water, because she didn't want her ball to get wet. The rest of us landed the ball in the water at least 2 or 3 times. We had tacos for dinner then lit a fire in the fire pit and made s'mores. The fire pit is still one of Miner's favorite things.


Avery has always been a little leery of Miner. He's never bothered her, she's just a bit afraid of him. So, early on Saturday, she would scoot way out of the way whenever he would come near her. By Saturday evening, she had warmed up to him and would be sure to let you know, "I touched him! I toucht-ed Miner!" She was so proud that she patted him on the head. Still, she and Amanda slept on the floor of my office so she could shut the door and keep Miner out. By Sunday morning, she and Miner were best friends. By the way, I made the French toast from America's Test Kitchen for breakfast. SO GOOD!



We dropped the girls back off at Craig and Nancy's and picked up a garden tiller. I tilled up the nasty clay mess that was at the top of the retaining wall. Then tossed a bunch of clods of dirt and clay that wouldn't break up, added some top soil, transplanted a hosta that needed help and spread 9 bags of mulch. It turned out nice. I know you've been waiting for it, so here they are - the photos of the finished product:

The Nuge

It's time for the Mississippi Valley Fair again. The fairgrounds are less than a mile from our house and each night they have a concert. As my friend Brian described it, "it's kind of like the rodeo (in Houston) but without the rodeo part." Last night's act: Ted Nugent. He started up about the time we were finishing putting our table and chairs together on the deck. So we sat around and listened to loud Ted Nugent.

All the deck boards are down, we just have to put the steps in.

Phase 2: In Progress

David started on the deck Saturday while I was having lunch with some friends. That lasted a lot longer than I thought, so he didn't have much help. Sunday, David's Dad Craig came and helped us. We got about 1/2 the deck boards on. When you start putting deck boards on, you find where things are out of whack that need to be straightened...which is why we didn't get as far as we would have liked. Plus it was WAY hot. Now, I know Holly will trump me with 100 degree temps and way more humidity. Like I've said before, I am a wimp now that I live in the midwest. So we called it quits at 5 PM. We might have been better off to take a siesta in the hot part of the day and then finish up...but oh, well. Craig is coming to help David this afternoon. You will get pictures when it's done and you will like it!

Phase 1: Complete

Well, they were right. They finished by 5 PM on Friday - sod and everything! We had them put in landscape fabric and river rock under where the deck will be built. We still need to decide what we're doing with the area around the burning bush/tree and across the top of the retaining wall. I think we'll plant hostas under the bush (since it's shady all day and I can split some of the bigger ones on the side of the house). But we aren't sure about the long strip of ground at the top. I think I might make it an annual bed, since there's not really any other good spots for annuals in the yard. Maybe mix in herbs with annuals. That spot gets PLENTY of sun.


Here's another view from closer to the side door. It will wind up being a pretty big deck! The plan is to rent an auger and dig the footings on Tuesday. Hopefully the inspector can come out Wednesday and we can start working on the deck this coming weekend.

It Begins!!

The crew showed up today to start on fixing the disaster in our back yard. The wall was torn down and is 1/2 way rebuilt. They are going to try and finish it all tomorrow, but I don't think it will happen that quick. I am just getting excited that we might have a deck in a few weeks!! Miner supervised the action and made sure to mark the pile of blocks - and he didn't use that can of spraypaint.

We've been without internet for 3 days at the house. It's a little frustrating how much we get attached to having it.

Red it is

So, we went with a dark red with a lot of brown in it for the front door. We think it turned out pretty nice.

Ignore the bright orange permit sticker for the deck (it's coming eventually). And the smudgy stuff at the bottom of the screen door is part my reflection and part doggy nose prints.

David also just finished building a light box for a stain-glass window. So, I thought I'd let you all see his handy work.