Time to Get Caught Up

Well, we've finished the house and moved back in already. I'll upload some finished pics later. Just wanted to let me "fans" know I haven't forgotten this blog and will be working to get it up to date over the next few weeks. After finishing the house , moving was a chore. We wanted to use as much of our existing furniture as possible but in some cases it wasn't and we had to get something different. Decorating was a little painful. Sarah and I have "Ying and Yang" ideas in that area. I'm for decoration as little as possible so the openness in a room is part of it's expression where Sarah is of the opinion if there's a table or wall, it needs something to decorate itself with. There was much compromising between us both. Next came the mother-in-law with failing health so now instead of openness in design we are looking at whatever makes an invalid comfortable. Life throws us curves but we swing and sometimes still get hits. So that's where the house is now. The basement is still evolving from a storage facility/metalsmith shop to a knifemaking/metalsmith/laundry room. I'll devote another posting to that soon.

More Renovation

The projects are moving right along now. Framing done, sheet rock up, floor down, cabinets in, with lots of finishing left to do. This is a pic looking toward the back of the house during the sheetrock phase. These guys were masters at the trade. Fast and professional. The darker shot is looking to the front before the cabs are in. Then, presto, here's the cabs and the peninsula separating the dining area form the kitchen. Also, the virginia red oak flooring is visible. Then last, here's the soapstone counter tops and sink.

Home Renovation

Here's the results of almost six weeks of work here at the house. After searching for a nw home we decided to do some major renovations here instead. We didn't need extra square footage but to carry us through our retirement years (thinking positively) we need to so some updating of things here. We've moved out completely as you can see. The sub flooring particle board was removed and replaced with 5/8 plywood to give a more substantial base to the Virginia White oak flooring. This will extend through both levels except in the two upstairs bathrooms where tile floors will be installed. The kitchen was removed and will be beyond the left arch in the first photo. The second shot looking from the back to the front shows the two windows where the kitchebn was and where the new dining room will be. This is taken from in front of the stairs looking accross the living room area, through the kitchen, and into the dining.
The third shot shows the new mater bath arrangement with closet doors seperating it from the bedroom. The last shot shows the trailer and necessart porta john. Yippee.
So there is is at the present. When the heating is installed we'll be sheetrocking and it will start looking more like a house.

New Inside

Hi Blogosphere! Notice the outside of our town home. Well it will look like this in the spring, but the inside will look like new. After months of looking for a new or different home we have decided that we do like the neighborhood and can't seem too find what we want elsewhere so let's just give the inside a little face lift. We'll be redoing the floors which means we're moving out for a short period of time. It is also meaning my shop will me minimally active, too. I'll keep you posted. In the mean time hope all is well with you and you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I love Facebook and Twitter...

If you follow me on Facebook you'll know where I've been. Where are you? Make a comment and tell me. For those anxiously awaiting the Bahamas 09 pics, just check out the slide show on the right side. If you click on it you'll be miraculously transported to my Picasa webpage. If you don't want to go there, just enjoy them right here. We had a great time on Tilloo Cay just off Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island.

The pic below is the view from the front porch of where we stayed. Lance Armstrong was there for some R and R after the TDF. He must have heard what a great place it was. After all, I was there!

The Brandywine Community Garden

Here's what's keeping me busy lately. Our plot in the Brandywine Community Garden. With an unbelievably small amount of work we have reaped some big rewards. Early this year one of the residents, Claudette Krell, informed us of a community grant program through the city of Greensboro for community gardens. She polled our residents and found there was enough interest and applied for the grant which we received. With some classes about raised bed gardens at the Guilford County NCSU Cooperative Extension Service we were ready to proceed. The money bought us the service of tilling the area and the lumber for the raised beds. Several of us pre-assembled the lumber and with the help of volunteer Master Gardeners from the Ag Center we laid them all out. After securing the beds we shovelled the surrounding dirt into the beds and added some more organic matter, put some wood chips around the outside, and were ready to plant. The grant money also purchased a Mantis rototiller and a little house for the area to keep tools in. The gardens have been a real hit with the community and we've been eating tomato sandwiches and garden veggies all summer.

Leannes New Work

Some new work from my friend Leanne. I love her subjects. They have a way of transporting you to a story hidden within the subject. You can follow her work on artandlife.

Auto Makers Bailout

BTW. Even though I work for an auto supplier, this ad sums up what I really feel about using our money to bail out the big three. Just in case you can't read the fine print in the ad,

"You probably thought it was smart to buy a foreign import of superior quality, with better mileage and resale value. Maybe you even thought that years of market share loss might prod us into rethinking our process and redesigning our products with better quality in mind. But your forgot one thing. We spend a shit load of money on lobbyists. So now you're out $25 billion, plus the cost of your Subaru. Maybe next time you'll buy American like a real man. Either way, we're cool."

I'm Back!

What a great trip! Will write more and post some pics later.

Off to Abaco Island .....

Off to Abaco Island, Bahamas for some fishing. This time we're renting a boat and hoping to go deep on the Atlantic side along with the usual bonefishing in the Marls. We'll be staying on Tilloo Cay in the above picture. Hopefully the wind will die down! Probably a headwind the whole way. I'll have some more pics when I return.