Wrapping up a few projects....

Quick update to satisfy some hungry surfers....

Stairway - Done, thanks to my dad's holiday help

Kitchen cieling - Painted (more than 2 friggin days), really lightens it up


Tile backslaps - Waiting for grout...my first solo tile job (thanks for the use of the saw soon-to-be-cousin-in-law-Eric)

Holiday (Work?)

Lots of work is getting done during my time off for the holidays....we're almost done painting the kitchen ceiling and with the new stairs. Here are some teasers to keep you watching for more.... (also, the orange terracotta walls went away last weekend....primer tinted blue is looking good)

Patching holes and leveling floors...in blue slippers?

Another big undertaking this past weekend was addressing the "high spot" in the living room floor. We ended up pulling up a board, finding the issuing and fixing everything like new. In the process we lowered a couple posts in the basement and strengthened the supports under the bedroom hall way.

Part of the problem was the nails in these brackets had popped up.

The other main problem was the floor was jacked up way too high.

A little extra support never hurt...

I patched the old cold air returns in the floor too....they're ready for paint now!

While we were doing this Jen (dressed in stylish blue furry slippers) scrubbed the kitchen and dining room ceilings and the dining walls! Smells much nicer now....I can't believe the nasty water she made.



My dad was snowed in so he patched drywall and caulked on monday! THANKS DAD.

That was one nasty hole....

Gobble Gobble....

Happy Turkey Day!

We had a great two day's in Traverse City! We spent time with my family eating multiple helpings of turkey, potatoes, cranberries and sweet potatoes over the course of the two days. I actually weighed my thanksgiving day meal and found that i ate 5lbs of food....wow! The day after we went Christmas tree hunting! Lots of snow made for a cold but exciting hunt. Mom picked out a tree much quicker than normal and we were back home friday evening for some work. Dad headed down too for some added help!

We put used leveling compound and filled any holes, dings, cracks, etc in the plywood friday night so we would have a nice smooth surface for the tile. Saturday morning we applied the glue and Jen came over to help tile. It turned out VERY sweet!



We finished all the final trim work in the kitchen and dining room and now we're ready for some finish (which I started monday night). Thanks for the curtains mom, they look great!

We also installed the final piece of our heating puzzle for this winter, a new duct in the kitchen floor to keep Jen's toes warm while she watches me cook!

OH...I almost forgot. Jen raked for the last time this year....It was a nice sunny day on saturday and she got all the piles made. We picked them up sunday morning JUST in time for the snow to start falling again!

Black Wednesday Suds?

I stumbled across a deal on a black Friday website for a Samsung washer and dryer from sears. I spent lunch on Wednesday researching and comparing prices for all the black Friday washer / dryer deals. I found that Samsung is fairly new in the W/D market but receives good reviews and the price I found couldn't be beat! So....here's my Black Friday purchase that I made wednesday evening at Sears! Thanks to a nice old guy at the store that was able to sell to me wednesday. It's really a present for Jen, ha ha, don't tell her! I hear the front load are nice for vertically challenged folks...