My New Favorite Cartoon

Plumbing Rough-In

Our plumber, Tony (you know you're a serious remodeler if you have "a plumber" and he knows the way to the house without giving him directions) was here the other day and did 4 hours of rough-in and moved the water meter from the living area to the storage room on the other side of the wall. Here are some pics!

Here is where the water meter used to be (in the living room)!

Here's the water meter in it's new home in the storeroom.

FIRE!

Fireside Hearth & Home came and finished installing the fireplace the other day. As you can see, we now have fire (and as a result, warmth!). We were told that at some point we'll have to run it for 10 hours straight to seal it up and get rid of the smell it is generating right now because it's new. It's not a good "new" smell either, like the inside of a new car. It's not pleasant! Judging from what little we've had it on, it will do a very good job of heating the space. Look closely and you can see the reflection of the camera in the window of the fireplace!

FIRE!!! (Almost)

The fireplace went in this morning! Here is the "framed and ready to go picture!"

Here is the "installed picture". Ain't she a beaut?

Sat-CHORE-Day

Saturday was beautiful here. 82 degrees, sunny, a nice breeze and very little humidity! We took advantage and spent the day outside. Here is a list of things we got done:

-Dustin washed and clayed the car (see how it sparkles???)

-Sawed off some dead limbs from the locust tree

-Scrubbed the garage floor

-Karen made homemade cinnamon rolls

-Vacuumed the downstairs after Karen's brother was done framing for the fireplace

All in all a VERY productive day!

At least we'll be warm...

As you all know, we are in the beginning stages of finishing the basement. The progress has to-date been slower than we'd like, but things are starting to pick up. We are putting in a gas fireplace, partly for warmth, partly for ambiance and Heat 'n Glo's "Cosmo SLR" model fits the style we're headed for. It is a sleek 13 inches high and 4 feet wide. And yes, it will be in the wall, much like this picture, although not as high. Unfortunately, behind the sleek front is a rather large metal box that has created some design challenges - in addition to only having 7 1/2' ceilings, but things are set now. It seems strange that this is the first thing that gets put in, but there is an order to these things! Installation will hopefully be in about 2 weeks! Check out the brochure, too!

Cosmo SLR Brochure

They don't call it a Blue MAMMOTH for nothing...

Below are two pictures of one of the hostas on the north side of the garage. I didn't measure it, but eyeing it up, my guess would put it at slightly more than 3 feet. As my mother would say, "It's going to eat the house!!"

Here is a close-up!

KTIS Joyful Noise Family Fest

Karen and I attended the KTIS Joyful Noise Family Fest last Saturday, June 13th. This was an all-day outdoor concert sponsored by 98.5 KTIS, a Christian radio station here in the Twin Cities. It was held at the National Sports Center in Blaine. We were there from 12pm - 10pm and had an AWESOME time. It helped that the weather was perfect! Below is the list of singers/bands/groups that were performing:

12pm: MN Teen Challenge Choir
12:45: bensonwells
1:30: Jonny Diaz
2:15: Daren Streblow (comedian)
3:00: Josh Wilson
4:00: PFR
5:00: Chris Sligh
7:00: Tenth Avenue North
7:55: Lincoln Brewster
8:55: Mercy Me

Check out the pictures. Again - sorry you can't scroll through them.

Ft. Lauderdale Pictures!

We headed to Ft. Lauderdale in May for a few days. Click the link below to check out the photos on my facebook page - everyone should be able to view them! Sorry - it does not look like you can scroll through them if you aren't on Facebook, but you view them one-by-one.

View Ft. Lauderdale Pics

Inaugural Post...

This is the "inaugural" post to our new blog. I have no idea how often it will be updated or what it might contain, but we're going to try it out and see where it take us. Enjoy your Saturday!