Fall 2008 Remodel Part II

Now that I've got most of the painting done, I started on the tile this weekend. So far, I've got about 7-8 hours into it. Christine and I think it looks pretty good, considering I'm a novice tile guy. Cutting the door jambs was a bit tricky and the tile cuts to go under the jambs took some practice. Although, I haven't had to scrap any tiles yet due to cutting mishaps (knock wood). The grouting will be done once all the tile is layed out. My goal is to have it done by Christmas. More pictures as progress is made.

Turkey Day '08

Well, another Thanksgiving on the books. We made the drive to Indy to Uncle Tim's house for the festivities this year. You know, all the usual stuff. Eat, then eat and more of....eating. We had a pretty good turnout this year, 28 people if our counting was correct. Although, there were a few of the Kelly clan who were noticeably absent. Several of us were saddened to learn of their absence. Aside from that, it was nice to see everyone again and catch up. I'm sure we'll be at it again next year. For the record, Lori makes a mean green bean casserole and brownies with peanut butter topping! Megan's a cute one too! Thanks to Aunt Karen and Aunt Cathy for lots of the good eats.

Spencer and Syd 2007 - Video collection

I was searching through some old files on the laptop tonight and came across this little gem that I made last year. I've done a few of these videos since Spencer was born, but this one turned out the best. I'm probably due to make another one. The hardest part is picking the right music. Thanks to Dave Kelly (Mmmmmm-Dave) for getting me the mp3 of the song.

Fall 2008 Remodel Part 1

It's been 7-1/2 years since we moved into our house and we haven't done any major projects inside the house, aside from finishing the basement right before Spencer was born. So, we've decided to tackle some painting and flooring, all on the first floor. In the half bath, we just finished painting and installing a new light fixture (see before and after photos below). There's still a little paint touchup and we plan to install a new towel bar and toilet paper holder that match the light fixture. Tonight, I started preparing the hallway from the front door to the kitchen. Painting will probably start tomorrow. Then I need to put some paint in the laundry room. After all the walls are done, we'll start on the floor. We're putting down porcelain tile throughout the bathroom, laundry room, hallway and kitchen. The tile product is pretty unique...it's called SnapStone. It's real porcelain tile that snaps together like laminate flooring. They're 12"x12" tiles in a medium brown color called camel. Thanks to a couple of customers of mine who've lent me tools to do the work...Troy at Horner Electric provided the wetsaw and Dick at Windamatic provided a door jam saw and tile cutter. Hopefully I can get the tools back in a somewhat timely fashion! As the remodel progresses, I'll try to update the blog with photos.





Before



After


Here's a picture of Syd. She's been my little helper so far. She wants to hold the tools and bang on things with the screwdriver, hammer, paint can opener, etc. Thanks Syd!

Halloween '08

Well, another Halloween is in the books. It was a hectic day once I arrived home from work. Spencer's kindergarten teacher had invited all her kids to come to her house for trick-or-treating that night. I left work a little early on Friday and we headed out to Ms. Boyer's house around 5pm....Spencer, Sydney, Christine, Grandma Sandy and me. After going to Spencer's teacher's house, we stopped by Mickey D's for some quick dinner. Once home, the kids ate and we waited for our friends, the Colglazier's, to arrive. Their kids, Mya and Brandt, were going to go with us through our neighborhood. We got on the road to trick-or-treating around 6:30pm. Grandma Sandy stayed behind to dish out the candy while the four adults and four kids went out to collect the goods. I think Spencer has gotten the hang of Halloween. He was consistently 3-4 houses ahead of us the whole night. Christine and I were yelling for him to slow down and wait for the rest of us. His hard work paid off.....his Halloween bucket was full at the end of the night! We've got enough candy to last to (at least) Christmas.



Here are Spencer and Syd after a long night (well, an hour and a half or so) of trick-or-treating. The kids played and made themselves sick on candy, while the adults ordered Chinese takeout and relaxed a bit. All in all, a good night!