We have a winner!

It's done, it's done, it's done! After a year of toiling, I've finished tiling the floor. Granted, there were many weekends where no work took place, but it's done nonetheless. With Christine and the kids gone to Canada last week, I felt it was a great time to finish up the work without the pitter-patter of little feet to get in the way. They left Saturday morning and I got to work. I had a little tile cutting/setting to finish before I could start grouting. Once the area under the stove was tiled/grouted, I moved it back into place and began the arduous grouting process. Long story short, I was finished putting all the trim back down around the perimeter literally minutes before they got home the afternoon of the 24th. Here are a couple of pics of the final product.

I think it's safe to say that grouting is one of my very least favorite home improvement activities. It wasn't so bad when I did the bathroom and laundry room. But doing the hallway and entire kitchen was a different story. My shoulders are still sore from it. No pain, no gain.

We're still not done working on the kitchen. We were at Menard's today looking around, and saw some nice countertops we liked. It's either countertops or appliances. Whichever "dies" first I guess. Thanks to all who have given compliments on the floor. I know it's not perfect and there are little blemishes here and there, but I'm pretty sure I saved a fortune by doing it myself. Plus, Christine and I both think it turned out great. I'm done with home improvement for a while. However, we've discussed ripping up the carpet in the living room to put down hardwood. I'll stop now while I'm ahead.

Holiday Fun in the Fort

We've had a busy couple of weekends, as I'm sure everyone has. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has absolutely flown by. This weekend has been the only weekend we haven't had something on the calendar to do. Still, we were quite busy with last minute shopping and visiting Santa.

Last weekend, the kids made gingerbread houses. Actually, Spencer and I made a gingerbread house and Syd and Christine made a gingerbread train. They both turned out pretty good.









Today, we planned on going out to see Santa at Jefferson Pointe. First, we took a couple of photos in front of the tree (you know, before clothes, hair and faces got dirty!).








So, it was off to see Santa. We were third in line so we didn't have to wait long. The weather was a bit misty and foggy, but otherwise not bad. We were worried about Syd, as it's been crying and clutching my neck for the last 3 years. She made Spencer hold her hand, and a little reluctantly, she made her way to Santa's lap. A note about Santa this year. It might be noticeable from the pictures, but this guy creeped me out. He wasn't really sitting per se, but more like lounging in his chair. Legs were thrown over the one side and he was slouched to the other side. And there were two fans blowing on him, like they have on a model's photo shoot to blow their hair around. The one fan was blowing right in the kids' faces. I was keeping a close eye on him. I didn't want to have to lay Santa out with a right hook, but I wasn't going to let Santa take advantage of anyone. Either way, the kids had a good time and got a sucker out of the deal. Plus, we dropped $20 on a couple of cheezy photos taken by Santa's helpers. The photos we took with our own camera turned out better.







Here's one of the kids outside by the big tree at the mall.










This Saturday, Christine and the kids are off to Canada to visit her family. I'll be home alone, just me and the christmas lights. By the way, I got all my electrical issues figured out (I think). No breakers have tripped, no more smoke, no more burnt GFI outlets. And after seeing lots of LED lights on people's houses, it's convinced me to stick with the old fashion ceramic bulbs. They are brighter, more colorful and just more fun to look at. This means getting an electrician in here next summer to run a couple of 40 amp circuits, dedicated to outdoor lighting. Please save your speeches. I know the old bulbs cost more to run, burn more electricity and are all-around bad for the environment. Call me a traditionalist, call me old fashioned, or call me Clark. All would be compliments in my book. Thanks, Dad, for putting up the big bulbs when we were little. I can only hope Spencer has the chance to do it when he's grown!





Have a great Christmas!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I may have gone too far....

Well, I have officially went "Clark Griswold" this year, with a hint of smoke. As some of you know, I'm a bit of a connoisseur of Xmas lights, especially the big C-9 bulbs. My fascination goes back to my childhood and will be permanently fixed in my holiday brain. But I digress. This year, after several calculations and diagrams, I thought I had found a few more amps available on a circuit to plug in a few more strands of lights. See diagrams below.

Well, I think I finally went too far. Last night, I couldn't figure out why a few strands weren't coming on. I checked and double checked all the connections and extension cord runs, only to find all was well. Then I went to the outdoor timer (I mean, who leaves lights on all night). The settings were good, the plug was good and the GFI seemed okay, operative word "seemed". I finally decided to just leave one cord unplugged for the night and try to fix the issue on Sunday. About a half hour later, I see the kitchen lights flicker ever so slightly, then a soft, barley audible "pop". With a hint of mystery, I went outside, turned on the lights and saw something I didn't want to see. The GFI outlet was slightly blackened. I went to unplug one of the extension cords and couldn't get it to go initially. You see, it had began to melt to the outlet. A little panic set in at that point. I immediately went to the circuit box to find two breakers had tripped. I killed the power and went back outside to assess the situation. With screwdriver in hand, I was getting the effervescent aroma of burning electrical components. Once I removed the outside cover on the GFI, I proceeded to remove the receptacle. It was then that I saw the potential disaster I had averted. Here's what the GFI receptacle looked like after I took it out:

So, my first call Monday morning will be to a qualified electrician to fix my GFI. I'd do it myself, but some of the wires feeding the receptacle were a little crispy. Maybe this is my opportunity to switch to the new LED lights that are all the rage. Or I could have the electrician just install a couple of 30amp circuits. Yeah, that should do the trick! No comments needed. I'm sure I'll be the butt of all jokes down at the electrician's shop after he sees what I did.

Merry Christmas to all,

Your friend "Clark"