Progress Report!

Just thought I should give you a quick update on the kitchen.

I have torn out 2 of the walls and the ceiling so far. The worst part so far has been emptying out all the cupboards. The other 2 walls don't have too much to tear out due to a large window and a doorway so I am hoping to get them done tomorrow or Wednesday. Then I can start on the new electrical on Thursday.

As you can see there is no insulation. We were told when we bought the house that it had blown in insulation. (they lied)

Everything else looks like it is in great shape.

Some of the walls were plaster and lathe and the rest were 1/4" gypsum with plaster over top.

I have almost filled up the truck already, (It ain't no grocery getter) but I should have enough room to fit the rest in before I have to go to the dump.

Click HERE to see the before pictures if you missed them.

Fiery Sunset!

Click on pictures to enlarge.

"the rich fire of the orange sunset gloriously announces the coming night."

Rare!

Click on photo Hunters button to visit other participants.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

On our first visit to the Adirondacks, we went to Pottersville to visit the Natural Stone Bridge & Caves. The samples we took pictures of are over 1,000,000 years old.

Click HERE to visit their web site.

This is a picture of Petrified wood. It is a type of fossil. It consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mold forms in its place. The wood is preserved due to a lack of oxygen.

Elements such as manganese, iron and copper in the water/mud during the petrification process give petrified wood a variety of color ranges. Pure quartz crystals are colorless, but when contaminants are added to the process the crystals take on a yellow, red or other tint.

Following is a list of contaminating elements and related color hues:
carbon - black cobalt -green/blue chromium - green/blue copper - green/blue iron oxides - red, brown, yellow manganese - pink/orange manganese oxides - black

Petrified wood can preserve the original structure of the wood in all its detail, down to the microscopic level. Structures such as tree rings and the various tissues are often observed features.

The wood can be cut and polished and used for different types of things.

Happy Hunting.

Have a great weekend.

House Call!!

Our sister-in-laws truck had been having some trouble starting for the past few days. Last night she got stranded in a parking lot, so I thought maybe I could help. The auto parts store wanted over $150.00 for a new starter. My brother-in-law and I took the old one out and I decided to take it apart to see if I could find out what was wrong with it.

No, the truck didn't fall on me.

Here we are taking out 2 of the 4 bolts and taking the case apart.

The inside was just covered with grease and metal shavings. We cleaned all the pieces with electric motor cleaner, made sure the brushes looked OK and put everything back together.

This is my brother-in-law helping me bolt it back on the truck. One of my favorite things to do is work on cars. I'm not so sure about him!

They are also getting a new roof put on their house. When the roofers were working today they had to take the satellite receiver off of the roof. When they put it back up it wasn't in the same spot so it wasn't pointing in the right direction to pick up the signal. So I worked on the dish for a while until the TV came back on. They almost had to miss the Mets game and pay $70.00 to have Direct TV come out and fix it.

While all this was going on, Laurie got to spend some time with Baby J. Her mommy decided to give her a bath while we were there, and Aunt Laurie just happened to have the camera. Baby J. sure loves to splash!!!

Grillin'

Have you ever had Grilled Pizza? We love to make it. It has such a different taste than pizza in an oven. Here is how we make it.

First we make pizza dough in our bread machine.

We put the dough on two 12" pizza pans. We cook the dough a little bit before we add the toppings. Just until it is golden brown.

Then we add the toppings. We put the pizzas on top of tin cans so they aren't too close to the fire.

We cook them until the cheese is melted. (We have the grill top closed) This doesn't take very long so stay close by.

This is Laurie's pizza. It has pepperoni and mushrooms.

This is Chris's pizza. It has pepperoni, mushrooms and hot pepper rings.

Give it a try and let us know how you like it.

Another Fine Mess I've Gotten Myself Into!

I finally got started on the kitchen today. I went to the doctor last Friday after being sick for almost 2 weeks and found out that I have a sinus and upper respiratory infection. (That Baby J. sure likes to share:) I have been on antibiotics since Friday and I am starting to feel better.

Here are some before photos. We were almost embarrassed to show them.

Can you say 1970's???

This was a quick fix that we did after we moved in. We wallpapered, painted the chair rail and stenciled the back splash. The ceiling, floor and cupboards are all original.

Not too inviting is it?

I have started on the demo and will try to update you once a week.

Yesterday!

Boy did we get some bargains!!!

I bought all this scrapbooking stuff at A.C. Moore. Everything I bought was at least 50% off. You got to love it when you hit a good sale like that.

I bought this candle stand at Kirklands. The original price was 19.96. It was marked down to 9.96 and they took another 25% off at the register. It matches the dinning room paint pretty close.

This is really exciting stuff here. Walmart is changing our dress code. We have to wear brown pants (any shade) and a navy blue shirt, so I bought 4 new shirts. I also bought a new pair of PJ's and a pair of jeans.

Doesn't this look like fun!!

Yes, I went all the way to Erie to buy soap!! Let me explain. We both really like Lever 2000, but Walmart stopped carrying it for some reason. Since we were in Target I decided to see if they carry it. They do, so I bought a couple bottles. I also picked up two Bath towels!

I bought this for my small climbing rose bush. I think it will look good next to the deck. If you haven't been to my moms blog, I will tell you that we went to Erie for my Dr. appt. We left home at 8:15 a.m. and got home at 7:00 p.m. Now you know why I didn't have time to blog.

When I got home this was waiting for me. A 9x13 pan of homemade Chicken Pot Pie. I am So WELL LOVED!!!

Sorry!

I really don't have time to do a post tonight. I need to spend some time with my hubby. Check out MOMS blog to see what we did today. We will be back tomorrow with lots of pictures!!

Buffalo NY!

Mom and I left at 9:00 a.m. this morning to go to the Springtime in the Country craft show. We go to the fairgrounds twice a year. Click HERE to see what I bought last time. Then click HERE to see what mom bought.

Springtime in the Country has become the show where artisans debut their new product lines for the year and is the largest and highest quality spring craft show in Western New York. With over 175 artisans from across the United States you are sure to find the latest in handmade home and garden decor as well as jewelry, pottery and much more.

The doors open at 10:00 a.m. We got there at 10:15 and this is what we saw when we pulled in. We were a little nervous at why there was still a line, but everything was fine.

We always buy Kettle Korn (a uniquely sweet and salty popcorn snack) for the ride home.

I only bought two things this time. This flag is cut out of wood and then painted. It is from one of my favorite crafters. I seem to buy from her every time we go to the craft show.

I also bought this doll today. The chair she is sitting on is from the craft show in the winter, and I thought she would look cute sitting in it. Mom thought she would to, so she had to come home with me. I hope you had a nice weekend. It was a great day for a drive. The sun was out and the sky was blue.

Steps!

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These are the steps leading to the top of Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. It is an eight-mile climb from the crossroads in Wilmington. The Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway ascends to the summit of the fifth highest mountain in the Adirondacks. The last five miles are the most spectacular as the road winds upward through a changing forest and an alpine summit environment. At the summit parking area, you can take a short hike to the very top or hop on the in-mountain elevator for a truly amazing 360-degree view of the surrounding wilderness.

This is a picture of the Whiteface Mountain Summit Weather Observatory. It houses the equipment of the states Atmospheric Science Research Center.

Click HERE for more information on Whiteface Mountain.

Finally!!

The earth sings in blue skies...

...and wildflowers.

The Mess Has Begun!!!

This is what our garden looked like a few years ago.

Sorry it is so dark.(It was taken with our old 35mm camera)

Click HERE to see the garden all cleaned up and ready for this spring.

or so we thought:(

Here is a picture from today! They dug across the street and into our yard. We are glad we got the rocks from around the edge and most of the flowers out when we did. We lost a lot of the flowers that hadn't started sprouting yet. Do we rebuild when they are all done working? Or do we let them plant grass?

This Sucks!!!

A few weeks ago we noticed the city was doing some work down the road from us. We came home one day after that and found some yellow flags in our yard marking the gas lines.

The next day, Chris was on the phone trying to find out what was going on. He found out that the city was putting in storm sewers along our street.

We found out today that the sewer will be going right through one of our gardens, and we found out why. We found out that there is a house up the road from us that has a sump pump that drains into the road. The neighbors between them and us have been complaining about ice build up in the end of their driveways during the winter. So they are putting in the sewers to fix the problem. Since the city doesn't want to cut down the half dead tree in the above picture, (who knows why???) they are crossing over to our property and then crossing back once they get past the tree.

So Chris and I spent a couple hours tonight digging out plants and bulbs from the front garden. We also found out that the garden is partially on city property. They will start to dig on our side tomorrow. From what we were told, they are putting a catch basin right in part of the garden.

Thank goodness our raised vegetable garden box was still empty. We are using it to hold most of the plants that we had to dig out. (along with the ground around it)

I am just sick about having to take out all of the plants. It is probably a good thing that I will be at work during the day while they are working.