tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40892165504430968592024-02-06T22:12:21.942-06:00Robin Hood's HideawayDeliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-14944251444393260892015-01-05T21:38:00.001-06:002015-01-05T21:38:03.173-06:00New Year's Resolution - Update Blog!!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Despite some hounding by LD and some friends, I only managed two posts in 2014. I could lie and claim that we had no projects that were blog worthy, but I won't. I was just plain lazy when it came to writing. So my New Year's resolution is to update this blog a lot more often than I did in 2014, which is not setting the bar too high. Well here is to hoping that I keep this resolution.<br />
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In order to make up for my lack of updates last year I will try and catch you up with some of the highlights from last year. <br />
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Our Homeowners Association organized a bidding process for those of us that needed trees trimmed and/or removed. We took advantage of the lower prices, and had several trees trimmed. Unfortunately, we also had our silver maple removed from our front yard. It had just sustained too much damage from previous storms, and it kept loosing major limbs with every storm we had. We were happy to provide some work for a hard working crew during their off season.<br />
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Minor project, but worth mentioning. Given the lack of contrast between our wall and house numbers, we decided we needed to make our house easier to locate (delivery persons, first time visitors, etc....) So we purchased a stencil from Modern House Numbers, and stenciled our address to the curb. Hopefully it makes it easier for the pizza delivery person to find us now. <br />
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LD had been lusting after some wall tiles from Inhabit Living for several years, and in 2014 she finally bit the bullet and placed an order for some of their Tierra Wall flats. She put a ton of effort into the prep and installation of those tiles. This project is worth a blog all on its own, so look for one shortly.<br />
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Not a house project, but certainly worth mentioning. I was a frequent stalker of the IKEA construction site.<br />
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On September 10, 2014, LD and I joined a few thousand other IKEA fans in celebrating the grand opening. It was well worth it!<br />
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So instead of having to travel 8 hours to get to the IKEA in Minnesota, I only have to travel about 3 minutes. Walking and/or biking are also an option!<br />
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After much discussion between what the bar for Blackdog Bar would look like, it finally became a reality this year. LD fell in love with a metal counter that she saw during one of the first weekends at the West Bottoms. Unfortunately that specific piece was too large for our house, but she commissioned one.<br />
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There were a couple of bumps along the way, but she was very pleased with the final result. It really fits the space nicely. Now I need to take a bartending class! <br />
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It got done just before our Halloween Party! <br />
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After taking a hiatus in 2013, we were happy to host a Halloween Party in 2014.<br />
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Given the Royals success this year, it became a Halloween/Royals Watching Party. <br />
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I was torn between rooting for a team I have always liked (Giants), or rooting for the Royals. I ended up rooting for the home team, and was very happy for the Kansas City Community.<br />
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We have finally started work on much needed landscaping in our front and side yards. The first phase of this project is almost finished, stay tuned for more updates.<br />
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-68259156601207084472014-03-21T10:19:00.000-05:002014-03-21T10:19:00.829-05:00We welcomed Spring with a brand new ..........<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fireplace!<br />
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Well not brand new, but at least it is now functional. <br />
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The previous owner was kind enough to leave us with a fireplace full of ash to clean up, so we figured that he used it pretty regularly. To be on the safe side, however, we called a local fireplace company to come clean and inspect our fireplace. <br />
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We were told that under no circumstances we should use the fireplace for wood or gas fires. There were several areas within the flume that had missing mortar, which required the chimney to be tuck pointed or lined. We had a chimney liner at our first house installed, so we figured it would not be a big deal. We were not prepared for the quote that we received, which was two times what it had cost to install the liner in our first house.<br />
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Mid-way through this winter, I finally got tired of not having a functional fireplace and decided to do something about it. At first we thought about installing a gas burning insert, but that required that our gas line be moved and an electrical outlet be installed at the back of the firebox. <br />
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After finding out how much moving the gas line was going to cost, we decided to nix that option. <br />
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So we finally decided to get the fireplace lined, install a burner , and purchase some fireglass. After much research, we decided that an H-shaped burner from Exotic Flames best met our needs.<br />
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We purchased fireglass from a vendor on Ebay, and lava rock from a local fireplace store. <br />
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We had to wait a while before we received our burner because they were backlogged. But the wait was worth it!<br />
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Things are finally warming up outside and inside!<br />
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-8475502216538871452014-02-09T21:19:00.001-06:002014-02-09T21:19:29.921-06:00Until We Meet Again - Boo Boo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to Morgan this past Monday. She brought joy into our lives for 15.5 years. She was our faithful companion through thick and thin.<br />
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After we adopted Baine, we decided that we needed another dog that would keep him company while we were busy with school. We checked out many litters before we finally checked out Morgan's litter. On the day that we visited, there were only four puppies left (three females and a male). When we saw Morgan retrieve a little yellow star and an old aluminum can, we knew that she was the one. <br />
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Once we got her home, Baine took to his role as a big brother right away. It is a good thing, because I had no clue what I was doing. I checked out books on puppy raising, but they did me no good with Morgan. She was stubborn, independent, and liked doing things her own way. It didn't matter to me because I fell for her the first night we brought her home, and I am pretty sure she fell for us right away. <br />
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I used to introduce her to our friends as a dog who only had two brain cells, one of which she used for eating and the other one for retrieving. <br />
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When it came to food, she was a vacuum cleaner. Morgan had perfected the begging look, it was hard for me not to slip her food when she looked at me with her big brown eyes. She had no problem helping herself to unattended food. One Thanksgiving she managed to steal a pumpkin pie from the kitchen table. Despite being in the adjoining room, we did not hear a thing. She also helped herself to a pack of Oreos, a pack of Hershey Kisses, some chocolate truffles, and multiple all you can eat buffets when we forgot to close the door to the area were we stored her food. Her age did not stop her one bit, this past December while visiting my mom's house she managed to find a bag of flour. Here is a video of the aftermath we found when we got back:<br />
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She loved retrieving, frisbees were her obsession. Contrary to her breeding, however, she was not in love with water. I finally got her to go swimming at 6 months of age, but only because I threw one of her frisbees in the water and she could not stand to be apart from it. In the winter, she would bring me my hat and gloves whenever she wanted to go outside for a frisbee session.<br />
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She was also great with kids and puppies. We used to call her the puppy coordinator for the Missouri Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team, because puppies were naturally drawn to her. They learned how to get their "rubble legs" from following her all over the pile. <br />
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Morgan loved getting in the car and going out for rides. She used to be my field companion while I was working on my doctorate. She loved getting in the truck, and keeping me company as I drove around Boone County looking for Canada Geese. She would also accompany me as I would go clean out the pens. One of those times, she came into the pens with a rooster in her mouth. I released it, which must have really puzzled her. I guess she thought that I had accidentally let it go, because she brought it to me a second time.<br />
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Given her natural hunting ability, I tried teaching her how to track. She was great at it, but I decided it was not for me. I also joined the local hunting and retrieving club. I'll never forget when she passed the SHR test within one month of joining the club. The club members were very impressed with her natural instincts, and so were we!!! <br />
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Despite her independent streak, she loved spending time with us. I used to call her the perfect shop dog, because she loved hanging around wherever we were.<br />
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She was also our Chief Security Officer, she was very protective of us and our home. Morgan was also great at diffusing situations with other dogs.<br />
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If any other dog tried picking up a fight with one of her sisters, she was quick to step in and let the other dog know that they would have to go through her before they touched one of her sisters. Dogs quickly backed away. <br />
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Contrary to my characterization of her as a dog with only two brain cells, Morgan was a very highly evolved dog. She was a great friend and companion, pretty much my perfect dog. She has left a great void in our home, but we take comfort in knowing that she is once again being looked after by her big brother Baine. Thanks for sharing your life with us, we were very lucky! <br />
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RIP Boo Boo July 23, 1998 - February 03, 2014</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-80419478068549857832013-07-22T11:46:00.000-05:002013-07-22T11:46:38.313-05:00Sledge Hammer = Trouble<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been so long since our last blog post, that I think I have forgotten how to write! Given that we have not had any major projects, I think we can be excused. Figured you did not want to hear about my attempts to grow some grass (big fail).<br />
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Short of working on Black Dog Bar and remodeling our laundry room, we don't have any major indoor projects to work on (I would love to replace all of our drywall, but LD won't allow me to). Black Dog Bar and the laundry room remodel have been placed on the back burner until IKEA's grand opening (we want to purchase cabinets from them, and don't want to take the big trek up North). </div>
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So that leaves us with only major outdoor projects: additional window replacements, siding repair/paining, driveway replacement, and other major landscaping projects. The problem is that each of those projects are big ticket items, and unfortunately money does not grow on trees. We are waiting on a window replacement bid, so stay tuned for that.</div>
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Studiobuild worked with us a while back on designs for a major frontscape for the house. Part of the plan involved replacement of our deteriorated planter boxes (well one of them was going to be replaced, the other one was going to be removed and replaced with just a flower bed). </div>
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The planter box that is supposed to be replaced with a flowerbed was the one that was the most deteriorated. Each time I looked at it, it saddened me to look at it. I have been wanting to take it out for quite a while, but had not acted on it.</div>
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Well yesterday was the day! I had a little too much fun swinging that sledge hammer (and I am paying for it today).</div>
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After a few swings of the sledgehammer, I started getting nervous about how I was going to dispose of all the debris. <br />
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LD agreed to go to our local big box store and pick up a Bagster for me.<br />
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It is supposed to hold a little over 3 cubic yards, but their website warns not to fill it up with more than 1 cubic yard when you have heavy debris (such as brick). So I filled it up to the allotted 10 inches in height (for heavy debris). I am nervous about the driver's measurements not matching mine, so I placed an add on Craigslist for free brick debris to help lighten the load.<br />
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I am not completely done, but my arms and the Bagster said I was done. I still have a few more brick rows to demolish, and I will have to do some excavation to remove those cinder blocks. I am liking how the area is looking without the planter box, but LD is missing the planter box and is thinking she would like to have it replaced. What do you think? If you agree with LD, do you happen to have any extra cash your are not using?<br />
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-29270207540052651622013-01-20T02:54:00.001-06:002013-01-20T02:54:38.662-06:00Now this is a Coffee Table!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last weekend, I found a coffee table that I would want for the family room!!! It's an A.M. Stock Grand Server. <br />
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This model was showcased at the 1963 World's Fair in New York City as an example of modern furniture.<br />
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The top swivels open, and you'll find a bottle holder, pull it up and lock it into place at table height. </div>
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When you finish entertaining, you unlock the center tray, slide it down and then slide the top closed.</div>
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Oh and the "fabric" covering the mid-section was still pretty cool and applicable to today.<br />
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This is one of those times where I wish I had mad carpentry skills to build my own. The two things I did not like about the original Grand Server is that it's laminated and has brass casters, but mostly that it's laminated particle wood. </div>
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If I were to build it, I would:</div>
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1. have a really light/almost white wood for the table tops;</div>
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2. make it larger;</div>
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3. have dark wood for the cocktail tray;<br />
4. change the mid-section to acrylic plant panels; and</div>
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5. install stainless steel casters.</div>
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Hmmm, is this a future project for me? I'll think about it. Regardless, this is a great example of form and function.</div>
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LDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03945153117580842839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-8505369745397853142012-12-24T16:24:00.002-06:002012-12-24T16:24:48.293-06:00A Much Needed Facelift!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">After 57 years, our house was very much due for a facelift!</span><br />
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2008</div>
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Close-up of 2008 version with the vinyl siding!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We hired StudioBuild to help us give our house a facelift. One of the first things we wanted to address was replacing the vinyl siding that was installed by the previous owner. LD and I both hated it! The house still had the original cypress, but we did not know what kind of shape it was in. If it was bad, we would have to put on new siding. Jerad convinced us to take part of the vinyl off to see what kind of shape it was in.</span><br />
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Vinyl siding coming off!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They removed the vinyl from the front of the house, and much to our surprise it was in pretty good shape (with a few exceptions). So we gave them the green light, and in a couple of days they had the rest of the vinyl removed.</span><br />
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Sayonara vinyl!!!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We then had to decide on a house color. LD wanted to go with a really dark gray more like charcoal. I was a little apprehensive, so we went through about 9 color samples before finally deciding on one called cracked pepper. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We also took the opportunity to replace all 6 bathroom windows, and a couple of awning windows in the master bedroom. Once the windows came in, StudioBuild and Fosters, Inc. went to work.</span><br />
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Rod and Charles installing the windows.</div>
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New bathroom windows!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They also did a quick job of replacing some of our damaged siding and support around the garage door.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">LD spray painted our original mailbox from black to silver, so that the mailman would be able to find it. We might replace it in the future once we come across the perfect one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After they caulked, repaired the garage support, installed the siding, it was time to paint!</span><br />
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New windows in the master bedroom and new paint!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then we finally installed our new house numbers, which we had purchased four years ago, and were waiting for our house makeover.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We love how the house colors turned out, and StudioBuild got it done just in time before the rain, snow and cold weather!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Woohoo! Thanks StudioBuild - we can't wait to get the rest of the house done in the future. For now it's just the front siding.</span><br />
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Morgan, Phoenix and Katy wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-76410137945928101922012-12-23T18:48:00.002-06:002012-12-27T21:54:31.980-06:00Little McBaine-Penn Vet Working Dog Center<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I got a call yesterday from a friend who works for the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (http://pennvetwdc.org), University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. They <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">will be naming one of their new puppies after my McBaine as part of their Puppy Program and their 9/11 Search and Rescue dog study!</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">McBaine on the rubble-photo taken by Cathy Schiltz.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">McBaine getting his medical check after our FEMA certification in 2000.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">McBaine, "Jr.", is a field bred Springer Spaniel who will join their Program in January. He was donated by Sharon Deputy from Breezy Hollow Spaniels in Fleetwood, PA.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=533074780036024" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=533074780036024</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And in the video below, the pups in his litter are going through their </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ophthalmology examine. Can you tell which one is little Baine?</span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/s-m-STHAXKQ">http://youtu.be/s-m-STHAXKQ</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is a great honor and wonderful birthday present. Thanks PVWDC! Good luck little Baine, I'll be keeping my eye on you!</span></span></div>
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LDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03945153117580842839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-53242423783163495972012-12-03T14:40:00.000-06:002012-12-04T09:45:58.945-06:00Reveal of Garage Door and Front Door<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We finished the work on the garage door! We used Sikkens SRD translucent stain teak. It turned out spectacular, and it was so easy to use!<br />
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Next we worked on the front door. We thought about buying a Crestview kit and putting in some windows, but there were several concerns that we had:</div>
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1. it's a north facing door, and would it be a location for cold air to seep in especially if we plan to remove the storm door,</div>
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2. if we put the window inserts where we wanted (4 horizontal windows from top to bottom), then that would be perfect eye level for the dogs, which means it would encourage them to look out and scratch up the inside of the door when they see cats, squirrels, raccoons, deer, other dogs, etc.</div>
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3. Our door is mahogany-I can't bear the thought of cutting up my door!</div>
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So all this boiled down to painting the door and keeping it solid. (Still not sure if we want to remove the storm door. It does serve it's purpose in the winter time!)<br />
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So we had several color ideas for the front door: parakeet green, pumpkin orange, or robin egg blue. </div>
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Parakeet Green </div>
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Pumpkin Orange </div>
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Robin Egg Blue-this was the original door color when I removed the door knocker.</div>
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We decided to go for parakeet green!<br />
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We ended up spray painting the door knocker because bronze just wasn't cutting it. </div>
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And here it is! I think we'll wait for the house paint to go up before we make a final decision. Delia already said it doesn't go with the inside of the house (ex/when the door is left open and swings inward). I agree. We walked around the neighborhood last night and early this morning with the dogs, and it is loud. </div>
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LDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03945153117580842839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-58306427026130290682012-11-25T21:19:00.000-06:002012-11-25T21:42:33.373-06:00Garage Door Restoration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well 2012 has not exactly been a good year for house projects, but we could not let it go by without at least doing one. We got this crazy hair brained idea to strip all the paint off our garage door and expose the beautiful cypress wood that we knew was laying underneath.<br />
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I first tried the orange stripper with some success, but decided it was going to take forever at that rate. <br />
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In an attempt to avoid having to use a stronger chemical stripper, I headed to Home Depot and purchased a heat gun. It worked pretty well, but after several hours and very little progress, I decided this was a two women job! <br />
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I got started on this while LD was deployed to Hurricane Sandy, and the first weekend she was back I went and purchased a second heat gun. I was right, work goes much faster with two women! <br />
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We spent multiple hours over the last couple of weeks working with heat guns, a citrus stripper, a chemical stripper, an orbital sander, and a Multimax with a sanding attachment to remove two layers of paint, one layer of primer (primer from hell), and a gray semi-transparent stain off the door.<br />
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This morning we finally cleaned all the wood with a wood prep cleaning solution. <br />
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We are quite pleased with how our Cypress garage door cleaned up. It was a ton of elbow grease, but we decided it was certainly worth the effort. It will be a few days before we can stain it (we need to allow some dry time), which means we need to spend some time deciding on a stain.</div>
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Come back to see how it all turns out.</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-40483239502094980272012-11-21T22:09:00.001-06:002012-11-25T21:49:08.640-06:00From Virginia Beach, VA to NY!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
October 27th weekend I was evaluating a FEMA canine test in Virginia Beach, VA, and I was supposed to fly out on Monday, 10/29. All the flights were getting cancelled quickly due to Hurricane Sandy! Once the testing was done, I got a flight out on Sunday to beat it. I never thought we would get deployed! Sure enough within 24 hours of getting home, we (Missouri Task Force 1) got the activation to head to NY and NJ!<br />
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Phoenix and gear</div>
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I decided to take Phoenix with me on her first deployment. She's gotta do it at some point! As I was getting ready, Phoenix knew she was going and was getting very excited!<br />
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Travel by bus</div>
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Between our days and searches, we stayed at Hicksville High School, McGuire AFB, and SUNY Maritime College. Many thanks to them for opening their doors to us! <br />
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Morning meeting at McGuire AFB</div>
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Phoenix and Rock having a morning meeting at SUNY Maritime College</div>
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We conducted wide area searches throughout Long Island, Lawrence, and Rockaway. We assisted 3,540 people, checked on 4,195 residences, and covered 34 miles in 3 days time! <br />
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Considering the conditions they were in, the communities and people were strong, resilient and resourceful. People are truly remarkable and able to come together when its tough.<br />
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Shalom - Squad 3</div>
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My thoughts and prayers are with you all this Thanksgiving. <br />
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Squad 3-Dan, Chad, Phoenix, Casey, John, Jeff</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-91040151846402280712012-09-27T20:50:00.001-05:002012-10-11T20:37:25.655-05:00IKEA in Merriam !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I came out of the shower this morning to hear LD calling out to me with excitement. She had just received a text message from our friend Mandy. She could not stop screaming! Mandy had texted her that IKEA was finally coming to Kansas City! I went from happiness to disbelief, thinking that Mandy was just pulling our leg. I asked where it was going to be built, and she texted Mandy to ask. I could not believe my ears when she told me it was going to be built in Merriam right off Johnson Drive and I-35. As in 3 miles from our home!<br />
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Do you think it is possible that IKEA executives might have actually read our blog? Back in March 2009, I wrote about two potential great locations in Merriam for an IKEA. Check this blog entry out:</div>
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<a href="http://robinhoodshideaway.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-selfish-idea-bring-ikea-to-merriam.html" target="_blank">My Selfish Idea = Bring IKEA to Merriam!!</a> They actually selected one of my two suggested locations, a Toyota dealership beat them to the other one. I think IKEA owes us a finders fee, or an invitation to the grand opening. </div>
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The weirdest thing is that we had actually scheduled a trip to IKEA this weekend (Minnesota), but ended up postponing it for later in October. Now if we could only bring a CB2 and a Room and Board Outlet to Kansas City, we wouldn't have to go on that 8 hour trek! I meant to edit this post to add REI to my wishes, but then today LD told me that REI was coming! I don't know how I missed that announcement. </div>
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Here is an artist's rendition of the new IKEA, scheduled to open Fall 2014:</div>
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We can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if somebody is looking for a house only 2 miles from IKEA, check out our previous post below.</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-46071374459115797532012-08-10T20:55:00.000-05:002012-08-10T20:59:10.014-05:00House For Sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No we are not selling Robinhood's Hideaway! We are actually selling the house we first moved into when we came to Kansas City. We had it leased for the last three years, but when our tenants moved out we decided to put it on the market.<br />
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If you or anybody you know is looking for a cute two bedroom raised ranch in Merriam, please check out our <a href="http://joanneattebery.reeceandnichols.com/homes-for-sale/KS/Merriam/66203/9716-W-53RD-Street-77360999" target="_blank">listing</a>.<br />
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Here is just a partial list of the improvements we have made since we purchased the house:<br />
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<li>Privacy fence</li>
<li>Trex deck (low maintenance)</li>
<li>New interior paint</li>
<li>Replaced all windows to Energy Star windows</li>
<li>Installed new Energy Star front door</li>
<li>Installed 8' Andersen sliding door that opens up to the deck</li>
<li>New tiled floor in bathroom</li>
<li>New carpet</li>
<li>New garage door</li>
<li>New kitchen backsplash</li>
<li>New liner in fireplace</li>
<li>Upgraded electrical wiring</li>
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The kitchen is tiny, but there is opportunity for expansion. It is in a great central location, get to The Plaza, Downtown, The Legends, I-35 or I-635 in just a matter of minutes.<br />
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We were told it was the ranch house for Zarda Dairy. Why buy a cookie cutter house when you can buy one with lots of character and history?</div>
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</div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-70886662856650942782012-06-19T19:44:00.000-05:002012-06-19T19:44:50.477-05:00Phoenix Passes her FEMA Canine Certification Test!!On June 7th, Phoenix and I flew out to Massachusetts to take the FEMA Canine Certification Evaluation Urban Search and Rescue test in Littleton, MA (outside of Boston). It was her first flight ever and she behaved like a pro!<br />
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Friday we drove up to Maranatha Kennels in Maine to see how the Task Force dogs were coming along in their training, ate great seafood at DiMillo's Restaurant, and spent a little time in the Atlantic Ocean!<br />
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On the pier in Portland, ME</div>
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Then we took our test on Saturday! Phoenix and I were scheduled to start at 1:40pm! It is so hard to wait! Ohhhh the agony!!!</div>
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For FEMA certification, the canine team has to find, alert, and flag victim locations on 2 piles. Each pile has a different type of access: Full Access and Limited Access. And the canine team has to find anywhere from 4-6 victims total on both piles. We are not told how many victims were placed in a pile nor their locations. False alerts are not allowed, and different types of distractions are placed in the piles such as food, clothing, toys, and dead animals.<br />
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Full Access Pile-scale pile size to humans and trucks in pic</div>
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Our first pile was the Full Access pile. Full access means I can walk all around the pile with her freely. It was also the largest pile. Phoenix found and alerted on 3 victims in that pile. <br />
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Limited Access Pile in foreground</div>
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The second pile is the Limited Access. This means that I cannot go on the pile until Phoenix alerts. I'm at the base of the pile in a location where I cannot see a thing-this means more waiting until Phoenix barks (that's the FEMA alert). Once Phoenix alerts, I'm allowed on the pile to the location where she alerts. After that, I cannot move anywhere on the pile (unless I choose to go back to Start) until Phoenix alerts again. Phoenix found and alerted on 3 victims on that pile! <br />
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Phoenix is still barking while I explain to the Evaluator where she alerted.</div>
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Then there's more waiting until all the teams completed their test. We were finally told our results at 6:40pm!!! Turns out they placed 6 victims total, and we got them all correct! Wooohooo!!!<br />
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Phoenix and I are now a FEMA Certified Canine Team! FYI- Katy and I are still a FEMA Certified Canine Team too. Yes, my two girls-I'm so proud of them!</div>LDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03945153117580842839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-79045476649680834412012-03-10T19:09:00.000-06:002012-03-10T19:21:48.748-06:00Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your tree down!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After almost five straight days of sustained winds in the upper twenty's and wind gusts of up to fifty miles per hour, we came home from work on Wednesday to find this:<br />
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It used to look like this:<br />
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The previous owner planted this tree when one of his daughters was born at least 40 yrs old. It was about 35-40 ft tall, and leaned like the leaning Tower of Pisa. I can't say that we were sad, because at one point we had thought about cutting it down to open up the yard a bit more. Mother nature took care of it for us!<br />
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We took advantage of the nice weather this morning, and in less than an hour we managed to cut it up into manageable pieces. <br />
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It looks like there is going to be a nice brush fire in my future.</div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-83073010968119537312012-02-21T21:57:00.000-06:002012-02-21T22:13:14.187-06:00UFO Landing at Robinhood's Hideaway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Both LD and I have been lusting over the George Nelson Bubble Lamps for a long time. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), our house came with a bunch of cool light fixtures and we could not justify replacing any of them. About the only light fixture we were not very fond of was the one in the sunroom, but we were not sure about how the light fixture would do in a room that is neither heated or cooled. <br />
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A few weeks ago, I was browsing Craigslist and came across an ad for a George Nelson saucer lamp at a decent price. I thought for sure it would be gone by the time I contacted the seller, but amazingly it was not. We settled on a price, and a couple of days later we picked up our new light fixture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLRV9SLdpMowFpTWK2lcxLjo5AhHqZgMm1MKTgjscNOItcH2YmLUNKg2MGGFmSFiLjdMKKBxZe4e0ljef23edB1jq_no870kgleTQ1xtK3-wrd38bkOPSqauKuEvwTZLt2Kw0gS90t4c/s1600/IMAG0381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLRV9SLdpMowFpTWK2lcxLjo5AhHqZgMm1MKTgjscNOItcH2YmLUNKg2MGGFmSFiLjdMKKBxZe4e0ljef23edB1jq_no870kgleTQ1xtK3-wrd38bkOPSqauKuEvwTZLt2Kw0gS90t4c/s320/IMAG0381.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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It sat in the box for about a couple of weeks before we finally got around to installing it. We had been busy, but I think subconsciously we were both afraid of placing such a nice lamp in an unheated room. The minute we flipped the switch, however, all of our worries were forgotten.<br />
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<br /></div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-87153345260102920442012-01-04T22:19:00.003-06:002012-01-13T20:42:59.930-06:00Retrospective on 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With 2011 over, we thought we would review our punch list from last January, and see what we were able to cross off. </div>
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<ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Finish installing baseboards</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Install vent grills</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Refinish built in cabinets in family room to match kitchen cabinets</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Transform sunroom into a home gym (partially)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Continue working on landscaping</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Paint bathroom windows</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Purchase and install vanity in hall bathroom</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Repaint our home office and family room</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Restore 4 Eames shell chairs we purchased last winter</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><strike>Find a table top for the Eames table base we purchased last month</strike></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Maybe get started on Black Dog Bar</li>
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We got started early last year with a couple of items that were actually not in our punch list.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxf3-8L937dPpf8wBhNOBaSCUEh1LjW2uEqgQePvAP9mIObEi2neZHyW_Ma56jQiTpAxwmhMB6zHhK2OlZCPOxmCXBs8olztMR849bniLMEg1kWm2pOXTQv2_RxOziNJ-kVUL33uOBW8/s1600/DSC06073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxf3-8L937dPpf8wBhNOBaSCUEh1LjW2uEqgQePvAP9mIObEi2neZHyW_Ma56jQiTpAxwmhMB6zHhK2OlZCPOxmCXBs8olztMR849bniLMEg1kWm2pOXTQv2_RxOziNJ-kVUL33uOBW8/s320/DSC06073.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fixed the pressure relief valve in our water heater</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpd6G6ZXEsFNR9X1Ddtz_qOR4qy1B2XZB5WQrxh_SmbKP2xzF_fKq-a32crufCZVhQjgCRX1pbwM44pCUbtp3ylwiYKyRDIzm7hF9Qd1odMbwIkrrN8U_OzwUrFeiAPeBDupEjGIA5ks/s1600/DSC06068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpd6G6ZXEsFNR9X1Ddtz_qOR4qy1B2XZB5WQrxh_SmbKP2xzF_fKq-a32crufCZVhQjgCRX1pbwM44pCUbtp3ylwiYKyRDIzm7hF9Qd1odMbwIkrrN8U_OzwUrFeiAPeBDupEjGIA5ks/s320/DSC06068.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organized utility room (doors were donated to Habitat for Humanity)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Those two minor projects, motivated us to tackle a couple of projects that were actually in our list:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70Nww9L1fXj7NiE-dktc6fLbAP1XZXRrAgyrX2csMEwInDhMJ66lvUSynZzqFG8YFyAIO-mxQZsime4rrQuWycCKV7kNm8jKzEB-lrOKxckZEfA9yhWssCaNuQE2teC2DZqWdzp9Q36Q/s1600/DSC06351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70Nww9L1fXj7NiE-dktc6fLbAP1XZXRrAgyrX2csMEwInDhMJ66lvUSynZzqFG8YFyAIO-mxQZsime4rrQuWycCKV7kNm8jKzEB-lrOKxckZEfA9yhWssCaNuQE2teC2DZqWdzp9Q36Q/s320/DSC06351.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refinished built-ins in the living room and had new countertops installed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvG5G2gRinfF5GXpFmzgbJZD0ZHnbAU57xVB4pQCpjDeb6II8Do6mngurTRUeZ1khDLzTSLc9x9Ynte3UG8hOBjQg9OxNiZ5woZY_CswPY8vMRTFTCaqlEUeEueeHy5Sa1rhE53CI5yM/s1600/DSC06410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvG5G2gRinfF5GXpFmzgbJZD0ZHnbAU57xVB4pQCpjDeb6II8Do6mngurTRUeZ1khDLzTSLc9x9Ynte3UG8hOBjQg9OxNiZ5woZY_CswPY8vMRTFTCaqlEUeEueeHy5Sa1rhE53CI5yM/s320/DSC06410.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Repainted the family room, and even managed to get a couple of trees to grow.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">LD volunteered our house to host the neighborhood's winter social. Nothing like a party to motivate us into completing more projects.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI94NkD4mA8qG_nVhtc2q38QrvqxkZFJEVTuY3iwtkpebj8qBwX1CigRHePz0_LQ50-u2sdhak87mW97S-AKv85E1HFslTpKq3ggBvo48GPpH3bZBKCY2aI8bYS6WlhHguFuX7vo7-L1o/s1600/DSC06411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI94NkD4mA8qG_nVhtc2q38QrvqxkZFJEVTuY3iwtkpebj8qBwX1CigRHePz0_LQ50-u2sdhak87mW97S-AKv85E1HFslTpKq3ggBvo48GPpH3bZBKCY2aI8bYS6WlhHguFuX7vo7-L1o/s320/DSC06411.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had vents sandblasted, and sprayed on a new coat of paint</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuWlBco4Gz2-LOQWrdzQyMLdTLylpSZtiJmuCI28GcxrE9MQ-qPPSqRa9OW_6dHn7TgGXJBiyrSxuiLCtO38zQNR9xQXPU7RXB97nvnCKRDc6b3P2EahErqGamFqBvAx6vcUH2tPWNnc/s1600/DSC06452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuWlBco4Gz2-LOQWrdzQyMLdTLylpSZtiJmuCI28GcxrE9MQ-qPPSqRa9OW_6dHn7TgGXJBiyrSxuiLCtO38zQNR9xQXPU7RXB97nvnCKRDc6b3P2EahErqGamFqBvAx6vcUH2tPWNnc/s320/DSC06452.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were so pleased with how the vents turned out, that we also got our big UFO light sand blasted to remove the multiple layers of paint that were covering up the beautiful brushed aluminum finish.<br />
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We got creative with some chalkboard paint and chalk. We love it, not sure that the KU alumni in our neighborhood appreciate it as much as we do.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Our hall bathroom became more functional with the installation of our new vanity by StudioBuild.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We took a short break from remodeling at the end of May, while LD and Katy responded to the F5 tornado that hit Joplin.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hall bathroom was still being worked on:</span></div>
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Our new vanity top got installed, and we tiled the backsplash<br />
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We had our new faucet hooked up, no more dirty hands!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Took a break from the bathroom and finally restored the Eames Shell Chairs.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then took a really long break, and completely fenced the back yard:</span></div>
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We had vinyl coated chain link installed on the majority of the yard.<br />
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With the help of friend Rollin and our "burro", we installed the privacy fence.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In September, we got crafty with a mirror for our hallway bathroom and finally put the finishing touch on the hallway bathroom.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our upcoming Halloween Party motivated us to:</span></div>
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Finally complete all the baseboards</div>
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and repainted our office. </div>
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We found a table top at Room and Board for our table base, and LD gave me a pretty cool chair for my birthday.<br />
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After all that hard work, we celebrated by having a Halloween bash.<br />
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We slowed down after Halloween, but I am itching to start planning our next project. Maybe this year we will finally get around to working on Black Dog Bar, and finish converting our sunroom into a home gym. <br />
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Here's hoping that 2012 brings you happiness and prosperity!<br />
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</div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-17895507915321414742011-12-23T21:04:00.003-06:002011-12-26T20:54:52.463-06:00Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Us to You!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G3R3PMmLAgldbXEv7Mp5selRY-PfuTaDGv0Vp214e-sjbJOVis1Jcp4eZqe0YIXOZenx1haJJJaC4J7yrIPvRIUfGorztaV9kG18IVSpA1kUkOmIbLPQzgw7LVt6QfouoYrfsJ7QA-w/s1600/2011+Xmas+Pic+3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G3R3PMmLAgldbXEv7Mp5selRY-PfuTaDGv0Vp214e-sjbJOVis1Jcp4eZqe0YIXOZenx1haJJJaC4J7yrIPvRIUfGorztaV9kG18IVSpA1kUkOmIbLPQzgw7LVt6QfouoYrfsJ7QA-w/s320/2011+Xmas+Pic+3a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-7798567175088975892011-11-14T20:11:00.001-06:002011-11-14T20:41:30.609-06:00Midcentury Modern Butterfly Roof House for Sale- 6355 Robinhood Dr.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaLwoIP1MdW4MmRcp6CffRT5OrR20pYEIHUsGcbeNZaTwLxinuXDLrhlzkn8JUdHF5hzKjN0FvjzmQR40xXhuUQadBC1hR0me9hdA2LeyskiBEb61Ajty20HU1z7t_NxV8T07azJEsb4/s1600/butterflyhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaLwoIP1MdW4MmRcp6CffRT5OrR20pYEIHUsGcbeNZaTwLxinuXDLrhlzkn8JUdHF5hzKjN0FvjzmQR40xXhuUQadBC1hR0me9hdA2LeyskiBEb61Ajty20HU1z7t_NxV8T07azJEsb4/s320/butterflyhouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Let me begin by stating that I am not a real estate agent nor am I getting a commission from the sale of this house. This is a post from one midcentury aficionado to another about a unique midcentury modern house for sale. We want to see this house be loved by someone just like the owners who once lived there (and we want decent neighbors in the neighborhood!) <div>
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Ever since we moved into this neighborhood, we have been curious about the "butterfly" house at the entrance. A few weeks ago I finally got a chance to satisfy my curiosity during an estate sale (and I was just a minute late from scoring a sweet cado wall unit). My curiosity was satisfied, and I was impressed with what I saw. It was very obvious to us that the homeowners really cared about their home. </div>
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So unless a philanthropist comes out of the woodwork to purchase this house and donate it to our neighborhood association, we are hoping that the right person who appreciates this home for what it is will purchase it. </div>
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Here is a link to the real estate listing, but be forewarned that the pictures do not do it justice. You really need to go into the house to appreciate it for what it is. </div>
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<a href="http://stacyvollmar.reeceandnichols.com/KS/Merriam/66020/homes-for-sale/6355-Robin-Hood-Drive-67579152" target="_blank">6355 Robinhood Dr. Merriam, KS</a></div>
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</div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-9698833923538117192011-11-01T19:33:00.000-05:002011-11-06T22:19:18.083-06:00Haunted Happenings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween, with more treats than tricks! At Robin Hood's Hideaway we celebrated Halloween a couple of days early. After foregoing our Halloween party last year due to our bathroom remodel, we were not about to let this year go by without celebrating one of our favorite holidays with friends. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In preparation for our party, however, we were busy trying to get some projects completed. Here are the much overdue updates:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We are happy to report that after having settled on a new paint color for our office over a year ago, we finally got around to painting our office. I am glad that Benjamin Moore still carried the color! Unfortunately, the walls looked nicer and they made my desk and bookshelves stick out like a sore thumb.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;">My World Market Konrad desk and Riley bookcases did not really go with the style of the house (they had been a perfect fit for our other house). So we ended up going to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1320191075_0" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(54, 99, 136); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 2px; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.2em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial;">Minnesota</span> and LD talked me into purchasing a walnut table top from the Room and Board Outlet. We bought legs and a drawer kit from Ikea, and we ended up assembling a one of a kind desk that fits the room much better. We also bought some Gallery bookshelves from the Room and Board Outlet. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;">I celebrated my birthday in September, and LD bought me the chair that I fell in love with the first time I saw it at Room and Board. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;">Hmmm, something about my birthday and chairs (last year she bought me an Eames shell rocker).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We also picked up a glass table top for the Herman Miller table base we had purchased a while back. The round table looks much better in our dining area. It has a few scratches that we will have to address, but for $9.99 it was too good of a deal to pass up.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To top it all off, we finally installed baseboards upstairs! It was tedious work, but it sure finishes up the rooms. I can't believe we lived without baseboards for three years!</span></div>
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LD also managed to purchase ALOT more decorations while I was away on travel. We really need to build a storage shed, unfortunately that will probably have to wait till Spring.</div>
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The house looked quite festive, and it really set the mood for the party. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It might have been a little too festive, since it actually attracted a "mystery" guest. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">One of our friends called me over and brought to my attention a phantom/grim reaper who was standing by himself/herself in a corner. I walked over to welcome them to the party and to figure out who it was. I really could not tell who it was, so I asked. The only response I got were growling sounds and a husky voice that said he/she was hungry. So I told him/her to help himself/herself to some food and drinks. A few minutes later Mark asked me if I had figured out who it was because he/she had walked outside and left. At that point I got a little worried and went to ask LD if she had interacted with the mystery guest. She pretty much had the same interaction, and he/she never did identify himself/herself. We felt it was quite creepy and we had Katy search the house to make sure that our mystery guest was not hanging around.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;">Nothing like a party to motivate us to get things checked off our 2011 to do list. This party helped us accomplish three of our goals!</span></div>
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</span></div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-15576649113917758152011-09-25T21:38:00.000-05:002011-09-26T15:23:25.968-05:00Estate Sale Finds! C. Jere!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This weekend there was an estate sale in our neighborhood. Some of the homes are still in their original condition (like ours) with wonderful surprises. So we were excited to go the sale. </div>
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Usually when we go to estate sales, it is on the last day when there is nothing left. Since this one was in our neighborhood, we got there a few minutes before they opened. <br />
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People had already lined up at 6 am. The sale did not open until 9 am! As they opened the door, a woman bumped into me as she rushed to get to the jewelry table. And I saw another one running from one room to the next. Who knew that estate sale shopping was such a competitive sport! Since becoming a newfound fan of Storage Wars, I figured that those people probably own resale shops, and were looking for merchandise to fill their shelves.<br />
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While everybody was busy fighting over the jewelry and records collection, I made my way into the garage and LD went into the basement. </div>
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While I picked up a pitch fork and three sprinklers in the garage, LD found a C. Jere metal artwork! </div>
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Leave it to her find such a piece. I wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't signed. It has three biplanes and a mini-runway. Given that several of the original homeowners in our neighborhood had been pilots for TWA, I thought we might want to hold on to some of our neighborhood history. </div>
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She tried searching the web for a similar one, but could not find one. If anyone knows about this piece, please let us know!</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-54662469375652155462011-09-17T22:21:00.000-05:002011-09-18T08:15:28.488-05:00Hall Bathroom Finally Done-Mirror and All!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It has been so long since our mirror drama started that thought I would give you a quick refresher:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really wanted this mirror from West Elm, but it was no longer being sold.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbWreDUO5cs0FVqY-GB67qKY8_xRgdmq22sJ5PdIerOg18U83F4-bfqbX8XJWDOcPDqeM5CUfdd5wOjLJrm9q22g0TdblPZzGLDAzr_oaLvlBHRVuXQQspOwiH3AtB-sDhSA_Mbo1v_4/s1600/Cut+Twig.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbWreDUO5cs0FVqY-GB67qKY8_xRgdmq22sJ5PdIerOg18U83F4-bfqbX8XJWDOcPDqeM5CUfdd5wOjLJrm9q22g0TdblPZzGLDAzr_oaLvlBHRVuXQQspOwiH3AtB-sDhSA_Mbo1v_4/s320/Cut+Twig.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So we ended up buying this one online (arrived broken the first time, wish it had been broken the second time) We both hated this mirror. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So we decided to build our own.</td></tr>
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However, our efforts to use the Dremel Trio as a router were not successful. The maple was just too hard. John and Sam from <a href="http://roecircle.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Our First House</span></a> were kind enough to lend us their router and router table. (Many, many thanks!-it certainly made the job much easier!) </div>
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Initially we were just going to keep the mirror pretty simple, but our mitered corners were not as tight as we had expected. (Later learned that we are supposed to use the sawdust from the saw to fill that in!) </div>
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So we decided to try our own version of the West Elm mirror. I tried looking for branch cross sections in Etsy, but they were too expensive. LD found some branches from an elm tree in the park that lost one of it's large branches during the last storms. She cleaned the branches and sliced them into quarter inch segments with the miter saw. We let them dry for about two weeks, then started glueing them onto the frame.</div>
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After letting it dry for a few hours, and giving it two coats of poly, we finally hung it in the bathroom.</div>
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So our hallway bathroom is finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</div>
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Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-18087693038532313002011-09-04T23:08:00.002-05:002011-12-24T10:05:51.589-06:00My Sister, My Hero<div dir="ltr" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" trbidi="on">Friday, September 2nd, was a weird day. We were supposed to go to Minneapolis to go shopping at Ikea, but decided to leave on Saturday instead. Just didn't feel like the right day to leave. Now I know why. Dad visited me and tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen. I was depressed, and couldn't shake it. Even Morgan tried to tell me. When my brother called me that night, I didn't want to pick it up. I knew it deep down, but I didn't want to hear it or accept. I thought that if I didn't answer the phone, it wouldn't happen. My sister, Estela, had passed away. She was fondly known as Sister.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Abx06Aff9Yz_ePncFSfRo9ot64YQG1LW3c0YovUtuSbxNxQBml3m9qkDlhDvQNExGWJO_gcURovv59avRIq1xghfxt8FwgNzYqESh0ThDdpYjFh37m0VEx75nVnknur8KR6xGDxVxc8/s1600/Me+and+Sis-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Abx06Aff9Yz_ePncFSfRo9ot64YQG1LW3c0YovUtuSbxNxQBml3m9qkDlhDvQNExGWJO_gcURovv59avRIq1xghfxt8FwgNzYqESh0ThDdpYjFh37m0VEx75nVnknur8KR6xGDxVxc8/s320/Me+and+Sis-1.jpg" width="316" border="0" /></a></div><br />Sister. I gave her that name when I could barely speak because I couldn't say her full name, so I improvised, and it stuck with her this whole time. She was always stronger, smarter, and more stubborn than I! But I needed someone like her to get it through my thick skull that our lives can be changed in an instant. And I thank her for that.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aD_Rpjnj8KRTw0Ul4NgEPRukfPr6d0mU-hyya67fPL08K8sviTYJ3mKwR9pYxsV1HyDdDHaq0gLguCvxvoE_hqq823_A5Q3XhGv483_l6FeHDivDudPdEiId7jz8ARrzaF5yzOkFOTA/s1600/Me+and+Sis-3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aD_Rpjnj8KRTw0Ul4NgEPRukfPr6d0mU-hyya67fPL08K8sviTYJ3mKwR9pYxsV1HyDdDHaq0gLguCvxvoE_hqq823_A5Q3XhGv483_l6FeHDivDudPdEiId7jz8ARrzaF5yzOkFOTA/s320/Me+and+Sis-3.jpg" width="308" border="0" /></a></div><br />I remember when we would go to the farm field, and move the hay bales around to create forts and mazes. And the fact that she had a crush on my good friend Tony! (But he already knew.) We loved going into that field and playing in the creek. We would catch pollywogs and fish all day long. We had all the fruit we could eat-blackberries, apples, and cherries. OMG they were so fresh and good. And the best swimming hole ever! It was our secret. She hated the fact that we had to move from there. We moved so many times when we were young, but at least we had each other. She was 1 yr and 10 months younger than I, but it felt like we were joined at the hip when we were little.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpaD6b5POMT7VOe-DWSUuZfVx3XOnBO9o-f48hDZxVSXeI10hbeRc2_IUM_WrNDcOCziORqEnV5UxgkcGk41sNEwF4SwZSlakeNJe-H_qsPixHEp07QoAmWFVYOg3_aVT7n-AWgWLiNg/s1600/Bigly+and+Sis-4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpaD6b5POMT7VOe-DWSUuZfVx3XOnBO9o-f48hDZxVSXeI10hbeRc2_IUM_WrNDcOCziORqEnV5UxgkcGk41sNEwF4SwZSlakeNJe-H_qsPixHEp07QoAmWFVYOg3_aVT7n-AWgWLiNg/s320/Bigly+and+Sis-4.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a></div><br />Growing up she always found ways to get into fights at school. I either had to bail her out, fight right next to her, or protect her! And it was always with more than one girl! Big ones too! She never did things the easy way, and I never knew what those fights were about. Probably best to be kept in the dark!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQr853JKO3AUWLvwyhDdiPlFWl7ug0yJJqk5cMaVrRj5_PaN7UuNwMAPt5rxHFmKzF61Tq2yFNgRaZbaqTmBsLacHdefTraRxgvxuAXs5zPKegMAe5qDMxL2QytLAdEluqKfCnTjkEzq8/s1600/Sis-5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQr853JKO3AUWLvwyhDdiPlFWl7ug0yJJqk5cMaVrRj5_PaN7UuNwMAPt5rxHFmKzF61Tq2yFNgRaZbaqTmBsLacHdefTraRxgvxuAXs5zPKegMAe5qDMxL2QytLAdEluqKfCnTjkEzq8/s320/Sis-5.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a></div><br />I'll never forget when I went away to college, she told me she loved me and would miss me. I never knew that before. She was always so stubborn, and had to learn things the hard way. But it was her stubbornness and tenacity that pulled her through the tough times. After she had kids, she went back to school and just blew me away. I don't know how she managed a family, a life, and went to school at the same time. She amazed me then, and still does now. It took her a long time to find her passion, but she did. And when she did, she bulldozed through, letting nothing stop her from her goal.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DtruQxe6fvCJ1YChIEFOH4c8Yb4rBLHtkBY3Lyiphvy25tNEx_WrE8-P87D19x1WExTxLbiyDDmzuEPfSfwHLOzBiibuylIG5DB5iHnTIC6yorQlCRIyc9mNdJR2YeNuXWG5vvyBGyk/s1600/Sis+and+Caleb-9.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DtruQxe6fvCJ1YChIEFOH4c8Yb4rBLHtkBY3Lyiphvy25tNEx_WrE8-P87D19x1WExTxLbiyDDmzuEPfSfwHLOzBiibuylIG5DB5iHnTIC6yorQlCRIyc9mNdJR2YeNuXWG5vvyBGyk/s320/Sis+and+Caleb-9.jpg" width="218" border="0" /></a></div><br />She never gave up even when the doctors gave her the news that would change her (and her family's) life forever-brain cancer. Instead, she persevered through the chemo, radiation, and all those surgeries-and did it all during school breaks!!! And she still got straight A's and didn't complain. I was awed by her, and her strength to move forward, despite what she'd been through.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEHvfSD2_VKSAZWwZqXfIBbuO9jWdgO3u-gc8cADVXIAsXSXfvSHDXEcQ9YLXcxHtSB64UBpQ6Pfz0Re9dlet2YtxTC0BIC89bP9v2uW-F4pOhSF3xw1n-Glz9L9OYv3k9VNc5nZNikc/s1600/Sis-10.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEHvfSD2_VKSAZWwZqXfIBbuO9jWdgO3u-gc8cADVXIAsXSXfvSHDXEcQ9YLXcxHtSB64UBpQ6Pfz0Re9dlet2YtxTC0BIC89bP9v2uW-F4pOhSF3xw1n-Glz9L9OYv3k9VNc5nZNikc/s320/Sis-10.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a></div><br />That was four years ago. I thought I was going to lose her last year, but she kicked Death in the a$$ again. I always knew she wouldn't go down without a fight. She finished her bachelor's in speech pathology last year, and got into grad school. She gave me the best birthday present ever in December last year-she was cancer free (then it came back in 2011). This was going to be her second year in grad school. She will always be my Hero.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hP_AeRcdP_avJYqByuVlvlUETxM4jYeOaFy3ogJEZv4hjgqGZUOgzW68EtZb0pxY8g9TuVx6Eo8ymnYjysQyxDtSXjeiXczwi3vR8bJN3PhaOjiVhHnY1hfr_KryItQY1WFZdM8wrB0/s1600/Sis-12.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hP_AeRcdP_avJYqByuVlvlUETxM4jYeOaFy3ogJEZv4hjgqGZUOgzW68EtZb0pxY8g9TuVx6Eo8ymnYjysQyxDtSXjeiXczwi3vR8bJN3PhaOjiVhHnY1hfr_KryItQY1WFZdM8wrB0/s320/Sis-12.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />(Hey Sis! I'll be looking and waiting for you in my dreams, and I'll be waiting to feel your presence around me. Now you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. And when it's my time to go, your lovely, smiling face is the first one I want to see. I love you so very much. P.S.-say hi to Dad for me.)</div>LDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03945153117580842839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-89145445098908941522011-08-21T05:52:00.001-05:002011-08-21T05:54:47.619-05:00Privacy Fence - DONE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We took leave from work last Thursday to work on our fence. LD optimistically thought we would get it all done, but I knew better. We did manage to finish installing the rest of our railings, and got some of the pickets nailed in.<br />
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Tired of taking millions of trips up and down the slope to carry supplies, LD came up with the brilliant idea of finding a little wagon that we could load up with supplies and pull down our narrow pathway. I went online and found a couple of candidates at Home Depot and Lowe's. The one from Lowe's won out (it was bigger and it was assembled). It was just under $100, but it was one of the best $100 we ever spent. LD's little "burro" saved us a lot of time and exhaustion by carrying our tools and lumber up and down the slope.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b_ctkPhyqHvkQaw63aqwJnDReeVOQ6G6fY5HGrjecySqMysD7yq-XCaW51KhlQSIvbNqCKApLnu57_1ebREcLRRzez_R_OemGgTEgw7TUUrBzA7h22G92z8JpwuqxiEHLhiJ30V-MkM/s1600/IMAG0290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b_ctkPhyqHvkQaw63aqwJnDReeVOQ6G6fY5HGrjecySqMysD7yq-XCaW51KhlQSIvbNqCKApLnu57_1ebREcLRRzez_R_OemGgTEgw7TUUrBzA7h22G92z8JpwuqxiEHLhiJ30V-MkM/s320/IMAG0290.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little "Burro"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYtbBHL46kVO01paJX1P5CXWo2UFAgPjXDAV-l1lyBO3FYfXP8ukzcXrQXHSneaV71AkC2N5SRUBPFUdZgBqLHyYtreDycgBE9q0AHuhOWKoc7PJduXupbaxpmIn8Kengm5GMGHTcbqI/s1600/IMAG0287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYtbBHL46kVO01paJX1P5CXWo2UFAgPjXDAV-l1lyBO3FYfXP8ukzcXrQXHSneaV71AkC2N5SRUBPFUdZgBqLHyYtreDycgBE9q0AHuhOWKoc7PJduXupbaxpmIn8Kengm5GMGHTcbqI/s320/IMAG0287.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the terrain in our backyard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last Sunday, we really put a dent on the fence. After working on it for almost 8 hours, we stopped with about 25 feet to go. LD wanted to get it all done, but I was exhausted!<br />
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We took showers and had dinner at the local Chinese buffet. I thought we were done for the day, but LD had other plans. She wanted to burn some of the brush that had been dumped on our property. Lucky for her (not for me), Sunday was a burn day. So we spent a couple of hours burning. It only put a small dent on the pile, but at least we managed to create some space between the brush pile and the fence. We were tired, but happy with all the progress we made. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhircVAUxXMB1SUUdejTw2mmNyNYMtcG-ujdxgqQlAPLx_6q0_YA-vNU3RfwQs1JrXidhM9X4NLSCHAb3hOB6D6CxcTQdvKBmm0jD1LWOAz-3gFvgkTMDxSwG6g5mVNYvFfwa4ABoEY_D0/s1600/IMAG0271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhircVAUxXMB1SUUdejTw2mmNyNYMtcG-ujdxgqQlAPLx_6q0_YA-vNU3RfwQs1JrXidhM9X4NLSCHAb3hOB6D6CxcTQdvKBmm0jD1LWOAz-3gFvgkTMDxSwG6g5mVNYvFfwa4ABoEY_D0/s320/IMAG0271.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It took us less than two hours Saturday morning to finish installing the rest of the pickets and the gate. It is far from perfect, but it is done! The dogs finally get to enjoy their yard, and so do we. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibri4FkwhsHfSAXAYwnrHq5NXgZgl4TWIwFTEc8vX4dnsG_ebQ7CYnX6abFbVqQbmJuruQwWWwAV8osx9KrgskhXFRMJ5GPwfe_UW8YfPf5dUivYaYCbJgCl8Qfw4ZfkMNaPVYOIgI1EA/s1600/IMAG0276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibri4FkwhsHfSAXAYwnrHq5NXgZgl4TWIwFTEc8vX4dnsG_ebQ7CYnX6abFbVqQbmJuruQwWWwAV8osx9KrgskhXFRMJ5GPwfe_UW8YfPf5dUivYaYCbJgCl8Qfw4ZfkMNaPVYOIgI1EA/s320/IMAG0276.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last nail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL3HVJuzpXW5IILIF63uOfFwAhhQAj2A2MbpyG8M5IpW88ZIx2Z7biAHsw5s1ZVRpmHj271azJHm2V34VWX6e_yeDkBNyf7w7cLidPP2D984nVmigNo1fpaQrUjVVK_rKREWJz0QwgRA/s1600/IMAG0240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL3HVJuzpXW5IILIF63uOfFwAhhQAj2A2MbpyG8M5IpW88ZIx2Z7biAHsw5s1ZVRpmHj271azJHm2V34VWX6e_yeDkBNyf7w7cLidPP2D984nVmigNo1fpaQrUjVVK_rKREWJz0QwgRA/s320/IMAG0240.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5vYD7Gd409KUVbgg253cNmP6MWcRpLpOqe2B_Z8xVVs4KVC1tdEVIinD_QytH8U0yz1N4fKmB-HRLU2G9z_tHG92cYCgUsNjwAI_UQM_msFl7Z07TafmGQZcP7bXbeQzhyphenhyphenhasltp49g/s1600/IMAG0270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5vYD7Gd409KUVbgg253cNmP6MWcRpLpOqe2B_Z8xVVs4KVC1tdEVIinD_QytH8U0yz1N4fKmB-HRLU2G9z_tHG92cYCgUsNjwAI_UQM_msFl7Z07TafmGQZcP7bXbeQzhyphenhyphenhasltp49g/s320/IMAG0270.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View after</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This project would not have been possible without our friends Rollin and Jeannette. They were kind enough to lend us their trailer, nail gun, and extension cords. To top it all off, Rollin came to our rescue last Thursday when we could not figure out that we had a nail jammed in the gun, and assisted with the pickets that day. </div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-58949172039763221002011-07-31T17:32:00.002-05:002011-08-21T05:51:30.531-05:00Fences Make Good Neighbors (We Sure Hope So!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Despite the initial set backs and the extreme heat, our chain link fence was completed last Friday. LD is quite happy with the fence, and I must admit that despite my initial doubts about installing chain link fence I am too. It blends into the background much better than what I expected, and makes the backyard feel like a park.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2DfusyTpQjwYDVyvQlPmM2-BJlkbPX8Vw_8a3FGd9mk5BppwZWj71CxkeaS75052-MKghwr91QVQqWiEV4nvmHrOlMxTNkaDmXfhyOeS41q7osEt3c4_66YC1ZD56oL3UBP4xIy_uuA/s1600/IMAG0227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2DfusyTpQjwYDVyvQlPmM2-BJlkbPX8Vw_8a3FGd9mk5BppwZWj71CxkeaS75052-MKghwr91QVQqWiEV4nvmHrOlMxTNkaDmXfhyOeS41q7osEt3c4_66YC1ZD56oL3UBP4xIy_uuA/s320/IMAG0227.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
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<div>We really love where we live, and wanted to maintain the open feel of the property which is why we decided to go with black vinyl chain link. Unfortunately, part of the southern property lines borders another subdivision and we have had issues with trespassing (ATV riding, teenagers shooting at birds, dumping of yard waste) in the wooded portion of our lot. We were not convinced that a 42" chain link fence would be enough to stop the issues we had been having, so we decided to build a privacy fence along that boundary. We paid our contractor to dig the holes, and decided to try and tackle the privacy fence on our own.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvj_5shVHEznRFb5t4UWGXyPY1zRyOCn4JwYTTIdWW97-UK5h5pSyy9R_b5ejJZFRpL84OC9I3zzkAcieuhFkX1pyNRhnRZlvqLjUfcOcVVaalZjn2lubF5KHCXphpdxpYSJoryzzNdY/s1600/IMAG0232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvj_5shVHEznRFb5t4UWGXyPY1zRyOCn4JwYTTIdWW97-UK5h5pSyy9R_b5ejJZFRpL84OC9I3zzkAcieuhFkX1pyNRhnRZlvqLjUfcOcVVaalZjn2lubF5KHCXphpdxpYSJoryzzNdY/s320/IMAG0232.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brush Dumping</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiizgMVOYoyUwy9ujwxXK4vIJNv0lWNRu2DnpSsfUiz0Ln0QCCRqQUjRp3_8bkoqmqGxjNul8EgkH-Wr7p_F1k90-lmBRQLt6XXZpZy5yIFaTZF9TSIeMM5_lTZsvMpefiMb3Rr1NiO7I/s1600/IMAG0236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiizgMVOYoyUwy9ujwxXK4vIJNv0lWNRu2DnpSsfUiz0Ln0QCCRqQUjRp3_8bkoqmqGxjNul8EgkH-Wr7p_F1k90-lmBRQLt6XXZpZy5yIFaTZF9TSIeMM5_lTZsvMpefiMb3Rr1NiO7I/s320/IMAG0236.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ATV Riding</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div>Last Saturday we rented a trailer and loaded it up at the local Home Depot with twenty-five 4 x 4 posts. We also picked up approximately 200 lbs of gravel. After setting four posts, however, we decided it was way too hot and headed to the movies. Thinking we would continue in the evening once it cooled down. Well we came out of the movie and the thermometer had actually gone up!</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div>We were fortunate to get a break from the oppressive heat this Saturday and we took full advantage of it. After three runs to Home Depot for concrete (our cars could only handle so much weight), we managed to set all twenty-five posts. It took 37 bags of 50 lb Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix = 1,850 lbs! Needless to say, we were both exhausted at the end of the day but very pleased with our work. We will have to rent a trailer to purchase the railings, and hope to get started on those next weekend. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyKwy-j412JUEo8vrXG9rmNOJZ8rz5Iz9lG9UzOsyEOhyDI57uYJzhlKjtG4vX3BhcLcFmF7vm7aJs9cIqILiTV84YqLEh7Kxf7PgXlTfNzaH5qHflkK4CRBfVbzlaLlBxjGYkOoVR18/s1600/IMAG0241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyKwy-j412JUEo8vrXG9rmNOJZ8rz5Iz9lG9UzOsyEOhyDI57uYJzhlKjtG4vX3BhcLcFmF7vm7aJs9cIqILiTV84YqLEh7Kxf7PgXlTfNzaH5qHflkK4CRBfVbzlaLlBxjGYkOoVR18/s320/IMAG0241.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Our dogs will have to wait a bit longer before they can finally have the freedom to roam around in the backyard. They have waited three years, so a few more weeks will not hurt.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan celebrated her 13th birthday last week with her MOTF-1 USAR friends.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_61tjou="217">Morgan, Katy, Phoenix (first three on the right). BTW-each dog has a plate of birthday cake in front of them!!!</div></td></tr>
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</div></div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089216550443096859.post-32946215972758116662011-07-18T21:02:00.000-05:002011-07-18T21:02:43.919-05:00Can't Wait for July to be Over!July has been fraught with frustrations and setbacks. The first of which includes hiring a surveyor to determine and certify the property boundaries. It was supposed to be done back on June 24th. Well it was finally completed on July 13th. Apparently not only are our property boundaries old, but the City completed a stormwater project that moved the entire road out of its original alignment. So all the measures from the original platt map were no longer consistent. So it took multiple visits from the surveyor, and help from my neighbor with his property survey back in 1999. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO8xGHtcSwtlqkAwuJAFjOASR7-PXU8zvkjjeZ-ruCQYMgceJI5ZZq5AqrAZqQAbrUGi82WeLktTd_ad27VdM76o-tHELgy87Ud5Zn3HFrXXXNS_1jFKF0RdFQdZIOixTVPYFRZ70TnE/s1600/Fence_Line_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO8xGHtcSwtlqkAwuJAFjOASR7-PXU8zvkjjeZ-ruCQYMgceJI5ZZq5AqrAZqQAbrUGi82WeLktTd_ad27VdM76o-tHELgy87Ud5Zn3HFrXXXNS_1jFKF0RdFQdZIOixTVPYFRZ70TnE/s320/Fence_Line_1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Our AC unit decided to take a vacay for the second time this year. This time I decided to call A.B. May on the recommendation of a neighbor. Unfortunately, the storm that rolled through the area last Tuesday night knocked out our power. So A.B. May was not able to check our AC until the power was restored. Our power did not get restored until late on Wednesday, so we had to wait until Thursday. The food in our refrigerator, however, did not fare so well and most of it had to be thrown out. I was glad that I had been too busy to go grocery shopping.<br />
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Next-the utilities lines locator contractor. Well, the first time he came out, he didn't finish all the line locations because he claimed that the survey had to be completed, and there were too many bushes. The second time he came out, all the different colored spray paint made it look a little more complete until........today. <br />
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Today was supposed to be the first day of putting in our new fence. LD cleared all the vegetation, bushes, trees, etc along the property boundaries and was very ready to get started. So on the very first hole---BAM!! The auger ripped apart a gas line!! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvJG2oqDYIZWK6l8ORFUAQJolGf3FpI5EbW0rfgmXvHRslpj5y91uSUWkIhWnA5W2LUWQwE83m3Y3Z11iEqRpLcOAn0iP3ywbp61ONbDpm9XLsXuY3lbMMcPYWTcYFQQC3XIyNiyC7DY/s1600/Gas+Line.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvJG2oqDYIZWK6l8ORFUAQJolGf3FpI5EbW0rfgmXvHRslpj5y91uSUWkIhWnA5W2LUWQwE83m3Y3Z11iEqRpLcOAn0iP3ywbp61ONbDpm9XLsXuY3lbMMcPYWTcYFQQC3XIyNiyC7DY/s320/Gas+Line.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A call to the Kansas Gas Service brought out a multitude of trucks and vehicles. Turns out the utilities lines locator neglected to search the area near the house! LD thought it was weird that there were no flags or spray paint near the house on the east side. Well KGS claims that they don't search for or locate minor gas lines! REALLY!!!! Which also meant they were not going to repair it either. KGS disconnected that particular gas line (which went out to the original gas lamp and a line to a grill), and capped off the pipe inside the house.<br />
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Not knowing how long the utility line locator would take to search for any additional lines they neglected to find the first time around, our fence contractor moved on to another job. He is supposed to come back tomorrow. Can anything else go wrong? My fingers are crossed. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a fence.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh26RmVNior1AMesJVsFpWCpn6MiNCoOz66i7lu-LTGEsej4bGXAEXvrxDXXYcnrvSDkGhkAOcIfx9kp_DGKKtQsqCFRziNOLagz890CpC31178VQzZ44slxA-S6gIbT5oJ6KKyqItfe8Q/s1600/Fence+Supplies_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh26RmVNior1AMesJVsFpWCpn6MiNCoOz66i7lu-LTGEsej4bGXAEXvrxDXXYcnrvSDkGhkAOcIfx9kp_DGKKtQsqCFRziNOLagz890CpC31178VQzZ44slxA-S6gIbT5oJ6KKyqItfe8Q/s320/Fence+Supplies_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Deliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403412792537782960noreply@blogger.com0