Basement Update

I know I said I wasn't going to post until the basement was completely finished but I am so pleased with the way the bar area turned out I had to post a couple of pictures. 

Also, no disco party for Lisa and I this year.  They sold out the event before we had the chance to to and pick up tickets.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Father's Day Weekend 2010

Well, the basement project is finally coming to an end.  I have the baseboard molding all nailed in and only have to fill the holes, caulk the poorly mitered corners and touch up the paint.  All there's left to do is install the faucet after the counters are installed (Wednesday), hang pictures and wait for the furniture to arrive in the next week or so.  Other than those items, I will wait to save a little money for the brass kick for the bar and the keg system for the wall.  I'm purposely not posting pictures this post for two reasons, one is that the 4 or 5 readers of this blog are probably sick of seeing basement pictures and two, I will wait until I am completely done to post the final product.

So Friday, I started the baseboard project and then we headed over to Bev and Ted's to visit with Lisa's Uncle Dick and his wife Cheryl who were in town for a couple of days during his circle tour of the Midwest.  Dick was showing Cleveland and Toledo off to Cheryl who had heard so much about Dick's old stomping grounds but had never visited.  They went from Jacksonville to Cleveland to Mackinaw Island to Toledo and then off to visit his daughters in Indianapolis and then home.  All I can say is I'm glad I wasn't the one doing all that driving.  It was good to see Dick and finally meet Cheryl.  Cheryl seems like a very nice woman....I'm just trying to figure out how Dick tricked her into marrying him.  What's your secret Dick?

Saturday, I help move Jill's parents to their new house.  Jill's parents actually sold their home to the people that they purchased the new house from; kind of a house swap.  I've never known anyone to swap houses like that!  After the move, I ended up coming home, taking a nap and then finishing the baseboard.

Sunday was Father's Day and we really didn't have any plans so at the last minute we decided to take a trip.  We loaded the kids and Bev and Ted into the car and headed east to beautiful Lakewood, OH to eat at Melt.  Lisa and I are big Food Network fans and I am a fan of Man Versus Food on The Travel Network.  A show called Drive-ins, Diners and Dives visited Melt awhile back and Lisa told me about it so off we went.  By the way, this Wednesday, Man Versus Food is visiting Melt so Adam can try to defeat the Melt Challenge.  I by the way did not defeat the Melt Challenge but I did try!  The sandwich doesn't look that mean but I guess 3-1/2 pound of cheese on 3 slices of bread with about a pound of fries and coleslaw is more food than it looks.  I got the entire sandwich down minus about 1/3 of the cheese and about half the fries and coleslaw.  It wasn't that I was over stuffed and couldn't eat anymore but as the cheese got cold, it was very very difficult to choke down and it was my downfall.  It was fun though!  Everyone else really enjoyed their food and I would definitely return to try something more manageable on their menu.  The place is really tiny and the wait for a table can be long so if you plan on going plan accordingly.  The beer selection is to die for too!!!  We also made a quick stop of at the beach on the way home so the kids could dip their feet in the water.

This coming weekend is going to jam packed with activities.  Friday is the annual Disco Party which is a great place to watch drunks wearing 70s clothes.  Saturday is a Wedding  and Sunday I have to prepare for my quick trip to Baltimore for work.  This trip is not going to be too much fun.  Drive 7 hours or so, set up a booth for a 2 hour reception and then tear down and return home in less than 3 full days!  Then I get to do it in Chicago a couple weeks later.

Doesn't look too bad does it?

On Second though, maybe it is a bit too much!

Yep, that is a mess!

First Bite

That's about all I could get down.  Cold cheese hits your belly like a brick

Huntington Beach in Bay Village, OH

View of Cleveland Skyline from Huntington Beach

Last week was the big 4-0 for Lisa.  We ended up at the Elephant Bar for dinner and then back to Bev and Ted's for cake.  At work, we made a mess of Lisa's office thanks to two of our coworkers.  I bought about 225 black and white balloons and various other decorations.  Lisa had taken the day before her birthday off  for Shawn's end of the school year picnic and I was out of the office all day so Dawn and Kristi did all the decorating and they did a great job. 

Friday and Saturday, Lisa and Jill had a garage sale at Jill's house but since we didn't have any really big ticket items she only made about $150 or so.  Saturday night we had a late birthday celebration/cook out  for Lisa at her friend's Janet's house. 

Sunday was a day of shopping and working in the basement.  I finally hung the 55" television, installed the under counter  refrigerator (actually did that last week I think), installed the last door and trip and installed a couple of shelves; one for the center speaker and one under the bar area for booze.  Pretty soon the basement posts will come to an end.  What will I have to blog about?  I only have baseboard trim to start and finish, install the tile back splash, the counter top should be installed sometime next week and I am still waiting on a filler piece so I can hang the last two wall cabinets. 

Yesterday, we went furniture shopping and will continue to do the same today during our lunch break.  I think we are going with a leather sectional due to issues getting a standard sofa down the stairs.  The sectional will have to be one that is 5 pieces I think.  We are also looking for bar stools and a pub table of some sort. 

Projects for later this summer and fall will be the keg system and a nice brass bar rail.  Here are some pictures:

Quick basement update

Cabinets are 90% installed.  I'm waiting for a larger filler board that gets installed in the corner and joins the wall cabinets on the two walls.  They supplied me with one that was about 1-1/2 too narrow.  Other than that and beefing up the support in the corner for the granite counter top, I am ready for counters.  I also purchase two of the three televisions I have planned for the basement and mounted the 40" that is primarily for the Wii and for a secondary sports television when there are two games I want to watch or during Superbowl parties.  Just a few small details left.  Counters, base molding, hanging a bi-fold door and the 55" television.  I also need to purchase our under counter fridge and my draft beer system as well as some furniture.  The beer system may have to wait a bit since I've totally blown my budget.  Some pictures:

Two more wall cabinets left (see the gap on the left near the soffit?)  I'm pretty happy about how the cabinets turned out.  Not too bad of an installation job for a white collar guy.  Can't wait to see it after the counter tops are installed!

Shawn has already moved his Wii into the basement.  I wish I would have routed the sensor bar wires through the wall. All the other cables are hidden behind the drywall.  I can always disconnect the sensor bar when he isn't using it.

From dank and dark to usable space

Well I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on the endless project.  The carpet was installed today and I hung the doors, installed the door knobs and painted the door trim.  Tomorrow, I will install the door trim and more than likely do some patchwork on the trim with a bit of painter's caulk and touch up the paint on the trim.  Thursday the kitchen cabinets will be delivered and Saturday we have to drive 70 miles to pick out our granite slab.  We attempted to pick our granite last weekend but we drove 140 miles round trip for nothing; it seems the company was closed last Saturday for the Memorial Day weekend.  I guess I should have called first...silly me!

Here are a few pictures of the progress:

 

Texas

Last week was spent in the land of everything big.  I had a trade show in Dallas that began on Saturday and then met up with Lisa, Todd and Jill in San Antonio on Thursday for a little extended weekend trip to celebrate both Lisa and my 15th wedding anniversary as well as her big birthday coming up in June. 

I had been to San Antonio a few years ago but Lisa had not.  I really like the downtown area.  We stayed in a hotel right on the Riverwalk which is were most of the downtown activity occurs.  Riverwalk is basically a man-made waterway that connects to an actually river.  The river is lined with bars, restaurants and shops as well as a trunk that ends at the convention center an another that ends at a mall.  New since I was there a few years ago is a new area of the Riverwalk that hasn't really been developed much as of yet and it ends at an old Pearl brewery they are converting to shops.   The walk from our hotel to the brewery is approximately 3 miles and yes we did walk it both ways one afternoon in 90 heat! 

Other than the Riverwalk, there's a Mexican marketplace that included restaurants and shops loaded with Mexican art, trinkets and souvenirs.  The best part of the marketplace is they had a food court in which every vendor sold margaritas and beer.  Now that's what I call a shopping experience....a mall with beer.  Todd and Jill have been to Mexico and said the marketplace really was typical of the markets in Mexico.  We ended up eating at one of the restaurants. La Margarita at the market and it was pretty good!

My best find was Rita's on the River.  Rita's is pretty much a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant and bar on the Riverwalk but have one hell of a happy hour from 3pm to 6pm during the week.  They have appetizer specials like $3 poppers or Queso and $3 16 ounce Margaritas.  Yes you read that correctly, $3 house Margaritas!  Lisa had never had a Margarita before but by the end of happy hour she was as big fan.  Needless to say, we ended up there every day.  Our bartender's name was Oscar and he treated us right.  I would go back just to hang out with Oscar at Rita's during happy hour.

We pretty much did all the touristy things like visiting the Alamo (yes, you could easily forget the Alamo--probably why the saying says "Remember the Alamo"), stopped by Pat Obrien's, hit the souvenir stores and went on the Riverwalk boat tour.  One night we went on a dinner cruise that was hosted by a restaurant called Boudros and the food was outstanding.  The meal included homemade guacamole and salsa, nice Caesar salad, and a 5 oz beef tenderloin and a seafood enchilada.  The beef and the tamale were probably the best I've ever had or at least the best I've had in a while.  We also went on a carriage ride (a first for all of us) and ate at two other places that were just average:  Lone Star Cafe, Wax O'Connor's Irish Pub (avoid at all costs) and another Mexican joint that I think got me a bit sick.  All in all, it was a nice long weekend away!

Update on the "project"

Well, the tile work is completely finished, the toilet and sink are in the bathroom as well as the bathroom door is hung and the surround sound speakers are mounted.  Next week on Tuesday the carpet is being installed and on Thursday the bar cabinet will be delivered.  My goal for this weekend will be to spread mulch in the yard, cut the grass and other various yard activities like weeding and planting as well as hanging shelving in the bathroom closet, hanging the closet door and installing the trim in the bathroom.  I also need to paint part of the stairway before the carpet arrives.  Looks like a busy work weekend for me!  I will post progress pictures either later this weekend or next week.  Since I have to be at the house during the carpet install, my 3 day weekend turned into a 4 day weekend! 

Weekly update

Lisa has been bugging me to go to the African Wildlife Safari in Port Clinton for a few years now and finally figured out a way to get me there. She asked to go for Mother's day; who am I do deny the mother of my children a mother's day wish? So on Mother's day, we packed up the kids, picked up Lisa's parent and headed toward Port Clinton. To tell you the truth, the safari was pretty cool.  It freaked me out a bit as herds of wild animals swarmed your car sticking their heads in the window looking for food...unbelievable!  I was screaming like a baby..it was a blast feeding the buffalo looking animals carrot after carrot.  Here are some pictures of our adventure:

After the safari, I got a little Mother's gift of my own...a visit to Cheese Haven!  Cheese Haven is the biggest tourist trap but man do I love cheese!  I bought horseradish cheese, garlic Cheddar, a hunk of Beer Cheese, beef jerky, hot sauce, bottle of wine and a tee shirt.  By the way, Beer Cheese is a member of the Limburger family.  It will stink up the entire house...do not open the package in the house....I repeat, do not open the package at home.  Actually, don't even buy beer cheese, it is difficult to get it past you nose!

After Cheese Haven, we drove around looking for a place to eat forever and finally ended up a mere 1500 feet from the Haven at a bar that had just okay food.

Shawn is running for fourth grade student council.  He has to give a one minute speech on Monday and the election is immediately following the speeches.  I remember like it was yesterday a hundred years ago campaigning for 4th grade student council running on the platform of more pizza at lunch and and end to homework!  I did run successfully in grades 4-6 and it was so much fun getting to leave for "meetings" in the middle of class; I can't remember what we even did at those meetings.  I also ran in High School and was elected 3 of 4 years which to this day still surprises my.  I was even elected my senior year but chose to participate in a different advisory board.  Again, I have no idea what we actually did at those meetings either!  What a farce.  I do hope Shawn wins but I think practically everyone in the third grade is running.  I wonder what happens when everyone votes for themselves.  Oh, well...it does bring back memories!

 Shawn with his campaign poster (last name removed in order not to influence the vote)

On the basement front, we have slowed down a bit.  Pretty much due to my work schedule for the next week or so and because we are at the mercy of others right now with deliveries.  We have all the tile laid but without grout at this point, tonight I am ordering the carpet and the toilet.  I really wish I could find a scarlet or Grey toilet but I think I'm gonna have to settle for a black one.  The cabinets should be in by the end of the month, the carpet in a week or so and then it will be crunch time.  Once I get the floors done and the cabinet in, I will schedule the granite template to be made.  It takes about 2 weeks for the granite to be installed which will give me time to hang doors, finish the bathroom with toilet and sink and do the trim work.  I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel but there's so much to be done.  Here are a few pictures of the tile flooring before grout: