Update On Our Remodeling Project

Hi to all.  I know it’s been a while since my last post.  It has been a quick and very HOT summer and now as I sit here I can hardly believe Thanksgiving day is only two days away.  Well let me catch you up on what we have been doing on the basement remodel.  We had planned to put a second kitchen downstairs as this will work out well for Christi’s Stampin’ Up! classes that she holds.  We started by putting a Lazy Susan cabinet in the corner and built out in both directions from there.

                      

I built all the cabinets myself along with reading a lot of books.  The Lazy Susan I did purchase the basic cabinet and will build my own doors for it.  We are also putting a slide out wastebasket built into the cabinet.

                                

Things were going along quite smoothly until yesterday.  I had built the last drawer I needed to build and just had to cut out the bottom for it.  While making my first cut of the day the board I was cutting started to quickly get bound up between the table saw blade and the cutting fence.  Next thing I new the piece I was cutting flew right past me and ended out in the driveway about 20 feet from me.  I did not feel much but a slight twinge in my finger.  Well I thought I better look at it and “Yep” I said to myself “that is going to need some stitches.”  Well if you know me at all, I do not go to the doctor for stitches very quickly.  Usually I will just make sure I can stop the bleeding and live with it.  I called Christi as she was out running some errands and said you better come home as I am going to need some stitches.  So off to the med center we went.  This first picture is before the doctor had come in the room and Christi decided she was going to take pictures of the whole process.

                    

This next picture which does not show up that well is the doctor putting his “lovely” needle in to numb my finger. I swear that hurts way more then the cut itself.  Well, I ended up with 7 nice stitches and a nicely wrapped finger to go with it.

                    

We got home about 12:30 and so I had some lunch and went back to work.  Not going to let a few stitches stop me.  I was able to still use the piece I was cutting out as it was not going to be seen as it was on the bottom of the drawer.  You can see what the blade of the saw did to the board.  I am glad I did not come in contact with the blade.  By the end of the day I had completed the drawer and installed it.  It just needs to be stained and varnished yet.

                   

We picked out our own countertop and backsplash and sink and I installed them also.

                                        

Now I am in the process of cutting all the material to make the cabinet doors.  I will show you when I have them done.  Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving day with family and friends.

 

Dale & Christi

Special Monday’s

It has been a while since we were able to spend some special time with our grandkids as life gets busy, and Tyler was at camp last week which he really enjoyed.  So today I had to get the oil changed in my car and then had an appointment to have it detailed at another business, thanks to a “Groupon”.  It was going to take about 2-1/2 hrs so Grandma picked me up and we went to Wedgewood Park in Grandville.  It is a small but very nice park with a nice play area and a creek running through it with many hungry ducks waiting to be fed. 

Tyler and Gracie had to try out the swing set first.  Even grandpa challenged Tyler to see if he could swing higher then Grandpa, I think Tyler won. In case you did not know it, Gracie likes to have her picture taken and has some, lets just say, unique poses.

 

Then we had to check out the ducks.

          

              There was even one lonely duck that looked like it had the colors of a cow.  Someone there said that is like the runt of the litter, and the other ducks did not seem to care for it as they stayed away from it.

                            

One of Gracie’s great qualities is that she makes friends easy.  She met someone at the water and you would have thought they were best buddies and knew each other for a long time.  They had to see if they could balance on this tree root without falling into the water.

                

                

Tyler not to be outdone by girls had to give it his try.  He did good for a while and then got a little braver and started bouncing on the beam and next thing he knew he was landing in the creek.  Never saw him move so fast getting out of the water.  That’s why one of the pictures you will see his shoes are no longer on him.

After we ate a delicious lunch that grandma had made us we went off on a little walk along the creek and took some more pictures.

                         

        

Then we went back to the playground to let Tyler and Gracie play some more before heading for home.

When we got home Tyler helped Grandpa replant four plants that are going to be used for Melissa and Joey’s wedding this Saturday.

                                              

It was a fun filled day and we still were able to get some things done that needed to be done before the wedding.  Hope you enjoyed sharing our day with us.  I feel bad I did not get any pictures of Christi today.  I will have to make sure I include her next time.

Dale & Christi

Jeff & Jess Office Project

It did not take Jeff & Jess long to get started remodeling their home.  They moved in one day and the next day he started what will be his Red Wings decorated office.  Here are pictures they took of their start of the project.  The room had plaster walls and his goal was to strip it down to the studs and put up new drywall.

Step 1 as Jeff puts it, was removing all the trim boards that were on the wall running vertically.  Step 2 was removing the carpet.

                      

Step 3 was removing all the lath holding the plaster. And then cleaning up the mess.  I am glad he was able to do this as this was a dirty and dusty job which he did a great job of doing.  The outside two walls are now ready for insulation.

                      

                                 Step 4 Putting up the insulation.

                           

Now it’s at this point I get involved.  After adding a couple of electrical outlets it was time to hang the new drywall they had picked up.  So on Saturday afternoon we worked until late afternoon/early evening until we had it all hung.  It was a little challenging as we needed to use 5/8” drywall to make it fit nice and we had some door and window casings to fit around.

Jeff putting screws in the last sheet to complete the first wall we started on.

           

                                                  This pictures shows Jeff putting back up a piece of
                                                   baseboard removed.  We are almost done.

All drywall is up.  Jeff just needs to go back and put in some more screws and then we are ready to start the taping and mudding process.  Christi walked over and spent some time with Jess and then we all enjoyed pizza together – a yummy reward for a successful afternoon.                      

Hope you will enjoy watching their progress and finished product when done.

Dale

                                                               

 

Open House Anyone!!

Here is how the shelves our Grandkids and Christi helped paint turned out after Christi stocked the shelves.

 

                               

Here are pictures of how Christi set up the basement as she was going to have an open house for her “STAMPIN’UP!” business.  She worked very hard getting all the displays and tables setup.  She just loves working with people and creating cards, and teaching others the talents the Lord has given to her.  I am so proud of her.

             

             

She even got her new Keurig coffee maker setup on what will be the Lazy Susan when I get the cupboards' finished.

                            

We even were able to get 15 of these slot shelves free from Blockbuster and so she put a few of them to good use right away.

                    

The open house was on Friday evening and Saturday for a few hours.  She did not get the turn out she was hoping for but still had a great time with those that did show up and learned a lot from her experience with her first open house.

Dale