Finally they came!

A Ph.D. in concrete is good for a couple things, 1) building concrete countertops, and 2) getting really cool plates. At least I think they are cool.

Flat on my back

Saturday morning I was a little stiff when I woke up. I bent over to check the pantry for breakfast and my back went into full spasm. I then spent the useful part of the morning lying on the kitchen floor admiring the cobwebs under our cabinets and watching the cats use the litter box. After a few muscle relaxers and ibuprofen, I very slowly started the weekends work.

Sam sanded drywall compound while I finished drywalling the closet in the second bedroom. It got a first coat of drywall compound too. I ordered very cool aluminum track for the sliding doors that will cover the top hole.

Sunday I managed to get the vanity drawers assembled and put on a first coat of polyurethane. The sides are cherry-stained birch and the bottom walnut.
We finally decided that the concrete backsplashes I made are too much around the sink. The backsplash will be tiled same as the tub surround. Sunday night I got the tile in place, but it will have to wait for grout until after thanksgiving.

A Coordinated Attack

Today was the first day in awhile that we were both home and working on the house. Sam got most of the drywall put up and mudded in the second bedroom. Tomorrow we will sand.

Here is a better resolution version of the sink, I still need to install the backsplash.

Now that we are using the sink I better get the drawers installed. Six sets of drawer sides cut, routed, and sanded.
They got stained cherry like the vanity. The bottoms will be walnut plywood with solid walnut fronts.
The other big news is that I got the closet framed out in the second bedroom. We got some cool sliding wood and frosted glass doors. The top storage space will get walnut sliding panels and is big enough to store our suitcases. Until today we really didn't know where they were going to live. I picked up a closet organizer with shelves today at Home Depot, that and the drywall should go in tomorrow.
A small l-shaped built-in desk will go between the closet and the window. The room is better shaped than it was, but still will take some thinking to get everything to fit.

Views from the cell phone camera

Last week my hotel room in St. Louis was under construction. The tape was a nice touch.
The geese out at WyCo don't really have to move for anybody.

Who knew Darth Vader drove a Ford Windstar?

I made a chocolate stout bundt cake this afternoon.

Our new mirror.

The sink drain in hooked up and I brushed my teeth in the bathroom.

See the plumbing IS working.

Veteran's Day Run Race Report

This Saturday the Trail Nerds hosted the annual Veteran's Day run. It is probably the hardest 4-miler in Kansas and run at Wyandotte County Park. Remember this part of Kansas is not flat, the only flat part at WyCo is the lake. The morning started out in the mid-30's but a dedicated crowd of 40 or so turned out to run. Dick Ross was there from seeKCrun and as always did a great job with pictures. I couldn't say if the course was well-marked or not since I could run it with my eyes closed. This race is on part of our typical Thursday night run course and in my opinion one of the most fun sections in the park.

Not thinking straight, first thing in the morning I ate a bunch of oatmeal. In retrospect that was not the best idea since it quickly turned into a lead ball in my gut. But my lead ball and I had a good day and a pretty quick run. My finishing time was just over 40 minutes, which isn't to shabby for this section of WyCo.

It really was a nice day for a run.
If you look closely at my left leg, I managed to cut it on something. Pretty impressive since the trail was clear, the plants have stopped growing for the year, and I didn't wipe out. I guess something just jumped up and bit me.

Sam is gone this weekend and took the camera so I will have to post house updates when she gets back. Jared and Chris stopped to lend moral support while I hooked up the sink drain. The mirror is hung and the sink drains so I tonight I am going to brush my teeth in the bathroom. It will be the first time the bathroom has been fully-functional since May 12th! I might just have a beer to celebrate.

A Herman Miller Kind of Christmas

So Sam and I were thinking we needed a bench for the front door. This one from Herman Miller kept catching our attention. We got a coupon from buying our bathroom mirror so this became our Christmas present to each other.

It is very cool, walnut sides and the top opens to hold stuff. Since we don't have any closets, in our house anything that holds stuff is the coolest.
Other updates: The mirror is here, the copper is glued into the sink. I need to hook up the drain, hang the mirror, and install the backsplash this weekend.

Getting Closer

I have been out of town this week, here is last weekend's progress. Saturday night Sam and I went to Jared's Halloween party as the Jetsons. The wig really itched.

Is that water running? It is!

My weights to glue down the copper piece.

Happy November

I know, who can believe it is November already? This morning Sam guilted me into running at Wyco. It was 50 and foggy and eventually warmed up into the 60s. Hmmm, November in KC, not bad. This weekend the main goal is to get the sink installed and functioning. I spent the last week or so trying to get the fixtures installed with the sink in place. It just wasn't working so Eric came over and helped move the sink, again. Sam and I worked on it this afternoon and got everything hooked up.

Chris came over in Halloween party costume and helped get it muscled back into place. Hey, one step closer.

This week the patina chemicals came. I don't know how the color will hold up to toothpaste, but it looks cool right now.

I got an email that the mirror has been shipped. I wonder what I look like, it has been a few months since we had a mirror in a bathroom.