Tackling Some Organizaiton

We haven't had much organization in our garage since moving in. I took some time this week to use gift cards to buy some organization.

The golf clubs and bike equipment was constantly covered in wood and concrete dust. Now they can get put away.
The yard equipment has never had a home and after some fell off her bike onto the rototiller, it was time.

This is the rubbermaid fasttrack system, pretty slick.

I am having a rack built for the extra wood storage and will probably install another fasttrack for bike storage.

Let It Snow

Merry Christmas. We made it back from a quick trip to Wisconsin for Christmas. It was mild and sunny when we left KC, drove through bad weather both ways, and had to shovel the driveway to get into the house when we made it home.

The element couldn't be any dirtier after the drive.

Sam keeping Kailey and Keegan under control.
Kayden keeping buddie under control.

We have a couple new end tables. This one was on sale at allmodern and will be a patio table next summer.

The third and last end table for the living room. Really, we don't have any more room.

Yesterday was the first time I had to actually shovel the driveway, not just brush it off.

Tis the Season

We spent this weekend getting the house ready for Christmas. It was a little cold so Portland put on his new holiday sweater. How festive!

The airstream was looking drab so Sam decorated it with the help of some elves. There's a light bulb that's out, so it may need a new strand later this week.
The house got a little trimming as well - a lit wreath from WI for the front of the hosue and a bow for the flamingo.

A holiday cocktail, the Rat Pack Christmas on the CD player, and the tree is up and decorated.

I spent all day on Saturday cleaning and degreasing the back half of the garage. Today the floor got epoxy-coated.

Looks like a new floor.

Working the Chain Gang

We spent Saturday building some new trails at WyCo trails workday. I love balancing cuts and fills. Upper 50s is great weather for the end of November, it was a good weekend to be outside.

They're called fingers but I never see them fing, oh there they go! Word is there was 67 people helping.

We cleaned the house and I cleared out some really plugged downspouts. We also got the concrete buffet top installed. It has crushed Murano glass in the surface and fiber optics.

Yep it lights up.

Studio Build Re_Lume Chair

A few shots of our dining room chairs from Studiobuild. If you are interested in getting a set hurry up, there are only 4 left.

The Strangest Thing I Have Seen in a Men's Bathroom

Well at least the strangest sign. This was in the third floor men's bathroom at the conference hotel in New Orleans. I didn't see any drunk pregnant women in there, but I guess they use it too. We were pretty close to bourbon street.

NOLA

Last weekend Sam and I were in New Orleans. I had a conference and we used it as an excuse to take a short trip. MMM some beignets.

The oldest structure in the US used as a bar.
Sam has been working on the floodwall project so we got a behind the scenes tour. Here is a big crane they were lashing down before hurricane Ida came.

Sam's jacking frame for prestressing the batter piles.

Looking back towards the city.

Lots of crews were working to stay on schedule.

Us standing next to the backup pile driving head.

Finished elevation is 26 ft above sea level. I don't know how much good that is going to do when the next big hurricane comes.

The Air is Changing

Yep, the days are getting shorter and it is cool outside. I got the garden cleared off this weekend. I picked a bunch of green habaneros and maybe will make some chili oil. We had a few green tomatoes and peppers that came inside along with the squash.

Last weekend we hit the Boulevard brewery for a tour.
And had some very clear margaritas at Ponak's.

We hit the town Wizard of Oz style. A curly tail gets caught on everything.

Surprisingly there wasn't green paint on everything in the morning.

We even found the most unattractive Dorthy ever!

Needed Updates

Since the homes tour we have been taking a little time off from house stuff. The weekend after Sam was in Wisconsin for a triathlon and I was in Vegas for a conference. At the triathlon Sam took 3rd in her age group and 36th out of over 1750 competitors. Then this weekend we did the Heartland 50 in Cassoday Kansas.

Yep, that was a 50 mile race. There were both 50 mile and 100 mile versions, we did the short one. We showed up in the Flint Hills Friday night for packet pickup and prerace dinner. Cassoday only has 99 people (if that) and it seemed like everyone was there. Food was good and we talked to some other runners. The weather was supposed to be 35 at the start warming to mid-40s with 5-10mph winds and sunny until late afternoon. Well the first part was right and it was cold at the start. The sun came up around 7:30 and began to warm up until about 7:45ish. Unfortunately the front moved very early, the sun went away, it got cold, and it got windy. The majority of the race was run in 38 degrees and 15-20 mph winds. We both survived. Sam had been nursing a bum foot for a couple weeks and got it well enough to run, but will be hobbling for a little while. I took 7th and Sam took 8th and was the second female. I brought along a disposable camera and will have to see if any of the pictures turned out.

Our friend Shelley came out and crewed for us, which was very nice. She kept us well-stocked and on the right track. When it is cold and windy seeing someone you know at the next aid station makes a big difference. The course was scenic, if not a little daunting. The passage posted on the website about crossing the plains and the earth turning so you step in the same spot is very appropriate. Being able to see the finish line for 3-5 miles brings joy then sadness when you realize it is an hour away. The aid stations were awesome. Sam said she wouldn't have finished if it wasn't for the potato soup at the last aid station. I was trying to run down the guy in front of me and didn't partake in any. The burgers at the end really hit the spot too, even if my hands were so cold the grease hardened immediately on contact. Even the awards were an appropriate horseshoe. Now to shuffle off to bed.

As for other house things I will probably have the concrete buffet top finished up this week.

KC Modern Runnells Weekend Home Tour Recap

The weekend was the KC Modern David Runnells Homes tour. Everything that was going to get done, got done. Over 100 people came through the houses. On the tour was four houses on Roe Circle, two in Leawood, one in Mission Hills, and one loner just down the road from us. It was neat to see all of the houses designed by the same architect and built around the same time. For all those that didn't make it, or want to look around again, here are the pictures from today.

Our lighting gal came through and got the replacement light parts last minute so the Salvador Dalis were lit.

The chairs are studiobuild, legs are reclaimed from old diner chairs and the seats/backs are scrap mahogany from a window producer.

The Shag in the hallway was a big hit.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the fireglass. It got warm in a hurry, I can't wait to use it this winter.

Thanks everybody for coming. It was fun, but next time I'm coming to your house. We are going to take off a couple weeks and relax.