Bricks, Bricks,and More Bricks

The project was overdue, the grass never grew and in the spring we had to deal with a flooded area that made access to the shed impossible. The grill buried in the ground looked out of place though necessary for s'mores, conversation, relaxed laughter, and the disposal of spring twigs.The project was much more complicated than we thought, it took many hours of digging, hauling and leveling gravel, and finally laying the bricks. Tony ordered extra bricks so we would not have to deal with a second delivery charge if we ran short. You can purchase several different sizes of circle brick kits to accommodate the fire ring we were constructing for the grill. This will not be finished until next Saturday if the weather holds, no rain for 24 hours. We had enough bricks to do a brick walkway by the pergola which was shaded, devoid of grass, and always a muddy mess when it rained. We filled in with black dirt, planted the grass, transplanted flowers by the walkway; only the application of sand by the grill remains to be done! Labor Day weekend should be free of labor!

Condo Renovation-The Rest of the Story

The beginning: Chris and Barry took out 4.5 tons of garbage; carpet, cupboards, dated plastic and neon ceiling light fixtures and let me tell you, it was greatly appreciated by mom and dad. Barry and Brian ripped trim for all the doors and windows and installed it in a day. The boys were really a big help. All the ceilings were painted white and we used creme on the walls even though it appears yellow. (Just the amateur photography.) This is a shot of the old and the new bathroom. Brian spent many minutes putting up all the finishing touches such as the new picture frame mirror, towel bars, towel ring, shower apparatus, and venetian blinds. I never would have been able to hang the mirror, it took an engineer!
The living room looked 100% better after the carpet was installed. We sanded the deck railing, stained it, and carpeted the deck. Our unit is on the agenda to be painted so that will improve the exterior appearance. I cleaned up the gas fireplace, stained it, and gave it two coats of varnish, I get the easy jobs. I'm glad we did not paint the woodwork by the fireplace, the tile was dark and it looks rich stained and varnished. We learned much from this project but not sure we want to attempt another project of this magnitude. It would be awesome to get it rented and finally have some good luck with our experiences as landlords.

Utah Vacation?

Yes, I am questioning the word vacation. Tony promised we would renovate the condo until 1 or 2 every day and then play. There was NO time for the play part of the schedule! We took out one part of the wall on the left to extend the kitchen and all the old neon lights to update it. I never knew how heavy sinks were, without Barry's strength, we would have been in trouble. He set it by himself and I could not even lift the box with Tony. It is handy to have handymen in your life!

We spent much time and money at Home Depot, I think it was worth it. We worked daily and the boys all helped, without their help, we would still be there. We finished at 12:45 the day we left for WI. It was grueling but necessary and the place looks great. Now if we can just get it rented.

Finished Projects

One for me, one for Tony!
I love the earring and necklace feature of my new lingerie chest!
Tony waited a long time for his new bureau as well. It has much more room in it than the old bureau that we got from his mom's aunt in Gary when we were first married.
I think when you wait for something it means so much more, especially when hand crafted. There are many things in life much more important than new furniture. We had so much fun when the kids were growing up. You can always get furniture but the youth of your children is precious. Enjoy every minute, let furniture be your low priority.

New Member of the Family, Eli

We left for Utah and the trip out was time consuming but uneventful, just a long time on the road but much to see and quiet reflection time.(27 hrs. worth:)

We arrived safely and were most comfortable with Barry and Margaret in their home. Their hospitality was tremendous and CJ was fun to play with. His numerous "What are you doing Grandpa?" were humorous. We enjoyed dinners with all the kids and especially enjoyed spending time with grand kids. It is true; Had I known grand kids were so much fun, I would have had them first! Harry and Ella were a blast swimming with us in the pool at the condo and at Craig and Gretchen's home.(Margaret's parents) Andy was so involved and interesting to talk to, his mind goes a mile a minute. We were fortunate to visit with Ben three times and we do miss him very much. It was wonderful when he called us on the way back to Wisconsin, a nice surprise. We miss them all and have not even been home for a week.


Fortunately, all went well with the birth of our new grandson, Eli, and his mom is doing well. His arrival certainly was the highlight of our trip.

Benjamin

Friday was the first full day off from school. It was glorious. At the end of the year everybody is ready to move on. The students and teachers are sad and excited. I met with friends for breakfast and we talked and laughed for 2 hours. That's what friends are for, never forget family and friends.

Speaking of family: We got a letter fom Ben-what a nice surprise. It is our first letter ever from him and we hope to get many.
Writing is such a good way to reflect, too bad more people don't get into that instead of texting! I know, my age is showing:)

Tony brought home a Nero/backup with 18,000 songs on it from a DJ. We snacked on shrimp and listened to songs for almost 3 hours! It was a trip down memory lane for sure. This is unusual behavior for us because we can drive all the way to Utah and we seldom listen to XM radio!

Woodworking Season Never Ends

These are just two of the many projects that Tony designs and builds for the kids. It takes a considerable amount of time for construction. After all, you do have to plant the acorn.


Tony loves the orders and the hobby is fun for him so it is not like work.

He currently has a special order from Andy for bunk beds just like Harry and Ella. CJ inherited Andy's fire engine bed so now he needs a bed. (If CJ wants a bed he should order it this summer and then Grampa Tony could make two at once.) The kids select their wood and stain and then they wait. The wood and craftsmanship are complimentary and the joy by the craftsman is unable to be measured.