Project Next! (We should start our own show)

Don't you think that would be a great name of a show? Project Next! We could just film us doing projects. We could film and make jokes while other people work on the project. I think people would watch. Anyway, even though there is still a few things to do in the kitchen, we moved on to our next project - fencing, but not the sport. We are going to fence in our yard in the four spots that are currently open - one opening at a time starting with the Lipnicki corner. -T

The stuff to put on the bottom of the posts is nasty. It's like tar, but it's paint. Weird stuff. Check out that hole beside it! We lucked out because of the amount of rain we got and the ground 2 feet down was fairly easy to get to!

Holes are dug!

This does not look straight.

Put a level on it...I dare ya!

From the yard behind ours

Done! Just playin'...but the frame is done.

Yes, we did want the 4x4's and 2x4's showing in our yard...we have our reasons!

It went up nice and smooth

DONE (except for the spot where we will connect this fence to our neighbors) I'd say our neighbors have a pretty good lookin' fence in the back of their yard
You can see the spot where it's not done (hence the big huge gap at the end of the fence on the right)

Our yard line

And the other direction

The green monster almost covers it all up...it just kind of blends right in back there.

Let's just take more pictures of our kitchen

We just like to take pictures of our kitchen. Actually, we put the metal toe strips down between the family room/kitchen and the dining room/kitchen, as well as the top of the basement steps. So yes, we still do little side jobs to the kitchen. We still have a few left. -T

Family room and basement toe strips

Dining room strip

Kitchen with flowers from the yard.

Kitchen with more flowers from the yard.

Meet the Neighbors

Meet our neighbors! First up is Duke (big) and Louie (little). They prove to be entertaining. Oh and that's Pepper in the back. He/she doesn't actually live there...just there for a visit. Following a trip across the yard is Marley (on right) and Danny Marie (Lindsey calls her Donny Marie), and well, they seem to be a little camera shy. Although, Marley did jump as soon as I pulled the camera away. By the way, I'm not really looking into the camera, so you might get dizzy. -T

A still shot of the boys. Say, "I will EEEEAAAT you on 3!"

These neighbors were not invited to live at our house, but they came anyway. Who knew sparrows built their nests like a dome?

I couldn't get a shot of them inside!

No matter how hard I tried!

"I didn't know you could get mulch delivered!"

General rule of thumb...when someone offers you a gift - take it. Dad bought mulch, had extra, and offered the rest of it to us. We took it and were able to mulch our flower beds in the front yard as well as on the side. Our neighbor Theresa said, "We were debating getting mulch this year because it's such a hassle. I look outside and you guys are getting it dumped in your flower bed. I thought, 'I didn't know you could get mulch delivered.' Then I realize that's your dad. I swear you two have the best parents in the world. Seriously! And you can tell them I said that!" So, we weeded our front beds, moved some hostas out (we have tons) there and then weeded and mulched the sides as well. Mulch makes it look good! -T

Always gotta get the "before" picture.

Weeds

More weeds (and a plant to be planted)

I'm not allowed to come in the house until the job is done. This picture was taken at 2:30a.m...on a timer since I was out there by myself.

It was worth it though, eh?

If only it stayed looking like this.

We've been told we have a "gold mine" in our backyard because of the amount of hostas we have. These were just the random ones scattered in weird places in the backyard that we moved to the front.

We were able to get the mulch to extend to the sides.

This bush really didn't bloom at all last year.

This is as far on this side of the house we got the mulch to cover...not just a picture of our AC.

Lilly of the Valley

Done!

2 Weeks Later

Lindsey's finger is healing nicely. This week's picture is a little more tolerable so no warning needed.

Attack on our new kitchen!

The spitzies, a.k.a. sparrows, started building a nest in our microwave vent. After we cleaned it out, they were back in building less than 2 minutes later. We fashioned a mesh potato bag over it until we can get something better. We already provided them with a nice place for a nest in the front - you give someone an inch and they try to take over BOTH sides of your house! Captain King Sparrow did not look happy from the tree next to it. -T

We think it is working

But the tape didn't stick very well


They could get it off if they really wanted to

Only time will tell

Kithchen Day 30 - Pull Over! No, it's a cardigan, but thanks for asking!

Mom and Dad came over for a Friday visit and we finished all of our pulls! That means the kitchen, minus some aesthetics, is done and fully functional. I guess on Kitchen Impossible or Renovation Realities or any other show they wouldn't show our kitchen yet, but to us, it is over! We can fully function in our kitchen now and the only thing left is to make it a little prettier...all in due time -T

The cabinet manufacturers and the pull people did not think of each other in some of these cabnets...the cabinet face screws were almost EXACTLY in the same spot as where we wanted the pull. We managed though.

Over and done with!

More Than Just a Pretty Face

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, and our first big meal in the new kitchen, we had enchiladas (to celebrate the new range), queso and chips (to celebrate the new microwave), and strawberries (to celebrate the only thing we kept from the old kitchen - the refrigerator). Apparently we only have 1 picture of this day.

The biggest celebration, however, was that of the new spacey countertops. -T

If I could title this it would be "JUST LIKE Mom used to make." Mom taught me to spread the tortillas out on the counter and go down the line with the sauce, chicken, etc. Until now, I've been spreading tortillas across the dining room table. NOT ANY MORE! It was a perfect first meal in the new kitchen just for that reason, which is why I couldn't help but take a picture. Thanks, Mom! -L

Kitchen Day 29 - Finishing the Floor at a Price

So, we finished the floor. It was the hardest strip to do because it went under the dishwasher, under the cabinets and then under the range. That part actually went fairly decent. Moving things to lay those pieces did not. I could not figure out why in the world the dishwasher wouldn't cleanly just roll out. When in doubt, pull harder, right? Once I finally figured out why it wouldn't come, it was too late. The clips that hold the dishwasher to the counter were getting caught behind the counter - 1 broken, 1 almost. It DID NOT make me happy, it DID make me want to scream out choice words. Bottomline though...floor is done! -T

Earlier, someone stole the old sink out of our old countertop, just like they had stolen our old dishwasher and old range previously. I bet they'll be disappointed when we don't have anything exciting out with our trash this week.

Pre-disaster

Still pre-disaster
About 2 minutes away from disaster

There was no picture taken in the midst of disaster.

The show did go on though.

I think Lindsey was practicing her ballet skills while I was taking this picture.

1 Week Anniversary

In case you were wondering what Lindsey's finger looked like a week after the incident - look at your own risk. Right after, she removed her own stitches. -T

Kitchen Day 28 - Pull My Cabinet

With the previous blog post of yard work mixed in, of course we worked in the kitchen! We trimmed the basement door so it shuts now, Dale got the electric to the microwave done, we put all but the last strip (the hardest strip) of floor down, an we got all the pulls put it on everything except for 7 drawers. That's 25 out of 32 pulls! "Pulls" is the professional word for "handles" by the way. You might not know that because you're not as up with the Home Depot lingo as we are. After our crew all left, we did clean up and temporarily organized some things. It was the end to a long, but highly productive week. -T

Pulls!

Pulls! (And dishes we want to wash)

If you're only looking at the pulls you're missing the fact that you can read great lights on the microwave!

Lindsey started washing her hands while I was finishing up taking pictures.

After awhile, I came back to take more pictures, and Lindsey was still washing her hands. Right here as she's trying to hide her face she said, "Oh, you just want to be able to comment on the blog about my excessive hand washing." She knows me too well! -T

This part is just lies. He took these pictures all within a minute of each other. He just thinks he's so funny.

And he's the one who wouldn't reach in to get his own ice last night because he thought his hands were too dirty.-L

Finally done! She's drying them off! Also notice the basement door is back on and shut.

It's like she tried to get in every picture I was taking

Finally a picture we can focus on the kitchen again!