Progressively Progressing

Imagination is more important than knowledge. -Albert Einstein-


When Steph and I first looked at the lake house, we knew there was work to be done before it would be a Stephanie Certified home. It needed, among other things, paint, decor, LANDSCAPING, and most of all a place to bake cookies, and someday in the future, do homework. To put it short...the kitchen area sucked my will to eat, my will to live and ever have company enter through the front door.

Albert's above quote says it best...Steph's imagination of gutting the kitchen, knocking out the wall to the single attached garage, vaulting the ceiling, and raising the floor was visionary, and will define the living space of the home. When I figured out structurally that it would work, Roger (dad-in-law) dropped a week of work to help me with the process.

It has been a while since I have remodeled, as most of my work lately has been new-type construction, meaning I didn't have to tear anything out to get started. I forgot how SLOW the destruction/construction process is. It took us every bit of a full week of work to vault the ceiling and pull out the old wall.

I wish I could have counted the number of times Roger or I said..."What the crap was this guy thinking?" in regards to some of the construction tactics used in finishing the old kitchen. Lucky for us, the shell was built right...for the most part.

Roger was huge, SEMPER FI!!! Mr. Marine had my butt, for the most part out of bed around 6:15 a.m. and working by 7:00 a.m. We would not be this far if it wasn't for him and his drive.

During the week that Roger was in town, Steph's Grandpa Raymond, gifted us the use of his "hired men" Brandon and Kenneth. Let me tell you about Kenneth, if Teddy Roosevelt thought he was a strong as a "bull moose", he should have met Kenneth. The guy is big like a Louie L'Amour main character...like "BIG JON". Kenneth was in charge of a chainsaw and some tree clearing. Paul Bunyan and Babe would have been proud. Now, the tree hugger in me hurt for the lost trees, but when you buy a house on a lake, you want to see the lake. Thanks to Kenneth we now see clearly.

Hard work, sacrifice and focus will never show up in tests. -Lance Armstrong-

Last week was spent on smaller job projects, and putting down the new floor joist. This week (9-18-06) my dad helped Steph and I install the new front door where the garage door used to be and installing a window where the front door used to be. Our entrance now welcomes you to our home...the old one felt like a human doggie door.

The work has been fun, but hard, and I hate being away from the boys all day, and again at night. That sacrifice will be worth it when I see them playing on the wood floor in the living room, coloring on the walls of their playroom, or running off the dock and cannonballing into the water...with me right behind them. "Lake Rats" that's what one of our neighbors loving called the boys. I like that!


Finally...Just a list of things every man should have in his arsenal of tools.

Cordless Drill, Electric and Cordless Skill Saw, Cordless Pnumatic Air Framing Nailer (I love this thing), Sawz-all, compound chop saw, table saw, best wire cutter/stripper money can buy, recycled material shims...they work better than wood and save trees, flood lights, a slew of extension cords, metal grinder, Stanley Tape Measure, a sharp (or charp if you are from Chile) wood chisels, and a friend with a tile saw...right Trav? I could go on here forever...