Yearly Archives: 2006

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I’ve been accused of being a very patient person…….

but, my patience is wearing pretty thin these days when it comes to house construction. So, pardon me while I rant a little. This will probably be the only time you hear me complain about the house construction, but I have to let it out or explode. So here goes.

We began building this house in January, 2006. It is now mid-October and we are still waiting for it’s completion. Apparently, if you build a house out in the country the contractors don’t like to come out to work. Go figure…. At the rate at which the house is being built we will be lucky to be moved in by Christmas 2007!!

Every day we make the 30 minute drive out to the house to check on progress and every day there is one more thing done. This would generally be considered to be a good thing, however, the one thing completed is usually a lightbulb being screwed in or a cabinet (singular) being installed. If you follow the dates of the photographs you will understand what I am talking about. The following photos reflect an entire month’s progress on this house and I am photographing every thing that is being done. This is why there have been no photo updates of the house lately. I now have enough photos collected of house progress to compile into a couple of entries. Here is the first entry (September’s work) of completed work, or partial completion as is more the case these days. These photos are ones I took up to September 27, 2006.

Paint on the Walls
The entire house is painted in Sherwin Williams “Kilm Beige”, with “Extra White” for all ceilings and master bath walls. Only the downstairs powder room and the upstairs bath have walls of a different color.


Paint on walls downstairs (9-5-2006)


Cutie pie!


Paint and trim on stairs.

Cabinets Installed
In keeping with the spirit of a simple and clean style throughout the house the cabinets are all natural wood poly coated. We wanted the wood to show in the cabinets and floors so there is no stain involved in either process, just poly coating.


Kitchen Cabinets (9-7-2006)


Powder Room Cabinet (also paint color)


Master Bath Cabinet


Scott’s Built-in Bookcase


Upstairs Bath Cabinet (also paint color)


Deborah’s Built-in Bookcase

Lighting and Fans
The lighting and ceiling fans we had installed were as simplistic and unobtrusive (gaudy) as we could possibly find. The two areas in the house that we opted for some type of design was the lighting fixtures in the two full bathrooms and the ceiling fan in the great room. We both really liked this fan and thought it’s design went well with the natural theme of the house.


Great Room Ceiling Fan (isn’t it great?!)


Master Bath Laminate and Lighting (9-26-2006)


Wall Sconces on the Staircase


Fans on the Patio

What’s this? A septic system?
We arrived on 9-27-2006 to find a monster of a tractor behind the house. The septic system was being installed. Whoo-Hoo!! The septic contractor was super nice and couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been called much earlier to put in the system. Like most of the other sub-contractors we have talked to so far. Again, go figure…..


Tractor/Backhoe


Cleared Area for Septic


Tank

Tile
There must have been some kind of lull in the sub-contractors world this week because the same day the septic was installed the tile guy came out and put in the kitchen countertop tile. While he was there he also laid the tile for the hearth that is actually a pad for the woodburning stove we are installing. We designed the hearth ourselves and drew it on the floor with a pencil for him to fill in. He did a great job!


Kitchen Tile (9-27-2006)


Kitchen Tile


Natural Light in Kitchen


Kitchen Bar Tile


Hearth


Master Bath Tile


Upstairs Bath Tile

Level?
We stood at the front entry for a while after the electricians had been putting in lighting and studied the front entry lights. If you look closely, they are not level, not even close. You know how sometimes things get so frustrating that you just have to laugh or you are going to cry? Well that is how I felt when I saw those lights. We just both started shrugging our shoulders and laughing. What’s next???????

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The Purchase

We purchased our Catalina 22 from a gentleman in Auburn, AL. Prior to the purchase we went out to Lake Martin to look it over a couple of times and take some photographs. Here is what she looks like in her slip today, 9-15-2006.

The plan is to haul her out and bring her home around the 12th of November 2006 and begin work on her restoration. There is a lot of work to be done.

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Auburn Football Season 2006

Football season is in full swing and living in Auburn has given us the opportunity to experience it this year like never before. We have been to several games already this year with a few more “big” games to go. Auburn’s only loss so far was this weekend to Arkansas and although the weather was perfect for a football game, high 70′s and sunny, the game was quite sad. Anyway, here are some photos of the season thus far and a little explanation of some of the traditions of Auburn University Football.

Parking for the football games is always an adventure here. Generally, you get as close as you can and then hike the 1/4 to 3/4 mile trek across campus to the stadium. The walk is not difficult and when the weather is pleasant the tailgating atmosphere closer to the stadium becomes more festive and anticipatory. Here are a few sites to see on the way to the stadium.


Samford Hall


Toomer’s Drug Store (more on this later)

Prior to entering the stadium the Auburn players walk through the fans down a long street that leads them directly into the tunnel. This tradition is called Tiger Walk and is attended by thousands of fans each game day who come to see the players (and coaches) and cheer them on.

This year Scott and I were treated to a tour of the field prior to one of the games. The field is crowned to allow for run off of water and you can really see this from ground level. Something else you can see from ground level is the actual size of the players. I knew they were big guys, but WOW!


Scott and Larry


Auburn Players


Tight End, Tommy Trott


The Defensive Line


The Quarterback, Brandon Cox

Just prior to kick off the band comes out from the tunnel and marches around the outer ring of the field playing for the fans.


Trombones


Tubas

Our seats for the games this year have been near mid field, but way high in the upper deck. I really like these seats because you get a wonderful view of the entire field as well as the campus. One advantage we had by having these seats was the ability to see the eagle, Spirit, take off in flight to circle the stadium before landing mid field. The trainers released her from right behind where we were sitting and it was so cool to see (and almost touch) her as she took off.


Taking Off

Pre-game festivities continue with the band taking the field and spelling out various forms of Auburn, AU, etc. They eventually end up forming the shape of an eagle and when the National Anthem is sung the flag is outstretched in the center. Following this there is sometimes a fly over by some type of military plane or helicopter squadron.


Band in eagle formation


Fly Over

Post game festivities consist of making the trek back through campus to the previously chosen parking location for the day. If the outcome of the game was a win for Auburn then this trek is rerouted by way of Toomer’s Drug Store (see above). There is a long standing tradition in Auburn called Rolling Toomer’s Corner . This tradition calls for the trees located across the street, diagonally from the drug store to be rolled, yes, in toilet paper in the event of a win.


Fans on their way to Toomer’s Drug Store


Rolling Toomer’s Corner

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Hot Springs, AR – A cool place to ride

What did you do to celebrate American Labor Day, September 4-6, 2006? This year we trailered the bikes to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Apparently, Hot Springs is a Mecca of sorts for motorcyclists. It is one of the more beautiful places to ride and there are several long, winding roads in the area that we had read about. These roads were supposed to be fantastic for motorcycling. They were touted as having some beautiful curves and vistas (See below). We were not disappointed.

We did a little geocaching on the way there and back, as well as during our motorcycle rides. We dropped off several travel bugs and picked up a few more to bring back to Alabama. One thing we enjoy about geocaching is that it takes us to places we never would have ventured into. We crossed the bridge in the below photo on our bikes several times, but it wasn’t until we went to find the cache down below by the river that we were treated to this view.


Headed for a cache just off the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi


Found it!


One of the bridges we crossed on one of our bike excursions.


Found this one in Memphis, TN on what appeared to be an abandoned golf course.

While we were out caching on our bikes I came across this little guy and decided to go back and save him from squashing. Doesn’t it look like I am giving him a lecture about the benefits of staying out of the road? Even though he wouldn’t come out of his shell, I think he listened to me and will stay in the woods from now on.

The rides we took each day were tons of fun, with lots of winding curves, switchbacks, and mountain vistas. Once I got up next to the sign I couldn’t believe how big it really was. These signs were one after another up and down the mountains. What a blast!


There he goes….


Here he comes…


There he goes again…

As I said this place is no secret to motorcyclists so the roads were filled with them every where we went. We had loads of opportunities to see all kinds of different bikes (and riders). Everything from trike riders with female drivers and male passengers to a man with his dog, front paws perched on the handlebars balancing nicely. We really didn’t know that there would be so many bikes there. It really was a treat.


Two of the many riders we met along the way.


OOOOOOHHHHH Pretty!!!!

We stopped by Wal-Mart and bought a disposable camera for our rides after we realized that it might be fun to take pictures of each other and anything else while riding. Be sure to check out the last photo in this set. That is Scott in the back of that 1/4 mile long group of motorcycles roaring down the road. I was actually the last rider in the line and it was so much more fun to ride in a pack than I thought it would be. Some of the photos are a little blurry, but hey, try taking photos with one hand and cranking the throttle and steering with the other. YES, mother, we were being careful…

Everyone has to eat and of course we found some of the coolest local places to go. Dwayne’s Bar-B-Q and Grill is located in Dover and their parking lot was full of bikes when we passed by. Since Dover was at the end of our route for the day, about a half an hour later on our way back we decided to check it out. We have learned to never underestimate the ability of bikers to find great food at fantastic prices. The food was abundant and excellent and we got out of there for under $20.

Our hotel was located on Lake Hamilton and there were a couple of resturants on the lake to choose from. Fisherman’s Wharf was located one bridge over from our hotel and we decided to eat there, overlooking the water and the city’s fireworks display on Labor Day evening. There was so much boat traffic going across the lake for the fireworks it was great fun to watch them all. Dinner was so good and the people/boat/firework watching was so much fun that we ended up staying long enough to watch the boat traffic returning from whence they came after the fireworks were over.

At the end of each day we made time to come into town and actually enjoy walking the city of Hot Springs and the National Park that is the heart of down town. I had been here many times before, but Scott had not. So, as we walked the streets I explained how the city had fountains that were piped from the springs and the water that came out of them was super hot, 115 degrees. The citizens of the city and anyone who cares to is able to go to these fountains and fill their containers (containers vary as much as individuals) with all the water they want, i.e. can carry. The water is pure spring water and tastes great once it cools off. He was a little skeptical so we visited one of the more famous fountains so we could fill up a few water bottles we had saved. The water is very hot and under quite a bit of pressure so when you open the spigot the water flows out very fast. It takes some practice to get it in the bottle and not all over yourself. We both got soaking wet, but it was a lot of fun anyway.

The bath houses here are all undergoing intensive remodeling, thanks to the federal government and are slowly reopening to the public. They are quite majestic and were very popular in their day. If you walk up to the windows of the bath houses they have displays behind the windows explaining the history of the houses and the redevelopment plan.

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Where we have been lately… Panama City Beach, FL

About a month ago, August 18-20, we rode our bikes down to Panama City Beach for the weekend. We were originally going to ride down with a group of riders from Hog Heaven, in Columbus, GA for the Ride to the Beach, an annual bikers trip to raise money for the March of Dimes. We found out about the ride a little to late to garner sponsors this year so we just decided to make the trip ourselves for the fun and sun.

Along the way we took time to do a little geocaching.

We arrived at our hotel just as it began to rain. Since afternoon showers are common here we hung around in the room enjoying the view for a while until the storm subsided.

Once there was a break in the storm we headed out to dinner and to observe the nightlife of Panama City Beach. We decided to eat at a place called Pineapple Willy’s. This place is supposedly famous for it’s ribs that were featured in a Visa commercial some time back. The ribs were average, but the dinner was quite memorable. We arrived at Pineapple Willy’s just before it started to storm again. We were seated out on the far end of the gazebo pier and enjoyed our dinner while it rained heavily, complete with simultaneous lightning and thunder. Apparently we are braver than most because all the other tables in the gazebo cleared out as people finished their dinners and no one else wanted to sit out there in the storms. Eventually we had the entire end of the pier to ourselves. Magnificant!!

Saturday we spent the day exploring the city, marinas, and geocaching. We had lunch at a great little spot called Lime’s that was tucked away and was a bit of a challenge to find. Dinner that night was even more fabulous as we enjoyed the boat traffic and the sunset from the upstairs open air dining area of a place called the Boatyard.

We made our way back home on Sunday taking a few detours here and there to investigate some of the backroads of Alabama. Although the trip was very short it was a lot of fun and we were able to get a feel for how far we can travel comfortably on our bikes in one day (and how much stuff we can take along).

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Photo Contest – We need your vote!

We are participating in a contest put together by Jeep and Geocaching.com in which the winner each month receives a new GPS unit and the grand prize winner receives a new Jeep. Below is our photo entry. Please take a minute to click on the photo and vote for our entry. Thanks!!!!

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House Construction Continues (Finally!)

It has been quite a while since there has been an update on the house construction. There is a good reason for this. There has been none. The time period between the framing and any other activity has seemed like an eternity. We now have real walls and the first stage of the trim is done. Now we wait on the painters to put on the first interior coat of paint, so the cabinet maker can come in, so the floor can be installed, so…….

Here are some new photos of the progress to date.


We have walls!


Window at top of stairs, unframed.


Window at top of stairs, framed.


Stairs


Stairs


View from Deborah’s office with framed windows.


View from Scott’s office with framed windows.


View from Scott’s office with framed windows.

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House Construction Continues (Finally!)

It has been quite a while since there has been an update on the house construction. There is a good reason for this. There has been none. The time period between the framing and any other activity has seemed like an eternity. We now have real walls and the first stage of the trim is done. Now we wait on the painters to put on the first interior coat of paint, so the cabinet maker can come in, so the floor can be installed, so…….

Here are some new photos of the progress to date.


We have walls!


Window at top of stairs, unframed.


Window at top of stairs, framed.


Stairs


Stairs


View from Deborah’s office with framed windows.


View from Scott’s office with framed windows.


View from Scott’s office with framed windows.

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William the Ham

Our son sends us a photo a day, via email, of our grandson William. We have decided that he is quite a ham. I have been collecting some of the best ones to put on the blog. Here they are, complete with the title our son deemed appropriate for each.


“You just twist this thing here?”


Trashman


“Just a bit off the top, please”


Working for Daddy


Life in the fast lane


Too sexy for my shirt!