A Night Interrupted

It was supposed to be a nice night, where Leah would pick up her hard earned law school diploma and celebrate with friends. Instead a car pulled out in front of us and all Leah could do was swerve to reduce the impact.

One thing was certain, the other car got the worst of it.


Luckily no one was seriously hurt. Here's our car...

It doesn't look that bad, but the wheel is bent in and the panel is gone. We got the call from the insurance company today. They plan to fix it, but we'll have to stick with a rental for the next few weeks. As for fault, we think it's obvious. She had a stop sign. We didn't. But we really haven't heard anything about who is paying for what yet.

And Leah's diploma remains at the Temple Law School admissions office. Don't worry. We'll pick it up soon and we'll celebrate with friends and it'll be a nice night.

Thankful for a Stove

We have made tremendous strides since I first took a circular saw to the floor and a crowbar to the cabinets, but were we ready to put in our new stove this week?

No.

And yet, what were we to do, make turkey in the toaster oven and mashed potatoes in the microwave? Sometimes you have to do what you're not ready to do. While Leah was at a class, I got our friendly neighbor Kevin to help me lug the used stove from the garage and place it on our new slate tile floor, away from the walls so I can paint the parts that need painting, tile the parts that need tiling and put a cabinet in the spot that... well you get the point.

And suddenly we were able to cook our turkey breast, mashed tatters and cornbread stuffing. And eggs on a frying pan and mozzarella sticks in the oven. We have both really missed having a stove over the last six weeks and when Leah got home the first thing she said was: "I never thought I would be this excited to cook something."

Here is what the kitchen looked like before we took it apart:



To be honest, Leah and I both think this picture makes it look better than it was. The cabinets were old, poorly painted and falling apart. The floor was linoleum on linoleum on top of linoleum. The dishwasher was falling apart.

Here is what it looks like now:


We installed recess lighting and the upper cabinets. The slate tile is in and Leah smoothed out the messed up drywall. We updated the electrical and the plumbing. I bet we are about half way to the finish line.

We still have so much work to do. We need to install the base cabinets and paint them. Get the butcher block countertops in place and tile the back splash. We have to make the bar and secure it to the floor. We have to find a way to get the fridge back in the room (that makes me tired just thinking about it.)

But before we get back to work, we are going to pause and take a deep breath and be thankful for the little things, like the ability to cook a nice meal together.

Weed-B-Gone, Exteme Edition

We decided to bring a little xeriscaping to our sleepy Philly neighbor about a year ago, but it had one major downside. Weeds. Lots of weeds. Persistent weeds, despite three layers of yard fabric.

And Leah doesn't like weeds. Leah had enough and she wanted a PERMANENT solution. You want to know how to make sure the weeds stay at bay? All it takes is 240 pounds of cement.

You think I'm kidding. I'm not.

We bought four 80 pound bags of cement. I mixed it up, lugged it over to her and she smashed it into the parking strip, giving space for a few little plants.

Check it out.


No more dirt, no more weeds. (Except for a few that will probably grow near the base of the plants. Shush, don't tell Leah.) But as for now, it looks pretty decent.

The Never Ending Project Ends

It took months and involved massive power tools, patience and a whole lot of tile, but the great bathroom remodel of 2010 is finally over!

Kinda.

We have a few annoying little details to finish up, but still, we now have a working shower, toilet and sink, so the big ticket items are all in place. We thought we would let you see what it looked like before and how we transformed it.

Here is our original bathroom:






Ugly huh? Not only was it dated and dingy but it wasn't functional. The shower didn't drain very well. And Leah got nauseous every time she saw the paneling on the wall. We gutted the thing, redid the plumbing and electrical, built the floor (after Leah put her foot through it) and the walls. Then it was finally time for tile.

Leah, bless her heart, rejected my pleas for massive easy-to-install tile. Instead she went for cute. And cute takes time.




We spent precious time with each piece of this subway tile, doing our best to make sure all the lines matched up. It took four days to complete it all and surprisingly, we still liked each other when it was all said and done.

We also liked the outcome. Here is what the new bathroom looks like:






Next up: The kitchen. We already started demo. Stay tuned.

Yeah, What This Guy Says...

We took Leah's sister to Philly's Magic Gardens on our brief little stop in our part of the world. It's a unique and massive folk art project executed by a man who loves his mosaics.

On this trip, we actually forked over the five bucks to enter his dominion and walk through his tunnels and alleyways mixed with broken tiles, plates, beer bottles and even action figures.

But this is by far my favorite wall, for obvious professional reasons. (If you have a hard time reading it, click on the picture. It should appear larger.)

I'll see you in Hell ... squirrel

This is a casting of Rodin's world famous Gates of Hell, appropriately placed at the entrance to Philly's Rodin Museum. We spent some time absorbing all the incredible detail with Bonnie, Leah's sister who spent a few days with us recently.

People are being tortured, burned, beaten. They are in serious anguish, cause Hell apparently ain't no fun. Unless you're the squirrel that lives there.


Suffice it to say that this was Leah's favorite part of this masterpiece.

And now, I'll give you a bonus picture of Bonnie slugging Leah in front of the Rocky statute.

What's that burning smell?

Oh, maybe that burning smell is a two month old piece of toast that has been charred to a puck. Oops.

(weirdest part: It looks like Leah took a bite, doesn't it? She insists she didn't, but ....)