Saturday, March 31, 2012

Flooring Final Phase

We brought a crew this weekend with a plan to finish this project!

With furniture removed, demo begins.

Baseboards must be pulled.

Additional trimming done.

The old carpet gone!
 
Tightening the floor with screws helps eliminate floor creaks.

Now, for the addition!

Placement is important.

Spreading the glue. 
 
Laying the floor.

Half way meets the target for the day.

Now, the batteries must charge.

The tools must be cleaned.

The knees must be rested.

And the bodies must be pampered.
Because tomorrow...
we will do it all over again!
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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Wood Flooring Phase 1 Finished!

We are happy happy with our wood...

in the hallway... 

and in the bedroom!

What a clean look!
Please over look that the baseboards
and the transition pieces are not in place, yet. 
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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Wood Floor for the Downstairs Bedroom and Hall

And here we go!
The layout.

The saw.

The compresser/nailer.

The knee pads.

Times 2


Ready?
Set?
Go!


Great choice!


Glue it down! 


Looking good!


What a mess of wires on the wall!
We are so afraid to disconnect the iternet service.


Hallway done!

Last piece in the closet.

Final pictures will be posted tomorrow.

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Back to Work!

Preparing the floor.

 Removing the baseboard,
then the carpet.

Securing the subfloor with screws
to minumize creeking and squeeking.

What a beautiful evening!
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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patriclk's Day!

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow
For every tear, a smile
For every care, a promise
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share.
For every sigh, a sweet song
And an answer for each prayer.

My plan was to make the following recipe for dessert tonight.

Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes
1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1 C Water
1/4 C Baileys
Mix.  Spoon batter into cupcake liners in pan. Bake.
Icing
4 T Baileys
Confectioners Sugar
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
Wilton Sprinkles
 Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and Baileys.
Begin with 2 C powdered sugar and add to desired consistency.

However, we had no Bailey's Irish Cream or cupcake liners or even a cupcake pan that would make more than 12 cupcakes,
So. here is the altered plan.

Baileys Irish Cream Bundt Cake
1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1 C milk
1/4 C Cream
1 Jigger Jameson Irish Whisky 
Mix together.  Pour into bundt pan. 
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.  Cool completely.
Icing
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
Confectioners Sugar
1 Jigger Baileys
Cream
Mix cream cheese, baileys, cream and sugar together
to desired consistency and spread on cake.
Top with green sprinkles.

 
It was an unbelievably moist & yummy St Pat's dessert! 


Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the
hollow of His hand.
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Thursday, March 15, 2012

At the cabin...

The weather is perfect for a Spring Retreat!
The sun is shining, the fire is warm and the coffee is fresh! 

So. here we are with retreat friends!
These smart girls
have learned to snap their departure picture upon arrival!
Welcome, girls!
Let's not talk about dearture, yet.
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It's Magically Delicious! (addendum)

 While we know that kids love to receive mail,
these kids won't be home on St. Patrick's Day.
The logical thing is to give them their box early.
This was a fun bonus for us because
we were able to experience the fun with them!  
 
 Open Open Open!
 
 Mmmmm...
sweet breakfast!
 
 But wait, there's more!
 
Lucky Charms,
 
Chocolate,
 
 and gold coins!
 
 It was a lucky day!
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Saturday, March 10, 2012

It's Magically Delicious!

A Saturday Evening Post...

We really love to send fun things to the grandkids and look for every excuse to do so. With St. Patrick's Day nearing and the magnificent seven on our minds, we produced an assembly line of sorts and watch what happened!
Step 1
Carefully open the bottom of a box of Lucky Charms.
Step 2
Carefully cut a small opening in the bottom of the cereal bag.
Step 3
Open a bag of gold covered chocolate coins.
Step 5
Add to the cereal bag.
Step 6
Add a couple of real gold coins or as in our case,
a couple gold colored dollar coins we got at the bank.
Step 7
Shake well.
Step 8
Reseal the bag with your handy, dandy Food Saver bag sealer.
Step 10
Return the bag to the box with the resealed side up.
Step 11
Glue the bottom of the box back together.
Step 12
Display.
What would you think if you received a box of magic?
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