Progress...Thy Name is Destruction

So, we've begun the first stage of our remodeling project, the replacement of the flooring in the hallway and living room on the main floor. The foyer was done in faux brick tiles and the living room was done in cheap, cheap carpet that didn't stand up to the rigors of daily life with 5 children, 4 pets, and a plethora of guests.

Here are some pics of the progress made on the tiles. We'll keep you updated.


The pic on the right shows the subfloor after the tiles, 2 inches of mortar, and the paper have been removed. Weirdest arrangement of floorboards and joists I've ever seen. The board are actually between and below the joists.

Next entry will be the new floor running all the way into the living room. Stay tuned.

Free Will!

No, not the theological debate. Every summer the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival is held at the Central Park Amphitheatre. Patty and some of the kids attended "The Tempest" a couple of weeks ago and last night we saw "Richard III". The 'Free Will' produces world-class performances with some quite high-profile actors. Last night's performance ranks right up there with the renditions of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Othello" which we've seen at Shakespeare in the Park previously.

Here's the stage.


Here are a couple of shots of the Wysteria-laden colonnade at the rear of the amphitheatre.

Momentous Day

On Tuesday our family experienced two major accomplishments. Most importantly, Patty survived her MRI! I was allowed to sit with her and hold her hand; she's a bit more claustrophobic than she thought. But she made it through wonderfully and, since the Zanax didn't kick in until later, she slept soundly for the first time in several weeks. Please pray that the MRI results will be the first step in healing her back/hip/thigh from the pain she's been having for the past 2 months.

Secondly, I FINISHED OUR FENCE! For those that don't know, after at least 25 years of the wire fence in our backyard being perfectly fine, the Oldham County Code Enforcement Office decided it needed to be replaced in order to meet code for a swimming pool. Here's a portion of the not-yet-trimmed-or-painted finished product.



The Lord was truly merciful in this project. The new wood you see was a very minimal purchase to finish the job. A neighbor in front of our church replaced all of his horse fence last spring and allowed me to take whatever I could find that was useful. Obviously saved a ton of money, for we which are very grateful. The boys and I put in a lot of long hours and sweat to make this happen. Now for some paint!

Bummer. One and Done

Well John-Mark's baseball season is, mercifully, over. The A's started out with a bang but ended with a wet sizzle. Probably comes from practicing not once during the season. JM learned a lot this year, his first playing the Pujols corner. Next year, up to the big field.

New Sign

This past week we finally erected our new school/church sign.

Thunder!!!

We spent Saturday down on the waterfront at Thunder Over Louisville, the kickoff event for the two week long Kentucky Derby Festival. Each year we host the nation's second largest airshow and the largest fireworks display. The combined engine noise and firework reports give the event its name. About 700,000 people attended this year's event.

Here is the opening flight of F15s.


John Mark and a friend hanging out in a Blackhawk helicopter.


The Heritage Flight; a P51, F15, and F22.


A group of the boys got to climb on a Blackhawk as well as man a .50 caliber machine gun on the roof of a Hummer. Immediately in front of the Hummer was a brother with a personal PA system and a sign that read "The blood of Jesus washes away sin." He drew quite a crowd of folks who were determined to shout him down.


Here are a couple of the folks who took great offense at the gospel.


The girl in the white shirt walked off, but the other one couldn't resist the urge to pummel the preacher. Thankfully, the police, anticipating trouble, were quite numerous and stopped the attack quite quickly.

Progress

Well, we finally made it to Ikea in North Cincinnati when they had some of this butcherblock in stock. Patty and I went up there in December to visit Ikea for the first time and really liked most of the styles they had. Some are still a little too modern (read 'retro 50's and 60's mod) for our tastes. However, our tastes seem to be a-changin'. I think we are ready for something clean and simple.

Well, here's a picture of the butcherblock we bought today. It's 25 inches by 8 feet, solid beech and the cost? $59! I'm not sure I could buy scrap beech and glue up a piece for that price.


This will serve as the countertop for the computer desk/wall and for the divider between the kitchen and the foyer/laundry area.

Only took 3 months to buy, now we'll see how long it takes to get it installed. Thank goodness our spring break is next week!