Leaf

Far and away our favorite place to eat and hang out was "Leaf." It was apparently a cruddy, dark, and less-than-hygenic bar but they opened it up, used lots of natural wood and fabric, and a nifty courtyard and it is really a great place. 




If I lived there, I would bring my laptop and work in the bar all the time. (I would probably go broke.)

But on vacation, we went there with the whole crew twice for dinner and Faith and I went two additional times to have a drink in the bar and chill. 

What did we eat? The best thing I ordered was shrimp risotto...I almost never order shrimp.

But, the best thing I ate there was probably Colin's  Chateaubriand. (Yes, those ARE cheesy potatoes!)

Vacation: Charleston

We just got back from a great vacation, first in Tennessee, then Charleston SC. All driving (yeah...it is a long drive). 


But gas prices down south are not that bad. (Yes, that is the "per gallon" price...July 2012...seriously!)

Lot's of really fun stuff...I will have a few more posts...but the highlight of the vacation was definitely the food. They simply have really great places to eat down there. Sure, you can't get to the beach without trolling for parking for an hour and then walking 1/2 mile and then cutting between two private homes on a 3' path...but still they have really cool old buildings to go with the narrow streets, lack of parking, and fresh seafood. 

New Year's, 2012

Once again, it is time to prep for a new year. We are hosting a dinner party featuring Beef Wellington (and some other stuff). Guests include Mom and Aunt Liz; Tom, Jonie, and Claire Corrigan; plus Faith, CT, and me.

Of course, a new year means some goals. (I avoid the term resolutions..."resolutions" sounds like generally good things that you should try to do anyway. "Goals" sounds like you are going to work on it and eventually get it done. So a resolution to "lose weight"...never going to happen. "Lose 20lbs" is more achievable.)

This year's goals have yet to be refined but here is the starter list (to be boiled down, that is, reduced and some eliminated).

• Lose 20lbs
• Finish draft version of one work-related book
• Finish draft version of a non-work-related book
• Record some music
• Map out and start CT qualification program

Vacation: Charleston

We just got back from a great vacation, first in Tennessee, then Charleston SC. All driving (yeah...it is a long drive). 


But gas prices down south are not that bad. (Yes, that is the "per gallon" price...July 2012...seriously!)

Lot's of really fun stuff...I will have a few more posts...but the highlight of the vacation was definitely the food. They simply have really great places to eat down there. Sure, you can't get to the beach without trolling for parking for an hour and then walking 1/2 mile and then cutting between two private homes on a 3' path...but still they have really cool old buildings to go with the narrow streets, lack of parking, and fresh seafood. 

We're Done!

We finished the deck demolition in time...at least we won't be the bottleneck for the construction.

We pulled posts today. When I woke up, I was thinking "no hurry...have some coffee and a cinnamon role...chill...then start carrying planks to the dumpster. Get started on the posts by 10am...should be finished in time for the Cubs game (at 1:20pm)." Actual completion time -- 5pm. (At least in time for the wine hour...)

Most of the posts were relatively easy. They didn't use concrete and we were able to extract them like molars. But there were several newer posts that were in concrete...and they were difficult. We developed a method but it wasn't that great.

1. Shake or pound (with sledge) until the post would move a little.
2. Dig around the post to expose the concrete.
3. Bash the concrete to shatter it to release the board.
4. Drill a notch and then hook the giant iron bar/level to pry it out.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for up to an hour until finished.

Probably, it was a good workout...but, took a long time. The result? See below.

Deck Demolition

Our role is to get the deck out before the team shows up to do the construction. Colin, me, some hammers and a pry bar. How hard can that be?

Like any home project, there have been a number of minor dilemmas. For example,

• 96 degree heat and humidity on the two afternoons where I could take off work early 
• A gas pipe (for the prior owners' outdoor gas grill) with no inside shut off. (Not sure how we will solve this yet but I think it will require calling the gas company and having them turn off the gas at the meter.)
• Really heavy joists that I don't want to hit the house on the way to the ground

Pics

CT Starts on the Railing

Railings Down

The Pre-Dumpster Scrap Pile

Starting on the Decking

Continuing on the Decking..It Took Waaay Longer Then Estimated

The Scrap Pile Grows

The Decking Is Gone...Next, The Frame

CT has Bossed the Stairs

No More Joists

CT and His Favorite Tool (the Sledge Hammer) vs. the Last of the Structure

The View Without The Deck

It Does Look Empty...

We Still Have to Pull Out the Posts

The View Out the Door With No Deck

The Deck Project

We are finally doing the deck project. But, we probably pulled the trigger too late to get it done before Ian's wedding :(

At this point, it looks like the dumpster, at least, will be there. After getting three bids, we went with the cheapest...seems reliable, long-term business...hope that wasn't a bad call.