Blog “Fall” Catch Up

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m so horrible at this Blog. Facebook takes up most of my free time; I’ve considered giving it up altogether. But I think it will be interesting to look back on sometime, so I will continue the best I can. In that somewhat indifferent spirit, here’s my fall catch-up entry. BTW, wasn’t fall just awesome? The weather was beautiful! And I seemed to have lots of stuff going on.

September

Mom’s Birthday

We celebrated mom’s birthday at Red Lobster in Shawnee. Grant, clearly not in a celebratory mood, slept through most of it.

Flickr Set>> (Not uploaded yet)

October

Texas

I had some stuff going on in October! Early in the month I went to Allen/Grapevine/Dallas in a combo shopping/work trip. I did some shopping for the New York trip at the outlet mall in Allen, stayed at Ted and Evelyn’s condo in Grapevine, then went to Dallas the next day. At Dallas, I went to the Dallas Zoo for the SmartStrand Zoo Challenge (I’m sure you don’t care, it’s a promotional tie-in thing Mohawk was doing with SmartStrand carpet and rhinos, elephants and camels). I also went to Dealey Plaza and Museum, which was the first time I had been there. It was very interesting, especially since nothing has changed much since that historic event happened.

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625136318100/

Earthquake!

Dude, I just felt my first earthquake. It was awesome.

New York City

The next weekend, I left for New York City! This is one of those trips I had wanted to do for a while. Somehow Nora, my friend who lives in Germany, and I were able to make this work and met there. I was so overwhelmed right at first. The amount of people, traffic and noise was astounding. I (mostly) adjusted though and ended up having a good time, although I think once will be enough. Some of my favorite things were Battery Park, which is near the World Trade Center site. It is right on the water. The views were amazing, the photo opportunities were endless and it was relatively uncrowded and quiet. I also loved the day we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I enjoyed the two observatories we did, Top of the Rock (GE Building) at night and Empire State Building during the day. The night we went to watch a Broadway play was fun too. We didn’t get to see much of Central Park. I would have liked to have spent more time there, if only time would allow for everything. As we were exiting though, we joined an (apparently) impromptu sing-along of Beatles songs at Strawberry Fields, across the road from where John Lennon lived and was killed. It was a lovely way to end the evening. In addition, while we were there, we got to meet up with not one, but two, high school classmates and current area residents, which is nothing short of impressive considering our school size. Like I said, I’m not sure I will ever go back, but I’m glad I got to see it. How people live there is beyond me, but it seems that it’s quite popular. ;-)

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625095823865/

(Small) HS Reunion

After a stop in FL, Nora came to visit Oklahoma before returning to Germany and we got to get together with some other classmates over dinner at Polo’s in Ada. It was very nice to see everyone!

Flickr Set>> (Not uploaded yet)

Halloween

I went to Steve & Sally’s for Halloween. We had some good food and gave out lots of candy. Just how Halloween should be.

November

Thunder Game

I went to my first thunder game with Steve in early November. I actually enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. I want to go back!

Thanksgiving

Mom hosted a great Thanksgiving meal. In attendance were Grandma and Bill, Papa Bruce, Steve, Sally, Grant, mom and myself.

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625468497092/

Christmas Lights

At the end of November, Christmas lights were glowing once again.

Pic>> http://www.facebook.com/bradaholt?ref=profile#!/photo.php?fbid=1580012672649&set=a.1538177386793.75023.1605636710

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day... who knows? Who cares?

KitchenDiningReno_26Apr2009_ 004
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Ahh, the day I have been waiting for. The day I can claim "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" Well, it's probably a little too early for that but, hey, if it's good enough for the President, it's good enough for me. But other that one stubborn, wacked-out angled wall of crown molding that caused me to cuss more in an hour than I had in my whole life, it really is done. I still have a few little accents to put up as I find them. Things didn't turn out quite as "Central Perk-ish" I had first imagined, but I'm happy with the result. I got less inclined to make things "eclectic" as I went along. So, the brick wall went out as did the green trim. The menu chalk board got down sized and removed as a focus piece. I'm still going to make my red SERVICE arrow though and hang it above the cabinets. And, I'm going to get a coffee maker. Because I think I would be too embarrassed to admit to someone that I couldn't serve them a cup of coffee in a coffee house themed kitchen. Heck, I might even try a cup myself. You never know about me. I'm a loose cannon.

Yes, there are photos. They can be found here.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Days 15-21

KitchenDiningReno_16Apr2009_ 001
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I've had a "week and counting" sickness which has decidedly slowed progress, but I'm happy to announce the tile is now finished! I love the backsplash. I think it really added a lot and made the kitchen look a lot more expensive, even though the tumbled stone is really quite affordable. I sprayed a few pieces with nickel metallic paint (the same paint I used to transform my bronze cabinet pulls), so I think that helps pull it together with the knobs and faucet. I saved myself some money too since those the metallic decos are $5 each (our cost) to buy them ready-made. I hope to get a new stove someday, one that won't cover up the backsplash (plus it's a horrible stove anyway). I still have mixed feelings about the floor (which is not fun feelings to have). I wish I had went a little lighter. The brown color is coming off a little orange-y with the dark cabinets and brown walls. I'm coming around to it, though. I think when I get the while trim up it will help break it up a little. All-in-all, I think it's coming along very nicely. Maybe I'll get finished up this weekend, if I can just get well.

Follow the progress over at Flickr.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day 14

KitchenDiningReno_09Apr2009_ 001
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

'Twas the night before the flooring and all through the house... Brad was driving himself crazy trying to get ready and acting like a louse. I was so not in the mood to work this evening, but flooring is coming tomorrow so I had to get ready. That included painting. With a brand new roller that broke--no exaggeration--within two rollings. Something came loose inside and it just swiveled every which way. So, that made things even more unpleasant. Here's just one example of some fun I had. I knocked over a full glass of water onto my cabinets which I had just finished putting a coat of stain on. That ticked me off, so I threw the cup and what water was left on it splashed onto the wall I had just painted. That really ticked me off, so I threw down the roller, which knocked over a can of polyurethane off a table and 90% of it spilled on the floor (that was fun to clean up, plus I needed the polyurethane). So, I decided it was time for a break. Anyway, I eventually got everything done, cleaned up and moved the oven and fridge out by myself, which was quite a challenge in itself. Tomorrow is flooring and backsplash (at least it BETTER BE) and, hopefully, this weekend I will get the crown and base molding up. Then I will be done!

Follow the progress over at Flickr.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Days 6-13

KitchenDiningReno_08Apr2009_ 001
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

The cabinets are mostly done! The cabinets are mostly done! With exception of a few problem spots I have to address and all that crap on the counter, I think they look pretty awesome! Tomorrow is painting day (I've settled on Latte with white trim, after turning my back on the "June Day" yellow with stained trim). Hopefully, Friday is flooring day, but I've already been bumped once. Can you believe that? Me. Bumped on flooring. I. Have. Never. In. My. Life... oh, okay. Whatever. After the flooring I can start moving stuff back in. And dust my house! Those things should start to get back to normal next week. A little sooner than I had anticipated, so that's good.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day 4 & 5

KitchenDiningReno_02Apr2009_ 005
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I really thought I could contain the dust. How naive of me. I tried really hard. I did. I completely sealed off the kitchen with plastic. I taped up the vents. I opened up all the windows. I was proud of myself. But, it's kind of like Jurassic Park when they say that "life will find a way"... except it's the dust that found a way. It didn't help that anytime the front door opened it changed the air pressure and breached my plastic barrier. Oh, well. Things needed a good dusting anyway.

The neighbors will all be glad to know that demo is complete! It's probably a good time too. I think they were about to plan a revolt. I dusted everything off today, so I'm ready to stain the cabinets and paint. Hopefully, I'll have some major progress to show off next week.

For now, I will go take a shower and wash out the several pounds of dust in my hair. Today, I got to see what I will look like when I'm old and gray. Ehh, it wasn't all the bad.

If you like, follow the progress over at Flickr.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day 2 & 3

KitchenDiningReno_28Mar2009_ 010
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Before I started the long process of chiseling up lots of ceramic tile, I participated in a stress-reducing exercise you should all try. First, I wrote on the tiles the many things that annoy me. Then, I destroyed said tiles with an air-chisel. Revelation (after it took me about 30 minutes to remove one tile): Maybe my tile wasn't as ugly as I thought. But, things did get better and went a little faster, although something is wrong with the tool I'm using.

Day three I decided to move to cabinets and try to figure out what was wrong with the tool on Monday. Mom came up to help (thank goodness) and we got everything sanded. Revelation (after removing 19 cabinet doors): Maybe my cabinets weren't as ugly as I thought.

Photos over at Flickr if you want to take a look... http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157616000984204/

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation

FriendsCentralPerk
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I'm about to start my next house renovation project, and it's going to be the grand daddy of my renovations thus far: the kitchen and dining room. I kind of wanted a theme, but I wasn't sure what it would be. Then I decided to spin off my living room--which is kind of a "New York" theme and do a coffee house. And what better coffee house to do than... Central Perk! And, so, my obsession has begun. I have been searching eBay for cool Friends and coffee house item and recruited my grandma for look for things at garage sales. If anyone has any creative ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'll post my progress over at Flickr, starting with today-- which was just gathering ideas. This weekend I am going to start demo. The ugly white tile is going away and going to be replaced by a very nice "Brown Pearl" in a 20" format. It's going to be such a mess.

Photos over at Flickr... http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157616000984204/