More Remodel Progress

The demo of the plaster in the living room is proceeding slowly as usual. I figure I am about 70% done with the demolition (not counting the wood flooring). I took a load of plaster and old insulation to the dump this morning – my pickup was filled with about 1500 lbs of debris. I think I can get the rest of the wall material in one more load.
In the meantime, I have started the process of measuring the window for replacement and I think that I am going to go with a wood-clad fiberglass window. I was reading about them and they seem like a good bet – they look nice from the inside and require very little maintenance on the outside. Hopefully it won’t cost too much – I need to get down to Hayward Lumber and get one on order soon!

Sun’s so Hot, I Forgot to Go Home

Sadly, our week in Mexico has come to an end. Andrea and I agreed that we could both happily stay for another week! It has been so relaxing to just hang by the pool, go for a stroll through the towns, and enjoy the warm sun. Safe to say that Mexico will be a future destination for us!
On Friday night, we headed to San Jose Del Cabo and had a nice meal at El Comal Restaurant (pic above). It was located outdoors behind some shops and had a great atmosphere. We were engaged by a Mariachi serenade under the stars, and got to enjoy some excellent traditional Mexican food and seafood in the warm evening air. It looks like there are plenty more restaurants in San Jose that we will try out next time. 

Way down here, you need a reason to move...

We’ve made it to beautiful Mexico, and I want to say Thank You to my parents for letting us take their week at the Dreams Los Cabos Resort. The resort is awesome – two beautiful pools, palm trees, right on the beach.
We rented a car from Thrifty at the airport and made the drive through San Jose Del Cabo to the hotel, which is located nearly halfway between San Jose Del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas on the “Corridor.” We also stopped by the Costco (right next door to Home Depot) and loaded up on some necessities – granola, bottled water, sodas…… Looking forward to some good relaxation! 

Back to Colorado

I am spending a few days in Colorado for the second time this year. We’ve got some fancy new tools that were developed specifically for BP and the San Juan Basin area that needed immediate deployment. Unfortunately, someone forgot to clean the cement out of the pits and flow lines after they ran casing earlier in the week, so when we started drilling, the entire mud system was cemented up!
The upside of this disaster is that I got the opportunity to drive up to Silverton. The picture above was taken at about 10,000 feet elevation near the Coal Bank Pass Summit. I had hoped to catch a day of skiing at Durango Mountain Resort, where they have had lots of new powder…but it doesn’t look like I am going to have time if I want to make it home in time for MEXICO! Oh well, maybe next time!

Let the Remodel Begin

Well, I guess I have passed the point of no return. I moved all the furniture out of the living room and tore out the carpet. Not getting my fill, I decided that the lath and plaster walls needed to go too. My goal is to get all the plaster out of the living room and replace it with drywall. I will also rewire the electrical outlets, add new ceiling lights, replace the window and door, and probably tear out the wrecked wooden floor and replace it with quieter plywood.
We have set up the TIVO in the office and basically juggled things around so we should be able to live without the living room for a few weeks. Now I just need to be around on enough weekends to get‘er done! 

Spring is Coming

I went outside into the backyard today and was pleasantly suprised by the smell of almond blossoms. The smell reminded me of growing up in Antioch with the almond orchard all around. The smell also reminded me that I have a LOT of pruning and trimming to do! Spring is just around the corner and stuff is going to start GROWING!

Blue Squares

After two full days of practice, Andrea and I graduated to an Intermediate run on our last day at Northstar. What a blast we had skiing! We have vowed to get at least one more quick trip up to the snow in sometime this year for a little more practice. (We need to move past the 'ol snowplow at some point.) I must say that this was the most fun I have had in a while, and to think I was so nervous about the snow. Its not so bad when you are there for fun! 

Andrea's Birthday in Tahoe

Well, Andrea and I have finished our first day of downhill skiing at Northstar-At-Tahoe!! We came up here to celebrate Andrea's birthday by trying out something we have both been talking about for a while! It turned out to be quite a stormy day as it snowed pretty hard most of the day. We managed to get a great parking place and after we figured out the ski rental system, we were off to the slopes! We spent a few hours of the morning just trying to get comfortable in our skis, basically we went up and down a twenty-foot hill near the lodge over and over. I would watch people who knew what they were doing pass by, then I would copy them.
At lunchtime, the mid-mountain lodge was absolutely packed so our only option was to sit outside in the blizzard (as you can see in the picture above)! The overpriced food was not made any better by being snowed on!
After lunch, we took our first day of "Ski School" where we practiced on the bunny slope until we could make it down and stop comfortably. We finished they day on the Bear Paw lift with a daring run down Woodcutter!