Home Improvement

I enjoyed watching Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor (Home Improvement) work on just about every project possible while growing up. Now that I have a house and a wife (both with their respective "to-do" lists), I find myself always looking at the next 11 things that I need to take care before it gets cold outside (finish the garage) or before it rains again (backfill the new drainage ditch) or before the week gets too busy (stain my current wood projects). I've learned so much from the great men in my life - skills that have proven to be invaluable when it comes to my project list(s). Fortunately for me and my family, I'm not the accident prone Tim Taylor and I try not to bite off more than I can chew. Now don't get me wrong - I LOVE having projects galore. I've waited so long to have my own house so that I could do some of these things. I just wish I had an unlimited supply of time and energy to get it all in while still being able to spend some quality time with Alyssa and Jonah and maybe some of the friends I think I still have (not just on Facebook...). This juggling act requires a precise amount of finesse in order to keep the proverbial apple cart from upsetting. I tend to focus so diligently on a single project that at times I forget about the rest of them and have to be pulled away (forcibly at times ;) ) and back into synch with the other to-dos. These lists don't include the woodshop to-dos, either - a list that grows weekly and will never be complete.

Ah yes, home improvement - not just a catchy title of a 90's sitcom tied to a main character who worked a lot, but a concept that Alyssa and I are embracing as new homeowners. Since moving in, we've successfully improved the space bit by bit and have high hopes for what our castle will one day be. We spent some time at Ferguson on Monday thanks to Alyssa's Aunt-in-law. She works there and has been keeping an eye out for a new kitchen faucet and sink so we can replace the broken and stained ones in the house. Not only did we find what we were looking for, we stumbled on a over-range microwave for half off that will fit beautifully. Kevin and Sheena brought it to us last night and when I finally got it in the house, I realized that our old microwave will literally fit in the new one. The thing is gargantuan! (will post pics when it's installed...maybe even with the old one in it....)I'm not sure how we ever lived with our puny excuse for a cooking device! Needless to say, our trip to Ferguson showed us some potential priority list re-writes (can you say Corian?!)(or hardwood??!!) and added some different dimensions to our planning efforts. I still think the basement is high on the list especially if home daycare (for any ages) is in the mix for Alyssa. The plan is to keep tucking money away and slowly procure framing materials, then eventually host a framing party where all my great family and friends with framing experience come over and knock it out (rather put it all in...) in a day / weekend. Ideally, the same concept would be used for all the aspects of basement finishing, e.g. electrical, plumbing, drywall, tape and texture, painting, etc. Take note - that's a lot of parties that we'll host in the coming years. I'll post the play-by-play of each project here as I've done for the last week. I feel like I've done a solid job of posting as of yet - here's to hoping I keep it up!