Kitchen, Living, and Dining Room Re-model

The house just felt a bit too cramped...
it needed to be opened up!

So, we knocked out half the wall
between the kitchen and living room...

...and the corner wall dividing the dining room
from the kitchen and living room.


Of course, the walls we wanted to take out
were load-bearing...so we threw a few beams in there
just for fun...!
And then, since the whole world would be able to
see our kitchen upon walking in our front door...

...we figured we'd better spice up our kitchen, too.
The counters were nearly finished, with walnut butcher block
that we got from Goby down the street,
but the back wall was pretty nasty!

Tamara's friend, Greg, came to town,
and since he offered up his tiling experience,
we figured we'd take him up on his offer!


We're most proud of this corner by the dish drain...
Check out that rounded section up on the left!

So, from start to finish, 2005 to 2008
...here's some major changes
to the Edison Manor!

Some of you may recall the turquoise kitchen,
back in August 2005 when Tamara first moved into Edison.

While Tamara was living with Becca,
this was their living room.
But now, it's like this!
Looking from the kitchen, back in 2005...

And today, in 2008!

Looking from the kitchen doorway
into the dining room in 2007....

And today, in 2008!

Looking from the dining room doorway
into the kitchen, last year in 2007...

...and here was that kitchen in 2007...

...and today, October 2008!

"I'll have a virgin Pina Colada,"
says the pregnant mom-to-be from the new bar...!
And now, on to the attic!!

The Eco-roof on the Shed

After months of work in the Spring on our home-made shed,

and a then summer of more play than work...
...we finally were ready to buy a bunch of seedum and grasses
for our long-awaited eco-roof! After many weekends of roof preparation
(3/4 in plywood, plastic barrier, 2x4 edging, drainage barrier)...

...it was finally time for the fun part: planting!
We started unloading the lava rock and
sandy loam while it was still light,
but were determined to finish in the dark
while we still had Geoff's dad to help us.

The first layer was about an inch of lava rock,
then on top of that, a couple inches of perlite
mixed with sandy loam and compost.

Tamara was the official perlite mixer...
unfortunately, we didn't read until about half way
through the process that we should
avoid creating perlite dust. Ooops!

And then, between sun and rain showers,
we had it all planted with lots of room for growth!
Over time, the seedum and plants will spread and grow...
...to fill in the dirt in between, and ultimately...

...look like this eco-roof at People's in SE Portland.

Adventures in Chicago

Tamara's Dad hooked us up with some cousins in Northern Chicago.
We didn't think the rest of the weekend could top the snot cup...!

But, the wedding, in fact, was much more beautiful than the dripping goo,
not to mention, the reception was tons of fun.

Geoff and Julie looking their finest!

And Bev and Ralph, too!

He wasn't the BEST MAN for nothing!

While Geoff went to the Cubs game on Sunday after the wedding,
Tamara took the train up to Milwaukee to meet an old camp friend, Amy.

And then on Monday, we enjoyed a rainy few hours in downtown Chicago,
playing with the visual effects of the much discussed BEAN.

And then, despite hopes of making to our own bed for our official one year anniversary,
we catnapped on cots in O'hare after rushing to the basement for Tornado warnings
and waiting 6 hours for our red-eye home. Ahhh, love...

Lewis River Weekend

Just after Tamara got back from Germany, we headed out of town up to Washington to this beautiful area along the Lewis River. It was super relaxing, even though it wasn't all that deep into the wilderness. It made me want to go away EVERY weekend...(but, alas, we didn't...did have fun for the rest of the summer, though!).

October Update

I have to admit, after all the craziness of the wedding last year, and other web projects and internet presence, I kind of forgot that we had created this here blog. But after seeing the Burchette's sweet little page, adorned now with their beautiful new little Nathan, I realized that this would be a great place for those in our lives that are wanting to see and experience the little things that tend to excite us on a daily basis...like growing bellies, pedestal sinks, and eco-roofs. It seems that we've got lots of people who we've promised photos, and with the realization that not everyone wants to be on Facebook, this seems like a great alternative. See what we can do it keep it up to date...relatively! =)
We've had some great adventures...while we can't post all the pictures here, we can add a few highlights...!

Golf anyone?

When I mentioned to my dad that I might post a Golf entry, his eyes lit up and he raised his eyebrows and smiled. So, it seemed like a good idea. There was talk of getting a golf game going on Friday afternoon, before some of us gather for the rehearsal dinner (so we can work on our eating skills!). Anyone interested in a late morning/early afternoon round of golf, to end by 3pm? Or perhaps someone wants to start a different game, or perhaps an additional one, in the afternoon? Or perhaps on Saturday morning? Or Sunday? The call is yours...or at least are the comments!

Other...

Is there something fun to do on Hood, or in the surrounding area, that you know about and we haven't posted? Drop a comment here and announce your ideas to the world (or, at least, to the wedding guests!). Hood River is pretty cool. Long boarding down the Timberline Road would be pretty adventuresome! The mountain is your oyster here...