Remodel Week #4
This may have been the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, but it was M's first Olympics.
As you can see, he won the gold medal in competitive eating.
He did not medal in the crawling or walking competitions. You have to be able to crawl or walk to participate.
The remodel continues. This hallway closet was once a boring place to hang jackets.
It is now bunkbeds for Emmett or an exciting small appliance and large-box-from-Costco closet. (New addition to the to-do list: build a boring place to hang jackets.)
M was so excited by the closet bunkbeds that he could not contain himself. Actually, he was very excited by the neighbors sprinkler in the following pictures.
The office wall is ready to be drywalled. Here is the view as you enter the house.
And now, from the office looking out.
Kyle finished our best bike rack ever...
Everyone always says - do you ride all those bikes? Yes. Yes, we do. In fact, we rode the two on the right to the Market of Choice for take-out Indian food. M loves, loves, loves Indian food.
The view of the mountains and mill smokestacks was amazing on the ride home. We couldn't quite capture it in a picture.
And...coming soon to a town near you!
Remodel Week #3 + M's Birthday!
By the end of third day the hallway was finished.
The fourth day, the closet and part of the living room were complete. Things started to pick up once M decided to carry his weight.
On the fifth day, we made it into the kitchen and put the fridge back.
At the end of day six we were pretty much done. Just 1.5 rows to go.
Finishing touches on day 7
All done. Can we go play now? Sure, after you put all the trim back.
Before
and after
Lunchtime.
Which chin is ticklish? Maybe all of them.
Sometimes, while Kyle is slaving away, Mom and M lie on their backs and look at the leaves on the trees in their new backyard
and entertain themselves by taking selfies.
Now - the office wall addition.
A little wobbly.
Getting better.
And FINALLY - M is one! We bet none of our blog viewers thought we could do it...
What kind of cake did M have for his birthday? After much thought and analysis - Mr. M loves cheese and yogurt - we thought cheesecake was the perfect choice. Tangy. Cheesy. Delicious. He was unimpressed. The party hats on the other hand...
Remodel Week #2
Our flooring arrived this week.
OK, let's get crackin'. We've got work to do!
First board:
First row:
First (half) day:
M approves.
These bars won't hold me.
I will chew my way out of here.
It'll fit. I just need to push harder.
After a long day of laying floor, it's tubby time.
M may have stayed in a little long.
Are you having a hard time putting the lawn mower together, Mom? I can do it. Let me see the instructions.
It says I need to use this thing.
All done!
I'll measure that board.
End of day 2:
Remodel Week #1
We started work on the new house.
A before picture, looking from the kitchen into the living area.
After removing the baby, carpet, and trim.
Kyle took all the appliances out of the kitchen and removed the linoleum flooring.
This resulted in a large blood blister.
M had all kinds of excuses as to why he could not help out. I can't crawl. I am a baby. This hammer is too heavy.
So far, all the old flooring and trim is out of the kitchen, living area, office, and hallway and new wood floors have been ordered. The photo documenting has been very bad to date, but this wrong will be righted!
After a hard day of work, the boys relax in our new backyard.
This picture is here just because.
Farewell COS Food Tour
Urban Steam:
Caprese waffle - Basil pesto waffle on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with Campari tomato, fresh mozzarella, olive and garlic tapenade, garnished with balsamic reduction and fresh ground pepper
Fellini breakfast sandwich - Toasted tomato basil bread, basil pesto, two eggs , arugula, Italian cheeses, fresh tomato, balsamic reduction, served open faced and over easy
Coquette Bistro:
The Paleo: rainbow chard, onion, tomato and almonds w/ roasted carrot puree w/ tuna
Tula Crepe - chicken, roasted red peppers, kalamata, spinach, feta cheese & tzatziki
Swirl:
Apple bacon flatbread - Apples, bacon, Ale house cheddar, pure maple drizzle
Spaceballs - Bison meatballs with apple sherry sauce, parmesan crisp, & balsamic reduction
Drunk goat slider - crimini mushroom, caramelized onions, garlic roasted tomatoes, goat cheese
Bingo Burger:
St. Mary’s Burger - Bingo + Pueblo chile jack + bacon + fried egg
Make your own - burger with caramelized onions and rosemary mushrooms
503 W:
Calamari - panko bread crumbs+ sea salt + sweet thai dip
Pistachio salmon - encrusted pistachio + burnt honey + clementine beets + quinoa
Gaucho burger - cheddar + chorizo + sriracha aioli + tomato + grilled onion + arugula
Shuga’s :
Bruschetta toast -
fresh mozzarella.tomato.basil
goat cheese.bacon.tomato. microgreen
caramelized onions.goat cheese
brie.apple
Crystal Park Cantina:
Portobello mushrooms, spinach, four cheese blend and scallions
Chili relleno, chicken enchilada, fish taco, green chile, and rice and beans
Odyssey Gastropub:
Cicharonnes
Sake marinated salmon over szechuan style street noodles with asian vegetables.
Pork cheek pho
Leaf Extravaganza
We did some leaf peeping.
A bike ride to see the leaves in South Park.
A hike to see Lizard Rock. Can you see the lizard?
A bike ride to see leaves in Colorado Springs.
Snowy Times
It’s snowing. At the cabin we are creeping up on 4 ft and exceeding our plow limit.
The skiing has been pretty good.
We have been getting good turns behind the cabin. Here are tracks from last weekend.
Flash Floods and Bears
Today on our way home from work, we saw these guys in the Garden of the Gods.
Snow and Food
A random update.
First the snow:
We went to the International Snow Sculpture Competition in Breckenridge.
And the snow in the Springs.
Now the food:
The Saturday baking - double chocolate dream cookies & from scratch chocolate cake.
Valentines dinner at 'The Rabbit Hole'. Truffle tricolor cauliflower mac & cheese with chicken.
Blackened Colorado striped bass, broccoli cheddar risotto, and sweet-chili beurre blanc.
Merry Christmas
Traditional Christmas Eve tapas:
White Christmas:
Skiing behind the cabin:
Giraffe
Posted by: Becca & Kyle
A new Scolardi is on the way, so we painted him a giraffe as a welcome gift. We're not the least bit artistic, so this was a fairly painful experience - hope you like it little man.
Step one, paint the sky:
Add some trees:
A few more trees:
Add some clouds:
Neck, snout, ears:
Head, horns:
Eyes, nose, mouth:
And, finally, his spots:
Molly, Moose, and More
Posted by: Becca
Last weekend we went for a mountain bike ride near the Tie Hack trail,
and we hiked Mt. Evans, not the famous one, the one that is behind the cabin.
We also enjoyed a delicious meal on the deck of Millonzi's overlooking 'the beach' compliments of Chief Al and Momma Carol
This weekend we babysat the wonderful Molly,
went riding in my new favorite mountain biking venue, Salida,
and saw a moose (Really. Look closely. Just right of center.)
and the Springer Fire. It started today and had burned 200 acres by 5 o'clock.
We have also been putting the PBR my students gave me to very good use...What'll ya have? Cinnamon chocolate chip beer bread.
Garden
We've been doing some work in our garden over the past few weekends. It's not real big - this is all we have to work with:
We added some plants to provide some color later in the summer and fall, like echinacea, hyssop, asters, daisies, and penstemon. We also updated our soaker hose system. It's on a timer, so everything gets watered automatically. Our timer and manifold:
Some of the 100' of hose in our small garden:
Even our planter barrels are on the soaker hose system.
A couple of years ago, we built a privacy wall for our patio from which we could hang hanging baskets. Last year, the bastards (HOA) cut it down and replaced it with a very nice, low plastic wall. We built a planter box to add a little height to the wall and provide another place for plants:
It gets watered automatically, too:
We filled it with geraniums and red basil:
We also got some petunias, asiatic lilies, bacopa, and calibrachoa,
which we put in some pots for our stoop:
The finished product:
The garden frog back in the garden after a winter inside:
Log Bed
The downstairs guest room in the cabin didn't have a proper bed. It looked like this:
We started construction on a log bed to replace this 'platform bed' about three weeks ago. The plan was log posts and redwood headboard and footboard. The mudroom doubled as a project room.
Here's Kyle working on the headboard. Yes, he did most of the work, but I helped.
I'm pretty sure between this project and the desk job, we used every tool we own. Kyle made a neat jig for making the mortises in the headboard with a router.
The headboard and footboard with and without stain.
The new bed frame in its new home...we put it in the upstairs room instead of the downstairs room.
Made up...
The downstairs room with the bed that was in the upstairs room.
Office Makeover Part I
Our office was OK for occasional use, but with two of us needing somewhere to work on a regular basis it was not cutting it. Plus, it was lame looking.
We looked at desks everywhere, but could not find something we liked. So, we decided to make our own. Which really means Kyle would make them. He started with four eight foot long, four foot wide and 3/4 inch thick pieces of plywood. Two of the four pieces were 'fancy' plywood (hardwood plywood with birch veneer). They were used for the visible portion of the desktop. Two pieces were cut down to 8 x 2 and combined to make a 1.5 inch thick surface. The other two were cut down to 6 x 3 and also combined. They were sanded, stained, and polyurethaned. My minor contribution besides taking pictures and holding things was staining and polyurethaning. We went with a red mahagony stain and satin polyurethane.
We ordered a couple of file cabinets to use as legs, and Kyle made tops and bottoms to increase the height of the cabinets and to attach them to the desktop.
Here one of the file cabinets is sitting in its new base.
Now with the top added.
Here I am in my staining 'sweatshop'. Many brain cells were killed that day. That was the stinkiest thing I have ever done.
Here is one new desk.
And the other work space.
Adding my desk took away a lot of shelves. The solution to the lost storage space came in the form of an unused closet. Kyle added six shevles and made it into an awesome bookshelf!
We're not done with our office makeover. Still to come is a new bookshelf to replace this guy...
a slightly less make shift home for the plants, and hopefully a ceiling fan that better matches our new 'look'.
Snow & Firewood
First real snow of the year this weekend:
We spent the weekend splitting and stacking all of the wood we cut for the winter.
Mountain Biking & Firewood
It's fall, so it's time to cut firewood. A couple of weekends ago we got our firewood permits from the Forest Service - $10/cord - and headed out to cut some wood. We cut three truck loads - we would probably only need one load for us, but Chief Al really likes to read/nap in the chair by the woodstove when he's here, so we had to get and extra couple of loads to ensure his comfort. A pile of logs ready to be split:
It was a beautiful weekend, so we spent some time on our mountain bikes as well. Leaves are turning:
Garden
It seems to have finally stopped snowing and warmed up some around here, so we've been adding some new plants and flowers to our garden. We got some big wine barrel planters and filled them with grasses and marigolds.
We also got some hanging geraniums to separate us from our neighbors.
Our silver mounds are looking good this year.
A couple of new creeping phlox:
And some rosemary for the painted pots:
Random Things
What happens when you let Chris and Michelle buy you clothes? See for yourself:
The garden has started to grow. We have been told by the folks at the garden shop that during year one the garden would weep (it may not have, but I did), year two we would see it creep, and year three it would leap. Since many things the first year DIED, we should see a mix of creeping and leaping. The arctic mound is leaping.
People at work and swim have made me scared to eat meat. The smell of few hamburgers on the grill should cure me of my fear, but in the meantime I tried making black bean burgers with mango salsa. They actually tasted good and looked just like the picture in my Cooking Light magazine.
This posting was pretty much drivel, but I get yelled at if we go too long without an update :).
Winter's End
Usually we get a fair amount of snow in the mountains but the weather in Manitou is mild. That has not been the case this year. We have had snow in town almost every week this season and have spent more time riding our bikes in the basement than one would like. Despite the snow in town, it has not been a very good snow year for the mountains, but this past week the snow stake in the yard registered close to 4 ft after several months hovering around 2 ft. The driveway had about 1 foot of new snow last Friday. Kyle cleared it while I found things to do inside!
We have been taking advantage of the new snow and have been skiing in our backyard!
Christmas 2009
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.
CHRISTMAS EVE (Momma Carol's birthday): We drove up to the cabin on Christmas Eve, making sure we left early enough that there would be some light left to find a good tree. Our eyes are bigger than our Element. Side note: the Element is back! It wasn't a smooth return...30 minutes after picking it up from the collision center, the check engine light went on! Everything is OK now, and we are VERY happy to have our wonderful little car back.
Christmas Tree Sort of in the Element
Tree Decorated
After putting up the tree, Kyle and I tackled the next Christmas activity, cookie baking. We made Marie/Mom's Greek cookie recipe and Diane's Butter Ball recipe. SUCCESS! We probably should have made them weeks ago and given them as gifts, but now there are more for us.
Greek and Butter Ball Cookies
CHRISTMAS DAY: Chris came through with my favorite new t-shirt as a Christmas gift. Maybe I will wear it for the first day of class. We headed to A-Basin for a little skiing Christmas morning. Strangely, we were the only car on the road. Perhaps because it was Christmas day or maybe because it was -15F when we left the house. The skiing was terrific, but it was COLD! After skiing we made a 9lb ham. Needless to say, we had leftovers.
A Doctor, but Not the REAL Kind.
World Cup
We went to watch the World Cup downhill race at Beaver Creek this Saturday. Carlo Janka & Didier Cuche from Switzerland were first and second. Aksel Svindal of Norway came in third. We stood at the finish line, but thanks to a jumbo-tron we got to see most of the race. It was a very exciting.
World Cup Finish Line.
One of the Americans racing, Jeremy Transue, is a GVMS alumus who grew up skiing at Hunter Mountain. He apparently goes by 'The Worm'.
The Worm's Fan Club
After the race is was back home for birthday lasagna. The cook's attire did not inspire confidence...but it ended up being delicious. Sauce, cheese, and sausage. Is there a better combination?
Chef Kyle
Official Start of Winter
Winter is here! Sure, if you go by the calendar, there are still three weeks until winter officially starts, but we play by a different set of rules. Once the snow stake is out, winter is here.
Kyle planting the snow stake in the yard.
We took a few turns this weekend. The snow was great, but there were way too many people. We also had a great Thanksgiving dinner, complete with Diane's spinach casserole and Mom and Nan's sausage stuffing.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Snow Day
Imagine the Element going head to head with a Chevy Avalanche.
Chevy Avalanche VS Honda Element
Maybe, if it had been a fair fight, the Element would have stood a chance. Instead the Avalanche fought dirty and hit the Element while parked in a parking lot! The truck slipped on ice, jumped an 8 inch curb, and clobbered the Element. The Avalanche had little damage, the Element was found spun 45 degrees from its original parking spot and has been rendered unusable. Poor little Element.
The snowy days made for some pretty sunrises.
Firewood
Winter is on its way. We woke up to snow and temperatures in the teens on Sunday.
A few weeks back we cut a bunch of wood, but it still needed to be chopped. Kyle did the chopping. I tried to chop, but my lame swings did nothing. Personally, I think Kyle gave me the toughest piece of wood in the pile. It took him 55 swings of the maul before it split! I can't sit by and watch someone else work, so I stacked.
You may be thinking - boy, Kyle sure does a lot more work than Becca. Not so! I also made spaghetti sauce and meatballs from scratch. The house smelled just like ours did on Sundays when I was little - browning garlic and baking meatballs. YUM. I thought about those meatballs all day today...
Action Sequence of the Mountain Man
My Stack
Productivity
When Jamie and Kerri came to the cabin they brought homemade jam. It was so delicious I had to try and make it. One thing lead to another and after a batch of strawberry pineapple jam I made deviled eggs, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, apple cranberry crisp, and oatmeal bread. Kyle has been doing a lot of training - so the extra calories will not be wasted! Jamie's jam recipe: 8 cups of fruit, pectin, and 1 cup of sugar. Mash the fruit, add the pectin, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, add sugar, bring to a second boil. Yum!
On the Importance of Sleep
After a long week of rain and temperatures in the 40's, we had an absolutely beautiful weekend. Not only did we have great weather, we had a cabin full of people all weekend, which was a rare treat. Allyson, Darren, Greta, Jamie, Kerri, Casey, and Nilla came up for some hiking and biking. The kids were pretty fired up to play in the snow...
Casey and Greta love snow
The guys went out for a long ride on Saturday and the girls went out on Sunday.
Jamie and Darren riding in South Park
Nilla got in lots of naps, but the kids didn't. They were a little cranky by the end of the weekend. Lesson learned, kids need lots of sleep!
Nilla up from a nap
Fall
Fall is here. The leaves are turning and we have had multiple days of snow! Over the past few weekends we've done a bit of home maintenance, the Harvest Moon Half Ironman, and some wood chopping. Major accomplishments at the cabin include: the deck has been sanded and stained and the squirrels have been evicted from their home under the roof.
Sanding
Sanded & Stained
Out squirrel. OUT.
The Harvest Moon race was great. The course was awesome, with one of the best bike rides I have ever had. If I hadn't had two flats and only one tube it would have been a much shorter day and the finish and the delicious Wahoo tacos would have come much sooner.
We started cutting wood this weekend. A $25 pass from the national forest lets us cut up t o 2 cords of wood. Kyle cuts. I stack.
Birthdays
Tobin turned 3
Chris turned 30
Kyle turned 35
For Kyle's birthday there was coconut cake (2 cups of coconut) with coconut frosting (2 more cups of coconut) and a trip to Barney's Diner for some birthday corned beef hash.
Kyle and I spent the weekend working on the cabin. There are 148 rungs on the deck that had to be sanded. Another number from the weekend - 3500. That's the number of mosquito species in this world. Only the females bite. And bite they did.
Thank goodness for Red Truck wine.
Our Garden
