Tiling Office Floor

After much prep time spent, the office floor has tile applied to its surface. This took about half the day and included a trip to Lowes for more stone supplies.

I can read and cook, thanks Cooks Illustrated !

Yes, even I can cook. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. Look, tonight I followed 3 recipes from Cooks Illustrated and wammo, it came out great. It is true, tell your friends. Tell your grandma, I can cook, and I must give credit where it is due, thanks to those that taught me to read.

Tonight's Menu

-Oven Fried Chicken with a side of -Glazed Carrots and -Light Mashed Potatoes, all recipes from CooksIllustrated.com

If Miguel Cabrera does not win MVP...

a. something needs to be investigated
b. allowing a player who played significantly less games vs. 161 is a non-comparison.
c. using WAR as a definite variable in the discussion is not right
d. I certainly will not be happy.
e. all of the above. 

We visited Knob Noster State Park

Today we visited Knob Noster State Park in, guess?...Knob Noster, Missouri. Yes, it is true, there is a city named Knob Noster.

According to wikipedia: The knobs of the town's namesake are not only a geographical landmark for the town, but are also claimed to be the site of a battle of Native American tribes. Sometimes there are stories that gold or treasure is buried in the knobs. This can be neither confirmed nor denied. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob_Noster,_Missouri

Our trip did not result in finding any treasures or gold, but it did check off a local park off the visit list.  We haven't been to a state park since June of 2011 in Weston, MO.

We took a stroller to this location, only to find that the only smooth portions of paths are the streets. The trails are not smooth, but more bumpy and really not made for mountain biking either. We attempted a rougher trail for a few minutes only to turn around and head back to the street.

There is not much to see at this State Park, which was a bummer for us. There are two small lakes and a stream on this park. I kept asking out loud and to myself, why is this a state park? There really is not much of anything significant to see on this visit.

Well according to wikipedia: The park was constructed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. The CCC and WPA were both part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal a series of government funded programs designed to provide work for the unemployed workers of the Great Depression.^[4] The men of the CCC and WPA built roads, bridges, camping areas, picnic areas, and park service buildings.^[2] The park, originally known as Montserrat National Recreation Demonstration Area, was transferred to the state of Missouri in 1946 and named for Knob Noster.<sup>[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob_Noster_State_Park</sup>
 
Well that makes some sense, because the few lakes and limited scenic sights made this state park quite possibly the worst one of our local area tour.

Now there is electric campsites as well as basic. One of the bonuses of the location is the proximity to the Whiteman Air Force Base. I was hoping to get a view of some planes. But no such luck on this trip.

Rating: 1/5 stars :(

 

Floor Complete!

 The dining floor is complete, let me repeat that. The floor is complete. After much sweat and determination, the floor has grout now curing. In 24 hours the floor should be fine to walk on without worry.

I did watch a couple youtube videos to prepare me on how to apply the grout and how to clean afterwards. Who said YouTube was a waste of time!

Our next objective is to reapply the baseboards, and repaint the room. Hopefully it goes much smoother than replacing the floor. But yet again, the floor gives much more character than some new flashy paint.

-M&H

Happy 4th of July

Actually Tiling, We made it.

It has been well over a full month since we ripped out the dog scented carpet in our dining room. Now, I actually have tile, Italian Porcelain on the floor. Two sizes 8x8 and 12x12. Purchased the supplies in two trips, the first trip was initially the tools and tile for this evenings lay. That sounded bad, this evenings placement. Once I brought them home and sized them with spacers (see below). I thought, maybe I should have more supplies on hand, in case I kick it into overdrive. Plus I needed bulletnose tile for the connection to the entryway. So, Lowes II happened.

I took apart the spacers and did one last vacumn cleaning of the area, then placed tile. Started at 1:30, ended at 6:30, and I am only 35 to 40 percent done. I have had to make several cuts, but nothing too difficult. The next placement I will need to make angled cuts along the stairwell. I also have to cut pieces around the air vent and double columns. Outside of that I am in the clear.

Once the floor is complete: next phase is replacing the trim and repainting the room.

This will be the view from the Dog's Nest, Always on Patrol

Incredible backpain, but the floor looks mighty good

Tiling Dining Room; Backerboard, Costs

I have finally finished placing 1/4th inch thickness backerboard in the entire dining room, with an exception to a 1 by 1 ft piece that is diagonal. All the roofing tiles are under and have leveled out the room. It certainly took more roofing tiles than I anticipated. So far I have bought 3 packages of roofing tiles and placed 11 backerboards on the floor.

Total rough material costs so far...

25*3+ 9*11= 174

This does not include any tools used on the project. Tools used: level, utility cutter, drill (for screws-stopped squeaking).

I am anticipating buying a trowel for mortar, smaller soft trowel for grout, sponge(s), and a hand saw for cutting out wood pieces where vertical molding will need to be removed for tile. Possibly another 40 dollars.

A large tub of premixed mortar (a bad deal vs. mixing your own) will be 30 bucks. I will buy the premixed stuff as I am not experienced enough to review good vs. poorly made mortar. I may need 2 buckets (large) for this project.


We will be using a fairly common tile that Lowes sells, a Porcelain Venetian. Since we may run this tile on the entire floor, we have to choose something that will always be in stock. We remembered this tile type several years ago, so it is a safe bet for this project. And Venetian stone will look great when I spill tomato sauce on the dining room floor. Very authentic.

Tiling Dining Room Month 2

Dining Room Update,

It has been a solid month since we ripped out the carpet in the room and now we finally have the backerboard placed. Initially I thought only one part of the room had a slant, but to my discovery two portions of the floor sagged with the middle plateauing out.

So far on the project I have bought two packages of roofing asphalt shingles and 8 backerboards. The plan is to use two tile sizes as shown below, (taken from another blog).

I removed the wood trim along the floor, which is sanded and will be replaced and repainted once the tile is placed. Next weekend, hopefully we can start the tiling process. Of the problems solved so far, minimized the creeking by adding extra screws in floor, placed shingles to level out floor. And bought a nice sharp edge for flooring materials to score backerboard and asphalt shingles.

If we have success, the wood floor in the entry way (photo above) will be removed and tiling will continue on the entire first floor.

Always with a level in hand, making sure the floor is level is key to this tiling operation. 

The Next Venture...Tile

Our dining room has been destroyed by our labradoodle and his urine. Last week I ripped out the carpet to the Mrs. pleasant surprise...I figured that it would be fairly simple. Once the carpet was removed, I noticed the floor was not flat or level. This is going to be a major problem. I have reviewed different treatments online and one that I believe might just work is the utilization of roofing tiles. I will apply roofing tiles so that the floor becomes flat and level, then apply backerboard to the floor, then affix tile. This sounds easy, it may or may not be...anyway, I will try to capture the progress. No picture yet, but the carpet has been removed, cut up and bagged for the garbage.

Stay tuned!

-M

Rejuvenated Man Cave Light Fixtures

The Skeleton to our Ugly Old Ceiling Fan

We had two fixtures that were outdated that need some help. The first was our ceiling fan located in the man cave. We are not quite sure why the previous homeowners placed the fan down there since it is always nice and cool down there even in the summer. We replaced it with a Lowes fixture, and it keeps with the style or look we are trying to achieve down there.

Our Mad Men Inspiration

The second fixture was a light in the stairwell to the mancave. I wanted a fixture that looked like something from a mine shaft, the Mrs. wanted something that didn't clash. We ended up with this industrial look light. The light was bought from Lowes, with a very cool Edison style lightbulb, 60w. 

What do you think?

A half broken fixture, U-G-L-Y, it doesn't have no alibi, it UGLY

The Man Cave is now lit, Edison Style

Industrial Age Achieved!

Our Pup thinks the work was well worth it

Spring 2012

We haven't been posting too much, too busy with work, family....but we are trying to make room for improvements in our lawn, yard, and house.

Coming this weekend, I hope to show you all what I did to the spindles on our staircase.

I have been swapping the wooden spindles for iron, while the chore is tedious they are starting to look real good. I have a few parts left to buy, and in less than 3 hours time, it should be done.

The next project is creating a flower box behind our large windows outside. The goal of the flower box is to keep plants growing while keeping the hybridwoofers out. We have had mixed results with plants and our dogs and honestly it is a real pain dealing with these fools when it comes to nice plants. Hopefully, we can share our results.

My other half has been working on terrariums for our workspaces. They contain plants that can grow in office settings. Hopefully we can get our pictures loaded to share.

Take Care!

M&H

These are a few of my favorite things...

In no particular order except for 1 being 1:

• Making my son giggle really hard
• Watching Gold Rush on Friday Nights
• Achieving the "Big Win" on Monopoly Slot Machines
• A real well done multi-mushroom pizza
• Flying on planes to my destination
• Flying on planes back home
• The feeling of a fall back 23 foot jumper while back pedaling backwards before it swooshes
• Rolling down the windows before it is officially spring
• Watching  "Finding Bigfoot", "Idiot Abroad"
• Having a solid 7 days in a row without being stressed out
• Watching the Stock Market go up
• Enjoying the days where the Lions and Tigers all win on the same day
• Researching vacation plans

Draymond Green, Future Piston?

I am the only one thinking Draymond Green of Michigan State would look great in Red White and Blue next season for your Detroit Pistons?? Come on, whose with me! A big man who can shoot a 23 footer?! Do it Dumars!

Kansas City Hollywood Casino Slots Review

Opening Night at the Kansas City Hollywood Casino at the Speedway was a packed night. Upon hearing that the line started forming at 3 pm, as directed by the fire marshall, the line wrapped outside in the parking garage. I heard accounts of waiting over an hour in line just to go inside. Inside, the openness with 2.5 floor ceilings gave something that all other Kansas City Casinos miss. The table games are aligned in the middle of the floor, 4 roulette wheels, multiple blackjack, and many other types at  10 and 25 dollar minimums. On a typical night, the gaming spacing would work, opening night-not so much.

Slots

Every Kansas City casino misses in this department, and we hoped that the Hollywood would deliver. Sadly, this is the breakdown of the slots from my eyes. These are the 'mainstay' slots that are big names and draw interest people to them with their multimedia bonuses.

4 Betty Boop (i've never seen before)
8 Mission Impossible (i've never seen before)
4 Wheel of Fortune*
8 Wizard of Oz (broken in two separate areas)
4 Hangover the Movie
4 Sex and the City
4 Monopoly (this was hugely disappointing, only 4! what a crock!)


What was surpremely disappointing...

0 Star Wars Machines
0 Indiana Jones Machines
0 Lord of the Rings
0 Price is Right
0 Top Gun


The lack of affordable Wheel of Fortune machines was pretty minimal. On the main floor, 4 machines are near the front. These are dollar machines, where each reel has a "spin" on it, to spin, you must get 3 in a row. There should be 50 cent Wheel machines and 25 cent machines scattered, but there are not. In the High Roller Slot area, there are 8 Wheel machines. We saw a person win 10,000 on a 5 dollar machine.

The lack of 'Big Name' slot machines with the huge crowds was sad and expected in some ways.

In comparison, 25 ct and 50 ct slots that are your typical reel slots, others in town seem more available.

In the Penny Slot land, there are your typical, Hee-Haw, Planet Moo-la, and many normal penny machines.

There are also a plethora of what I term 'crap'. Crap is regarded as a machine that is a basic computer monitor, with such themes as Western, Irish, and Greek. These machines are normally found to have older people who look sad and are smoking cigs while not giving much to the aesthetics.

Also, I did not see many if any slot machines that were hooked up to progressive jackpots. Who knows if that is by design or what, but machines like Star Wars in the Harrah's system are all hooked to a major monster jackpot. This being Penn Gaming, should have some type of hooked or aligned mega jackpot.

We didn't see any information tied to bonus point nights.


All in all, this place is really nice, clean, and beautiful. But Penn should realize that not everyone can play table games and wants a nice mix of big name slots and so far they have not delivered.

I won't give a full grade on this casino until I go on a night where the crowds are normalized.

Preventative Medical Care

If anything in the past week as shown, preventative medical care should always be practiced. If for any matter that you feel not normal, medical attention is necessary. I bashed my hand during basketball, luckily it was not broken. But at minimum, I received instructions on how to make my hand get better. Same should be done for women with mammograms and men with colonoscopies. Get them done, no matter what. Certainly if you have insurance, there are no excuses!

Smoking Efforts Day 2: Smoked Salmon

We had a couple types of Salmon in our freezer, time to smoke them was my thoughts. After night of defrosting, and with the final weekend of NFL football at Noon, it was time to smoke em' up.

The first type of salmon had a marinate already on it from Trader Joe's, it turned out ok. The flavor was not the best, but it was ok for smoking.

The second type of salmon had no seasoning on, so I added my own special mix of spices. This salmon was Wild Sockeye, it was a deeper Red fish, the flavor was excellent. I highly recommend smoking salmon this way, but I would offer a challenge to keep an eye on the fish more than I did. The Trader Joe salmon cooked fine at 2 hours, but the non marinated salmon turned a bit tougher. I am thinking 1 and half hours for these small fillets, and 2 to 2.5 hours for whole fish cuts.

Charcoal Firestarter Smoking

Soaked Wood Chips (Hickory)

My secret spice mix

Smoking da Salmon 

Finished Product 

The Trader Joe Salmon (raw)

Initial Smoking Efforts: 5 Pound Whole Roaster Chicken

For Christmas, H gifted me a Classic Weber charcoal grill. She read some reviews and found that this model is good for smoking. The initial smoking effort started with burgers. They turned out ok, some thought the flavor was more lighter fluid that not, I think it was more hickory than not. After the coals were burned I added more coals and moved them into a circle formation for in-direct heat. Then I applied the beastly near 5 lb chicken to the middle. The chicken took just over 2 hours to fully cook, and the meat thermometer measured 170 degrees, 165 if FDA regulation on cooked chicken. The chicken was great by all reviewers.

The 5 lb chicken is ready for smoking action

The Charcoals in Ring formation for in-direct heat

Chicken after 1 hour on grill

After 2 hours and about a hour of prep time, good to go.