Now you see it, Now you don't!

The newest addition to the house is a vanishing waterfall. As you can see, it magically flows from the side of my deck and the water vanishes into a stone pond. The noise of the flowing water in my backyard is very relaxing. It's not very large, but the amount of rock it takes to create and decorate a waterfall is ridiculous. I've started stopping on the side of roads when I see a nice rock that might complement the waterfall. This is the "me standing over waterfall" view. There were no birds around to take photos for me.

Really?

Is it really possible that Lego and Kellogg would team up to create a Lego fruit snack? Hopefully this will turn out to be a joke.

http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=8213

Crime Scene

I decided to stain the beadboard in my kitchen. Instead of the natural wood color, I've decided to use a red stain. My trip to pick up the stain began at 8:30 pm on Friday. I spent some time with the Home Depot paint department, and they color matched the stain to the red in my living room. They packed my quart of stain in a thin plastic bag along with a couple cans of spray insulation, paintbrushes, etc. I pulled into my garage, parked the car, exited the vehicle and just as I picked the bag up the bottom fell out and the stain hit the floor forcing the lid open. My concrete was covered with a huge red puddle of stain. For the next hour I was spraying red water down my driveway and scrubbing my floor in red stained clothing. My neighbors haven't talked with me since.




Home Depot did replace my stain free of charge, and even gave me rags and some cleaning solvents to remove the red tint from my garage. I give them an A+ for customer service. Sorry, Lowes, you still lose.

Home Improvement

I replaced two doors on my house this weekend. See:

Suburban Warfare

I've learned that the lawn is just one part of your home that earns bragging rights. My competitive nature drives me to have the best lawn on my street. The photo above is from May 2007 -- when I started to dream of a thick green carpet of grass.


This photo was taken this morning. A little TLC has earned me a spot in the top three. My neighbor even took note of my success and shouted out over the fence that separates our backyard, "lawn's looking good." Sure is, buddy. Sure is.

My New Gadget

My Nike + Sportband arrived while I was in Atlanta. The sportband will replace my nano, and will still track my calories burned, distance, pace and uploads my results to the Nike Web site for all the world to see. It's a talking point, and completely useless watch at night since there is no backlight feature. My friend Jim loves the sportband so much he threatens to steal mine and compete against me in races like this:

Life is good

I made a late night run this past weekend to pick up a hammock. After visiting Wal-Mart and Meijer, I was able to find one at Home Depot. All of my free time is now spent on the hammock -- sometimes I sleep, sometimes I read, and most of the time I stare at my lawn trying to will my grass to grow.


I'll probably remove the bench beneath the hammock. My intention has been to replace the bench anyway, and my goal for greater relaxation will be the inspiration for my increased amount of work.