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.

All sticks, no stones, and no broken bones

Aside from getting stuck underneath my deck to escape the heat, chasing the rabbits who live near my shed, and her relentless attempts to catch a squirrel, Kona's favorite activity is chewing on sticks. This is her first stick of the season, and life never tasted so good. She spent an hour on the stick before she was distracted by the neighbor kids.

Sign of Spring

With the emergence of my first Crocus I now know another great Michigan summer is just around the corner.