Saturday, February 27, 2010
Here is a photo of the boat we bought today. 2008 Yamaha 230SX. I'm not sure if I got the best deal but I feel we got a good deal. We could have bought the same boat with a wakeboard tower for the same price from a place in Cleveland but there is something to be said for buying local. This is the exact same boat as the 2009 but is $3000 less. Sarah decided that she would rather have that cash and I agreed with her in the end. One thing about a negotiation, if you are going to threaten to walk from the deal than you have to be prepared to do it. I had no other 2008 options out there so had no choice to pay what they were asking. It's still $2600 less than they paid for it so how unhappy can I be?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A couple pictures of the work done on the house today. I hear the new firebrick in the fireplace looks great and the guy did a really nice job. It looks nice in this picture. The other picture shows the two block windows in the basement. Glass block was not my first choice but the alternative was ordering custom windows and I really didn't want to spend that much money on them. Besides, the one on the left will likely be covered with cabinets (another great thing about glass block, I can cover it up and since they are unbreakable I don't have to worry about it breaking and having to replace it down the road). We can now finish framing up the back wall and even start on the fireplace. Works goes on.
Monday, February 22, 2010
BB update
Henry has been having a great year. He has improved his rebounding and seldom misses a shot. He doesn't have great range but he's deadly near the bucket. He's also a defensive hawk. His team finally won their first game on Saturday and Henry poured in 8 points, really 10 but they took a bucket away because they said his team ran a fast break and apparently that's illegal in this league. Regardless, I'm very proud of him.
U S A
Thirty years ago today is generally not a day I would remember. But the US beating Russia in an Olympic hockey game made it a day that a lot of people talk about... "I remember where I was when...".
I was 14 years old and not much of a hockey fan. I was into the Olympics though and always was. I have to admit that I knew the hockey result before the game was even played. In fact, I probably wouldn't have even watched the game had I not known that the US had won. I wonder how many people would even admit that today or that even watched the game. It's such an iconic event but I bet it wasn't viewed by a lot of people. Probably like the hundreds of thousands of Indian fans who were in the stands for Len Barker's perfect game (official attendance 7,290). Regardless, what a memory. I watched it in my bedroom on a little black and white tv. I have no idea why I watched it there and not on our main tv. Maybe I was in trouble but I doubt it.
The first thing Henry asked me this morning was who won the hockey game last night. I wish he could have stayed up and watched it. He loves the Olympics too and everyone is having fun watching them. Someday, it would be nice to attend one. Maybe in 2014 and definitely by 2018. I have fond memories of 1992 and Barcelona.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I have a new reader from Moscow, Russia. I'm not sure who it is but welcome!
I found a toilet in my This Old House magazine that operates on electricity, no water needed, and that incinerates waste, both 1 and 2. The only issue for us using the lakehouse in the winter is the fact that we turn the water off so that the pipes don't freeze, hence no working toilets. $1700 seems a bit steep for a toilet that plugs into the wall but I'll admit it is tempting. I think we'll hold off for now though. Here's a photo:
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Here are a couple photos of my work today. I'm not sure why the top one is smoky but it might have been the fire. This is the new downstairs bedroom.
This is the "entertainment wall" where the tv will hang. I only put half insulation in for now because the in-wall speakers will be right above that and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it.
Most of the electric is strung but not hooked up yet. A lot of the insulation is in but not all of it. And more snow on the way.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
A snow day for the boys today and the legislature is closed for the week. Add the fact that my office still isn't ready and it adds up to me staying at home again, this time with wife and kids.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Some photos from Jack's birthday yesterday. It was pretty low key, he wanted to go to Roosters so we did. The cake was from Giant Eagle and is Mickey Mouse. We got him some small toys and put some money into his stock fund. I know he'll enjoy that in 15 years much more than the toys.
We also took him to his 3 year old checkup. Everything is fine although he's a bit on the small side at this age. I knew that, he's probably an inch behind where Henry was at the same age. We are switching Henry and Jack to a new doctor, one closer to New Albany.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Not a lot going on. I worked at home Monday and Tuesday and went downtown today. I parked in my building for the first time, valet parking is very nice. It's also nice to be indoors again. I didn't even go up to my office, not really a reason to.
Tomorrow is Jack's birthday. Hard to believe he is 3. Here's a photo of him tonight helping Sarah and Henry make cookies to take into his class tomorrow.
I was supposed to go to the lake on Saturday to work but now I'm hearing 3-6 inches of snow on Friday night so that probably won't happen. I'm a bit frustrated that things aren't moving more quickly down there but some of that is my fault. I probably need to do a better job of getting down there and working.
A lot of my time is spent on the web trying to find the best deals on the stuff we need to buy for the basement. The fridge for under the bar is causing me way too many problems. I want something I can fit a lot of cans in and a normal cheap fridge won't do that. A nicer "beverage center" only cools to 40 degrees and beer is supposed to be served at 38. Is 2 degrees really important? I don't know but I'll probably go with the center and force our guests to drink warmer beer.