The Mantel

When we bought the house a mantel was left in the garage. So Six Pack aka Gordon got to work on it and started stripping it. The mantel itself is Oak but has only one column which is slate and the side tiles are also slate. So we had to buy two new legs and not sure what to do with the slate?? The mantel will go in the living room.

The Fence!!

So still chugging along on the home improvement front. At least this work is not invasive.

We had the Fence in the rear correctly aligned and then we extended the fence in our driveway to give us more space. Still working on the front garden. we moved our Japanese maple from the back of the house to the front, which looks much nicer. Today Larry from J & L is going to plant our Holly tree, some box hedges in front, and then the wife will plant some more flowers.

Now if we can only get the grass to grow "at all" in the yard. Our yard faces East so we get the morning sun and the late afternoon we get sun on the North side of the yard only. The wife would love to take down our double car garage which takes up almost half the yard and blocks a lot of the sun.

What do other home owners do in there yards where "The Sun don't Shine"

P.S. 217 PLayground or Garbage Dump?

Since I now live closer to the PS 217 playground it's more convenient than taking the kids to the Tot Lot. Over the last couple of weeks as the weather has started to get nicer the state of the the Playground has gone from.. a few scattered bottles to a complete mess. Every time I get there it is a complete mess. I try to be positive and check the garbage cans. Now if they were overflowing the problem would obviously be those who are supposed to maintain the garbage cans in the playground. Every time the garbage cans have been half full or close to empty. Today I learned a few things:

- Mike an Ike candy now comes in $.25 boxes. I love Mike and Ike's and so does my 15 month old, who managed to pick up 4 empty boxes in various areas by the play set.
- Apparently the people who come to the playground like Pepsi products, because there was 15 empty bottles that were primarily Pepsi products (Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi)
- The people that frequent the basketball courts and the traffic are strict water drinkers-- I counted at least five clusters of empty Poland Spring bottles. No Gator/ Power Ade to be found.
- By one of the hoops was was a bunch of styrofoam takeout boxes. I guess they had time between hoops games to eat but not throw out their lunch/ dinner/ breakfast.
- There was too many chip bags to count. I gave up after 20. Besides, every time I had to take an empty Mike and Ike box out of my 15 month month olds mouth hand-- i lost count.

Part of me felt like I should have been picking up the garbage instead of carefully cataloging it for this post. However, I had to stop at one point because my 5 year old threw his bagel wrapper on the ground. I told him to put in the garbage. He asked why, since there was all that garbage on the floor. Also, my 2.5 year old wanted me to teach him how to slide down the pole.

Now that I am done ranting I have a couple of questions:

Is this the way the playground always is?

Does the playground have a cleanup crew visit it once a week to clean up like the Tot Lot?

Do you think signs at the playground encouraging people to clean up their garbage would help?

How about a patrol men stationed outside the playground with summons in hand for littering?

It's hard to imagine that the playground has turned into the place not to go so fast. The playground opened up in the last year.

Borders without Wars

When we bought our house the backyard boasted no less than 2 fences which were set back anywhere between 7 inches and 2 foot 7 inches from the actual property line and that was on one side. Before Spring and Summer caught up with us we decided to reclaim the backyard and restore it to a more reasonable rectangle instead of a rhombus.
One side of the fence which borders our next door neighbor unfortunately had to remain in place. So there is now two feet of unused space which includes a row of bushes, a chain fence, and a wooden fence, in that order from their side to our side.
The back fence was easier since all fences were clearly on our property and no bushes. Luckily it was the most askew and need of straightening out.

The Garden

The wife likes every thing to look nice and clean, so she works really hard to make sure that even I notice the effort and energy she puts in. Now that spring is coming it's time to start thinking about the Garden. Friday was a nice warm day so the wife and our enthusiastic gardening tenant (aka Torie) started to clean up the the areas around our house that have been reserved for plant life. They started by planting some summer bulbs and giving our "earthen canvas" a good coat of ecological primer (raking, rooting, etc.).
The spring flowers (planted last fall) are already coming out. Tulips, Daffodils and a variety of others are in their infancy.The main front garden we are pulling out the large green bush on the driveway side (not pictured) and planting a Holly tree with some other green fillers in the middle, not sure if we are going to grow grass or just keep the whole front filled with assorted foliage.

On Friday she planted Peonies , elephant ears and other summer flowers.
She is pulling out the large green bush and wants to plant a Hydrangeas(?). Leaving the small front for seasonal flowers.

I am not a gardener but the wife is trying hard to make it look as pretty as she possible can just like her!!!!!!!!! Any suggestions or ideas would be great.

A Grill

On Sunday my wife got an offer to buy a grill for $100. My first and only comment was, "Can I pick it up now?". So for the past few nights we have been "grilling up a storm". Beef kebabs, Chicken, Potatoes, etc. The inaugural meal was a steak. Which came out pretty good considering my grilling skills are more in line with "Grilling for Dummies" at this point. After all this is my first grill.
The grill might have been a little dirty but it is getting the job done.

Now that the Inside of the House is done...

It's been almost two months since the renovation on our house was completed. It's been really quiet. As the weather warms up "the Wife" starts to get ideas. So, we are starting to think about some outside stuff that needs to get done:

• Garden in front and back
• the good news here is that are tenant is interested in gardening. Less work for Jorin
• Fence redone in the backyard
• the bad news here is that 40 or so feet is really expensive
• Garage Needs to be "Organized"

Anyway you look at it seems like it could be a busy spring here on Rugby Road.

Anti-Rodent Device

Now that we are done re-doing everything we have a guest that just doesn't realize that it is time to go. His three friends have met with some untimely ends (yeah!), but there seems to be one more having a run of our house. Let's call him "Ben". Ben has been spotted on every floor except for the third floor. Most recently he was in the basement.
As this post points out we have a temporary Anti-Rodent Device. Her name is Telullah. My only hope is that Ben and Telullah don't forge some unnatural relationship like this "defective" cat to the left. To be fair, if Ben makes it out of our house alive that is fine with me-- it just better happen sooner rather than later. Telullah-- KILL!

So just a run down on our vendors

We thought it only fitting to list all the vendors we used during our renovation. We where very happy with every one we used.

S&L Lumber: 2356 Coney Island Ave 718 645 1121 (Kitchen Cabinets along with most our building materials and supplies. Henry was great came to the house and worked with Kaz.

Electrical: Michael Adanuncio 718 851 8222
Plumber: Frank Melonik 1027 Church Ave 718 469 1951 (new furnace, hot water heater, sewer line, new water pipes, gas line)

Micolosi Brothers Hardwood flooring: 718 227 2074

Five Boro Tole Corp: 3864 Flatland Ave 718 421 tile (kitchen floor and back splash)
Mondial Tiles Inc: 1402 65th Street 718 232 0800 -granite counter top
G&S Glass & Mirror - 1215 Ave U 718 627 4011 (glass doors in kitchen and master bedroom)

Brooklyn Window & Door corp: 1889 McDonald Ave 718 627 6400 (bay window)
**they do not install
Juan the Roofer: (917) 204-3841 (Help install the bay window, plus the roofing on it, cleaned all my gutters, patched a squirrel hole, cut all the cable wires hanging off my house, Juan was very helpful)

Micheal's Plumbing: Flatbush Ave and Dorchester (kitchen faucet and sink)

Brooklyn Paint: 1010 Coney Island (all the paint in the house)
Almac: Newkirk Plaza ( for last minute items we needed)
Lowes: For what ever else we needed

And of course Last but not least:

Rugby Contracting: Kaz Oplustil 917 528 3054
And his very hard worker Six Pack (aka Gregory), Uncle John who helped in renovating, and Rodley who unexpectedly passed away during our home renovation.


Thanks you to all....

The Finish Line

Well... It's done... the duplex down on Rugby Road is complete. Here is a little taste:



Check it out here

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Now playing: 20/20 - Giving It All -
via FoxyTunes

Looking Back...

This all began back in October. "This" is the kitchen renovation and the creation of the family room. Here are two pictures of the old kitchen and the old bedroom which became the Kitchen/ Family room.
Tomorrow we have a professional cleaning crew coming in to finish the job. Sunday we should have a few pictures to share with you all. Here is a run down of some of the highlights over the last few months:

Living Room/ Alcove

• At one point it was sealed up to keep out the dust from the demolition. It was like living in a bubble.
• Kitchen Table in the alcove. Somehow we managed to seat six people at that table one afternoon - Six Pack, Uncle John, Alexander, Alexandra, Ryan, Kaz and Myself. (The two kids make one )
  

Dining Room

• Painting it Bullseye Red back in September, stripping the baseboards and windows. Repainting it "pink" in January.
  
• You strip, stain and polyurethane the woodwork before you paint the walls.
  
• SoyGel
• The "Electric" range in the kitchen, then the dining room, and finally our front porch. Hope your happier at Cynthia's house.
  
• "Prime All Cuts" - Well not all the woodwork in the house is oak.
  

Kitchen

• "So, this will take two weeks", I say. "Yeah, maybe a little more", says the contractor.
• Crown molding is unforgiving. Keep the twists and turns to a minimum
• I love my granite counter top
• Hating, then loving the bay window in the kitchen. Now the wife wants to fill it with plants.
• The mouse letting me capture it alive. Me setting it free -- down the block.
  

Family Room

• Painting it the same color as before
• Catch that mouse
• Piles of construction equipment
• My one year old playing on the power saw, finding every other hand saw, and attempting to eat every nail, screw and small metal object in site. Lesson Learned- Renovate house, then have children.
  

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Now playing: Bold - Looking Back
via FoxyTunes

"I don't think I Like the color " - The Wife

I tell her, "We ain't painting it again".

Hey, you got Raspberry Truffle in my Vanilla! No, You got vanilla in my Raspberry Truffle!

Bottom Line is that the color of my Dining Room is Pink!

The Dining Room take 2

As you all know the wife did not like my color in the dining room so Six pack is finishing striping the wood in the dining room and will paint and stain the wood.

As for the kitchen we are done waiting on 1 piece of molding, we are having a cleaning crew come over this weekend to get the house back in order.
So we will post photos of the completed project by Monday...

So stay tune.....

May the Force Be With You!

Dylan and Alexander doing there best impersonations of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Lincoln Logs

The kids got Lincoln logs from their Mema. We built the house on the tin. I loved Lincoln logs as a kid. Needless to say the minute after this picture was taken a "Tsunami" (see force of nature to left and right) destroyed the house.

The End in sight!!!

So we are more then 90% done. The kitchen looks great.
Back splash is in, it is a green glass, with sea foam green grout. I forget the color of the granite I think it's something like vertigo blue, but it's is a dark blue/green iridescent color.

Joanne (AKA mother in law) came over all weekend and help put the kitchen back together.

What is left to do:
Stain the bay window
The accent trim to molding (rope)
Molding over Microwave
Paint
Saddles

That's pretty much it.

Get me out

This was our trip Sunday to the Children's Museum in Manhattan. Dylan spent about 15 minutes getting o this costume. Once he had it on-- he couldn't get it off fast enough.

Backsplash

This is up and grouted. It looks awesome. We are a week or two away from being done with construction and the major parts are over. Just the finishing touches.

Maybe Sea Monkeys Were the Wrong Analogy

I was trying to remember the product they sold on the back of comic books. You add water and rainbow colored coral like mountains grew in the "aquarium". Well, here it is the counter top. On Friday 5 guys showed up from Mondials to install the counter top.
Next up is the back splash. That should be done by the end of this week and also the trimming on the kitchen closet and bay window. So by the time the New Year rolls around we will have a brand new kitchen and family room.

Just like Sea Monkeys

Alright, I bought this piece of granite from a little old man reading a comic book on Coney Island Avenue. He sold me this little piece of granite for $10,000,000 and said "if I just add water It will become a beautiful counter top in just 24 hours."

How could I argue with the price?

BTW, The Who Sells Out can be had for $9.97 over at Amazon.com. Another mythical consumer trap. "There is magic in my eyes..."

Christmas Invades the House? Nope, Welcomed with Open Arms!

Well, after the floors were done we laid down the rug, papered up the dining room floor, and bought a Christmas tree. I have to say that our house is now filled with Christmas cheer, a tree, and assorted decorations. The kids are systematically playing with, destroying, and examining every ornament they can get their hands on. The first four feet of the tree might be bare before we know it. Most importantly it's great to have a common living space that resembles what our home will be like in a couple of months.

The kids didn't really get to flex their creative muscles at our house. Instead it was off to conquer Grandma's "genormous" tree just down the block. We also attempted to get a Christmas Card Photo-- without much luck.
Tomorrow it's back to reality and one day closer to getting our house back-- and better than ever!

Floors - Take Two!

The living room, dining room and stairway are all clear for the Micolosi Brothers. We are having another coat of Polyurethaned slapped on and some light sanding done to the floors. Not in that order of course. So, tomorrow we can repopulate these rooms and get one step closer to living like human beings.

Stove and Microwave- We have them installed

These were installed prior to Thanksgiving, but things have been hectic. Having a stove back has been great. The new microwave it pretty much nuclear. Things cook in half the time of our normal microwave. The stove has a griddle. This is great for pancakes for the kids and my new found love for hamburgers. Until you eat lots of takeout and frozen dinners for six weeks you can't appreciate this simple meal.

My recipe is simple:

- Sirloin (95% lean, I have high cholesterol after all)
- couple of dashes of L&P Worchestshire Sauce
- Garlic salt, mixed in and sprinkled on top
- Pepper, mixed in only

Cook on the griddle for 10 minutes (6 minutes one side , 4 minutes the other). Toast bun of choice (even the wonder bread works when you have been on the diet I have been on). Add Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, little mayo, and Heinz Ketchup (if it ain't Heinz it ain't ketchup). Don't forget the pickle on the side (Claussen).

Finishing Touches Pt. 1

Your probably asking what the saw and an unrecognizable piece of wood are in terms of finishing touches? Well, it's the crown molding. One step closer to a finished kitchen! Hallelujah!

My future counter top

What the heck is this? This is the slab of granite that will eventually be cut into my counter top. The thing is huge. The shapes in the granite are our reflections. We got the counter top from Mondial ((718) 232-0800 6501 14th Ave) and they ask that you come in and "inspect" the piece before they cut it up. Our type of granite is pretty much uniform so our inspection was more customer service than any real decision process. So, next week (w/o 12/10) we should have a counter top.

WE HAVE A SINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a sink......... ok so it's not permanent and the counter top is a piece of ply wood, but Heck we have a sink and a working dishwasher.

Next step getting the stove hooked up...

Saturday the glass guy is coming to measure the closet doors.
Mondial is coming next week to measure out the the Granite counter top. The only thing is we have to wait 2 weeks before they will be able to install the counter top...


I feel good, that we are making progress...

Still going!!!!

Nothing is ever as simple and as fast as we would like it to be. We have two too many corners and it has proven to be a bit challenging in install the cabinets. Lucky Kaz is pretty creative and has really made these corners work.
We are hoping they are all installed by the end of the week.
Today hopefully we will have a temporary sink installed...

Moving Right Alone!!

The floor is done and the cabinets are getting installed. We had a few minor issues installing the cabinets since there are a couple of corners but we have worked it out and hopefully today the upper cabinets will all be installed and tomorrow we can start with the base cabinets. Went to Sears yesterday and order a GE Profile Stainless Steel stove and matching microwave. Things look good.

Oh, Sh**! Part 2

If you were a fan of Oh! Sh*** The Joys of Ownership, well here comes part 2. Last night the gurgling returned. The only difference this time is that we were on our own- No Uncle John or my faithful Father In Law -- Kaz!. It didn't make it back to and out of the toilet this time-- That is the good news.
Around 10pm we were alerted by our diligent tenant-- Kelly-- that she heard gurgling again. After a quick call to review instructions with Kaz, I was off to the basement to get it done.

- I opened up the sewer drain
- Instead of back up in the bathroom my drain was filled to the rim, and it wasn't Brim
- Note: You always knock off the drain cap closer to the street.
- I did this and the drain pit started draining.
- As soon as muck cleared I began plunging the stuck pipe.
- Something gave way and we were back in business.
- I cleared the remaining Muck out of the drain.

Time to finish-- roughly 20 minutes.

Most notably, I went down to the basement at least 5 times today. Call me paranoid-- It makes sense. Next up-- the plumber comes to figure out why we have had a crappy couple of weeks in the basement.

Halloween Night

This year the Reddish family joined up with the Robersten family of girls and went to the Glenwood Road Parade. All the neighborhood kids all came out for a fun night of trick or treating. This was Ryan's first Halloween he was dressed as a monkey. Alexander was suppose to be a Tiger and he did not want to wear it, so we gave him a cowboy hat. Dylan was Spider Man for a second year in a row. Dylan had the most fun running around trick or treating with his buddy Kate the Witch.
After trick or treating with the girls, Dylan then wanted to go trick or treating with his friend Josh who was dressed as Batman.
It was a long and fun day for all the kids.