Fredericksburg's 4th of July Fireworks

This year we went to the Fredericksburg Fireworks at Pratt Park (shot from Old Mill Park, across the river). They didn't last very long, but were very pretty! The temperature had cooled down quite a bit that evening and had a slight breeze, so it was very pleasant. Earlier in the day had been miserable, so it was a nice surprise. I took these pics with my Sony a200 DSLR. First time using the manual (M) setting - turned out pretty good, I think. The video was taken using my cell phone - not great, but good enough - LOL!

Bathroom Renovation - Days 8 & 10

Well, I skipped a few days of the progress, but here are Days 8 (June 30th)and 10(today). The 2 main guys had to go up to No. VA to work on the project there again, so their boss came in and did some work. Working alone, he is not as fast as the other 2 guys and he gets lots of phone calls (more problems with the No. VA project) and has to run errands, so he wasn't able to accomplish as much work, as I know they would have liked him to, but they made up for it today. They ran out of tile on Day 8, so they were unable to finish. Chris brought in the tile the next day and finished it off, except he then ran out of the bullnose (trim tiles). Darren and Dallas returned today, cleaned off the tile and finished off the trim work and started grouting. It is amazing what a difference the grout makes. Without it everything looks uneven between the tiles, it will never be perfect since the walls and the tub are not perfectly straight, but once the grout is in, it hides a multitude of sins (LOL!). It is all coming together. Monday they will finish off the grout/caulking and then clean-up good in the bathroom, pour the concrete into the shower floor and while it is setting they will pull the toilet out and the remaining vinyl around it up and then put the new vinyl down and replace the toilet and then coverthe floor with plastic and then put the tiles down in the shower (white 2"x2"), grout/caulk the floor and then start painting and replace the moulding around the base of the walls and paint it and all the trim work around the window, put up the new towel rack, toilet paper holder, hand towel ring and shower door. They are hoping to have everything done by Wednesday. I can hardly wait. It is looking soooooo nice!

Day 8

Day 10

Days 4 & 5 of Bathroom Renovation

They came on Fri. and again on Sat. to work on the tile some more. Not much left to finish the shower and then they can start on the tile around the tub.

Day 4

Day 5

They did the inside of the shower doorway and you can see the doorway is done,

now to redo the sheetrock and then put the bullnose on and then floor and grouting. The floor will be white 2"x2" tiles.

Day 3 of Bathroom Renovation

Well, Day 3 (June 22) and the rubber mat is down and the concrete wall board completed and the tile is starting to go up. They would have gotten more done but they were having problems with their super expensive, brand new tile cutter, so they finally had to give up. They had to go to the other job in Alexandria today and tomorrow, but will be back Fri. and will come on Sat. to get the tile work completed - Yeah! Then next week will be the flooring and painting and that should go quick, so it should be done next week.

Father's Day!

Harold has been wanting a new good quality panama-style hat for awhile now, so Sat. we visited the Hat Barn and he found one. They mold it to you when you chose it and he picked out a nice hand-beaded head band for it and had air holes put in the sides. The hat is made of palm leaves from Guatemala. I also got him the grill cover he wanted for his gas grill. I was excited when I saw the "King of the Grill" stamp set in the new Stampin' Up! Summer mini catalog as he loves to grill and I knew I was getting the grill cover, so this was the perfect stamp for his card.

Bathroom Renovation - Day 2

The concrete wall boards (can't remember what they called them) are up in the shower and around tub and the sections of flooring that needed to be replaced have been replaced with plywood (vs the original pressed wood - which you see on the remaining floor). Harold and I went out and picked the paint color on Sat. and the owner of the company dropped off the tiles, corner shelves, mortar and grout today. They return tomorrow to put in the rubber pan, the rest of the concrete wall boards and then the tiling will start once they finish all the prepping for the shower.

Patrick's Memory Pail

I finally put the finishing touches on Patrick's Memory Pail (only been working on it for almost a year). I wanted to make one for him since I started making one for each of the nephews after he was born (he was the first) and I was making one for his new little brother Cole, who is now over 1 y.o. (Needless to say, I am a major procrasitnator). I love the way it came out. I had done the sky and wasn't sure how I was going to do the ground for the tracks. First I considered burnishing it on, but didn't care for that, then decided to fall back on my torn paper technique and it came out perfect. To me the green looks like mountains in the background once it was all put together. Which is perfect since they live in Colorado Springs. The steam engine train reminds me of the Durango-Silverado train ride we took last time we visited. I know Patrick likes Thomas the Engine, so I hope he likes this pail. I used the Choo Choo stamp set by Stampin' Up!

The original poem I use wasn't quite right, since he is older (5 y.o. now), so I wrote my own poem to put on his.

Here are some pictures of the one I had made for Cole.