TV Room Remodel Progress

Well, progress on our TV room is slow, but I think it is positive. 

A couple of weeks ago, we rented a drywall sander, and sanded off all the popcorn ceiling.  I have learned that what we had was not the true "popcorn" but rather just drywall compound mudded onto the ceiling, and then dabbed with a sponge for texture.  It was rock hard, and it took many hours of sweat with that rental unit.  At the end of the day, we actually blew up the driveshaft going to the sanding head of the sander.  That is definitely some hard hard spackle.

We also ordered some cabinets from Home Depot.  We chose them because the depth is correct (12 inches), and they were slightly taller to match the shelves that we were used to in that room (42" inches tall), and they were the right width (2 cabinets of 30 inches wide for a total of a 60 inch cabinet).  I brought them into the room this afternoon, and they look like a good fit.

The plan now is to add a little bump-out wall on each side of the cabinets to make them look "built in".  That little bump out section will go all the way up to the ceiling, and then I'll add an eyebrow arch at the top to connect the two.  I'll add some nice lighting for ambiance of artwork. 

I have it all drawn out on AutoCad, but to see it starting in real life is just as neat.  I hope I can take off a week from work to really jump ahead on the progress.  We'll see...

Just a few Updates

Wow - it's been a long time since my last update.  

Life is pretty full these days.

#1 Kiddo had some art selected for an art show.  

She's also showing off her new braces here.

#2 Kiddo also had his artwork selected for the same show.

We're all pretty impressed with him.

#3 Kiddo is demonstrating what happens with a lack of humidification during the dry winter months at our house.  

The TV room remodel is going well, but I don't get to spend a bunch of time on it.  I still have yet to sand/scrape off the popcorn ceiling, and buy cabinets for near the fireplace.  It looks alot better already without all the paneling!

A Christmas-y Weekend

We had a busy weekend of Christmas type things.  

Cutting out snowflakes:

One of the highlights was Tuba Christmas at the Loeb Playhouse.  

It was announced there were 108 horns there.  Wow!

Then over to the Union to visit the giant gingerbread house:

And the gingerbread Santy Claus:

 And the monster Christmas tree:

Sunday afternoon we made gingerbread houses (out of graham crackers), and decorated with all of last year's old and uneaten candy.  That kept everybody busy for a good many hours.  

A good start to a great season.

Kindergarten Thanksgiving

This was our last Thanksgiving Party for Kindergarten.  I can't believe Kiddo #3 is growing so quickly.  Here's a few fun pictures from his Feast.

It's a little hard to read here, but his turkey says, "I am thankful for my sister".

And his teacher.

It was a good day for all of us.

We Have a Winner!!!

Kiddo #2 is the Grand Champion Winner of the Raingutter Regatta!!

He out-puffed all of his friends and won a huge trophy!!

Here he is in action, showing his good form!

He was super excited, and we're all very proud of him.

Lotsa Teeth Falling Out

Kiddo #3 is shedding teeth faster than our trees are dropping leaves. 

He's currently missing 3 all at the same time.  

Lathe Cleanup - Complete!

I spent the last month cleaning up this old lathe.  It was all surface goo, and easily dissolved in engine degreaser and some elbow grease.  

 While I was at it, I took apart most of the moving parts, de-gunked them, and reassembled for a better fit.  I did this for the saddle, the front apron, the compound slide, and the tail stock.  All parts now work real smooth as they should.

I chucked up a small part in the 3 jaw chuck, and ran my indicator over it.

 It shows I'm only 0.002 out from high to low.  I consider that 0.001 off the radius, so I think that's pretty good.

I cleaned up all these moving parts and was pleased to find another "Craftsman" emblem underneath all the crud.

Here's an end-view for a different perspective.

Now I just have to figure out my first project!

Also next up - move the lathe to its final location.