Week Two: Under Seige

God, is this place a mess!  And you wouldn't believe the noise!  The demolition part of the remodeling is done (probably).  Right now, we have no master bathroom, no countertops anywhere, no sink or garbage disposal, there's drywall dust everywhere.  As of this writing, the plumber's here and the water's shut off.  Again.  No problem!  There's a porta-a-potty in the front yard!  Right next to the giant dumpster.

The kitchen sink was coming from Canada and wasn't going to make it through Customs in time, so that had to be changed.  The kitchen faucet and the valve system for the spa shower were both discontinued and had to be changed.  Oh, yes, and the medicine cabinets are on back order.  Other than that, everything's coming right along...

Here's the kitchen in its current state:

Please note the upscale temporary countertop by the non-existant sink.  There's a portable countertop under the prep table, too.  As one can see, we're ready for cocktails (and with darn good reason) and something from the microwave for dinner.  That lovely dishwasher?  Not hooked up.

"There's nothing to do in the laundry room except to set in the new cabinet,"  they said.  Wrong.  Guess where the hot water feed for the shower is?  Right!

And here's what's left of the master bath:

 

They drained the port-a-potty yesterday...Pati opened the front door and gagged from the fumes.  Obviously, some of the workmen need to seriously consider some dietary changes. 

Hey, there's only about four weeks left to go.

Home Remodeling 101: Before

This project hatched out of our pea brains last year:  let's replace the shower stall and door in the master bath because it's YUCKY!  Ah, but then, we spent the night in a hotel in Barcelona that had a trough-style sink and a shower that had no shower door or curtain (it was designed to not need one).  So, of course, that added new sinks and changed the shower to a "doorless" one.  Now the shower door will never get YUCKY again.  End plan for bathroom?  Glass block wall to enclose the shower, new granite counter top, two trough sinks, new medicine cabinets, a ceiling fan, and new suspended track lighting.

We planned to do this in 2011, but Lillian's passing brought Pati up short and the remodel went onto the back burner.  By the time we got thinking about it in 2012, an expansion inevitably took place.  Now the kitchen needed new countertops, an island, and a built-in coffee bar.  Which means new tiled backsplashes, new sink, new faucet and on and on...oh, dear.

In the beginning...the old shower

The old vanity

 

The old overview, with flora and fauna

 

Kitchen with movable prep table and portable coffee cart

Kitchen doesn't look so bad here...well...

 

Covered up and ready for construction

 

 

Here goes nothing!  Stand by for updates as the fun begins!

 

 



 

Road America - American Le Mans Series 2012

Off to the races once again!  Over the weekend of August 17th, we went to one of our favorite tracks, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for this year's American Le Mans Series race.  Had to stay in Manitowoc this year because there was no room at the inn in Sheboygan...turned out quite well, actually, because Manitowoc is a pretty neat little town!

On the way to the track, the Head Weenie Wacker stopped by the historic home of the Head Wisconsin Weenie, the Johnsonville Brat.

The fun thing about ALMS racing is the amazing amount of access for the fans.  You can walk all over the garage area and out behind the pit wall.  Just before the race, the pits are open to all for grid walks, and there is always a lengthy autograph session with the drivers.

Here's a sample of the "behind the scenes" stuff we encountered:

In the garage

 

Not the way to arrive back at the garage

There goes Bobby Rahal!

 

The eventual GT Class runner-up clears tech inspection

 

 

Finally, the green flag waves, and the race is on! 

 

 

 

The Number 6  P1 Muscle Milk entry absolutely dominated the early going, but had a leak and went down four laps.  With the problem repaired, and a little help from a couple of full-course cautions, they thundered from the back of the field toward the lead.  Remember, this involves weaving through four other classes of racers, some of whom are not as fast or experienced as the P1 type car.

 

 Number 6 Muscle Milk almost did it...on the last corner of the last lap (after four hours of racing) they passed the leader, and it was a drag race up the hill to the finish line.  In one of the closest race results yet, the Number 16 Dyson Lola Mazda won the overall race by a fraction of a second.  Finishing first in the GT class was the 55 BMW of Jorg Muller, and that GT race was exciting as well, with the Flying Lizard number 45 finishing a close second in class. 

 

Well, looks like race attendance is over for us for the season.  Now, we move on to Home Remodeling 101...