Starting the Summer Off Right

When we bought our house, the deck was already beyond saving. Some people, who knew enough to build a deck, but not enough to really do it right, built this one. I don't think they used treated wood, they painted it at least once, but never touched it again. It even made Hank sad.


The previous owners were nice enough to leave us their really sweet picnic table, which Hank claimed as his own.


We used this shot for a Christmas card. It said "From our happy home to yours, Merry F'n Christmas." My mother didn't really approve, but I got some serious raves from others I sent it to. As soon as we moved in, Hank was up on that table, checking things out. He is only allowed on our couch - no bed, and obviously, he isn't allowed up on our kitchen table. I think he knew that the table was too crappy to be considered furniture.
Seriously, Why didn't that tree land on the damn deck? I can't complain too much, though, because the resulting repairs fixed a lot of things inside the house that we might not have ever touched.

But, back to the table. Even though Hank found value, it wasn't really usable. They left it, I think, because there is virtually no way to get rid of it. Even though garbage will pick up one large piece of furniture a week, they will not take a picnic table. We had some other work done in our yard, and we asked them to take the table. They said they would. They didn't. So, here it sat.
See the lovely deck? The quality craftsmanship? I know, I'm crazy for hating it.
I love this. I have no idea why this little square is cut-out and lowered. It just adds to the character of the deck. Yeah. "Character." Lovely stairs. Ugh.

But, now, we have this:Ah. It's like a breath of fresh air. No table. No rotting deck. Of course, we also can't use the door, but whatevs. It isn't exactly clean, but it is better than what was there. Although, I always thought the house looked kind of big from this angle, and now it looks so tiny. Our big, lovely sliding doors now look so small and lonely.

Today, they're pouring concrete and putting in the posts. They told me they'll start framing on Monday. Woo! Soon, it will be AWESOME. Then, I have to start working on Mr to let me get a new kitchen.

Me as Modern Art

Niobe had a link to this cool site that will make a faux-Mondrian image of you, based on your answers to several questions.

While I am far from a fan of modern art or design, I really like my Mondrian. We are getting a new deck soon (demo this week!) and I think I might use this as a bit of a guide in choosing my patio furniture.

Girls' Guide: Icing

In honor of the Blackhawk's win in the first game of the playoffs, I thought I'd republish part of a post from my old blog (though edited a bit, for style and I felt like I left a few things out). Enjoy.

I am a hockey fan, without a doubt, yet am still confused by some of the rules. Can you explain what "icing" is? Not the cake kind, of course.

Signed,

I Want To Know About Sports So I Can Be Pretty AND Smart


Dear Pretty & Smart,

Icing. The official definition: When both teams have an even number of players on the ice, and one player shoots the puck from behind the center line and it cross the opponent's goal line but does not go into the goal.

The key to this rule is that the puck crosses both the center line and the goal line without being touched and is then received by an opposing player. It is considered a delaying tactic and results in a stop in play and a faceoff in the offending team’s defensive zone.

The interesting this about the icing rule is that it is not based on fair play. It was established to make sure hockey games were fun to watch. If a team was up against a much stronger team, they might resort to pure defense, simply shooting the puck up the ice every chance they got, which would not be fun to watch. If a team was ahead late in a game, they might also try this tactic to waste time, especially if the score was still close. Icing requires that both teams play aggressive offense, which is way more fun to watch.

The rule was modified prior to the start of the 2005–2006 NHL season to further discourage the offending team from "icing the puck." A team which has iced the puck is not allowed to substitute any players before the next faceoff. Teams often would ice the puck to stop the game when they needed to swap out tired players for fresh ones. The NHL made the change in an attempt to speed up game play, hoping the added consequence would reduce icing.

I hope that helps clear things up a little bit.