Kitchen Remodeling and Bucky

This last week has been super busy! Work is going well, we are still steady, and that's about all I can ask for right now. The kitchen is coming along nicely, as I type there is sheet rock being put up in the kitchen! In the picture above Bucky is happy to hoard his toys since the house is mostly upside down to accommodate all the new things that are waiting to go into the kitchen. Bucky seems confused that his food, water, and toys are always being moved. I don't think he likes the remodeling.

Sliding in the Mud at the Black Partridge Open

Today Joe and I went to the Black Partridge Open, which was in Metramora, IL. This week in IL we got rain everyday except Friday in some areas. Naturally we got up this morning to check and make sure the race was still a go, and then drove 2 hours to ride in the mud. The course really was fun, very hilly, lots of switch backs, bridges, and creek crossings. What was not fun was the washout that all the rain this week added to the creek crossings. The mud was so slick that most of the riders ended up off their bikes and running in the same two sections each lap. I did not place very well in my open class today, the trail was pretty technical, which is not my strength, and we were trying out some Specialized tires that were not overly knobby. As always, its fun to be out on your bike even when you don't win, the trail was challenging. Joe however had a great day competition wise, as technical riding is his strength, and beat the 40+ field, and came in 4th overall! My tire "problem" maybe be remedied as I won a new set of tires in the raffle today! The race promoters were great, the volunteers friendly and encouraging, and best of all the swag in our race bags was a new set of tire levers! Thank you!



Joe with his medal and gift card to a local Peoria retailer called Bushwacker for $35.00!

Proof of a great day on the bike for Joe!

My sweet raffle prize, new tires with more mud grip.

Me, sitting on a purple dinosaur waiting with Joe for his awards!

Under Construction and Busy at Work!

This is the way the kitchen looks now! Two new windows, gutted to the studs.

Bucky sat in the kitchen the other night worrying we would move his food again, he likes things to stay one way and did not like all the noise!

Joe and Bucky after the demo was done on Tuesday night. "High Fives!"

I just wanted one picture with Bucky, do you think he would just sit still? No! Had to give him a little head lock and "insist" on stay!

This was before the tear out and moving the back door.

Another before picture, the sink and drain board were vintage and gone in about a minute when put out to the curb, talk about heavy and awkward!

This last week seems to be a blur. I started my day getting up at 3:10AM during the week, we are busy at work, which really is a blessing. The work is going well, it just seems you have to get up and be in before customers can call and chat, this means I actually get machine time before people know I am in. SHHHHHHHHH!

This week Joe and I took the kitchen apart. The house we bought last year is over 100 years old, and had no counter tops to speak of. We knew when we moved in that we wanted to change many of the features of this house. Little by little Joe mostly has been changing and making this house great! So far we have two new bathrooms, a different location for the stairs to the basement, updated laundry and a much brighter basement, a finished entry room, an updated bedroom without holes in the wall, and lots of other huge improvements! The kitchen has been next on the radar for a while. Joe has been building the cabinets in the garage for at least the last month in between his own work, and if I do say so, they are beautiful, and better than I would have ever hoped for.

Tomorrow we are taking a break from remodeling and heading to the second in the Illinois CX race series and will be in Metamora, IL for the Black Partridge Open. I am very excited as this is the first time we have raced here!

168 Miles!

Joe and I had a very long ride yesterday! 165 miles, all on Iowa pavement! The ride started out in Le Claire, and went out to Key West. For those of you who do not know, Iowa is very hilly, and really pretty! On our long ride we saw corn, cows, a killer car show with a few Ferrari's' and more motorcycles than I can believe! I guess Hwy 52 is a really great scenic tour for motorcycles! Joe and I stopped at a gas station in Bellvue to re-stock on the most essential items like snickers bars on the way out to Key West, and back, and the clerk who we saw in the morning told me, "You look tired." I told her we were out for almost a 200 mile ride and she looked at me like, "WHAT!" Once again, Iowa is hilly and quite pretty. Get out and ride when you can.