19 April 2010
18 April 2010
Backyard Marathon
Boy am I pooped! I worked from 7 to 5 in the backyard today. Although it doesn't look like I did much, I worked pretty hard.
First and foremost I cleaned out the backyard. From the patio project there were a lot of stones and a massive pile of dirt just sitting in the middle of the yard. I picked up all of the stone pieces and distributed the dirt pile throughout the rest of the yard. In the end, it was probably good I reused the dirt to level out the slope away from the house.
In the afternoon I tackled the stairs. They took longer then necessary, but it was mainly due to the fact that I was experimenting with paint colors. In the end I went with all gray. Any area of white was too much of an attention-getter...and quite frankly, the last thing I want to see are the stairs. Since I painted it the same color of the house it kind of blends in and you don't notice it. Eventually we'll add some color, but the stairs weren't the place to do it. I went with the composite treads for wear and maintenance. I hope they last a long time. The stairs turned out well but not perfect, which is why they needed to be hidden. The patio needs to be the focal point anyway.
So, during the week I'll put down the landscape edging in preparation for the grass and mulch. We're getting really close to finishing the major aspects of the backyard....
First and foremost I cleaned out the backyard. From the patio project there were a lot of stones and a massive pile of dirt just sitting in the middle of the yard. I picked up all of the stone pieces and distributed the dirt pile throughout the rest of the yard. In the end, it was probably good I reused the dirt to level out the slope away from the house.
In the afternoon I tackled the stairs. They took longer then necessary, but it was mainly due to the fact that I was experimenting with paint colors. In the end I went with all gray. Any area of white was too much of an attention-getter...and quite frankly, the last thing I want to see are the stairs. Since I painted it the same color of the house it kind of blends in and you don't notice it. Eventually we'll add some color, but the stairs weren't the place to do it. I went with the composite treads for wear and maintenance. I hope they last a long time. The stairs turned out well but not perfect, which is why they needed to be hidden. The patio needs to be the focal point anyway.
So, during the week I'll put down the landscape edging in preparation for the grass and mulch. We're getting really close to finishing the major aspects of the backyard....
17 April 2010
Tottenham 2, Chelsea 1
I can't believe it. Spurs convincingly beat league leaders Chelsea today regaining the 4th spot in the league. Not only that, but Manchester United did us a favor and beat Manchester City with a goal in the last minute of their match. In the span of 4 days Spurs knocked off two of the best teams in England (and possibly Europe) and regained control of the final Champions League spot.
With 4 matches to go we now control our own fate. If Liverpool win out, they'll finish with 68 points. That means we'll only need to pick up 4 points from our remaining 4 games (that include opponents Bolton and Burnley) to stay level with them. Next up, City travel to Arsenal and host Villa and we travel to United and host Bolton before the big showdown between the two teams on May 5. We are in a very strong position now regardless of what happens next week at Old Trafford.
Just like in Wednesday's game against Arsenal, Chelsea scored a late consolation goal. For most of the match we controlled everything and after we went up 2-0 I never once thought we were going to lose or draw the match. Bale and Gomes were fantastic again and our defense (2nd best in the league at home) shut them down.
I don't want to get too excited since Spurs have historically found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. However, things couldn't have gone any better for us in the past few days. We still have a long way to go yet, but after this week confidence is sky high.
15 April 2010
Potty Training, Day 1
Stacey and Julia are camping out over the next few days in attempt to potty train Julia and all of her stuffed animals. We've switched to undies for Julia, and, at her request, all of her stuffed animals too. So far this morning we've had a few accidents and a few sucesses for Julia (and some trips to the bathroom for the stuffed animals). Here's hoping.
14 April 2010
Tottenham 2, Arsenal 1
I can hardly catch my breath. After 11 years of not beating our arch rivals Arsenal in the league, we finally won today 2-1. By all accounts, this game will be remembered by Tottenham Hotspur fans for decades to come. Not only was this the first time we've beaten them since 1999, but what makes this even more special is what was as stake and who/how we scored the goals.
Apparently, today was only 2 days shy of the 100th anniversary that these two teams have been playing each other. Arsenal entered the game in a battle for the league title and Spurs for the final Champions League spot (4th place). It was such a big game that I took a 2 hour lunch to watch it. I won't go into all of the history and animosity between the two clubs, but let's just say this is the biggest game of the season every year for Spurs fans no matter what is at stake. After all, these two north London rivals are only separated by about 5 miles.
So, with their arch rivals "gunning" for the title and Spurs desparate to gain points from their next 3 games, enter Danny Rose. Danny Rose is 19 years old and this was his first ever start for Tottenham. His first start probably couldn't have been on a bigger stage. From a corner kick, the Arsenal goalie punched the ball about 20 feet into the air and 25 yards out. With his left foot, in full stride, Rose hit a 69 mph (it was clocked) rocket out of the air into the back of the net only 9 minutes into his first game. Unbelievable. As a player you dream about scoring goals like this. The fans went nuts. You absolutely have to see this goal regardless if you're a fan or not:
Danny Rose Wonder Goal
This could be a candidate for Top 10 goals of the season. A few minutes into the second half, Bale, our best player in recent months scored to put us up 2-0. Arsenal scored a late consolation goal, but Spurs hung on for the victory. I also need to mentioned Gomes (our goalie) who was absolutely amazing tonight. Within the space of a couple minutes he made 3 world class saves, 2 on great shots by Van Persie.
I was hoping for 2 points at the most over our next 3 games against the top 3 teams in the league, so these 3 points vault us right back into the hunt for 4th place. We probably ended Arsenal's title hopes and continue their streak of another season without a trophy. Happy days for Spurs fans after the dominating performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth on Sunday where we somehow lost. We're still in this thing!
Apparently, today was only 2 days shy of the 100th anniversary that these two teams have been playing each other. Arsenal entered the game in a battle for the league title and Spurs for the final Champions League spot (4th place). It was such a big game that I took a 2 hour lunch to watch it. I won't go into all of the history and animosity between the two clubs, but let's just say this is the biggest game of the season every year for Spurs fans no matter what is at stake. After all, these two north London rivals are only separated by about 5 miles.
So, with their arch rivals "gunning" for the title and Spurs desparate to gain points from their next 3 games, enter Danny Rose. Danny Rose is 19 years old and this was his first ever start for Tottenham. His first start probably couldn't have been on a bigger stage. From a corner kick, the Arsenal goalie punched the ball about 20 feet into the air and 25 yards out. With his left foot, in full stride, Rose hit a 69 mph (it was clocked) rocket out of the air into the back of the net only 9 minutes into his first game. Unbelievable. As a player you dream about scoring goals like this. The fans went nuts. You absolutely have to see this goal regardless if you're a fan or not:
Danny Rose Wonder Goal
This could be a candidate for Top 10 goals of the season. A few minutes into the second half, Bale, our best player in recent months scored to put us up 2-0. Arsenal scored a late consolation goal, but Spurs hung on for the victory. I also need to mentioned Gomes (our goalie) who was absolutely amazing tonight. Within the space of a couple minutes he made 3 world class saves, 2 on great shots by Van Persie.
I was hoping for 2 points at the most over our next 3 games against the top 3 teams in the league, so these 3 points vault us right back into the hunt for 4th place. We probably ended Arsenal's title hopes and continue their streak of another season without a trophy. Happy days for Spurs fans after the dominating performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth on Sunday where we somehow lost. We're still in this thing!
12 April 2010
Sweeter Then Candy
Last night Julia took a bath. I relieved Stacey of life guard duty and sat next to the tub while Julia played with her bath toys. After a few minutes Julia asked to wash my hands with her washcloth. I obliged and she started to wipe them down. While washing my hands she noticed that I had an "owie" on both hands from working outside. She asked me "what happen" so I told her. After I told her she let out a big "awwwwwww" and stuck her lower lip out to express her sympathies. Talk about cute. The more interesting thing though was that I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was doing that because she knew it was cute. It's hard to explain, but after the first time it was almost as if she knew what she was doing. Maybe I think that because she laughed with me as I laughed at her sticking out her lower lip. It was almost like she was flirting/playing around. Hmm...I hope not.
11 April 2010
The Patio Is Done!
Today Matt and I finished the patio!
Throughout the week I prepped everything so that Matt and I could finish cutting the shapes around the exterior of the patio. Because I decided to make the pattern run 45 degrees from the house, we had to make a lot of cuts to finish it out.
The family left the cabin at 7 a.m. so that I could rent the 14 inch diamond blade wet saw required for this part of the project when they opened. After we found an outlet in the living room that wouldn't pop the GFI (the circuit in the garage wouldn't work), we started cutting (at about 10 a.m.). Luckily we didn't take too many breaks and Stacey picked us up lunch...because I made back to the rental place 7 minutes before they closed at 4 p.m. We made our last cuts with just a few minutes to spare. I let Matt run the saw and I marked some cuts but spent most of my time hammering in the pavers and making sure everything looked and fit correctly. Quite frankly, I knew he could make better cuts that I could.
After I got home I dumped a wheelbarrow full of sand on the patio and brushed it into the gaps between each paver. After awhile I got out the hose, got the area and remaining sand really wet, and shuffled my feet for about 15 minutes all around the patio. This made all of the sand settle and pack into the gaps as much as possible. I will probably need to make a second pass in the near future with more sand as the current layer settles and works its way down the gaps. The second time I'll use finer sand that will fill better. The coarser concrete sand that I also used on the base provides a better lock since the grains aren't round but doesn't fill as smoothly.
The structure is literally rock solid when I walk on it. It looks great and it should last for years. I'm going to paint the cement area between the patio and the siding and need to build the stairs (and paint them too), but for all intents and purposes the major phase and cornerstone of our backyard is complete. It only took 2 intelligent, strong young men 5-6 full days to complete. I say "only" as if it were easy.
When I finished I let out a big yell. This was a fun but really big project - one I hope I won't have to do again in the near future.
Throughout the week I prepped everything so that Matt and I could finish cutting the shapes around the exterior of the patio. Because I decided to make the pattern run 45 degrees from the house, we had to make a lot of cuts to finish it out.
The family left the cabin at 7 a.m. so that I could rent the 14 inch diamond blade wet saw required for this part of the project when they opened. After we found an outlet in the living room that wouldn't pop the GFI (the circuit in the garage wouldn't work), we started cutting (at about 10 a.m.). Luckily we didn't take too many breaks and Stacey picked us up lunch...because I made back to the rental place 7 minutes before they closed at 4 p.m. We made our last cuts with just a few minutes to spare. I let Matt run the saw and I marked some cuts but spent most of my time hammering in the pavers and making sure everything looked and fit correctly. Quite frankly, I knew he could make better cuts that I could.
After I got home I dumped a wheelbarrow full of sand on the patio and brushed it into the gaps between each paver. After awhile I got out the hose, got the area and remaining sand really wet, and shuffled my feet for about 15 minutes all around the patio. This made all of the sand settle and pack into the gaps as much as possible. I will probably need to make a second pass in the near future with more sand as the current layer settles and works its way down the gaps. The second time I'll use finer sand that will fill better. The coarser concrete sand that I also used on the base provides a better lock since the grains aren't round but doesn't fill as smoothly.
The structure is literally rock solid when I walk on it. It looks great and it should last for years. I'm going to paint the cement area between the patio and the siding and need to build the stairs (and paint them too), but for all intents and purposes the major phase and cornerstone of our backyard is complete. It only took 2 intelligent, strong young men 5-6 full days to complete. I say "only" as if it were easy.
When I finished I let out a big yell. This was a fun but really big project - one I hope I won't have to do again in the near future.
10 April 2010
Backyard Sprinkler System
Last night I dug the trench from the water supply/valves under the fence and to the backyard. It wasn't difficult even though I had my headlamp on for the last hour or so.
This morning I took the fam to Home Depot and bought everything I needed to add another zone on to the existing system. Everything works great. I have water gushing out of the end of hose in the backyard and no leaks. Of course, it only has water flowing when zone 4 is on - which is a good thing.
Tomorrow Matt and I hope to finish the patio and stairs. If we can accomplish that, the next step will be to put down edging so we can rock all of the exterior edges of the backyard.
This morning I took the fam to Home Depot and bought everything I needed to add another zone on to the existing system. Everything works great. I have water gushing out of the end of hose in the backyard and no leaks. Of course, it only has water flowing when zone 4 is on - which is a good thing.
Tomorrow Matt and I hope to finish the patio and stairs. If we can accomplish that, the next step will be to put down edging so we can rock all of the exterior edges of the backyard.
06 April 2010
05 April 2010
Race For 4th
After the games this weekend: advantage Manchester City. We lost to Sunderland in a game we needed to win. Liverpool drew with Birmingham, a difficult team, also missing their chance to gain an advantage.
The long and the short of it is that City and Spurs have some difficult games coming up while Liverpool and Villa have an easier run in to the final two games of the season. With only 5-6 games left, this morning I projected each team's points in their remaining games up to the penultimate round in the league.
In summary, City should be slightly ahead of everyone else. City and Spurs will drop a lot of points but I wouldn't be surprised if Spurs are still within 3 points of the current leaders for 4th place. To add complexity, Liverpool has the easiest schedule of the 4. I fully expect them to pick up 7-9 points vaulting them right back into the mix. Villa could slip, but they could also concievably pick up enough points to be within a game of everyone else as well.
So, it's looking like the race for 4th place could be essentially even going into the last 2 games for each of the 4 teams. Each team's last match should gain them 3 points. Coincidently, the second to the last match for each team sees them playing each other or the current league leaders. Bottom line, I think the race for 4th will be decided on May 1st and May 5th - within the same week. It should be very exciting if this happens. Even if it doesn't, it'll still be exciting since nothing this season has played out as planned.
The long and the short of it is that City and Spurs have some difficult games coming up while Liverpool and Villa have an easier run in to the final two games of the season. With only 5-6 games left, this morning I projected each team's points in their remaining games up to the penultimate round in the league.
In summary, City should be slightly ahead of everyone else. City and Spurs will drop a lot of points but I wouldn't be surprised if Spurs are still within 3 points of the current leaders for 4th place. To add complexity, Liverpool has the easiest schedule of the 4. I fully expect them to pick up 7-9 points vaulting them right back into the mix. Villa could slip, but they could also concievably pick up enough points to be within a game of everyone else as well.
So, it's looking like the race for 4th place could be essentially even going into the last 2 games for each of the 4 teams. Each team's last match should gain them 3 points. Coincidently, the second to the last match for each team sees them playing each other or the current league leaders. Bottom line, I think the race for 4th will be decided on May 1st and May 5th - within the same week. It should be very exciting if this happens. Even if it doesn't, it'll still be exciting since nothing this season has played out as planned.
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