Vandelay Industries

I just want to make an announcement. We are officially artists. Here's the story:


For the past, I don't know, since we've owned our house, we have struggled to figure out what to do with this wall... this photo was taken during our remodeling project. It is a wall in our dining room that has a fireplace, and brick all the way across the bottom, with a shallow wood mantle. It's very simple and (in my opinion) kind of elegant in a subdued way. Anyway, the wall above the fireplace has always been a tough one to decorate, mostly because it's so long and narrow. And the mantle is so shallow that it doesn't allow much depth for anything above. I've tried putting stuff on the mantle, but it just looks cluttered. And anything that fits on the mantle ends up being way too small for the scale of the wall. A while back I found some square fruit pictures that we had there for a while, but still, they were just not nearly substantial enough. We finally took them down because we were just so dissatisfied and wanted to start with a clear pallette.



So for about six months... maybe even closer to a year... we have been staring at this blank wall. We've looked and looked. One of our problems is that we find it very hard to commit to art. We both find it essential to have our art speak to us. It has to evoke some kind of a feeling. And although we will occassionally come across something that is interesting or cool... it's usually just not enough. Which is also why we have very little art on any of the other walls in our house either. We've tried coming up with our own plans to make something. But nothing stuck with us. There was nothing that really stood out as "Yes, we have to do this." Until a couple of months ago.

We went to a couple of exhibits on a local art show called the Art-a-Whirl, in northeast Minneapolis. It's a weekend where galleries and studios open their doors to the public to show what they do, and to meet people who are fans of their work. One of our stops was at an old warehouse, which had been converted into artist studios. We probably walked through about twenty studios that day, saw some interesting, beautiful, and some just plain bizarre work. We were making our final pass before leaving and happened to glance into a door that was half-open, into a studio that wasn't so much displaying work, but rather had it strewn about. We asked if we could come in and take a look. The guy was busy painting, so we didn't want to disturb him too much, but we just had to get a closer look. His paintings were amazing. Really spectacular. I don't describe many things that way, but these paintings were truely amazing. They had a three-dimensional quality that I just couldn't compare anything to. We asked a girl that was hanging out in the room "What is that?" She explained that they were created by layering paint and epoxy resin in order to get their depth and he would add his own handpainted details as he went. She said he wasn't really participating in the Art-a-Whirl because he was getting ready for a gallery show he was doing in Seattle. After staying a few more minutes to quietly observe and look at more pieces, we got his info and decided to leave him alone.

His name is Stephen Filla and you can check out his work at http://www.stephenfilla.com/, although the photos don't begin to show the depth. We couldn't stop thinking about those paintings and decided to contact him about price. Well, we'll just say they are way out of our price range, although for someone who can afford it, they would be well worth the money.

After a few days of being dissappointed that the only thing we could see above the fireplace was unattainable (for us), we decided to try it out for ourselves. We priced it all out, came up with a plan of attack, and said "here we go!"

It took pretty much all of one day two weekends ago, and a couple of hours here and there the following week, but this past Saturday, we were finished and got them hung up! They look so completely awesome. I cannot even describe how proud I am of ourselves, and how cool these paintings really are. They have a completely different feel than any of Stephen Filla's work, but we love them. And they are even more "us" than anything we would have gotten from him. We each did three panels, then intermingled them on the wall.

So here are a few photos I took last night. Unfortunately, even the close-up photos pale in comparison to seeing them in person (so you'll have to come over to get a better look!). And now we are thinking we will have to kick up the rest of our super-safe decor a few notches... which is fine by me, since I've always felt less than thrilled about a lot of it.

Rock 'n' Roll!!

This is my dad playing the drums in his band. I think he said he was in junior high at the time. I have this on the wall in my office, and being that it makes me smile whenever it catches my eye... I thought I'd share it with all of you! I hope you don't mind, Dad!

Sara

How 'bout those gas prices?

We spent $120 in one day on gas. And that was with a $75 cutoff at the pump for the truck. That's the day we decided that, YES, scooters will be a good investment. We both have the ability to ride side-streets to work and, even doing so, are only 10-15 minutes away. Everything we could ever possibly need is within five miles of our house. Okay, so not everything. But for those few occasions that we need to venture out of our vicinity or haul more than that which will fit into a helmet-sized under-seat compartment... well this makes it easier to justify driving one of those gas-guzzling atrocities we call automobiles. Not-to-mention temporarily satisfying our belief that it is essential that we, as humans, need to find a way to relinquish our dependency on not only foreign fuel, but ALL carbon-emitting and unsustainable forms of energy.

Soap box adjourned.

We both decided that it would make more sense for us to stick with the 50cc versions, as we will never have the need to drive on the freeway, nor will I allow it! This way we also are not required to have a motorcycle license, although it may be beneficial to take a course, just for safety. They only go up to a max of 35mph, 40 if you push it. Which is fine with me, since it sometimes makes me uneasy when I creep up to 30. That will probably change when I get more used to riding it, but for now, I'm fine. There is a restrictor cable that can be cut, which will apparently gain us another 10mph. Dustin is itching to cut his, but I'm just fine for now.

One of the reasons we decided it would be a good investment is that when you look for used scooters, they don't seem to lose value. We could probably turn around and sell them later for only a couple-hundred dollars less than we paid to buy them new. Of course, this is in addition to the fact that Dustin filled his up this morning and literally paid $5. Granted, that's only 1.5 gallons or so. But that will also get him a weeks-worth of driving to and from work. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Or rather, put that in the bank!!

So I know you're all wishing for photos of the two of us ON the scooters, but we don't have any yet. We're terrible at taking pictures. So to tide you over until we zoom in your direction, here are generic photos from the Yamaha website.

I got the Yamaha Vino, in blue. And he got the Yamaha Zuma, in black with red flames.

Congrats Dave & Trish!!

I'm late on a big congratulations to our friends, Dave & Trish, who gave birth to their first baby on Friday. Baby Blake is so super cute and was lucky enough to inherit Trish's dimples! Awww!

Unfortunately I do not have a photo to share, but I can assure you, he is a cutie pie!

Great job combining genes, guys!

Bike Friday

So my boss decided to make Fridays "Ride Your Bike to Work Day."

There are usually only 2.5 of us in the office on Fridays. Me, another guy, and my boss is in and out. We all live pretty close to the office, and since gas is up to almost $4 and we all at least try to be environmentally savvy… we decided it would be a good idea.

I have ridden my bike to work before… once. It wasn’t too bad. But I was hesitant this time because the bridge that I take to and from work every morning is close. It’s actually completely gone. They are rebuilding it, just like every single other bridge in the state. Even the little bridge at the entrance to REI in Bloomington is closed. My boss said someone came to inspect it and found a crack, so they’re making REI rebuild it. No joke. I think we can all agree that’s a bit of overkill.

In any case, I knew I would get a lot of crap for it if I didn’t participate. After all, I do live the closest of all my coworkers at only three miles give or take. Even with the detour, I’m closer to the office than anyone else by at least five miles. So as reluctant as I was, this morning I laid in bed weighing the pros and cons. Mostly the cons, but I still decided to do it. Even though it meant getting up and leaving a little earlier. That, in itself, is a miracle to behold.

It was challenging to get out of bed. But the other challenge is that Friday is mandatory Caribou (coffee) day for me. Any other day is negotiable and I am often able to talk myself out of stopping. And by "often," I mean, "not very often." But Friday is officially Caribou day. That’s my treat for making it through the week. With my detour, I have to go right past my regular store anyway, so I decided to take a travel mug and carry it in my bike’s bottle holder.

Well, the mug didn't fit. I'm not sure why I still decided to get coffee. I suppose because I'm stubborn. I should have just tossed the mug in the garage and went straight to work. But no, I thought I could handle it. I'm lame like that. The ride from our house up to 66th and over to Lyndale went relatively smoothly, so I thought this would be no problem. I thought, I'll see if Caribou has a skinnier mug. But for some reason I still brought ours with me. I don't know - it's too early for this crap. Anyway, they didn't. So I still got coffee because I didn't want to look stupid. They do know me there. Also because I'm stubborn. I think I mentioned that. But I got my coffee - in the mug that's too big.

Oh yeah, it's hard to ride a bike while holding a travel mug in one hand (which leaked) and a purse over your other shoulder. And - Lyndale has HORRIBLE sidewalks. I was very frustrated, but I felt bad for this little old lady trying to pull one of those little wheely-carts. The cracks and gouges are like three inches tall! Anyway, so I decided to get off Lyndale and ride on the side streets instead. Much better. Still had spilled coffee on my handlebars, but at least it wasn't a fountain anymore. So I'm riding, making pretty decent time again... and I hit railroad tracks. It's one of those things where the roads end on both sides and the tracks are up on a mound of grass with weeds and ditches on both sides. Seriously? So I had to ride on this skinny little dirt path on the side of the tracks, next to peoples' crappy garages and stuff. I hoped that maybe Dustin would try to call me this morning in case I was abducted and didn't make it to work. But then there was a break in the garages and I was able to jump into an open lot. I saw a guy who must have been walking to work. He was carrying a travel mug. He looked at me and smiled as if to say "That's why I don't ride my bike, moron." By that time there was a road that crossed the tracks and I was home free.

Then I hit Nicollet and had to wait for the light. I was watching one way and there were no cars coming, so I started to go. But then I realized there was a hoard of traffic coming from the other way, so I stopped and backed up. There was a woman (walking) crossing at the same place. I looked at her and let out a little awkward laugh. I guess I wasn't at preschool the day they taught us to look both directions before crossing. She wasn't amused. Maybe it was too early for her this morning too.

Okay, so I crossed 76th and crossed Nicollet, and continued on my way. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, since it was only a couple more blocks to my office. I was truly expecting to pull into the parking lot and find everyone's cars... but nope! No cars! And now I realize that I have to ride my bike back home at the end of the day. I suppose that will be another adventure.

Really? A year??

In an attempt to NOT be the worst blogger in the history of bloggers, here's an update...

So it's been not quite a year since I've left any type of message at all. Sorry about that. Not sure there is anyone still checking this, but if you are - thanks. You rock. If not, just consider this the same noise a tree makes when the forest is empty.

Well, there is really not a lot to update. There have been no real changes in our lives as of late. The most impressive occassion, I suppose, would be that we have been in the midst of re-tiling our shower. During the past (insert embarrassingly-long measurement of time here) we have had some grout and plaster issues in our main bath tub surround. Meaning, the grout has been developing holes and the plaster has gone from a small hairline crack, to something that resembles an earthquake and small amounts of sand occassionally sifting onto our heads during showers. Not pleasant. So, after many procrastinations, we have finally begun to tackle this much-needed project. Two weekends ago we popped off the tile, tore down the plaster and drywall boards behind (drywall was new when our house was built and they didn't quite "get it" yet), and replaced the plastic vapor barrier.

Lets start with the tile. The tile was surprisingly easy to take off the walls. This may have something to do with the fact the they had almost no glue on them, or that the walls themselves were crumbling off. In any case, many of them came off relatively clean. Why, you may ask, are we taking the time and energy to pop off the tile, rather than just crushing them in demolition? Well, we have a tile wainscot around the entire bathroom, which we are not looking to replace. So we needed to salvage as many as possible in order to at leaast try to use them to tie in the the new tile. This went pretty well. And Dustin has been working hard to scrape the glue and remaining plaster from the backs of the tile, to prep them for reinstallation.

Next came the plaster. Normally - and we remember quite well from our last demolition project - plaster is not an easy thing to demolish. Especially when it has 18" strips of drywall behind them. Essentially, a full inch of reinforced concrete on the face of the wall. But the rest of the house did not have plaster that was completely saturated with water. This time it was as easy (and disgusting) as poking a hole in the wall, forcing a hand through, and pulling off large quanities of mildew-soaked mush. Gross. And smelly. But it was eventually all removed, and the window was left open for an entire weekend. Luckily we had great weather!

The plastic, which is typically transluscent, was black. We removed it and, after spraying the blackened studs with bleach, replaced it with new plastic. The insulation was actually in very good condition, so we didn't even touch it.

This was a productive Saturday, and the next day, we (and by "we" I mean mostly Dustin) installed a layer of 1/4" waterproof underlayment, then 1/2" of cement board. We had to build up the walls so that they would flush out with the existing plaster that remained.

For the past two weeks, we have been showering with plastic over the newly-prepped walls (this is our only shower at this time). We have also been trying to figure out our options for retiling. When we began, we had in our minds a plan to use some cheap (14cents a piece) tile that we found at Home Depot, but now that we have removed some of the existing tile, we've realized that the sizes don't match exactly and using them directly next to each other will not work. So we've come up with a new and much more elaborate plan that involves a chair rail accent band that will continue around the rest of the bathroom, as well as across the shower. Then using all new tile above the accent band, and another smaller accent at the top of the tub. (I've attached my computer rendering of this design, unfortunately I don't have a "before" photo at the moment. Maybe my next update I'll have a before & after.) Last night we ordered the accent pieces and found the chair rail pieces. Of course they were not from the same store.

This week Dustin will have a few days off, so we are going to get everything ready so that he can use his time wisely. We are hoping that he/we can at least get most of the tile up by next Wednesday. The accent tile will take ten days, so we'll just have to leave a space for it, I suppose. But I am very excited to have this all done. I want to clean my house without having a layer of dust settle two minutes later.

So that's where we are at the moment. Just a few other highlights about recent events:

We went to Belize this February, which was amazing. Maybe at some point I will actually post some photos and a bit of a recap. I've been meaning to, but you know how it goes.

My friend, Anne, has had a baby girl, Lillian Rae Wiltscheck, this past Saturday. She is amazing. Mother and baby are doing well. They are both cute, as is the new daddy.

Hey look! She updated her blog!!

Well, it won't be too much of an update, as I'm a little short on time. But I thought since I haven't updated in... um... how long has it been?... that I should just put a little something down.

Basically, I'm getting busy with summer stuff again, because the frost has broken from our dear Minnesota soil and I've come alive again. Ahh, the glories of a sunny day!! Flip-flops are dusted off, bicycle tires are refilled, and the grass seems more green than has ever been possible before! It's fantastic!!

I'll start with the note that this past few months have been terribly busy at work - and by terrible, I mean that I am ever-greatful that I have a job that I love, and my company has a reputation that provides much sustaining business. That said, it almost killed me. And it's not over. But I can handle it. It's a little easier now that the sun is out longer. The part that nearly killed me was that we decided not to go on a vacation to a tropical climate this winter. Never again. That's all I have to say about that.

Now it's Spring and lovely! The spring kickball season has begun and "Jerry's Kidz" still reign undefeated. Okay, there have been two games and the last team was tough. But we're still fighting! Go team!

Also on the adgenda is a major curb appeal project, to be done in completion by no later than June 1st. To consist of: even out grade with topsoil fill, arrange patio stones, lay new sod, "beef up" porch posts, paint mailbox, fix porch light, new storm door, new house numbers, potted plants, landscape lights... and whatever else we can squeeze in by then, in addition to cleaning out the garage. It will be a feat, but it WILL be done. By. June. First.

June 2nd we are hosting an anniversary party for my parents. This will be 15 years for them, and my sister and I decided to throw them a party. They will renew their vows, we'll play yard games and have a picnic, then have a rowdy karaoke party! It will be great!

This August will also be 5 years for Dustin and me. We planned to go back to our honeymoon spot - Bluefin Bay on the North Shore, but it's a great place, people love it, and they will apparently now pay rediculous prices to stay there. But not us. It's sad, as that was (barely) the only thing that was getting me through this winter without a vacation. So we'll see. Maybe we can cook something else up...

So that's me right now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather!!

Into the Fall

Well, we are moving out of Summer, and into Fall. Rather quickly, I might add. I dare say we might skip right over it and head for Winter already. Sure, I'd love to add another few months onto the Purgatory we call "Winter in Minnesota"...

In all it's inevitability, we spent the last weekend Winterizing the yard. We ended up with a whopping 22 bags of leaves, and that is not counting the piles I used to insulate my potted plants. I set them all next to the foundation of the garage, on the sheltered side of the house, then covered them and packed them with leaves. Then wrapped the pile with netting to keep the leaves from blowing away before it snows. I'm sure it's not a pretty view for the neighbors on that side, but lets just not get into the condition of their landscaping. In any case, it's all done. Well, Dustin is going to do the last mow and fertilize this week. Then we will be done until Spring. As much as I hate Winter, it is nice to get off the hook when it comes to yard work.

We also spent the weekend before this one FINALLY shoveling up the rock in the front of the house. We decided to bring it all to the side of the house and level it off. We plan to eventually build an outdoor run for the dogs, so it will be a good base. That's a project for next year though. Okay, maybe the next year. Anyway, the rock is gone, with the exception of what was hopelessly mixed in with the dirt. We'll sod over it anyway, though. So it should be okay. We bought the pavers to build our patio next year, so early next Spring our front yard should actually be presentable! I can hardly wait!! I'm tired of looking at our plain, bland, dirty house. At least this way it will just be plain and dirty. *Sigh*

We have decided that the weather has just gotten too cold to run outside at all. Of course, we may have a few nicer days that we can sneak outside. But for now, we just can't do it. We have discussed buying a treadmill, but in additionto having no idea what we are buying, we don't have the money. So we are going to check out our community center gym. Well, it's actually the Bloomington high school gym, but it sounds nice. And they have an indoor track. So we're hoping to do that tonight for the first time and check it out! For $2, it's worth a try!!

In other news: We've had an unfortunate event. The company where Dustin has worked for the past seven years has had to downsize, which has put him out of a job. The housing market is just not in a place right now that supports building more new homes. Last week was his first week "off" and we will now decide what our options are. Fortunately, he is a prized employee and good at just about anything he puts his mind to, so we are not worried about him finding work. We're just hopeful that it turns out to be something that he can enjoy. Although it is not an ideal position to be in, we are both staying positive because we know that things always work out the way they should.

Remodeling has also been rather slow this year, but even after a very slow Spring, my company has gotten busier again. There will also be some changes as a salesman that has been here for 18 years will be leaving. Not sure what that means for me, but we'll see.

So that's my update for now. I'll try to stay in touch!!

Wow, tough crowd.

Apparently I have not been timely enough with my updates. Well, here's one for the vultures swarming to find out about my most recent doings...

Not much going on here. Really, we've been busy like crazy, but nothing that amounts to much. So I suppose that should be a life-lesson for us? Maybe. But if you must know what I've been up to:

We switched back to running after work, as the mornings have gotten too dark. It's just not safe, and plus, now it's getting colder. We've been running different routes in order to keep it interested, which has helped, but it also means we run the risk of discovering hills and other obstacles. But it's fun! We are now starting to consider purchasing a used treadmill for me to use in the winter months, once we can absolutely not run outside. I'm not looking forward to running on a treadmill, or doing it alone (Dustin will then run at the gym), but I'll just have to suck it up, I guess.

The fall season of kickball began two weeks ago. We've had some changes in the roster, which have worked out to be a lot of fun! Last week we decided to take advantage of the two free pitchers from two nearby bars. One of them had karaoke and we ended up picking up a sponsor! Actually, two sponsors. One sponsor is something having to do with trucking and oil tank removal or something-or-other. I should really know what it is, but it's so random. Maybe I'll post it later. Anyway, the second sponsor is Jerry Beth's Karaoke. Jerry is the host of a fun karaoke show at "The Moose" on Tuesday nights, and other shows throughout the week, including Saturday nights at the Park Tavern, which my friends and I have attended on more than a few occassions. He's a great host, and also our new team namesake. We have changed our name from "Biggest Balls Of Them All," to "Jerry's Kids." We have a bye this week, but last week we tied and the week before we won out of forfeit.

On the home front, I'm antsie. I'm assuming it is the colder weather and shorter days, but I'm just feeling as though I absolutely did not accomplish enough this summer. But what do you know? I didn't! Many of the landscaping projects that we planned to finish are still in limbo. A combination of time and money. Mostly time. We still have not removed all of the rock from the front yard, simply because we don't know where to take it! Yard waste dumps will not take it. Landfills will not take it. Landscaping places will not take it. We even called the driving range that we go to, because we noticed that they were filling in some of the gravel in their parking lot with the same river rock that we have to get rid of. "It's free" we said, "We will take it, drop it off, even spread it out for you!!" "Why would I want that?" was his response. Fine. Dustin has a coworker that will take it for his gravel driveway, but he lives an hour away, and we have at least three more truckloads. If worst comes to worst, we'll do that, but it's a real pain. We've even considered dumping it at night at one of the many road construction areas near our house... but that's probably just wrong... right? I mean, they have PILES of rock, just hanging out. We've be giving a charitable donation! In anycase, we've decided to wait on the sod for this year. We're going to take out the rock (at some point) and level the ground, then let it settle over the winter. Then we'll fill in again, if needed. But we are planning to get the supplies for the small front patio this fall while it's on sale, that way we can get it done right away in the spring. Right?

The cake topper thing hasn't quite taken off yet, partially of my own doing. Basically, in addition to my working on cake tops, the plan was for Dustin to do some side work at home at the same time. But it's possible that his contact in charge of giving him the work may have been laid off. Lots of company drama at that place right now, I guess, so it's wait & see at this point. Anyway, if he does not end up doing any side work, I have my doubts as to whether it is a good idea for me to get back into the cake topper business. Last time I had to quit because I just got too busy and couldn't spend any time with Dustin. So it's kind of wait & see on that too. Yes, I can refuse orders, but I'm still deciding what my limits are at this point.

And there ya go. That's it. Nothing exiting at all. But you asked. See you next month!! Ha!

Life as I know it:

Here's a little update!

Yesterday was our four-year anniversary! Wow, I can't believe it has been four years already. It seems like just a year or so ago. But on the other hand, I look at the places we've been since our wedding and it seems impossible that we could have fit it all in four years. We've built a house in Rogers, lived there for two & a half years, I've been to Europe for the first time, we've both been to Mexico twice and driven across the country, built another house in Crystal that we didn't buy, lived in an apartment in Minnetonka, bought and remodeled a house in Richfield, and have been through a whole array of emotional growth. Wow.

I have also decided to get back into making clay figurines (cake toppers, holiday ornaments, etc.) for an extra financial boost. In doing so, I have started a new website. It's not much right now, but I'm working on building it up more. If you want to check it out, it is www.YouInClay.com.

On the kickball front, we have been invited back to the playoffs! One of the teams dropped out, so the league looked for a team who did well all year, but left playoffs early... that's us! So we will be playing one or two games this coming Monday, and possibly one or two more the week after! Woo hoo! Go Balls!

So that's about it. Nothing too crazy or exciting, but just a little update about what's going on with me recently. Thanks for reading!

The Season Closes

Playoffs for kickball started last night. We lost. It was a very close game, and a valliant effort... but we lost, a dissappointing end to a strong season. The final score was 2-3, with two extra innings. It really was a great game. Very tense. We may have a "for fun" game next week, but the jury is still out as to how many people want to play. The fall season should start in a few weeks and it sounds like we might have a change in the line-up, as some people from last fall want to come back. We'll see though - that's not an official declaration.

That's hot.

Last Monday's kickball game was rained out, so we will play this coming Sunday to make up for it. Yesterday, however, we played in the sweltering heat. The heat index was 110 yesterday, and humid. But it was fun, and we won! Ten-runned them, to be exact!!

It did rain early this morning, though, and is much cooler today. We had a run of almost a week of weather in the high 90s - a few days were over 100. It's still gloomy outside, although still hot & humid. It's supposed to rain through tomorrow, which we really need. Anyway, hopefully Sunday won't be quite as hot!

Ode to Anne & Becky

While having dinner with a couple of friends last night, my friend Anne gave me a spork that she had saved for me from lunch. That's just silly... but thanks for the thought! You rock!

Also, the dinner was in honor of another friend who is moving away from us, to Wyoming. We have said our goodbyes and at this moment she is somewhere between Minneapolis and her new home in the Black Hills. We will miss you Becca! And in case you have not heard this before... "If you don't like it, you can always move back." Love you, babe. Best of luck!

Again...

WE WON!!

It was close for a while there, but we took the game with a final score of 12-8. We are now 3-0. It was hot, but we hope the homeless guy that lives in the trees behind our dugout appreciates the beer we left under his blanket. Sleep tight, little buddy.

Until next time... GO BALLS!