Ouch!

It seems like almost everyone I know with a roof rack eventually derbies their bike into the top of the garage. This is Mike's Bianchi, or was Mike's Bianchi. He's looking for a new frame.

Bar Ride!

Kay and I had an impromptu bar ride tonight. Work took me to Denver for the last couple of days and, while I did have the opportunity to thrash around LoDO on Sinjin's Yeti, I was looking forward to a ride here in the Six-One-Two.

We decided that we'd ride to the Groveland Tap in St. Paul, where we met Mike. This morning he destroyed his custom-painted Bianchi when the plowed it into his garage when the bike was on top of his car. It really sucks, but it seems like everyone I know with a roof rack does it sooner or later. I will post pix later, as soon as I get them.

After leaving the Groveland we went to the Hexagon Bar. The Shoe Shiners were playing their set. They are a group of 14 year olds, except for the drummer... he is 12. The little shits really rocked. They write their own stuff and they were tight and very comfortable up on stage. I talked to the bass player's father and he said it was their 5th or 6th gig.

Bath Remodel

I finally got sick of our bathroom, which "featured" a lot of do-it-yourself work by one of the previous owners. The tub was one of those cheap molded units that are sold at big-box home stores. The floor was comprised of those adhesive 12x12 squares, which someone installed between a late dinner and an early bed time. The toilet was situated in a way that led to bumping your knees against the vanity. That remided me that the vanity had been chewed up by one of the previous owners' dog, or jaded lover (who knows?)

So - I grabbed the yellow pages and made a couple of calls and got two bids. One of the bids was 80% higher than the other, and both contractors were genuinely interested in doing the job. After checking references I went with the lower of the 2 bids. Email me if you want to know who did the work.

We decided on a Clawfoot tub, a 54" unit from Sunrise that fits nicely in our space. It has a full shower set up including a curtain ring. We also bought one of those trays to hold the bath essentials, which include an espresso or glass of wine.

The inspector suggested that we go with a corner toilet, so as to comply with city code concerning space between the toilet and, in our case, the vanity. The plumber fit the corner toilet absolutely perfect, which is probably more difficult to do than it sounds. If I ever meet that guy I'll buy him a beer or two. I met the plumbing contractor when he did the walk through. Nice guy.

The vanity was from Bennett's Lumber. It matches our medicine chest and stand alone cabinet that we bought from Restoration Hardware. The vanity top is Silestone and there is an under-mount Kohler sink. We reused the faucet, which was only about 3 months old. The floor was replaced with a tile floor.

Our home only has one bathroom, and the contractor inidcated that we would not have the use of the toilet (and would have to move out) for one night. That, in fact, was true. The project was expected to take 8 days. It went two days longer only because the vanity was late in arriving. I had no reservations in letting these people work in our home while we were away. Jen runs the office at the contractor's place, and had answers to all of my questions. I must have emailed her, well, probably too many times with questions. She was always quick to follow up.

This was our first project of this scale, and we are both so flippin' happy with the workmanship and with our selections. There are a few before and after pictures on my Flicker site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/73181010@N00/