Basement pictures

Some of you have asked to see what's transpired in the basement since we bought the house. As many know, there was a two-bedroom rental apartment down there when we took possession almost a year ago. The apartment, built in the early 1970s, was one of the first things to go, with the help of dear friend Bill who came from Atlanta to help. Scroll down and you'll see three shots of the basement taken more-or-less from the same place of the same perspective (use the window as your reference point). The before shot is of what was the kitchen looking into what we can only imagine was described as the living room. The door to the right of the kitchen counter was for the bathroom. How 'bout that fabulous carpet?



Before



During: walls removed; ceiling mostly down; column revealed



After: carpet gone; paneling down; most of the disgusting insulation removed.
Since this picture was taken, most of the wall studs have been removed. Much more work remains.

Big sky :: blue sky (nice ears!)

Going through some pictures from last winter here in SD, I came upon this one of Liane, Fletcher and Audrey. They're sitting on the bench at the nearby overlook on a typical beautiful winter day. Below is Cotton Park, named for the former owners of our house who donated the land to the city. Beyond the park is the Vermillion River. In the distance is the mighty Missouri River. Those are the hills of Nebraska in the distance. What a beautiful, blue sky. And check out those Corgi ears!

Bright idea!

Over the summer I converted a wall outlet, that was located very high up on the wall in the first floor study, to a wall sconce. We've had the antique mission style brass fixture for a long time and I was happy to have an appropriate place to press it into service. What a bright idea!

Spiders, snakes and bats

I'm not too crazy about spiders, snakes -- or bats for that matter. But over the last few months we've had our share of all three. That said, don't give these matters a second thought if you're considering a visit!

This spider was in the basement scaring all of the snakes away.

The snake in this picture, a common western garter, was one of three (or was it four, I can't recall) that we evicted from the garden this spring. They were all safely relocated to the nearby bluff where they can see clear to Nebraska.

The bat, seen here clinging to the crown molding in the living room, came to our attention after bedtime one night when Audrey, then Fletcher, woke us up to alert us to the fact we had a visitor flying in circles around the bedroom. Thank goodness I knew where to find the tennis rackets that were, at the time, still packed from the move. Everyone, including the bat, survived to tell the tale though the bat hasn't been back since.

Now you see it :: Now you don't

Before and after shots of the front yard. Over the summer we cut down the overgrown blue spruce that, undoubtedly, was lovely when it was much younger. Its girth was hiding the house. We miss the shade that it afforded the south west corner, so we promptly replaced it with a young burr oak (not shown in the after shot).

Still Here :: Overdue post

Good grief! Where'veya been? Not since April have I taken a moment to update the 'ole blog and goodness knows I could write chapters about what's gone on since then. Suffice it to say that we're all fine. The house is still standing. Some much-needed landscaping has happened. A new workshop has been organized. And we still cannot use the upstairs bathroom. The good news is that the 36-year old central air conditioning system pulled through over the summer. Now we've got our fingers crossed for heat this coming winter.

Until I can get some new house project pictures organized, here's a snapshot taken yesterday of yours truly and my dear 'ole pal Tim. Tim and I were roomies at SIU in Carbondale back in the day. We both shared our passion for radio as we navigated our radio/TV courses. He paid us an all-too-short visit for part of the weekend. While he was here we had the most delightful time staying up late, drinking wine and sorting through the volumes of old snapshots he has from our time working at WIDB and WTAO. Saturday morning we walked up to Main Street for the annual USD homecoming parade. Before he left to continue his exploration of southeast SD, Liane snapped this picture behind the house. Thanks for coming Tim. It was great seeing you!