Here’s your weekly-ish update on our house makeover… Sit, down, grab yourself a Sapporo and prepare to be… well, it depends if you find construction exciting, I guess…
Renovation Progress – August 23 (video)
23 08 2010Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: home, project, summer, retaining wall, renovation
Categories : Renovation, San Francisco, Video
Travelogue: Lake Tahoe Weekend (video)
18 08 2010When you receive an invitation to spend a long weekend at a friend’s house – up in the Sierra’s at Lake Tahoe – during the fine, fine summer months – you take it. P and I hopped in the car Friday after work and drove to Truckee, and spent the weekend lounging and hiking and jumping into mountain streams with Peggy & John. A fine time was had, and it was hard to come back to ‘reality’ on Monday – that being, the dust-laden foggy air at home and a substantial work-load.
Join us as we spend some time at 7000+ feet above sea level…
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Tags: Friends, fun, mountains, summer, sierras, lake tahoe, Hiking, River, Waterfall, swim, getaway, Horsetail Falls
Categories : Uncategorized
Renovation Progress (video)
18 08 2010Hey there – it’s been about a week or more since the last video update, so here it is, from last Thursday up to this morning.
Everything is coming along swimmingly, dare I say ahead of schedule, even?
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: home, project, dirt, renovation, cement
Categories : Renovation, San Francisco, Video
Renovation Progress (video)
9 08 2010There’s been much progress at the homestead, here’s some fresh-off-the-press video for all y’all!
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Tags: home, project, renovation
Categories : Renovation, San Francisco, Video
Salt Air, It Ain’t Thin… (video)
6 08 2010Join Petra, Mom and me on a trip-by-boat to North Beach, which is now officially an island, in Chatham. We spent a day at the camp, which is always bittersweet (emphasis on sweet) simply because each visit could well be the last. The persistent erosion has taken so much of this fragile barrier beach that only a handful of camps remain – each hurricane season and winter seems to take more, as it’s entitled to do.
Paradise Found, I call it. There’s no place like it on the planet, and it’s a privilege to spend any time at all there, especially so, now that we live on the West Coast.
The video is about 8 minutes long, set to a few classic Jimmy Buffett tunes that always bring me back to where I grew up.
Jimmy sings, “Salt air it ain’t thin, it’ll stick right to your skin, make you feel fine…” I couldn’t agree more. Enjoy the ride, the visit, and the seals!
Oh! A boston news channel was along for the boat ride, interviewing the captain about the great white sharks in the area video here.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: boat, Camp, chatham, Nauset, North Beach, ocean, Seals, Sharks, summer
Categories : New England, Travel, Video, cape cod, massachusetts
Travelogue: Maine Roadtrip (video)
5 08 2010Join P and I on our jaunt to Maine in July – after breaking the 914 out of storage, we drove to and camped in Grafton Notch, Maine and did some day hikes. It felt great to ice my body in a mountain stream upon arrival at the camp site (where there were black flies aplenty), eat a block of cheese like a banana, hike in inappropriate footwear, spot a snake and visit Moose Cave. Nothing earth-shattering here, just a mellow time in the lush woods of northern New England…
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Tags: Travel, fun, summer, 914, camping, Maine
Categories : New England, Travel, Video
Reactor Party 3 (video)
31 07 2010Last night was the annual “reactor party” at my office… Our workspace was turned into a night club…. and a great time was had by all!
Join me as I walk around the party for a few minutes…
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Tags: work, fun, office, party, reactor, dance
Categories : San Francisco, Video
Renovation – Day 2 Progress (video)
29 07 2010I was surprised when I got home tonight to find so much progress, as it seemed like slow-going for the guys when I left for work. Check it out:
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Categories : Renovation, San Francisco, Video
Renovation – Day 2 (video)
29 07 2010Well, we are well underway… Large parts of the past two days were spent at the planning department, which I’ve dubbed the Department of Redundancy Department. Think ‘DMV on a bad acid trip’… without the party environment.
Each floor has five armed security guards for when contractors and home owners lose their shit, and I can see how the process could turn a mild-tempered person into a raging menace! The entire experience can be summed up in one photo:
but, in the end, we’ve got our approved permits and plans:
this morning, the heavy lifting commenced, with jackhammers, saws and sledges, as the crew starts demolishing the slab.
Our peaceful nest has been transformed into Casa de Cacophony, and I’m sure what they are doing will register on the nearby USGS seismograph!
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: home, renovation, San Francisco Planning Department, Building Permit, fiasco
Categories : Renovation, San Francisco, Video
No Sunset Leffe Unturned (video)
27 07 2010P and I poured ourselves a couple of frosty ones (into coffee mugs, as to be discreet) and walked out the door up to Twin Peaks to enjoy the sunset – which for a change wasn’t obscured by fog, where I offer my best Fabio impersonation… well, sort of. Anyhow. Enjoy.
(Please pardon the wind noise – I need to put some cloth over the microphone on our little point n’ shoot camera.)
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Tags: beer, fun, Leffe, sunset, twin peaks, wind
Categories : San Francisco, Video
Pre-Renovation (video)
26 07 2010Today marks the ‘official’ start of our home renovation project – the day when the contractor and his crew arrive with materials and tools and we go over the project at large with the team. I’ve been clearing out / organizing the areas that will be under-construction for the next five or so months.
The basic plan: turn half of the 1st level of the house into a master suite, which opens up to the back yard, re-do the kitchen and bath upstairs, and move a few walls, replace a few windows… all new sewer, plumbing, gas, and super-efficiency furnace and water heating. Oh, and some seismic retrofitting… That’s it! Wanna help?
Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: construction, dust, home, project
Categories : San Francisco, Video
Lyle Lovin’ett
23 07 2010P and I went to the Mountain Winery last night for the Lyle Lovett show, which was a fine time on a beautiful night. The only trouble with the place is the expense. On top of tickets, there’s 20.00 parking, and no other way to get there, and beers are 10.00/each. oh well – aside from that, a fabulous time.
On the way there, we stopped at In & Out Burger, where a little bird was harassing me for what was left of my double-double burger…
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Tags: concert, date, music, night
Categories : South of the City
Back in San Francisco
22 07 2010The first couple of things that caught my eye upon return to San Francisco were:
Pigeon, don't you know that fast food is unhealthy?
I didn't realize a Toyota 4Runner SUV was a "compact" car...
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Tags: a-hole, bird, city, pigeon, sidewalk
Categories : San Francisco
New England trip, part two
22 07 2010Here’s e a smattering of photos from the second half of our time in New England. It was nice to break the 914 out of storage for a few weeks, and in it we traveled far, from Chatham to the sticks of Maine and visited friends along the way.
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Tags: Maine, new hampshire, porsche 914, roadtrip, summer
Categories : New England, Travel, cape cod, massachusetts
Aspen dog’s first splash (video)
13 07 2010Yesterday, we took Aspen, my mom’s lovely nearly two-year-old Golden Retriever for her first official swim. What better place than Jack Knife Cove on Pleasant Bay in Chatham – typically short on Tourists and long on stuff to sniff, roll on, and get muddied up in.
As you’ll see, Aspen wasn’t so sure of the whole water thing, and then there was the big scary boat, and the freakish blob of seaweed… but when a couple of Labradors showed up, she started to get the gist.
Enjoy!
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: aspen, bay, beach, cape cod, chatham, dog, fun, golden retriever, ocean, water
Categories : New England, Travel, Video, cape cod, massachusetts
