B-B-BBQ

We've enjoyed the Bicycle, Blues, and Barbecue event in Clear Lake, IA several times.  I even raced in it that one year when I thought I might be an awesome bike racer.  It didn't take long to prove otherwise... Anywho, it was extra fun this year because we brought a few friends down and shared the experience.

You may have seen some instagram shots during the weekend. If not, follow me on instagram!  Username greggmelissa.

The rain cleared up just in time for the kids race.  Noah rode it, of course.  Local celebrity Tom Zirbel (a real pro racer) led the slightly older group of kids out.  They had an option to race the full criterium lap or to do the 2 block stretch at the finish line.  Noah, so far as a bike racer, is more like Tom Zirbel than mom!

At the beginning of the road race we observed this cool set of wheels.  Kids and parents alike were fascinated.  It's a bike (well, trike really) that's enclosed with an electric assist and solar panels up top to keep the battery charged.  It even had a trunk sufficient for hauling groceries.  Too bad it doesn't seat more than one, or we'd probably have to get one!

 Clear Lake has some of the best playgrounds we've been to.  Noah played and played.  There is a larger playground right next to the criterium course, so when the bike racing got "too boring for 4 year olds", he was able to play right there.

The weekend might be called Bicycle, Blues, and Barbecue, but for us it was more bicycle, playgrounds, and beach.  It doesn't have nearly the same ring, does it?  We heard the music while we were hanging around at the beach, playgrounds, and watching the bike racing.  We had one meal from the food vendors bragging about their BBQ awesomeness.  To us it was pretty good, but overpriced.

One of my highlights from the weekend was getting our anti-bike racing friends to enjoy watching a bike race.  I brought enough cowbells and clappers to allow everyone the opportunity to make noise at the races.  Lexi thought is was a blast ringing the bell and seeing the bikes go by really fast.  Yes!

The other highlight was seeing all the people we know.  It's funny how small the bike community in our area is.  When there's a good event like this, they all come out.  We get to cheer for other bike team coaches and say hello to plenty of people we know.  And, as with most pro races, the celebrities are close enough at the event to say hello and good luck right to them - try that football fans!

Randomness - aka a list of excuses.

I haven't posted anything house related because we're in that limbo state between buying and selling where we aren't completely positively confident about what's happening until the ink is dry and the money is paid.  It's a totally frustrating and energy-draining place to be.  All fun projects end up taking a back seat to life.

I wanted to pop in here and welcome all those Better After folks who have stopped by!  It was so kind of Lindsey to feature our bathroom remodel.

We're working on a vacation condo remodel, but have that phased and scheduled to be a fall, winter, spring project because we like to play too much in the summer.  I probably won't have next steps and updates on that until November. 

We took a vacation and need to write up all of our fun from that.  We played in the Nebraska panhandle - most people think that's crazy - it's actually a beautiful place and low on crowds! 

Most of my Noah fun blog posts have been relocated to Instagram.  I don't usually have as much to say as a picture to share, so that works well for me.

Up next: we'll be packing and moving and starting over with an old house that needs some love :)
I have an orphan piece of furniture that I'm working on (how's that for a teaser).
I've been maintaining some sanity with knitting projects, but nothing is finished that isn't a gift for a blog reader, so I'm not spilling the beans on that either!

Hope you're all having a great summer! 

The Wishlist

 Let's get the things we're looking for in a house noted.  We've done a lot to make this house ours, but it still isn't meeting our needs.  Here are the things that are highest on our list of wants.

Entry way space and flow.  We get traffic jams in our entry way when there's just 2 of us coming through the door.  I want an entry with long runner rug drawing you to walk more than one step in the door.  We also have tiny, jam-packed coat closet spaces by our doors and don't care for separate garage and main entry ways.

After: entry way

Dining space. I don't think I need to elaborate on this one.  It would be nice to have a comfortable place to eat with more than 4 people.  I don't need more square feet here, I just need better flow.  Our current dining room is separated off from the rest of the house by a narrow passageway from the kitchen.  It's really nasty every year at Noah's birthday party and Christmas.  Makes me not want to celebrate and that's not fun.





After: dining room



Workshop.  Or larger utility room.  We do our projects in whichever space we're willing to "sacrifice" to the mess of the project at the time.  They become frustrating because you can't leave it out for long enough to finish it (if it's a main living area and a long-ish project).  Tripping over half finished projects isn't much fun, but doing "projects" is!  We need an area that's perfectly acceptable and properly situated to let the creative juices flow.

Project going on in "after" living room.

Flatter yard.  We love our skyline views and the uniqueness it lends to our house, but with a preschool boy going outside to play, it definitely adds to our stress level.  Hillside gardening is a special challenge as well, and getting up and down the driveway, especially in the winter or on a bike!  We think a flatter yard will make it easier to say howdy to the neighbors as well, and neighbors can add to quality of life.



Before house front, after installing the landscaping

 Bigger Garage.  Yes, we only have one car and an oversized one car garage plus shed which is about equivalent to a 2 car garage.  The trouble is we have so many toys, tools, and gear.  We don't use the shed much for anything we want access to because it's way down the hill, so far to haul stuff. 

Quieter.  We're less than a block away from 2 very busy city streets, with tons of buses running daily.  We have a few commercial grade heating and cooling systems within a block that hum like jets.  We are within 10 blocks of 2 helicopter pads that are relatively active.  Downtown just isn't a quite place to be.  Washing the car in the driveway on a quiet Sunday morning is anything but quiet, even though there are no buses or people around at that time.

Now, the question is, can we do all that without adding much for square feet (because that would be more to clean and maintain), keeping features that we have and love, and in a place that's managable for getting to/from work and an acceptable school for Noah??  I'll let you know if, when, what we find!

Update on Operation White-Out

We painted the majority of the main floor white.  It feels a lot more open and bright, which really helps in an old house like this.  When it came to the office, which was "spicy cayenne", I wasn't ready to go all white.  It needed a little something else...

Before operation white out moved in!

I'm on board with the color that everyone is painting this year.  And, we have some on hand from the condo projects.  So, we painted it "architectural gray".

After

After - the desk is still a junk zone!

We re-arranged a few things in the process here, too.  The bookshelf and toy bins went into Noah's room.  I like it much better in there.  He doesn't play up there, ever, but he could if he wanted to.  It's more homey in his room now, with more of his things in there.  Here, a picture is worth a thousand words...

Noah's toy/book/play spot.

 We're done now.  This is the last time we re-paint/re-stage this place.  I put the "after" pictures on the "Our house" page.  Come to me buyer, come to me...  Got my eye on a foreclosure that likely won't last long.

Catching up on photos

I've spent a little time going through the last couple years pictures. What a job! I need to remember to do this monthly at a minimum, so it doesn't become a huge black hole! Working with digital pictures is truly a blessing and a curse. I take a ton more pictures than I did back in the film days. Which means, I get some fun random photos of Noah, and tons of beautiful scenery pictures when we travel. The curse is that you have to spend more time at the computer to sort and select them. I placed a big Shutterfly order including a book about our vacation last summer. Ah, accomplishment! Can't wait to show it to Noah! They have a nifty little option at checkout that allows me to share it with you too!

Click here to view this photo book larger

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