Last week, on the way home from work, Liz and I decided to pop in for a quick drink at The Promontory. There’s been a lot of buzz about this place, as it’s by the same folks that run Longman & Eagle in Logan Square.
One thing we are focusing on is getting the back basement area prepped and ready. We’re going to be installing a new security door in back, and filling in the back half of the large hole we dug. If we can get this back area cleared and cleaned away, and the floor poured, we could technically have the back basement area done!
We finally got around to putting together Jake’s old grill, which he was kind enough to give us. Last weekend, Liz and brought the thing inside and started assembling it in our kitchen. One night after work, I helped with the final install and I’m delighted to say we have the thing up and running again! The grill, relocated and…
Last night, after dinner, Liz decided to let the rabbits out of their pen area so they could roam around a bit more. Our house is still pretty messy, and there are lots of areas where we’re trying to keep the buns away from… but we were able to cordon off the main room and the stairs, allowing them to explore just a bit.
This is the back bedroom (my unofficial office). Liz amd Julie cut through the wall here, to give the plumber access to the pipes feeding the shower. I think with this right here, every single room now has been touched by us since our arrival.
It’s been several years now, and there’s just a twinge of sadness each time I step foot into the museum. As amazing and awesome as the displays are, I do always find myself imagining the crowds having gone, and the lights dimming. I found myself looking around at various locations, wondering what it would be like to try to sleep at this exhibit, or over under this display.
Many months ago, Justin was taking a printmaking class, and learned that his instructor created a lot of artwork based around bunny rabbits. He commissioned her to do a small portrait of Baxter (our rabbit, who passed away last year). It was an incredibly touching gift, and I know Liz was incredibly moved by it.
We went through a process of throwing in some sand, wetting it down with water, and then tamping it down. Repeated this for a while (though I have to say, having a spigot and working water again in the basement feels like a treat and a luxury).
Down in the basement, I got to see what our plumber had been up to. He’s successfully replaced our lead pipe, and things are markedly less dangerous/unstable. We were originally going to have to freeze the pipe to work on it, but he was able to do it without the freezing (and ended up saving us a few hundred dollars, as a result).
Long day of basement work with Bob today. Though Liz and I did some work yesterday, we still had tons to do today.
Our plan is to fill the area back in once we’re done working with the pipes, so we’re keeping all the dirt/sand nearby in a pile. Seems a little odd, but no sense in hauling this all outside when we’d have to haul it all back in again.
We pulled out the aluminum brake, and worked on getting some large sheets measured out and folded up. In the course of the process, I ended up misaligning one of the (large) pieces, and we made a bend that nearly wrecked one of the pieces. Instead of a straight line, my mistake ended up causing a slightly diagonal bend.
Today, Liz and I decided to brave some basement demo on our own. We talked a bit over the last week, in terms of us trying to take on more tasks ourselves. Even though we love Bob’s help, we found ourselves wanting to try to do more by ourselves.
For now, we’re in good shape with a lot of the area cleared away from the main waste pipe for the plumber to investigate. We’ll be looking to see if we can relocate this pipe closer to the wall, giving us a lot more walking room between the main basement and the back area.
On Sunday, Julie and Bob were at our place to help work on the house. It was an all-plants weekend for Julie, as she shifted from running her annual plant sale just yesterday, to helping us tame the out-of-control front yard.