The HENDERSON'S

How to Make Iced Tea

2009-05-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Big Al

2009-05-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Pool is Open!

2009-05-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Geez, these things are EVERYWHERE

2009-05-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Lunch, 2 days in a row at the Pita Pit? Yup. Sorry I didn't actually get a picture of the pita (chicken caesar-yum!), but I was just too hungry for that wholesome goodness, and I just couldn't wait.

What's this? A new puppy?

2009-04-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yup- she's a goldendoodle. Julie made the mistake of coming home yesterday and telling me that "Top Gear Dog" was a goldendoodle, and then she started looking at breeders in the US; big mistake. You'd think that after this much time together she would realize that I'd interpret that as a big ol' green light to get a puppy. When she came home today, I'd found a breeder only 45 miles away that by an amazing coincidence had puppies that were just old enough to go home today. She valiantly tried the "I was just curious" defense, but Ronnie and I prevailed. We named her Sookie, after Sookie Stackhouse (it's really hard to come up with a strong female dog name, especially when your daughter persists in throwing out "Princess" every 15 seconds). I'm really curious how many people are now doing google searches for "Top Gear Dog" and "Sookie Stackhouse", in addition to "goldendoodle".

Bathroom is done

2009-04-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Julie finally finished the touch-up painting, so the bathroom is done. I'm currently working on our @#$%%#!^ sprinkler system. I replaced one valve, only to have 2 more go out with the added pressure, so it looks like it's time to build a whole new manifold.

Should be done, but not just yet.

2009-03-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Cut the door an rehung it, cut and installed the baseboard, cut the mirror trim, but the adhesive we bought isn't working with the glass, so I'll have to go pick up something else from Lowes. All I have to do now is repaint some of the wood trim, touch up the door, rtv some spots, and glue on the mirror trim. Bathroom is functional and open, so I'm in no real hurry. Julie has started looking for tiles for the master bath, so I guess I know what the next project is going to be. I turned off the bright light and used the flash on the camera for these pics- they show the true colors that we used.

Almost the last day continued...

2009-03-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

You can see here the new tile job for the side and back of the sink. We also glued the mirror to the wall- I've been waiting for someone to ask me why we left the old mirror holders in the wall when we painted, and then slopped paint all over them. The main reason was, I didn't care. The plan was to use the old holders just to hold the mirror in place while it was rtv'd to the wall, then I'm trimming out the mirror in white mdf to match the rest of the bathroom. I have 1 day left that involves cutting and installing all of the baseboard trim, trimming out the mirror, and cutting off 3/4" from the bottom of the door and rehanging it (the tile and cement board raised the floor level 3/4"). Total cost so far (not including alcohol) is $255. The token quote I had done (for amusement and tax purposes) for the same job (minus the custom fish tank plumbing) was $2400.

Almost the last day...

2009-03-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Started out thinking I'd be done in 2 hours, quickly found out it was going to be closer to 2 days. First off, the new sink location didn't line up with the old one. Also, when Julie saw the tiles on the side of the sink, she decided she wanted to change the design. Out came the sawzall again to cut out the old plumbing (it was all abs glued together), and off came the wall tiles. I was able to accomplish a lot today, but most of it was lateral progress (dealing with the "designer" on the job site is never fun). I did get the plumbing finished, and ran my water lines down through the floor directly to the fish tank. I also hard plumbed in the waste line from the RO/DI so we will no longer have a hose stuck in the sink when I'm filling the fish tank.

Ronnie and I went to lunch Friday

2009-03-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

And a friend snapped this pic.

Day 8

2009-03-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

OK, took days 6 and 7 off. Installed the new shelf above the toilet, re-installed the toilet, cut out the chunk so the cabinet will go flush with the wall. Still have to have some finish work done to the walls before the cabinet will be installed and the plumbing finished. I pre-drilled through the floor so I can have my RO/DI water for the fish tank set up with just a quick flip of a valve. I'll show more of this when I finish up the plumbing. I have maybe 25 minutes of work left (except for the baseboard trim- not going to do that until my brother returns my nail guns), but I'm at the mercy of the house QC inspector who doesn't think I have the skilz to touch up the sheetrock.

Ronnie got some new motorcycle swag...

2009-03-16T16:19:00.001-07:00

So she can now join me for my Sunday morning ritual ride to Starbucks, which means we will both be gone by 8:00am now. This is really good news for Julie.

Day 6

2009-03-13T07:34:00.001-07:00

Sealed the grout. Looks the same, so no pic.

Day 5 ends- minor problems

2009-03-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

I'd planned on installing the new cabinet and shelving today while I'm waiting for the grout to dry (another 24 hours, and then 24 more for the grout sealant to dry). Unfortunately, disaster struck and the new cabinet won't fit against the wall because there is a plumbing cleanout in the way. I was going to attack the cabinet with my sawzall, but decided I wasn't in the right mood- that can wait until tomorrow when I've calmed down a bit. Instead, I decided to install the GFI outlet (I couldn't believe we had an unprotected outlet right by the sink!) that we'd picked up, along with the replacement light switches and cover (Julie doesn't like the old beige ones). I learned a very important lesson about GFI's- never, EVER buy the cheapest one. It's not that it won't function, it's the fact that they don't use capture screws in the assembly. If you don't know what that means, just go with the fact that they are a major pain in the ass to install. While I was cussing at the stupid GFI outlet, Julie slipped up to Lowes to pick up some tiles for the sidesplash, so I guess there will be some more tiles installed too.

Day 4

2009-03-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

Grouting completed.

Day 2

2009-03-09T15:39:00.001-07:00

OK- really day 3, but I went out motorcycle riding day 2.

Day 1 ends

2009-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Did demolition, withstood 3 hour shopping excursion, new sub flooring, laid cement board, and painted (the roller part). My remodeling assistant just jumped in to finish off the brushwork.

The plumbing pissed me off this week...

2009-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

So I took it out on Ronnie's bathroom. It all started last Wednesday, when Julie asked me to look at the shower because it was leaking through the knob. I took the knob off, then noticed that the valve behind the knob had about a 3 drip per second leak. Long story short, burned a vacation day soldering in a new 3 way valve, without ripping out the shower stall (take that know it all home depot guy!). Friday evening, downstairs on the computer when Ronnie flushed her toilet- half of it came down on my back. Tear the toilet out, thinking it needed a new wax gasket, but the gasket was fine. The water from our shower had been leeching into the sub floor of Ronnie's bathroom, and it finally gave. When I was tearing out the old floor to inspect the damage, I found out that the previous home owner caused this by putting staples through the old linoleum so it would stick to the sub-floor, then he put new linoleum on top of that. He used regular old staples, straight out of a desk stapler. He then caulked the new linoleum to the wall, but the new linoleum over hung the old by about a half inch. This means the water from my shower leak was going directly under the new linoleum, and penetrating through the hundreds of now rusted out staples. The positive note for Ronnie (and Julie) is that we were able to spend 2 hours today at Lowes, with the two of them picking out new tile, paint, light fixtures, and cabinetry so I can have more fun things to do for the next week.

Hot chick band

2009-02-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

They've been practicing at the house lately.

Exercise time

2009-02-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

Mini me and mom, doing the ball thing. I wonder how long it's going to take her to notice these...

Ronnie's NEW Room

2009-02-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

Ronnie is also modeling clothing from Anutie Lou...

Ronsters B-DAY!!!!!!

2009-02-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

Rocking in the new year...

2009-01-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is how we spent new years....

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-12-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008

2008-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jacks Birthday

2008-10-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

Jack got to go on a all day ride for his birthday...

I Don't Know???

2008-10-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Ronnie & Julie visit Vancouver

2008-09-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

YEA! School has started!!!!

2008-09-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end...Lets go CAMPING!

2008-09-01T08:29:00.001-07:00

Jack and Julies Trip to Whistler...

2008-08-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Due to a land slide we only made it to Seattle, WA. This picture explains how I felt about the change!!!!! Yes, you really don't want to upset me, I get kinda CRAZY.

Girls just wana have fun! 8/8/08 PARTY

2008-08-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here you go Amy- a side by side view.

2008-08-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Had to get something to match Julies scooter....

2008-08-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

But the big question is, do you think this will make my butt look too big?

Are we having fun yet?

2008-07-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Our Trip to Spokane and Silverwood

2008-07-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Typical Weekend in the Tri Cities

2008-07-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Jack's Bike Trip to Hells Canyon

2008-06-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Henderson's 6 - 7 - 8 Hawaiian Party!

2008-06-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

The posse

2008-03-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Day 2, I've put 168 miles on the Scrambler, the scooters odometer says 5.2 miles.

Guess what Julie finally picked up...

2008-03-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

She tries really hard not to seem too excited about the thing, but doesn't quite pull it

off. Check out her jacket- I'm sure she's going to get some flack riding the scooter around town with a Harley coat on.

Roller Girl Julie

2007-11-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

For Grandma and Grampa Pothier

2007-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Just for Amy

2007-11-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

I have updated...are you happy now?

juls

Cicely, Alaska?

2007-08-10T08:55:00.001-07:00

While in Cle Elum for a work retreat, we decided to head into town to get some dinner. We headed into the closest town (Roslyn, WA), only to discover that it looked hauntingly familiar. Photo credits for Roslyn go to Julie, as I was standing in line in Ruth Anne's store to buy some aspirin after a "hard working" meeting with the guys I work with the night before.

More pool pics

2007-08-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

Next, the funniest thing I've seen in a long time..

2007-08-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

but I wasn't able to capture it with the camera. Debbie decided to jump on the raft and float, but completely forgot she had just oiled up with sun tan lotion. She hit the raft, and kept on going. I swear, she accelerated when she hit. After that, everyone tried to duplicate her original.

Rowdy pool party

2007-08-10T08:25:00.001-07:00

For some reason, Debbie didn't want Terry on the raft. She must have pushed him around the pool trying to tip him off for at least 10 minutes before getting some help from Bob.

Here you go Deb-

2007-08-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Debbie and Bob brought their new puppy and decided it was time for it to learn how to swim.

3 Days in Vegas...

2007-08-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

and these were the only pics we took. We meant to take more, but just got caught up in having fun.

Hoover Dam

2007-08-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

They're building a new highway that's supposed to open next year so car traffic won't be able to drive over the dam anymore. Check out the tiny outhouse on top of the support. The wind blows from left to right in the picture and when we were there it had to be blowing at at least 35mph up there. You could see the outhouse swaying in the wind. You can't tell from the pic's, but there is still at least another 500' down to the river below from the bottom of those pics.

Lake Mead was cool

2007-08-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

It's amazing just how huge the lake is. Pictures just don't do it justice.

We went to Laughlin/Las Vegas

2007-08-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

It was hotter than hell in Laughlin- up in the 120's the whole time we were there.

Here you go Nate- the backyard....

2007-06-28T16:42:00.001-07:00

It's still a work in progress- the trim painting still needs to be done (as well as trimming out the last 4 windows I installed), but you can see the setup for the "outdoor kitchen". Fridge for beer, freezer for popsicles and meat, bbq for cooking. The backyard is also wired into the stereo so you can hear whatever is on TV during a sporting event, or just listen to CD's.

Ronnie's new look...

2007-06-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the mall today and had a complete father/daughter day. Ears pierced, fancy lunch, and then a new hair style. Like I've told her repeatedly, it pays to get good grades.

House progress

2007-06-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here you go Amy- it's not finished yet, but you can get a pretty good idea what it's going to look like when it's done.

We went to the circus yesterday...

2007-06-20T09:31:00.001-07:00

Circus Gatti, now also known around our house as Circus Crappy. I swear, 50% of the time they were doing mini informercials on all of the souvenir crap that they were selling. I remember as a kid when they were setting up for the next act, the clowns would come out and entertain. Not so with these guys, setup time meant sales pitch time. Ugh. $8 for a 20 second elephant ride, $4 for a tiny bag of popcorn, $6 for cotton candy.

I stopped by the Mitchells just long engough to break a chair.

2007-06-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Julies B-Day

2007-06-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

We just hung around the pool today. Tomorrow, out on the boat.

This is the life...

2007-05-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Pool is OPEN!!!!

2007-05-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Ronnie's first softball games...

2007-04-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

The sun is out!

2007-03-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

We've been running in the mid to upper 70's all week and the top hasn't been on during that time. Julie and I keep finding reasons why one of us needs to run up to the store for a little bit.

Artists rendering

2007-02-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

This is what Dylan would look like if his parents were able to use the bath paints.

Ronnies Birthday Party

2007-01-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

More birthday pics

2007-01-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

For my birthday, I offered George Lucas $102 to be put in the new Star Wars movie.

Happy Birthday Ronnie!

2007-01-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

Here she is trying out the new radio that grandma and grandpa sent her. We're off to Red Robin for her birthday dinner where she's going to get the rest of her presents.

My new purse.

2007-01-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

Here it is. I'm in love...hehehe!

A little later in the day....

2007-01-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

the snow started to pile up. Ronnie loves playing in the snow, but doesn't understand yet why school doesn't get cancelled here when it snows. The picture of Rory is on the pool cover. We're trying to break him of the habit, but it works like a giant trampoline for him and he loves to go jump on it.

We had a snow day too!

2007-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00