the good, the bad, and the ugly

the Good:I finished the kitchen. this is before.

This is after.

before (notice the WALL) in which I was 98% sure it was not a supporting wall. It was not until after removing it and seeing the dry wall separating it from the joist was I 100% sure.

after.

there are still some trim to do around the island, but other than that, DONE!
The counter top was made from the 2x4 from the wall. I screw them together side by side and tiled on top, then trimmed with wood.
the counter top weighs over 100lbs at least.

One of my helpers

He really loved the drill, he couldn't quite hold it, so I would pick up what ever needed drilling, put it in position, then he would hit the trigger.

just kidding

the bad:
Yesterday I was changing the alternator in the jeep. 1st time I have ever done it so I took pictures before I started so I would have something to go by. I finished in no time at all and while I was celebrating my mechanic skills, I took the jeep out on a test drive with the camera sitting on the passenger side dash board. Those who know me also know I NEVER have doors on my jeep. SO, the 1st left turn sent my camera out of the jeep, onto the road, and under my back tire. $400 down the drain. I must say that it was the 1st electronic device I have EVER broken. for those who know me, they know it is a pretty good record since I've owned numerous electronic devices starting with a cell phones since 1993.

the ugly:
I'm enjoying my work. We had a job in Key West, which is 35 minutes by car and about 1.5 hours by barge. How do I know this? Well, I rode a barge over there to install a boat lift. It was absolutely the best day of work I ever had. Paid to be on the water, (a dream come true). Not to mention the excitement of going under a bridge at high tide.

I was the spotter that told the captain if we had clearance or not. I said we did, but it will be REAL close. So he motored ahead. Half way under the bridge I changed my mind. Well... the captain isn't that kind of guy, so he just slowed down a little. After some loud discussions and me acting like a little school girl watching her cat being mangled by a dog, we actually cleared the bridge. It was so close the only reason I'm sure we cleared is because I didn't hear or see a scrape under the bridge. Terry the captain is still making fun of me. I simply say my inexperience in that particular situation must not be out shadowed by the fact that I said we would clear it when I had a good line of sight.

As it turned out we burned up all our luck under the bridge, because a 2 day job has turned into 5 days and counting.