January 28, 2008
Bathroom Completed
The bathroom in our main house is done! Check out the pictures. We haven't moved all of our stuff into it yet so I'll have to snap some pictures after we use it.
Here is a view from the entrance. We had the light switch moved since everyone had trouble finding it.
Our talavera sink, tile counter top and new cabinet
The talavera sink up close. We purchased this one in Tucson, not Mexico.
Our tile design for the top of the shower.
Soap/Shampoo dishes!
That window that was rotting.
Big use of little space.
Posted by Paul at 06:38 PM
January 23, 2008
Shade Roof Finished
Check out our progress building a shade roof over our hot tub.
Click on the picture to see the slideshow
Posted by Paul at 06:44 PM
January 19, 2008
Construction Update
Here is a quick look at the bathroom and the shade roof progress...
The shower tiles are up. Needs grout.
The sink and cabinet are in place. Needs grout.
Extra Shelves. Needs painted.
It was a cold morning when we started working on the shade roof.
Posts are finally up.
Here is another view with the woody in the background.
Posted by Paul at 06:44 PM
October 21, 2007
Bathroom Project: Check
So we've been busy. Really busy actually. With all our house projects this year and not having any time to tackle the long list, we got to thinking, "hmm, we need help!" So, we hired someone to completely remodel our guest house bathroom. Like any project around the house it was way more involved than we originally planned but having someone else tackle the project made it possible in only a few weeks and the end result is something April and I love! Check out the following pictures of the before, during and after.
Here is the old shower. One day I stepped too hard on the plastic and cracked the base. That was when we declared the shower out-of-order. About 6 months ago. Our guests who visited had to share the main house shower with us.
MOLD! Yuck.
We really went crazy tearing out the shower. The walls and floor had to come out too. To our surprise the plumbing SUCKED! Really sucked!
We had to have major work done. Basically, all new plumbing.
Finally, we can begin to see the shower taking shape.
Today we put the shower bar up and called the project finished!
Everything in our plans revolved around our "talavera" sink. The sink is the only original item. New mirror, faucet, cabinet, tile and paint.
New tile along the window which matches the sink.
The shower floor with decorative tile around the base which matches the sink and mirror tile.
Posted by Paul at 07:52 PM
September 12, 2007
More Porch Progress
After 3 weekends at home (yeah, we actually held ourselves back from climbing) we managed to "seal" up our porch roof to our house. Perfect timing huh? Right when the monsoon season is coming to an end here in Tucson. If you don't realize, perhaps because you don't live in Tucson, I'm being sarcastic. We'll have to wait until next year until we test how waterproof it is. Anyway, now we can relax a little and deal with the final cosmetic touches to call it finished and turn our focus to the upcoming Hueco season. YEAH! Time to get psyched! Hueco, here we come...
Posted by Paul at 10:40 PM
May 06, 2007
NO Travels this Weekend!
Ahhh. I have to say it feels nice to hang out at home for an entire weekend. Recently we've been a little crazy with all the travels but it has been a lot of fun. Now, our focus is to get our porch roof complete before the heat of the desert summer. So far it looks like we are making great progress. Check it out...
Posted by Paul at 10:34 AM
March 17, 2007
Maiden Voyage
I just looked at our website and realized it’s been a few weeks since we last mentioned what we’ve been up to. Geeze, I guess we’ve been slackin’ Actually, April and I have been busy. Busy getting ready for our insane travel plans over the next month. Currently our plan is in motion. I am traveling back from Austin with my Dad. Austin Texas. Yep, Austin Texas. Why?
We did it! We got a Sportsmobile!!!
Over the last several months we co-ordinated with Sportsmobile and had a Chevy van converted to our specs. Rather than have it shipped to our house in Tucson I decided to travel to Austin (where our van was being built) and pick it up. In a conversation over the phone with my Dad I mentioned what I was planning to do and he said, “Hey, let me come too. Like old times.” I said, “Perfect, we can make the drive together, the maiden voyage.”
So, here we are, out in the desert on our way to Tucson traveling on Interstate 10. This is just the beginning...
Posted by Paul at 09:52 AM
February 08, 2007
More Porch Progress
Moving right along:
Posted by April at 08:45 PM
January 22, 2007
Tucson SNOW!
Paul and I have quite a treat going on here in Tucson this morning. SNOW! Snow everywhere!! - on the mountain, in the foothills, covering the yard, covering our cars!!! Across Tucson last night, around 5pm, the rain started turning to sleet. And then the sleet turned to snow. And then - the best part, hehe - it started to stick!! Now this morning Paul and I awake to a winter wonderland, here at our little desert adobe home. Seeing snow at the house is a sight we thought we'd never see. What a treat!!! :-)))))))
Posted by April at 08:10 AM
January 21, 2007
Porch Progress
Posted by April at 04:06 PM
December 21, 2006
Parents and Porch
Wow. We've been busy. I also nearly forgot how to post an entry since it's been so long. Recently we haven't been up to much climbing. Just hanging out with family and working on our never ending porch project. Last week April's parents visited us in Tucson! It was a blast. In every minute away from work we managed to squeeze in some hiking, working on the porch project, eating and relaxing. Soon we are off to visit with my parents and family in Pittsburgh. The fun continues!!!
Here are a few pictures of our porch project and April's parents. Yes, we cheated and opened some gifts early but that's because we are going to Pittsburgh this Christmas and New York next Christmas.
Posted by Paul at 07:13 PM
August 04, 2006
Rain Update
I should apologize for not providing an update because several people thought we had washed away from the rain last Monday. I'd have to say we were pretty nervous throughout the day that we would get flooded but luckily the rain had stopped in the late morning.. After the rain had stopped the water level in the wash kept rising but finally reached its maximum level right below the last barrier wall. If the water went over that wall we would have been in trouble because our house is the lowest among the homes in our area. It's crazy living in the desert. I always wondered why I had to pay for flood insurance. Now I know.
Now...it's almost time for the weekend. Time to forget about the rain and get focused on some serious PTA (Pain Torture Agony) training! We've got some projects to send and a BIG, BIG trail run planned. Hopefully, on Sunday night we'll be celebrating some big successes...
By the way...almost 1 month to go: IMOGENE!!!!
Posted by Paul at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)
July 31, 2006
Still Raining...
The other day when we were complaining about being rained out from climbing it actually cleared up and we managed to get in some route climbing on Mt. Lemmon in the later part of the afternoon. I was pretty convinced that we were not going to see much more of the storm but each day we've been getting more and more rain. This morning we woke to a very stressful situation. As I drove to work and neared the end of our road I noticed a puddle larger than I had ever seen. I figured that I knew where the road was and I would simply drive through it. Well...the car stalled half way into the puddle! I had to get out, in the pouring rain, with my dress clothes on and push my car out of the puddle. After a few tries I got it started and bailed on trying to get to work.
April, Holly, Morgan and I decided to check out the Agua Caliente wash several hundred feet behind our house. Watch the video and you will see why we are REALLY NERVOUS about our house getting flooded right now. Also...more rain is coming...
Posted by Paul at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2006
Raining Cats & Dogs
Well, today we've been officially "rained out" of climbing. It's been a while since we were rained out, hmmm, a year? Two years? Since we arrived in Tucson? Since we left Pittsburgh? Typically, when it rains, we just hunker down under the rocks until the rain passes. Shoot the bull for about an hour or so, and then waa-laa, rock is dry and up we climb. On this occasion, however, we are genuinely "Rained Out". We awoke to thundercracks around 4am or so and it's been dumping ever since. And I mean DUMPING. CONTINUOUS dumping. We had plans to head up to Mt. Lemmon today, but due to tropical storm so-and-so, here we are at home, watching it pour. But all is well. It's amazing how living 3 years in the desert can make you truely ache for rain. Yearn for that rainy day where you actually have an excuse to sit around inside all day, make warm drinks, bake an apple pie, ahhhh it's raining.
Posted by April at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2006
Home Improvements
We've decided to embark on a little home improvement project: The Courtyard Porch.
Posted by April at 12:28 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2006
Mexican Dinner
Last night we had some friends over for Mexican dinner night. It was a blast! Eric, Sarah, Matt, Courtney, April and I all stuffed ourselves with tons of good Mexican food. But, the grand finale was when I attempted to make Sopapillas. I nearly ruined them but everyone came into the kitchen and helped out. After we successfully made them and stuffed ourselves for a second time we walked outside and laid down by the pool, unable to move.
April and I plan on running, FAR, tomorrow morning to start working off the Sopapillas...
Posted by Paul at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2006
Sunday Morning Snow
Yesterday it looked like it was going to rain all day. There were thick black clouds over the Catalina Mts. but for the most part they stayed put. They didn't drop anything on our house. April and I even got a little cocky and said, "It isn't going to rain. The clouds are just messing with us. Let's go running in Sabino Canyon." So we did and we had a perfect run in nice cool temps.
Overnight was another story. We woke up around 2AM to a loud wind and the pitter patter of rain on our roof. I said, "The mountains are definately getting a ton of snow. It's going to be awesome in the morning." Sure enough, I woke up to April saying, "Get up! Get the camera and get out there!"
The Catalina Hwy. is currently closed because we tried to drive up there. Hopefully later we can venture up into the snow and get a few sled rides in or something. Here are a few pics we took.
Posted by Paul at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
Shoveling Fix
I don't know how many days it has been since we've seen a real rain. Matt do you know? You mentioned it the other day. I know Phoenix is counting about 126 days straight. I don't think it's that crazy because...uh...we live in a desert!
So, to get my fix for the "winter" of shoveling snow April and I ordered 2 tons of rocks. I can't say exactly what we did with them because we are keeping every house modification a surprise since my parents are coming to visit soon. But, I will mention that I spent 4 hours continuously shoveling last night. It felt just like a Pittsburgh winter minus the cold, clouds, humidity, gloves, snowpants, heavy coat, and hat. And minus the neighbor who tries to park his car in the spot that you just shoveled snow out of (which is why you put a chair in your spot on the street once you're done).
Posted by Paul at 08:30 AM | Comments (2)
February 12, 2006
No Climbing Weekend
Finally we decided that it was time to take a little break from Hueco and hang out at home in Tucson. We spent the weekend relaxing at home. Relaxing for us means non-stop stuff going on from the moment we wake up to the point at which we can't keep our eyes open in the night. Friday night we climbed on our woody, Saturday we worked on the house and spent the evening out with our friend Gina. She recommended a really classy, super cool hangout called 58 Degrees and Holding. Today we finished up some projects (secret projects because my parents are coming in a few weeks) and are spending the evening really relaxing. I have to go...the hot tub is probably just right.
Posted by Paul at 08:24 PM | Comments (3)
September 29, 2005
Party
Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite. Our 1 year anniversary! It's going to be a long day. We just had an awesome party with our best friends. Thanks to everyone who showed up at our adobe. It was a fun time. Click on the pic to see the AWE$OME photos. We'll keep ya posted for our Yosemite trip too...
Posted by Paul at 12:27 AM | Comments (4)
September 19, 2005
Update
Sorry for the apadventures neglect. Things have been quite busy around here lately. So this entry will be a quick a dirty summary of what we've been up to over the past few weeks:
1. Grit. Grit is our new bud living in our guest house. She's here from Germany for a few months working at the university. I met her at the gym one night and turns out we have a common friend from Germany. Small world. Anyway, not only are we psyched that she's as psyched as us about climbing, but she also likes to run! and run and run and run. Grit, Paul and I just ticked off a 7.5 mile'r this evening. Whew. Paul and I finally broke the 7 mile mark...just barely. :-)
2. Climbing. Climbing has been stellar as usual. We've been frequenting Flagstaff lately. Hitting up Priest Draw. The weather up in Flag is gorgeous...crisp fall wind and getting rather chilly at night. Can't wait for the aspen leaves to turn. Last weekend Paul, myself, Grit, and Morgan went up with Miles who is real good fun. He helped develop the place a (few) years back and showed us some stuff we'd never seen before. Cool! Paul is still taking it easy on his finger that he tweaked back in May. But how easy can you take it when you're climbing on Priest Draw pocket roofs? ;-)
3. Training. We've got the campus board up!!! Grit and I started building it the weekend before last, Paul stained it with some nice weatherproofing stain, and just before we left for Priest Draw last weekend we finished it off. It stands tall and proud out back by the mamma woody, looking oh-so-good. The woody has been stripped and re-set. Courtney, Grit, Paul and myself spent a night last week eating those new peanut butter double stuff oreos and setting new problems. And this past weekend we picked up some cheap 2nd holds from Voodoo. Now if we could just find the time to get some cushy mattresses so we don't have to "Climb At Your Own Risk" each night.
4. Biking. What?! More biking you say? Well, kinda. I *finally* succeeded in getting myself motivated to ride my bike to work and back last week. I only did it 1 day though, so don't ooo and ahh yet. My butt was waaaaay to sore to climb back on the seat so soon. We'll see how this week goes.
5. Morgan. Cute.
6. The adobe. Still hanging in there. Our list of home fix-up to-do's keeps growing. The bathroom sink has been clogged for 5 months now. Brushing your teeth in the kitchen is not so bad.....
7. The old ball and chain. A major smoochy smoochy weekend is coming up for Paul and I. Oct 2nd will be our 1 year wedding anniversary! Amazing that one year has already gone by. What a fine year too at that. If the upcoming years will be anything like the first, I think it's safe to say I made a real darn good pick with that Paul, heh heh. Anyway, we plan on spending it in Yosemite. CAN'T WAIT.
Posted by Paul at 12:16 AM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2005
Texas Ranger
Our Texas Ranger bush is in bloom! Look quick while you can because it only lasts one day.
Posted by April at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2005
See Ya Later Grass
The past two weekends we've spent more time at home than out climbing - trying to play 'catch up' on the domestic portion of our lives - which, believe it or not, can actually be fun if you don't do it that often! :-) We've undertaken some major yardwork tasks. The front yard had all kinds of irrigation running every which way....and leaking every which way as well. Leaking so bad, in fact, that we had actual GRASS growing in the front yard. Ahhh! Grass in the desert! What is this - Phoenix??!! (hehe, sorry). Anyway, the grass had to go and the irrigation had to be re-done. So that's exactly what I did. I re-landscaped this one portion of the front yard, proudly simplifying the irrigation and replacing the grass and weeds with desert native bushes and flowers that need *very* minimal, if any, water. Click on the pic and see the 'before' and 'after'.
Posted by April at 09:36 PM | Comments (1)
July 19, 2005
Monsoon Season Begins
Here are a few photos I snapped real quick right before the storm. Click the picture to see more.
Posted by Paul at 09:38 PM | Comments (2)
July 14, 2005
Neighborhood Blaze
I got a call from April at work today and she said, "I can't get home because the fire department has blocked off the main road to our house. Please leave work and meet me, I'm not sure but it looks like our house is on fire."
I hate the feeling inside when you hear something like that. It comes out of no where, obviously. It's not like you can expect that kind of stuff. I hurried out of work telling my co-workers, "Uh, I gotta run, I think my house is on fire." It was really weird. As soon as I got out of work I talked with April using our cell phones to get more details. My 35 minute commute was stressful as April described the thick black smoke, high winds and very hot summer temps over 100+ degrees that were all contributing to a brush fire that could potentially destroy our neighborhood.
By the time I was home and walking to our house from the back, through the wash, a plane flew over head and dumped some kind of red liquid/chemical. Then a helicopter came in and dumped something additional. I was really worried at that point because I've never seen a residential fire being fought by the air and ground together. I thought for sure our house was going to be destroyed. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction.
Our home and those surrounding it were technically evacuated, but the fire was still at a distance so we snuck to the house to grab Morgie.
Near 5:00PM the smoke started to decrease and we felt a little bit more comfortable. We spoke with the police and an officer let us know that the fire department managed to contain the blaze. It wasn't until about 8:15PM until we were allowed to return home.
So, a big thanks to the fire department for controlling the fire quickly and for saving our home. We are very thankful.
Here is the story from the Arizona Daily Star.
Posted by Paul at 09:29 PM | Comments (6)
June 18, 2005
Nogales
After a brutal morning of trying to remove an old tree stump in our courtyard April, her Father and I left the USA. We traveled to Nogales Mexico in search of a Talavera sink. When we arrived we saw an awesome set of dishes, bowls, cups and a few other things. We entered Mexico with a set amount of cash and found out we didn't have nearly enough when it came to check out. We wheeled and dealed and managed to get everything we wanted except for the sink for all the money we took with us, plus all the change in our pockets. We promised the guy in the store that we would return to buy the sink therefore he let us have everything plus a few shots of tequila. Wow, that was awesome! Check out the set of dishes we got. Also, check out the new blinds April put up in our kitchen.
Posted by Paul at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
Dead Tree R.I.P.
Yesterday April's Dad and I rented a chainsaw and cut down the dead tree that was in our front courtyard. We got a nice late start in the day here in Tucson. It was about 3:00PM when we made our first cut. I'd say the temps. were in the high 90s? We managed to keep well hydrated with plenty of beer. April stayed inside but was probably more hot than us. She was battling a clog in our bathroom drain with a snake and never managed to get it out. Yuck. She fought the monster for a couple hours. After we cut the tree down April and I headed to 4th street to chill with some new friends that we met through work. We chilled at the Epic Cafe and watched all the "normal" people walk by on a Friday night. Today we are leaving the USA! But only for a few hours.
Posted by Paul at 07:57 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
Our New Tree
The guys just finished the hole. The tree should be coming within the next hour...
Before:
After:
A big thanks goes out to Civano Nursery for their awesome service! They really knew what they were doing and they got the tree in with no problems. Here are a few pictures of the excitement...
Posted by Paul at 08:37 AM | Comments (3)
March 18, 2005
Cactus Garden
Last weekend we decided to visit Mesquite Valley Growers and pick up a few cacti and flowers to make our front entrance look nice. Here is what we came up with...
Before:
After:
Posted by Paul at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2005
New Furniture
We waited in suspense all day but finally, our new furniture arrived! Check our our sofa, love seat, coffee table and end table. There are also some photos of our new table cloth. We'll need to do some serious relaxing after tomorrow. Tomorrow? The Hueco Tanks "Wanker"...
Posted by Paul at 03:44 PM | Comments (3)
February 09, 2005
Yard Work in the Desert
At about 1pm today at work, I suddenly got the super-urge to do yardwork when I got home rather than go on a run with Morgan. The weeds are growing knee high now with all the rain lately and I've noticed that some of my neighbors have "mowed" it down like "grass." Missing grass tremensly, I liked the looks of this and figured I'd try it!
Funny thing about the desert.....in the summer the green is all on the whispy thin desert trees and the ground is brown and bare. But in the winter, the trees are brown and bare (yes, trees in the desert lose their leaves in winter too) and the ground is green because of the winter rains. Well, I should mention that this is only typical of the area we live in....sort of a basin between the Catalina Mtns and the Rincon Mtns, so the ground collects more water here. Closer to the city, and up in the foothills, people aren't as lucky to have so many weeds in winter. :)
I bolted home, threw on some work clothes, grabbed the weed wacker, and went to town. Soon, all the weeds in the front yard were leveled out to ankle-high. I must admit, it looked great!! Paul and I walked around the yard as it got dark, admiring our "grass" and talking about future yard-improvement plans (that we'll someday tackle in our immense amounts of freetime, ha).
Paul then decided to head to the store to grab some groceries for dinner, and I continued with some more yard work since I was on a roll. [Please note: when living the weekend-road-warrior-rock-climber lifestyle, weekends are soley set aside for climbing, not for silly things like yardwork. So Paul and I often find ourselves using our rather ridiculous, superb time-management skills.....such as.....ummm...setting up a floodlight in the front yard after it gets dark so that one can continue on with the yardwork].
So with floodlight in place (situated not to disturb the neighbors of course!), I began clipping down the expired bougainvillea so that it can grow again and bloom beautifully in spring (which will probably be sometime later this month). After that, I began to pull the weeds that had sprouted in the flower bed by the house. After that, I trimmed back the pretty purple flowered ground cover that was spreading out onto the walkway next to the flowerbed. After that, I tackled my hanging pots and clipped out all of the dead leaves. And after that, I swept the walk-way, took my gardening tools back to the shed, called Morgan back from her horse poop sniffing over at the neighbors, and un-plugged the floodlight.
Waa-lah, yard is done. Should be good for another 2-3 months. Gotta love the desert.
Posted by April at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)