A broken bit...

Things came together pretty well after Kelley's office cancelled for Wilma and I took the day off to recover from the shock of a broken bit... drill bit... broken when I sat on it... with my right posterior, and thankfully - not more centrally or so deep that parts of it (the bit or butt), were missing.

When you buy an electric drill with a removable drill chuck, you think you're buying the greatest tool because right under it is a place to hold a driver bit for projects where you're screwing things together. In fact, nobody could have told me anything bad about this design until what happened, happened.

We'd both put in two long days struggling to finish our 'bike bathroom'. We learned Friday night that there were still two layers of wallpaper remaining... watching the primer paint bubble all over the room. The tile bath looked great, but the wallboard looked like it needed replacing.

Saturday, we spent nearly 10 hours steaming wallpaper off the wall in preparation for the texturing finish we added. It was close to midnight on Sunday and we were putting in the lights. I had taken the drill chuck off to screw in the light frame for the lit mirror, sitting it on the Garden Gopher seat. I walked into the living room and grabbed the mirror. I sat down, right on the drill chuck and its rather smallish bit. It snapped off, I snapped to my feet screaming like a girl, dropped the mirror - breaking it, and ran straight for our bedroom to view the damage. I'd gotten lucky sitting down how and where I did.

The last thing I completed Monday night were the three Profile water bottle cages between the Mason Ware speakers that are mounted on our custom speaker mounts (think upside down toe clips with integrated, adjustable spoke supports). The cages hold Stainless Steel cups that house toothbrushes, cotton swabs and cotton balls. The lighting, music and colors look great. And our cogset escutcheon for the toilet is totally eye catching. Now, if we can just get the water tank to seal correctly !

For some reason, the tub has turned into an echo chamber. It has something to do with the size, tile, location, etc. You can stand outside the tub, step into it, and feel a completely different experience to your hearing between six inches. It's like a sound chamber, and it rings nicely. I'm actually looking forward to being the first person to shower in it tonight. I think I'll put on some Al Dimeola and turn up the subwoofer slightly. Can't wait for everyone to see it Saturday. It looks totally kewl !

Bike Bathroom Update...

Well things are coming along nicely. Our tile guy Vince has finished with the grout today. The slate tile we purchased at Lowes is really interesting and dark. Yeah, there were a couple of things he could have done better, but overall it looks very good, it's really earthy, natural and warm, and we're quite pleased. Probably because he's experienced, said it was tough, and we're not and gave thought to doing it ourselves (thank God we didn't).

In the interim, Kelley and I prepped and painted the ceiling (which was marred by the tile install - ugh). A little touch-up and that's done. We have a few gaps to fill around the tile and then it's time to prime and add the texture to the walls. Kelley's having second thoughts about the paint colors we selected, but I'm not. I think it's masculine with the dark tiles, counter and stainless. Having pastel green and blue walls will give it balance, and tie it in to the glass tiles we used in the alcoves. They turned out sweet and the lighting within the three wall units really sets them off.

The stereo layout and speaker mounts are 95% done. We received our stainless cups yesterday, which will sit in the Profile bottle cages to hold cotton balls, Q-tips, toothbrushes and hairties. This is a spiffy touch that adds to the bike theme we're doing. We also got the Gary Fisher Mtn Bike jersey mounted in its shadow box. We still have to mount my Team Everything But Water, signed Greg LeMond jersey. And we've got the pictures ready for framing in our multi-tiered stainless frames. All in all, it's going to be an exciting addition to our home, and hopefully a notable improvement that adds to its interior appeal.

We're still waiting on a couple of things. We haven't picked out a shower curtain or rod yet. We are putting some 'Resource Revival' hub bodies at the ends of the rod to add another bike flair. We also found the pictured 'Mikro Man' that's cut out of a single piece of aluminum, creating a really kewl 3D, detailed person on a bike. We think it's much better than the neon bike light that didn't play out.

This weekend is crunch time, Hurricane Wilma or not. Everything has to be finished and sewn together to give it the final go for our party the following weekend. As of today, it appears that with neighbors, friends and co-workers... we're going to have as many as 35 people visiting. It's going to be a great Howell Haus Howell-o-Ween party this year. Can't wait to see everyone.

Bike Bathroom Update...

The alcove boxes are together and tiled now, which is an interesting and promising component of the bath. It will enable us to display some of our favorite bike'abilia in lit areas. We placed the shower lighting, alcoves and fan on the same wall switch to ensure bath users of scenic ventilation. It's also a nice way to promote the fan running when showering and other.

We purchased our own shadow box for the mounting of our Gary Fisher Subaru jersey with Mary Grigson's autograph. This was something I bought for Kelley as a present after her mother passed away from Breast Cancer. It was a fundraiser for an up and coming cyclist who turned pro and became ill with cancer just when she tried to make the jump from job to pro. She didn't Cobra her insurance and didn't have coverage. Gary Fisher signed it too.

Our tile guy Vince made it over on Saturday to complete his estimate and schedule the date to begin laying up our mosaic of slate. The colors of this stuff are really something, and it's a nice compliment to the counter we're putting on the new vanity. We've got a plan to pull it all together and it looks like the next two weeks are going to be deadline or die. At the same time, we're trying to update the front of the house for appearances and get the back yard prepared for our guests, including another coat of stain on the Egg Bench (pic). The theme for this year's Oktoberfest is Howell-o-ween Haus, rather than the previous years where it was simply Howell Haus. Everyone is encouraged to dress in costume, especially the kids.

The bummer about this year's party is that it falls on the same date as my daughter Jannelle's Homecoming dance, and the Planter's Ball at Sweetwater Organic Farm. Jannelle is pretty excited about her first homecoming dance as a 'high schooler'. Sweetwater is the Community Supported Agriculture farm that we and our friend Rob Ferguson both support. They have this annually to raise money and awareness for the next year's crop of organically grown veggies. Last year we enjoyed a lot of yummy goodness related to our experiences there. Oh, bike bathroom... it's coming. You'll see pics, in process and finished, soon... promise.