Man Work!

So this past weekend was pretty nice weather wise...there was a threat of rain, but we only got a couple sprinkles. So finally we were able to do some yardwork (demolition) before we put anything new in.

 Remember that awkward looking bush out back?

Well it finally met its demise :) Now it is waiting to be hauled away...

 And remember that funny looking bush with the shovel holding it up?

 Well, this is all that's left of it! One day Robbie decided to take his massive pair of tree clippers to it, and three trashcans later we had its thorny branches contained. Then this weekend we finally were able to dig up the root!

But the real "man work" came when my dad decided to bring over his chain saw. There are not many things I have seen him get excited about more so than using his chain saw to chop something down at whatever opportunity he gets :). (Note the safety glasses and gloves - OSHA approved!)

Before I managed to make it outside with my camera, they already had one strangled holly tree chopped down and filling trashcans.

 Then Robbie's turn came with helping make sure the tall one didn't go crashing somewhere it didn't belong!

 When all was said and done, we were two holly trees shorter, four trashcans fuller, and a few loads of firewood greater for the fall!

 Fun times in the yard! And more to come! (If you hadn't noticed, our yard is 70% overgrown shrubs, 20% weeds, and maybe 5-10% flowers - but not for long hopefully!)

The Drywall Machine

Over the course of this long adventure (buying a house and redoing the kitchen), we've accumulated a lot of tools, big and small. But this one took the cake! Thankfully we don't have to permanently store it (we rented it from Home Depot).

We also got some help from our friends on this project as it takes more than one to operate the machine (and put it together). One was an engineer, so we figured he could put it together. (That was the first challenge - only, of course, because reading directions would be just tooo easy!)

Once we got it together, and figured out where the drywall pieces were going, and cut them to the right size (fyi - this took a lot more time than using the actual machine!), we were finally able to put it to work! And because it's just that cool, I'll let the pictures do (most of) the talking :) .

Lock and load!

Hoist her up and we're ready to go!

Securing the drywall with screws and a power drill

The machine makes holding it up a LOT easier!

Guys and their power drills!

The best part about this (besides seeing the ugly ceiling disappear) was that this was the first reconstruction we did in the kitchen! Yay! Finally, it seemed that we were making (slight) progress on the way to our new kitchen, thanks to the help of several great friends and this cool machine!