The next big thing

This is the wood species my mom decided, actually everybody else. Knotty cherry.

The door style will be almost like this, raised panel with roman arch design:

The guy I used to work for about 3 years ago is going to do the kitchen for my mom and he said that I could help out. He was nice enough to do that I thought. We decided on the knotty cherry species with a clear finish on it. There will be some changes in the kitchen, the sink will be centered to the window, where it should be, the dishwasher will be in a different place, the false ceiling will be all gone and there will be more space, there will be no hangover cabinets above the bar, so we can see out more, there will be new cabinets all the way from the floor to the ceiling on the west wall, so that means there will be lot more cabinet space, and the microwave will be above the stove instead of the blower but the microwave will be the blower also.

On the flooring, we don't know for sure what kind of flooring yet but we are thinking 3/8 inch thick engineered flooring that covers all of the kitchen and dining room. The floor guy that did the carpet in the house said that I can use his nailer for me to do the floor. It's going to be a great nice lookin' kitchen!

"It's called the bathroom"

Finally done with this 1 month long brutal bathroom project, maybe a month and a half. I can't really recall. After the tub was put in by the plumber, all the rest was up to me. I came up with some ideas, actually, my mom did and most of it didn't turn out the way it planned, it turned out better than it planned! After I did the mudding, painting, trimwork, etc. All there was left was the surrounding of the tub and the floor. At first we were thinking of putting in a linoleum floor so we went down to look for a remnent but there weren't any so since the floor people said they will lay it down for free if we buy a piece but the floor guy never came for like five weeks and during that time, we figured out something else, while in Home Depot, I saw this resiliant floor and it looked way nice and way easier. It is a thicker vinyl and has some kind of sticky surface on the ends and it looked like a real wood floor but it's vinyl and it comes in pieces like wood planks. Perfect for a bathroom since it gets wet all the time. About around the tub, same story. We planned to have some guy around here to put in a tub surround and we thought he could do a better job than me but he never came at all even though mom called him like 5 times. Since mom decided to have me put it on, she looked at some tub surrounds and she didn't like them and thought they were expensive. Then she decided on tile. Me to do the tile. This time, I tried to do a good job on the tile work. I spent so much time and took my time and tried to do more perfect and everything looked pretty dang nice. The carpet guy came here today to fix the carpet in the bathroom, he looked at the floor and tile job, he was pretty impressed with my work, he looked shocked and amazed. Even a professional floor and tile guy like him thinks I did a good job. I think that is a first! Anyway, the bathroom is perfect and we all love it!

A lot of snow is always good...

Big case of snow dump just happened, by golly!

Duke taking a break

Top

It was 9 degrees when I left the house and as soon as the sun came out while hiking up, I was hot, sweating, and dying.

Always go out and have fun in the snow when you feel like it! It was great and it was a beautiful morning. It was cold at first but when the sun comes out, it sure makes a difference and I was sweating and all soaked, I ended up with just one shirt on and it was maybe like 15 degrees by the time I got to the top. Shoeshoes worked great and Duke had a blast. Lot's of snow and plenty of sun.

I started from the end of the pavement of the Canyon Road and went along the uphill singletrack trail I have been going up all year on my bike. It's a better route and still had lot's of snow. By the time I got to Taylor's Flat, I ended climbing more on another trail from there and ended up to the starting of the Backbone Trail then turned around. It was a great hike!

I get mixed feelings between the bike and the hiking in the winter time, and it happens every year. Some days I miss the bike and thinking of riding someplace. Biking gets addictive but by the time when the fall comes, I get tired and am ready for snow and I want to do something else for a change. Maybe change is good, maybe that's why there are four seasons in the year, well, of course, for sure the earth operates better that way, and so do I. If I was still mountain biking, I think I'd be tired of it and I wouldn't even bike at all for a while. I could go down to St. George to bike if I want to but I just don't want to really because every winter, it's nice to take a break from the bike and do something else for a while. Then my mind will be refreshed for the upcoming bike season during the warm months. I will still hike too in the warm months! I don't mind to go for a short ride in the winter sometimes but the only place I like to go in the winter is the Canyon Road pavement and that's good enough for me to keep my cycling legs in memory.

So, cross training like snowshoeing is a fun sport, I like hiking and I find it relaxing, I also like to spend time in the mountains without even thinking about going for an intense ride on my mountain bike. Most of the time, it's fun, to go to places I have never been to and try to stay in shape in the winter months.