Fire Pit

Do you ever wonder what was from long ago in the house you live in today? Well, this has been one of those adventures of finding out. I decided I'd go into the backyard where the dogs used to reside and finally dig up the remains of what I was sure was an old BBQ build out of red brick. The only thing showing of the old BBQ was the very bottom layer of red brick was mortared to cement. What I didn't know at the time was how much cement there was. So I grabbed some tools and some more tools and yet more tools because as I worked and worked to remove this stubborn piece of yesteryear protruding above the dirt and pea stone, I discovered that there was an entire patio buried beneath. Ooooh, gold mine! So earlier in the year I had set up a temporary fire pit on the other side of the yard, but this new found gem has gotten my mind thinking.

This my friends is how projects are born!

First off the new patio had a few problems. One was that in order to put this monstrous fire pit down I would have to level the patio pieces which had heaved a little over time. So I made a frame and poured some concrete. Then I situated stepping stones on top of that then mortared together landscaping brick on top of that. So what I didn't use "fire brick", which I honest still don't know what that is, but this was a cheap project that hopefully will last long enough; plus I wasn't using these bricks for anything anyway!

There's a whole bunch of ideas running through my head as to what I'm going to do with my newly found play area.

Kumquat Cookies

Yum. I brought a bunch of these back to MI from FL and made a batch. I sent cookies back to FL and my brother loved them! I loved them and so did my friends here in MI. They could have been a bit sweeter for my liking; it is a unique cookie with a unique taste.

I found the recipe at recipezaar. Here's the LINK.

Off to FL

This is Jim!

I took off to visit with my brother, Jim, in FL. It's sort of an annual beginning of the year event for me. I loaded up an entire suitcase of home canned goods and even brought a very old sewing machine on the plane with me as my carry on.

It was a good trip, unfortunately I'm still not up to doing much since the second surgery on my left knee but I did ride his bike quite a few times for short distances. Lance stayed there for like a week which was very cool of Jim to allow him to stay for such a long time.

Hmm since I'm regressing this information I'm trying to recall what all I did for two weeks! Other than wandering around on the bike, I sewed up a cover for Jim's office chair. That went pretty well. I did some knitting of course. And hung out by the pool a bit. I enjoyed picking fresh grapefruit and yes I brought back a ton of squeezed juice. I also brough back some kumquats from a tree at a house he was looking at to purchase. We also went out clubbing, which is always a must.

Jim and I met up with a couple of his girlfriends that were selling jewelry at dog rescue fair. I'm not sure how they fit together, but whatever. I bought a couple pairs of earrings and saw some cool purses made from cigar boxes.

Ok so for now that's all I can think of. If I run across more pictures as I'm updating this entry might change.