A few pictures of the nearly finished kitchen in the timber frame home we have been working on.Cabinets are a Red Birch Blend supplied by Voyageur Lumber in Ely.Counter-tops are Honed Mesabi Black granite supplied by Laurentian Monument. This past Monday evening I attended our monthly Parks and Rec meeting. It was held outside at … Read more

Some deck railing we completed in the last few weeks. Cedar top and bottom rails and then stainless cable in between.It took me a while to warm up to the stainless cable look, but I am liking it more and more now.It really is a lot less obstructive to the view, especially on a lake … Read more

Some progress on a current project, some ceramic tile has been installed in the kitchen and hallway areas over the “Gypcrete” and “in-floor heating system. This is the entry area and the walkway back to the master bedroom. To the lift, just past that timber post, is the stairway going to the basement and up … Read more

…and as quick as it started, it is over.The baseball season has come and gone once again leaving us with this sort of vague emptiness…Sure there will be some “fall ball” stuff going on and some camps here and there and we can always go to the batting cage and practice, but there is just … Read more

I recently needed a piece of granite  for a custom vanity I was working on and so turned again to the guys down at Laurentian Monument. I was given the OK by the home owner to go and pick something out that I thought was nice. They have a lot of nice stone slabs on … Read more

I recently came upon a couple old sketches I thought were interesting.They were in a sketch book that belonged to my wife’s sister.I have a vague recollection of visiting my wife’s family many years ago and, having nothing much to do, someone produced a sketch pad and some pencils.I never gave it another thought till … Read more

First of all I need to say, though I am on a couple of city commissions/committees, my comments do not, in any way, reflect the view of those groups and I am in no way speaking for them or as a person connected with the city in any way. My views, observations and comments have … Read more

The last of the ice on the lakes in the Ely area cleared off this week. After the rain on Monday, (May 12), there wasn’t much left on Burntside which is usually about the last to go completely. I took this picture on Tuesday May 13th. We  were seeing another nice day of mixed clouds … Read more

For some reason I always thought, if there are kids in the house, it is important to also have a piano.Maybe because, growing up, for me, that’s how it always was. It took it’s place there in the kitchen or living room. Some of us took lessons, some of us, like me, just sat down … Read more

Most of the siding went on earlier in the winter. We are using LP Smartside siding and trim from Voyageur Lumber in Ely. Here is a shot of one of the sides that was finished in December: Then the screen porch was framed in and the siding was just put on there recently as the … Read more