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Feb 17 2015

The Great Ice Age of 2015

I’m sitting in my wife’s car, in front of our house. I decided to come out today to start it and melt the ice off. I’ve been sitting here with the defroster on for 10 minutes now and here is my windshield:

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The yard looks like it has snow, but nope. It’s ice as well. Not sure how I will gracefully go down the hill back to the front door:

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I’ve seen a few cars drive down the road today. Not sure what they’re thinking. It’s solid ice as well:

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School is out for the rest of the week. Kristen was commenting today that it’s so sad that people can’t just enjoy being at home – that it seems like people have an itch to have to get out of the house.

Stay home. Stay warm. Be safe. Enjoy some time off, whether you wanted it or not.

Apr 11 2014

Extreme Home Renovation 2014 – Widick House Edition

This is a year of Renovation for the Widick Family.

At the church I work for, we are undergoing some major renovation in the auditorium.  New paint, new pews, new configuration – its all very exciting.  But its not quite as exciting for us as what’s going on at the Widick house.

Back at the beginning of the year, we had finally saved up enough money to begin a renovation in our backyard.  We live in a wonderful home, but the backyard, well – it wasn’t so great.  It backs up to the woods, has a steep slope, and the deck was tiny, barely being big enough to have all three of us on it at once.

Here are some before and after photos for you to enjoy:

 

Here's a look at the steep slope behind our house. I hated mowing this. The stairs were very long, narrow, and dangerous. You can see now, we have added a terraced step down garden, and the new deck was added on to the old.

Here’s a look at the steep slope behind our house. I hated mowing this. The stairs were very long, narrow, and dangerous. You can see now, we have added a terraced step down garden, and the new deck was added on to the old.

 

Here's a look from the other side of the house. You can see how steep the yard was. Now, we have a little area leveled off (i'm going to turn that into a paver patio). You can also see a swing for Josie, a porch swing for us. I love how the stairs turned out!

Here’s a look from the other side of the house. You can see how steep the yard was. Now, we have a little area leveled off (i’m going to turn that into a paver patio). You can also see a swing for Josie, a porch swing for us. I love how the stairs turned out!

 

Here's how it looked before the renovation from the deck toward the south of the house. Now, from the same place, you can see the addition. (We will have to save to buy new deck furniture...)

Here’s how it looked before the renovation from the deck toward the south of the house. Now, from the same place, you can see the addition. (We will have to save to buy new deck furniture…)

 

The best part about the renovation is now, we can go from our driveway right onto the deck, and to the back door. We could not do that before. I'm on the driveway taking all these shots.

The best part about the renovation is now, we can go from our driveway right onto the deck, and to the back door. We could not do that before. I’m on the driveway taking all these shots.

 

Another look at the paver patio area (to be completed later). One of the other things you'll notice here is that we had several trees and brush cleared out from the woods. We can now play under the shade in the woods.

Another look at the paver patio area (to be completed later). One of the other things you’ll notice here is that we had several trees and brush cleared out from the woods. We can now play under the shade in the woods.