life is good...
on occasion. I'm sucking down my second Skyy on the rocks, Mrs. SOG is manning the grill (I'm forbidden to approach Grillzilla, except to clean it and repair it... she is a goddess, but doesn't appreciate my burnt offerings...). She's making grilled Cubanelle peppers, grilled asparagus, and grilled corn on the cob. I made a side dish of huge slabs of mozzerella cheese, topped with marinated plum tomatoes and fresh basil from the herb garden. All will be layered on thick slices of toasted semolina bread (except the corn, that will be rolled in a stick of butter and doused with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper), all to be washed down with my new favorite wine (more on that later - I'll save you a bottle, Bing).
Tomorrow night after work I will be making the prototype of the two dozen Arts and Crafts brackets that will support the book shelves that will run around the living room at the height of the top of the windows and doors. Once I refine the design, I'll throw a picture up here so you can ooh and ahh...
After some fierce calculations last night, I discovered that, barring some unforeseen disaster, I will be completely out of debt, except for the mortgage on this grim old pile, by the end of the year, which will allow me to fill the coffers with enough coin to start construction on the new woodworking shop next spring. YAY! Just in time to remodel the kitchen for the third time and the dining room for the second time. I have six base cabinets to build and five wall cabinets for the kitchen, with new solid wood counter tops. The dining room has been measured for five foot tall paneled walls, in the Arts and Crafts style, and a coffered ceiling with copper ceiling panels set in between the beams. Of course, that means all new trim and probably a new Arts and Crafts style mantle. I will probably be selling the period style mantle I built for the dining room fireplace at some point, if anyone's interested. It's big - almost six feet wide and five feet tall. It's in the Federal style, with dentil mouldings and such. I'll post a picture one of these days.
Well, the dinner bell has rung.
Have a wonderful evening, my fellow wanderers...

Touch me...