Here's The Story...

Well, we're making progress on the new home – and getting to meet some cool neighbors. Plus, Sunday was the first mowing day of the season! I borrowed Todd's mower and started to get acquainted with my weekly ritual.

When I say "we're making progress," by the way, I really mean "Mary is making progress." She has emptied the majority of boxes that we are going to empty for the immediate future. Rooms are getting organized, closets are getting filled. Albums are going up on walls. Tiki gods are finding their ways into tiki bars...

So, here are some pictures of our progress...


The dining room (with four of the five packs of Coke I got at Target for $15 and I received a $5 gift card!) is looking very cool. Once again, we have a home where my parents cool dining room furniture fits nicely.


Here's the deck right outside the sliding door off of the dining room. Our outdoor bar, table and six chairs all fit perfectly. Citronella tiki torches will soon grace the deck, too.


Here is a view of our expansive backyard taken right off of the deck. There is about 300 yards and a protected wetland, a creek and wildlife between us and the closest neighbor behind us. Speaking of wildlife, a giant groundhog lives at the base of our backyard, neighbors say, and deer are allegedly frequent visitors. All we've seen so far is a white cat who was hanging out by our deck.


We are morphing the Illinois "Rat Pack Bar" with the set up from our Florida family room for the all new, improved, "Rat Pack Tiki Bar and Den." Or something like that. Think: Tiki meets plasma TV. That's Clyde, by the way, in the lower left corner, saying "Hello!"


Framed albums and original Rat Pack autographs are back on the wall!


My parents had this neon sign made for us for our Illinois bar and it now has a special place on our wall here!


One guest room is complete! The Elvis bedroom features (for now) yellow walls! All we have to do is hang a few pictures and then take them down when we repaint. The point is, we can have guests!


Here's another view of the Elvis bedroom and the cool light we always put in a special spot.

It's all coming together. Me? I get to go back to work Monday and relax while Mary gets busy on the new, improved Bears room!

More later,


Mark