Backyard Stepping Stones

We had put in some stepping stones next to the firepit, but they were just on top of the dirt  JP spent the week finishing them up. She pulled them all out and put in some river rock to match what we have by the house.

It came out really nice and it now looks finished.

 

Pink Guitar Upgrade

When CG moved, he gave me his guitars. I modified the pink one to have some new P90 pickups. The original configuration was the normal three single-coil pickups.

The top pickup cavity had to be enlarged for the new pickup. Had to route out some pockets for the screws, too.

The new pickups and pickguard really changed the look and sound. Pickguard: $12, pickups: $18. The middle pickup is a humbucker I had lying around in a drawer. It's fun to play and it doesn't look like a $100 guitar any more. The next step is to get a "Barbie" decal for the headstock and have her autograph it.

 

Lake Walks

It's so nice having the lake be part of our daily walks. 

 

Brickwork

We spent one of the holiday weekend days finishing up the bricks on the front steps. Getting the old construction adhesive removed was the most challenging part. Now al the bricks on all the steps are solid.

 

Backyard Rodents

 

Rib Weekend

For independence day weekend, CP came over and we smoked up some ribs.

I think I finally have the method down: dry rub, 225° for 4.5 hours. Keep water in the tray and leave the ribs alone.

We also tried smoking some brats. Mmmm Tasty!!

 

Paddleboard

We have been so busy this summer that JP has not been out on her paddleboard. We were able to talk GP into trying it and he actually had fun!

S doesn't care for his lifejacket, but he does enjoy riding around the lake.

 

Smoky Haze

We've had on & off smoke from the wildfires in Canada. On the bad days, we cannot see the buildings downtown.

 

Pride March 2023

We had a nice cloudy day for the Pride March. Last year we cooked in the sun. This year, JP wore a jacket.

The parade goes for three hours. All the big local companies, sports teams, and groups marched.

Afterwards, we hit the beer garden and one of the four stages at the festival in Loring Park.

 

DN Time

The N girls took off and spent the day & night downtown at the Taylor Swift show. We had DN to ourselves and took him out to Excelsior and had dinner on Lake Minnetonka.

The dogs were missing the girls.

 

Noon Twins Game

The N clan came up from Chicago for the Taylor Swift concert. DN & I hit a noon game in the sun. By the 6th inning we had to abandon our seats and find some on the upper level in the shade.

 

Pride Run @ Work

GP & I participated in the Pride Run at work with 100+ other people. Together as a company, we raised over $10k for the Trevor Project.

 

Rose Garden

One of our favorite walks is over to the Lyndale Park Rose Garden. All the roses are in full bloom and the fountains are running. 

 

Pride Theme Night

We hit Pride Night at Target Field and scored some really nice Twins Pride Jerseys,

It was a perfect night for a ballgame and our seats were awesome - right by 1st base.

 

Baby Ducks

 All the baby geese & ducks have hatched and are everywhere 

Our backyard duck came by with her babies, but could not get them up the step to the birdfeeder. They wandered down to the lake and we haven't seen them since. The mom still comes by every day, but without her ducklings.

 

Brickwork

The bricks on our front stoop have always been a bit wonky. They were installed with construction adhesive that gave up its grip before we moved in. We fixed the bottom row a couple years ago and now it's time to fix the next row up.

The most difficult part was grinding & scraping the old adhesive off. After that, it was just like laying tiles.