Maple Hardwood Floors

I have been working on a few different projects around the house. None of them as intense as the project of sanding and finishing the maple hardwood floors. When i bought this house, there was disgusting stained carpet everywhere, except the dining room and living room. So i tore that up and found hardwood floors...with paint and old finish on them...and lots of it. Somebody had taken a paint sprayer and sprayed the trim and not put down anything to block the paint from hitting the floor. (why i aughta)
So dad and i began taking paint remover and scraping it off...
after maybe a day of scraping shit off the floor on our hands a knees and a few pints, we decided we needed a knew method. Too much sweat was pouring out with little result.
We went to the next step of renting a floor sander...what a great idea, i just have to walk behind the damn thing.
Well i rented an orbital floor sander that just didn't quite do it. It wasn't strong enough and didn't take the paint off quick enough. After a day of that (and a few pints) we decided we needed a drum sander. With some recommendations i went to Pete's Hardwood Flooring in St. Paul. They gave me some training and sent me off with 3 different sanders: drum sander, edge sander, and a radiator sander.
With the help of some friends (Jordan, Adan and my Dad, thank you all) we started sanding. I knew this was going to be a really big job...but i wasn't sure quite how big. We sanded about 400 sq feet with 5 different grits of sand paper.
By the end of it i was exhausted. It took 3 long days of kick your ass work.
I decided to finish the floors with a flat finish made of wax, linseed oil and flaxseed oil. It looks great and isn't the traditional glossy floor finish you see in rich people's houses. hehe.

Here are some before and after photos:

cold press

Today its 70 degrees.

I'm having my first cold press of the year
my gums are numb.
It was a big cold press.
: ))

March

March is over. That signifies a few different things for me. First off, this was the 5th winter that i survived cycling through the arctic tundra that Minneapolis is. This is by no means bragging; i feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Pride in my beliefs, pride in what i accomplished, and happy to keep doing it. Life in excess is nothing i want to be a part of, and that doesn't mean i think driving in the winter is morally wrong. I just discovered I don't have to do it.

My winter bike is in ruins at this point. It really did me well, carried me many miles through rain, sleet, snow, potholes, paved and unpaved road. I have replaced every component on the bike during the last 5 years (except the handlebars and stem). It also has colonies of thriving rust all over it. The worst of areas is beneath the seat post, where i had to re-weld the seat stays after a sign fell on it and snapped them off.

Also this has been a record breaking March...No snow...not a flake...i saw some hail one day...


This is not the end of that bike frame my friends!!!
The Eager Beaver will ride on!!
Off in to the sunset.
It needs new bearings in both hubs and a new chain, but after that it will be basically brand new....well... as new as its gonna get.

Bike Ride!!

Just recently a friend of mine told me about a park just out of minneapolis that is connected by bike trail. This park has a camping area, many lakes, fishing, hiking, and much more! Well that just sounds great, a place i can bike to and camp.
So a few days ago, Teeny and i decide to bike out to the park. The trail consists of 10 miles of paved trail and 15 of limestone trail. Its still March but we are having a very warm march; it was about 55 degrees with the sun out that afternoon. First we made it to Hopkins and after that the limestone trail starts. The trail was a bit muddy as we had alot of snow this year, but it was a beautiful ride. We made it out to the park after 25 miles. Unfortunately we didn't get to explore the park very much as the pub was calling our names. On the way back we stopped at Jake O'conner's for a pint, whisky and some shepard's pie. mmm. After that we were on our way home and made it as the sun fell.

50 mile spring ride!

Hopefully there will be many more to come with camping and fishing included.

Here's the route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3553884

I rode my Surly Long Haul Trucker that i recently built and it performed well... The brakes i decided to put on the bike turned out to be not a very good choice. They work, but not as well as i would like.

Overall good ride, good bike.

panama photos

The only poem in 6 months

The light sparkles from a few as we're all on different paths
If your lucky and smart you might catch some of it
It might show you something
It may make you feel something
Have fun
Find joy in all things
If something makes you smile
Well. Then. Smile
and enjoy it
Laugh. Laugh out-loud and enjoy it
Cry and enjoy it
Don't hold back
Don't die a stubborn, prideful bigot
Live with excitement, love and eagerness
Let people inspire you
Instead of keeping your pride,
you may actually be able to learn something from someone else
Just Maybe-
There are so many beautiful people in the world
with ideas, and thoughts and feelings
far different from yours.
You should talk to them


Hi, My name's Brett
How do ya like me so far!

Las Lajas, Panama

We pulled in to some cabanas (rustic cabins) late night after being lost for an hour. It seemed even longer because i was driving. As we were walking around the seemingly deserted area another car pulled up. We had checked the huts and they didn't have anything but a bed and a shelf. Which is exactly what you need in a beach hut. The lizards and grasshoppers roam free here, jumping from shoulder to shoulder.
We went back to the chained off entrance to talk to the other car. He found the property manager and woke him, and luckily he let us pass. He gave us some sheets, that barely stretched half of the bed and said good night.
We were left to our huts and bottle of rum to stare at the stars.
STARE WE DID!
There was very little light pollution and the stars were incredible. One of my top 3 star gazing nights. It was if we were at a basketball game and all of the cameras flashes were going off as Michael Jordan dunked the ball from the free throw line. A dunk like that only happens for 3 seconds. Now imagine it for over an hour.
The stars were competing for our attention that night.
They wouldn't stop sparkling and shining and shimmering!
We saw quiet a few shooting stars as well.
I don't know if we realized it at the time but i'm pretty sure it was a new moon. I don't remember seeing the moon, and it was a dark night.
Especially being in rural panama. You had to be lost to find this place.
When we woke up the next morning with the sun so bright i couldn't see with out sunglasses
We had a huge beach with one other family on it. When i say a huge beach i mean massive.
We picked coconuts for breakfast. Delicious coconuts.
Then...... we were off on our next adventure.
: )