Showing posts with label brick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brick. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

How To Build a Simple Fire Pit

Updated by popular demand.  I've decided to put up a quick post because there has been a lot of interest in how I built this fire pit.  So, here we go.

First, dig a hole the size you'd like for a fire pit.  This is about 40 inches x 40 inches with a depth of about 9 inches.

Once dug out, tamp or pack the soil tight and level (Not really seen in this photo).

Lay out the cinderblocks in a square and level.  Fill in with some of the soil that you dug out.

Next, lay some decorative bricks on top.  Once in place, dump soil or sand on top of the bricks and try to rub it into the seams.


 
TA DA!  You have a simple, cheap fire pit that is easy to maintain, easy to fix, and easy to remove.  


THANKS and please let me know if you need anything or have any questions!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Digging My Own Grave

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Must of done something wrong to be digging my own grave...  With Megan's b-day shovel...

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"He knew he had it comin..."

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That ain't no grave, it's the early stages of a new fire pit! 

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It's getting there...

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Oh boy, just in time for Memorial Day Weekend!  (For instructions, please visit: http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2013/06/how-to-build-simple-fire-pit.html)

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Oh happy wife.  A new fire pit and hammock all in the same weekend.  Must of been a good birthday!
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Now for some randomness.  And, what could be more random than cuddling chincillas?
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Deer hanging out on a driveway on our walk.  The eyes tell me he's a robot

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Bobette and Bob chalk drawings at Cobbles Elementary

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What does this mean?

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The new petunias seem to be holding their own.  

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Poppies (which can only be said in the Wicked Witch of the West's voice.  Sorry)

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Waiting to vote for Penfield's 4.4% property tax hike, there was a little art show that featured my niece Rachel's awesome rendition of Hokusai's Great Wave.  There's framing.  The color gradient in the sky is well done.  The marker line work is beautiful.  
Looking forward to the long weekend.  A MUCH, MUCH needed weekend and should be a lot of fun.  Hope yours is too!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I'm Mike Kraus and I Approve This Message

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YEAH!  The bricks are in at Lollypop thanks to all the good people at Zaretsky and Associates Landscaping http://www.zaretskyassociates.com/!!!  Between injuries and hurricanes, it took a lot to put these in the ground.  I can't wait to tell our excited donors they are in!

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And a quick update on the construction.  It's going up fast.  I saw some masonry on the clinic in the back and the roofing being installed.  It won't be long before these will be occupied!
Not much else to report.  I've been super, super busy lately.  So, I'm boring...

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Week In the Life of a Lollypop Farm Employee

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I believe this sign should be made available to all employees having a rough day.  Perhaps in t-shirt form for those without an office.  


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My getting to work wheels and my at work wheels.  Compare and contrast.  


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THE BRICKS ARE IN!  YEAH!!!!  Thanks to Zaretsky and Associates landscaping for the installation.  Thanks to my team for all the work they've put into it.  Most of all, to all our donors for participating!!!


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So many good bricks.  They look better now that they've been swept and it has rained


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Lots of new birds at Lollypop Farm after a surrender.  These guys captivate my attention every time I walk by.  


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Thanks to Dee for my new desk ornament.  It's Squash Beetlejuice!  Michael Keaton has never looked so good.


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Thanks to Karen for my new creepy Puss In Boots clock.


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OH MAN!  The set is going up for getting your Holiday Pet Photos.  At the very least, you should check out the pics of Santa with the animals.  But, it would be even better to sign up and have a picture taken with you furry friend at:


HOLIDAY PET PHOTO AT LOLLYPOP FARM


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Our Weekend in Skane-A-Teles!

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July 4th Weekend in Skaneateles, New York.  For those outside of western New York, it's pronounced "skinny-atlas," but I prefer to call it how it is spelled which is "Skane-a-teles."


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First stop, the William Seward House in Auburn, New York.  For those who don't know, he was the Secretary of State under Abe Lincoln and was expected to get the Republican nomination for president instead of Lincoln.  Interesting guy and the book Team of Rivals will tell you that.


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Seward in his park.


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C-SPAN telling us that Alexis de Tocqueville was in Auburn.  Thank you C-SPAN


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Sad lion at the entrance of the Seward House.  Perhaps he is sad because his master never became president?


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I don't want to ruin the Rivals book, but this is the wagon that Seward fell out of and broke his face.  The face that was later stabbed during the assassination attempt of him and VP Johnson when Lincoln was killed.


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I did get to "Meat the Bull" at Johnny Angel's in Skane-a-teles!


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HERE'S THE BULL!  Fries just the way Meg likes 'em!


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Skaneateles Lake, which is apparently so pure that they don't have to filter it for human consumption.


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A view of the town from the lake


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Folks from Michigan will appreciate this.  This is the "beach" and people are expected to pay to swim here.  $2 for residents.  $3 for non-residents.  And, they have more lifeguards and life saving equipment than that state of Michigan at this spot.


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Here is the one guy who paid to swim


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THE JUDGE IS COMING!


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Nothing like a little Razzle Dazzle!


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Once again, the city


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And, here's what everyone wants to really see.  Notice the light from heaven to comes from inside...


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Surprisingly, this is not in southern France.


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A view of our cottage


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The place where suicidal Coy fish jump.


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It's a painting by Monet.


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Took a break from all the beauty to eat all the deliciousness at Rosalie's Cucina.  Super good food.  Bill Clinton and Billy "Huuuuuuge" Fuccillo agree with me on that.  And so much that I was kicked out of the "Clean Plate Club" for one night only.


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More beauty!


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Charles Burrows Memorial.  I think he's a local artist, but too lazy to look it up right now.  


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For future reference, my gravestone should be carved into something awesome like this.


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Oh yeah, it was our belated anniversary weekend since we couldn't properly celebrate last weekend.  How do I know?  The chef told me at Mirbeau by writing it in chocolate.  Apparently, the restaurant use to be terrible.  I am here to tell you that it is now awesome!


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Megan loving the room and view


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The view Megan loves!


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Do you know what's awesome?  Wearing bathrobes everywhere!  Here's Megan on Sunday morning at the Bloody Mary bar.  


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And here I am being alluring...


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This is more like it...


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Oh Mirbeau!  How we love you and could never afford to see you again.  The massages, the spa, the food, the relaxation were all awesome.


But, I will give one serious review:  The weddings were really obnoxious.  If I had paid that much money to find peace and relaxation I would have been very upset at the many screaming kids tearing apart thousands of dollars worth of landscaping at the pond, hearing the Black Eye Peas repeatedly blasting, and drunk groomsmen running around with beer coolers yelling obscenities.  It's pretty much the exact opposite of everything you want at a spa.  Now, I know that they probably make a killing from weddings, but maybe they should consider things like: no minors allowed, ceremonies, or building a separate complex for people to celebrate at instead of trying to relax.  But, again, it really didn't take away things from me since I'm usually the baffoon at these places and I probably could never afford to go back...


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Carpenter Falls just off of Skaneateles Lake.  Again, there are more waterfalls around here than you can imagine...


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That's a 90-foot drop


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WHERE'S OUR CAMARA STICK?!?!


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Just an old bus in the woods...


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Just when you thought you saw all the waterfalls; there's more!  Well, probably about 20 more that we didn't see if we continued down the path.  The "path with ropes" (without ropes) was on about a 85 degree incline.  Worth it though


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Why do all of our waterfall shots look like we're photoshopped into them on this camera?  


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For all you art majors that wasted all that money at college, here's a scene from a Hudson Valley School of painters (which there is a nice example of at the Seward House).


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These falls also double as a white trash pool


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These are only 60-foot falls...


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On another note:  MY BRICKS ARE FINALLY IN AT LOLLYPOP FARM!!!


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Happy donors will make a very happy Mike!


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BILL CLINTON!  WHY MUST YOU FOLLOW ME EVERYWHERE?  Not a brick from Lollypop, but he and Hillary certainly made the people of Skane-a-teles very happy in 1999.


That's it for now.  I'm hungry. 

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