Movers and Shakers

This is the look of a sad little girl who's husband won't let her move into her new house earlier than planned.  


Almost all of our junk fits into the living room.  And moving is the best way to fight post-Thanksgiving turkey coma


Everything has a place and every place has a thing (except the 2nd floor, which is vacant)

So, for those of you that really want to know, our new address is:

41 Woodside Dr

Rochester, NY 14526

We'll be moving soon at Lollypop Farm too!  This is the exterior of the new clinic with siding and all.


There will be lots of happy cats looking out these windows soon


Cats-eye view


Nice masonry!


For all you HVAC and other system fans out there...


Interior of the new training center.  Quite a vast expanse!


The walls about to go in the new office space.  In front is open office space for desks and other equipment.  Offices on the left side.  Kitchenette straight ahead.  Bathrooms slightly to the right.  And the far right and back will be meeting rooms.  A lot of progress and it won't be long before it's all finished!

That's about it for now.  As things stand now, the next episode will be "how to fix insulation problems in your home."  Good thing it should be a nice, warm weekend...


A huge THANK YOU to a lot of people:
Terry Clar for letting us into every home in Monroe County and being patient with two idiot first-time home buyers.  To Bob Schreiber for teaching us about houses, all the running around, and generous support in trying to find a place to call "home."  To Megan's dad for storing our crap at his house for longer that we'd like to admit and so, so, so much, much more.  To Dave and Alison for working the morning shift of the move and moving the armoire into its final resting place (+ coffee).  Rich for letting these homeless bums squat at his place, move us in-and-out-out-and-in, and countless other ways big and small.  Erin brought the sugar high of Girl Scout Cookies and pop to finish out the move.  Marianne, who is pimping out our apartment (more on that later).  Mike Renahan for a couple great home inspections.  To Rachel for moving in a dining room table and breaking in Scrabble at our new house.  I'm sure I'm forgetting lots of people and apologize if I did.  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  None of this would have been possible without you!!!

This Long National Nightmare Is Finally Over...

After two very, very long years of looking.  Many, many declined offers.  Failed inspections.  And about a billion other issues, we finally have a home:


Here I am with my very, super excited little wife in front of our little home on 41 Woodside in Penfield


A fireplace in the living room.  


The kitchen.  


First floor bathroom.  Under the vanity has a lot of lost little kid items


Master bedroom


Family room entrance and hutch



rest of the family room


Another bedroom on the second floor



Another bedroom upstairs


The world's most beautiful yellow bathroom.  This picture really doesn't do justice to it...


I'll be adopting a lot of goats to mow this lawn.


Home sweet home!

There are about a million people we have to thank for making it possible for us to even have a home.  It's crazy how long it took and quickly it all ended.  YEAH!

An Ode To Babysitting

"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"  From Aunt Meg and Uncle Mike's of course!  And what better way to go for a walk around the neighborhood than in a Batman mask.  This girl owns my heart.


I am required to write: "WHAT A STRANGE BOY!"


Drawing mermaids and Ren & Stimpy-esque portraits of each other



Dedicated to her art or mesmerized by the Eagles losing to the Cowboys?  Your call...


So much cupcake covering her hands.  She's almost as bad as me...

That's all from Rochester.  I just realized Thanksgiving is next week.  So, got to figure that all out.  Anyway

I'm Mike Kraus and I Approve This Message

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!






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...