Flooring

This weekend, Trevor and my dad laid the hardwood floor in the kitchen and dining room. It looks fabulous, but Trevor says he is still sore because, as he put it, laying hardwood is not tough, but it is, and I quote, a lot of time "on your knees, on your butt, or bent over" (I hope this doesn't somehow, through the magic of technology, link to one of those undesirable websites as a result of that inimitable quotation...). He put up the light fixture in the kitchen, and now, it's a matter of woodwork, and a few paint touch-ups. The cabinet people are coming in 2 weeks to finish their part. Everyone seems to think we need to do something with the window, too. We will do the rest of the trim and we can call it done!!

Here are the almost final views from the usual angles: North, WNW and WSW.

Although there is not much left to do, I plan to blog here as things, infrequently, happen. I also have big plans for the rest of the house, which, as I have mentioned, will happen when or if we no longer have dogs who require the carpet for traction. I'll keep you posted.

Running water

It wasn't that I was lazy this weekend, I was just having too much fun in my kitchen to write. Friday we got lights, and running water, which includes a garbarator and the dishwasher (after not using it for 3 weeks, we ran it three times in one day...). It is beautiful. We cooked a nice dinner Saturday and ate it at the counter so that we could gaze at the creation. Now it's pretty much done except for the finishing touches (paint where the lights needed to be moved, kicks under the cabinets, repair of a minor problem with the sink, a couple more light fixtures). I have a theory, though, that 90% of the work takes 10% of the time, and my prediction of 2 years still stands.

But it is wonderful kitchen. It looks like it's from a magazine. This weekend, we are planning to put down hardwood flooring (Susan, thanks for your input...the tile is still up for debate). We really do need two more light fixtures - one to replace the bare bulb hanging from a wire in the middle of the room, and the other for the dining room, and we are considering backsplash options, since the new faucet has a lot more PSIs than previous. But, as Trevor put it, the spending is pretty much done. Now. it's almost all over but the payin' (pain... get it...haha).

The counter has already claimed its first victim... and especially tragic it was, since it was a daquiri just freshly poured. Unfortunately for Trevor and his daquiri, in a fight between glass and granite, the granite usually wins. We place things much more gently now. Probably a good habit to have anyway.

So, here is the latest view, from due west. Trevor says he will do the usual three views one of these days. I promise I'll let you know more promptly the next time anything happens... stay tuned.

Countertops!

We have counters! And they are beautiful. They are gleaming black and shiny. We even have a sink, and our collective fingers are crossed that tomorrow we will have plumbing. It looks wonderful!

I think we have decided to do hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room. We need to leave the carpet until the dogs are no longer with us, because they don't cope with slippery flooring, and flooring doesn't cope with dog nails. So we are planning to get prefinished hardwood and install it ourselves and use area rugs to get the dogs to the back door. When we are dogless, we will redo the rest of the flooring with the same hardwood. Trevor is worried we won't be able to find the same thing, or that what we install now will discolour a bit with age, but I think it's worth it. I'd like to take the chance.

Of course now I want to paint the rest of the interior our peanutbuttery colour, and replace the door frames and doors and woodwork, but I'm thinking it will have to wait until the floors are done. Well, maybe I'll paint a wall at a time, but to do it properly, I'll have to move the books, which is a major undertaking in and of itself. Although I am most definitely not ready for all that, I think it speaks volumes about the planning of our current project that I am even still talking about more renovation.

So, here are today's views: North, WNW and WSW. As soon as we get the dishwasher hooked up and the lights done, I think we'll be set. Everything else is gravy, but no one gets paid the rest of their reward until the gravy is completely cooked and served with a parseley garnish.

Handles and Trim

Today, the installer finished. We now have handles and trim. I put a few things away but it seems somehow wrong to put all our ratty, mismatched stuff back in these pristine cupboards. So I stopped after installing a couple of bottles of wine and my small scotch collection.

Trevor is doing dishes in the tub right now. It is pretty yucky to step on soggy leftover Cheerios in the shower in the morning. I am very excited for my garberator.

Tomorrow the counter people come to template the counter. For some reason tonight, though, I am pretty wiped out, so I will pass along today's photos and head to bed. Here is North, WNW and WSW.

Cabinet day

Today a nice man came to install cabinets. Trevor had to help him move the fridge and dishwasher, or sign a waiver that the dents and scratches were not the installer's fault, so he got his exercise first thing in the morning. But it is definitely taking shape. We have drawers and cupboards and a hole where the sink will go. We even have a spice thingy in one drawer, so I can organize my spices alphabetically, and a wine bottle holder that will keep 5 or 6 bottles of wine, if I ever had a bottle that lasted more than a day or two. Too cool. So the pictures are pretty good today. North, WNW and WSW. Tomorrow we get handles and trim.

I'm going to do laundry now.

Deliveries

Today we had successful deliveries and unsuccessful deliveries.

First, the cabinets were delivered, right on time, and are stacked in the kitchen/dining rooms as I type. It is a bit of a maze to get to the back door. Needless to say, today's views are somewhat distorted due to boxes in the way.

Second, our new microwave was delivered, late, and the old one was removed to be donated somewhere as part of the deal. Unfortunately, the new one doesn't work. Which will suck in the morning, because our coffee maker doesn't have enough juice to make the coffee hot enough to withstand the addition of the milk, so we usually microwave the milk first. Either we will need to heat the milk in a pot on the stove, or drink coolish coffee. Skipping the coffee is, unfortunately, out of the question.

On the up-side, though, the painting is done, and looks fantastic, and our dinner tonight was courtesy of my Gramma, who sent over a lovely casserole, which we were able to heat in the oven (it is hooked up, so we have used it occasionally). Thank you Gramma (and yes, it froze fairly well)! Tomorrow it is me sainted mother's turn to feed us. We are doing pretty well in the dinner department.

So here are the views. I am going back up to gaze at my boxes now. North, where you catch a glimpse of the new cabinets in the foreground, WSW, which is pretty much all boxes, and WNW, which is another view of boxes. Good night!

The Most Productive Weekend

This was the most productive weekend ever. Thanks to the grace of the in-laws, we were able to shop, childlessly, for paint on Friday night. We bought paint and cabinet hardware ( we chose "A", and got a hell of a deal, too, from Lee Valley. Paid $4.50/handle, where at Home Depot they were about $10 each and at the place that is building the cabinets, they were $20 each, for exactly the same thing. We needed 45.).

Now, to the actual painting. There are time pressures, because the paint needs to be done before the cabinets are delivered, tomorrow.

So Saturday, we did parental things in the morning - Trevor took Jack skating and I took Aimee to gymnastics. I managed to find a friend of Aimee's who invited her to play in the afternoon, then I kind of engineered an invitation for Jack to another friend's house, a family who are very generous in their neighbourliness, and agreed to entertain him for the afternoon in exchange for dinner. So I dropped him off, after going out for groceries and birthday party supplies. Then, with the help of Trevor's dad, painter extraordinaire, we got the first coat of paint on. We went for takeout Chinese at the friends', and, after a few glasses of wine, put the second coat on. Then, this morning, the kids played nicely by themselves for a while, and then "helped" us put a third coat on. The camel colour went on nicely, and was pretty much done at this point, but the red was not covering as well. So this afternoon, while the same friend brought her boys over to play and check out the carnage, Trevor & I did a fourth coat. Then we all headed off to the Y for Jack's birthday party, which was lots of fun. Still, the red was not completely done, so we slapped on a fifth after the exhausted kiddies went to bed. It still needs another coat, but it's to the point where we will live with imperfection after six coats. Trevor has taken a vacation day tomorrow for cabinet delivery so he will get the last one on first thing in the morning and hopefully it will dry before they scratch the hell out of it with boxes and things.

So this weekend, we managed to buy paint, apply five coats, attend gymnastics and skate, run six miles (collectively, Trevor and I), clean both bathrooms, change all the sheets and do three loads of laundry, and host a birthday party for 8 5-year-olds (we also met Jack's girlfriend's parents, too). We rock. It's 9 o'clock and I am drinking a small scotch, and we are both heading for bed.

But our colours are wonderful. The kitchen looks darned good.

Here are the weekend's updates. North, WNW, WSW. Notice in the view under the window where the red goes fairly low... that's where the kids were "helping" to paint. It worked, though, they had fun for 10 or 15 minutes and stopped asking if they could help.

I certainly need to give credit to the people who have helped us survive this ordeal so far. We have had meals provided by my parents, Trevor's parents, our friends Ian and Kelly, my Gramma has given us two casseroles (the first was delicious, I'll let you know about the second), and we have resorted to restaurants only maybe three times so far, and I haven't even wanted to drink that much. We have had child care provided by all grandparents, Ian and Kelly, Dawson's parents, our next-door neighbours, and Holly's mom. We have also had organization and cleaning help from my mom, and major painting help from Ron, Trevor's dad. Not bad at all. I pledge here and now that we will never move away. All this support and a great kitchen, too.

Builders are Finished

So the builders finished, one day early. The drywall is completed and primed, their tools are gone, and they even cleaned the floor a bit. It now smells more like paint than wet plaster. So the house is ours until Monday, when the cabinets are delivered. So it may not look exciting, but the dust should be settling soon and we are buying paint tomorrow. Here are today's pictures: North, WNW, and WSW. I woke up this morning feeling like I was getting the kids' cold, but I sneezed out a few putty-coloured loogies and felt fine. I guess it was just lungs full of plaster dust. I hope it isn't carcinogenic. Although, dysentery from lack of running water may become a more immediate problem. I have faith that it will all be worth it. And now, I must go watch ER.

Designer Consultation

Today, the construction progress was less obvious, but still present. However, the exciting part was we had a designer over who provided advice and suggestions on paint colours, for a nominal fee, of course. The back wall of the kitchen will be "raspberry truffle" and the rest of the main floor will be "acorn yellow" which looks, to my colour-blind eye, nothing like yellow, but goes very nicely with the cabinets and the furniture. I like consulting with people who have the ability to visualize things in three dimensions. I am incapable of it. In fact, it took masking tape outlines on the walls and floors to figure out how things would be. 2-D paper doesn't translate into 3-D for me. Which is why I was happy to find someone who would tell me what colours would "go" and which ones would look dorky.

The builder says that they will be done tomorrow. They will sand and prime the walls. Over the weekend, we paint, and clean the dust off everything. I was compelled to clean today when I saw the kids drawing happy faces in the dust on the coffee table. I'll see if I can get a picture of it tomorrow... I compulsively wiped it away before it occurred to me it would be a photo-op, a propos of our current state of living. Monday, the cabinets are delivered.

So, it won't look much different from yesterday, but believe me, there has been progress. Here are today's updates: North, WNW and WSW.

The Second Delay

... And the one that might do me in.

Today, T was informed that our range hood will not be in until February 22. No one will re-hook the gas stove until it is in and functional. So, as predicted, our three weeks could easily stretch another week. I am certain that the salesman forgot to order it, because when we laid down the Visa, it was instock in Calgary and would be here in three weeks. Which would have been perfect. No, I am not thrilled. Indeed, I was also under the impression that the builder was doing the ductwork for the hood, but alas, they were only doing the electrical, and we must arrange a subcontractor for the outlet, too. Delay next.

But, on the up-side, there was more visible progress: the old cabinets are all gone and the plastering is continuing. Everything in the house is covered in plaster dust. Our kitchen sink is gone, so the dirty dishes are in the bathtub, waiting to be scrubbed. The kitchen light fixture has been replaced by a bare bulb, for painting purposes (and for some inexplicable reason the old fixture is in the laundry room, propped against something, in the perfect spot to be stepped upon by yours truly. I have the scar to prove it). The dogs are doing better... not sure if it is T coming home at lunch, or the reduced use of power tools, but they seem far less distressed this week.

So, here is today's photographic update. North view, WSW view, and WNW view. I'll check in tomorrow.