Everything but the Kitchen Sink

The kitchen renovation is done. It took almost eight weeks and a lot of effort by many people. The floor, cabinets, counter top, appliances and pretty much everything else is new except, as the saying goes, the kitchen sink. We reused our old white cast iron sink.

It's taking a lot of getting used to having a new kitchen. I still feel like I'm cooking at someone else's house. Gary and I noticed that we can both be working in the kitchen without bumping into each other. Now it's more like dancing around each other.

I've been adding a few personal touches to make the kitchen feel more like ours. Three quick apple studies (delicious), a couple of garage sale vases, and my tea pot wearing a newly knitted tea cozy.

Oh, and I finally got that grilled cheese sandwich that I was craving.

Bow Wow Pizazz

Ginger came to visit. She walked in the front door and made herself at home. She drank water, ate some cat food, chewed up one of Alfie's old toys and a stick from the garden. I called the phone number on her tag and her people promptly fetched her.

Craige installed the gray glass tile backsplash. He had to make quite a few cuts to have it all fit nicely. He was unsure of our choice of white grout. He said it would look 'pizazzy'. That sounded fine to me. When he completed the grouting, he admitted to liking the choice. I love. It does look pizazzy. What do you think?

Rock and Roller

On the July 4th holiday weekend, we painted the studio ceiling and walls. It didn't look right to have the new kitchen stop in mid-room. It was 95 degrees on Friday, so we tried out the new cooling system. It works great for cooling. Hopefully, the heating will be just as efficient.

We finally took a break on Saturday to visit Island Park for the festivities. Local bands Mystery Train and the Hi-Tones played first and second. Last on stage was Peter Noone with Herman's Hermits. Peter sang some of his old songs, but also mimicked other singers including Mick Jagger,whom he claims is his father. His voice is still holding on. He was quite a comedian, even had Gary laughing. The fireworks were short and sweet.

Ready, Set, Cook

The appliances are in and it's starting to feel like a kitchen again. We took the dishwasher for a trial run. It works fine. I baked a Dutch Pancake on Sunday morning and have used the cooktop a couple of times. Today, I officially moved the kitchen out of the bathroom and back to its original site.

The tile is still pending and the vent hood is waiting for me to finish the patch on the wall where it will be located. A misplaced outlet and necessary bracing, both for the fan, led to more holes in the wall.

The guys from Home Comfort Heating are installing the mini-split heat pump system. Even more holes in the walls.

Gallery III

Food and Fun

Sunday, Father's Day, Summer Solstice. Three good reasons to get out of bed at 5:30am and eat at The Original Pancake House. The fresh fruit crepes are delicious.

This weekend, TV provided an escape from the kitchen project. Sometimes my brain needs comic, nonsensical relief. 'Grandma's Boy' is a funny film about a nerdy guy who moves in with his grandmother and her roommates. I had to laugh when he was vacuuming the carpet and lifted the sofa to find three mummified cats underneath. I know my house needs a thorough cleaning. Good thing we don't have any missing pets. 'Beer Fest' was more of Gary's type of dumb movie. It's about German and American beer makers. Lots of drinking games and boobs. It must remind him of his army days in Germany. 'Idiocracy' is the story of a man who travels 500 years into the future where everyone is stupid. They think that this newcomer is a genius and will solve all their problems. The world is not really so different. Everything is based on advertising. They even believe that Gatorade is good for the plants. Lots of fun poked at the corporate world.

Oh, we did manage to get the shelves and paneling up this weekend.

Plumbed

Brothers Aaron and Jeff, from Gary's Rooter and Plumbing Service, installed the new faucet in our sink. They hooked up water to the new dishwasher and refrigerator. They explained how copper pipe connected directly to galvanized pipe creates rust through electrolysis. The rust particles ruin fixtures and appliances attached to the pipe. Hopefully, all the new connections won't cause problems. Seems we had a rusty nipple. Sounds painful. Especially when a sawzall was needed to remove it.

The filtered water tastes wonderful. Finally, I can enjoy a cup of Earl Grey tea without an unpleasant aftertaste. We tested the icemaker. It works fine. The water from the fridge is so cold that we probably won't need too much ice and we'll keep it shut off most of the time.

Oops! Granite's Here

A quarter 'til nine in the morning the doorbell rang. The granite installers from Eugene Tile & Marble were here unexpectedly, but welcome. A little mix up about a phone call to let us know they were coming. They took a fifteen minute coffee break, which gave me time to clear off the counters. You might question the wisdom of putting a counter top on a counter top. We had come to consider the plywood base for the granite as our counter top. The microwave, coffee canister, cereal boxes and various tools covered it.

Davy and Eddie got to work right away measuring, leveling and cutting. Every time I see that Verde Bamboo I like it more. It is beautiful. The piece that went by the window was challenging to install. It took three people to get it in. Dana stopped by just for that purpose. These guys were perfectionists to the sixteenth of an inch. I don't know that I'd have the patience. They cut out the sink opening under a plastic tent to contain the dust. Davy remarked that Verde Bamboo was one of the hardest stones he's cut. Quartzite from Brazil is the most information I've come across.

Speedy Delivery

The appliances came today. Two young gentlemen with strong backs carried them in using straps hung over their shoulders. I didn't time them, but they couldn't have been here more than ten or fifteen minutes. The fridge had to go around the back and through the patio doors the same way chubby lazy susan went. Waiting now to hear from the granite folks. I'm hoping it will be all finished this coming week. The kitchen is crowded with boxed dishwasher, cooktop and oven. Two refrigerators grace my kitchen with their purring. We'll see if Gary remembers his promise to clean the stainless steel appliances. The delivery men had sweaty fingers.

Floored

Hooray! The floor is in. Now, we await the arrival of the appliances on Friday. They were originally scheduled to be here last Thursday, but the flooring didn't go in until today. So, I had to reschedule. The marmoleum is basically old fashioned linoleum with a new name. We chose a style called 'Signo'. I love its matt finish. And the gray color grounds the room.

There was a miscalculation on the number of knobs needed. We missed by four. It really is difficult to count virtual doors. Rejuvenation speedily sent them down from Portland.

I've put some of the kitchen's belongings away in the new cabinets. I once heard that it takes forty days to form a habit. It took less than three weeks with us. Gary and I still go into the bathroom (kitchen side) dish rack to get a spoon. Now all the utensils have a nice new drawer to live in.

Before the appliances come, I have to do some patching, painting, build two shelves, install moulding, oh, I'm getting tireee....

Gallery II

Let's Play Kitchen

Tonight I'm pretending to have a kitchen. The cabinets are finally getting installed. Tim and his helper, Hans, worked most of the day lifting, shimming, drilling and sawing. It's been a bit noisy, but a constructive and not a destructive noise. They did have one small issue. Lazy susan was too wide to fit through the kitchen door, so they carried her around the back and brought her through the patio door.

I have no sink, no stove or oven, not even a counter top, but it feels like a kitchen. I'll pretend to cook a meal tonight and Gary and I can pretend to eat.

Work Triangle

Kitchen experts talk about the work triangle. This is the distance from the refrigerator to the sink and the stove. It is a 28 ft. hike from the fridge to the sink. Then back past the fridge another 10 ft. to the microwave. I don't know which geometric figure this is. Certainly not a triangle.

Meals are a challenge. The first week we ate out quite a bit. That started to get spendy and we didn't always feel like going out. We've been experimenting with Trader Joe's frozen entrees. We're not big eaters, but some of those meals are too small, even for us. I had one that was mostly sauce.

I'm not a big fan of microwave cooking. Usually I use it for reheating leftovers or precooking potatoes. I did scramble some eggs in the microwave and they came out pretty good. Ending with strawberry shortcake always makes the meal worthwhile. Looks like another week, maybe two, before I can cook on a stove. Oh, a homemade grilled cheese sandwich sounds like a gourmet treat right now. Any offers?

It's Not Easy Being Green

Deciding to paint the kitchen green was the easy part. Deciding which green was more difficult. Spring Lawn, Key Lime, Fresh Pear, and Grasshopper were a few of the choices. There is, no joke, a color named Lettuce Alone. I've always wondered how paint colors are named. Maybe two buckets. One with adjectives and one with nouns, each chosen randomly, and combined to create a unique name for green.

We taped the samples to the wall and observed them whenever we walked past. Lush Meadow was the final winner.One small problem. Lush Meadow was not the paint brand we prefer. We took the sample to the paint department and the store clerk matched it and mixed the exact color.

We looked at the low VOC paints. The colors were limited and too muted for our taste. Sorry, Al Gore. Maybe there's a cap and trade program for households?

Funny thing. While painting, I got a strong urge for pistachio ice cream.