Day Twenty Five

Funny story.  First, let me apologize for any electrical engineering misrepresentations.  I have no idea how that actually works; I have classified anything in the electricity realm as magic.

The husband and I like to think of ourselves as DIY'ers.  And as such, we try to do things ourselves; it's our badge of honor.  So with the closet project that we did last year, we noticed that there was an extra light in the ceiling of the closet and decided to run it to a switch.  This way, we could have another light in the bedroom, over my dresser.  But, as most good DIY projects posses, there was a hiccup.  The switch ended up also sending the power to the bathroom.  If that switch was off, then so was the bathroom--lights, outlets, fan.  It has since been remedied, and the power goes everywhere.

Today was another working day.  The guys were busy.  They switched off the breaker to the bedroom and started to pull down sheetrock and reroute wiring (added pain in the butt...because why would everything go smoothly).  The lead contractor told me that the breaker had been switched back on, but that wasn't the case.  When the husband got home, he switched it back on, and we didn't think about it for a bit.

Then I needed to wash dishes in the bathroom.  I tried the lights, nothing.  Luckily, there was some daylight left, so the dishes got done.  But there's no light up there, and it gets dark so early.

Tip #15:  Adapt and overcome.  The guys didn't know that the wiring is all weird; why would they?  I had totally forgotten until tonight.  Is it an inconvenience?  Sure.  Is it the biggest one of this project?  Not even close.  Fortunately, both the husband and I have phones with flashlights on them.  We will adapt and use those tonight; and I will leave a note to make sure that it's taken care of tomorrow. We will survive.  In the meantime, we're in the dark.

Here's the opened wall inside my bedroom.  There's that tricky wiring that is causing us some strife.

The lead contractor came today to move that pesky hot water heat line that's been in the way.  So the rest of the bedroom should get done quickly.  It doesn't look as tough as I would have thought; the copper was just cut out and pex was run.  Easy-peasy.

I also noticed that the stuff in the island had been moved, and did a little investigating.  There were some holes in the cabinet.  

This shot is from the basement.  Looks like I'm getting some plumbing to the island now.  

Day Twenty Four

Today was another nonworking day; the lead contractor called me to let me know (woah, first) and he also told me that he will be here tomorrow.  I'm seriously considering going around with sticky-notes, and putting them on all the things I have questions about...do you think that's too much?

So though nothing was really done today, yesterday was a work day.

Tip #14:  Prime your new sheetrock.  I overheard someone at the big box store talking about how you really need to prime dry-wall, or it gets really messy.  After talking to one of the crew, he verified this.  So off to the depot we go.

I cut in and the Husband rolled.  This is usually how we work.  The walls in the pantry needed to be primed.

As did some of the walls....

...and the ceiling in the kitchen.  

We also painted the kitchen ceiling.

The pantry had some taping on the edges, so the ceiling needed to be repainted in there too.

Another development is the removal of the dining table.  I may have pulled the trigger and ordered a new dining set.  So the Husband sold the old one.  Look at the room in there.

Day Twenty Three

It was a work day!!  An actual work day!

I spoke to the head guy yesterday, so I knew that he would be at the house.  There's new photos.

Here's my view into the dining room.  There is so much room.  I didn't think it was particularly cramped, not like it was when all of the appliances were in there, but look at that.  I could host a dance party.

There used to be a wall in the middle of this shot.  It blows my mind that the kitchen/dining room is so long now.  Just wait until the granite is in and that ram board is up.  

The pantry was addressed today.  Here's the latest.  I was able to come home mid-day and talk to the crew.  They had another hiccup with the pantry cabinets, but it looks like they ironed that out.

I have so much storage out here now, and it's not going to be all in the open for everyone to see.  See those shelves?  I have so many, I don't know how many I will be able to fill.

 The bedroom was visited today too.  I'll take the babysteps that I'm seeing.

This is what I saw when I got home today.

For those of you that don't feel like scrolling back to what we've been seeing for the last three weeks or so, here's the before.

I've got a pre-chimney demolition shot too.

Day Twenty Two

I came home to this:

That's the tool trailer.  This means that some work is going to be done.  Who'd have thought I'd be excited to see this huge box hanging out in my driveway?

Kitty wanted to be famous...but she didn't want to pose for the picture.

The pantry cabinets are still not in the pantry, but I have the right sizes now.  I've lost all track of the tip numbers, but sometimes there are hiccups in the process.  There was a measurement discrepancy in the pantry, and a new cabinet needed to be made to fit in the space.  We've been sort of waiting for that, in addition to the granite (cross your fingers, I hope to hear from them soon).  

The main guy that has been doing the work left a note with some questions, so I talked to him today.  My bedroom is going to be worked in!!  I'm so excited.  He said that it wouldn't be done, but it's closer than I have been in 4 weeks.  Maybe next week we'll be back in our master bedroom.  I'm aware that I'm too happy for this--but I'll have some changes to show tomorrow.

Day Twenty One

Another non-working day.  But we had dinner plans, so that more than made up for it!

We went to my MIL's (mother-in-law) for dinner.  Breakfast for dinner--my favorite.

The evening started out with treats!  Here are a few, displayed on the MIL's balcony.  She got us chocolate from this awesome, local place.  There's a box of chocolate turtles; I love those.

Here's a shot of the amazing view that we enjoyed during our dinner.  Well, the owl mugs came after, but you can see the Hudson in the background too.

Mmm...Bacon.

In addition to the bacon, we had french toast.  Here's the deliciousness, midway through.

Dinner and a view.

Just look at it.

Dinner also came with dessert!  We had strawberry shortcake.  That's what you'd find under all of the whipped cream.

Day Twenty

I have a new development.  It's project related, but it isn't construction.  The old fridge is gone!

The gentleman that bought our appliances let us keep our fridge while we needed it, and since we've had our new appliance, it has been awaiting pick up.  Today was that day.  Now I have more room in the dining room.  Of course, there is the matter of the huge pantry cabinets in there that are still taking up valuable space.  I'm looking forward to getting those out, so I can get a better sense of the space left in the dining room.

So that's all the new house stuff for today.  It was one of those days that we couldn't figure out what we wanted for dinner.  The husband started searching this site (compliments of the husband's director) and was attempting to find something tasty for dinner (warning--the site is vulgar; I love it).  Many of the options are a little obscure, and I ended up vetoing everything.  But his efforts did inspire our meal.

I mentioned chicken salad melts and we agreed.  It's one of the husbands signatures and it's one of my favorites.

Prepping the fixin's.

This is so easy to make.  We use the canned, white chicken breast, celery, mayo, and some seasonings.

The husband is mixing the amazing goodness.  He should be a hand model.

MmM...melty cheese.

Here's the melts all plated up, on the only two plates left from my old set of dinnerware.  The new set is in its boxes, hanging out in my sunroom.  Prior to that, the new dinnerware spent a year at my moms, taking up space and being moved around.  Thanks for holding onto those, Mom!

Here's my full dinner.  It needed something green.  The husband doesn't eat peas, so the whole bowl is mine.

Day Nineteen

Today was another non-work day at the house, so I don't have any new developments to show you.  I did text for an update, and I have been assured that they will be working on my bedroom by the end of the week.  That's a plus.

We've been jonsing spaghetti and garlic bread.  So the husband made that for dinner tonight. It totally hit the spot.

Here's the pasta, all plated and sauced.  Absolutely amazing.

This gloriousness is garlic bread.  We also learned to make sure the broiler knob is set exactly on broil or nothing happens.  Lesson learned.  

Day Eighteen

I started taking photos for today's post, and I realized that they look exactly the same as yesterday.  The crew sanded the walls. but it's not visible in 2D; they are so smooth now.  Once wiped down, it'll be ready to paint.

Our latest conundrum is the bathroom vanity.  I haven't been able to find something that fits the vision without breaking the budget.  We initially had a cabinet that matched the old kitchen cabinets.  I sold it.  So I need a replacement.

Empty bathroom.  No vanity.  No sink.  This means going upstairs to wash dishes still.

I've scoured the internet.  The husband had this idea of getting a laundry tub for in there, since we want one down the road.  But "down the road" is a few years off, and we'll have to store it.  Plus those are just as much as some vanities.  I'm holding out for the right one.

That's the latest; we've got a busy weekend, so no painting or shopping.

Day Seventeen

You know how you have these sense memories?  Like you taste or smell something and it reminds you of something in the past.  My olfactory memories are ridiculous (and despite never being able to breath through my nose, my sense of smell is really sensitive).  I equate the smell of cooking onions to Christmas morning because my mom made homemade stuffing when I was a kid, and cooked the onions, celery, and sausage on Christmas morning.  I woke up to the smell of cooked onions.  Strange, right?

So I walk into my house today and there is a new odor.  And this new odor reminds me of being in second grade.  The smell I'm picking up is fresh dry-wall (joint) compound; the stuff they use to tape up the joints of sheet rock and all the screw holes.  That's the smell.  Why, you ask, do I flash back to being 7 years old?  When I was in second grade, my parents built our house.  Sure there were contractors for the cement, well, and the likes, but for the most part, they did all the work.  I can remember doing my homework on the big spool that held the power line that was used to bring electricity from the road to the house.  My brother and I used to play on the cut down trees (some were very bouncy on their sides).  My mom and dad did the dry-wall work, including taping and sanding.  That's why the smell means something to me.

It's kind of weird how the brain works.  

The sheet rock guys came today.  Everything in the kitchen has been mudded and is drying.  It looks very nice.  

The pantry all taped up.  Waiting for sanding.  See the little blower in the back corner.  That was on when we got home.  It was shaking the house.  That tiny, little fan.

Here's the view from the pantry to where the wall separated the kitchen from the dining room.  All that's left is a little strip of wall for the switch.  It's all taped and gorgeous!

View from the dining room, opposite side of the above photo.

The patches on either side of the doorway are where lights used to be.  Since there's six lights in the ceiling, they weren't necessary anymore.

Our beautiful ceiling.  Complete with lights.  Yay!

Day Sixteen

Another nonworking day...It's difficult to blog about work that isn't happening.  The sheet rock guy is coming tomorrow to do sheet rock-y things.  I'm not sure what that entails; I'll have pictures.

In the mean time, the title pf my blog is "What's for dinner?".  Having a functioning space is great, even if it isn't completely done.  We've made another meal.  I've been jonsing breakfast for dinner and I rock a mean frittata.  So the decision was made, sans bickering.

The range cooks better than I imagined.  Look at it.

Oven time.  The frittata got nice and fluffy.  I couldn't seem to manage this much fluffiness in my old oven.

The husband's plate.  It looks good, but it tasted better.

Day Fifteen

Another day without any changes.  I look back onto Tip #7.  I'm not comfortable not knowing what's going on--and I'm even less comfortable when I'm not sure when everything will be done.  I was told this project would take 18 working days.  That was before the chimney situation.  So I texted the contractor.

Some sheet rock work is supposed to continue Thursday.  Of course, once the walls are ready, I won't be able to paint until October--I don't have the time.  That sounds like a Columbus Day Weekend project.

I also checked on the ladder that has taken up residence in my back yard.  That will be taken care of as well; I just had to confirm the shingle color.  The roof has been waterproofed and no leaks have been spotted, but the weather can change any day.  I realize I'm being a little dramatic, and the snow is far off, but still--I worry.  And the contractor understands, and has assured me that they are on it.

I'm waiting to hear about the bedroom. I really miss my mattress.  The guest room is nice, but it's like staying in a hotel; it's just not the same.  So, we wait.  

Day Fourteen

Today was a non-working day at my house.  The guys popped in for some tools, but we're sort of in a holding pattern.  No major work can be done until the granite comes.  There are a few "little" things still--the bedroom, attic floor, roof.  Nothing super urgent, but it's all involved.

The crew left us with a functional space though, so we've been taking full advantage.  The title is "What's for Dinner?", right?

Friday and Saturday were busy evenings, so our first quasi-official meal was yesterday.  I say "quasi-official" because I'm not counting it until the kitchen renovation is finally over.  I am still working on the menu for the first official post-reno meal (suggestions are welcome).

Sunday was shaved beef sandwiches and green beans.  Yum.

We like to cook our green beans in the least healthy way possible.  These are sauted with garlic, on our new range.

Here's the Husband pulling the yummy, melty, cheesy shaved beef sandwiches out of the new broiler.

Tonight, the Husband suggested  grilled cheese for dinner.  I like to make it with a little extra something--I use ricotta with basil, oregano, and lots of garlic with the mozzarella cheese.  It just so happens that our new range also came with this nifty griddle for the center burner.  It made one heck of a grilled cheese.

Couldn't get a nice golden brown like this on my old stove.

So no countertop yet, but the cabinets are closed on the top, so we have a work surface!

Other developments from this weekend:

It's kind of hard to read, but the screen on my fridge (yes, there's an LCD screen) says "USB not found".  I can upload photos to the fridge, and it will put them in a slideshow.  I'm not entirely sure what the function of that would be, but I like it.  Oh, I know.  magnets don't stick to the fridge.  I'll be able to take picture of the things I would hang there, and then upload it.

This is the first batch of ice from our ice machine!

Day Thirteen

Today's goal was to make the space functional for the weekend.  The crew has been working their tails off to make this happen, and the big changes in such a short time are mind blowing.  In one week, we went from an empty space to an actual kitchen.  I can't even picture the old kitchen in there anymore.

Last night, we picked out knobs for the cabinets.  I didn't realize there was so much to consider when choosing the handles.  Our contractor recommended knobs over handles or cups.  The reasoning behind this is for future updating.  A quick, inexpensive way to update a kitchen is the door hardware.

Here's the photo from tonight.  The knobs look great on the doors and drawers.  It was also recommended we go with a circular knob--directional knobs can loosen up and change direction, leading to mismatching.  This drives some control-freaks crazy.  I have been well advised.

The microwave, range, and refrigerator are all functioning.  The gas line was run to the range and hooked up.  The husband and I decided to convert from an electric range to gas because "it's better and I wanted it", to quote the husband.  I grew up with a gas range, and it took me a long time (and a number of ruined pies) to learn how to adjust to an electric range.  I'm glad to go back.  I also liked the way this range looked.

The water line was hooked up to the fridge too.

Filling the first bottle of water from the fridge!!

We have city water where we live, and it's good, but it's very chlorinated.  I once left a water bottle closed for part of a day, and when I opened it, it smelled like a public pool.  We've been filtering our water for over a year.  I haven't filled my water bottle at home since the end of August (I could use the bathroom sink, but that skeeves me out).  This was the best moment of my day!

The crew also cleaned up everything today.  My dining room is no longer covered in a layer of grit.  It's so nice.  I haven't seen the surface of my dining room table in nearly three weeks.

All dusted and shiny.

Tip #13:  Enjoy the little things.  Throughout this project, I've been taking each little thing as a victory.  It makes the entire process, both awesome and uncomfortable, go smoother.  I did a happy dance yesterday, and today, I was overjoyed to fill up my water bottle.  Last week, I was walking around the house to grab things I needed from the fridge for grilling.  Sure, I've been frustrated at times, but the end product is going to be totally worth it.  Everything is relative.

 This is the view from the pantry into the dining room.  Those cabinets are going to end up in the pantry, but for now they're hanging out.  Even still, look at all that space!