Friday, October 31, 2008
We are trucking right along. Things we have accomplished:
Demo'd the old kitchen and sold the old cabinets, countertops and sink on Craig's List for a tidy sum.
Framed the new walls for the new layout.
Opened the new doorway into the kitchen.
Plumber moved sink lines and drain, plumbed water for the refrigerator, and moved the gas line for the rangetop.
Wood floor folks are here right now patching all the holes in the floor.
You want to see how this all began?
Pretty nasty, huh? I can't tell you how bad it smelled when we pulled it up. Shudder.
And this we like to refer to as The Wall of Death.
It has water, 240V electric power, 120V electric power, gas, and it's load-bearing. If you let your imagination run wild you can come up with all kinds of ways for that wall to kill you. None of them are pleasnt, but some are quite spectacular.
Next up, finishing all the wiring. We didn't end up needing the electrician for any of it. It's Bud's favorite part of the job and the 240 ends up being a pretty small affair. We should have that done by Monday, then sheetrock and then cabinets!!!!
Wanna see my new rangetop? You can click on it to learn more about it.
On the homeschooling front, in addition to doing at least 2 of the 3 R's each day, the kids are learning Life Skills. A construction schedule waits for no homeschooling mama.
This weekend I get to go to the granite yard to look at slabs. I'm psyched. What are you doing?
Demo'd the old kitchen and sold the old cabinets, countertops and sink on Craig's List for a tidy sum.
Framed the new walls for the new layout.
Opened the new doorway into the kitchen.
Plumber moved sink lines and drain, plumbed water for the refrigerator, and moved the gas line for the rangetop.
Wood floor folks are here right now patching all the holes in the floor.
You want to see how this all began?
Pretty nasty, huh? I can't tell you how bad it smelled when we pulled it up. Shudder.
And this we like to refer to as The Wall of Death.
It has water, 240V electric power, 120V electric power, gas, and it's load-bearing. If you let your imagination run wild you can come up with all kinds of ways for that wall to kill you. None of them are pleasnt, but some are quite spectacular.
Next up, finishing all the wiring. We didn't end up needing the electrician for any of it. It's Bud's favorite part of the job and the 240 ends up being a pretty small affair. We should have that done by Monday, then sheetrock and then cabinets!!!!
Wanna see my new rangetop? You can click on it to learn more about it.
On the homeschooling front, in addition to doing at least 2 of the 3 R's each day, the kids are learning Life Skills. A construction schedule waits for no homeschooling mama.
This weekend I get to go to the granite yard to look at slabs. I'm psyched. What are you doing?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Kitchen toys
Okay. This kitchen stuff is kind of addicting. In between tearing out sheetrock and putting it back in I'm rushing over to the Dellow to browse the kitchen forums at Garden Web. There is more information about kitchens than you ever dreamed of in that place.
The construction is going well, and Bud and I are very happy that we've decided to DIY. It's slow at work for a him (a mixed blessing) so he's been able to really work hard on the kitchen. He's doing all the wiring and framing. We've both been sheetrocking, and I'm the cabinet assembler. Assemblyperson. Yes. At our current pace we'll have an operational kitchen again in about 2 weeks. Then we can relax the feverish pace while we put the finishing touches in place.
Tomorrow we go to see the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, it's a day off of construction.
So, my first new kitchen toy arrived yesterday. Here it is:
It's beautiful and really beefy.
I thought I'd share a few other selections I've made for those interested.
The sink is from Lavello (not my kitchen, just a look at the sink I've chosen):
The cabinets are Ikea. I am going to enter some sort of Ikea cabinet assembly race. I'm that good at it. Again, not my kitchen, but those are my lovely Maple cabinets.
Oh, and hey, here's a GRP:
The construction is going well, and Bud and I are very happy that we've decided to DIY. It's slow at work for a him (a mixed blessing) so he's been able to really work hard on the kitchen. He's doing all the wiring and framing. We've both been sheetrocking, and I'm the cabinet assembler. Assemblyperson. Yes. At our current pace we'll have an operational kitchen again in about 2 weeks. Then we can relax the feverish pace while we put the finishing touches in place.
Tomorrow we go to see the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, it's a day off of construction.
So, my first new kitchen toy arrived yesterday. Here it is:
It's beautiful and really beefy.
I thought I'd share a few other selections I've made for those interested.
The sink is from Lavello (not my kitchen, just a look at the sink I've chosen):
The cabinets are Ikea. I am going to enter some sort of Ikea cabinet assembly race. I'm that good at it. Again, not my kitchen, but those are my lovely Maple cabinets.
Oh, and hey, here's a GRP:
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Is it October already?
Wow. Time flies. It's nice to see you!
This post should really be titled "I'm a Terrible Mother." Here's why:
This was at the Texas A&M vs Army game. As in Army from Westpoint, New York. What kind of mother would allow her 10 year old son to leave the house in a gold "I Heart New York" shirt to go to the Army game, sit with 80,000 Aggies and then tailgate with Ags who bleed maroon at their RV? The worst kind of mother. Remember when Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony? Yeah. Like that. And we won't even get into what kind of an Aggie that makes me. As Bud watched Luke and all the other (maroon-clad)Aggie children play football after the game, he said, "Well that's a recipe for an a**-kicking."
Well, we had a great time anyway, and if you ever want to know where the real tailgaters are parked, I have the directions. The barbecue brisket and deep-fried jalapenos never stopped flowing.
Moving on.
This is likely to turn into a remodel blog for a while. We had a big old leak in our kitchen while we were in Tennessee. With the air off. In Texas. In August. For those of you who are math impaired: Water under the wood floor and behind the cabinets + 105 degree weather = mold. Which is less than or equal to: we're remodeling the kitchen.
Here are the plans. The first is how it is right now, the second is the new plan. We're doing most of it ourself, except for plumbing and the 240V outlets. We know when to call in the pros.
Professor Turnipseed (his real name) taught my drafting class in my short flirtation with architecture in college. He is rejoicing that I ended up going into medicine. Or crying. It's hard to say.
And here's something you've been missing, I'm sure: The GRP.
This post should really be titled "I'm a Terrible Mother." Here's why:
This was at the Texas A&M vs Army game. As in Army from Westpoint, New York. What kind of mother would allow her 10 year old son to leave the house in a gold "I Heart New York" shirt to go to the Army game, sit with 80,000 Aggies and then tailgate with Ags who bleed maroon at their RV? The worst kind of mother. Remember when Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony? Yeah. Like that. And we won't even get into what kind of an Aggie that makes me. As Bud watched Luke and all the other (maroon-clad)Aggie children play football after the game, he said, "Well that's a recipe for an a**-kicking."
Well, we had a great time anyway, and if you ever want to know where the real tailgaters are parked, I have the directions. The barbecue brisket and deep-fried jalapenos never stopped flowing.
Moving on.
This is likely to turn into a remodel blog for a while. We had a big old leak in our kitchen while we were in Tennessee. With the air off. In Texas. In August. For those of you who are math impaired: Water under the wood floor and behind the cabinets + 105 degree weather = mold. Which is less than or equal to: we're remodeling the kitchen.
Here are the plans. The first is how it is right now, the second is the new plan. We're doing most of it ourself, except for plumbing and the 240V outlets. We know when to call in the pros.
Professor Turnipseed (his real name) taught my drafting class in my short flirtation with architecture in college. He is rejoicing that I ended up going into medicine. Or crying. It's hard to say.
And here's something you've been missing, I'm sure: The GRP.
Labels: Decorating, Gig 'em, Kitchen remodel, My Troubled Children, The GRP, Weekend Warriors
