Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Done, but not done- and a really good read!

I haven't posted pictures of the kitchen lately, because there is nothing to show... :( For all intents and purposes, the kitchen is done- but NOT done.

Many of the cabinets are still missing the pulls.

A few shelves are still awaiting the little shelf supports- we either didn't get enough of them or they were inadvertently thrown out.

My stove, which technically arrived in town last week, was damaged in the move and is now sitting in the warehouse awaiting a new part on the front.

So though the room is basically finished, I am really only partially able to function.

I was warned that things can go wrong and get delayed, and I am not being grumpy about it. I just really want to get back to our normal routine.

While we are in the waiting stage, Rich helped me put the sitting room back to its former glory, and we started getting things on the shelves and hung up again.

Thankfully, I have had some good books to read while waiting for the kitchen transformation!

Before we went to Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago (posts & photos to come), I went to the library to get a couple of books from the ongoing book sale. I don't like to take borrowed books out of the house, so I always buy two or three to take with me when we go away.

One of the books I got was "The Expected One" by Kathleen McGowan. I don't know how many of you are familiar with this book- I surely wasn't until I brought it home. But I believe it caused a bit of a stir when it was released, as it challenges a LOT of what traditional religion has been based on.

I am not a religious person, though I do consider myself to be a spiritual one. And this book has really made me re-think not only what I was taught in church and Sunday school, but in school from my history books.

Though the story is specific to the Bible, it also brings up the question of the validity of all of the history books we learn from.

Most, if not all, of the history books were written by men of high social and economic standing with their personal slant. AND let's face the fact that traditionally (and still today in some societies and situations) women are considered to be unimportant and therefore have been left out, ignored, or made to look bad in some way, in those accounts.

I am not on a man-bashing mission here, and I am not explaining myself very well... I guess what I got most out of this book was the need to question things more, rather than just accepting someone's version of it.

I will put my latest reads at the bottom of my blog, on my bookshelf. I have been remiss in doing this lately... feel free also to recommend good reads to me in your comments- who doesn't love a really good read?!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Plumbing and cabinets and tile, oh my!

LOL  Couldn't resist- The Wizard of Oz is still one of my all-time favourite movies and that line... you know the one... seems to stick in my head! Anyway, onto the renovation update.


Yesterday was busy here too. The plumbers came to hook up my sink- YAY!!! We now have a working sink again and thank goodness for that.

I really love the sink, but I never would have chosen it based on any photos that the company has online. The photos they have are downright poor- I happened to see it in a showroom and didn't take a photo of it myself. When I tried to show Rich, he wasn't sure it was a great as I said it was, but trusted me. He agrees, now that it is in. Whew! lol


I like how the front and back edges are beveled in, and the divider doesn't reach the top. Plus I LOVE the undermount; it just looks sleeker and will be SO much easier to keep clean!


A closer view. Rich likes the racks on the bottom- that means no more ugly dish racks on the counter!

The cabinet guys came in just to set the remaining cabinets so that the tile guy could do his work. They only set them and drilled the necessary holes- the trim and crown moulding will go in next week.

Lastly, the tile guys set up the mosaic on the counter so we could all make sure we liked it. Boy, that is a job that could take all day, if you let it. You could keep changing your mind over and over... But between four of us, we got it so that everyone thought it looked good and we let the guy get to work.

You can see some of the stackstone tile behind the sink here, I think it is very cool. 



Starting on the mosaic tile layout for the backsplash behind the stove.


And here it is, up and finished. I wish the stove would get here already!!!



A longer view of the tile- I will get a not-so-orange photo of it later today, when the sun moves!

It's so hard to believe this is even the same room- we didn't change the actual layout, just moved the appliances around a bit and streamlined things. So how does it seem SO much bigger????

The painter is here today, working on a few things, but everyone will be taking the long weekend off, so I won't have anything to show you till next week. 

I hope everyone has a relaxing and fun weekend!



Thursday, September 2, 2010

More paint and countertops!

It's finally starting to look like a kitchen again, with the addition of countertops yesterday.

Most of the paint is now done, though the painter will be back to do a couple of sections of the eating area ceiling and to touch up the bookcases and window seat. We have decided to keep them white, at least for the time being. We figure it is easy enough to paint them brown later if we change our minds. Right now, we are enjoying the airiness of the room and letting the red really shine!


The tan colour wraps right around the room, and into the kitchen. We do have a tile backsplash going in, right up to the  bottom of the cabinets, so there won't be a lot of paint in the kitchen. But it's the continuity thing, you know? The tan really makes the fireplace pop!



Early morning photo of the sitting room- I think it is dark enough in the early (and late) times of the day. I really like the red to stand out.


First view of the installed countertop! It just looks gorgeous, I am so happy with it!
And how incredible is it that this is ALL workspace! Woo-hoo!!! This photo was taken late afternoon, and it shows a different light than the photo below- it IS all the same... lol


The piece of counter on the right side of the range. I just LOVE this granite!

This morning the plumber comes to hook up the sink, the cabinet guy comes to set the last two cabinets (they sit right on the countertop because of the appliance garages), and the tile guy comes to start on the backsplash. Another busy day.

We are having a fun backsplash section behind the range, a mosaic-type of stone with some random coloured glass tiles mixed in. We chose a red (of course), a root beer colour, and a really light brown glass tile for this and I think it will be really pretty. I love glass tiles- but in the mix, not as a whole backsplash.

Stay tuned, I will post photos of the (hopefully) working sink later today or tomorrow.

It's weird; not having a sink has really been the biggest challenge. That and blowing outlets in the garden room... lol

 
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