No more counting!! Babaam!

Ok, so it's not COMPLETELY finished, but now that we have a functional kitchen (not in the basement), I'm calling it a "renovation success"! Because of that, and blogging for 100 days, I'm about blogged out at this point. So since I'm sick of writing about the progress, I'll just show some before and after pictures (I mean, come on, that's what you all really pay attention to anyways).

It looks stark white in pictures but there are small,
dark specs all over to give a little texture.

David's plumbing job to give optimal space under the cabinet.

Yes, we still need to finish staining and installing some quarter round, crown molding, tilt out mechanism and handles for sink panel, frame out second skylight, complete odds and ends in the mudroom, touch up nicks with mud and paint, purchase area rungs, and probably a few more things. When it's written down it feels like there's still a lot to do, but now that my back is feeling relief from not leaning down to the sink basin to clean dishes, all is a-ok :o) AND, can I just say how spoiled we feel now that we have a dishwasher!! I spend so much less time cleaning up after us and get to enjoy having a clutter-free sink a majority of the time! And it's been entertaining to watch David head to the sink and say, "Oh hey! Look at that (as he puts his dirty dishes in the dishwasher)! Clean! Babaam!" We're livin' large :o)

It's definitely been one hell of journey, but glory to God for the work that he has done in David and me through out it all. If you want to test your patience, kindness and love for your spouse, commit to a 3 month renovation where you do 90% of the work yourselves. While we still have far to go, we learned how to better communicate our needs with each other through kind and respectful words. Through the countless prayers I lifted to God during this journey, he equipped me with patience, sensitivity, wisdom, endurance, peace and a blanket of His unconditional love at my darkest times. You learn things about yourself you aren't proud of or wish anyone to see, but through that awareness change can begin. I'm not sure if I could have done this project with anyone else but my patient and encouraging husband. Those days that I was upset over delayed glue or countertops or something stupid (I'm sure there were many of those), he was there to kindly bring me back to reality and how menial these moments would be in the end. This project was a huge gift and opportunity that not everyone gets, and everyday I'm enjoying that I'm enjoying the fruits of our labor, I pray that I continually thank God for his blessings. Thank you to everyone who offered advice, guidance, suggestions, and even a helping hand (Ben yours was huge!!). We look forward to sharing a meal with you all soon :o)

A little mood lighting :o)

Day 95 May 20

They kept us sitting in suspense all day, but by 10:30 we had countertops!!!! And yes, it was 10:30 at night. They came at 6 but because of a few hiccups I think it took them longer than they would have liked. We were also surprised that they made quite a few cuts right here on the spot. We figured because of all the measurements the woman took when she templated it that it would all be cut and just need to be slapped in. Not a problem though, it just made for a long night for those two men, but we think it looks gorgeous!! I just can’t believe how much countertop space there is! The past 3 months, and even in our old kitchen, I was probably working with 10 sq/ft of space, now I think there’s over 50!! I feel like laying on it because I could fit! Haha! No more mixing and cutting on the dryer anymore :o)

There was a time when we did get a little nervous when our bar top was not matching up. It dipped in the middle and our brackets flared down. Good thing David was there because he busted out his sander and shaved part of the end off. It still didn’t meet up flush but they made it seemed like it would work with some glue and enough drying time. Now I just need to find some bar stools!

So the countertop was obliviously the exciting part of the day, but I didn’t manage to get some other stuff done during the day. We had purchased a sprinkler yesterday so I watered the garden to get a deep soak in. I transplanted a few plants that were getting too much sun, and moved some hostas to a small corner where our shed is that I would always for get to cut, so landscape it is :o) I also came to the conclusion again that the stain was not right, so back to the store I will go. Fingers crossed that third time is a charm! I also started the process of cleaning at the fireplace. The cleaning process will take at least this whole week considering every nook and cranny or surface needs wiped down from all the construction dust. All in all a good/exciting/productive day!! Since we don’t have the sink or the range hooked up yet, I’ll leave you with a small portion of the countertop that is complete.

Day 94 May 19

I’ll start today’s post by sharing a comment by David. He was looking over my shoulder tonight while I was writing the blog and he said “Oh no… we can NOT get to 100 days!” Haha! I’m not sure what it is about 100 but he seems determined as ever to cross the finish line prior to 100 days. I just grinned and said, “Don’t get your hopes up” :o) Actually, David’s parents are coming into town this weekend which will be 100 days so I am hoping it all to be wrapped up by then. I know we’ll have touch ups here and there but I won’t count those. Once the sink, dishwasher, range and frig are working, I’m movin’ in!

Our morning went a little differently than planned. We intended on going to church, but instead we were in a hardware store until 1 o’clock! When we came home and looked at the clock we couldn’t believe it. It actually made sense because we had quite a few things to pick up, and when the first store didn’t have what we needed it led us to the other. All in all I think we got just about everything we needed, and the things we didn’t won’t hold us back from moving forward. When we were back I got to staining the trim with the new color we picked out and it’s looking promising. It still seems too light/yellow, but I’m hoping with the second/third coat it matches. This whole matching stains reminds me of my paint swatch debacles…fails!

While I was staining, David was working on connecting the water to the frig for our ice maker. In the hardware store he had picked up material for two possible solutions (we’ve learned it’s easier to return things than it is to have to go back in the middle of the project), and luckily one worked. After all that jazz, we secured the one frig panel into place and pushed the frig back where it will be staying for good. Yah buddy! About that time I was putting in a recessed outlet for the microwave cubbie so it has the capacity to sit further back. First attempt it was all put together but I forgot one thing. The outlet supplies the under cabinet lights, which are controlled by a switch, and then the microwave which will always be on. So to do that you need to break the copper between the two black wires. My bad. Not a big deal though, I just unscrewed, tore piece, put back together, and Vwalla! With that ready the microwave went in! The only appliance left to install is the range, eeeekkk!

Day 93 May 18

Today was our townships annual waste drop off day in our so we took advantage of it this morning to get rid of some trash. We dumped our paint and glue buckets, an old rusted out burn barrel, and some other odd metal objects. Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse :o)

Just as I predicted, after putting on a second coat of the stain it’s not going to match. We’ll just add it to the list of things to get at the store. While I stained and watered the gardens, David finished up the small detail trim pieces. After the trim he went onto setting the toe kicks in place. Badda bing, badda boom, and he’s done! I could really tell David was enjoying his third day off of work to get at his long list of things still left to get done. Once he wrapped up the toe kicks, I helped him lay out the floor around the brick hearth. After some trial and error, we realized it worked best to template the curve out on a piece of paper and trace it onto the wood to be cut. It was definitely a more tedious process than David ever likes, so we managed to get one board done and then he was shot for the day. I templated two more pieces but we agreed to put those on hold to cut, finish work for the night, and grab some dinner. 

Day 92 May 17

LOAD…OF…HORSE…S#*^! Well that’s what I was thinking at 9 o’clock this morning when Continental Countertops called to inform us that our material didn’t arrive on the truck. I mean really! Where’s the accountability and confirmation system to make sure shit gets put on the truck?! Ohhhhhh, gasp!

Ok, rant over, we’re done with it, let us do what we do best and wait a little longer. So after the disappointing phone call, what better thing to do than plant a garden! And yes, we did run out of space. That was practically a given when you consider we were working to include 400+ tomato plants in the design. Hahaha! It always makes me laugh when I think about what we were trying to do. The whole process went relatively smoothly which was nice. We started with our plot behind the garage and was able to fit maybe 70% of what we had. We decided to leave out the asparagus and pumpkin, we planted maybe half of our peas and carrots, and probably got about 100 tomato plants in the ground. So after we recognized our lack of space we brainstormed where to put what we still wanted to plant, which were some more tomato plants, watermelon, and beans. David came up with the idea to create our new landscape out of vegetables! I think because I never considered it in my head prior, I initially had a hard time agreeing with that idea. But after considering our other options, which were none, it seemed only appropriate. We’re both really curious to see if anything grows. I think it’s the first time gardener doubts. We still had more tomato plants left, so I threw a few in pots and tossed the rest.

The remains

I moved onto staining the trim, which after putting on the first coat seems way too light. I know more coats will darken it up, but I don’t think there’s any chance this particular stain will reach the color to match the existing trim. I’ll put another coat on tomorrow and assess its potential then. While I stained, David continued with getting the rest of the trim done. That was about all the progress for the day since we wrapped up a little early and then left for small group.

Day 91 May 16

One more day and we’ll have our countertop!! Eeeeeekkk!! The day before the big event I had an extra helper around the house :o) David was “sick”, which meant shit got done up in her’. Actually he really was feeling like crap the day before because of his allergies so he figured he’d take the day to rest. But like always David doesn’t really rest when there is stuff to catch up on. He was a bit of a walking zombie but at least he was a zombie that was cuttin’ trim :o). He probably got to installing 70% of the trim, leaving some of the more detailed cuts for later. We also had received our brackets for the bar top yesterday so David cut out sections for the plates to fit in and screwed them it place.

While David was slaving away, I was planning the garden! I had waited long enough and now with the soil tilled up it was go time. After referencing each vegetable in a garden book, I planned out the plot and am keeping my fingers crossed that it all fits. While I’m trying to be optimistic, I think reality’s going to bite us in the bum tomorrow and we’re going to be left with quite a few seeds unplanted.

On my way to training I swung into the hardware store and picked up all our ¼ round for the trim, along with the stain. While I was gone, David added a few more finishing touches. He installed the last ceiling vent in the mudroom, as well as the wall vents in the foyer. 

Day 90 May 15

3 MONTH MARK!!

Let the cleaning begin! Today I, yes that’s right, just ME, hauled all those stones we used to put weight on the high spots of the floor, back outside. David was pretty impressed when he came home to see them all outside. He figures they each have to weigh at least 75 pounds. I’ll just round up and say they each weighed 100!! Either way, that task definitely made for a good legs and butt workout :o) After they all made their way outside, I swept and wiped down the boards. Since we’re both new to wood/engineered floors, I wanted to check out the safest way to clean them. After some reading it looks like a mixture of vinegar and hot water is the recommendation. I couldn’t clean it at that point since we didn’t have a mop, but I did pick one up in the evening so cleaning will commence tomorrow! That was all the progress for the day because David and I enjoyed a Pirates game in the evening with his work buddies :o)