Saturday, December 29, 2007

Silence is not always golden

Abby and James have departed for their great two-week Costa Rican adventure. Dean and I are left alone in a quiet house. I hate the first 24 hours after my children leave. At least this time I'm not crying and feeling sorry for myself every time I pick up a toy and put it away. Probably only because Abby doesn't leave me any toys to put away. All of her toys are way too high-tech and cool to leave behind for me.

Departing children are not good for our finances. The sudden quiet drives us from home and next thing you know we're shopping as a distraction. This afternoon we're heading to the theatre for a movie. Normally I feel like I'm wasting my weekend if I spend it at a matinee and getting me to pay full price for a movie is pretty much impossible. Today I'm not only going to matinee but we're going to a first-run movie and not the $3.00 cheap seats. Still.....it should be cheaper than shopping.


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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Skiing

We just got back from cross-country skiing on the mountain. The trails were awesome, it was cold but calm and the trees covered in new snow were spectacular. The only disappointment was missing the one time James fell. I had anticipated an afternoon of belly laughs as he struggled to maintain his balance and became transformed into various pretzel shapes. He was a complete disappointment. We enjoyed a break mid-way through the ski to eat a homemade scone in the lodge, compliments of Abby, and then hit the trails again. We are now anxiously anticipating Dean's pot pie for dinner.


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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Feasting, Family and Fun

"Oink, oink" has replaced "ho, ho, ho" around here. Cookies, candy, pie, and creative martinis have been the overwhelming foods of choice with a few items from the bottom of the food pyramid sprinkled in. It's been a low-key, relaxing holiday with Abby and James. We've missed the chaos and craziness of two little girls running around but we tried to make up for it with our own special old people brand of craziness. We pulled out the last remaining cardboard from the kitchen cabinet boxes, bundled up and headed off to Pit Park to slide with the best of them. I had visions of crazy adults careening down the hill so fast our lips would flap. Just cuz we're old doesn't mean we can't keep up with the best of those little short people. Who needs a fancy plasic saucer or specially designed innertube?

Turns out we did. I was crushed and deflated to discover cardboard just doesn't have the slick, aerodynamic qualities I could have sworn it had. Instead of screaming down the hill on our bellies so fast our legs were flopping around in the air, we spent the bulk of our time taking a "running" start, "throwing" our bodies onto the cardboard with no thought of possible injury, sliding a few inches and then stopping dead as our noses dove onto the snow or cardboard. Instead of broken bones and the twisted and mangled bodies I expected at the end of the run I should have been more concerned about possible broken noses.

We managed to push, pull, tug or inch ourselves down the hill, every now and then experiencing the thrill of a slide while those plastic saucers, and specially made innertubes zoomed past us. We were the examples to all the others of determination, hard work and eventual success. Not everything in life comes easy. Not even fun. But before I go sleddin' again...........I'm buyin' a plastic saucer!


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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Life is good

Friday I took a sick day to hopefully kick the rest of the bronchitis out of my body. My sick day plan did not include quality time with the plumber but it turned out to be painless and successful. You know you've had way too many plumbing issues when the plumber doesn't even ask for your phone number or address anymore. He just says, "I'll send Matt over." Matt arrived first thing Friday morning and said that the guys who installed the counter tops apparently had installed the upper portion of the faucet and screwed it in because he had only hooked up the other parts. All along I thought they'd just plopped it in there loose merely to make sure the hole they had cut was the right size. Turns out some nut up high had come unscrewed which is where the water was pouring in from. Maybe they didn't get it tightened enough the first time. Whatever happened, it's fixed now and so far no further problems.....knock on wood. I had a very nice visit with Matt as he was working and as he was preparing to leave I expressed to him how much I had enjoyed all the contractors who had been over and how much I enjoyed visiting with each and every one of them, "but I hope I never see any of you again for a very, very, long time."

The little pieces of my puzzle of a life are gradually being clicked into place. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a person driven by routine. I know there are people who thrive on change and surprise but I thrive on consistency, predictability and stability. Simple things such as not having my calendar or the wipe-off board hanging on the wall for three months were a constant irritant. They're back in place now, albeit with one of those temporary removable hooks, but they're there and I smile with contentment every time I walk by and look at them.

I actually stepped foot in the gym yesterday and went to yoga and pilates classes. My muscles were stiff before I went and sore after I left but it was great to be back.

We put up our Christmas tree and did our little bit of decorating. I couldn't make myself buy another cheap but dead, painted green Christmas tree this year. Honestly, in July it was still bright green lying out in the garden area. Don't ask my why Dean kept it because I couldn't tell you. I don't want to know. We bought a small fresh cut tree and the pine smell is worth the extra money.

Not being able to bake one cookie or loaf of bread for the past three months was driving me crazy and today I made up for it by spending six hours baking four kinds of cookies and some cranberry bread. It was one of the most enjoyable days I've had for the past three months.

And I finally feel healthy and bronchitis-free. Woo hoo! Things are lookin' up!



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Thursday, December 13, 2007

I will never ever remodel again...never

Merrily going about the business of cleaning up supper dishes. Water is running slowly to rinse dishes for the dishwasher when I notice water begin to pour out the bottom of the cupboard. Panic. Towels. Turning water knobs. There's a leak. I'm really, really, really unhappy.◦
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Finished Is a Relative Term

I thought I would be spending last weekend putting a few things away and then baking my little heart out. However, as things tend to do, one thing led to another and the next thing you know it's Sunday afternoon and all I have baked is a batch of inedible breadsticks. Breadsticks so bad Dean didn't even argue when I said I was going to throw them away; and he's like Mikey. He'll eat anything.

The first project was a complete cleaning of the fridge, inside and out. I don't think it's sparkled that much since it was brand new. It's now humming happily in its new home. Once the fridge was no longer in the dining room we thought it might be nice to finally put the dining room/living room back in order. Of course we didn't want to do that without cleaning the floors while we were at it. The living room floor meets the entryway floor and that floor meets the hall which meets the bedrooms so next thing you know I'm cleaning every floor in the house. And if you're cleaning floors you don't want ten weeks of dust still left on all the furniture, baseboards, pictures and light fixtures. Get the picture? By the end of the weekend ten weeks of dirt and dust had been cleaned and just about every piece of furniture is back in its correct place. Woo Hoo! "All" we have left to do is tile and stain the woodwork. Once we tile we can oil the countertops and then they will look amazing. The dark spots on the counter in the photos are oil from my bread kneading.

The backsplash tiling has been postponed until after the holidays sometime. Groutgirl/tilebabe got sick and the weather was miserable for traveling anyway. Since we had time to take a breath and think a bit more about the tiling project I felt it would be prudent to review our tiling plan to be sure we were completely prepared for when that future tiling date would arrive. Much to our chagrin, we discovered that even though both the ceramic and glass tiles said they were four inches, they are not. The ceramic are bigger and the glass are smaller resulting in approximately 3/8" difference in their size. So much for mixing in glass tiles with ceramic tiles for some sparkle. We had to rethink the plan which means now we have way too many ceramic tiles and not enough glass tiles. The bad thing is, the glass tiles are, of course, the super expensive tiles. The good thing is, we reviewed the plan and have time to order more tiles and didn't discover this in the middle of tiling with a wall covered in adhesive.

The cabinet guy came this morning to hang the final glass door and install 3 replacement doors. This was my LAST contractor! There will be no more worker bees in my house when I come at home at night. I will be taking no more vacation to meet them at home. They were all very polite, professional, and friendly. I enjoyed visiting with each and every one of them and every one of them did an awesome job but I do not miss their company.

Now it's time to bake, relax, do something we actually want to do.............oh, wait. Didn't I say I was going to do that last weekend?





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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Finishedenoughfornowtion

We now have a beautiful microwave which warms food at lightening speed.

We now have door frames and baseboards.

We have three glass doors (fourth to come soon).

We have cookbooks in a real shelf.

We now have tile but the actual tiling has been postponed until post-holidays due to illness and miserable travelling weather.

The last box has disappeared from the living room. We can see the living room floor.

Dean and I are taking the night off to relax. This weekend we tentatively plan to find homes for the rest of the "stuff" in the living room and relax some more. I hope to bake some bread and do some quilting.

In the meantime here's the latest in photos.







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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Another Postponment

We now have an appliance garage which looks nice and I think will be a good place to hide those blenders and mixers.

The microwave installation and door framing has been postponed. Framingguy's truck wouldn't start Sunday morning and is now in the shop and he'll "call me when he knows something." I hope it'll still be soon but what can you do.

I'm improving a bit each day. Last night I was in bed by 8:00 p.m. but tonight I actually cleaned two bathrooms and wasn't left winded so that's a good feeling.

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Sunday, December 2, 2007

We're Cookin' With Gas!

My planned "WooHoo! we have a kitchen" celebration planned for Thursday night was postponed and transformed into a "WooHoo! I feel human and I smell food cooking" celebration last night. After nine long weeks the smell of real home-cooked food wafted through the house. There's a definite difference between food sizzling on a gas burner and food warming up in a microwave or cooking slowly, sort of, on a hot plate. It was a simple skillet meal but it was awesome.

The two days previous to this postponed celebration were not fun. Here are the highlights leading up to my total physical deterioration Thursday afternoon:

**Monday the counter guys were supposed to arrive and begin installing counters but didn't arrive until late Monday. I have a cold I'd picked up on our visit to Delta and felt kind of icky but I thought the house would have counter guys in it so I went to work.

**Tuesday the counter guys began work installing counters. I still felt bad from the cold but I don't want to stay home with guys working in my house. Tuesday night the counter guys aren't finished and I have the electricians coming Wednesday. I'm cranky but I'm not rescheduling--again.

**Wednesday the electrician arrives promptly at 7 a.m. and counter guys sometime afterwards. They manage to work around each other. I go to work when all I really want to do is curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, a pillow, blanket and nap all day.

Wednesday evening the counter guys are finished, yippee!, but the electrician needs to finish up the next morning. There's a mini-scare when they tell me that to meet code they have to put a plug into the end of my "peninsula" which they think is stupid and I am not happy about because it will cause the pots and pans we have in the drawer to bang into the plug every time the drawer is opened or closed. He promises me he'll try to talk his boss out of it and I ask them not to put it in without my permission so I can fight somebody about it. I have a splitting headache and muscle aches all day that will not stop. And my ears are hurting. I just want to take a sick day.


**Thursday I'm at work by 7:00 a.m. I go off to work feeling pretty miserable and come back home at 8:00 a.m. to meet the plumber. When I get home the electrician is finishing up and nothing is said about the peninsula plug-in so I'm assuming it's okay. I'm not going to bring it up! I go over all the plumbing needs with the plumber and head back to work innocently assuming I will be cooking and having my own little kitchen party that evening.

**8:30 a.m. the plumber calls to tell me the stove is 1/4" too large for the opening. "It's physically impossible to put it in. I've measured the opening and the stove. Maybe you can have them move the cabinets. Do you want me to go ahead and install it and leave it out in front of the cabinets?" There are hundreds of pounds of soapstone counters on these cabinets by now. I know there's no way on God's green earth those cabinets are going to be moved. All I can picture is a beautiful kitchen with a stove in the middle of the room.

**I make a frantic call to cabinet lady and make them interrupt her meeting with another client. She calls cabinet guy and he assures her the opening is exactly what it should be. She tells me to tell the plumber to try adjusting the legs because if it's not exactly level that can cause difficulties. And that the stove is meant to be tight so nothing will fall down between.

**I call the plumber back. He tells me "I measured. The opening is 29 15/16" and the stove is 30 1/16". It's 1/8" too small".

**Call kitchen lady back. She says she'll go over and if the plumber can't get it in she'll have her appliance guy make it fit.

**Kitchen lady goes to my house and talks to plumber and calls me laughing. He hasn't even tried it yet. How can he know it doesn't fit if he hasn't tried it? I told him to try putting it in and call me if it won't fit."

**Noon. Plumber calls me. "It won't fit. I've hooked it up and finished with everything else but pushing it in's not my job." I say, fine, I understand and he heads out on his merry way. I have a sink, faucet, dishwasher and stove in the middle of my kitchen. My head hurts, my ears hurt, every muscle in my body hurts.

**Call kitchen lady back. She says, "I told him to call me, not you."

**1:10 p.m. Kitchen lady calls. She'd gone over with her appliance guy and they'd pushed it in with apparently no problem so I now have a stove where it belongs. I thought the stress relief would be physically noticeable but instead of feeling better I keep feeling worse. I'm sitting at my computer thinking, "I have to work until 5 p.m. today to make up for taking off to meet plumber, ...I don't know if I can do it...why don't I feel better now? Is this a delayed stress reaction or what?"

**2:15 p.m. I'm pretty sure I can't work anymore. Chills are just under the surface so I head home.

**3:00 p.m. I'm on the couch with chills, fever, every muscle crying out in pain, head pounding and ears aching.

**6:15 p.m. I rattle off a list of symptoms to Dean because I want him to call the doctor tomorrow and see if they can prescribe somthing for me over the phone because there is no way I can get off this couch, crawl into a car and sit in a doctor's office. Absolutely not....no way....not happenin'.....uh uh.

**6:30 p.m. I am in the car on the way to Urgent Care clutching my trusty garbage bag lined with a plastic bag--just in case. I felt like hell, looked like hell and to be honest I wouldn't even have cared if I'd had to put that garbage can to use in the waiting room. I didn't. Not until I got home anyway. I just sat hunched over on the chair with my head almost touching the floor until I finally dropped over and laid curled up on the chairs, asking Dean "how much longer? how much longer?"

**7:30 p.m. I'm home in bed gulping down antibiotics and various prescriptions.

**Friday a day on the couch drinking apple juice and napping.

**Saturday we begin putting the kitchen back together.

**2:00 p.m. while rinsing nine weeks of dust and dirt off the dishes in the now installed and connected dishwasher it quits draining. Called the repair place to schedule a day next week for service while adding $75.00 to my already somewhat over-budget kitchen. He's a great guy who gives us a possible solution and tells us to call back if it doesn't work. Turns out when Dean installed the dishwasher originally he set it to drain into the drain pipe. The plumber set it to drain into the disposal and there was a little round thing you had to pop out which had never been done. It was a pretty easy fix which we managed to accomplish in only 1/2 hour. I'm sure when I stuck my hand down the disposal to retrieve the popped out but still hanging bit of plastic it didn't meet OSHA standards and to be honest, I wasn't thrilled about it. But it solved the dilemma, the dishwasher now not only washes but drains and I have all my fingers.

So...................even though putting the kitchen back together didn't happen til yesterday things are going together pretty well. I even finally feel like I'll live and I think once Dean gets the million bottles and cans of spices put in their homes we'll pretty much have the kitchen put together. Then we'll begin on the rest of the house. It's collected nine weeks of not only regular dirt from just living in it, but all the dust and dirt that comes along with contractors doing their thing for nine weeks. It's in a sad, sad, state.

We actually took a two hour break and went to the art museum for some cookies and seasonal music. Bad thing for me was I had to change out of my sweatpants and brush my hair. Good thing for Dean was I had to change out of my sweatpants and brush my hair.

And last but definitely not least, I baked my first batch of anything in nine weeks.

I wish I could say we were completely finished but tomorrow the cabinet guy is back to install the appliance garage and hopefully the glass doors and two of the doors we reordered.

Wedesday another person will be installing the microwave and framing in the two doorways and installing baseboards. Tilebabegroutgirl arrives Friday to help us tile the backsplash. Then we will "only" have some painting and staining of woodwork to do which I am positive will not happen for many, many, weeks.




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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Flattened by bronchitis

I had a kitchen stress morning from hell Thursday which resolved itself by noon. By 2:30 I was shaking with chills and fever. Dean dragged me to UrgentCare at 6:30 p.m. and I found out I had/have bronchitis. I'm finally up and moving and we plan/hope to put the kitchen together and gasp! maybe even cook today. Pictures and all the gory details will follow sometime this weekend..........I hope.◦
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