Colder Than A Well Digger's Boots

I began my Martin Luther King holiday by having to set my alarm so I could be at the dentist by 8:00 a.m. this morning. Our dentist likes us to make our appts. one year in advance. I don't think in one-year-ahead terms and last year I just took my little reminder slip and left. It wasn't until last week I realized what I'd done and I can guarantee you I did not do it again this morning. When I made next year's appt. I made sure it was not on the third Monday in January.

It's bad enough to spend one hour of your day off in a dentist chair but it also happened to be the coldest day of the year--so far. It was minus 8 when I left the house and I could hear the snow crunching under the tires as I drove down the street. It's now 3:00 p.m. and it's still minus 2. I don't think we're going to reach our predicted high of four degrees.

The dental exam and cleaning went well and I even found out that the aching in my jaw, which began sometime in the late fall, is probably caused by me grinding my teeth or clenching my jaw while I sleep. I can't imagine what kind of stress would have caused me to do that... I asked Dean if he'd ever heard me grinding during the night because the dental assistant told me her husband tells her when she's been grinding her teeth, but he said no. I guess he couldn't hear me over his snoring.

I could have had some nifty kind of mouth thingy made to wear while I sleep. Apparently it would let my teeth slide right off each other while I grind them instead of catching on the molar bumps, but I'm kinda hopin' it'll just quit on its own now that all stress in my life has been alleviated by the completion of the kitchen. Until Dean decides to paint, glaze or etch the tiles anyway...

We used part of our 3-day weekend to complete one more step in the kitchen remodeling by finally oiling the soapstone. I loved it before it was oiled and I love it even more now. It's awesome. I highly recommend soapstone counters to anybody who intends to torture themselves with a kitchen remodeling. They are easy to care for, impervious to stains, you can put hot things on them and they are beautiful.

Otherwise I've spent the weekend baking scottish morning rolls, bran muffins and orange rolls and quilting my little heart out. Dean has spent this weekend plus dozens and dozens of other hours sorting through a huge box of thousands of stamps that he and Leslie found at a garage sale two years ago. They just know there is one stamp in that box that will make them both rich. All they have to do is find it. I find it interesting that if I spend an inordinately large amount of time on anything I am "obsessed", but Dean is "just trying to get this done."

Here's a look a the newly oiled counters. Click on the slide show title to bring up the larger slide show and pay attention to the tile as you view. Feel free to offer any additional thoughts, revise your opinion, or offer any new suggestions. Okay....maybe I am a little obsessive....

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Colder Than A Well Digger's Boots