Garden 2014: The Beginning

Garden Team StroBickErson is back with renewed commitment and hope for Garden 3.0. Garden 2.0 (last summer) was a bust. The kids and I went out early and threw some tomatoes and potatoes into the plot, then never revisited. Ev ended up putting in sweet corn (and we enjoyed the fruits of his labors!) and we forgot the rest.

This year we're back! We went out a few weeks ago, in the cold and put in early crops: peas, onions, lettuces and potatoes. On Saturday we went out, got a second tilling done and planted carrots, more onions (red this time!), a handful of tomatoes and peppers, one tomatillo, a few cantaloupe starts that Cam picked out and garlic! According to the good folks at Earl May, the garlic is not that hard to grow, so we thought we'd give it a try.

The most important work to get done was the fencing. We put in big fencing in the middle of the garden to support the peas. The kids discovered that pressing their bellies against the fencing created the perfect "six-pack" - no crunches required.  They also discovered the supply of Mr. Freezies in the garage freezer was abundant and needed thinning.

In addition to the internal fencing, we put up a 3-foot high perimeter fence designed to keep out our smaller furry friends: namely the dogs, raccoons and rabbits. For our bigger furry friends (the deer, who find the lettuces so delicious) we'll eventually set up the electric fence. Jamey and JP got out the sprinkling system and pretended to set it up, then prayed for rain.

Coming up next: more tomatoes and peppers. We'll see if our milk-jug experiment pays off! We also need to put in cucumbers and pumpkins. Ev is going to plant some sweet corn. Larisa and I have a poor track record with sweet corn (zero kernels for human consumption) so we're leaving that to the garden master.

Kitchen Reno: Countertops FINALLY!

We've finally got countertops! Yahoo! It only took twice as long as we anticipated - five weeks is a looonnnggg time to be without a sink! Now, we still have to connect the plumbing to the sink, but my favorite resident master plumber is going to tackle that job tomorrow night.

Cam insists on getting in to the picture.

Now that the counters are in, we can install the stove, too. I opened up the microwave and plugged it in (without the cabinet), so at least we'll soon have all the appliances in and working!

The two mis-sized cabinets that had to be re-ordered are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Unfortunately our contractor probably won't be able to get back here until late next week. Bummer! When he can get here he'll install the final two cabinets, floating shelves, crown molding, trim boards and drawer handles and pulls. I can't wait!!!

After that all that's left is the tile backsplash (tiles are ordered) and the floor. We don't have the quote yet on stripping and re-waxing the Spanish tiled floor. Jamey thinks maybe we could attempt it ourselves. I'm lukewarm on that suggestion.

 

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Kitchen Reno: Week of NOTHING

Six weeks in - what's happening this week? A big FAT nothing. Our drywall crew was supposed to show up last week to finish up the remaining chunks. When Jamey called them on Monday, they asked "what we were doing, again?" "Oh, yeah...the kitchen" was their reply when Jamey reminded them. They said they'd get here Monday or Tuesday. On Friday, we called again. No answer and no returns.

It's been over two weeks since the counter top people were here to measure, so we were anticipating a call with install dates for either late this week or early next. Instead, Nicole emailed to say the install date is "slightly delayed" because of the holiday, so the install date is June 6. I'm not sure how a one day holiday throws us off by two weeks. Needless to say I'm disappointed. I scheduled the stove install for Friday of next week, thinking an extra week on the counter top schedule would be sufficient. So...no stove for another two weeks, but more depressing: no sink for another two weeks.

I guess a few things did get accomplished this week. The refrigerator and dishwasher were delivered. I touched up the paint behind the fridge and got it all installed. Jamey's installing the dishwasher today. Oh, and Jamey broke us foot on Tuesday. Stubbed his toe on our kick-@ss ottoman. This thing is solid!

Kitchen Reno: One Month In

We're a month in to the renovation. Yesterday Jamey said he'd like to start eating his oatmeal in a paper bowl. Oatmeal that sits in a bowl without getting rinsed or popped in to a dishwasher quickly forms an almost-cement like quality. In fact, we're thinking of using oatmeal as the adhesive for the tile backsplash. It's harder to get the dried oatmeal out of the bowls than it was to remove the old tiles from the wall!

Here are some updates:

Electrical work is done! I love the hanging lights, I love having lights under the cabinets. Andy also got the outlets installed: four outlets in a strip under each cabinet - rock on!

Counter tops are in the works: we don't have a delivery date, but fingers are crossed for late this week.

Fridge and dishwasher show up on Tuesday. Stove is on order, but won't be here until May 30. This is actually great, because the stove can't get installed until the counter tops are installed. Plus, we have to get a plumber out here to move the gas lines for the stove.

Backsplash tile is on order; no estimated delivery date, yet though. We're working with House of Carpets, and they're great. They're also sending someone over to figure out how we can repair and re-wax the Spanish floor tiles. These tiles are all over the main floor of the house. I love them. Jamey thought maybe the kitchen was a good place to start removing them and replacing with something different (wood? bamboo?, not sure). No way. These babies give the house a lot of it's character and charm.

And....deconstruction again! I started ripping out the closet in the entry (between garage and kitchen). Our plan is to put cubbies there. Each of us will have a specific spot for coats, shoes, book bags and lunch boxes. Right now they get scattered from the back entry all the way through the family room (it seems to be much to inconvenient to actually slide open the existing closet door and toss something in). I've found a plan on Pinterest and our friend Ev is going to be build it in for us. Can't wait!

Kitchen Reno: Master Plumbing

If Jamey ever decides he's done with designing circuits, he's got a life as a plumber! When Jason sawed down the breakfast bar wall to make it counter height, we discovered the plumbing line serving the sink and dishwasher was about 2 inches higher than the new counter top height. Jamey spent the weekend re-routing this line. While it looked like it was going to be a giant pain, it turned out to be one of the smoother jobs we've encountered - especially connected to plumbing! Only two trips to Menards and almost no swearing!

Kitchen Reno: Lists of Do-Overs

Here's a list of everything we've had to "do-over" so far:

1. ordering kitchen cabinets [see previous post: 2 cabinets were six inches too short!]
2. placing electrical runs for under cabinet lights: electrician will be here next week to RE-install since he installed where this is an open shelf
3. vent for range hood: Jamey moved the vent two weekends ago, before dry wall crew came to dry wall the big hole behind the range. Then last week our contractor got a set of revised plans from cabinet people and the measurements for that wall were 9 inches off. Now Jamey has to move the vent pipe nine inches to the left. He's not a happy camper.
4. drywall x2
5. painting. This isn't a complete do-over, but my estimates about where paint would show and would not show were off...in some locations rather drastically. Remembered the side wall under the desk area, but completely forgot the back wall. A small area behind the fridge is unpainted. Shoulda just painted the whole dang thing.

Dishes are Done!

Where is your favorite place to wash dishes? The laundry room? Me, too.