Here’s Some Pix!

Oh the weather outside is broiling,

But the kitchen’s still not cooking,

And since we’ve no fancy tricks,

Here’s some pix! Here’s some pix! Here’s some pix!

Looking south. Note the temporary kitchen sink – YEAH!

The oven & serving storage area – and the pantry & dishes cupboard

Baking and prep areas (from family room looking southwest)

Think light over baking was up in last pictures but light over peninsula was just put up tonight. Now to find the light we took down from the old breakfast area and want to put up in the pantry/oven area. No doubt it’s in one of my infamous “safe” places!

Progress Not Pictured

Countertop selected and ordered – measurements for template will be taken Friday morning.

Cardboard boxes removed from family room – some in recycle, some waiting for empty recycle bin, and some in garage to use to protect floors when they install the counter.

Majority of drawers lined and some things have found a home – though perhaps temporary.

Finished electrical wiring for peninsula area.

Family room floor cleaned and chairs back in family room.

It’s beginning to look a lot like a kitchen

It’s beginning to look a lot like a kitchen,
Ev’rywhere you turn
Take a look at the cabinet drawers, as empty as can be
But soon they’ll have the tools a cook must use.

It’s beginning to look a lot like a kitchen
Cabinets ev’rywhere
But the prettiest sight to see is the cooking that will be
Done in our own place.

I AM a Shaw descendent. The first ingredient to find a home was the container of cocoa. :)

How Many Butterflies Do You See?

There were over a dozen butterflies visiting this bush this afternoon – too hot to stick around to count more.

Perhaps the following close up makes them a little easier to see.

See I’m not entirely obsessed with the kitchen.

The Last Shall Be First

Sometimes it seems like we are working hard and not getting very far. Then all of a sudden it’s looking like a kitchen!

The original plan was to finish the sink/peninsula area first and then the west wall and then the south wall. Guess what got done first!

From the family room looking south. The broom closet is on the left (and it has broom, mop etc. already in it). This is the baking/snacking area. Waiting on countertops before we put in all the drawers or doors. But have to get ALL the cabinets installed first.

From family room looking west. Note the two tall cabinets on each side of the picture. They are waiting the installation of the ovens so they can be put in place. The one on the right goes next to the oven cabinet and completes the west wall. The one on the left is the first cabinet on the sink/peninsula run.

From family room looking northwest. The cooktop cabinet is in the center. The tall cabinet on the right will house the ovens which are sitting on the floor in front of the cabinet. The installation of the last three cabinets and the oven is waiting on the electrician who should be coming this morning to complete the wiring he started several weeks ago and waiting until we got to this point to come back and finish the job.

(That’s Richard – the master builder - in the bottom left corner.)

Last night we purchased tile for the back splash. Even found most of it on clearance! Now we can get the accent pieces I fell in love with.

Off to build another cabinet or two.

Do You See What I See?

Said Grammy to her friends everywhere,
Do you see what I see?
Off in the corner over there,
Do you see what I see?
A BOX, a Box!
Assembly makes us glad;
For a kitchen’s soon to be had
For a kitchen’s soon to be had.

TILED!

Richard has been very hard at work getting the tile laid.
What doesn't show up well in the picture is all the careful cuts he made where the floor meets the wall.
We did a diagonal pattern in the "alley" part of the kitchen (it will have 24" deep floor cabinets on each side leaving about 40" of floor space) as it was felt the brick pattern would emphasis how long and narrow the room is.
Grouting should be completed Monday. We are getting there.

He finished just in time for him to shower and get ready for the stake youth dance tonight, for which we were two of the chaperones from our ward. He took me out to dinner after the dance because there wasn't time before the dance.

Progress We Can SEE!

The ceiling in the family room and kitchen is textured and painted.
[We could even uncover the ceiling fan light now. Plastic will probably be left up until all the sheet rock, tape and floating are completed. (Do you know how far sheet rock dust can go!)]

The old vinyl tile is gone and the black adhesive removed. (The Armstrong tile's surface didn't hold up very well but it certainly stuck well to the floor!) All that remains of the kitchen sink is the hot and cold water pipes. A history of water leaks from dishwasher and sink left the sheet rock in bad shape and needs to be replaced. (The sheet rock left looks MUCH better than what was removed!)

But the rest of the sheet rock work is done except some sanding. The tile area with the white spacers is set in thin set in a brick pattern - a continuation of the family room tiling. The diagonal tiles are laid out to determine if that is really what I want in the "alley" space (cabinetry on each side gives about 40 inches of walkway) in the kitchen. He's been able to set the wet saw out on the patio to cut the tile as needed. Sure is nicer (and faster) than having to go up and down stairs to the garage to make individual cuts.

Hopefully tomorrow Richard can get the rest of the floor put down so he can grout on Saturday and finish the drywall work. And the to-do list goes on. But it is getting shorter.