Kitchen Remodel, Week 4 and Thanksgiving with Sharon

Cabinets installed.  Bottom drawer on the left had to be modified to allow for the gas pipe to the cooktop.  They made an ingenious modification.  Great guys!

 
Eric was back to install the crown molding, it's stunning.

Meanwhile John is downstairs installing the flooring.  The bottom five steps are in and I'm loving it!

The sewing room is almost back together and I've been working AND rolling the chair all over the room.  How nice it is to have that horrible plastic pad gone.  Drop a pin, see the pin, pick up the pin.  That's how it's done!

Then we get a call from the granite people.  The backsplash I ordered (months ago) is backordered for three months.  Would I like to come in and look at other options?  Well, let's just see.  The other options were in the same color tones as my first choice but were linear.  The other choice was in different tones  but the same pattern.  When we laid it against the granite along with the surrounding quartz it looks even better than the original.  And it's available immediately.  Sometimes problems turn into great opportunities.

On Wednesday we left for Sharon's in Green Valley.  Arizona has great highway signs!  My all time favorite remains "Be the kind of driver your dog thinks you are" but this one did tickle my funny bone.

Sharon is good medicine for me.  She is a gracious hostess and a good cook.  She greeted us with Cadillac margaritas and Build it Yourself Taco salad with giant mounds of carne asada.  Gary was in meat heaven!

We joined Sharon and Pluto for many walks and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.  We enjoyed a bottle of Joseph Jewel Zin (thanks Marcia for helping make that happen) and used Sharon's mother's Seder glasses.  Why didn't I take a picture of our table?  Unknown.  Trust me, it was both lovely and delicious.  But here we are toasting.  We made a new tradition based on Lori's insistence that she had a new mantra.  Yes, Lori, we used it often and frequently!

On Black Friday we decided to have a picnic at Lake Patagonia.  Sharon had been there 30 years previously and she wanted to check it out.  When we arrived we had to use the "facilities" rather urgently.  I was shocked to see how very nice they were.  Flushing toilets, well stocked and the brick walls were nicely decorated.  It was squeaky clean.  Impressed!  Wouldn't find that in California.

The lake is lovely and full of ducks.  Sharon will be back as it's only an hour away.  Unfortunately they do not allow dogs near the beach, so she has nixed the idea of staying there, but another picnic is definitely in her future.

We came hone by way of Nogales.  I had never seen the wall (except on TV) and wanted to see it.

Here it is crossing a hillside.

And here it is in your face complete with Constantine wire.  Not a bit friendly.  We did not cross as Gary didn't bring his passport.  Next time.

We drove home with a short stop in Tubac (one of our favorite places), to check out our favorite shoe store.  And surprise, they were hosting an outdoor vendor market.  I ran across this:  It's supposed to be a holiday center piece, and will become this year's Nativity-pocalypse

What started out as a one time joke many years ago has evolved into a holiday tradition.  I'll go downstairs and find our nativity set and place the Baby Jesus on the "dinner table".  Yes, Lori inherited my bizarre sense of humor.  Don't judge me, Lori started it!

And we also found some cute shirts.  

On Saturday we drove 2 hours (each way) for lunch at the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas.  Sharon is quite the history buff and wanted to visit the five famous old hotels in Arizona.  I've now made it to four of them.  The Gadsden is also a haunted hotel.  It was purchased, several years ago, by a couple who specialize in restorations and it's lovely.  It sits at the border directly across the wall from El Chapo's estate.  And the border patrol has discovered multiple tunnels from Mexico into Douglas complete with ventilation and lighting.  During Prohibition one tunnel led into the basement of the Gadsden Hotel!  They had a full functioning speakeasy and bordello downstairs.  

The lobby is simply beautiful and is beginning to look like Christmas.

Stairs to the mezzanine level.  Back in the day, Pancho Villa was drunk and rode his horse into the hotel and up the stairs.  On the 7th step, the horse missed and chipped the marble.  They didn't fix that :)

Typical of Shon, my first stop is the ladies room.  Isn't it simply lovely?

We enjoyed a very nice (and very inexpensive) luncheon in the newly restored dining room.  

A beautifully restored tile mural from 1929 tucked into a corner.

Then the owner, Anel, took us on a tour.  My boots were suede so not in need of a polish.  

This is the haunted room, Room 333.  Someone had left the door open and the ghost (which often appears in photographs) was not available.  Still it was a fun visit.

Then Anel took us to the basement.  This is the speakeasy.

And the bar.

This cash register belonged to Anel's uncle who owned a car repair shop.  When he learned that she had purchased the hotel, he determined that this would be a perfect gift.  She was thrilled and found someone to oil it up and make some repairs.  It works perfectly!  They had to significantly reinforce the shelf as the register is very heavy.

She has stringent rules for cleanliness and I was more than six feet away when I asked her to remove her mask.  She a cutie and a hard worker.  You can't see the colored lightbulbs above her head.  Six different colors signifying which of the prostitutes were on duty AND available that evening.

This was the Madame's bedroom.  

One of the tunnels to Mexico.

Just a few blocks away from the hotel is the border.  

It was such a fun visit with Sharon.  Haven't seen her since July when she came up to cook my birthday dinner.  I didn't realize how much I missed her.  Can't wait this long again.  I'll be back in January, after the remodel is finished.

Today, Monday, is the start of Week 5.  The oven and cooktop were delivered.  The guy cut the hole for the electrical and pulled out his measuring tape.  Oven outer width is 30", hole is supposed to be 28.5".  It is also 30".  Call cabinet people, owner gets on the phone and tells me there is supposed to be an insert that the installer hasn't put in yet.  Oh, and if there is a fee for the appliance people to return to install, just let me know and I'll reimburse.  THAT'S the right answer!  Eric, the installer, will be here tomorrow to put in the insert.  Oh well, more adventures in kitchen remodel await!

Kitchen Remodel, Week 3

 

We are making excellent progress.  Some of the prior kitchen cabinets installed in my neighbor's work room.  I wanted to recycle as much as we could.  He (Roger) is very pleased.  Waiting on Patsy to find the inside drawers which inadvertently went to her house.  Snags happen.  Roger's wife, Jan, provided one of the very best prime rib dinners I've ever enjoyed.  And Robin joined us (another great neighbor who's husband, Michael, is working at expanding Van Nuys airport).  Yes, we like our neighbors very much!

The lower level master with carpet and baseboards ripped out.

New flooring.  Can't move the furniture around until the baseboards are installed, hopefully this afternoon.

The contractor, Fergal, and his helper Travis.  Fergal is straight out of Ireland and feisty as they come!  He's great fun to argue with.  He doesn't miss a detail, so glad to have found him.  Thanks to our realtor, Nancy, for the connection.  

Carpeting ripped out in the lower level "great room".  It's a lovely room that we never use, but the cats enjoy hanging out here, they have their very own fireplace which I've used once when it was very cold and I simply couldn't warm up and big screen TV (don't tell them we haven't hooked it up), and a small wet bar and fridge.  They feel spoiled indeed!

New flooring, late in the afternoon.  That's not a white patch, it's the sun streaming in through the windows.

The contents of my sewing room sharing the workout room space.  This room has a padded floor that will not be replaced.

Sad sewing room.

Happier sewing room, once baseboards are re-installed we'll both be happiest!

Most of the cabinets are installed.  The last thing will be the drawer and door fronts.  Look at the lower right hand area.  That patch is where the lower L used to be.  By removing that part the kitchen feels like it doubled in size!  On the right (not pictured this time) is the new pantry.  

On the left is the double oven with vertical dividers above.  Next to it will be the fridge.  In the corner will be drawers as I don't care for Lazy Susans.  Once everything is installed I'll take you on a trip around the kitchen.

This is the new hutch.  It is where the pantry and tiny hutch used to be.

And by removing the wet bar/peninsula it truly opens up the space.  The living room furniture will move back about 2-3 feet which will significantly open up that space.

Granite/Quartz man was there this week.  He made templates for the surfaces which  will take about two weeks.  Here's a sneak peek at the island..... it's GORGEOUS!  And yes, we will use every inch of it!  All surrounding surfaces will be a very soft solid sage green quartz, virtually indestructible.  The back splash will be complimentary multi-colored glass.  

Every day we are one more step closer to a happier kitchen, happier Shon (which equals a happier Gary), and less neurotic cats.  Well, hopefully less.  

Kitchdn Remodel, Week 2

We're sitting around the table enjoying morning coffee, Mikey is soaking up the sun -- he loves this time of year because the sun comes in his favorite window.  And then the door opens up and THEM arrive.  Mikey spends the remainder of the day under the bed.  He does not like THEM.  

It's been a relatively quiet week (so far).  We've had a fair number of workers, but they have been here in ones and twos instead of a pack.  Drywall hanger guy is different from corners, tape and texture guy.  Interesting that this subspecialty is so specific.  Fergal (contractor) is very exacting about who does what, and if it isn't done to his liking it's redone.  

Couple of minor issues yesterday.  I was looking at the kitchen window and noticed the white cord coming out of the drywall.  Yep, that's for the under cabinet lights.  But where's the cord that used to be on the other side?  I take a picture and text it to Fergal, "Shouldn't there be a white wire on the other side of the window?  Roger, corner, tape and texture guy, is due here any minute."

Minutes later I get a response.  "Yes!  I'll send Travis!"  Who arrives with a grim look on his face.  He tells me that he called Sam (who installed that side of the drywall) and asked if he had pushed the white wire into the insulation before putting up the drywall.  Sam replied in the affirmative.  Travis not pleased.  It was a five minute fix and Travis leaves.  Enter Roger the tape and texture guy.  

 

This odd looking man is a true artist.  The original texture is very nice and I couldn't fathom how he would duplicate it and have it look seamless after it was painted.  I couldn't fathom it because I'm not an artist, but he surely is. With just his large spatula all the bumps and swirls flow; he said it was not easy to learn but over time it got real easy.  

Little hutch is gone along with the peninsula.  I don't miss either.

The new island will be enormous!  The pair of three stacks will go in the new hutch.  So exciting.

Tommy is sound asleep as the banging and drilling continues.  

We discovered a few problems (to be expected) and resolution is in the works.  Electrician arrived on time and is moving some of the outlets (oops) and Eric has arrived to continue installing the cabinets.  Eric is awesome, everytime I point out an issue his response is the same, "No problem, I can fix that." in the same calm tone.  These guys are awesome!  Installation continues.........

Kitchen Remodel, Day 5

 November 8, 2020

Well, it's been quite a week.  Biden/Harris are projected to be the next administration (election not certified yet), Katherine Johnson and Alex Trebek (legends) both passed, it just started snowing (I hate snow) and our remodel progresses.  Whew!

Remember when I said the hardwood had buckled under the refrigerator when it sprung a leak?  Well, when all of the cabinetry was removed we discovered black mold!  The contractor assured me, as he poked at it, that it was dead but we liberally poured bleach on it anyway.  That fridge had been leaking for a very long time.

My friend, Patsy, has a workshop in the back of her long arm quilt shop.  She needed cabinetry.  I needed to clear out my garage.  Patsy's nephew and his good friend to the rescue.  These two charming young men are perfectly delightful and very hard workers.  They grabbed pieces like they were lifting empty shoe boxes.  Amazing.

 

This is a 20 foot box truck.  It was stuffed when they were finished.

I could barely lift one end of this.  He grabbed it like it weighed nothing.

Flooring!

Gary is happy to have his side of the garage almost empty.

The plumber confounds me.  The first time he came and shut off the water, the next morning when I jumped in the shower I got scalded.  Our shower has a temperature setting on the main handle and you just turn it on/off.  The temperature button has always been set at roughly 10 o'clock.  It now sits at 4 o'clock.  The second time he came (because the electrician accidently poked a pin hold in the copper pipe when he was tying down the wiring) he forgot to plug the circulation pump back in and the hot water wasn't hot at all.  Thank heavens Gary knows enough about the equipment to recognize that it just needed to be plugged back in.  

We've had only a few minor issues which are happily overlooked when you take in the entire project.  So far we are doing great!  Enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Mary Ann and Cal's Friday night.  They are delightful hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Tuesday we'll go out to Prescott Valley and enjoy a meal with brother Bill and his wonderful wife, Mindy.  And then Wednesday cabinetry arrives!

And it's snowing.  Good grief!

Kitchen Remodel, Days 3 and 4

 November 5, 2020

Wednesday was the plumber.  He came, he plumbed, he left.

Scary moment:  the contractor and his carpenter were looking at the electrical box at the end of the L.  "Hm, says one, it says MICRO on it."  I've only ever used it for a motion detector night light.  The microwave requires a dedicated circuit and is wired directly to the breaker box.  Once the cabinets were removed we could see that the microwave box power line lay on the floor and draped from that box to the wall, made a turn was incased in ROMEX (not conduit) for the 18 inches behind the dishwasher and then back to naked wire to the spot where the microwave was located.  If a mouse decided to chew on it I shudder to think what would have happened!  Can't believe it got past inspection.  Did the owners move the microwave during construction?  I don't know.  But my house could have burned down!  I'm grateful that Mikey is an amazing mouser.  

Today was electricians.  We had three of them.  Morning meeting w contractor included comments:  HIM: we should move the box three inches to the left.  ME:  no, leave it where it is.  But I will need power to the KitchenAid lift cabinet.  ELECTRICIAN:  What is that?  ME:  Just the most amazing thing EVER!  Once he understood what it was and how it works he was quite impressed.  Oh, yes, and to the trash compactor (Gary is so pleased to get a compactor, which I had nixed because I wasn't giving up space for my lift.  We got both.

CONTRACTOR:  Well, Gary and I got what we both wanted (the window will remain and we moved the hutch to where the pantry was) so you get all the rest.  ME:  I get what I want, if you can make that happen and keep the window, so much the better.  So Gary gets not only his sainted window, but a trash compactor as well.  He's a happy man!

Electrician was going to have to run conduit on the outside of the house to get the dedicated line to the new location of the microwave.  But turns out he's a really smart guy.  He decides to drop the line down the wall into the lower level (dirt room) below so that all the wiring can be inside.  His first thought (out loud, not so smart) was, "Well, we could tear out the ceiling in the room downstairs."  ME:  "NO!  You will NOT impact my quilt studio.  The end!"  Electrician doing the smart thing (and not thinking out loud again.)

Moving the lower L lights to align with the kitchen lights as the lower L is gone forever.  The new location of the lights will be on the end piece of the island.

Workers are gone, Mikey is inspecting their work.  His butt is now white, wonder who's been sitting in chalk dust.  

So I'm sitting in my neighbors Arizona Room (enclosed outer deck) and I suddenly blurted out: "Next Thursday I'll have the start of my new cabinets in!  Oh my, I'm so excited!

And for those of you who disapproved of my attire during the wall demo . . . . I LOVED IT!  Thanks for your love and caring and I couldn't have cared less!  Every day I'm grateful that we can get this done, every day I have to soften and calm the cats, every day we are one day closer to an amazing kitchen, every day I give thanks that we can make this happen.  

I send you blessings every day that you can also achieve your dreams.  Trust me, it's satisfying!

Stay tuned!

Kitchen Remodel, Day Two

 November 3, 2020 (Election Day)

Yes, I pulled out my mother's high school graduation set of graduated pearls and wore them with my T Shirt and jeans.  RIP RBG.  Yes, we voted, as did our crew (I know because I asked!)  (see my FB page for a picture of me in Tshirt and pearls!

New crew arrived at 8 am (yes, in the morning, good news, they don't start at 7!).  Sam, Rob & Cornelius.  Great crew!  We moved a few things around, fridge moved in front of the window (the one I wanted to remove) and dishwasher to the garage.  Then dismantling began in earnest.  

End of day two, only thing to remain untouched is the hood (the clouds parted, the angels sang):

They were discussing that when removing this L shaped piece of granite they were concerned that it would break before they could get it into the garage (possibly injuring one of the crew). "No problem," I said, "break it at the corner groove and the new owners can super glue it in their shop." Sam & Rob were much relieved. Yes, I'm pretty reasonable and am anxious that they do things safely (no I didn't ask about safety goggles, I just assumed they knew how to do their job. However tomorrow I will inquire as I've been beat up a bit by friends commenting on my destruction of a wall that I failed to wear eye protection. Turns out my contacts aren't good enough. And sandals ... Oh well, I survived, got to break into the wall, had a Chip Gaines moment and then returned to my quilt studio, satisfied that I had done my part!) Continuing work on a beautiful quilt. It's a gift so I won't post it until it has a new home.  Tried to upload the Chip Gaines movie but Blogger wouldn't accept the file.  I'll post it in the comment section.

Peninsula almost gone.  Look down that hall at the door.  That teeny tiny space inside that door is the pantry.  Well, WAS the pantry.  

With the elimination of the small hutch on the living room side, and the teeny tiny pantry, the space expands and will eventually be a real honest to gosh hutch.  Gary's happy that I'm happy.  And boy howdy I'm floating on air!  It's going to be AWESOME!

Gary's truck used to be in this space.  Roger will receive the peninsula in the next few days, the rest of the cabinetry will go to Patsy's workshop on the 10th.  Gary is parking next door in our neighbor's spare space.  Great neighbors!

Speaking about great neighbors, a big shout out to Roger & Jan for feeding us on our first night without a functioning kitchen.  That meal included left overs which will be consumed tonight.  Love our neighborhood!

These guys are professional, polite and more than accommodating.  If you need an amazing contractor with a great crew check in with me!  Well, I'll hold off singing his praises publicly until this project is complete.  But after Day Two, I can already tell that we'll get along.  Sure, he tries to talk over me, yeah that doesn't work well, but I do enjoy a good try :)

More will be revealed!

s

Kitchen Remodel, Day One

 November 2, 2020

It's been a year in the making and now it's finally happening!  

How many meetings did I "enjoy" with the cabinetry people?  How many times did we change the layout?  I wanted so badly to remove one (seriously, people, only ONE) window and how many times did we change that layout?  Spoiler alert, the window stays, unchanged!  Tried HARD to win that argument, failed.  Moved the hutch to the pantry necessitating moving the pantry to what was supposed to be "empty wall".  

Let's back up.  Here is the kitchen we moved into:

Yes, I am aware; it looks like a very nice kitchen.  

• WHO puts hardwood in a kitchen?  Turns out several of my friends have done so.  Well, not me, that's for certain.  We had been in the house maybe two weeks when the freezer dropped ice cubes and the water hose to the icemaker developed a slow leak.  Know what water does to hardwood?  Yes, and the former owners had refinished the floors as soon as they moved out, so they were LIKE NEW.  Well, not when our fridge was done.  That Viking Professional built in fridge (which I thought was the cat's meow) didn't last two months!  Thank heaven the former owners were willing to purchase a one year home warranty service (should I have suspected there might be a reason for that?).  Well, the warranty company was not willing to replace with a like model so they gave us a generous $$$ toward our new one necessitating some adjustment to the hole as the built in was 3 feet taller than the new one.  Good neighbors to the rescue.
• The dishwasher and microwave were both on their last dying legs and have been replaced.
• My dishes are too big for the cupboard.  Dishes are not abnormally large, inside of cupboard is abnormally short by an inch!  
• The cooktop was an ENORMOUS affair with only four burners but included a griddle (I have a pan) and a grill (also have that).  It was HUGE and all the knobs were exactly at belly level which means anytime I brushed up against one of them going one way or another, they would turn on.  Made me crazy.  New cooktop is a five burner and knobs are on top where they belong.
• I notice the upper cupboard in the middle is losing the inset facia board.  Yes, it's falling out!  My neighbor, an amazing woodworker, takes the door off and repairs it.
• I flip a drawer or door close and IT SLAMS!  Now this is a custom home.  Who fails to install soft close doors and drawers?  Gary to the rescue, he purchases about 100 inserts to fix the doors but the drawer inserts are prohibitively expensive and Shon wants handles (never understood people who don't want handles).  I've learned to carefully close drawers while anxiously awaiting a fix to that.
• What you can't see to the left of the picture is a peninsula with a wet bar.  Never cared about a wet bar but thought the peninsula was a great idea.  Well!  Try putting on a large party (pre pandemic) and walking around that damned thing 3,000 times in the few days during party prep and 100's of times during it.  After our first big party I was ready to take a sledge hammer to it.  I've been patient but now it HAS to go!
• There is a small (useless) hutch next to the wet bar.  It's outta here.
• That frees up some much needed space to insert a real hutch on the other side (facing the kitchen)  
• New hutch will require removing the pantry which will move to a different wall and match the new cabinetry.  
• The lower part of the "L" will be completely removed allowing the island to no longer be a "step up" -- completely useless.  New island will be 5' x 10', all one level.  It will be amazing.  We'll go from being a two butt kitchen to being a least a four butt kitchen, which is as it should be.
• All of my serving pieces have been stored in boxes in the garage since we moved it.  Looking forward to getting them out and using them for more parties; I do love a party!

Most of the party stuff and things way up high that were used only occasionally have been packed up for weeks.  I evaluated the remaining stuff and decided it would take two 3-hour days to complete.  Right ... wrong.  It took 2 SIX hour days.  This morning I dashed off to the post office to send out a Lori Box and realized I was in extraordinary pain.  On the drive home I called my chiropractor and asked to be fitted into his schedule.  The amazing Brandy said, "When can you be here?"  I responded, "Two minutes!"  I'm happy to sit quietly and politely (unusual for me) until he can see me.

When the doc opened the door to usher me into his workroom he announced, "Brandy misspoke, we're closed!"  "Ha! I intoned, Brandy NEVER misspeaks, now it's time for you to fix me." as I marched into his exam room.  POP, CRACK, Crackle.  What a mess.  When I stood up my pain level went from a 5-6 to a zero!  I could lift my knees high with no pain.  I no longer shuffled.  Yea, that was a lot of work.

Then Travis arrived.  Here he is dismantling the island which will be reassembled in my friend's workshop.  Travis is an animal, I already like him.  He's a hard worker and is anxious to please.  I'm pleased so far!

Oh yes, we're keeping the hood!  I love that hood.  I hope you find time in your busy lives to come out and enjoy our new kitchen, I'll take you for a test drive around that hood, it's amazing!

So to those who think this is a lovely kitchen: so did I!  And it was nice to the uninformed eye.  It simply didn't work for me.  This is my last house and  my last kitchen  It want what I want.  I worked for more than 40 years, saved carefully so that I wouldn't have to be on a budget during retirement.  Well, this remodel will put me back in budget land but it will be worth it.  We're very excited, me because I will get what I want; Gary is excited because he will no longer have to listen to my bitching and complaining.  The boys (Harvey, Tommy and Mikey) are excited because soon their crystal pitcher of water will be on the counter and their world will be as it should be.

Stay tuned!