Remodel continues...

Well, the remodel continues...

We now have 6 gallons of very expensive paint on these cabinets you see. No doors or drawers yet. Yesterday I emptied and removed all the knobs from 24 drawers that belong in here. Plus I have 2 large pull out drawers. What a lot of cabinets, doors and drawers this kitchen has.

Interestingly enough in this one month-to-date process I find I don't even really need this kitchen in order to exist daily. Oh don't misunderstand me...I love this kitchen and will love it all the more when it is completed! Maybe I am merely in the exhausted mode of "I want this mess to be over and done with".

Hopefully the ceiling will be painted next week. Then the walls and then maybe we can uncover the paper masking that is soaked with paint, clean my beautiful granite counters that are hopefully surviving under all this and then I will feel better and see hope.

Now that the weather is so much nicer and the sun has come out and warmed us all it is also easier to think of simple meals that don't require a lot of cooking.

I do hope all of you are enjoying Spring in your areas. I even took a few hours to do some weeding and pruning. Then I enjoyed hand watering to wash pollen and dust from plants. I skimmed the pond but the pollen and oak droppings are beyond skimming at this point. The frogs seranaded me and I got to see 9 of them sitting on their lilly pads. I shall post some pics of the pond in the near future. I don't think I shall be lucky enough to photograph an actual frog as they are extremely shy and dive for cover even if I walk as quietly as I can to see them.

Happy Weekend Everyone.

Blessed with friends...

I feel so very blessed to have friends. This being Earth Day is another reason to feel blessed as I am so happy to be a part of this earth. I spent a wonderful day yesterday with my dearest and closest friend. We had to run errands and do grocery shopping but somehow it wasn't the chore it seems to be when done alone. We laughed, we shared stories, we split items that we didn't need a lifetime supply of, we were very helpful when one or the other couldn't decide whether to get something or not and we ate a leisurely lunch. All the while sharing a rare and wonderful friendship.
I am also blessed with friends whom I have never met in person. I have new friends that I have met through this amazing world of blogging and etsy shopping/selling. Each one unique and so very interesting and talented. I tend to be rather shy in person however I am not so shy online. OK I am not shy in person...I talk to anyone, anytime, anyplace. Sometimes I wonder why am I talking with this person?!! I am so like my mother was. The first time Mr. Hubby took me to San Francisco (just a decade ago) I couldn't understand why people wouldn't smile when I smiled at them. He cautioned me that, "You never make eye contact with anyone in a big city". Well, that is just not me. I had the hardest time looking everywhere but at people. I am a people person. People and especially events energize me. I come alive when I am around other people especially when they are having a good time. I am always in amazement when at Disneyland or DisneyWorld (actually any theme park) that too many people are frowning, mad or definitely not having a good time. Be happy comes to mind.
Thank you to all my friends, long time and newly found, for bringing me great joy and the feeling that I am blessed.
Happy Earth Day to all. May we take good care of our earth and our friends everyday.

Wonderful Weekend...

No pictures today as Mr. Hubby is using the notebook computer which has photos on it.
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and some relaxation time. I spent time with friends and my sister and we celebrated her recent birthday. Did some shopping and had a yummy lunch at Buca de Beppos. If you have never eaten at Buca de Beppos it is quite the experience. Italian food, lots of pictures on the walls, candles and cake for the birthday girl. More shopping and a drive up the hill to arrive home.
Today I must be productive. Hmmm...
The sun is shining and the birds are singing. It is a very good day.

More Comfort Dolls...

These little ladies of flora are the latest baker's dozen comfort dolls to be made and sent to http://comfortdolls.blogspot.com for shipment to various battered women's shelters across the United States and some other countries. This is a project that really spoke to my heart and I already have ideas for the next baker's dozen that I will make to donate. Pat Winter is the founder and does all the logistics for gathering and coordinating the dozens and then shipping them out to their new companions.

I feel great joy by contributing these little ladies to bring a smile and some comfort to those on their journey of life. They really are much cuter in person. I am so not a photographer but I did want to snapshot them for sharing.

They are a little burst of Spring and happiness to come to the recipients of them.

Big Bad Wolf in my kitchen...

Wow is about all I can say. You can see the before cook top, the new island dressed in granite with a new shape instead of the skimpy oval, the scary cut that had to be made for the new cook top and then...Mr. Big Bad Wolf is in place and has flame. I will definitely have to learn to cook for Mr. Hubby now.

I have always joked that the only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house. Now I am loving "my kitchen" and want to spend time in it and cook and clean and be domestic.

Of course I do not want to get Mr. Wolf dirty so Mr. Hubby says he will put a big huge pot of chili and let it boil all over so I will get over wanting to keep the cook top pristine and new. Ha Ha Ha...not in my kitchen. :o) When the entire remodel is completed then I will cook something and of course it will splatter grease all over the cook top and the island and the floor and where ever else grease loves to go. It will be so wonderful to have this Big Bad Wolf to experiment with. Simmer to sear? I don't even know what that is...but I will learn. I do watch Food TV. I usually know a lot about how people cook and what they make but I just don't know how to actually do it myself. It seems that when I do make a meal it takes hours and is eaten in a mere 10 minutes. What is up with that? Why can't it last longer and be enjoyable?

More updates next blog.

Happy week to all.

It's Happening...

Realizing this is a lot of photos however I am so beyond excited because since we bought this home I am in love with I have wanted granite in the kitchen. Finally it is happening! We had very dated and very dark green tiles with grout lines and a tulip border tile that was of a peach tone. Therein lies the reason for the peach walls with the one shade lighter peach ceiling.

My husband is quite the hands-on construction do-it-all including electrical and plumbing home remodeler. We are doing lots of the work, with helpers for demo and granite fab/install. My husband refers to this kitchen remodel as our very own personal stimulus plan for the economy.

I emptied the utility room cupboards and turned it into a mini kitchen while the remodel is happening. Actually we have not suffered one bit. The very first night of demo on all the hideous tile we went to our local favorite diner for a sandwich dinner and about halfway through eating my very budget concious husband says to me, "You know you have to add this expense to your kitchen budget". What! Don't you know I have not wanted to go out again...my kitchen budget is very tight and I am determined to stick to it but not by eating out.

In the next few days I shall post more pictures which show progress. My kitchen is getting so happy and content. I am so happy and content. Mr. hubby will be happy and content once all the hard work and expense is over.

Thank you for understanding why I have not been faithfully blogging since being so busy with all of the remodel. My mantra has been..."My kitchen is so worth it!"

Happy Easter to everyone. I hope you each find all of your treasures.

Saturday of catching up...

So today I am sorting through and cleaning up in my studio. This picture is the opposite side of the studio previously posted. My husband built this island and I love all the cubbies that hold stuff especially the end ones that are long and hold rolls of wrapping paper. I really like having ribbon handy for use and on display. I am actually preparing some Easter cards for mailing. This year I happened to buy some window clings at the dollar store for Easter. Then I thought how cute they would look inside the cards and they would also be an extra little gift. How simple and cost effective. I bought a pack of blank cards and merely wrote in them...
Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy Happy Everything. The postage will be the most expensive part of the entire project. I am always looking for very quick and inexpensive card options as I cringe at the thought of spending $4 on average for a store-bought card and then knowing the recipient will probably merely throw it out. I do not throw out cards I receive because I can always upcycle them or collage them or use them for something. Many years ago my Grandma and I would take greeting cards and cut out shapes and crochet them together as party favors or gifts or just dust collectors as my hubby so fondly calls things sitting around. What a lot of time and work we used to put into cutting, hand punching little holes and then crocheting all of them into fun and sometimes useful shapes...such as a box with lid. Oh how I do miss my Grandma!
I do feel much more organized in my studio than in years prior. It is so nice to need some supply and merely go to that bin or drawer or whatever and retrieve it for use. I also find it much easier to put things away now. What a concept. Thank you my Saucy Chick partner Lorraine. You are the best organizer, labeler, disposer of junk and sorter I have ever known. She and I are already planning on our next attack area for organization. We also do inventory control so we know what we have and what we might need. I am looking forward to this summer's project to tackle.
Well, I really must get back to my cards and finish them for mailing Monday. Easter is near.
Saucy Chick Sherry
P.S. I hope everyone enjoys the week ahead.