Wherein we talk about projects, life, and other things.
We’ve been moving right along with the kitchen renovation.
Plumbing and drywall are both done. Electrical is mostly done (and will be wrapped up in a week or so). Flooring installation begins on Monday. Cabinets should arrive the week after that.
While researching appliances for the kitchen, I looked at dozens of websites, and hundreds, if not thousands, of options. Typically “the internet” is my favorite store but while there were deals to be found on some of the items on our appliance wish list, in the end we ended up buying all of our appliances locally (with tax) and from one place. It just made things simpler, and gave us a bit more peace of mind.
We just gave final approval on our cabinetry, and it now goes into production (should be built by June 27th, and at our doorstep the week of July 9th).
We begin demo on the existing kitchen on June 22nd, which is only barely over two months from now. This project is starting to feel real, and rapidly approaching.
There are a lot of different kinds of refrigerators out there. There are the obvious differences like color, size, door configuration. And then there are the not so obvious or common differences like counter-depth, built-in, and integrated models. So begins our tale.
Last year, Colorado finally got an IKEA. The clouds parted, the angels sang, and cheap Scandinavian furniture was only an hour away now. We’ve only been once, but it was a pretty big deal locally.
Part of what seems to get people so excited about IKEA, besides the meatballs, are the inexpensive, modular kitchen solutions. You can put together a pretty great kitchen with cabinetry from IKEA. My parents did it for an old farmhouse they remodeled in Washington and it turned out really nice. But Anne and I were worried that with a new IKEA on the scene, there would be a glut of IKEA kitchens in the next few years, and we really wanted our remodel to stand out from the crowd. So we chose to go in a different direction.
The way our projects typically work is I sweat the design and details, Anne keeps an eye on the bigger picture and makes sure all of my detail-sweating doesn’t result in budget creeping, and in the end it works out beautifully.
I’d be afraid to tally up exactly how much time I’ve spent researching every aspect of this project; I have no doubt it would be literally hundreds of hours. These are a few of the sources of information and inspiration that were most helpful to me, in no particular order:
The first thing I did after getting home from touring this house before we bought it was to pull out some graph paper and start sketching up a new kitchen. The possibilities that a new kitchen presented, and the radical transformation that would mean for the house were what really got me initially excited about buying this place. It took almost three years but we’re finally getting around to undertaking that project.
Some songs just seem like they were made for each other.
“You’ll hear a lot of folks, by the way, say that government is broken. Well, government and politics are two different things. Government is our troops who are fighting on our behalf in Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s government. Government are also those FEMA folks when there’s a flood or a drought or some emergency who come out and are helping people out. That’s government. Government is Social Security. Government are teachers in the classroom. Government are our firefighters and our police officers, and the folks who keep our water clean and our air clean to breathe, and our agricultural workers. And when you go to a national park, and those folks in the hats — that’s government.
“So don’t be confused — as frustrated as you are about politics, don’t buy into this notion that somehow government is what’s holding us back…[D]on’t buy into this whole notion that somehow government doesn’t do us any good; government is what protects us. The government is what built the Interstate Highway System. Government is what sent a man to the Moon. It’s what invested in the research and development that created innovations all across this country.”
— Barack Obama
As most of you who know us well enough to be here already know, Anne has Crohn’s Disease. She was diagnosed with it in 2004 (?) while we were still dating.
I remember making an emergency trip from California (where I was living at the time) to Colorado because she was in terrible pain and was admitted to the hospital and was told she had a disease and was understandably freaked about it. Being there for her felt like the right thing to do, and it turns out it was.
We recently wrapped up watching both seasons of Party Down, which was hilarious (and sadly short-lived). Now we’re getting into Weeds. How did we miss these shows the first time around? What else are we missing?
I’m starting to be convinced that Netflix streaming is the ultimate and perfect way to watch TV shows. In uninterrupted batches, they’re addictive.
My brother got me an Apple TV for Christmas - wonderful gift. I’d had it on my Amazon Wishlist for awhile, as one of those things I wanted but hadn’t really been able to justify buying for myself. So I was delighted to find it wrapped up under the tree.
Overall, I’m a big fan of the device. But there is one issue that, because we use it so much and thus experience the problem so often, is really frustrating. That problem is the Netflix app.
We’ve really been getting our money’s worth out of Netflix recently. Between DVDs and streaming we’ve been watching a lot more movies lately than we used to. As entertaining as all of that has been, we’re talking hours spent on the couch: the new American pastime that’s nothing to be proud of.
I don’t do New Years resolutions. They’re for business majors, Facebook users, and other undesirables. But I do think it’s about time our little corner of the internet here stops atrophying and actually gets a little use.
Seriously, time flies when you’re…not…updating the blog…?
Hello world. We’re still alive, and still have very little to say.
Carry on.
With Anne in Italy for a week, my “me” time was spent thusly…
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
— William Morris
Two years ago today, Anne and I got married.
Anne and I are pretty handy. At our old townhouse we rebuilt the deck, renovated three bathrooms, built planters, built furniture, and generally took care of business without any issues. Come Friday night, we’re due to start our major bathroom renovation in the new house and I think we’re both a little nervous about being in over our heads this time.
Happy birthday Annie!
“Choose your corner, pick away at it carefully, intensely and to the best of your ability and that way you might change the world.”
— Charles Eames
My Grandmother died today. She was 98 years old which, as it turns out, is probably too old.
Now that we’ve comfortably settled into what will soon be a couple years of being married, it seemed like a good time to mothball the wedding site and move our domain into phase two. Welcome to the new Anne & Will.