Ending and Beginning...

Our kitchen remodeling project has officially come to a close.  Time to start cooking!  

Our Contractor:  Dave McArdle, Bloomington, Indiana

Past & Present 

The Burrow Kitchen Transformation

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Above: past sink area

Below: today's sink area

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Above:  laundry closet view in the past

Below:  laundry closet view today

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Above:  Past view of the walk way from 

the carport to the dining room

Below: Same view...today

Below:  The other side of the island

The built-in wine rack and glass holder

The Burrow finally feels like it is officially ours!  

We are now ready to invite all the former owners here for a visit.  Next week we hope to have the most recent owner back for dinner.  She (and her husband) spent the longest time here...25 years.  After we have her over, then we'll contact the rest to have them come back and share their memories with us too.  In between time, I'll start hosting others here!  I can't wait!!!!!

Kitchen remodeling notes:  

True construction days:  26

Actual calendar days:  53

Holidays encumbered:  Thanksgiving and Christmas

Delays:  None

Perks:  Got to know a ton of very handy individuals, I would recommend them all, especially our contractor.  

For a slide show of the kitchen project from beginning to end, click here:  Burrow Kitchen Transformation.  

Day 25: Part 2, What's for Dinner?

Miracles happened today!  

The oven now heats up!  

I did keep my promise...dinner was tasty!  I christened the oven by baking chocolate chip cookies as our appetizer.  We had corn chowder, bread and wine for dinner followed by more chocolate chip cookies.  


Almost done!  The counter tops did arrive and went in today.  The oven did get fixed!  The sink and faucet are installed!  Tomorrow I hope to have the dishwasher and cook top join the ranks of working appliances.  The crown molding should get done tomorrow too.  It will be just little things to finish up on after that.  My dish pan hands are starting to rejoice!  

For entertainment I did some bird watching today.  I noted the following 12 types of birds at my feeders in about one hours time:  Northern Flicker, Blue jay, Downy Wood Pecker, Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Carolina Chickadee, Dark Eyed Junco, Nuthatch, House Finch, Gold Finch, Mocking Bird and Carolina Wren.  I was bored in the house since it was horrible weather for getting out and the place was filled with various workers.  I'm not into t.v. during the day so watching the birds was great.  I had my binoculars, my laptop (for species identifying) and my comfy chair.  If the workers needed me, and I did get called upon several times, I was easily assessable.  

Of course I did hear about lazing around from a few of the men in my house...one husband and contractor!  Good thing they didn't see me eating Bon-Bons while I had my feet up too!  :)

Day 25: Part 1: Bated Breath!

Today was the first day back to school after winter break, and luckily for me a 2 hour delay!  I love what I do, but as my children walked out to catch their delayed bus I received a phone call from my contractor!  Freezing rain has made the roads in the area very slick, but my counter tops are coming!  They should be here within the hour!  

I am waiting with bated breath.   Dave tells me everyone (plumbers, trim guy, electrician, etc.) is scheduled to be here today and tomorrow.  My cardboard counter tops may indeed be a thing of the past.  My sink may be installed, the dishwasher make get hooked up, the oven may get reprogrammed, I may have a new gas cook top, I may get to bake those cookies soon!  

Well, Dave just arrived!  Maybe I'll be doing my happy dance this evening!  I will try to remember to breath and not expect too much.  

"After all...tomorrow is another day."  says

 Scarlett/Gone with the Wind-1939

Day 25: Tomorrow; Day 49: Today

Construction time vs. actual time.  

I really miss my kitchen.  I had hoped that on Friday (Jan.2) the appliance repair guy was going to be able to fix my never-since-it-got-here-has-it-worked oven.  I was wrong.  

I even had it planned out...he'd be here between 8 and noon, I'd make Chocolate Chip Cookies to christen the oven and then homemade pizza for dinner.  No cookies.  No pizza.  Instead we dined on leftover Christmas turkey heated in the microwave.  Good, but not cookies and pizza.  

My FIL offered their oven for making my cookies.  True, I could go use their oven.  That's not the point.  I just really want my own kitchen, the Burrow's kitchen, to be up and running.  My patience is waning.  Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully one week to go.  

When the appliance repair guys (APG) came, they did notice that the power to the oven was not up to the correct voltage.  One line read 120 volts and the other between 40-50 volts.  A quick call to my contractor had the electrician back out here.  He ended up needing to replace a breaker.  Although the APG's were here at noon and the electrician was here at 3, there wasn't enough time in the day to get the APG's back out here.  I tried.  They just need to come back and reprogram (or re-boot) the oven.  This is the downfall of technology.  Nothing can be simple!  The APG's are scheduled to come back out on TUESDAY!  

Hence I have decided that I will make NOTHING in the new kitchen until it's all back together.  A test run of the oven will happen, but no baking.  

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In the mean time, I continue to walk on my treadmill and watch the Food Network.  I watched a show called  Everyday Italian and I made myself hungry!  Two dishes were made that I just had to try:  

Fennel Slaw with Prosciutto & Pistachio Pesto

Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs

Both dishes were easy to make and tasty.  The differences I included were on the Spaghetti...I added more pasta water than the recipe called for and used Italian seasoned bread crumbs.  Both of those suggestions were in the comments on-line AND the chef on the show actually added more water herself.  

My in-laws came over to share this feast with us so I purchased some Italian bread and Spumoni Ice Cream to top things off.  My husband likes his bread warmed and since we had a fire going in the fireplace...well, you can guess how the bread was heated.  The spaghetti looked good too in my new pasta bowl!  My niece gave it to us for Christmas, but you might note I said my new pasta bowl!   

:) 

Winter naps

Lazy Lily uses the window seat just as it was intended!  When I first thought about having a window seat added in the kitchen I said it was for the cats so they could look out the window.  

What a lucky cat!  Too bad there isn't enough room for me to snuggle up with my ball of fur and nap too.  At least I can sit next to her as I drink my cup of chai tea and count the variety of visitors at our feeders.  

I bet Lily is having different thoughts!  

Day 24 (Dec. 22.)...slowing down before Christmas

Day 24 of construction was the Monday before Christmas.  It was a day of handles on cabinets, painting and hanging of doors on the closets, oven repair man showing up, and  plumbers seeing if the lines were clogged.  

Since the trim for the crown molding is not in, the counter top is not in, the oven needs parts ordered and Christmas being here, things have really come to a stand still for a bit.  It is big tease of a kitchen!  Christmas Eve dinner we had all the relatives here...15 of us total.  Dinner was all purchased ready made from Aunt Kroger.  Cheese, crackers, soups, sushi, baked chicken, rice dish side salads and a fruit tray.  I opted for paper plates and cups because I didn't think my hands or the bar sink could handle the load.  Although dinner was easy and good, I don't think I would like to repeat this as a Christmas Eve dinner tradition.  I would much rather labor in the kitchen and watch the happy smiles as the family eats what I prepare.  Last year I had a traditional polish dinner, like when I grew up.  I had the table set with my best china and we dined on food I prepared.  Next year I will re-instate that tradition.  

Today is Day 42 in real time without my kitchen.  I think I am forgetting how to do things in a real kitchen.  Dave told me on December 22nd that the counter tops won't be in until after the first of the year.  I imagine this next week will be a very quiet one at the Burrow.  Thank goodness once again for in-laws living right next door and lots of Christmas dinner leftovers.  

The big happy news of the past week was that now the washer and dryer do work.  No more water puddles on the new floor!  After our six house guests left it was nice to be able to wash their towels and sheets here.  

Day 23...Painting, Shelving, Laundry and Humor!

On Day 22, I was busy trying to finish my Christmas shopping while the kids were in school.  Lots of errands kept me away from the house for the entire day.  Returning home there were lots of good surprises!  Drywall holes were filled.  The refrigerator found its home and has been busy making ice!  Ice in a drink is something one rarely pauses to think about.  We have been without this treat since November 17th.  Dave created the picture framing around the oven.  It looks beautiful!  But, here is where my first little piece of humor comes in...It does look beautiful, but the oven won't work!  It has power and all has been fine through construction.  The problem is an internal one.  Apparently there is an internal circuit board that needs to be replaced.  I am hoping this is not a sign of the future for the Beast.  
Since all was together with the oven, I thought it would be really nice to have some corn bread with out White Bean Tuscan Soup I was making for dinner.  I came upstairs to see if I could figure out how to turn on the oven.  After pressing three buttons an error sign came up and it wouldn't go away.  A call to customer service, and a handy researching-the-Internet husband, made it apparent that a repair man would have to be called  to fix this!  Next Monday...maybe I can bake.  Crackers accompanied our soup.  
Since I haven't shown the shoe shelf in awhile I thought I'd highlight that too.  My daughter pointed out that it can only hold four pairs of shoes.  It's fun when you say something, it goes in one ear and out the other of your kids and then eventually they have an A-HA moment on their own.  The point of this shelf has always been to hold only four pairs of shoes...four of us, one pair of shoes for popping outdoors for each of us.  Even though my daughter is a Venus, she acts a lot like Mars now and then!  
Day 23 (Friday) had Dave painting the trim, the closet shelves being installed and all the guys from Day One's de-construction returning to bring the washer, dryer and dishwasher back upstairs.  Although not connected yet, it is great to see the dishwasher back up in the kitchen.
I have been going next door to wash our laundry at the in-laws for these past five weeks.  If my FIL has said it once, he's said it at least 10 times. "Boy, you all have a lot of laundry!"  This coming from a man whose wife does their laundry and who lives in a household of two...teenage girl free, I might add.  

Just when I think something might be working smoothly, and I take a photo to document it (look above at the gorgeous green lights on the washer and dryer), I have another minor problem.  While on the phone to my husband, and I swear I had just told him I was in heaven because I was doing the laundry, and yes to my brother I do know there are a ton of jokes in that statement!, I heard a strange gushing water sound.  I told my husband to hold on as I stepped up into the kitchen.  There flowing across the floor was a puddle of water.  I quickly told my Sweets I needed to go as I hung up on him.  My son ran to help and grabbed towels.  I turned off the washer and started mopping up water.  

Here's what happened.  I have a fairly powerful washer and the kitchen sink is not hooked up yet.  The sink is still in it's box and won't be come out until the counter top is here.  Under the sink, if it were there, the pipes sit...open, and facing the door.  Either due to a clog somewhere in the line to the sewer, or just because the system is open, the water from the washer decided to shoot out the sink pipe.  Boy, did it have some force to it too!  The positives are that it was very clean water, I was here, I had a helpful son handy, and I could see the "I Love Lucy" moment I was having clearly.  

Although today is not officially supposed to be a construction day, Dave will be here to cap the pipe.  Hopefully just closing the system will solve my problem.  

Day 21 & 22...Bribery...

Yes, I stoop to bribery.  Chris thinks our electrician is a bit grumpy.  The kids have been after me to make Buckeyes, which is one of those wonderful, time consuming, but no-bake, Christmas treats I make each December.  Also, they are a great task to keep a cook without a kitchen busy.

When the electrician arrived yesterday I had a small bag of Buckeyes just for him, as well as a little plate to munch on right then.  He was here on Monday until 7pm.  I think all he has left to do is come back and hook up the disposal/dishwasher circuit once the counter tops arrive and the sink is set.  

The lights are up in the closets and over the sink, phone line works, puck lights are under the cabinets and the oven hood is functioning!  On Monday, Dave did get the oven in too!  :)

There is a bit of framing around the oven to be done, but what a BEAST!  

On Tuesday, besides the electrician being back, Dave hung the hood and the pot rack.  In this photo you can see the 'fridge - still not in it's place, the arch and the hood.  

The lighting in the kitchen is great!  My FIL stopped by yesterday to check on the progress and he asked Dave if Duke Energy is giving him a stipend?  

The light I chose for over the sink matches the hood.  It's stainless and glass.  You can see here that the sink is in it's box in the spot where the refrigerator will go.  I think today the 'fridge moves to its home.  Also not in its correct place yet, the stove top sits on the sinks spot.  

From the arched entry looking at the carport door you can see the island on the right with new hood and pot rack!  We were a bit excited after Dave and Tash left today and we just had to bring the pots upstairs to get a sense of how it will look!  There are lots of pieces of cardboard covering corners and the floor.  The wood on top of the island is just temporary too.  

I am thinking of investing in a paper towel company.  Can you say fingerprints?  Or to quote the magician in Frosty the Snowman, "messy, messy, messy...to coin a phrase."  

Today, day 22, trim is being installed, caulk being done and the drywall guy, Gary, comes back tomorrow.  Painting should happen on tomorrow or Friday.  

Day 20...??? Hiccups & Slow Downs mixed with Creativity

Not sure what will be happening today and this week.  Mostly I say that because Friday was full of "oh, crap!"  Dave, Chris and I spent the afternoon all in different places, yet connected, stewing about whether or not the oven will fit in the space it's supposed to fit into.  All has gone just fine up until last Thursday, when the appliances arrived.  Specs were known well in advance of the cabinets being ordered, but...in a perfect world, all would just slid into place.  In reality, cabinets get designed just a little off, pipes come out of the floor just an inch away from where they should, trim gets shipped too green and placed on top of one another.  I think this is where the true artisans show what they are made of - their creativity shines.  I am sure my construction artisans will work miracles over this next week.  

The electricians are due here today.  They should finish the outlets and switches.  We bought the light fixtures for the closets and sink over the weekend.  The electricians will put those in too.  Maybe the oven challenge will get solved today.  Hopefully the floor, where the 'fridge, washer & dryer goes will get sealed so those appliances can find their homes this week.  

Other things that could come together this week: trim around closet doors, closet doors up, stove hood & pot rack hung, crown molding up, hardware ordered and/or installed, walls painted.  I am sure this list could lengthen too.  

All the above aside, what is happening in the kitchen looks fantastic!  It's so cool!

Construction Time versus Real Time

Today is day 19 in construction time, but it is day 26 in real time.  

Real time without a true kitchen feels really LONG!  

No complaints.  Things are right on schedule and moving smoothly.  I can just taste the completed kitchen and I want it done yesterday so I can get back in to creating in there!  

Crock pot cooking sucks!  Maybe it's just because my CP is 22 years old.  If my CP wasn't so good at keeping chili warm on those few occasions every five years I use it, I'd think about getting rid of it.  I've not been impressed with it's abilities over the past month.  

Remember Palmolive Dish Soap and their ads?  If you are my age, growing up you'd recall Madge, the nail salon gal saying,  "Dish washing liquid, yes.  But its softens your hands while you do the dishes.  You're soaking in it."  Since my dishwasher has been sitting against a wall in the basement, I have decided to abandon my normal dish washing liquid for something to pamper my hands.  Palmolive seems fine on my hands, but nothing in the whole wide world can rescue my finger nails.  They have become brittle from all the dish washing they have had to do.  Poor things!  They break off if I just look at them!  My hands miss the dishwasher!  

And, washing dishes in a bar sink is a challenge.  The dishes need to be done in batches.  Large plates and pots don't even really fit under the faucet let alone in the sink.  I have been trying to figure out if my kids really need to use plates and cups.  I have been recently considering allowing my children to be barbarians and just eat straight from the pans.  Milk drinking should happen right from the jug.  Maybe we should try seeing if we can connect with our medieval roots too and give up our silverware.  

Just a few thoughts.  

Day 17, 18 & 19th...Chaos...But Good!

Tuesday morning.  All the cabinets arrived at about 8am.  The kitchen was ready to receive them!  

In the carport.  After inventory was taken, the upper cabinets were all hung.  Next the wall cabinets and finally the island.  There is so much that goes into hanging the cabinets.  I had no idea!  And, the cabinets are only screwed to the wall and being held up by a few screws!  Amazing!  As Dave pointed out when I asked, he's never heard of a cabinet falling.  Neither have I, and I don't have a minuscule of the experience he has with cabinets and building.  

The past three days have been filled with cabinets being set in.  The crown molding will still need to be done, but all is ready for the counter tops to be measured and ordered.  

Pure insanity yesterday at the Burrow!  Phil, the cabinet guy was here, the electrician stopped in to get numbers of switch plates and outlet covers he'd need, Dave was in and out, the sink, cook top, oven and refrigerator all arrived within hours of one another.  Lily was fit to be tied because there was a ton of activity in her house and she wasn't allowed to monitor it all.  Darn that visqueen wall!  She kept trying to press her little kitty face through it so she could go and investigate.  

Today is construction day 19.  The counter top guy comes to measure and get dimensions.  There are so many decisions that have gone into remodeling this kitchen, I can't imagine someone trying to build a whole house from the bottom up.  What a task!  

All the appliances are here now.  Boxes, boxes, boxes!  I felt like Christmas arrived yesterday for me.  I swear I about wiggled out of my skin with the excitement of all I have ordered actually showing up!  A wonderful contractor can coordinate all the parts of the building process.  Dave's timing and schedule have been right on.  It seems like there are a million little things to be done now.  I am feeling the pressure of family arriving next weekend, but would rather have things not be completed when they arrive versus being done correctly.  Going into this project I knew we had two holidays to work around.  Patience is a good quality to have.  

Day 16...The Cabinets are Coming!

Day 15, yesterday, had little noticeably done.  

Today is Day 16 and the cabinets are supposed to start being installed.  This process should take the rest of the week.  Also on tap for this week: the grout will be sealed, the walls should be painted, the vent hung (I think), the counter top people in to measure what's needed and by the end of the week the appliances will be arriving.  It will be a busy rest of the week around here.  The visqueen might come down too after this stage.  Once the grout gets sealed and the walls get painted, the washer and dryer can come back upstairs and be functional again.  When that happens, I will be a happy lady!  

I'll add a photo later today when there is some change to show.  :)

Day 9, 10, 11 & 12...the Tile, Mars & Venus

Day 9 found Dave back at the house, which was the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He and his "assistant", my husband, walked around the kitchen trying to find squeaky floor spots and eliminating the culprits.  It was a pretty quick-to-do task, but those two chatted like girls and so the job took a bit longer.   

Day 10- John, the tile guy, was here.  He laid all the cement board.  

Day 11- John cut all the tile. 

Day 12- today- He and his (true) assistant will lay the tile.  

Day 13 will finish the tile laying and Day 14 will be grout installation.  

Last night in our house hold we were seeing first hand the difference between Mars and Venus.  

What should the tile pattern look like?  

Below is what I, Venus, needed to see the different patterns.  

Above is what my husband, Mars, needed to visualize the pattern.  I think we spent about an hour and a half conferencing over this!  In the end, we are all happy.  We being Dave, John, Chris and myself!  Hopefully by the middle of next week I can have my washer and dryer back in place and working!  

Day 8...While the Drywaller is away, the cat will play!

Gary should be here soon!  

Every morning before any workers arrive, Lily paws at the visqueen.  She really feels she MUST go survey the work.  She loves ladders and happily climbed to the top this morning.  She was happy it was left in the open position!  

Living in the BUNKER!

On the first morning of construction, we as a family headed down to the basement, into our makeshift kitchen, to do our morning routine.  Lunches needed to be made, breakfast needed to be eaten, newspaper read, e-mails checked and the cats fed.  My sixteen-year-old said he felt like we were living in a bunker.  Now the basement gets referred to as the Bunker of the Burrow!   Note the non-functioning washer, dryer and dishwasher on the right.  

The counter is sterilized regularly!  Lily needs her shots twice a day and I need her at a height I can easily do that task.  Just to the left of the the two burners is the tiny little bar sink.  Life could be worse.  

Below the Construction: What the?

My husband and son went exploring below the kitchen in the crawl space.  I gave them my camera because they said there was a name signed on the wall.  I think if you look closely you can see it's etched too!  

"Heck" seems like the perfect southern Indiana 1961 name.  I wonder if he was a plumber?  I wonder how old he was?  Cool!  

Day 5,6 & 7...d-r-y-w-a-l-l...

Day Five was last Friday.  Day Six, Monday and Day Seven is today.  The Drywall guy should be here soon.  He's got such a meticulous job to do, that things seem slow moving.  I can see what this craftsman is doing and I appreciate his talent and patience.  

I just wonder if today will be enough time for him?  The good thing is that the tile/floor won't start until this Friday.  

Day Four - "It's the Plumber,..."

I was recalling the classic cartoon from The Electric Company today, where the plumber arrives at a house and knocks on the door, and the parrot asks, "Whooo is it?" The plumber replies, "It's the plumber. I've come to fix the sink." But the parrot never says anything but "Who is it?" So the plumber becomes increasingly frustrated that no one will let him into the house. After several go-rounds of this, the plumber collapses in a fit of rage. Then an old lady comes home, discovers him lying there, and gasps, "Who is it?" The parrot answers, of course, "It's the plumber. He's come to fix the sink."

That did not happen today!  Although the plumbers did arrive; they worked.  The plumbers moved the sink pipes, the water line for the 'fridge and the laundry room/closet pipes.  Before today, the laundry pipes took a little detour outside, just begging to freeze up.  No longer a concern.   

Have you ever seen the movie, Lethal Weapon 2?  My son commented on the fact that it's nearing the holidays and we have walls of visqueen ...now if Mel Gibson would just show up...the Mel of 20 years ago...

Dave built a temporary wall of visqueen and two-by-fours between the kitchen entry and the rest of the house.  It has a zipper in it!  This should keep the dust down from the drywall guy, and I bet from the tile guys too.  (and Lily out)

Looking into the kitchen from the rest of the house.

  Dave took down the pocket door and built the arched entry.  It looks perfect!  It's just the right touch to tie the original part of the house, which really is everything, to my dream kitchen.  

Where the pocket door used to be!  Poor Lily, stuck on the outside away from the action.  

Tomorrow the drywall guy comes to see the mess.  No Friday night homemade pizza, unless I go next door and use my MIL's oven.   

Day three...still the electricians...

Yesterday the electricians had a wiring puzzle to figure out.  What wires go to which outlets or switches.  They needed to come back today to finish up.  The rough wiring is in and so are the canned lights!

Dave was in and out today.  He was managing a lot of unseen stuff happening in the crawl space, attic and in the walls.    

Look closely (above) and you can see the red chalk outline of the island!  The yellow wires are for outlets and the grey wire is for the oven.  Tomorrow the gas line will be put in.  
Lily is pretending to be on the counter of the island.  She really does like all this activity going on.  She gets mad when I make her come with me while the guys are here.  
This is the wall where the bookshelf/TV/desk, counter top and cabinets will be.  The drywall guy will be here on Friday.  I wonder what he'll have to say about all these holes!  
Apparently the puck lights I'll have under the cabinets need to be plugged in and the outlets need to go in cabinets without glass doors.  Walls are marked where the glass cabinet fronts will be for this purpose.  I noticed a few glass cabinet fronts that need to move from one side of the room to the other!  I hate being a stickler, but I don't think I could have lived with them where they were going to be.  

My private worker removed the shutters!  I don't plan on using them in the kitchen again, but they are precious enough to hold on to,  just in case.  I think I might see if I can re-use them in the spare bedroom.   Go IU, but the red and white material needs to go into my scrap material bin.  

Tomorrow the plumber will be here.  We will see if he'll have any surprises for us.  

A Funny from Day Two:  There are mice in the crawl space under the kitchen...imagine that!  Dave mentioned that some of the vines around the house have pushed a vent in and critters can get in that way.  I told Dave, the mice are what the snake eats.  He seemed unsure as to whether or not I was serious.  He doesn't know about Snakey or the Corn Snake we've found here.

Apparently, the mice were coming after some of the guys while they were down below the kitchen working.  Weenies!    I'd much rather have a mouse come towards me in a dark crawl space than a snake.