What a Weekend!

This is what the kitchen looked like on Thursday -

Everything covered in dust from sanding the walls, tools and materials all over the place, appliances everywhere but where they're supposed to be -

It took a lot of sweeping before we could even think about painting the walls while the boys worked on installing the heavy appliances -
Thursday:
-Sweeping
-Working on the Sink
-Lowe's
-Cleaning of appliances
-Faucet installation

The girls painted the walls while the boys continued to do the hard stuff -
Friday:
Painting
Installation - Oven, Range Hood, Garbage Disposal
Plumbing

Lots of different things were going on simultaneously -
Saturday -
Installation - Lights
Face plates
Finishing Touches
Cleaning
Cooking for the party

Cleaning was still going on the day of the party while we started cooking. We may still be in our work clothes and jammies but doesn't the kitchen look good? -

So the timing was a little off; we weren't quite ready to serve our guests but good conversation was had as some of our friends helped chop vegetables, fill samosas, and watch the stove to make sure nothing burnt while I juggled the different items on the menu!

John served chicken teriyaki -

And brought out the cake -

Which he decorated himself -

My favorite part of our party was telling our kitchen stories, talking about the people who gave me cards and presents, and recognizing those who helped out...and posing for pictures. :)
Later, as we were getting ready to go to sleep, John said he had one more thing for me - a ring that his father had given to his mother on their anniversary the day before John was born. He used it to propose.

I said yes.
And we posed for pictures the next day in our morning faces. :)

March Kitchen Update and other projects

A lot of people have been asking about the status of the kitchen. Well, over two months after starting this ordeal, we still don't have one. Here are some pictures of what has been done so far...

This is the kitchen after we tried sanding and making what was there somewhat decent. We gave up and started ripping this stuff out.


After getting the bar area out by ourselves, we called in the aid of my dad.




All cabinets are out, and the walls have been patched and primed.


And now we have the new cabinets.

We are still waiting for the word on when the counter tops will be installed. Then we'll still need to put up the back splash, lights, finish patching the walls, prime and paint, put up the book shelf around the living room, trim the doors and windows before we'll be able to call this all finished and move our stuff into the kitchen and family room.

You may be wondering what happened to the old kitchen: it's on the patio.


This pile of wood was sitting on our patio, slowly weighing down our already badly weathered ping pong table for about a month, until I spent the whole weekend pulling out nails and sorting.


Now our patio looks like this.


We took a break from working inside to appreciate the weather, do a little spring gardening, and repair the poor old ping pong table.

The table has been sanded, and the backsides have been painted black. I built a frame for each side for better structural support, so when I'm done, we'll be able to use the table for other things as well.

This is the stage they are at currently. I will prime and paint these pieces, and I am constructing some legs which I will attach with bolts to the frames underneath the table top. I will varnish the whole thing to make it more weather resistant.


We also put up a new mailbox. Our old one has been smashed by the fist of a drunk adolescent college kid from next door, warped by someone who doesn't know how to back up a truck, and thrown into the neighbor's yard by a drunk driver. So, we moved it, replaced it, and put plenty of reflective tape on it. Maybe, just maybe, that will be enough to protect it from the ravages of a college town.

Readying the Kitchen

Things have progressed much more now, but here's what happened right after the cabinets came out -

Kitchen Sans Walls -

We took advantage of some pre-existing holes in the wall to insulate the pipes -

After much finagling to get the insulation in -

Some places in the ceiling needed some work -

After patching up some cracks and holes -

Where some cabinets used to be installed over the bar area -

We aren't replacing those cabinets,
so we've got to fix up the place where they were attached to the ceiling -

All patched up. We're going to put an awesome light here -

This is the entire kitchen after patching up the wood paneling so that in the future it will no longer look like wood paneling.

We're still living without a kitchen sink, dishwasher, stove, and oven. We have decided to go on a sort of cleansing diet once we get the kitchen back. Hopefully that will make up for all the eating out and microwave meals!!!

Ripping out the cabinets

So we've been ripping out our kitchen for a little while now to make room for a new one.


We spent a lot of time trying to sand and re-stain the cabinets to make what is there look better... to no avail.

We've finally decided to purchase new cabinets.

Ripping out the cabinets ourselves saves us over $800!


Ripping out cabinets is a little tricky when they're nailed to the rafters in the attic.


Jiggling it loose...


Trying to figure out how to get that bugger out.


Got it out and moving on...


The original builders certainly didn't spare any nails...


Needed to get Dad's help with some of the bigger stuff... as well as Bowser's advice.


We did most of the rip out in a single weekend.


Having Dad here was a real help!


The dishwasher was tricky: the floor was installed around it, and the cabinets had been replaced around it as well.


We couldn't pull the dishwasher out until the cabinets were demolished around it.


After removing some of the cabinets around it, the dishwasher was finally ready to come out.


And this is what we found...


All the cabinets are out.
(Good riddance!)


Stay tuned for how we prepared for the new cabinets to arrive!