BURNING THE BRISKET
I’ve made several meals in our new kitchen by this time. While, YES it’s a beautiful kitchen to work in, I still have to get used to THE WORK. May I give a big hail-out to all the people who do have to plan, shop, cook and clean up for meals? I am reminded of that after restaurant-hopping for 9 months. I decide to make a nice fancy dinner for my father-in-law. I prepare a large brisket, potato latkes/pancakes, pea pods, salad, and grapefruit, with brownies for dessert. My college friend and his son from Chicago are in town. I set the table for two more. Now, brisket is a sore spot between David and me. He always thinks I cook it too long. I follow his mother’s recipe to the letter, but I fail to crimp the two pieces of foil together at the top of the roast pan. As a result, the steam from the water seeps out. The brisket dries up and burns. I try to save it by pouring in more water, adding wine and tomato sauce. I stubbornly try to carve the leathery meat. My oldest son walks by and tastes a piece. “You made beef jerky!” he excitingly pronounces. I know it’s over. I ask David to go to Costco and pick up some roasted chicken on the way to get his Dad. Yep, never gonna hear the end of this.
SAWDUST FESTIVAL
We decided we like sawdust so much that we want to tackle another project. Really, the window casing in our kitchen is damaged from the ceiling framing, so our contractor gives us a great deal to put in solid wood casing to match our new cabinetry. It takes three craftsmen working from 8 am to 9 pm to finish the woodworking and one finisher 4 solid days of staining, sanding and varnishing to complete the job. We are their first customers to add window casing to the kitchen. I am cooking my potato latkes while listening to the finisher tell me his story of how he started working with our contractor. He starts at the beginning where he learns his carpentry trade in school as a 7th grader in a small town in Mexico. It was either that, or work on his parents’ farm for the rest of his life. He had bigger dreams for himself. He had to leave for the United States when he was sixteen to continue his career. He lived with his uncle’s family and later with his brother. Finding work in an antique shop was the best move for him. Restoring antiques was very popular at the time, and after 10 years, he had learned his craft well. To this day, he continues to send home money to his family so they can have a better life as he does. Antiques are not as popular anymore. For the past five years, he has worked with our contractor in their finishing department. He will someday open his own furniture shop back home where he can be with his family. Back to our project… the last intoxicating smells of varnish waft away; our window casing is completed and we order new blinds to compliment them. We are ready for the painters!
NEXT POST
The story starts at the bottom. Check back next week for more food and remodel progression! Scroll down for the photos.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
New Year Thanks
TWO MORE LEAKS
The tile installers finally finish. David isn’t happy with my choice of baseboard, so I have them redo it. They also have to redo the shower tile because it’s not draining well. The plumbers come to finish the bathroom fixtures (sink, shower, toilet). We discover a few days earlier that someone has taken a leak, so to speak, in the toilet while it was in our garage waiting for the floor to be tiled. Now, I’m pretty sure it was one of the workers, but I thankfully didn’t witness it. The plumber has to carry the toilet out to the sewer and pour it down the drain before he brings it into our house. We decide to “blame it on” one of the plumbers who wasn’t able to come that day. They love to haze each other; this was the perfect joke. The next leak occurs when the plumber hooked up the shower. David hears water running in the wall when the shower is turned off! The plumber tells us if you buy your shower fittings from Home Depot or Lowes, they try to make it easier on the customer by having it screw on vs. solder on. This is actually harder on plumbers when they tighten it, because they can’t tighten it hard enough to get a good brace on it without it weakening the structure of the pipe. He fixed the problem by ordering us an extension piece and coming back the next day to solder it on.
SO MANY MANY MEN...
There have been more men walking in and out of my house this year than I can ever recall. True, they have all been here to work on my house, not to see me, but nevertheless I have really gotten to know a lot of them and I know for a fact that I will never forget my talks with them! I have heard stories of taking in a teen who lost her parents, a grandmother who used to dis-assemble and re-assemble a tractor on top of a farm roof for a hoax as a young girl, camaraderie between workers that love each other as brothers and have as much fun all day doing a job that can encroach on the most disgusting to the most satisfying at any given moment. I have learned about small business owners who have the stress of supporting their employees through slow and fast moving months and how difficult it is to manage their businesses and their family life. I have heard from a distraught mother who has held down two jobs her entire life, but can’t get it into her young teenager’s head that he can’t just waste his life away doing nothing, so she has to send him across the country to live with her ex-husband to work at his small business. I have spoken to the kindest people, who drive long distances for work, probably have small homes (one too small for an oven), yet are happy to work long hours at all costs to keep the job they have. No matter what they own, they still have the grace to compliment me on my choice of granite. One even advised me on vitamins and olive oil for less dog hair shedding on our new floor. Not all, but some of these people are proud of their work. That’s what I really appreciate, because that’s how I am when I paint or do graphic design for a client. That’s what I see when I look at my kitchen and bathroom… the people, the pride, and the beauty. I am so grateful.
NEXT POST
The story starts at the bottom. Check back next Monday for more bathroom/fireplace remodel progression! Scroll down for the photos.
The tile installers finally finish. David isn’t happy with my choice of baseboard, so I have them redo it. They also have to redo the shower tile because it’s not draining well. The plumbers come to finish the bathroom fixtures (sink, shower, toilet). We discover a few days earlier that someone has taken a leak, so to speak, in the toilet while it was in our garage waiting for the floor to be tiled. Now, I’m pretty sure it was one of the workers, but I thankfully didn’t witness it. The plumber has to carry the toilet out to the sewer and pour it down the drain before he brings it into our house. We decide to “blame it on” one of the plumbers who wasn’t able to come that day. They love to haze each other; this was the perfect joke. The next leak occurs when the plumber hooked up the shower. David hears water running in the wall when the shower is turned off! The plumber tells us if you buy your shower fittings from Home Depot or Lowes, they try to make it easier on the customer by having it screw on vs. solder on. This is actually harder on plumbers when they tighten it, because they can’t tighten it hard enough to get a good brace on it without it weakening the structure of the pipe. He fixed the problem by ordering us an extension piece and coming back the next day to solder it on.
SO MANY MANY MEN...
There have been more men walking in and out of my house this year than I can ever recall. True, they have all been here to work on my house, not to see me, but nevertheless I have really gotten to know a lot of them and I know for a fact that I will never forget my talks with them! I have heard stories of taking in a teen who lost her parents, a grandmother who used to dis-assemble and re-assemble a tractor on top of a farm roof for a hoax as a young girl, camaraderie between workers that love each other as brothers and have as much fun all day doing a job that can encroach on the most disgusting to the most satisfying at any given moment. I have learned about small business owners who have the stress of supporting their employees through slow and fast moving months and how difficult it is to manage their businesses and their family life. I have heard from a distraught mother who has held down two jobs her entire life, but can’t get it into her young teenager’s head that he can’t just waste his life away doing nothing, so she has to send him across the country to live with her ex-husband to work at his small business. I have spoken to the kindest people, who drive long distances for work, probably have small homes (one too small for an oven), yet are happy to work long hours at all costs to keep the job they have. No matter what they own, they still have the grace to compliment me on my choice of granite. One even advised me on vitamins and olive oil for less dog hair shedding on our new floor. Not all, but some of these people are proud of their work. That’s what I really appreciate, because that’s how I am when I paint or do graphic design for a client. That’s what I see when I look at my kitchen and bathroom… the people, the pride, and the beauty. I am so grateful.
NEXT POST
The story starts at the bottom. Check back next Monday for more bathroom/fireplace remodel progression! Scroll down for the photos.
Monday, January 3, 2011
One Down, Two To Go
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY — LUCK COME BACK
The marble tile is ready, but they can’t set up in the rain. We are put off another day. Luckily, the next day it’s sunny, but they still don’t complete everything as promised. The tile installers arrive at 10:30 a.m. instead of their usual 8:00 or 8:30. Then they leave for Home Depot to pick up the grout. I call them after an unusually long departure. They have been to TWO Home Depots with no luck finding one of the grout colors usually in stock. They are off to another tile store that carries grout. I suggest Lowes, but he tells me their grout will pit. The installers end up having to leave early before the floor is finished to buy the grout in Anaheim. The next day they get the bathroom shower walls and floor grouted, the main floor tiled, but not grouted, and the fireplace mostly tiled. We have to wait until after the New Year to get our plumber to install the toilet, shower fixtures and sink. The tile installers have more cutting to do, but on Monday it’s raining again.
THE KITCHEN FINALE
We are delighted to see our project manager bring us the final drawer. We also get the missing doors, including the ones above the oven. The finisher comes to clean up the little nail holes and scratches. YES, we can cook in our kitchen!!! We let our insurance agent know. I get to stop collecting and adding up all our restaurant receipts. This has taken me hours and hours over the 9 months. David has the job of scanning and faxing them to her. I never actually got sick of eating out so much because I know how special it was, and what an opportunity it was for our family. We got to eat at a lot of great restaurants that we never would have been able to. I didn’t have to take the time to go grocery shopping, plan meals, cook and clean. It was a vacation for me in that respect, but I had a lot of work managing the contractor, engineer, framers, plumbers, tile installers, and electricians myself. I don’t think I could have done the regular things well too. It hits David when I send him out shopping for New Year’s at Costco and he comes back with a really big receipt that we have to pay for. While I am so excited to have a beautiful new kitchen, I am back to the reality of my life as it was, pre-leaks. We’re still working on our bathroom and fireplace. The Blog will continue until they are done.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BETTER
Food changes: 1. We’re used to good food now – prepared the way we like it and as often as we’ll say yes. This morning before school, out of the blue, my youngest son pronounces that he really wants an artichoke. He wants it so bad, he can smell it through his nose. 2. Last night, I’m forgetting that I have to plan yet another meal. La, la, la. It’s 6:30 pm. Crap! We end up making breakfast for dinner.
Kitchen Changes: 1. We substituted our glass-top electric stove with a gas one. I really love the way it cooks! It takes me twenty minutes to clean this new stainless steel stove the first time. It even rusts when I don’t dry it right away! My glass stove took about two minutes. I’m getting better - down to ten minutes on the gas stove. 2. It’s a hide-and-seek game every time we need a utensil or bowl. We have a lot of drawers-within-drawers in this Euro-style cabinetry. But it looks good! 3. We used to have a useless exhaust fan under our under-mount microwave. Now our stove hood actually does what it’s supposed to do – suck up smoke and smells. 4. Our old disposal was loud and frequently broke down with food stuck in the pipes. Our new disposals are so quiet we have to listen carefully to make sure they’re on. There will be a lot less yelling and cursing around here. 5. We didn’t worry about water drips (not leaks) on the old travertine floor. Although durable, with our new wood floor, we’re worried about water spills in the kitchen. We still have to get some non-skid mats to soak up drips from washing dishes. 6. We used to have a Brita water container on the counter for water. Now we use Reverse Osmosis and an Instant Hot faucet. Takes up less space, the water tastes great, and we’re learning to use the instant hot for quite a few good uses. Oops, do I sound like an advertisement?
NEXT POST
The story starts at the bottom. Check back next Monday for more bathroom/fireplace remodel progression and our restaurant stories! Scroll down for the photos.
The marble tile is ready, but they can’t set up in the rain. We are put off another day. Luckily, the next day it’s sunny, but they still don’t complete everything as promised. The tile installers arrive at 10:30 a.m. instead of their usual 8:00 or 8:30. Then they leave for Home Depot to pick up the grout. I call them after an unusually long departure. They have been to TWO Home Depots with no luck finding one of the grout colors usually in stock. They are off to another tile store that carries grout. I suggest Lowes, but he tells me their grout will pit. The installers end up having to leave early before the floor is finished to buy the grout in Anaheim. The next day they get the bathroom shower walls and floor grouted, the main floor tiled, but not grouted, and the fireplace mostly tiled. We have to wait until after the New Year to get our plumber to install the toilet, shower fixtures and sink. The tile installers have more cutting to do, but on Monday it’s raining again.
THE KITCHEN FINALE
We are delighted to see our project manager bring us the final drawer. We also get the missing doors, including the ones above the oven. The finisher comes to clean up the little nail holes and scratches. YES, we can cook in our kitchen!!! We let our insurance agent know. I get to stop collecting and adding up all our restaurant receipts. This has taken me hours and hours over the 9 months. David has the job of scanning and faxing them to her. I never actually got sick of eating out so much because I know how special it was, and what an opportunity it was for our family. We got to eat at a lot of great restaurants that we never would have been able to. I didn’t have to take the time to go grocery shopping, plan meals, cook and clean. It was a vacation for me in that respect, but I had a lot of work managing the contractor, engineer, framers, plumbers, tile installers, and electricians myself. I don’t think I could have done the regular things well too. It hits David when I send him out shopping for New Year’s at Costco and he comes back with a really big receipt that we have to pay for. While I am so excited to have a beautiful new kitchen, I am back to the reality of my life as it was, pre-leaks. We’re still working on our bathroom and fireplace. The Blog will continue until they are done.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BETTER
Food changes: 1. We’re used to good food now – prepared the way we like it and as often as we’ll say yes. This morning before school, out of the blue, my youngest son pronounces that he really wants an artichoke. He wants it so bad, he can smell it through his nose. 2. Last night, I’m forgetting that I have to plan yet another meal. La, la, la. It’s 6:30 pm. Crap! We end up making breakfast for dinner.
Kitchen Changes: 1. We substituted our glass-top electric stove with a gas one. I really love the way it cooks! It takes me twenty minutes to clean this new stainless steel stove the first time. It even rusts when I don’t dry it right away! My glass stove took about two minutes. I’m getting better - down to ten minutes on the gas stove. 2. It’s a hide-and-seek game every time we need a utensil or bowl. We have a lot of drawers-within-drawers in this Euro-style cabinetry. But it looks good! 3. We used to have a useless exhaust fan under our under-mount microwave. Now our stove hood actually does what it’s supposed to do – suck up smoke and smells. 4. Our old disposal was loud and frequently broke down with food stuck in the pipes. Our new disposals are so quiet we have to listen carefully to make sure they’re on. There will be a lot less yelling and cursing around here. 5. We didn’t worry about water drips (not leaks) on the old travertine floor. Although durable, with our new wood floor, we’re worried about water spills in the kitchen. We still have to get some non-skid mats to soak up drips from washing dishes. 6. We used to have a Brita water container on the counter for water. Now we use Reverse Osmosis and an Instant Hot faucet. Takes up less space, the water tastes great, and we’re learning to use the instant hot for quite a few good uses. Oops, do I sound like an advertisement?
NEXT POST
The story starts at the bottom. Check back next Monday for more bathroom/fireplace remodel progression and our restaurant stories! Scroll down for the photos.
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