Kitchen Remodel

 Well the kitchen remodel is coming along.  Right now it's a big empty room.  The window went from this

to this 

to this

Sorry, it's hard to get a good picture of a window.  Especially on a sunny day.

The walls started out like this       and now look like this    

This wall now looks like this   

Today they are putting in a vent into this pipe for the plumbing.  And they are replacing the gas lines for the stove in the kitchen.  Tomorrow they will lay the new floor.  Then we have to wait for the inspectors to come and check the work that has been done so far.  So it looks like nothing else will get done for a few days.

It's certainly been an experience.  We are learning to live with just a microwave and the bar b que.  We have also gotten very familiar with all the local fast food establishments.  I know it will all be worth it in the end, but it sure is a mess as we go along.

Some of the garden is growing

 I thought I would update some of my garden pictures today.  You can barely see the tomatoes in the back but they are getting big.  The bottom leaves are turning yellow.  I think because of all the rain we have had recently.  There's peas and sage in the foreground of this picture.  And you can't see them but there are tiny little carrots.  I planted these carrots almost two months ago and they are still only about an inch tall.  I don't know if this is normal or not.  They are beginning to look like carrot leaves though.  So I guess they are doing something.

 This is my patchouli plant.  Something seems to be liking it.  I hope they don't eat the whole thing.

 We planted 25 strawberry plants.  There are 16 remaining.  I found two that were dug up and replanted them.  But I don't know if they will live or not.

 This is an echinea.  Okay so I can't spell that.  Anyway, it's a purple cone flower.  You can see the thyme beside it as well.

 Oregano back in the corner.  And chives that are doing very well.

 Next to the chives you can see the lettuce that I dropped the whole package of seeds.  I should have lots of lettuce in a few weeks.

 This little corner is basil.  Again I dropped the package of seeds.  It was a very clumsy day that day.

 THis corner has the little baby carrots.  There are three rows of them but they are so small.  I hope at least some of them grow in to carrots.

And, we have one strawberry blossom.  So if nothing else our 25 plants will at least produce one strawberry.  (I hope a lot more will grow.)

So that's the up date of my garden.  It's growing.  I'm inpatiently waiting.  Happy Gardening to all of you.

Kitchen Remodeling

We are finally starting the renovations in our kitchen.I never dreamed what a major project this would turn out to be.  We are putting in all new cabinets, countertops, and a new sink.  We are also putting in a new floor and even replacing the window that goes down behind the sink with one that will stop above the sink.  I will be able to open the window finally.

 

All of the cabinets are out and stacked on the back deck.  We have filled in all the holes on the walls and replaced any missing or broken pieces of drywall.  Last night we painted three of the walls.  The paint is a lot darker green than I thought it was once you put it solidly on the walls.  But once we get the light colored cabinets up it will balance out I think.  After all, the only part of the walls that will show is the part between the upper and lower cabinets.  Tonight we will put the second coat of paint on the walls.  Tomorrow he will paint the ceiling white.  Then we are putting a wall paper boarder around the top of the walls.

All of the light switches and plug covers will look like this.  This matches the curtains in the kitchen.

 

Our dumpster was delivered today.  Over the weekend the pile of broken cabinets will go into the dumpster.  We also have knocked down a broken fireplace that was in the back yard.  It will go into the dumpster as well.

The dining room is stacked with boxes of all of our kitchen things and parts that will be going into the kitchen.  It really is totally trashed in here right now.  But I think it will all come together soon.

As of Monday morning we will have no running water in the kitchen.  No sink, no stove, no dishwasher.  For now we will be eating microwavable food on paper plates.  We will also be using the bar b que for burgers and things like that. 

Peace Pole

One of the things I look forward to with my garden is having a place where I can just be in nature and relax away from phones and stress and tv and all those things.  Just me and nature and be at peace.  While we were planning our garden one of the things I wanted in it was a peace pole.  "The Peace Pole Project is the official Project of The World Peace Prayer Society. It started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who decided to dedicate his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in response to the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peace Poles are handcrafted monuments erected the world over as international symbols of Peace. Their purpose is to spread the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in the languages of the world."  (from the Peace Pole Project)  "The Peace Pole reminds us to keep Peace ever-present in our thoughts. As we learn to honor one another, our environment, plants, animals and all creation on Earth, the vision of global Peace will gradually become a natural way of life, a true culture of Peace."

You can find Peace Poles all over the world, in city squares, in school yards, in churches, and in gardens.  We decided to put one in our garden.  You can have the words on the Peace Pole printed in whatever languages you want.  Our Peace Pole is written in English because we live in America and that is the main language of this county, in Polish because my husband is Polish, in Gaelic because I am Irish, and in Spanish because our son is from Guatemala.

 So if you need some time to sit and meditate or to find a bit of inner peace, come pull up a chair or a blanket next to the Buddha statute and look at the pole or the plants growing and breathe the fresh air of Spring.

May Peace Prevail On Earth!

Still Gardening

We are still waiting for permits for the kitchen so we haven't been able to do much with it.  But we have been working on the garden still.  I found out today that the squirrels like kale.  They ate the tender new plants before they even had a chance to grow.

We planted 25 strawberry plants today.  We also planted some Amish paste tomatoes and some Amish salad tomatoes and some green peppers.  I hope they do better than the kale did.

The lettuce is coming in great.  I think we need to thin it out some and move some to another row.  The carrots also came in thick.  I thinned them out a few days ago.

I still have to buy some herbs.  I don't think the watermelon of cucumbers are going to make it.  I never have done well starting from seed.  I think I need to just break down and buy plants for everything.

So that's my update on the garden for today.  Our magnolia tree is starting to bloom in front of the house.  I also discovered another plant.  I think it's a weed but it has pretty little yellow and white flowers on it.  I'd sure like to know what it is if anyone knows.

Garden Beginnings

We are starting to work on my garden. I have waited six long months since we bought the house to work on the garden. These warm beautiful days have made the waiting hard. So we have begun the work. My husband built two frames that are four by eight feet each. We then filled them with 12 inches of dirt. So I will be able to reach the plants instead of depending on someone else to do all the work for me.

A few days ago we bought dirt. I tried and tried to find someone who would deliver composted soil to us but the cheapest person I could find wanted nearly $400.00 to bring it to us. I found bags of good topsoil for only $1.38 a bag at Home Depot. The girl who was helping me search online said the bags were nearly 2 square feet. So I figured I would need about 35 bags to fill the two beds. Well, when my husband picked up the dirt, the bags were less than 1 square foot. He ended up going to Home Depot four times and bringing home 90 bags of dirt to fill my two beds and give me some extra to fill pots with. My little man worked hard leveling out the dirt, first with a rack. Then he discovered it was much more fun to use his hands. Of course he did not realize that all this fun would be followed by the dreaded BATH. His least favorite thing to do.

Today we went back to Home Depot and bought some river rock to put between the two beds. I will be filling in the area with four or five stepping stones as well. Then my little one spent another hour leveling the rocks. He thought this was great fun.

I ordered seeds to plant in the garden last night. I found a wonderful company called Victory Seed Company that has heirloom seeds that have not been destroyed by Monsanto. Victory Seed Company is dedicated to keep the seeds pure. Some things like tomatos and peppers I want to use plants for. But the rest of the garden we will plant from seed. We are going to start them in the house in the next week or so. I am going to look at an Herb Farm that is not far from here to see about getting some of the plants I need.

So that's the start of my garden. While we were at Home Depot we also bought a sink and faucets and picked out counter tops for our kitchen remodel. But that's good for another post. Next month we will be totally gutting our kitchen and redoing the whole thing. Keep coming back to catch the updates on that.

Oh No!!!!

Many of you who have been reading this for a while know that I have talked about wanting pottery for a long time. I finally decided that my life is not getting any longer, my health is not getting any better, if I'm going to start getting the things I want, it's time to get it now. I found a couple of wonderful ladies who make pottery in their basement. I started buying just one or two pieces per month. I also asked for pottery for holidays and birthdays and anniversaries. Any time a gift was appropriate I asked for pottery. Finally I had collected service for 12 and several serving pieces. I was thrilled to have my pottery collection.

Yesterday I had unloaded the dishwasher and left them on the tiny little center island in our kitchen for my son to put away. Putting away the dishes is one of his chores. Since I didn't want to wait for him to unload the dishwasher so I could start the next load, I put them on the island. Later in the day my son went out to the kitchen. First I heard a load crash and the sound of breaking glass. Then I heard this hysterical nine year old crying, "I'm in so much trouble. I'm in so much trouble." I asked him what happened. "I'm in so much trouble." That's all he could say.

When I got out to the kitchen, I saw a mountain of glass and pottery. And my heart sunk through the floor. I was heartbroken to see my beautiful pottery all over the floor. But I also had this distressed little boy to calm down. As I sorted through the pieces to see if anything survived, I saw my husband's coffee mug was in one piece. Of course the pots and pans and silverware were fine. But everything else was gone. I'm not sure if there were two or three plates. I couldn't tell by the number of pieces. The was one salad bowl. I think three cereal bowls, although there may have been more. My absolute favorite mug was in a million pieces. My good pyrex serving bowl. Six glasses. We picked up all the big pieces. Then we swept up the rest. Just when I thought it was finished, I saw pieces of glass in the dining room carpet. So then I had to vacuum the carpet.

I know he didn't mean to do it. I've had the island tip on me when I tried to open the drawers. Fortunately there wasn't anything on it when it tipped on me. I guess I need to stop putting dishes on it. I spoke to the pottery ladies and they are getting started at making the replacement pieces for me. Too bad the insurance won't pay for clumsy. Sorry I didn't think to take pictures of the mess. But my mind was a bit preoccupied.