Shining Moments

The kitchen chandelier is ready to be viewed. Well, one of them, anyway. I have a smaller, two light version that will eventually hang over the sink, but that junction box needs be tied into the in-cabinet and under-cabinet lighting, so it will have to wait. But the big boy is up and on!

I actually can't really recommend this light fixture, as pretty as it is. The quality is pretty atrocious, even though the average viewer wouldn't know it from a normal distance. I thought we paid a decent amount to guarantee a modicum of workmanship and quality control, but apparently not. I'm only glad I got it on sale using some store credit, so I didn't pay full price! But it is attractive and it does provide adequate lighting (after rewiring one arm). And I like that it ties in with the rectangular shape of the dining room light fixture and also mimics the long, narrow form of the kitchen island that will be centered below it. All in all, perhaps a form over function choice, but I wanted a little sparkle in my "office", as it were.

Miscanthus and Monkeys

We did most of our front foundation plantings this past fall with all the clearance shrubs and plants I gathered from the closing garden centers. But I still was lacking the main focal point flanking the porch steps. I had planned on two nice dwarf evergreens with a vertical habit, like arborvitae or Alberta Spruce; but of course, all the garden centers were just stocking those for the winter season, so they weren't on sale. I would love to have a spiral topiary form, but at over $100 each, I can't bring myself to pay full price.

So I waited and waited. I checked. And waited. And waited some more. Perhaps it isn't going to happen, because they keep selling out before clearance time. I will try to keep my eye out for neglected, scruffy specimans I can get at a discount, but I found my backup plan. While checking for sales once again, I found some lovely perennial grasses on clearance that I have always loved. It's miscanthus grass, a nice ornamental choice for year round texture and interest. It has graceful curly blades that rustle nicely in the breeze. It wasn't what I expected to use, but it's tall and slender right now and will function nicely as a placeholder until I can find (or afford) the topiaries I really want.

Either the chickens or the rain or the wind (or some combination of the three) has had its way with my grass, as it looks a little bedraggled at the moment.

On another affordable note, I spent part of Friday digging up free monkey grass to transplant to our walkway. The donor has what appears to be miles and miles of the stuff lining every bed in her yard, and she wants it all gone. I have a feeling I may be digging for a while, but I need to do it in spurts so I have time to get each batch planted. No sense in doing all that work only to have the plugs dry out and shrivel up. But I'm not actually sure you can kill monkey grass, so perhaps I'm being too cautious!

Perfectly Persian

One of my errands down in Birmingham on Monday was looking at a few Craigslist items. We have a decent posting locally, but when I need something unusual or high end, I search Nashville and B'ham. It's not too onerous of a trip should I happen to find just the right thing, and I can make a day of it and do some "big city" shopping.

My impetus this time was a beautiful runner. We have a long, rather narrow hall on the first floor extending from the front foyer to the mudroom in the back. We'd like to eventually make it a bit of a gallery with some of our framed oil paintings and such, but so far it's just been a dark, dreary stretch. No more with the cheery placement of the rich runner.

I was very excited to find one just the right length. And it's my first real Persian rug! I have several of European and Oriental origin (who doesn't these days, with everything made in China!). The runner still has the Iranian import tag on the back and is a thick, vibrant wool pattern. It even came with the felted nonslip pad, so no fear of DaVinci peeling out and rumpling the runner!

The runner is still a little crooked and wrinkled; it's much harder than I thought to get 16+ feet of heavy wool to lie straight on a nonslip surface without a helping hand!

Fabric Fads

I enjoyed a trip down to Birmingham on Monday and was able to accomplish several errands. I sadly wasn't able to get to one of them, due to becoming thoroughly lost. I had printed out maps and researched my route, but without GPS or someone to help navigate, I could only get so far! I've always been proud of my map reading skills, but this proved the point that we should probably invest in a navigation system.

But, back to the topic at hand. One of the items on the agenda was visiting King Cotton, a great fabric store I had heard about from several people. I'm rethinking my kitchen fabrics a bit and wanted to look at what they had. Well, they had a lot! Their store is set up a bit differently; it has rows and rows of tidy samples folded and hanging by colorways. You can check out these large samples and take them home for several days to try out. When you know what you want, they cut the yardage from the bolts in the warehouse and send you on your way. It's not seconds or remnants, but because the owner buys in bulk, she gets a good price and passes it on to the customers.

In addition to finding several promising samples and chatting with knowledge sales staff, I discovered that they actually have a branch store only 30 minutes from me! So I could check out the samples in B'ham and return them in Huntsville. Of course, I had to take advantage of this, so I came home with several fabrics to test out.

I narrowed down the pile quite a bit once I got home, and hung my favorites up for review. I really like the two on the left. I'm considering one for the sink skirt and one for the window seat cushion.

They are more per yard then I usually spend, but I think I can get away with just a little splurge on these two visible areas and then use some inexpensive solids and subtle prints where I need a lot of fabric. The little yellow sample between my two favorites is only $3.99/yard at my favorite remnant place, so I should be able to stretch my budget pretty far with that!

Duck, Duck, Goose

Having ponds just a short distance from each side of the house, we get to enjoy some water fowl from time to time. We are also only a few miles from the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, which is the wintering grounds to thousands of migratory birds (including some rare species we have seen up close)! But this morning was the first time I had seen this many geese enjoying the water respite. I was out gathering eggs and heard all the honking. What a pretty sight to start the day!

Cracking with the Classics

With our bounty of pecans, Jeff and I have been trying to get a few quarts cracked every week. It's simple enough work, though a bit tedious, and it can be rather relaxing to have the hands occupied and the mind freed. We've been watching old Andy Griffith episodes or PBS programing like This Old House and Nova specials while we do it, but Jeff made a fun suggestion the other day.

We don't usually watch many movies because it's so hard to find good, decent, uplifting films anymore. But we both have old favorites, so Jeff mentioned that we should select some oldies-but-goodies to watch again while we crack. That way, we won't feel like we're missing anything if we get distracted by a particularly tricky nut, but we get to relive the greats (that we know are enjoyable and clean). Jeff loves inspirational sports movies, so I'm sure Rudy and Hoosiers will be on his list. I'm a sucker for the old family Disney movies like Pollyanna and Swiss Family Robinson, and anything Rogers and Hammerstein. Should be interesting to see how many movies it takes to get our crop fully shelled!

Weekend Warriors

We enjoyed our productive long weekend this past Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Saturday evening was a game night at church, and I learned how to play Mexican train dominoes. I have no idea what makes it a "south of the border" domino version, but it was fun.

We had overnight guests and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast Sunday morning. After their departure, we jumped back into kitchen reno mode and got the faucet installed and started assembling the overhead light fixture. It was such a pretty, sunny day that we took several breaks and picked up pecans. Yes, they are still falling. After every storm, Jeff says surely this is the last of them, but then we find more!

Five bags full of whole pecans!

Also out enjoying the sun were all the pasture animals. We heard Sam the donkey braying and went to give him a little attention (and some carrots). He was nosy about the iPhone, and then wanted to smile for the camera!

Monday saw the kitchen chandelier hung, as well as a date to the plumbing warehouse followed by dinner at Panera Bread. Dance class capped off the evening with two hours of bolero. For a slow, romantic, Latin dance, it sure is a workout for the legs and feet. We fell into bed full, happy, and tired, but ready to face the (admittedly short) week ahead!

Squeaky Clean

Though I love our newly restored wood floors for their timeless appeal, unique grain, and unmatched color, I suspect Jeff is tickled pink because of their semblance to a basketball court!

Okay; I more than suspect, I actually know this because he stated it himself. I can just picture him dribbling down the length of the room and dunking into the fridge cabinet!

I noticed that the floors are so glossy, you can actually
see the cabinets reflected in them! That will calm down a
little bit with time and wear, but it's a nice place to start.

The floors are not quite done, but they sure look pretty. Like everything else we have taken on, the process was not nearly as simple and painless as my research had led me to believe. I have three coats of Waterlox on the heart pine, and now I need to go back and very light sand it all on hands and knees and apply one last coat. Or I hope only one. The pine is really drinking the tung oil up and leaving some rough patches and microbubbles (though not visible unless you really get down on the floor and look/feel). I'm tempted to just let it be, but I can't come this far and then settle for second best. These almost 90-year-old floors deserve better! (Reading the Steve Job's article right before beginning our kitchen remodel has either made us better craftsmen or clouded our judgment about what is achievable for amateurs; I'm not sure which, sometimes!)

Just for funsies, here is a photo taken before the floors were sanded:

A modern scribe

Scribe \ˈskrīb\ noun

1: a member of a learned class in ancient Israel through New Testament times studying the Scriptures and serving as copyists, editors, teachers, and jurists

2a : an official or public secretary or clerk b : a copier of manuscripts

3: writer; specifically : journalist

transitive verb

1: to mark a line on by cutting or scratching with a pointed instrument

2: to make by cutting or scratching

Jeffrey was a learned scribe today. Not the noun form, the verb type!

We have a lovely full surround for our Sub-Zero paneled refrigerator. This will integrate it seamlessly into the cabinetry of the kitchen. Of course, since I purchased the whole ensemble on Craigslist, it wasn't custom made for our kitchen (these things are never a stock item, always custom done). And our plaster walls and wood floors and weighted sash windows are not the most plumb, level, and square. Which meant that this very tall, rather deep cabinet sat quite wonky.

I wish I had a picture of how bad it was, but of course, we were more focused on correcting the errors than we were documenting them for posterity. It was pretty bad. Up close, you could see huge gaps and spaces along the back edge, some well over a finger's width. From a distance, you could see that it was very crooked in relation to the wall and the ceiling. Shims alone were not enough to fix it. Scribing was required, and big time.

Thankfully, as a custom piece, it has a built in overhang on the side panels for just such scribing. Many cabinetmakers today simply stick a piece of molding over the gaps, but the best tradesmen still build their cabinets for a custom fit. This was our first experience with such, as we have only ever installed stock cabinets. What a joy to be able to transcribe every bump and anomaly of our plaster walls directly onto the cabinet side and erase the offending gaps with a jigsaw.

It was a joint effort; I traced the walls with a compass and made all the marks, and Jeff did the cutting and sanding. Here is the "before" on one side (not even the worst side, but the only one I could really photograph).

And here is the "after" on the trickiest side.

See that join between the cabinet and the wall? No? Oh, that's right, I don't either! And our trusty bubble level reads perfection on all faces. Not bad for a quick evening's work!

Moodboard

I don't think I've ever posted my overall plan for the kitchen. Since it's coming together in bits and pieces, it may be hard to grasp the complete scheme. But I do have one! I put together this moodboard to help me plan what elements I want to use and make sure they all play well.

It was a fun little Photoshop exercise, but it also keeps me on track. I can refer back to it when I'm worried that something doesn't fit or if I need to make some changes. For example, I had a little breakdown the other day that the yellow on the cabinets wasn't the right shade. Looking at the overall plan soothed me that it all works together, but I did notice that my moodboard has a lot more white and gray showing and less yellow. So I will take some steps to balance out the quantity of yellow; perhaps painting or papering some interior cabinets gray when I put the glass doors on, etc. But I can make these changes later once I've seen the whole kitchen. Maybe that day will come before I'm too old to enjoy it!

Sugared Pecans

I know it's been awhile, but I got busy and forgot to post this photo and recipe. Here are my sugared pecans.

1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb pecan halves (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. In a small bowl beat the egg white with water and vanilla. Stir in the pecans, mixing until well moistened. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and spices. Sprinkle over the moistened nuts and stir until evenly coated. Spread nuts on prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Aural Treat

Though we watch very few films, Jeff and I love film scores! Last Saturday evening, we enjoyed a night out at the Huntsville Symphony, treated to an evening of all our favorite cinematic musical composers like John Williams and Ennio Morricone. I was so thrilled to hear Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission in person. It is one of my all-time favorite pieces! Jeff really enjoyed the theme from Jurassic Park and the three movements from Star Wars.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Friday afternoon, we had our new dishwasher installed. Now, Sunday night, we don't. It's been an entire day of leveling, installing, attaching, and then redoing it all. And then again. These high end appliances are not standard in any way, and certainly not easy!

After putting the counters on this morning, we realized the dishwasher drawers were too low following the initial install. So we measured, discussed, remeasured, consulted, measured thrice, and proceeded to remove and reinstall the dishwasher. Four hours later, it was level and reattached to the cabinets. Only to find that now it was too tall by 3/8 of an inch.

You'd think we could tell this during the process and not after, but leveling the unit requires removing the bottom dishdrawer to get to the little threaded feet. A socket set won't fit, and no one has a 5 mm open end wrench, so Jeff has been crouched on his knees for most of the day spinning a little crescent wrench around and around, first up and then down, trying to get the whole dishdrawer level, square, and plumb in a house that is decidedly not.

Stock photo of the KitchenAid double dishdrawer with custom panels. I'm excited to have it blend with the cabinetry so it's integrated into our "vintage" kitchen.

It will all be worth it in the end, I'm sure. We already did a test run with the dishdrawers Friday to make sure everything worked well, and I love the functionality of the two separate drawers that can wash independently. It will be perfect for our small family of two, since I don't have to wait to fill the whole thing. It's also very economical and quiet. But I'm certainly very glad we didn't pay full price ($1400!!!) for something so tricky to install. If we had shelled out that kind of money, I would expect it to walk itself right in, waddle into position, and bolt down without us having to lift a finger!