Epic, Exhausting, Exhilarating!

We are 99% done. A few little things remain, but it's time to wrap up the "kitchen remodel" posts and fill you all in on what we do with the rest of our lives!

In under 2 months (just as promised by Josh) we have torn out the old cabinets, flooring, appliances, lighting, window and wall that separated the kitchen from the front living room... and replaced it all with a new, efficient, functional kitchen.

A RECAP OF THE DESTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION:

Original kitchen

The future kitchen island shape... explained with the help of painters tape.

With the beam in place in the attic, the load bearing wall came down.

The cabinets came off.

The new cabinets and refrigerator are installed.

With the hood in place, the template for the island countertop is laid out.

The counter and back splash are installed.

THE NEW KITCHEN:

Island Time

The day had finally come... the granite guys were back and this time the island slab was not broken! :-)

Due to the large size of the granite slab, it took 4 guys and some very careful maneuvering to get it into the house. A story best told in pictures.

We are so close to being done now.

All we need are island faucets, pendant lighting, paint... blah, blah, blah.

Give me a week, it will be finished, I swear!

Excited... Very Excited!

No... not the hasty containment of a highly infectious disease! This is what a room looks like just before the walls get textured. In theory it protects the rest of the house from flying plaster spray.

A couple of days ago Josh set about blasting the walls, I quickly followed with a little lick of paint around the kitchen area... in preparation for the granite installation.

Today, was granite day! :-)

Luis and his team arrived around 4:30pm this afternoon. The good news is that the granite is nicer than I even imagined and Luis is a master fabricator and we are lucky to have him. The bad news... the massive island slab got cracked enroute today and will have to be replaced. A delay of a couple of days is not the end of the world, but disappointing none-the-less.

The slab for the island is held back in the truck... damaged in the top part of the rounded corner.

It actually looks like a kitchen now. The fridge, microwave and dishwasher are in. Next steps... finish the granite installation, set the sinks and faucets, install the stove/oven.

I can almost smell the home cooked meal, complete with baked dessert!

Stay tuned for next week... when I'm sure I can get the painting and trim work completed.

I know you are all waiting for the last post... the side by side, before and after.

Me too!!!

Each day, a little closer

Since I last blogged "the remodel", we have come a long way. Or should I give credit where credit is due and say Josh and Eric have come a long way?!

(It's fair to assume I couldn't possibly have contributed much while on my mini vacation.)

The kitchen, which recently looked like this....

Has now seen the installation of a tile floor,

new cabinets and range hood.

As of tonight, we have a plywood template, just waiting for Luis, our granite fabricator, to make my dream "rectangular with a bulged corner" shape a reality. It now seems an eternity ago that I was crouched on the floor, tearing off pieces of blue painters tape to outline my idea.

You have to understand... I have envisioned this kitchen, this exact island shape, these efficient appliances and this large counter space for 3 years. When something is this fixed in one's mind, no second guessing is permitted!

Mini Vacation

Sometimes you just need to run away for a bit.

That time, for me, came last week. So I did.

To unplug and rejuvenate there is, in my opinion, no better place than a small Colorado mountain town... with changing leaves, sunshine, hiking, photography and frequent soaks in a hot tub - preferably while watching a starry sky.

One of my favorite places is Aspen. With good luck and good friends I found myself a lot of the time bikini-clad, belly laughing, overflowing with good food and breathing deeply the clean mountain air this last weekend. (Alright, I admit it... I stayed 5 days, guilt be gone!)

I'm grateful.

These are some of the pics that capture the spirit of the season.

Maroon Bells

We made our way gingerly through a small gap in the barbed wire fence and crouched in the long grass to avoid being seen by local traffic (owner?). Later realizing that we weren't as hidden as we initially thought and it probably just looked like we were peeing in his field... under his "No Trespassing" sign!

Then we laughed 'til we cried... again.

Independence Pass

Thanks Chris, for the much needed break. :-)

Aspen Farmers Market... the good life

Taking a much needed break and seeking to enjoy the golden leaves of autumn, we arrived in Aspen yesterday afternoon.

Just in time to go out for for dinner, go several rounds of cards with Greg and Chris and ... my favorite.... soak in the hot tub, watching the stars, as the sound of the river echoes behind us.

This morning we hit the farmer's market.

Down town Aspen, streets closed, food galore and sunshine. I would be greedy to ask for more.

Kettle corn, hot from the "kettle".

Croissants!!! Yum! There is nothing like fresh pastries.

Osman and Marley chill, as Chris browses inside the glass art gallery behind him.

Next stop... Maroon Bells. I have my camera ready!

Hello laundry room!

It's fair to say I spent a good portion of my weekend debating (with myself) the color of my new laundry and powder room.... then the rest of the time prepping and painting.

The progression...

Laundry room is drywalled and texture is sprayed on. I paint a number of swatches on un-primed walls on Saturday morning, to get a feel for color. It doesn't work.

Walls and ceiling of the powder room are primed on Saturday afternoon. It's a nasty stinky job, but somebody's got to do it. Later that evening I spend time painting the powder room blue-green... then painting it again... just green!

Sunday is my day to paint the laundry room, but I run out of time and energy to complete the job. Falling into bed exhausted and speckled from head to toe, I set my alarm for dark-o'clock.

With less than minutes to spare, I finish coloring the laundry room as Eric arrives for work this morning. (Although you can't tell in the picture, the white looking walls actually have a hint of gold in them.) I have been up for hours, my hands are blistered, my head foggy with paint fumes and my stomach crying out for breakfast. Very tempted to go back to bed and at the very least could do with a hug!

Eric sets to work, fixing some kind of rock-board to the floor in preparation for the installation of cabinets and laying of tile.

Up go the cabinets. I can see I still have some painting to do!

The sink from the kitchen will be recycled in here, but because the "cabinet" it sat atop of was really not a cabinet, more of a facade, we need to engineer a base for it.

Ok, so we still have a ways to go... but trust me, it will begin to look more "normal" in the week to come!

Wing Beneath My Wings

Everyone has a bucket list. Mine's not that long.... since I'm a "why wait?" type of girl. However, learning to fly had been on my list for a good 15 years... which I realize does call into question whether I am truly a "why wait?" girl after all!

Anyway, this year Osman decided I needed a little encouragement... and booked me my first lesson, introducing me to Air West and my training plane, a Cessna 152. Cute huh?!

I have been learning for about 6 weeks now. The anxiety that comes with practicing stalls and learning to land, is for the most part, much less than a couple of weeks ago.

Meet the man responsible for this... Mark.

(Also known as Plan B, should anything go wrong while I'm in control!)



Then there is always Plan C!

Kidding! Plan B seems pretty reliable! :-)

Most importantly, I'm really enjoying my new passion, the challenges, the feeling of freedom and the connections I am making.

All my flying dreams are coming true!

Blue Sky Mining

Another gorgeous night in Boulder...

Nothing else to say.

OMG!

The question is... Did we hit rock bottom today, far as mess, chaos, destruction and kitchen mayhem go... or do I still have a little way to go???

At this point I'm not really sure. Or am I just not sure it matters anymore?

We MUST be close now.

8am:

Josh, Eric and Josh's dad turned up to work! Yep... Josh takes his dad to work when he is visiting!!! The day started out fairly efficiently but stepped up considerably as it went along, turning my house into a crazy hive of activity.

The laundry got its second and third coats of mud.

The kitchen had its insides turned outside.

More electrical and plumbing to reconfigure for a dual fuel stove, under cabinet lights.

And up came the linoleum, revealing (no surprises here) some thin and decidedly mushy plywood that needed replacing.

The cabinets arrived and spent the day enjoying the view from the driveway - until there was room inside to store them.

3:30pm: An exhausted Eric, Josh and his dad pulled away from my house. I was not long home from my own crazy day, but really glad to hear them say they would be back tomorrow. :-)

I believe we are texturing walls tomorrow... So that Saturday I can paint!