They Are Finished!!!

OK, at long last - renovations are all finished.....except for backsplashes that we have yet to decide on. Check out the before-and-after pictures and let me know what you think. Also, I'd like to hear from you on what YOU would put in for a backsplash. The choices are seemingly endless....which is why we have such a hard time deciding.

This is the kitchen BEFORE:

And this is the kitchen AFTER:

This is the Hallway Bathroom AFTER (it had white laminate before):

This is the Master Bath BEFORE and AFTER: (it, too, had white laminate)

This is my favorite part - my shampoo GROTTO! Everyone should have one of these....

Bathrooms and Biscotti

Don't let the title of this post fool you. These two things are in TOTALLY separate rooms in the house. Whilst the bathroom was being outfitted with the brand new supposedly CLEAR shower doors, I was in mia cucina creating cranberry-almond biscotti AND Italian cookies; the latter resembles a shortbread cookie - it has almond, lemon and orange flavoring, is a twisted pencil thin cookie with an egg wash & sesame seeds on top. It cooks fast - and has a glossy finish thanks to the eggwash. These delicacies were prepared for the Italian Festival, which is tomorrow. They were packaged in clear 'baggies' which were then tied with red, green and white tiny ribbon, which also held a 'tag' announcing what the contents were. These will be sold at the Italian Fresh Market tomorrow. It was hard to bake all that without eating any. I guess if I want some, I'll have to buy them.

Now, back to the bathroom shower doors; you are all aware of how long this renovation has taken, right? A renovation that we didn't plan on. One we didn't budget for. One we didn't think would take most of the summer to complete. Today we had all hoped that the end was in sight. The shower door was delivered yesterday; the installers came by this morning to put it together. As yours truly was in the cucina, creating gastronomic delights, I was unaware of what the installers found when they opened the package. My beautiful new Tuscan Bronze-finish shower door was the WRONG ONE. The clear glass I wanted was not there. Instead, the doors had this etched finish. Both doors had vertical stripes over the entire finish. They were very BUSY looking. I was so disappointed. The workers were disappointed - I think mainly because they knew they'd be installing a replacement as soon as it could be gotten and delivered. I tried to like it - I mean, it's not like it was UGLY or anything; it's just that it's not the one I had my heart set on. I wanted CLEAR. I like being able to see out when in the shower; or in the tub. I have a clear shower curtain too. Maybe I have 'Psycho' phobias or something. Anyway, the doors are up; they slide beautifully; and they are etched. And awaiting their replacement. One of these days.

The renovations continue.....STILL.

But, until they do:

Il Festival italiano è domani. Vieni a giocare con noi.

(The Italian Festival is tomorrow. Come play with us.)

Ciao, a presto, mia amici. Chi vuole un bicchiere di vino rosso?

Let There Be Light

Remember the renovations that are still continuing?

Late this afternoon, Jim came by to install the shower light .... a new recessed, waterproof fixture. Problem is, he couldn't install it from DOWNSTAIRS in the shower. Someone had to go up in the attic, scurry across the rafters - carefully so as not to step on the ceiling and FALL THRU to the downstairs - and find the electrical box for this particular light. Well, guess who got the honors? Yep, me.

I am crouched in the attic, wearing my slipper-clogs, advancing precariously from joist to joist, scooping insulation out of the way using an piece of cardboard, looking for the light.

I found it. Then Jim asks, what does it look like - is it attached to the side or the bottom? My reply - I don't know; I didn't bring a flashlight. Oh. No flashlight. Here comes Paul. We pass on the same floor joist - HE has the flashlight. So, I'm sitting at the top of the attic stairs, reading old Christmas cards; Paul is bent over the light box - with the flashlight - attempting to dislodge it without being electrocuted - the electricity is still on. Jim, the contractor, is standing at the bottom of the steps, drinking a cup of coffee....and not just ANY coffee. He is drinking a cup of white chocolate macadamia nut coffee.

After I finally shut off ALL the electricity in the house, we manage to install the new light fixture. Now we need a light bulb for it. Oh, and a new switch. The one that controls this newly installed fixture is broken. Now the light is on, and we can't shut it off. We have to remove the bulb to turn it off.

Jim leaves, Paul has to change as he has insulation in his pants. Ants in his pants. HAHAHAHAHA

I'm going to make dinner. And pour a glass of wine. Perhaps two.

Tomorrow, we might get the shower door.

And the renovations continue......

tomorrow is another day.

Demolition Begins....

Bright and early this morning, my doorbell rang. It was Rick, the demolition guy that works for our contractor. Finally! He came in, proceeded to cover our bedroom furniture with plastic (just like our parents had all over the furniture all the time - NOT just for construction purposes), and taped resin paper on the floor starting at the front door. He brought in the hammers, mallets, buckets, and SAFETY GOGGLES!

Now I am in the kitchen, lolly-gagging around in my house clogs and sipping my New England Coffee - (just the best coffee ever - try it for youself in one of their seasonal flavors) www.newenglandcoffee.com in my Vermont moose mug, when the hammering commences. I look up to see my prints that are hanging on the kitchen wall....bouncing off the wall with each strike of the mallet. Those pictures were taken down immediately before they could FALL down!

He has been hammering away for about 45 minutes and he has nearly all the tile off the shower wall. I took a 'before' picture, and tonight will take a 'in progress' picture and HOPEFULLY be able to post 'after' pix.

No napping in this house today - unless you're deaf!!

Water, Water Nowhere

As you know, our home 'renovations' all started because the ice maker water line leaked onto the hardwood floors. Between then (mid-June) and now, we've had the floors in the kitchen torn out and replaced with tile, the dishwasher has been torn out and we're waiting for the new one to be installed with help from Chris, the tile guy. We have the shower in the master bath partially torn out because THAT water was seeping under the floors (in the kitchen, no less). So we can't use the shower. We are waiting for the contractor to come - he was supposed to be here last Monday, changed it to today, then upped it to this COMING Monday. We'll have a full house - the contractor and tile people in the bathroom starting Monday and the countertop folks installing the granite counters in the kitchen and baths starting on Tuesday. A full house IF THEY SHOW UP.

Anyway, we have been using our guest bath which has a tub/shower combination. Well, wouldn't you know it - the ONLY shower we have in the house....IS NOT WORKING! That handle in the middle of the hot/cold knobs (you know, the one that switches it from tub to shower) DOES NOT WORK. Now Paul gets it to work - he has to turn the center knob to 'tub', then turn on the water, then turn it off, then turn the center knob to 'shower', then turn the water back ON again. It's ridiculous. He hasn't had to kick it yet, but I feel that coming next! Most of the time I can't get it to work and think that pretty soon unless we get this water mess all taken care of that we'll be bathing in a pan of warm water heated on the kitchen stove (which is still functional, thank goodness). It seems every place we should have water coming out of ... there is none. Oh, and did I mention that because the dishwasher is not yet installed, I AM HAVING TO WASH ALL THE DISHES. ALL OF THEM! ALL THE TIME. And can't use the garbage disposal, so I'm having to scrape the food trash into the garbage. What a pain. And because the icemaker broke right after it caused the water on the floor and we didn't replace it because I didn't want the expense ($98), we are using ice trays. I hate ice trays. Funny, I didn't want to spend the $98 but we have spent thousands on repairs that are not yet finished; repairs that have been ongoing since June. That $98 is just a drop in the bucket. What else is new????

As long as I have ice cubes for my gin & tonic at happy hour time, life is good. And I'm ordering that ice maker pretty soon....

The New Kitchen

Remember I told you about us having to get the kitchen floor redone?  Well, today they came and put down the tile.  Right now in our great room (which is not so great when filled with belongings that clearly belong in ANOTHER ROOM) has the following extra items in it:

China Cabinet - without china.  The china is in boxes on top of the bed in the guest room.  Table, six chairs, bookcase filled with cookbooks, bar cart with wine glasses and carafes, boxes with muffin tins, cookie sheets and loaf pans that had to come out of the cabinets; the trash can, and THE REFRIGERATOR.  Yep, the fridge is plugged in and sitting beside the fireplace.  Where's the stove, you ask?  Oh, it's just inside the front door - sitting in the foyer with the handtruck still stuck under it. 

Everything in the house is covered with a fine dust - from either the tile being cut, the backer board being installed, and/or the thin set being applied to the entire floor.  Oh My God - even rooms that have nothing going on in them are filthy.  Looks like I'll have to start at the ceiling and clean from the top down.

Once my kitchen is finished, I'll post before-and-after pictures so you can see the end result and let us know if it was worth all the effort.  I'm thinking it is.

During all of this, I have been watching either CNN and/or Weather Channel. My beloved Vermont has been totally devastated.  Beautiful covered bridges washed right off their abutments and downstream.  Will Vermont be able to return to normal?  I sincerely hope so.  My heart goes out to all Vermonters,  When I see destruction like that, I'm truly thankful for only renovation grime.