Shrunken heads.

My marshmallowy snow topped flower pots turned into what look like shrunken heads.  Ohhh....terrible.

 I so prefer the marshmallow look.  Soft and yummy....

The yard looks awful now.. some melting took place because we had some Chinook-y days... all sorts of nasty, unfinished things are lying naked and exposed.  Temperatures warmed up to plus numbers...even as high as +10C and then..it dropped again.. to the minus numbers and soooo... there are icy skating rinks all over the place.   Our subdivision streets are totally treacherous!  Not going out there ..so it is the treadmill again for me... well, actually I do it 'til spring when I know the roads and sidewalks are much safer.  No point being silly about that!  I saw my much younger neighbour do a cartoon like activity on his the other day... luckily, or maybe not so very lucky.. (I bet he hurts all over today) ..he spun out ..feet going in all directions; but managed to right himself as one knee was bent all funny and his ice breaking tool hit the ground and stopped his fall...but, wow... that arm  holding it, and the poor leg with that bent knee...oooooh..... not nice....

Maggi and I began a little goose made of mohair last week... first little guy...well, lady actually....   she will even have a cape and bonnet.... of the New Year.  We hope to continue this Wednesday...but, we'll see.  The Second Annual Neighbourhood Progressive dinner is this coming Saturday...and we have the Appetizers...so I must make goodies this week... and/or may be totally in panic mode by Wednesday and then I will have to opt out on playing with fun stuff til the following week.  We'll see.
If I get the little phyllo purses made today..as planned..hopefully I can play with mohair by mid-week.

I'll get a photo later of the WIP .....

Hopefully this blog will be back to making and doing fun stuff this year...   ....although, having said that .... the stupid cabinet company ... named Legacy, is refusing to even return our calls and those of our contractor.  And when they do... they have no answers for us about any of what is happening.  I fervently hope anybody living in Calgary who reads this does not use them and tells everybody they know about their ridiculous lack of caring for customers, their lack of business sense and their total ineptness in actually building cabinetry..... so that nobody has to go through what we are going through with this company.  They still have not made any effort at finishing off our microwave opening...the third attempt; the dishwasher panel; also the third attempt at getting the correct size; or the fridge panels  whose screws are almost poking through them because they indented panels on the back of them and should not have built them that way for attaching to the built-in fridge (there are very detailed, specific instructions and diagrams to be followed as outlined in the installation Guide, which they have had for months) ... but, now they want to just repair things which have not been built to specifications... . I'm not sure how that would be attempted ...  . and...the drawer front next to the oven which has 1/2 inch insets on the panel instead of 1/4 inch insets like all the other drawer and cupboard fronts in the whole kitchen .... ...The oven is now actually in position and working, thankfully, so at least I can do my other hobby....baking!  I am trying to stay calm... because it is the only way I will make it through the end of the renovation project, whenever that might be, without injuring somebody or breaking something.....

If I had any money left I would begin a lawsuit for breach of contract .... because they have been for months now.... but, what good would it do? ... only the lawyers would get anything out of it I'm sure ....
 maybe perseverance will pay off......

Wooooohoooooooo!!!

I've got my oven working !!!  There will be a little roasted chicken for Christmas dinner after all !

Baked some loaves of bread for the first time since July...... aaahhhhhh ..... nothing like the smell and taste of fresh bread.....mmmmm...

The manager of Legacy cabinets actually came with one of the finishers...and together they managed to re-build the opening for the oven... and the appliance installers came the following day to hook things up.  My stove is working!  And..I love it.

See how the opening originally didn't even match the drawers on either side?  It is hanging lower by far than it needed to ... for looks as well as for the size of our oven.  It doesn't need to be down there...and then... on the third attempt to arrange an opening that fits the oven...they still made the opening too short to cover the bottom portion.  So..even if it was the correct size ...which it still wasn't ... the width measurement was the height...and the height was the width....it looks ridiculous.

Finally...it looks like this.  Perfect.  But, it took a lot of time and effort and headaches and arguing on our part to get it the way it should be...not just the way we want it to look.

However, the dishwasher panel still doesn't fit...now it is too short... after being too long the first time.  The panels for the fridge are almost ruined.  The screws are too long for the area where they had to put them for the brackets that hold them on to the fridge door. ....and they almost punctured the front in many areas.  They are saying they will repair them.  I don't want that.  I want new panels.  Done properly.  We are "discussing" it.

For now... and until well after the New Year....I am happy to have my stove top and oven working.  I am happy to have a proper dining room area.... crowded by my pretty tree...... with plants all in the wrong area.... like we have every year when we have to make room for our tree  ...hahahha... I love it!
I like to put it there so I can admire it from the kitchen...cuz... that's where I spend most of my day.

Must go....  today I'm baking some double chocolate chunk cookies with cherries ...... and because I feel happy and have more energy...I'm going to be playing with some little walnut mice decorations too... have several on the go... assembly line fashion.  There are 3 little girls who moved into a house across the street.... I want to hang some on their doorknob.   I always like to imagine how surprised kids would be to find somebody has left them a little giftie....I know I would have been as a kid.... maybe times have totally changed and I'm just out of the loop, old and funny... ...but, ...maybe not.

 Especially at Christmas.

the boxes are open....

the banging, sawing and hammering began on Monday....and so far..... the cabinets are more or less getting to the finishing stage.

Not without some hiccups ....of course.  Why would they be any different than the rest of a renovation?  Or, for us... why would it be any different than every darn thing we ever order so carefully.... and finally buy.... and wait and wonder what will be wrong with it.....

The opening for the microwave.... which is in the butler pantry area..... is big enough to fit another wall oven into.  Some idiot, in his infinite wisdom... plucked some numbers out of the air I guess.... but, why?  They had the microwave and trim kit measurements and specs.  They had designs and pictures.  They didn't even choose the measurements of our oven that we will be getting in the actual oven opening...just some random measurement.  How weird.

Which will make the pantry cupboard beside it all wrong on the door faces... they will not line up to the other cupboard doors on the right hand side of the microwave...  sheeesh...now we have to decide ... with the kitchen police when they show up to do the final walk through... what will be our options to fix the problem.  My question right off the bat is ...why continue til we get the proper sized face for the microwave.  Why put all the rest of the things together at all? ...  Apparently not the way they do things.   Good grief!  why us?  Why does every single thing or service we buy have a problem?   Must be some sort of energy field or grid we live in or something.  Enough to make a person tear out her last three hairs..


The contractor, who did see our original cupboards and who commented at the time about how nice and how well constructed they were, asked us why Mr. BV just didn't build our own .....  which, if he had time or inclination any more.... would be easily as good or better...as we see now after we have torn out the ones we built 15 years ago.  Sh**!

House of Turquoise would definitely want to put up our photos if she sees this shot......  but, I do think I will be changing the colour to something a bit lighter.

And, now....back to the couch.... I am hacking, coughing and feeling pretty out of it.  My ribs are hurting already.  Got it from Mr. BV....who got it from his old boss.... who got it...well, who knows where ...but, I wish they had all kept it to themselves!

Photo a week...

It's time for Italian Prune Plums again....I saw enough at the grocery store to make three loaves...and am still looking. I can't understand why they have so few. They are the backyard variety. And..not cheap. I need to find a neighbour with a tree full. I forget how many I managed to bake last year..but, it was not enough! This is a great tasting loaf. You need a cup of cut up plums for each loaf. ...MMMMM.. pictures and recipe from last year on my Tea and Scones blog.











and hey! I grew a tomato.... I have no idea what kind it is as the baby tomato plants were a gift from a gardener friend ..

They must be a grape or cherry type.... this little guy is a good inch long....and I am going to taste it the minute I get off here. It's exciting to grow your own goodies.... the only edible things we tried this year were a few tomatoes in pots ...and some chili peppers in pots too.... and...have already had some lovely hot ones to use from those...and now have several more larger and very red peppers to pick. The tomatoes were so slow to get started that we got caught out and didn't get wire cones on them in time. Then...I was procrastinating on tying them up or tied a few with twine when thicker strips were needed... because two branches.. (yes, by that time they were almost branch size) keeled over from the weight of the tomatoes! so..of course, we lost that branch full... I was pretty devastated. But...there are several more..one plant is a yellow variety...I'm looking forward to tasting those...











Hahahah.... some of you think I am a patient person because I have been at the renos for so long. NOT!! It's just the only way we can do them. I am a grumpy person... and getting grumpier by the minute. This better be over with this year...or ...well, I'm just saying.....it better be over. We never would have bothered if the area wasn't so perfect... older, well developed and has lovely trees and large lots. It was the only house in this area that we could afford all those years ago even with both of us working two full time jobs each. We did plan to do a bit of fixing...but not quite what transpired. But, some of you know how it goes...start with something and all of sudden another thing gets involved. Besides...both of us are pretty particular about how things get done and after hiring out for several years...we got fed up with the results and headaches of babysitting the tradespeople. And...got some shoddy workmanship to boot. So...then we began to do things ourselves... which takes a long time when you can only get to things after work or on weekends and also have to study up on how to do any of it. So.... that's what's been happening. And...then...after years of it... Mr. BV got so tired of it all that we hid our heads in the sand for a while and lived in limbo. Things finished to the point of utilization...but, not pretty if you know what I mean. Then, we did the whole bathroom ourselves..it took over a year...and now...the laundry room is nearing completion...another year. All was ripped right out to plumbing bits sticking out...no electrical... cement and studs...that was it. We have done it all now.... just the tile in the laundry room needs sealant...and the sink then needs to be attached... wheeee!! The upstairs bathroom just needs a cabinet... and so on. But... my handman ran out of work at his paying job at the end of June...and the company seems to have nothing in the forseeable future..so the timing is perfect. He can just stay home and paint, build and finish things off.... we keep pushing each other daily now to do at least some small things each 24 hours.... and already we are seeing a difference. However, in the downstairs... the difference means that 4 rooms are now totally in disrepair...empty of furniture and we are repairing some cement stuff... laying missing floor tiles in the landing area...and awating our final decision on the choosing of the perfect carpeting (it's taking us forever to decide, but it is an expensive thing and will have to be there many years..so it better be right) ....and the office is going to painted in about 5 minutes... we did the undercoat yesterday... because we are going from oil based to Latex.... the last of the oil base in the house is now history. Today... first coat of a new green..... the original was called Carriage House Green...and we have been trying to have it custom matched because we painted the tv room a few years ago and wouldn't you know it...they don't carry the colour anymore...I hope the colour match is perfect today. We have been back and forth more than a few times already... the first baseboards I painted it on... ick...it was a funny taupy camo colour. After much calling around.... the piano movers... who charge less than regular movers.... will be here Wednesday to cart out my old washer and dryer...and... the...list goes on....must go make a few more calls.... bye for now....

Before and now....

what was left once we got the old drywall and fluorescent tube lights off the ceiling... ... right back to joists... then we did some wiring for pot lights... and placed a suspended tile ceiling.














drywall off and back to cement walls and studs... re-working the plumbing and also some ducting for the dryer..











ready to go to work... here is the dream plan.... tweaked so I have everything exactly where I want it.











first order of business... build SOLID boxes for the machines to stand on to get the doors to the right height ...and also to withstand the spin cycle of (if you can believe it) 6,000 rpms. To buy pedestal bases at the appliance store... $599 each for the particular size of these appliances. Aackkkkk!! What?? They are referred to as European size..whatever that is.. and are twice as much as the $299 pedestals for American made washers and dryers for some strange reason. Probably because they don't supply as many.... forget it......we are not paying that!! we built one a lot cheaper. These things weighed a ton and are solid frames with built in drawer housings ...











new venting for the dryer along the top; machines in position... glad I didn't have to lift them! Thank you Mr. Darcy....











first cupboards installed.











New ceiling...lighting...doors all built, sanded and painted. The colour is a soft sage-y green, the walls are a different green ... called Carriage House Green... ... but greens seem difficult to capture on any photo... the light one seems to look barely off white and the wall looks more taupe in pics..but not in real life... now.... waiting for the counter top and then we can measure up for the last two doors to hide the plumbing and electrical outlets.. oooh..it'll be so tidy then...











I was originally thinking on a medium dark framed mirror over the sink on the opposite side of the room...but...a designer friend suggested perhaps I might want to try a silver framed mirror to continue with the brushed nickel knobs and won't compete with the counter top... Yeh...that could work..... so far I've only seen two.... still have a few places to look.... but, I am slow at getting my day organized sometimes and who wants to be out and about in the hub bub every day anyway...I love my home..... and the peaceful aura of it.














I'm going to get an interesting little rug too.... lovely greens with a few interesting colours tossed in for good measure. That's also on my list while I'm out there "hunting".

Cabinet capers....

Although the washer and dryer have been in operation for several weeks now... we are still working on cabinetry. We did start the day with a lovely latte ... not going to be all work and no play around here! Mr. BumbleVee is perfecting his skills as a barista as well as a renovator.
I finally have learned to run the washer (it was a simple thing I was doing incorrectly and somehow activating a child safety lock feature.... talk about feeling a bit stoopid....duh... ) .. but, now, I absolutely love it. Both the washer and dryer have some unusual and novel features. Like... if you don't take things out immediately after the cycles are complete... the drum rotates every so often just to keep the clothes from getting excess wrinkles. Washer and dryer.... one time the drum rotates in one direction...and the next ..in the other. Cute... and effective too....

Maybe this is not all that interesting to the gals if they are not into renovating and building as I am... ...so perhaps consider this one to show the hubbies.... we bought a special jig (one made in Canada) at Lee Valley; don't you love that store? They have so many neat things...not just for building...but for gardening.. so I am there each time anybody says he is going in that direcition. And, ohhhh... you should see the selection of door hardware.... I'd like to put about 20 handles and knobs on every door....... or have some with easy change snap ons... so I could use different ones for every day of the week.











Look at this thing! The perfect "jig" to make life easier when making your own cabinets. We used to line up every single drill hole... me making sure the drill is straight from one angle...him trying to check from the other...but this...hahahha...what a lark! Once you get it set on the side pieces... locked into position (it even has a measuring device that helps you do that)...











...then you just move this little metal hole along the rails...stick the drill bit into the metal hole and drill where you want your holes for the shelves ... et voila !... perfect straight holes... perfect distance apart... ... oh, man... the time and effort saved is amazing.










On the edges...of which I have no picture, darn it......we also set it to drill perfectly spaced, perfectly straight holes in which to insert small glued dowel pieces to attach the other sides of the cabinet. They were lots of fun to build this time. Lots of grinning and woohooing happening in the garage... instead of muttering and swearing and wrestling with trying to make sure the brad nailer was shooting in the perfect direction so as not to puncture the sides or edges.
















Told ya it was not all work and no fun....

.....stop for a snack on the patio.... enjoy the sun..... a sip of wine and some cheese and crackers.... and onward to hanging cupboards.















Ohhhh...love 'em.... ........... 21" deep ...and 24" wide. I can go 10 deep with paper towels now when I find them on sale. Perfect for stocking up on sale days.












Two of the largest in position and we now have critical measurements between the two outer panels so we can begin the cabinets for the centre area... which will not be as deep to allow plenty of head room for using the folding/sorting counter that will be under them. Eventually all the electrical and water stuff will be hidden behind the counter and more cabinets ...with opening doors to get to them if need be. All of the cabinetry is screwed into position so that if we have to remove a washer or dryer or do any work... everything is accessible.