Halloweenie

Here's a humorous conversation I had with my mom the other day.

Mom: I'm having company over tonight
Mom: 7:30p
Me: 10p curfew
Mom: It's Friday
Mom: Screw you

At this point after the kitchen renovation, I am keeping my word about waiting on the refrigerator installation. Yes, it's coming up on November and cooling down, but that's okay, we can slap on some sandals and sweaters to grab some food... right? I've also put a halt on furniture and decor purchases. Whenever I have the temptation, I say, "Abriel. What are you doing. Stahp. STAHP!" This works.

I started drawing a new portrait this weekend, and I started out really liking it. Then I noticed the ear was completely misaligned and once I started on the hair it looked really gross, and drawing midtones is hard, so there might be another several month long period where I am in art limbo. We'll see whether I can gain my will back.

Halloween is this week! I don't quite remember the origin of Halloween, so if anyone remembers then please tell me. I was having a conversation with my mom about it the other night after watching one of the Simpsons Halloween specials. Otherwise, Happy Halloween! Now that we're in a new home in a neighborhood full of small children, we feel like it's necessary to discard our festiveless moods and finally decorate the porch and buy candy. Luckily though, I hear that we live in a particularly quiet neighborhood with regard to trick-or-treat traffic. That means I can buy candy for myself and say that it's for the kids.

Renovation Update III

These photos are rather dark, so the colors are a bit off... but you get the idea! Here is the kitchen pre-appliance installation!

 Lookin' pretty snazzy! So far, we have had the dishwasher and stove installed. My first cooked meal in the house was potstickers! We wanted it to be either broiled salmon or banana pancakes but my mom wasn't going to be home when I cooked and I didn't want to have anything fancy by myself. Oh, well!

The refrigerator, on the other hand, is still in the garage. The installation people were apparently not qualified to move the refrigerator from the garage to the kitchen, so now I have to call "delivery" people instead. Honestly, with all the money I've been spending, I'm just going to go ahead and wait to schedule that particular appointment. I don't mind going out to the garage to get food for a while.

Some paint touch ups still need to be made to the trim and some of the wall and cabinetry, as well as having my cabinet guy re-drill some of the drawers he messed up on. That was a whole lot of drama I really didn't want to deal with, but at least he's still going to fix it on his own expense. Maybe deep down he knows he effed up even though he's verbally blaming everyone but himself for his mistakes.

I'll probably put in some final photos once all the appliances are in, but this is about it! I'm happy to report that I am no longer brewing coffee in my master bathroom anymore.

Renovation Update II

Lots of fiascos and stresses have been going on at the house over the kitchen renovation. The tile I ordered was poorly represented by the sample piece I used to select it. The sample piece appeared to have a nice, clean look, but when the tile arrived, the other pieces were so much more rustic feeling and it would not have fit in well.

As a result, I had to go tile shopping again and was able to find a replacement for less money and still looks good. It's just a shame that I can't return the other tiles without a massive restocking fee, so I'm saving them for another project in another room for another time.

My mom and I were stressing out about money, and she'd been itching to put her past home on the market, which finally happened this week. The agent she's working with had suggested she paint some of the rooms a grayish color to replace the midtone yellows and greens, only there was yet another fiasco with the painter not getting the right swatch, so the walls looked terribly white against the existing yellow trim and it didn't match the existing floors or fireplace... So we had to tell him to stop and find a new swatch to use, and now the issue has been fixed to some extent, though still ugly and not even gray, which wouldn't look good with yellow, anyway. We wish we could have left it as it was before, which honestly looked a lot better. So sad.

But the cabinets have been put in, the backsplash is up, lighting, sink, faucet, garbage disposal, and dishwasher are all in! Unfortunately we were lead to believe that the dishwasher was ready to use when our carpenter said it's "all hooked up", so when we turned the thing on we were surprised to find smoke instead of water. The water wasn't turned on! At least it was under warranty. That's what they're for, kids. So we have a repair specialist coming this weekend to fix whatever damage we may have caused.

All that is left to do now is tile the floors with the replacement tiles that should be delivered today, installing the rest of the appliances, and adding knobs and pulls into the cabinet door and drawer faces. I expect I should have some before/after photos some time next week! Hooray!