Random 5 for January 16, 2022 – Pictures, spacey, lost, blood, prices

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Rearview – Most of the kitchen renovation is in the rear view window. Only the replacement window (which hasn’t come in and is the hold-up) and the backsplash remain to be done. It was a big job because we relocated appliances which required more electrical work. Toss the holidays in there (both Thanksgiving and Christmas) and it took nine weeks. It’s a miracle I have any sanity left. (No snarky remarks please!) Here is a picture. You can see the backsplash samples against the wall but otherwise it’s blotchy drywall back there. If the window doesn’t come anytime soon, I may paint the backsplash to get rid of the stark white blotchy look. It’s very light and airy room and we love it.

You can see the backsplash isn’t in yet. There are samples leaning against the wall. The new window hasn’t been installed yet so the old one is there temporarily. The blue walls are just a little deeper in color. You can’t see it well here but the island is a dark smoky blue shade.

And here it is from the other end. 

What happens when you get wired out – As I was loading up my kitchen cabinets, I found my Keurig. There is a snow-ice-rain storm predicted for tonight into Monday morning. I wanted to have a back-up in case a trip to Starbucks was out of the question. I spent a half hour looking for the carafe to the coffeemaker before the beloved husband reminded me that it makes one cup at a time. No carafe, you put your cup there.

That ain’t all – In sock heaven (where all those mismatched socks from the dryer go) there are a few boxes circulating. All boxes are emptied at this point but some things are missing. I went into my corner cabinet and found my favorite Rubbermaid storage containers. I didn’t box them so they would be handy if I wanted to use them. That only works if you remember where they are. There are a few other items that are MIA.

A mystery – Yesterday morning I found a fresh blood spot on the carpet. Checking the beloved husband it wasn’t him. Checked the cats. I couldn’t find the originator so I cleaned it up and hope for the best (and hopefully no emergency vet run!).

Yikes! – I haven’t really stocked the new kitchen yet. I picked up a couple of items today and holy cow, prices have gone up. Who thought I would pay the same per pound price for bacon today that I paid for high end steak just a few years ago. Going vegan is sounding better all the time!

So how was your week?

90 thoughts on “Random 5 for January 16, 2022 – Pictures, spacey, lost, blood, prices”

    • Still needs some work yet but it is so much better functionally. Most people redo kitchens based on looks rather than function. My old one had the range in the island which is a popular style but it cut up all the working space and was in the open when guests were here. That may work better if you teach or want your guests to see your mess but I don’t.

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  3. Kate, your kitchen looks fantastic! What kind of countertop stone is that? It really makes the place pop! The cabinets are really nice and big too. You must be thrilled.

    We finally signed with a contractor — a husband/wife team (the wife is an interior decorator who worked with us on our living room two years ago). The work won’t start till May, but we already chose our countertop (dolomite). We’re in the process now of choosing and ordering the new appliances so they’ll hopefully be here in time for when they finish the work. Even if we have to store them all around our condo, we will! – Marty

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    • The countertop is quartz. Our appliance store held our appliances from June to January. In December we realized that the refrigerator had a deeper than standard door and there wasn’t enough clearance so they kindly let us swap. They were great to work with. May isn’t that far off. We had to wait from July contract signing until mid-November but we also wasted about 4 to 5 months because the planning was so slow.

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  4. Beautiful Kate – the island is huge and your kitchen is huge. Like you, I like the light and airy look the best with all the windows. They did a nice job and I guess like women say after childbirth “it wasn’t so bad after all and I’m glad I did it and maybe I’ll think about another one down the road.” That’s your fireplace and the cats’ screened-in porch.

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    • Unlike childbirth, I’m still in the “what was I thinking” stage! 🙂 I don’t want to do a new kitchen again (and at my age, I doubt it). The deck-porch job will be outside so that’s better but at some point we will redo the master bath. Just not until after we have recovered both emotionally and financially. We were lucky in that the kitchen contractor was a very quiet person. No radios, worked full days and didn’t talk much. It was almost like not having someone here except the house was in disarray.

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      • Yes, quiet is better – when we had the woman in doing the painting and wallpapering, she said she’d be here 9:00 to 4:00 and she was late every day, left early every day, long lunches, smoke breaks and “hot flash” breaks where she’d tear out of the house at the speed of sound. Her radio on full blast drove my mom nuts. You were lucky with this guy. Anything outside is an acceptable renovation, except a roof – big mess and nails around for days afterward.

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        • I don’t which is better, short days but more of them or long days and less. Our window guy is a radio and short day person. He may do estimates or paperwork later in the day. The kitchen carpenter was a long day kind of guy rarely leaving before 5 and often at 5:30.

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          • I had a friend in Virginia who had a handyman like you’re long-day guy. I used to say I wished he didn’t live so far away. My handyman is great and does remodeling, but he never starts until 11:00 a.m. (even in the heat, which I really don’t “get” at all) and knocks off fairly early.

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  6. Your kitchen is beautiful, Kate. Congratulations on successfully seeing it to the end, or almost so! I hope the blood spot mystery doesn’t develop into anything requiring a vet visit. It sounds way too cold to leave home. 🙂

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    • You can’t go wrong with white cabinets. They are always in while wood tones change from decades to decade. My brother still has the very dark cherry cabinets so popular in the 80s. Very nice but they make his kitchen so dark.

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  9. Beautiful kitchen. It will be perfect for serving tuna. And that was funny about the carafe. My human would totally spend hours looking for something that doesn’t even exist. Stay warm and safe and just have coffee in the new kitchen. My favorite part is all the windows looking out. Will be gorgeous when covered in snow!

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  10. Congratulations on your new kitchen almost being finished! It looks just wonderful 🙂 Gosh, I would be worried about the mystery blood spot too – did one of the cats possibly get a mouse? I know what you mean about still finding things. Every time we move thing seem to be gone and then we find them months later somewhere weird.

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  19. The kitchen turned out absolutely gorgeous! And given some of the stories I’ve heard on the time it takes for kitchen renovations, 9 weeks (while a colossal pain for you), is pretty darn good (even without the window and back splash). Enjoy finding a home for all the foodables and storage containers. As a long-time vegetarian, I don’t know how people can afford to buy meat these days. Talk about sticker shock!

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  22. When we find mystery blood these days, we search and sometimes find the mousy blood and guts, too. With a recent deep snow, the mice are trying to move in. Our cats are a good defense system. I hope that is what it is, because we all know sometimes it leads to a vet visit. I hope not!

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  24. Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful… soothing, the soft light, it’s like it is giving you a gentle hug. You know I love your cabinets. Did you do SW Alabaster by any chance? I love everything about it. I zoomed in and spied your backsplash tiles… lovely. I am so happy for you, you are going to be happy dancing for quite awhile! Truly was worth the wait, right?

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    • The cabinets were cremora, a very creamy white. The blue were called down pipe. Ridiculous name for a color! Worth it, yeah but it was painful at times. The sink run around and now the window. Most everything else went smoothly but we didn’t need the holidays thrown in.

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  25. The kitchen looks gorgeous, Kate! You might have to start cooking! 🙂 Just kidding. As for going vegan…forget it, unless you plan to have your own garden. I wanted a head of cauliflower and it was $5.29! The worst part was it was shrunken to the size of a tomato. Go Eagles! We’re hoping our power doesn’t go off before the game. We’re having an ice storm here in Charlotte.

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    • The precipitation didn’t start here yet. We’re getting snow first then rain. Prediction is by morning it should be all gone. Hopefully. Fingers crossed for Eagles. This will be a tough game. Today for old time’s sake, I used paper plates for lunch. 🙂

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  28. Your kitchen is beautiful. You’ve made good decisions about how to update it. As for “holy cow, prices have gone up” I had the same reaction the last time I went into the grocery and I’ve been shopping weekly. Along with the higher prices, the packages have gotten smaller. It’s a double whammy.

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  31. That kitchen is looking really spiffy! I think getting a renovation must be like having a child. In the beginning, you were really excited, towards the middle, you’re still excited but not as much, just before the end, you are begging for it to be over! And then, when it is all finally done, you realize even the bad parts were worth it. I think it’s good that you found your Keurig, because most of the state from Route 80 south is under travel restrictions starting different times this afternoon. So if you do go out for Starbucks, please be very careful!

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    • I made my SB run this am along with a quick grocery stop so I’m in for the day. Right now it’s cold and sunny. Did I mention how cold it is? It was 9 degrees this morning (-12 C). My car flashed the cold warning (as if I didn’t already know it!).

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  34. LOVE IT! Sometimes awful stuff you’ve gone through fades in comparison to the end result – like a reno, or a diagnosis from the doc that turns out to be WRONG….LOL. I love the shade of blue you chose. I know you’re thrilled to have your kitchen back. Backsplash and window won’t keep you from cooking again…..yes prices are out of sight at the grocery – for EVERYTHING and not just meat and eggs, etc. Mysterious blood spots – hmm….must have been a worker?? Glad it was small and glad you got it up. ONWARD! I hope you have time between this part of remodeling and whatever is next…..you need a break………

    Hugs, Pam

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    • We’re getting a new floor in the laundry room and while the kitchen got stalled, the carpenter took out a useless closet. We have the old pantry (from the old kitchen) in there and will put a bench and coat hooks. Small peanuts compared to a kitchen project.

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  35. The kitchen looks great. I’m so glad you can finally use it. And this forgetting things as we get older sucks. I was searching high and low for my glasses yesterday – a perpetual problem since I only wear them for a few things – and Marley finally had to tell me they were sitting up my head. Sigh.

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