Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Party

Our Halloween party for our Echidnas Group is over. I think everyone had a good time. I wish I had taken more photos, but I was busy with party stuff and getting everything taken care of.

Don and I worked hard getting the house back in order and getting everything clean. Don worked especially hard cleaning and really stressed to be sure our house looked good - I hope it was worth it as the house looked great and everyone loved it. This was the first time our group has been to our home.

Our guests were asked to bring an appetizer or desert and I think most everyone brought sweets. We had so many cupcakes and treats.

Don helped me organize some activities for the kids, but in the end they played board games so we did not bring out the activities. They did break open a pinata fully of treats and made chocolate covered apples.

Most of the boys showed up wearing the "Scream" costume. We had one medical professional, Fred Flintstone and a warewolf - oh and a fantastic mother son renaissance team. Here is my gang. None of me as usual, but I had on a vintage Hawaiian gown

Kitchen Update

I am enjoying my first cup of coffee from my new coffee maker from my new kitchen. Well, almost my new kitchen. We bought a new toaster and coffee maker to match the new kitchen.

Major work was completed on Thursday around noon. The crew will return on Tuesday to work on the details and start on our guest bathroom remodel. The bath is a small project and hopefully not that big of a deal (you can remind me that I said that).

We are very, very happy with our end product. I think the paint job could be better but all the tile work is fabulous. I should have cleared out the entire kitchen prior to the start as everything is dirty and has to be washed and cleaned.

Work remainng includes:

• completing the new cabinet, trim, etc
• Touch up paint
• Sealing Granite
• Adjusting Cabinets

In other news our television remote control remains lost. It has been gone about a week and we are really missing it. The house has been searched over and over and over with no sign of that darn remote. I have figured out how to turn oun the old fashioned way - you know getting up off the couch. Sometimes the controls work and other times they do not. I have ordered a compatible new model, because the old one is no longer made.

Almost done

Kitchen Woes

Progress, progress, progress! So much done, yet so much more to go. Anthony says he will be done on Thursday - which is ahead of schedule. Hurray, hurray. However, I will believe it when I see it. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with Anthony - he and his team are doing a great job. I am so ready to have my house back in order. I did cook dinner tonight - well if you count re-heating as cooking.

• The laundry room was grouted and the washer and dryer are installed. I am currently on load number three of the evening! Sadly, the washer is where the dryer goes and the dryer is where the washer goes so the doors are all wrong. Easily fixed.
  
• The countertop and backsplash are fully laid and looks FAN-TASTIC. Even better than I imagined. Hopefully, it will be grouted tomorrow and will look even better.
  
• Our less than one year old Bosch diswasher was not working. Anthony is pretty sure the pump is gone bad. My super smart husband figured out (okay, he called tech support) that the knock out from the new disposal was not removed upon installation. Ooops.
  
• My cooktoop is installed, but sadly I cannot find the disks for the life of me. Maybe they are hanging out with my tv remote control which has been missing for days.
  
• The cabinets are hung but look terrible. We had a cold front come through and Anthony thinks that is why the paint did not dry or dry properly (?). Tomorrow they will be sanded and more paint and he promises they will look fantastic.
  

So just details and just a day or two away. Then cleaning and cleaning and cleaning as I put the kitchen back together

Fall Concert

Tonight Reese performed his first high school choir concert.

We were surprised with the small space on the stage and the small number of chairs set up. Several groups performed, a combination of boys and girls choirs as well as some specialty groups. One group from the senior high performed - they were just excellent. I think this was the "B" Team. The "A" Team performers have a concert at the Senior High tomorrow night.

The quality between the middle school choir and high school choir is significant. The middle school kids were not so talented. All choirs performing did outstanding jobs.

We (I) decided to invite Walker to tonight's concert. He is older now and I thought he would be able to at least sit quietly in his chair, even if he was not interested in listening to the singers. Oh, was I wrong. I think tonight he attended his first and last high school concert. He selected his outfit himself.

Kitchen Day 3

The Kohn Wood kitchen renovation is moving right along. We are very happy with our contractor, Anthony - he and his crew are doing a fantastic job. They have an excellent attention to detail and are concientious about the job they perform. Anthony has been great at suggesting ideas and has overall been quite helpful.

The kitchen is a wreck - they started with a complete demolition and are now in progress of putting it back together. As of today:

• Floors are about 25% tiled
• Granite countertops are just a few tiles from completion
• Walls are about half painted
• New double oven is intalled and working
• Sink is installed and working
• A small amount of backsplash is up

I am nervous about the job being complete enough for our party on Saturday night. If I could change to an alternative location at this late date, I would - but I don't even have another place to consider. Don talked to Anthony and he will focus on completing the floor and countertop by the end of the week. I am fine with that much being done - I can be functional at my party.

Now for the details:

Paint: Our living and family rooms have the same color scheme - dark a light beige, so we decided to follow the same theme to the kitchen. Only the colors look entirely different! I imagine it is the difference in lighting.

Oven: Our project did not include new appliances. We believe our oven is original to the house, so out it goes. Don shopped for a new one and we found a deal at Sears. A return of a Jenn Aire Professional yeilded us a half off deal. Double convection, baby

Tile: Looks awesome. Both the granite and backsplase look awesome.

Door. We ordered a new door as our old was scratched up quite badly from a former pet. We also had a poorly installed doggie door. The new door looks fab. Old hardware did not fit, so we had to get a new knob set (ka ching)

We are eating out all meals. While my family loves donuts for breakfast and fast food anytime. I imagine the pounds will start adding up. We tried a new pizza place for dinner tonight (Angelo's and Vinny I think) - not so good and the service was just aweful.

Kitchen Day One AGAIN

Anthony and his crew of four arrived at 9 am this morning. He called at 8 am and told me he was at Home Depot purchasing supplies. They arrived, unloaded and got right to work – no breaks, no hesitation, just complete focus on the job


Today they:
· Removed all floor tile
· Removed poorly laid granite
· Removed incorrect counter base boards
· Removed drywall behind the backsplash
· Installed new drywall and sealed making it water tight
· Removed old floor mortar, piece by piece chipping away with a hammer
· Removed all cabinet doors and hardware
· Removed all appliances, including laundry room
· Began installing granite

One staff person is constantly sweeping and keeping the mess under control. They place all trash in black contractor bags. Many bags are I the back yard piled up. Ozzy has spent quite a bit of time inspecting the bags searching for food.


Don will be shopping for a new oven on his way home. The Sears outlet has 50% off wall stoves! If we can find one for a reasonable price, we will buy one, as I think our current stove is original to the house (25 years old)

My house is covered in dust. I cannot decide if I should start cleaning or just wait until tomorrow. Once they finish scraping up the old floor glue, I think they will be less messy.

My house is destroyed and I am having a Halloween Party a week from Saturday. Maybe I’ll leave the dust in place, hang cob webs and make a theme out of it!

Kitchen Remodel

Have you wondered why there is no kitchen update? The update is there is no update - we fired the Dude I hired to do the remodel project.

Totally my fault - I had a bad feeling about him and chose to ignore it. Problems included arriving late every day – once with excuse that "his son was in the hospital". I was also suspicious when whatever I asked him the answer was always "yes".

He left Friday, promising to return Saturday morning. He did mention he had allergies or the dust was getting to him (isn't dust normal for this line of work?). Saturday morning, his HELPER called to say Dude had to go to the hospital because he was sick. I sell on Ebay – “going to the hospital” is a standard excuse I hear often.

Don and I were dissatisfied with the work completed. I have never seen anyone take so many work breaks. The small amount of granite he did lay was not level - the lines are fairly straight - but some tiles are set higher and others are lower, making an uneven surface. The counter on a whole has a downward slope. We told the helper (who called to cancel) no need to come back. We called the Dude as well, and not surprisingly got voice mail. We have heard nothing back from him.

I immediately called another Craig's List guy I had previously spoken to. He is HUGELY more expensive than the last Dude. His references are all good. He will remove everything the first guy did. I could shop around some more and probably find a lower price - but I HAVE NO KITCHEN.

I have lost my confidence in selecting a vendor. I talked to the new guy on the phone several times and when he promises me something - he always follows through. He also works with his wife - if that makes any difference.

I have no cooktop, no sink, no water, no countertops - so I have to do something and I am taking a chance on Anthony.

Same Time Next Year

My husband and I try to get away periodically for a romantic getaway. We planned to go for our anniversary this year, but we were busy renovating our condo so it was not a good time to get away.

The condo is sold so all we had to do was make a reservation! Don has an old friend who works at the Hotel Palomar who was kind enough to get us a "friends and family rate". Our dear friend Sharla invited our kids for a sleep over so we were ready.

The Hotel Palomar was formerly the Mockingbird Hilton Hotel with Trader Vics as the hotel's restaurant. A huge (stories high) carved totem / tiki statue was a local landmark. The statute is long gone. For the past ten years the building served as headquarters to the Hare Krishna. The building was a mess!

Palomar gutted the entire building and rebult. The hotel is nothing but spectacular - modern design with artwork everywhere. Just beautiful. Our room was fantastic - a perfect get-a-way. Our evening began with wine at the concierge's reception. Complimentary, of course. A great way to take a look around the hotel.

Next was dinner at Trader Vics. Our last visit there was on our honeymoon. I am not sure if the restaurant was renovated or built from scratch. The space was amazing. The concierge arranged for us to have the best table in the house. Don enjoyed a Mai tai and one of their famous rum punch drinks. The best part of dinner was the soup and salad - delicious!

We enjoyed a thoroughly relaxing and refreshing! Sunday morning we left the hotel and meandered home through Highland Park as we made our way north. We stopped for breakfast at the Dream Cafe. The boys had a great time with Sharla and Walker fussed about coming home.

I could not have had a better, more relaxing time. Time spent with my Prince Charming was the best.

Friends

Walker's school often has "early release" with a noon dismissal. Last week we made a play date with Walker's dear friend whom we used to see daily.

They really enjoyed seeing each other and playing. They are like an old married couple!

We bought a new sink - the kids enjoyed turning the box into a race car.

Kitchen Day 2

Or is it day three? I think more like day two of actual work. Handy Dude is a bit on the slow side. He seems to be doing an okay job and he did show up today

The backer board is on the cabinets and the new bookshelf is built. I think he was supposed to put plywood between the cabinet and backer board, but did not. We designed the bookshelf waaaayyy to big, but think we will keep it and make it work. Don is shopping for a wine fridge to fit in the space.

Our new sink should be delivered tomorrow so the tile can be laid.

Renovations

We continue the debate of should we move or should we stay. I think we want to move for several reasons, but it is still a difficult decision.


Before we can think about listing the house, we must make changes. The changes are good if we stay or if we go. Last week the house got painted and some wood issues repaired. This week it is the kitchen.


I have so very little confidence in the handy dude who is doing the work. I probably should not have hired him. He did the paint job adequately and says he guarantees his work.

He was supposed to start the kitchen at 9 am this morning. I did not hear from him until after 10:15 am - including when I called his cell. He showed up around 11, did some demo work and left again. He says he will return tomorrow morning at 8:30. I am not confident.

Yesterday, my kitchen looked like this:
Today, it looks like this:

At least I don't have to look at 25 year old white formica anymore!

A Mom

This woman says it all!

Fall Football

Last night we went with the fam to the high school football game. In my city high school is divided into grades 9 and 10 - which we call high school and then grades 11 and 12, which is called senior high school. Each group is in their own building. The game we attended was high school - which is probably JV high school to the rest of the world.

Walker had fun walking up and down the stadium steps and hanging on the rails. He made friends with quite a few people and even found some kids to play with.

Mason played in the band and Reese, dressed in his ROTC uniform "guarded" the drill team girls. Looks like he is eating peanuts to me (!)



On the way to the stadium, we picked up Grandma and Grandpa. The stadium was a bit far out through country roads, but just a skip away from the big city - I wish it was not dark already, as I like to see the ranches and farmland in route. We did pass South Fork, all lit up. I think dad enjoyed the game. I think he was the only one in our group interested in following the game.



Game one of the evening ran long, so our game began late. We stayed through the half time and then headed home. Sadly, our team was pummeled. I imagine only the foot ball families remained after the half, since the band, ROTC and drill team left immediately after the half time show. We got home after 10:30, so it was a late school night for us.

What's Going On?

No additions to the blog? What is going on? Life I guess.

The boys are busy with school. Reese continues to enjoy Jr.ROTC. High School is still hard and he is still not putting forth the effort that needs to be put forth. Oh, and his Army belt is lost and he needs to wear it tomorrow and again on Friday. And he is not looking for it. And I could not possibily find it in his messy, messy room.

Walker is continues to complain about school - about life really. Poor dear's glass is half empty - all.the.time. I think (to be confirmed) that he enjoys school while he is there, but complains when he arrives home. His complaints are trivial – I am hoping he is just letting down from his day.

My volunteer work continues both with PTA (high school and elementary school) and my Asperger’s Support Group.

Last Saturday evening we went to a PTA picnic at Walker’s school. The event was played down and highly successful. No bounce houses, no dunking booths, no hoopla. Just picnic blankets, playground fun, hula hoops, limbo and sack races. Just like the good ole days. I actually think it was a great event.

We (I) are planning Halloween party for Reese’s Asperger group. I have been shopping for Halloween decorations and items for the party. I know the kids want a piñata. The piñatas sold at stores look great, but are made of corrugated cardboard and just about impossible to break. At every party I’ve ever been to, a parent ends up ripping the thing open with their hands and dumping the candy out. My bright idea is to make one! It was a bit of a mess, but seemed to work fine. Sadly, while left outside to dry, it got rained on. I am still hoping it will dry – otherwise, I’ll try again.

Walker wants to be a “Karate Guy” for Halloween. I got him a “real” outfit at the thrift store. He has also been asking for red crocs. They arrived in today’s mail from my ebay friend Mississippi Mommy.