Storage Solution

I was standing in the kitchen the other day, and I realized that when we moved in, we just put stuff where ever it fit, intending to move it to a better place when we had the time. So its a year later, and stuff is right were we originally put it. It works, of course. The things that need outlets are by outlets and so on, but its just not as efficient as it could be. One of the problems is that there isn't a ton of counter space, and thats what I chose to focus on when I started my Super Sweet Kitchen Storage Solution. I've finished Stage One: Above the Stove. Before, it was a blank wall above an ugly stove:














And right in the center was this little door that opens to reveal an exhaust fan since there is no hood overhead. We've used it exactly once when I opened the door saying "Huh. I wonder if this thing works. Oh look, it does". So I didn't hesitate to put stuff in front of it. Stuff like three stainless steel utensil canisters, to hold utensils, of course. I rigged them up on an aluminum pole I found at Home Depot (Claire and I were at Home Depot a few days ago when it started down pouring. We wandered around while I considered different, less ideal options for this part of the plan, and stumbled on this pole, which was exactly what I wanted, and for just $3. I had no idea such a thing was even made). Then I added a narrow silver shelf above it to hold the stuff I use most often when cooking, stuff that was taking up counter space. And finally, I hung paintings of sage, bay leaves, and basil. I painted these months ago and they have been sitting in a box in the closet. I think this is the spot they were waiting for.

So, Stage One is finished. Everything is perfectly on-hand.

































The second part of my plan will have to wait until my dad comes to visit in a few weeks since it involves wiring new outlets. I can't wait.

Ceiling Fan Issues

Back when Jim and Teresa were visiting, we tried to put a new ceiling fan in the kitchen. What we thought would be a quick job turned into a half-day project which was ultimately abandoned. Until yesterday, we had just a few wires sticking out of the ceiling. But Mike and I were able to finally get the fan installed (and working!) with very little problem. I think the first time around we were in too much of a hurry to get on to other projects to really take the time to figure it out.














We have also continued to stuff ourselves with fresh veggies out of the garden. I don't have any pictures, so you'll just have to believe me when I say the tomato and zucchini plants have really taken over and are not even close to being contained by their planting boxes anymore. The watermelon plant heard me talking about its lack of growth, and has since spread out over the lawn just like the tomatoes. The bean plants have been producing enough that we have fresh beans with just about every meal, even breakfast. We got our first broccoli and cauliflower snacks as well. When I planted everything this spring, I figured we'd get a few beans, maybe a zucchini. I didn't expect it to be incredibly successful, just because I don't really know what I'm doing. I never imagined we'd have this much success.

With Pictures!

Another project crossed off the list: the basement stairs. We proved once a gain that a coat of paint makes all the difference. The white walls were all scuffed up from hauling stuff up and down, and the stairs really needed a fresh coat. Really the pictures don't even do it justice. In short, it looks great (before and after, if it wasn't obvious):
















Tuesday, we decided to take a quick camping trip with Claire, just to test her out and see how much work we have to do if we wanted to go camping with her regularly. Turns out not much. She did great sleeping in the tent, even when it was bedtime for her, but Mike and I sat out by the fire for a while longer. A fire that was fantastic. Its been really wet lately, and though it didn't rain Tuesday, the woods was still damp. We couldn't even find leaves that were dry enough to catch fire. But Mike was patient enough to start a fire that was hot enough that the coals were still smoking in the morning.












And then, when we got home we realized we had a cucumber ready for picking. Definitely the best cucumber I've ever tasted!

What a break (term used loosly)!

Well then. I believe that this might be the first time I've sat down for more than 10 minutes in a week. I went to Wisconsin and spent some time with the Halbergs and some time camping with my family. We had a great time, especially Claire. She loved the camping. My parents have a camper permanently set up at a campground in Door County. Our days were full of catching butterflies, sitting in the hammock and feeding the fish. There was even another cousin named Clare there, who (my) Claire called 'Other Claire', as in "Excuse me, Other Claire, will you play with me..." Very cute. So here are some pictures of that:


























And before I got back to Maine, Jim and Teresa had already arrived for a week of working. Much like last year, I believe Jim had a hammer and screw driver in his carry on and started fixing things before he even set foot inside the house. I thought they had the house looking fantastic when I got home, all power washed and sparkling with new doors, but that was nothing compared to how it looked when they left. Fantastic. Everyone worked very hard, and it shows. I only have one set of before and after pictures right now, but I'm sure there will be more to come. I think the kitchen is my favorite part. I really wish I had a before picture of the light fixture. It was just about the ugliest florescent fixture you can imagine...that didn't work.

Before, with Confused Mike and a stove older than me:













After, with the trimmed doors, new knobs and new stove:













Lights! And the wonderful new storm door in the background.










Now that everyone is gone, and Mike is back to work, the productivity will slow way down. But it has been a really great week, and it feels good to have made some huge improvements. Thanks Jim and Teresa!

Saturday is for Sleeping.

Its the weekend. And unlike last weekend, when we worked day and night on the basement, this time we are taking it easy. And speaking of the basement, we have some pictures here. We don't have everything in its place yet (couch, ping pong table, foosball table etc), so there aren't any FINAL final pictures, but you get the idea. Its come a long way from the creepy-crawly basement we bought with the house. It sure cleaned up well!

On to this weekend. Claire and I spent most of the day at Crescent Beach State Park. We were hoping to do some tide pooling, but the tides didn't cooperate. We have the Audubon Society's Guide to Seashore Creatures, and I was hoping to identify a few of them, but there were none to be found. We still found a bunch of treasures, of course. Crescent beach is fantastic for finding treasures, plenty of neat rocks and seashells. Today there was actually quite a bit of debris (both natural and not) washed up on the beach. I've only been there a few times, so I'm not sure if its normal, but I would think a lot of it is from the storm a few weeks ago. Today, however, we had great weather. It was sunny, warm, and calm. It wasn't even windy at the beach, which was wonderful. I believe its suppose to be just as nice tomorrow. I've been wanting to go to Long Island (Maine, of course), so maybe we'll hop on the ferry and check it out.

House Work

So we are putting in the floor downstairs. Our original plan was to go with carpeting, but after we got home from Hawaii and saw some puddles down there, we had to rethink. We decided to go with the vinyl squares, so we will have the ability to pull up one or two if needed. We got the office done yesterday, and we are going to go buy supplies for the rest of the basement now. Hopefully it goes as smoothly as it has been. Its fun really, to see the floor change so quickly from gray cement of a basement to something nicer than our kitchen.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll have pictures.