More Progress

Today I started out very early. I emptied 4 more boxes. Then found homes for most of it. A number of things made it into the Goodwill Box. Some even made it in the trash, it was beyond reuse. I now have a diaper box of things ready to go.  Amber also came over and started packing up the living room.  I know it's really weird. I am unpacking the kitchen stuff and she is packing up the living room stuff. This is to get ready for the next stage of remodel. The new carpet in the living room.  After lunch we went through my shoes, there is a good reason for this. Ambers fiancés unit at the base is having a shoe drive. So John and I gave Amber 27 pairs of shoes for the shoe drive.  Yes most of them were mine. No I will never get back into the Aa and A width shoes.  I have lost enough weight so that the wide shoes no longer fit.  So the bright side of this is, the shoes will find new homes, and I have more room in the garage and my closet.  This is what 27 pairs of shoes looks like. Yes that is a large outdoor trash can bag.  

The New Kitchen

I am showing the mostly finished kitchen.  The dishwasher door will be changed and 1 shelf is still missing. Meanwhile I unpacked 5 more boxes and found new homes for everything.  I still have not found the box with the kitchen knifes. Sorry Lisa it was not in the box with the baggies. We also have way too many wine glasses, so the running joke at dinner was how were we going to break some, we are a little behind in breaking them.  We have an even dozen that we still have from wedding gifts.   

The kitchen came out well.  It looks like it might have come straight from Pinterest. Everything was a total colabration, give and take on all sides.  We are a great team.  

I Made My Goal Early

The big news today does not have to do with the house.  Nor does it involve everyone being sick, which we all are.  Not even knitting, spinning or weaving.  It involves a long term goal made when I went off one arthritis medicine which caused me to put on 50 pounds in 6 months.  For those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis I have now lost 1/2 of the weight I put on with the medicine.  Slow and steady is winning the race for me.  

So after much research I went off aspertame and high fructose corn syrup. The first 3 months were very rough. I started using smaller plates for almost all my meals, I still use a soup bowl for cereal though. I eat a lot less fast food. Most of my cooking is now from scratch.  When Eric is home sick and PBS is on all day, I do the excersice breaks with Hooper, which are much easier now. I walk more and do more of my own house cleaning. I set a goal of losing 5 pounds a year, because most people my age put on 5 pounds a year.  I figured that this would put me ahead of the game.  It was a few big changes and a lot of small ones. Today almost a full 2 months early I have hit my 5 pound weight loss goal for the year.  This means that I can now start using my Wii fit again, I am now under the maximum weight. 

The plates below are as follows: The daisy dinner plate ( this used to. be our dinner plate )was the standard size Correlle dinner plate of the 1990's, which is now used as a serving platter.  The yellow luncheon plate by Fiesta is now our dinner plate. The clear glass desert plate is now our lunch size plate.  Usually divided into 25% protein, 25% starch and 50% vegetables.  

Since I have no medical degree, I would recommend that you check with your doctor before making these or any changes to your diet or excersice routine. This blog is not meant to replace your doctors advise.  This is just about my life and what works for me.  

Patching and Painting

Today the master bathroom and sitting room wall were patched and painted.  I have the before pictures but not the after pictures. The paint fumes were to strong.  They did not use the low fume paint as requested.  I think I will be sleeping in the den to escape the fumes.  

I found one shelf missing when I went to put away today's boxes.  So the work planned for today did not happen.  The bright side of that is that we are all sick and it gave me time to rest a little more. I think that we will all be laying low until Monday.  

Finishing Work

Today the bathroom sink was finished. The floor boards were also finished.  The only thing left for the kitchen remodel is the new dishwasher front panel. The repairs to the master bathroom and a little dry wall in the bedroom start at 7 am tomorrow.  Followed by repainting of the bathroom. 

Meanwhile I am starting to put the kitchen back together. I also cooked dinner for the first time since the start of the remodel today.  A nice pot of chicken soup. The only glitch I ran into was that I could not find the kitchen knifes. I forgot to note which box that I put them into. So I put the soup together with only a paring knife and peeler. Three other boxes were emptied and put away.  

Mean while Eric and I continue to try to recoup from this yucky cold.  While we did not give John permission to get the cold, he got it anyway.  So we will try to stay away from everyone until we feel better.  

Recoup Time

Sometimes there is a down side to sharing.  I landed up with Eric's cold.  It woke me up at midnight and I then understood how miserable Eric was.  The good news is that with my immune system in a very hyper state I was feeling better by this afternoon. Just a warning for everyone, I will be expecting a bad body day for a few days as I am already very stiff.  

There was no construction work today. So Eric and I took it easy today. I set my sights on UFO's.  For those who are not craft people UFO' are unfinished projects.  While I was resting I managed to get 6 UFO's finished today.  I then looked for a few more UFO's to finish.  So after all was knit and done I have 1 more empty project bag and a free set of knitting needles.  Plus I can add 727 rows to the million row challenge on Ravelry.  

Tomorrow is suppose to be the last day for the kitchen remodel. Thursday we are suppose to repair the water damage to the master bathroom caused by problems with the last remodel. After 5 years we finally finished fixing the mistakes on the addition. Fingers crossed as I say this.   Then next week we move back into the craft room. When that is finished we will move onto the living room.  With completion before mid December.  Hopefully I can make a honey do list for a few more things I want done like the back door, I want to keep this energy moving forward.   

Today's Progress

Eric has the crud de jour that is going around his day program. He was up until the wee hours this morning and then was up again at 5am.  The thing that I don't like about this bug is that his fever is still going up. There is also a lot of congestion and coughing. At least he slept most of the day. Unfortunately I could not nap as work was going on in the house.  

I spent part of the day decluttering the house.  I managed to get a nap when John came home.  Afterward we started deciding where things are going to go. One of the first things we did was put all of Eric's breathing equipment in its own special cabinet.  The Scoba also got its own special place in a cabinet, so he is no longer a tripping hazard.  John is great at finding the boxes and up packing.  We started with dishes, cups and spices.  John worked on the dishes and I did the spice rack. 

The last of the construction should be finished on Wednesday.  Including the fixed dishwasher panel.  The panel as it is now does not match the rest of the cabinets. 

Not as Planned

A little more house cleaning got done today. John found a glitch in the Comcast cable connection for the new cable line we are using.  He managed a patch that should work until we can schedule a service appointment. I did laundry, cleaning the craft room and taking care of Eric.  

I look forward to an interesting week. Eric has some kind of bug with a low grade fever and a wicked cough. The house should be finished this week. Although I do have to ask the contractor why one kitchen panel is not beveled and the color is not like the rest of the doors and drawers. It looks like it is from someone else's kitchen.  The replacement bathroom sink was not the same model so the drain we ordered did not fit. A replacement will be here Wednesday, so that is when the guest bathroom will be done.  

I can't wait until I start putting everything away. There will be major changes.  The old pantry will now be a storage closet. Eric's smart vest machine will no longer be in the middle of the floor. Formula will have its own storage place.  The box clutter will be gone, so will the temporary plastic storage container we have had for a decade.  

More Progress

John got the painting finished today. He got tired of waiting for the contractor to finish. I was trusted to help label the cables for the electronics. Then this evening he and a couple of friends moved the tv to the other side of the room. 

The Kitchen and Craft Room Remodel

The morning started sorting out spinning and knitting magazines and putting them in workable order.  By 10 am I finished with the spinning magazines and put the duplicates in one of the Bookman's boxes. I have more magazines than I thought.  The box that was suppose to hold all the magazines is just about full with the spinning magazines.  This is going to turn into one of those "If you give a mouse a cookie" projects. Now I have to rearrange more boxes so that I don't have to buy more storage contIners. I am also going through patterns right now.  I think that should take a day or so.  

While finding more containers, I found more knitting books. They just barely fit into the allotted spaces. After the major work is finished I need to find time to reread the books to decide which books are really wanted now. I have some that I bought as a brand new knitter that might not be as useful to me now.  

On the remodel front some walls were patched. A kitchen light was installed. And a little more painting was done, the rest of the painting will be done on Monday. I also took a picture of the inside of the new light fixture. Look how small the transformer is.  We also said goodby to our old fridge.  

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff is a delightful children's book that both of my children enjoyed. You will also enjoy the illustration by Felicia BondIf you have not read this book to your children or grandchildren please take time to do so.  

Chocolate and Spice

Today the spice rack was put in. I have more room than I thought, with two pull out trays. John also wiped down the new fridge while I was at knitting.  So we cleaned out the old fridge after dinner and loaded the new fridge.  The new fridge is smaller than the old one. I am sure that is a good thing since there are only two of us using the fridge.  The chocolate shelf is also much smaller.  This is also a good thing, I will have less chocolate in the house.  Did I mention we also got the wood panel on the dishwasher.  

Peeling Away the Decades

Today I spent cleaning the craft room and bookshelfs. Surprisingly by just putting 8 inches of old books in the Bookman's box, it felt like a big weight has been lifted.  They were all books about parenting a child with disabilities. How to get through individual education plans and how the various diagnosis would affect our life's.  Now that Eric is an adult they are no longer needed. 

I then went on through the piles that got moved into the craft room at the beginning of the remodel. A lot of things were just dumped in mass n the floor.  So every single item was gone through one by one. This is the type of cleaning that I hate with a passion. Magazines are being sorted. Books are coming off the shellfs with books that I want to read being put on the shellfs.  The before and after pictures don't show much progress today, but you can see more carpet. 

Getting There

Today was spent doing bits and pieces on the kitchen remodel. The counter was polished.  Bits of missing grout, electrical plates were put in place. The exhaust system was put in place. The exhaust system can be a little different with an electrical range.  Excess grout was washed off. The back door and base plate were repaired. 

I on the other hand found that that if I put my phone on my left ear everything sounds all squeaky and funny.  I am using the medicine that I got yesterday. I was very tired all day and only got about 5% of my to do list done.  Hopefully the ear will heal fast.  I still have a lot of work to do.  John started the Bookman's runs. I made the first trip to Goodwill for this project.  

A Bad Ear Day

Not much got done today. I did finish the bookcase, but ran out of steam. I did spend part of the day dealing with an ear infection and will slow down for a few days.  I would also like to say go Candy, you can do it too. Candy is following my lead in redoing her craft room.  I can't wait to she her vision of her "new" craft room. 

Saturday's Progress

The first part of the morning was spent cleaning and organizing the craft room.  I managed to. combine to jewelry supply boxes into one box. I am cleaning the room from left to right.  I am about halfway done.  Right now I am going through all my books, deciding which ones to keep. 

Part of the kitchen remodeling project involves reorganize all the srounding rooms.  So those of those who know me know that the bookcase in the den was 3 deep with books and other stuff. So the second part of the day involved going through all my. Cookbooks and fiber arts books. I am going to let some books go. The knitting books will go to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild for their raffle prizes.  3 cookbooks have already left the house with my friend Lisa.  I have 2 boxes and 2 bags for Bookman's. This is the picture of today's progress. The top shelf is being reserved for for the TiVo, since John will move the tv to the other side of the den when the kitchen is finished.  

No Workers Today

Today was a day without contractors in the house. So I tried to catch up with laundry and cleaning. I almost got through Eric's laundry today, all 5 loads. I am happy to say that the new larger counter is a great folding table. Apparently no matter how many loads that I wash and fold in a day, tonight's aide determined that I did too much of Eric's laundry and only put away 3 loads. Since Eric is asleep, I will put the rest of the laundry away tomorrow. Eric did manage to make another load tonight. I am debating putting on before I go to sleep so I can start with the fussy loads tomorrow.

I packed up the back splash tile that we did not choose, John will return the samples tomorrow. I also worked on the bookcase and have one shelf finished. I managed to fill another bag of books for Bookman's. The recycle bin is now half full, I hope to fill it by Sunday. I also sent a few bags to the trash bin. With so much tile, I also did a quick dust mop, I think that may now be a daily chore. Not bad for 5 hours of house cleaning.

I managed to get to Target for a few things we were out of. I seems like ages since I went shopping with coupons. I forgot to use my Cartwheel app in the store and left about $1.00 on the table.

I have made a decision tonight to go through all my knitting books and donate the ones that I no longer want to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild for the monthly raffle prizes. Another great reason to join Tucson's only knitting guild.

I am hitting the 16 hour make of my day, with most of it working, so I think I will call it a night. 5 am comes very early, but I seem to be waking up at 5 am with no alarm like I did when I was younger.

Back on Track

The down side of remodeling is the deep cleaning that goes with it.  Today I started a third box for John to bring into Bookmans, our local used book store. I am going through all the books before they get put back on the shellfs. Tucked underneath some books that are leaving was a picture of Eric and some of his friends from so last century at the Manzanita Roundup, the school carnival for the kids.  It made me want to cry at all we have lost over Eric's lifetime. He was sitting up so straight in his chair and looked so cute.  It makes me want to hate the ML4 even more.   I guess I can not sit here and cry.  I need to go back to deep cleaning and I hope not to find anymore buried pictures today.  

The backsplash also got finished today.  The grout that I picked with the pink under tones was discontinued so we have a wheat colored grout which brings out more of the green tones in the backsplash.  The last of the tile was placed today too.  

Divide and Conquer

Yesterday John and I divided and conquered our world. John stayed home and worked with the contractor and workmen to get the stove in place. On the third day of trying it finally went in. The backsplash is looking pretty good too.

I on the other hand spent the entire day at the Tucson JCC for a fundraiser for Eric's Taglit group for special needs young adults. The good news is that I came home with one less 40 quart bin of handmade creations. We raised a lot of money but I would like to have raised a couple of thousand dollars more. If you were not able to make the fundraiser and would like to help you can go to this secure website and donated directly to the program, https://www.tucsonjcc.org/support/donate .On the pull down menu you will use the line that says Other and that will give you a place to type in Taglit. No donation is too small, every dollar helps. This will be a tax deductible donation in the United States.  Eric and his friends would like that very much.

The Stove and Back Splash

Today the back splash started going in.  I think it looks really nice.  John did a very good job picking it out.  The stove is being a bit stubborn, it is taking a little more work than we thought.  They will have to move the electrical outlet tomorrow. Today we took out a bit of tile under the stove.  So we could level the stove with the counter.  

While the work in the kitchen continued, I made 60 pairs of earrings for the fund raiser tomorrow. I found that having the Ott lite over my shoulder made it easier to do things while getting ready for tomorrow , I also found some earrings that I made a while a go. They should go nicely with the ones I made today.  

I would also like to leave e everyone with a favorite quote of mine. "I am standing on the shoulders of the of the ones who came before me."

New Appliances

Today we got the new fridge in, it replaces a 21 year old fridge. I hope it helps lower our power bills.  The new microwave is now in too.  We also picked out the back splash tile. You can see it in the background.  

I also got a lot of hand knit items tagged for Wednesday's fund raiser at the Tucson JCC.  This gives my row count a big boost.  

The Yarn Sink

I used the yarn sink for the first time this afternoon. I had half a pound of Cherry Tree Hill Roving that I spun and finished plying last night. There was plenty of room in the sink for all the yarn. To speed up getting hot water to the sink I started a load of hot water wash first.  There is some multi tasking that is good.  I like using soak when I wash my hand spun yarn. I will have to come up with another method of thwacking the yarn.  I am afraid it made the whole sink shake and I was worried that I might break the sink. Too bad they did not have a cast iron sink for a laundry sink.  Check with your local yarn shop or Raverly to get some Soak.

Kitchen and Craft Room Remodel

Today Kevin finished installing the dish washer.  It runs very quietly. We just need the panel for the insulation to be complete.  John also installed the first phase of the craft room remodel. I worked on organizing the craft room until I was too sore to move. I really wanted to do more tonight, but if I want to sleep I need to switch to knitting or spinning. This is one of those times that I really hate the arthritis.  

Positive Progress

You can see by today's picture that the cabinets all have handles,  but most importantly the dishwasher now fits under the counter.  We may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We are still waiting for the bathroom counter and sink.  You also may notice that there is no front panel on the dishwasher, that is coming soon.  

Remodeling Irony

Today I woke up with a really bad tension headache at 5am.  I keep running through my thought process what could cause such a bad headache so early in the morning. Then it dawned on me Irony. This might take some explanation.  On the bathroom sink it was just a matter of turning around and asking me if they had the right faucet before they started drilling the granite.

The long kitchen counter is a bit more complex.  There was one worker whom was making a lot of mistakes. The other guys would cover up for him and try to fix the mistakes before they were discovered.  They would give him simple tasks whenever possible.  They would count out one, two, three, four put the peg here and let him go to work. Then they would go back and fix the mistakes, no big deal.  But it became a big deal when the long counter was laid down.  '

To cover for the other worker who placed the support wood too low by 1/2 of an inch, it was decided among the other workers to tell the cabinet guy he screwed up, because it was his first lead job.  So 1/2 of an inch was trimmed off the cabinet and the counter was put in place.  I totally understand why the other workers covered for one of their own. Here is is, the next however. However if they would have just said let's check this measurement. And then moved the support wood up by 1/2 of an inch, the cabinet would not have been cut, and the dishwasher would have slid into place without a problem, and we would be one step closer to being finished. 

Now I will hurry to get dressed, because I do not know what time the contractor will be here to fix the boo boos. Then I will go ply some yarn so that I can test out my new fiber sink.  I think I will spend the rest of the day designing jewelry for next week.  

Today's Boo Boo's

The first picture is what I walked into this morning.

At least I was not home for the discovery of today's remodeling boo boo. It turns out that the kitchen counter to fo low to slide the dish washer in place.  I think I am getting really tired of a boo boo a day.  So the current count is 2 counters that need to be fixed.  However I am really excited that I now have a deadacated sink to wash yarn and fiber in.  

The shellfs also arrived for the craft room.  I wonder how full I can pack them? This means that the next phase of remodeling will start before the first phase is finished. I think I will just go along with the craziness for now. 

Painting and More

Today I started off working on a contingency plan for the guest bathroom. I was looking for a possible base plate to cover up yesterday's boo-boo. The contractor walked in at that point and apologized for making the mistake yesterday. He also reassured me that he had enough "leftover granite to make a new piece for the bathroom. A new sink had been ordered since they could not remove the other sink since they used epoxy to attach the sink to the granite. 

Eric was home sick today, although he is on the road to recovery. He finished his pedialyte and started back on formula.  Eric defiantly did not like the painting. He jumped every time the compressor went off. So I spent a lot of time in his room today. I did not take pictures of the painting because I was so busy with Eric. Basically all the furniture was moved to the center of the room. Everything that was not being painted was covered in plastic. 

Once the painter left and Eric calmed down I got a much needed nap. I have been so stressed out that I find myself knitting in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping. I left Eric in charge of Elmo, Snoopy and Champagne Bear, while they watched TV. I felt so much better after a 2 hour nap. 

I have also been fascinated with the Ruffled Lace scarf’s, but could not find lace that I could work with until now. Red Heart makes a Boutique Sassy Lace in Nylon. So today I started my first ruffled lace scarf. It is slow going but fun. Pictures will follow. 

The Good and The Screw Up

Most of the day went well. The granite was installed.  It looks a lot less pink then our sample, so we will have to revisit the back splash.  Most of the cabinet work was finished.  The tile work on the floor as finished.  I spent the day bouncing between a sick Eric, keeping up with the work in the kitchen.  I also emptied the pantry. John and I emptied part of the craft room.  A dozen pair of earrings were made.  Amber came over to help me empty the pantry and part of the bookshelf.  

The one major screw up of the day came when no one asked me where the bathroom sink faucet was. The workman and contractor decided to use the 2 hole  utility sink faucet to drill the holes in the beautiful granite and not the single hole faucet that John and I had spent hours choosing.  

Tomorrow the painting starts at the back of the house.  Eric will be home another day.  I will also need to prep for Thursday.  

More Progress

More progress was made on the kitchen today. The crown molding was installed.  One cabinet was adjusted for Eric's percussion machine and nebulizer.  After more than a decade of use it will finally have a home of its own, not in the middle of the floor.  More electrical work was done too.  We now have power to where we are moving the tv. Hopefully the electrical will be finished tomorrow. Along with more finishing work. 

On the crafting front I did the finishing work on 2 rag rugs and made almost 2 dozen pair of earrings for the fundraiser on October 21st. I have another 18 layed out and ready for assembly.  I am not working on the earrings right now because I am sitting with a sick Eric.  So I guess that I will do some more knitting.  After all you can never do too much knitting. 

With Eric being sick and the granite being installed tomorrow it should be very interesting around here. My wish for all of you is to have a less interesting day. 

1975 and More

Today was spent doing laundry, I only had 7 loads today. All but the last 3 are finished and put away.   One of the loads was the last 2 rag rugs for the sale on the 21st of October at the Tucson JCC to benefit the Taglit program. All I have to do is trim the little bits and pieces.  I also finished one scarf and started another scarf.  

The big news of the day is that I started working on the next phase of the remodel, yes I know the kitchen is not finished yet.  I am so excited that my craft room is our very next project, that I started working on that project today.   While I was sewing the edging of the rag rugs it occurred to me that I had a whole lot of cake decorating patterns that were so politically incorrect that they had to go. Don't get me wrong, they were ok to make in the mid 1970's, but this is not the 1970's anymore.   So I gained a whole 5 inches of shelf space back.  Yes, they were recycled. It may not sound like much, but it is a start.  

Rumor has it that the rest of the cabinets and the granite are arriving tomorrow.  

Changes

The remodeling has brought about a lot of changes real and imaniged. Real changes included Eric's nebulalizer over heating to the point it could not be used any more. The dead nebulizer is pictured below. So I pulled the spare nebulizer out today. Yes, we keep a spare nebulizer, doesn't everyone?   I have also been throwing away old preschool and elementary school arts and crafts projects. Yes all the old and dusty relics have made it to the bin.  I  would like to point out that I really can throw things out. I will spend more time going through the rest of the shellfs tomorrow so construction in that area can begin on Monday. 

I also spent the afternoon clearing multiple craft project off the large couch.  I will try to keep project on the couch to a minimum.  Shelfs had been ordered to help organize the craft room.  We now have room to put in shellfs since the treadmill has been moved out.  Yes, I have lost a hiding place.  

The imaniged changes include a stack of yarn boxes in the garage from my last yarn stash reorganization a few years ago. Since clutter is disappearing at a good rate, they are now visible.  Please do me a favor, if you are a fellow knitter and have gotten yarn out of one of those boxes or you remember me putting them there, please let John know that they did not move in to the garage this month.  Another imaniged  change was on my part. I thought that we could not move forward with the remodel until the tv was relocated to the other side of the room. This is actually going to result in the tv being moved.  John has ordered parts.  After that happens we will need volunteers to help John move the furniture around. 

So ther you have it, the real and imaniged changes for the week. 

Tile Work

The tile work continued today.  Almost all the tile is set. The grout was also finished on all the tile that is in place.  The tile work will be finished on Tuesday when the rest of the tile arrives.  We were also able to save the cut pieces that we did not use from the land fill, it will be going to a friend so she can spruce up her kitchen back splash. 

I also finished knitting one scarf and the weaving done on a rag rug today. My poor loom took the worst of it when I cut the rug off. By accident I cut the tech solve which holds the cloth warping bar in place.  So until I get more tech solve I will have to wait to start my next weaving project.  So I started another scarf on size 11 knitting needles so it should be done fairly quickly. 

I also get to start using the washer and dryer tomorrow.  The tile and grout  should be dry enough.  This is a good thing because the laundry is at least knee high, with at least 8 loads of laundry lined up right now.