Laundry area

Last night Larry trekked through a raging thunderstorm to come help me lift that dryer up and set up the Laundry Room.

Thanks to Larry!

You can see I have some spackling left to do. I also have a wall that drops down on the right.

fun to see things look really close to what I planned! I am so glad that I sent the top cabinet back to get the 24 " version. It would have been impossible to reach the cabinet if it were 12" deep.

Due to scheduling, I have to wait until Sunday for plumbing. Oh well. Karma can be funny that way.

Last cabinet placed!

So, I got home from some business travel and spent Sunday getting the last cabinet up, and doing some serious drywall work. The last cabinet was deeper than the others and was going to wait for help, but when I got to thinking about it, I decided it was worth a try. I used the box it came in to keep me from having to lift it too far over my head, and leaned the back edge along the 1x3 nailed to the wall for leveling purposes. It worked just fine with the help of Dad's great wood clamps. They acted like a second pair of hands. Nina went up first to make sure I had done a secure job...

There is a panel that goes floor to ceiling on the right to close the space and make it look built in, but I have to finish patching that circuit box and stacking the w/d.

BTW, the plumber needed some parts, so I have to wait one more day for the sink and dishwasher. One more day won't kill me.

The Stove

I guess it is time to tell you the story of the stove. I have many words for the stove, but I will try to stick to the socially acceptable ones. The stove is fixed, but I had to go through a great deal to get it that way.

Remember, this story has a happy ending, so if you are in the middle of it and feeling despondent, as I was, remember there is a silver lining in every cloud or some such thing..
Or perhaps you should remember your eight-grade language arts class...all stories are built on conflict. Man against man, man against nature, man against machine, or man against himself. (can you tell I went to school before gender neutral language was instituted???!) Actually, I am not so sure about man against machine....but it fits here, so I add it.

The day after Memorial Day I go to that department store that is known for appliances and tools. You know the one I mean. I look for a new stove. My dream stove is stainless, dual fuel (that means electric oven gas range), slide in (no backsplash) and has a convection feature on the oven. So I look around. All of those are beyond my means. I look at electric ranges instead, and at the very end, the salesman, says Oh I forgot, we had a return! this lady decided she did not want this Jenn-Aire dual fuel range! It is half price! It is exactly everything I had just mentioned as the dream stove.

OMG! so I cannot resist. I buy it. It is at the top of my budget for this item but gosh, how can I get a stove like this. New, never used, no visible dents or any trouble. Half price. I really felt I had won the lottery. Elated, I decide to also buy the extended warantee, just in case. This may have been the only smart move I had made. I NEVER buy the extended warantee, but something just told me that I should.


They hold my precious stove in the warehouse while I demolish the kitchen. All of this work happens, and as we get ready to put cabinets in I have them deliver my dream stove so that we can fit the cabinets around it and perhaps I can use it in a limited fashion to boil water, fry an egg, etc so the Sub shop does not get all of my food money.

Delivery day is wonderful. They put in a new gas line (duel fuel, remember?) the electrician puts in the 220 line for the oven. I am ready to go. The gas range works great. However, the oven does not work at all, in fact the control panel does not light up.

uh oh. (woman vs machine)

It is time to call the automated repair service. I call. They say I have to wait a month for service. A MONTH? you gotta be kidding me. They hand me some dumb line that the dude only works on Tuesdays. (was never true) I argue, cajole, and call 4 more people and they come 4 days later. (man against man) Yup, needs a new control panel.

While I am waiting for servicedude, I look in the bottom drawer of the oven...a yellow reciept is there...with a lady's name on it...and the date Oct. 2003!!! Her phone number is there too.
So I called her. She told me a sad tale about the stove, that she used it for a month while they were getting her a new one, because she paid full price. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now, after 5 service visits , 10-12 calls to the service center, 2 different control panels, and 2 different repairmen, the stove is fixed. I thought of giving it back and getting a refund because the store LIED to me or at best mis-represented the item. I really tussled about this issue (woman against herself) I researched, I could never get a stove like this for the money...so I just decided to have it fixed. After all, I designed the other appliances around this stove, I already had spent the bucks for the dual fuel line.

Along the way, I hope that I was able to convince the service center of the company that they have a crappy system of making people sit home for 4 hours while they wait for servicemen who do not come at the appointed time. Maybe I have done my part for Corporate America and they will address this efficiency aspect of their operation. The company may have a stock price rise soon because the customers of this company are so happy with the new changes I have been a catalyst for. Oh, wait, I think I see a pig flying past my window... must go look!

I'm back. No flying pig. It was just my imagination.

Last night I baked a cake using the convection feature. It is delicious! (I know, I don't really need a cake, but it seemed appropo) It looks great, and it works. But it was hard won. The ordeal is over.

So close, its KILLING ME

I love this. The countertops make a huge impact. Anyone considering a new kitchen out there, be really choosy with countertop color. It can really change the image.

I was just so thrilled with this installation. They fit them custom to the wall, so my wavy walls look straight. They fit like a glove. The color is a good contrast and although it was a risk to pick a pattern that is pretty large...it really works. Well, it really works for me. To each her own kitchen...

I had a great time talking to the Panamanian who stands on the left of this picture. An amazing person who had so much insight into being an immigrant. He told me he was proud that Americans are starting to really learn Spanish. It is a compliment in his view and in the view of his friends. That really made me happy. It is a joy so see my country embrace another culture, even if it is for pragmatism. I love that hispanics are pleased that so many in the US are trying to learn this beautiful language.

So, here are some pics. Color is hard to capture in night pictures. So, I will take a few more tomorrow am. But, the bluer color is more true (teal, if you wish) and the close up of the pattern is more representative of the texture this big pattern lends to the project.

So, what is killing me is that I am so darn close. It will really be a kitchen when the dishwasher works and I can run water. (the sink is just placed, not hooked. Oh, I have re-adjusted the dictionary definition of kitchen. I need to write Webster's:

ki'-tchen n. (for. ME Gr kitschenwascherkammer) a room in any building where there is a working dishwasher and running water. A room with running water but no dishwasher is NOT considered a kitchen. (See bathroom n.) A room with food storage but no water or dishwasher is NOT a kitchen. (See closet, also pantry n.)

The color is really more blue/green and it has an effect on the paint. The paint looks darker because the counter reflects up on it. Neat. These colors have such a nice variable nature. Like hazel eyes, they adjust like a chameleon to the color around.

I am so happy about the stove. It is finally fixed! (more later abou that saga) and it is so sleek as a slide in. It makes the counter look unencumbered and visually longer because it is less broken up. The black is picked up by the dark counter, something I had hoped for. Did I mention it finally works?

(it was 9:49 when I took this shot evidently... : )

I guess my final comment on this topic is : Not bad for Laminate!!!!