Twas the Night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
The pounding had quieted, the crew had clocked out.
The cabinets were all hung on the walls with care
In hopes that some cooks might soon be there.

The dishes were washed and all put away,
The laundry room tidy at least for a day.
I put on my jammies, Mike snored in his chair
I sat in the rocker, should I poke him, do I dare?

Outside the wind blew, the rain went pitter patter.
The new vent flap chimed in, oh my what a clatter!
I covered by ears, wrapped myself in a blanket,
On the punch list that goes and I know where to rank it.

My eyelids grew heavy, my breathing had slowed,
The movie had ended, someone said it had snowed.
And in my mind's eye what then should appear
But those shiny new appliances so expensive and dear.

Dacor, Wolf, Bosch, Liebherr I love you so much,
Along with cabinet door and drawers that close with a touch.
With plenty of storage everything has it's place
And when the gang is home there's lots of space.

I dreampt I was hosting a dinner for 10.
The menu was Greek and Italian and Cornish game hen.
The wine was uncorked, appetizers ready and waiting.
First rule in this kitchen "there shall be no catering".

The soup was simmering when the timer went off.
I lifted the lid, took a taste and then coughed.
The texture was fiberous and the aroma musty.
It was full of wood chips and awfully sawdusty.

Something's not right, what's wrong with this picture?
What could I have done to concoct such a mixture?
I stir and stir and now my arm is numb.
Oh wait, that's weird because so is my bum.

I wake with a start and stiffle a giggle,
Open one eye, big stretch and wiggle.
I creep downstairs and take one last look,
It will be another month before I can cook.

A wish comes to mind as I turn out the light
Happy Holidays to All!
May your New Year be bright!

New version of Johnny Mathis' "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

It's beginning to look a lot like progress
Everywhere I look
There's a pile of sawdust there, making me sneeze again
And nailing, sawing even louder than before.

It's beginning to look a lot like progress
With the hardwood floor
But the prettiest sight so far is the the sun through the glass
of those eight foot doors.

I couldn't wait for Xmas and started unwrapping. Santa gave me permission. He wanted us to stay on schedule. It's the 12 days of Christmas on steroids and the kitchen is taking shape. That first Saturday that it's operational I think I'll cook all day just for the sheer joy of it.

Before we started the project lots of friends said, "oh, lucky you, no cooking for 2 months. You get to dine out". I like dining out but it would have added another $5000 to the budget and with all the extra fat and calories I would be living at the gym. It's a nice gym. They just don't have laptop holders on the elipitical yet. Besides, I love to cook.

When all the dust settles my next project will be a cookbook for construction,"Cooking Construction Style". Catchy title, don't you think?
Hey, don't laugh! You can turn out some very tasty and healthy meals with just a microwave, toaster oven and crockpot in a laundry room. There's an added bonus if you have a rice cooker and a panini maker. We're not talking frozen t.v. dinners here either folks. More along the lines of, "Zuppa di Casa", "Luisa's Paninis" and "Pollo Rosto". If you want the recipes you'll have to buy cookbook (due out sometime in 2011 after I regain my sanity).

Santa came early!

And what to my wonderous eyes should appear but boxes and boxes of cabinets so dear! So many that they filled the living and dining rooms. I was as excited as a little kid at Xmas. Oh, how I wanted to open all those packages. I should have taken lessons from my brothers. They were very adept at opening their presents under the tree before the day and cleverly closing them back up.
I was a good and just looked at what was visible. Ooooh, aaaah! Oh, there's the knife block. Look how cool the new silverware drawer turned out. They followed the drawing exactly! There's the mixer lift.
I'm not weird....it's the construction dust...really!

Progress stinks!

Progress stinks, literally! It's a kind of plast-icky, dusty, sour sort of smell. (If it was wine it would definitely be corked.) Remember all those holes that the drywall rats ate? They were nicely patched up, taped and and then came the mud (drywall compound). All mud has smells. There nice, not so nice and, stinky (i.e. that found near bovines or volcanic activities). I've popped in on projects during the drywall phase and knew this type of mud had its own odor but never did I realize it really STINKS until I had to live with it 24/7. It took about 4 days to dissapate. Ah, blessed relief just in time for painting.
With the exception of a few, paint nowadays doesn't have much smell. At least the brands that I specify and use. Sometimes, despite the construction specifications, painters take it upon themselves to purchase a different brand. As long as the color is right o.k. I'll let it go. Such is the case with the existing ceiling paint. I wasn't around when the ceiling was painted originally but I was here when it was painted for the remodel. To avoid any litigeous situations I won't mention the brand but, really people, perfumed paint! Pee-Uoooo! There are regulations for low/non VOCs (volatile compounds) and the should be one for scents!

Dust, noise, dirt and smells....Progress....it's all good!

Boys and their Toys

I have 2 younger brothers and we spent many days with a family of 7 boys. I know boys, their toys, and the mischief they can get into with those toys. The definition of "toys" changes from the toy store variety to tools, gadgets, cars etc as time passes. Put a tool in their hands, especially the powered variety, and watch their eyes glaze over as grown men revert to overzealous 8 year olds. Vrmmmm. VRMMMMMM!
Of course, this has "nothing" to do with the swiss cheese ceiling. Wiring needed to be threaded through the joists. Uh,huh! I'm not sure that many holes were necessary. It was just too much fun watching those nice round holes come out.
Now propane torches are another matter. Water heater pilot lights are meant to be lit with a long match or bbq lighter. Propane torches melt water heater insides, make for cold homeowners' showers, and really p.o. plumber's bosses. Yes, this is a true story and it just happened to us.
As I said...boys and their toys!