Countertops

I know, I know. I haven't posted anything on the blog recently, but here's what I have done: washed loads and loads of laundry, driven Elijah to swim practice countless times, taught six evening classes, helped Andrew with homework nightly, taken Beau to the Dog Park twelve times, cleaned the house (kinda), cooked too few meals, picked up take-out too many times, gone to class at ISU three times, and otherwise tried to keep things running around the house. (In other words, don't gripe about the sparse blog postings--we've all been busy!)

Anyway, we now have countertops! Wow! What a difference the countertops make. No longer are we trying to prepare decent meals on partial pieces of particle board precariously set atop our cabinets. It was no easy feat getting the countertops installed, though. Trying to fit the cooktop into the lower cabinet proved much more involved than we had hoped because it set lower into the cabinet than we had planned for, and it was wider than any other cooktop ever manufactured. At one point, I suggested we use butter to see if it would help us wrangle the cooktop into the cabinet and countertop, but we finally did get it in without the food additives--just barely. The good news is that we didn't have to worry about the island countertop moving around before it was secured in place; the cooktop was holding it tight.

Next, we had to connect the two pieces of the countertop that run along the wall. Fortunately, Andrew had a friend over to play as Bill was trying to attach the two pieces, so Bill wasn't able verbally articulate his feelings about the countertop installation process for fear of offending Andrew's friend. (Notice that I'm not too concerned about our children being offended--it's been a long, long project with lots of verbal articulation of frustrations, and they're used to it.) I'll have to keep that handy little strategy in mind, and next time there's a nasty job to be done, I'll have Andrew invite his friend over again. Anyway, after an afternoon of gluing, attaching, connecting, and shoving, the countertops are fully installed. Here's how they look:

Not too shabby, huh? Of course, we have to attach the under-cabinet lighting wires, and we still have a lot of finishing touches left to do, but we're getting there. The countertops were a huge step forward. Hopefully this weekend, we'll get the microwave installed--which means more cutting into the oven cabinet. Hey, Andrew. Give your friend a call and see if he can come over, will you?

Oh, and Beau continues to grow. The last time we had him weighed a few weeks ago, he tipped the scales at 65 pounds. No telling how much he weighs now, but he's already a few inches taller than Dooley at the shoulders. Sadly, the beast still thinks he's small enough to fit into his puppy bed. Soon, his puppy bed will be his pillow--he just doesn't know it yet.

Lights, Wine, and Oven

We've made a bit more progress--some nice finishing touches that are really making the kitchen look more put-together. The light fixture above the island is in, and after much debate as to where it should be placed (and even more exciting trips to the attic for Bill) we're pretty pleased. Here's what it looks like:

We also have the measuring mix-up turned wine rack in place. Now I have a great reason to buy wine--because I have to fill the wine rack! Hey, I also have a great reason to drink wine--because we have some on hand! It's a win-win situation:

But perhaps the most exciting accomplishment is that we now have a functioning oven and cooktop. We had to cut into the oven cabinet to make the oven fit into the opening, so I think Bill and I were finding all kinds of other things to do so we could avoid that stress-inducing project. However, once we measured, measured again, measured again, and again, and again, we went ahead and fired up the saw. In the end, the opening for the oven was perfect! Whew! It's good to have that project behind us. Of course, the wiring of the oven was, well, a bit exciting shall we say? Let's just leave it at, the oven works great, and a few black scorches inside the cabinet will never be seen by anyone when the microwave is in place.

Now, all we have left is the countertop, which will be ready in about two weeks, and some cosmetic things like crown moulding and trim for around the doors and floor. Yes, the kitchen is finally taking shape, and tomorrow, I plan to bake some brownies in spite of the projected high temperature of 90. Oh, and the boys are excited because Bill's going to make them his world-famous pancakes for breakfast, too. Yep, having a functioning kitchen is quite a luxury, one that I appreciate now much more than I did before this project began.

Forward Motion and Tangible Progress

What a difference a day makes! On Friday, our kitchen looked something like this only with a better floor:

By the end of the day on Saturday, it looked like this:

Thanks to the tremendous help of Russ and the errand-running of Dad A., the kitchen really came together in quick order. We are so pleased with the cabinets! The cushion close glides are wonderful and the finish is beautiful. (For some reason, the corner cabinet has some discoloration in these photos, but in real life, it is flawless.)

Of course, it wouldn't be a home improvement project if something didn't go wrong--that seems to be our theme for this project. This time, the snag came when we realized that the sink cabinet would not be centered over the window opening. Apparently, someone's measurements were off by about 6 inches. Yikes! What to do? Just about the time we were ready to mount the off-set kitchen sink cabinet, Bill realized that we could switch out one of the narrower drawer cabinets intended for the island with a wider cabinet next to the oven cabinet. The end result: a slightly larger island, and a sink that is now centered over the window. The added bonus is that there is now a six-inch gap next to the sink cabinet--perfect for a wine rack, which I wanted in the first place but didn't have room for. (The short version: We has a slight snafu. Yada, yada, yada. Now we have a larger island and a wine rack.)

Then, on Sunday, Bill finished the living room floor, so now, not only do we have a kitchen that almost looks like a kitchen, we also have a functional living room. While I'll certainly miss the huge blue plastic tarp that covered our living room furniture and the lovely glow it cast across the room when the sun hit it just right, it is nice to have a room where I can sit and read to Andrew every night.

Of course, there is still a lot to do to finish this project: add the crown molding, trim the floor and the doorways, hook up the dishwasher, order and install a countertop. Now, some of you may be wondering how we've survived this long without a kitchen sink. That's easy. In the interest of saving our precious natural resources like water, we've improvised. Thanks, Andrew, for doing the dishes!

From Destruction to Construction

About a week ago, Bill decided to tear out the soffits, because, when it comes right down to it, there's nothing he enjoys more than being sweaty and covered in insulation. I made myself scarce by taking E, A, and the puppy to a Cross Country meet, so we missed out on the "colorful" language during the tearing-down of the soffits, but Bill did send me some lovely photos through text messaging. Pics like this:

Yep. It was a good day to be away from the house. Of course, no job goes exactly as planned, and this one was no exception. As he was swatting chunks of insultation away from his face, Bill discovered that the electrical work and the plumbing pipe went through--you guessed it--the soffits. So after a few trips to Menards, the wiring and plumbing were moved, and Bill was relieved to have one more nasty job behind him.

With the soffits removed, Bill finished moving all the electrical stuff, and then it was time to hang the drywall. Following a fun-filled day of attaching drywall to the ceiling, we moved onto the walls. Fortunately, we had lots of help. Beau always says, measure twice; cut once:

With the drywall hung, it was time to call someone to finish the drywall. We found the name of a drywaller who--get this--actually came on time, when he said he would, and finished the job by Saturday. Who knew?

While the drywaller was finishing the drywall, Bill worked on installing the can lights. You know him: he never wants to miss an opportunity to crawl into the attic and roll around in the insulation. The can lights look great, and all seven actually light up. (I try not to mention that there are still two lights left to be installed: one over the table, and one over the island. I think I'll wait to remind Bill of those two lights until after he's forgotten about how much he hates insulation.)

So, after a quick paint job, the kitchen is starting to take shape. The walls have color, the lights work, and we've started installing the floor. All this progress was made, mind you, during the Birthday Extravaganza Week with two delightful family gatherings and a lovely neighborhood party thrown in to boot. So, here's where we've been and where we are now:

The kitchen re-model is becoming more fun because each day the kitchen looks a little better than it did the day before. For a while there the room looked worse by the minute; now it looks better by the day. Of course, when I said to Bill, "This is starting to get exciting, isn't it?" he just stared at me and grabbed another beer. Hmmm. Wonder what that means.

Until There Was Nothing. . .Except a Groovy Floor

Well, we've been served our last meal. No, we're not awaiting a tragic fate--we've just removed all kitchen-y things from the kitchen and the room is officially empty. The last meal cooked in the kitchen, by the way, was Dad's delicious chocolate chip pancakes, a special request from both boys this morning.

After breakfast, Bill cleaned up, ran the water for the last time, and began to destroy the remains of the kitchen. I attempted to take the boys to church, (there was a church picnic at an alternate location this morning about which I totally forgot and then ended up missing church) while Bill dug in with a crow bar, hammer, safety goggles, and a whole lot of toil. By the time I got home with the boys, all the lower cabinets were gone, the stove was out front, and the dishwasher was almost out the door. Bill finished tearing out the drywall and then rewired a few outlets. Then, after moving a couple of switches, it was time to tackle the floor.

Ah, the floor. There were three layers of linoleum, each one uglier than the next. Now, I don't care what kinds of illicit things people were doing back in the 70's; there is no excuse for a floor that looks like this (see photo below). Plus, there was a subfloor that was 3/8 inches thick. The worst part: there were about ten three-inch nails per foot of subfloor--no lie! See the photographic evidence below. Bill worked all day and managed to get half of the floor out and to the dumpster. It looks like the rest of the floor will be coming out later this week. For now, we have a wide open kitchen with only the soffit and floor left to remove. Unfortunately, the soffit was built off of the rafters, so as soon as we take the soffit out, all the insulation will fall down, too. Anyone know any magic tricks to keep this from happening?

In the meantime, we're using the Mud Room as a kitchen. In case you're wondering what people eat when they don't have a kitchen, tonight's fare included grilled meats (sirlion), microwave mashed potatoes (no gravy), and grapes all served on the finest paper plates money can buy. Stay tuned for more culinary delights from the newest in fine dining, the Mud Room.

And the Walls. . . Come Tumbling Down

First of all, we're pleased to say that the mud room is functional and looks good to boot. We'll move the refrigerator into the room soon, but for now, the room has already come in handy. The pocket door allows us to feed Angus her breakfast and dinner without one lively little puppy harrassing her. Plus the shelves hold a lot of food which will come in handy when we get rid of the kitchen cabinets.

But the most exciting news is that the kitchen wall is almost gone! (Slideshow below.) From the beginning when Bill was explaining the ways of science to Elijah (ala Monte Python) to only the studs remaining, it took just about an hour or so--and almost no swearing! There is already a lot more light in the kitchen and the space feels huge! The next step is to work on the wiring which Bill will probably do today. Then, it's time to tear out the cabinets. It's starting to feel like we're really making some progress.

It Has Color

At long last, the mudroom has color on the walls, a floor, a light fixture (aka, space heater), molding (mostly finished), and cabinets in place waiting to be secured. The room is really taking shape as you can see from the pictures (plus a bonus picture of Beau and Angus fighting over the air conditioning vent). Bill put in a new door leading into the garage, so the room is officially part of the house rather than part of the garage. I'm already loving having a mudroom! Next, we'll put in a countertop. Right now, we're thinking we'll use some white tiles for the counter as opposed to a laminate. Bill will install shelves soon, and once we move the refrigerator into the mudroom, Bill will work on the bench--or not. We may wait on the bench and get to work destroying the kitchen. We anticipate the new appliances arriving the first week of September, and the cabinets are due during the last week of August. Wait--what's the date today?! Yikes! We better get moving, huh?

We managed to accomplish all this progress on the mudroom and still squeeze in a day on the boat during which Beau, we are happy to report, did not get seasick! We also took a two-day trip to St. Louis to visit the City Museum, Gateway Arch, and the St. Louis Science Center. It was a fun trip, and I think we all enjoyed having a little downtime together without drywall, paint chips, hammers, or tape measures. (slideshow below)

Of course, it wouldn't be life with the Grays without a few perils and crises along the way. Beau, bless his little heart, had a close encounter with a bee on Thursday. I guess we should have stuck with the name Ferdinand after all. Apparently the bee attacked Beau's mouth because by about noon, his face started swelling up like Brando in the Godfather--he needed a trip to the vet "we couldn't refuse" if ya' know what I mean. Two hours and one hundred twenty dollars later, Beau was as good as new. It's nice to see him drool again. Just about the time life returned to almost-normal, there was another incident with the little snarling, yiping, chewing bundle of joy. As he was jumping at Angus during a walk, Bill corrected him with the leash and the little buggar fell back, dislocating his hip. We called the vet again--we have the number on speed dial, by the way--and took him back in to see his new best friends at the vet's office. After an hour-and-a-half wait in the examining room, Beau limped back to the car, almost as good as new. We also moved a little faster having lightened our wallets by another one hundred sixteen dollars and fifty eight cents. It's nice to see him harrass the dogs again. Dooley is doing better about correcting Beau for his obnoxious behavior, but Beau still hasn't learned that trying to take Dooley's dinner out of his bowl is the equivalent of a death wish. Don't go by Dooley when he's eating--any Grandma will tell you that! But the little pup thinks he's invincible. The upshot is that Beau is on pain meds for his dislocated hip, so he's real sleepy and a most pleasant puppy to have around these days. (We're in the process of trying to get a black market life-time supply of his pain meds.)

Both boys are doing well. We got E moved into his locker at junior high. It only took him a few tries to work his combination lock, and all of his classes are pretty close together, so there's not much chance of him getting lost as he moves from one class to the next. Well, then again, this is E that we're talking about, so there is still some (likely) chance that he'll get lost. Hopefully, he won't get stuffed into a locker or given a swirly during the first week of school. He's still loving Cross Country and had a practice meet today which went well. Andrew is dreading, dreading, dreading the beginning of school, but since he gets to start the year in a brand new building, I'm hoping that he's distracted enough by all the new stuff that he forgets he's learning. Both boys start classes a week from this coming Monday, but unfortunately, I start work this Monday. It's going to be tricky getting the boys taken care of while they're home and both Bill and I are at work. Mom and Dad A are pitching in, and I think we have the rest of the time pretty well covered. If not, we'll just lock both the boys in the dogs' cages with a bowl of kibble and hope for the best. Hey, it works for the dogs. . .

Presto-Chango

At long last, the mudroom is starting to actually look like, well, a room. We started with this: and now we have this:

The drywaller came on Tuesday and, along with some help from one of his friends, had the whole room drywalled and taped in about three hours. It's amazing how fast the work can go when you know what you're doing. Unfortunately, they decided to come on the hottest day of the year. (The room is not air conditioned yet.) The drywaller will come back tomorrow to continue working on the walls, so we're hoping to paint this weekend or early next week.

Oh, and here's a nifty addition. In case you can't tell from the photo, it's a pocket door between the kitchen and the mudroom. Bill's idea, and a good one, too!

We picked out the linoleum floor tonight, and Bill's in the process of building the cabinets, so they should be ready for installation shortly after we're done painting.

And in case you're wondering, the hounds--all three--are doing well. Beau, in spite of his occasional bouts of insanity, is a wonderful puppy. He's learned to play fetch, sit, stay, lie down, walk at heel, and shake hands (or paws depending on your species). He's also learned to annoy Dooley and Angus, put his paws up on the coffee table in the sunroom, and emit a shrill puppy bark that sends everyone running from the house. Learning is good--sometimes.

In the meantime, Dooley has been helping out by harvesting produce from the garden while we're working on the renovation. Besides corn cobs and cucumbers, he's found some wonderful tomatoes for us. Anyone need some tomatoes? They only have a few little punctures. Otherwise, they're perfectly fine!

Biting the Bullet

We've made a decision. As of this evening, we are future owners of cabinets ordered through Home Depot. HD was running some really good sales (free roll-outs, free sink bases, etc.), so we took a deep breath and wrote the check for the cabinets, island and all. Now, understand that is was no easy decision. Well, it was actually an easy decision for me, but Bill had a harder time with it. Writing a check for something you can do yourself is, to say the least, unsettling. It may take Bill a while to recover from this one, but I'm pleased to announce that he didn't hyperventilate or hork in the garbage can while at Home Depot today. That's progress!

Our new kitchen will have roll out drawers, cushion close slides, fancy-schmancy hinges, a plate rack, a glass-fronted cabinet, built-in wall oven and microwave, large drawers in the island for pots and pans, and--get this--nine other drawers. Yep. You read that right. I am going from two drawers to nine! I'm almost giddy just thinking about it. The only thing the kitchen won't have is a wine rack which Bill can easily build. He's also going to make the crown molding and two decorative cabinets above the sink as well.

The mud room drywaller is coming on Monday, so we're hoping to get that finished in the next week or so. We'll use the mud room as a make-shift kitchen while we gut the kitchen, tear out the wall between the kitchen and living room, and start the kitchen over from scratch. Sledgehammers and safety goggles welcome soon!

Oh, and Elijah has only hit his brother with his cast five or six times (with four of those times warranted by Andrew's antics).

Broken bones and seasick hounds

Sigh. Just when we think we'll have all kinds of extra time now that swim season is over, we squander a day on the boat. Well, perhaps squander is too harsh of a word. We did, after all, finish the day with one broken bone and one seasick dog, and if that's not progress, I don't know what is.

We decided to take the boat out yesterday for a quick spin and to see how Beau would behave on the boat. He did great--at first, anyway. He rode along next to me, calm as could be. Little did I know that he was just calculating when he would hurl. Yep. Puppy hurl. Sorry to be so indelicate, but there really is no other way to say it. Either Beau does not yet have his sea legs or something else was effecting his digestive system, but we'll keep an eye on him.

Now, onto the broken bone. Elijah's version of the story (with our parenthetical remarks): There I was, teetering precariously atop a slippery log suspended twenty feet in the air. (The log was on the ground.) Suddenly, a huge vulture swooped down upon me, trying to pick up Beau and steal him away to feed his young. (It was a tiny sparrow perched on a nearby branch.) In a brave and desperate gesture, I leaped toward the vulture, sending it careering, wings akimbo, to make a hasty retreat to it's God-forsaken nest. (The sparrow pooped and fluttered off.) Slowly, slowly I fell toward a dangerous outcropping of jagged flint rocks jutting from the lake. (Moss, it was moss.) What was I to do? In an innate and skillful maneuver, I thrust out my muscled left thumb to break my fall and save me from certain doom--not to mention save Beau and the free world from nuclear devastation, but that's another story. (He iggied and fell down. It wasn't pretty.) Sadly, there was a price to be paid for my heroic gesture: a devastating break to my left thumb. (It was a hairline fracture which may or may not require a splint--we'll find out tomorrow when he goes to the orthopedist.) Andrew, an old pro at broken bones, ignored the entire scenario--he was too busy building a sand castle and yelling at passing boats for creating wakes which then ruined his sand castle.

We did, however, visit Home Depot once again tonight, and we're getting pretty close to a decent price on some lovely cabinets. It looks like Bill will be making a few glass-fronted cabinets and the crown molding for the kitchen and we'll order the rest of the cabinets. He'll also make the divider cabinet between the living room and kitchen. It's exciting getting so close to a decision. We'll keep you posted. . .

Decisions, Decisions

Thankfully, tomorrow is the last official day of the summer swim season. I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I will be when this season is over! More on that later. . .

We have the mudroom ready to be drywalled, and hopefully that will happen early next week. A friend of ours will be doing the drywall, but his three kids also swim on the swim team, so he's waiting for the season to be over before he does the drywall. (Have I mentioned that I'm really, really ready for the summer swim season to be over?)

Now, we have to make the big decision: Will Bill build the cabinets for the kitchen, or will we have them made? This may seem like a pretty easy decision, but it gets more complicated by the minute.

A brief history: We had Home Depot shoot us a quote for the cabinets. It was a little high, but possible. We had a custom cabinet maker give us a bid; his bid was more than twice what Home Depot's bid was, and he was going to use our own wood for the cabinet doors. He would have done a beautiful job no doubt, but yikes! Next, we had Lowe's shoot us a price, but they were slightly higher than Home Depot. Then, when visiting with Home Depot again, we discovered that the cabinets we were thinking about had a center post inside the doors. Now, if you've ever worked in my current kitchen, you know how aggravating it is to have a center post right in the middle of your shelves. If you haven't worked in my kitchen, I can assure you that it is, indeed, very aggravating! (Now, go into your own kitchen and thank it for not having center posts. Believe me, center posts are really, really bad and if you don't have them, be thankful.)

So, it was back to the drawing board at Home Depot (where the woman we're working with is quite nice and very accommodating). As you might have guessed, it's more expensive to have cabinets without the center posts. Sigh. Then, we had another grand idea: We could order all the cabinets except the island from Home Depot and have Bill build the island (to my very quirky specifications). This seemed like a perfect compromise. We could avoid the hassle of Bill spending every waking moment out in the workshop building cabinets (although perhaps he would like to spend every waking moment out in his workshop rather than bonding with the rest of the family--hmmmm), but still use some of our own wood and customize parts of the kitchen. Anyway, we're waiting for yet another quote from Home Depot to see what their bid will be without the island.

So the swim team. Good ole swim team. Allow me to ramble a bit here. Understand that both boys have participated on a swim team since they were, oh, about four or five years old. In other words, they're old pros at it. So, it's safe to assume that both boys know that they should pack, say, a swim suit for a swim meet. Oh, and goggles. Yeah, goggles. Maybe a towel should make it into the swim bag, and if they're feeling really ambitious, a few nutritious snacks and maybe something to occupy them during the meet between races. It's safe to assume, in other words, that the boys know how to pack for a swim meet since they've been doing it for seven years in Elijah's case.

Bill and I orchestrated the swim meet today with the degree of precision reserved only for space shuttle launches and presidential visits. The plan: Bill, who would be officiating for the morning session, would go to the pool with Andrew who would begin warm ups at 7:30. I would stay home with Elijah and Beau making sure that Beau was all tuckered out and ready to nap before leaving the house by 8:00. Upon arriving at the pool with Elijah, who wasn't scheduled to swim until the afternoon session, I would ensure that Andrew knew when and where his races were and then go sell Heat Sheets for an hour while Bill officiated the meet. Then, when Andrew was nearly done, I would have Elijah get Andrew to his last race so I could go home and let Beau out of his crate. I would then return to the pool with Beau to pick up Andrew (who swam only in the AM) and return home to tucker out the puppy once again before returning to the pool to see Elijah swim a few races. Then, the whole happy family would leave the pool and pick up a pizza and movie for Family Movie Night. Perfect, right?

Enter Andrew. At 7:15, when I was finally getting my shower before continuing to tucker out the puppy, the phone rang. Elijah took the message which explains why Andrew can still hear out of his left ear. (Had I answered, I would have most definitely screamed thus impairing the child's hearing.) The message: Andrew forgot. . . wait for it. . . wait for it. . . his suit! Yep. His suit. NASA, we have a problem. Now, understand that Andrew did indeed take a lot of stuff to the pool. He did not go empty-handed. He had a DS, a towel, a small blanket, pen and paper for drawing, goggles, and many other assorted necessities.

Upon getting the phone call about the missing suit I was, shall we say, miffed. OK, that's a lie. I was furious. The entire schedule for the morning was ruined. I really didn't have time to finish getting ready, get the puppy situated, and get Andrew his suit. Keep in mind that we live south of Blm and the meet was in north Nrml at ISU. What to do? After reaching Bill on his phone and recovering my speaking voice, we decided to meet halfway and hand off Andrew's suit. After the suit transfer (which was accomplished with all the finesse and precision of an Olympic relay team there in the parking lot of the local Dollar Tree), I raced back home to continue the aforementioned tuckering out (only in fast forward because now I was way behind schedule). I grabbed a cheese stick for breakfast and raced out the door once again to get to the pool to sell Heat Sheets during my designated time.

Whew! Have I mentioned that I'll be happy when swim season is over?

But wait, that's not all! After leaving the pool around 12:00 today I returned home with Andrew to once again tucker out Beau and feed Andrew lunch. The phone rang. It was Elijah. "Uh, Mom. I left all my swim stuff in the back of your car. . ." Could you hear me scream from where you live?

Wiring: Check

Well, in spite of the humidity and heat, Bill is finished crawling around in the attic, splicing wires, shaking off cobwebs, sweating, discarding dead mice, and generally have a swell time. In other words, the wiring is finished in the mud room! Yeah. Quite honestly, when I casually said, "Hey, let's put an outlet here. . . and another one here. . .Oh, and another one over there," I had no idea what was involved or what I was asking. Bill had to figure out where the exisiting wires went, which ones he could splice into, and--gosh, I really don't know what else. All I know is that Bill would occasionally appear in the kitchen, drenched in sweat, covered in dust, and say, "Tell me if this light goes out when I switch off the breaker." But hours and hours of sweat, toil, and almost no swearing have paid off. We have an outlet for the frig, one for above the counter, and another one on the opposite wall, not to mention two three-way light switches and this nifty garage door indicator that blinks a red light when you've left your garage door open and a green light when it's closed. Nice, huh? And during all this work, Bill has still found the time to spoil the cutest puppy ever, Beau.
Speaking of Beau, he's still getting us up only once a night (around 2:00 AM for a quick potty break and then right back in his crate) and then again around 4:45 AM. Potty training is going pretty well--or shall I say, human training is going pretty well. Beau has us trained to let him out every thirty to forty-five minutes (when he's awake, anyway), so we're all very proud of our progress in this area. Only a few times have we had a panicky moment when no one knew where the puppy was: "Where's Beau?! I thought YOU were watching him! Where is he?!?!" Otherwise, smooth sailing. Angus and Dooley remain extremely tolerant. Angus shows some signs of passive-aggressive behavior by occasionally stealing Beau's puppy kong and eating all the yummy paste inside. I try to turn a blind eye to this and let her get away with it, at least for a while. She is, after all, old and very, very patient with the puppy (who finds her tail incredibly entertaining). Dooley just hides in his crate or somewhere downstairs. He's always been afraid of small dogs. Little does he know that in just a few short months, Beau will be bigger than he is--unless Bill's claim that Beau is really just a six year old dog someone pawned off as a Great Dane puppy proves true. He insists that Beau's not going to get any bigger. Dream on!
Coming soon to a blog near you: drywall, flooring, and light fixtures.

And he shall be called. . .

Beauregard--that's Beau for short. Whew! With that weighty decision out of the way, we can now turn our attention to more pressing matters like insulating the mud room, playing with Beau, getting the mud room drywalled, playing with Beau, choosing a light fixture for the mud room, playing with Beau. . . you get the idea. With our new puppy, this mud room/kitchen project may take a bit longer than we had planned, but we think it's worth it.

And there was light. . .

Bill spent the past day or two alternating between playing with the puppy and wiring the mudroom. I'm proud to say that the sunroom lights are wired (and they work, too). Now this may not sound like a big deal, but Bill had to un-do one three way switch and re-wire it as a different three way switch if that makes sense. This involved much crawling around in the attic on a hot humid day. I know as much about electrical wiring as I do about neurosurgery--in other words, not much. The two things seem about equally complicated to my way of thinking. But I do know that we now have a three way light switch from the kitchen to the mudroom, another from the mudroom to the garage, and another from the garage to the--um, I don't know. I'm lost. Let's just say that the mudroom is wired, shall we? I'm pretty excited. Time to start shopping for light fixtures.
And the puppy. . . He is still the most wonderful puppy in the world. It's true. We've done an informal survey and he is indeed the best puppy ever! Still only three accidents to his name. There is something to be said for having two older dogs around the house to role model appropriate behavior for a puppy. Sadly, just a few minutes ago, the puppy decided to lie down on the air conditioning vent between the kitchen and the sunroom. Those of you who have been around our house in the summer know that this particular vent is the sacred spot of one fifteen and a half year old labrador named Angus. Yikes! Fortunately, Angus didn't see the puppy lie down on HER vent--not sure what she'll do when she does see him.
You may have noticed that I've referred to the puppy formerly known as Rufus and Ferdinand as "the puppy" in this post. Yes, we're still not completely committed to a name for TBPITW (The Best Puppy In The World). At first, Ferdinand seemed perfect for him because he was so, so mellow for a puppy, just like Ferdinand the Bull was so, so mellow in the classic children's book. Now, however, TBPITW has become a bit more puppy-like. He's wrestling. He's chewing on us. He's pouncing on a clump of crabgrass we pulled from around the patio as if it's a wild boar. So, I've given Bill an ultimatum. (No, I'm not leaving him; it's a puppy ultimatum.) I told him that the sun could not go down until we had a definitive name for TBPITW. He said, "Let's call him Mr. Puppy!" so I had to alter my ultimatum to include include the word appropriate. Now, don't get your hopes up. We have eliminated a few names from contention. TBPITW will not be named Otis, or Egor, or Tiny, or Felix. Sorry, folks. We have our limits. Names still in contention include Augustus (Gus), Rufus, Beauregard, and, yes, Ferdinand. (Bill just came in and asked what Scoobert was doing--sign. Perhaps I'll have to name him myself rather than go the democratic route.) After sundown, we'll let you know the name. The important thing is that he really is a sweet, sweet puppy. He awakens only once or twice a night (if you don't count 4:45 AM as nighttime). He's currently sleeping under the couch, and chances are he won't fit next week. He better enjoy it while he can. More later!

Or is it. . .

Ferdinand? Bill suggested the name Ferdinand and it really seems to fit. So, scratch Rufus; insert Ferdinand. When you meet him, you'll see what we mean! Indoor accidents: 1. Outdoor pottying: at least 8. How's that for a fast learner? He's the best puppy ever!

Introducing. . .

Rufus. He's definitely Rufus. Beyond adorable, he is the sweetest puppy we've ever seen. He's quite a mellow puppy and we're hoping he remains that way. In fact, the people who bred him said he is the most calm puppy they have. There's a slideshow below that shows the many sleepy moments of Rufus so far. Needless to say, both boys are completely excited about Rufus, until, that is, he chews up one of their favorite toys. Then it will be a different story. Can't wait for you all to meet him! Update: He awoke us around 2:00 AM to go out. We played for a while and then put him back in his crate. He slept until about 4:45. Not too bad for the puppy's first night--and only one accident in the house so far. Keep your fingers crossed!

Puppiness

Get ready, get set, puppies! Yes, we're getting close to the time when we get to pick up the as-yet-to-be-named puppy. (Dad A., I don't want you to be disappointed if he's not named Egor--even though you keep referring to him as Egor.) We pick him up at 7:30 tonight. I don't know who's more excited, me or the boys (excluding Bill who just spends a lot of time rolling his eyes and shaking his head). Anyway, as you can see from the pics, we have a king-sized crate which Andrew has already quality tested for us. (Too bad we didn't get the locks on the doors quickly enough!) And although the puppy was supposed to be my only gift from Bill, I received some other thoughtful gifts from Bill and the boys this morning. From looking at the photo, what do you think they're trying to tell me? I'll post photos of the pup later tonight. (I'm SO excited!)

Swim Meet Hiatus

Due to a swim meet last night, little progress was made yesterday. I did work for a while in Bill's shop organizing stuff so it's easier to find tools and such, but that's about all we have to report for now. We have our friend, Jack, coming out tonight to eyeball the mud room drywall job, so hopefully we'll have drywall in the near future. We still haven't decided whether Bill's going to make the kitchen cabinets or if we're ordering them. We'll let you know once we decide.
Oh, and both boys swam great last night! Andrew beat almost every one of his previous best times! He was like lightning in the water without the bad side effects of that natural phenomenon. And Elijah swam really well, too. He's a powerhouse in the water--all muscle.
Tomorrow, we're making a special trip to pick up the newest addition to our family--a Great Dane puppy. Yes, we are completely insane, but that keeps life interesting (and stressful, and chaotic). We'll post pics of the puppy later on Thursday night. We're currently taking suggestions for names. On the table so far are: Tiny, Rufus, Otis, Felix, Seymore, Augustus, Max, Thor, Pavlov (ha, ha), Neptune, Woodrow, Ares, and Stockwell. You are welcome to share other suggestions or vote for your favorite! (I'm leaning toward Augustus because then I could call him Gus, but we may have to wait until he's in the house for a day or two to really know his personality.) Let us know your pick for a name!

We Have a Wall

Yes, we have a wall. Considering that Bill worked all day and didn't start building the wall until after 4:00, that's pretty good progress! Meanwhile, Angus remained dejected and wondered why there must be perpetual chaos in her life, and Andrew took some time to bake his first lattice-topped blueberry pie. Not bad progress for one day. Next, we have to move the massive wood pile in the shop so that Bill can get to the other wall to put the boards on it. That sounds like a perfect job for two strapping young men, doesn't it?

New Room = New Tools

Well, one benefit of building on a new room is that Bill has a good excuse to buy new tools. Today, it was an air nail gun thingy. Now, I know that there's a more tool-ish name for this what-cha-ma-callit, but that's the best I can do right now. I know that this thing-a-ma-jig connects to an air compressor and makes hammering a lot more easy--and noisy.
We didn't get much done today: we had church and then a yummy family birthday meal in Morton, but we're ready to put up plywood along the outside of the wall studs and then insulate. Then, it's on to drywall. I can't wait!
Oh, and I think we found a color that we both like for the (sigh) Mud Room. (Sorry, I'm afraid that Mud Room is going to be the official name. I tried to use the name Pantry, but it just never stuck in my mind.) Anyway, the color is quite lovely. I'll try to post a sample of the color or give ya'll a link to a website with the color in a different posting. We're hoping the room can be drywalled within the next week or so--yeah! More photos tomorrow, hopefully.

We Have a Floor!

After a team effort involving both boys, Bill, and me (the photographer and mover of stuff that's in the way), we have a mud room--oops, I mean pantry--floor! And we didn't even start to work on it until after dinner (a mighty tasty dinner of almond parmesan tilapia with mango chutney, homegrown cucumbers, and a fruit salad--yum!). Both boys voluntarily helped out by cutting wood, applying liquid nails, and nailing in the floor boards. They were a huge help! Only once did some pseudo-profanity escape Bill's lips--he uttered "Sugar-Honey-Iced-Tea" at one point, but I don't think the boys quite knew what he was talking about. Thanks to the Gray side of the family for that handy little acronym! Oh, and Angus helped out (yes, she's STILL alive) by stealing hot pads from the lazy susan in the kitchen. There's another slide show below which shows the progress for the day.

(As I was typing this, Andrew was standing nearby and gave this account of the work tonight: "Humbly, the Great Andrew saved the day and single-handedly built the whole mud room floor with time to spare." Some imagination, that kid has!)

No Progress Today

Due to a swim meet tonight, we didn't make any progress on the Room Formerly Know As Bill's Shop (TRFKABS). We do, however, have a kind of walkway/path across the floor joists (is that the right word?), so we're not at a complete standstill. Hopefully, Bill will get some floor boards down in the next day or two and then it's on to the walls--how exciting.
Oh, and the boys did pretty well at the swim meet. The meet was inside a non-air conditioned pool, and may I just say, it was stinkin' hot--and humid. Because Bill worked as an official and I was the Head Timer, I decided to put Elijah in charge of getting Andrew to his races on time. I've had better ideas, to say the least. Andrew missed one of his races (backstroke, probably his fasted stroke), and now Andrew claims that Elijah swore at him (the D word, to be exact--gasp!). Sigh. Lesson learned: Elijah isn't quite ready to "babysit" his brother, and Andrew isn't quite ready to be "babysat" by his older brother. Does it ever end?
Hopefully we'll have some photos of progress on TRFKABS to share in the next day or two.

All Work and No Play . . .

Took the day off to take the boys to Lake Clinton. You know what they say about all work and no play. The good news is the cement footings are ready for the floor, and get this, it's level. Go figure!
Check out the slideshow at the bottom of this page to see some action shots of the boys on the tube. After one particularly big wave, Andrew made up a new rule for the tube: "No drowning the Andrew!" He's no fun.
Oh, and Bill wants to know if you think his swim trunks make his a** look big. Feedback on that will be appreciated.
Hopefully we'll have some progress on the room to show you tomorrow. Please be thinking about what color the mud room/pantry/secret annex (a la Anne Frank) should be. I love the dark blue that Mom Gray has in her laundry room, but I'm not sure I want to carry that color through to the kitchen. Do I have to coordinate the mud room/pantry/ancillary room with the kitchen or can they be different colors? Bill suggested the room be white. I said, "Nope." Then, he suggested eggshell. Sigh. He has no color imagination. Suggestions from those of you with more daring color taste would be appreciated.

Bill had to pour cement footings for the floor of the mud room/pantry. Thanks to Dad Gray for the idea to use concrete forms & cement to support the floor. Here's Andrew getting in on the cement action. He wants to use the left over concrete for who knows what--but it's bound to be bad. Don't worry--we won't let him play in the cement!

So, after just a day or two of clearing out the garage and working on the mud room/pantry, we have a clear space, the frame for the floor, and the cement footings. Not bad for a holiday weekend, huh?

I'm now taking votes as to what we should call this room addition. Your choices are:

A. The Mud Room

B. The Pantry

C. Bill's Former Shop (ha, ha. He's not happy about giving up the space, you know.)

D. Other ideas?

So, let me know what you think the room should be called. Hmmm. Now that I think about it, maybe we should give it one of those really long story-like names like they give racehorses. You know, something like, "Pennie Whined and Complained and Finally Got Her Way." It's kinda catchy, huh?

The Mud Room

Or shall we call it a pantry? We're adding on a 12 x 6 room off the kitchen where we can keep the extra refrigerator, the recyclables, and other stuff. For those of you who've seen our garage, can you believe that there's actually empty space? We've already filled ten large garbage bags, with more to come. I keep telling Bill that he's not losing shop space, but I don't think he believes me. . .yet!