Saturday, August 31, 2024

Ninety Percent

The kitchen is ninety percent finished! That’s a great number in a kitchen remodel when it includes running water! More about the remodel later in the post. But come to think of it, 90% a good number for our post-Covid recovery as well. We finally tested as negative a couple days ago, after two weeks of yuck. Bruce still has a lingering cough and I have a bit of congestion, and we are both working to build back our general stamina. But it’s good to feel good again!

Since I completed all my orange scrappy blocks for August in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I focused on sewing up some 16-patch blocks for the It’s a Jungle Out There quilt. But when I say “focused”, it was a pitiful showing, because it seems the universe conspired to keep me out of the sewing room for all but one afternoon this week. I was either still feeling yucky, or had an HOA budget meeting to attend (by phone as I was still contagious at that point), or the contractors were noisily doing their respective things. 

Anyway, here is the mess of blocks, pinned up on the design board. 


Rather than explain the layout I’m doing, I’ll show you a quick sketch of my plan. The panel with sashing and 48 blocks will make a quilt that’s approximately 60x76”, a good size for a lap quilt to be gifted.


Last week I had 20 blocks remaining to sew. This week I matched up fabrics and strip cut all the remaining pieces for those blocks. That took more time than the sewing!

But I did get four more blocks sewn and have four more in various stages. One good afternoon should see these finished! 

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This week was the Big Week that really saw the kitchen come together. So on Monday morning, the cabinet guys were back to attach the final upper cabinets on top of the quartz countertop for the appliance station. 

In the afternoon on Monday, the tile guys came and set the tile for the backsplash. Then on Tuesday, they grouted and cleaned them and installed the window ledge. Note that there is uninterrupted tile; no outlets. I’ll explain that momentarily.

On Wednesday, the electricians were here all day to install the light switches, install the under-the-cabinet LED light strips and plug-ins, and hang the pendant lights. The electrical plug-in strips are mounted behind the lights under the cabinets. In the area around the sink and stove, there are actually nine outlets that you can’t see! When they were done, this is what it looked like.


Please excuse all the cleaning supplies and other junk in these pictures. Cleaning things during a remodel is a constant process. 

We also ordered three flush-mount lights in this same style as the pendants to use in the entryway and down our L-shaped hall. That was a last-minute addition, but we’re considering them an additional project, not part of the kitchen/dining remodel.  They’ll take a week or two to get here.

There are also three electrical outlets on the island; one on each side closer to the working end of the island, and one at the other (seating) end of the island to plug in vacuums and the like.


Thursday was a three-ring circus. The window coverings company came by at 9:30 to give us a bid for the plantation shutters for the three big dining area windows, and a shade for the smaller window over the kitchen sink. The electrician also arrived to install one LED light that he’d broken the day before. Then the plumber arrived and the window people left. So, the electrician and the plumber worked side by side. The electrician finished up and left. The plumber installed the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, and the faucet. But the faucet wouldn’t stop leaking, so we opted for a new one. So the plumber went to the plumbing supply place to get a faucet. He texted me three pix and I picked the one I liked, and he headed back. Meanwhile, Lowe’s came by with the new refrigerator and stove and hauled out the old ones. 

The appliance guys installed the refrigerator to the plumber’s awaiting lines. But they couldn’t install the stove because the 220v plug wasn’t finished. So…. The electrician had to come back (Friday morning) to do that. 

So here’s what it looked like at that point. 


Running water! That’s what I’ve missed most in the kitchen during this remodel. The fan and vent hood still needs to be attached. That and the painting and window coverings are the ten percent we’re waiting on. The painting and hood will happen next week. 


On Friday, the six dining chairs and the coffee table were delivered, and we ate dinner in the new kitchen for the first time. 


The refrigerator sticks out too fat in my opinion, but I guess we’ll have to live with that. I had no idea what a behemoth it was! They had to take the doors off to get it in the house. There is still ample room, though, to walk by.


So, that was my week. When the remodel is totally complete after the shutter installation, I’ll do a separate post with before-and-after photos of the kitchen and dining/family room area. 

Have a great week!

10 comments:

  1. I am in love with your African quilt. That ghost block worked so well on the panel.
    The counter depth refrigerators cost more than the regular ones and have less space inside. That is the trade off for not having the refrigerator sticking out. I would rather have the space inside. Your kitchen is beautiful and outlets up and out of the way is nice.

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  2. With all that going on I am impressed you got anything done including the cleaning!

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  3. Hurray for nearing the finish line on the kitchen project and cheers for being mostly recovered from Covid. Now you can enjoy your updated kitchen and get back to the important stuff, like sewing up a storm.
    Pat

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  4. Love how you are setting that panel--really neat, Cathy!! I've had a panel hanging (yelling at me to do something with it!!) and I love what you are doing a lot!-- I want to use up my 2.5" precut sqs so I will definitely check them to see what colors would go...[Can I shamelessly steal your idea??? ;))) ]..
    Happy that you've tested negative; it does take a while to get the energy back though for sure!!
    Your new kitchen is fab-u -lous...what a treat to cook in that space it will be for you...
    Rest up and I hope you are back to your perky self soon...hugs for a great Labor day weekend
    Julierose

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  5. 90% is pretty darn good, I'd say! Your kitchen is looking wonderful, Cathy! I love the light, bright look of it. And the Africa quilt top is looking good, too. That's going to make a great gift!

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  6. Whew, that's a lot of work, and workmen too, coming and going. At 90% you are almost there. We certainly do take running hot water for granted.

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  7. Wow, wow! It's looking great & so is the African quilt. So glad you're getting back to feeling normal. Covid is the WORST!

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  8. oh wow that kitchen - it looks great - I love your big refrigerator. Glad you are no longer contagious - don't be surprised if you have lingering fatigue from COVID - I heard the older we are the longer it takes - it took me a good month to get over all the after affects and noticed last week or so at 5 weeks since it began that I was back to normal. Oh the quilt looks great too.

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  9. 90% is cause for celebration! It looks so airy and up-to-date. The enclosure for our refrigerator is as deep as the machine, but that created an awkward corner. I'm managing. When I have exhausted all other things to worry about, I worry about how they will replace the lazy Susan shelves in that tight little corner cupboard. (The shelves in the preceding corner cupboard collapsed on one another. They were about 35 years old at that point, however.).........Your panel quilt is shaping up wonderfully, and only we who have read your posts know there is a concealed tiger.

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  10. Your kitchen is looking absolutely amazing! You must be so excited to see it coming together.
    Sorry to hear you and Bruce are still suffering the after-effects of the dreaded covid. Just be sure to take plenty of time to recover and don't rush into overdoing things.

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