Dust

On Friday, Number One and the Irrigator sanded the dining room and kitchen floors all day long. When the boys and I got home from school, they were still at it. We couldn't go in those rooms at all. The boys and I retreated to the master suite, and I occasionally went around the outside to retrieve apples from the kitchen for H-Bomb while Sawed Off continued his nap.


Nearly everything in the kitchen had been covered with tarps, and Number One turned off the refrigerator for the day. Now I know why we haven't moved many of our dishes and utensils and appliances back yet.

This morning, despite much shop-vac-ing by Number One, everything, and I mean Ev.Ry.Thing, was covered in dust. I wish I had bought more plastic tarps. I wish we had been able to finish the floors before the entire kitchen went it. Even though I know that wouldn't have been the best solution, given the months of builder/plumber/electrician comings-and-goings that followed the kitchen installation. Still.


The few cookbooks we brought over, which incidentally were under a tarp, were covered in dust. This clean up is going to be huge.


I pulled the coffee maker out of its pantry retreat, and cleaned the dust off of it. Yes, dust infiltrated the pantry. Thank goodness I hadn't moved very much in there yet! I wiped a spot of the counter top free of dust, just big enough for the coffee maker and a couple of mugs.

I didn't clean off the entire counter, because today is another sanding day. Hopefully we'll get a coat or two of varnish on the floors today too.

Number One and I stood there, admiring the floors. He says they shine when the sun hits them. I'm so proud. What a multi-talented cowboy I have!


And as you can see, someone has been having fun with this dusty situation. I guess it's not all bad! Those footprints look H-Bomb-sized to me.

Today's Projects

I thought I would take a break to show you some of things I've been working on today.

Our dear friend Margaret, with me as her assistant, returned this morning to finish installing the dining room chandelier. Isn't it lovely? It came in about 5 million pieces, with two small, vague pictures for "instructions." We had to figure it out ourselves, but we did it. Margaret is awesome!


I love how the chandelier centers the room, creating a nice, warm focal point, and how it contrasts with the red, and matches the windows. It will also eventually match the dining room chairs, when we get some.


Now I just need to get some light bulbs...and chairs for our new table. I promise I will post more pictures with lightbulbs and chairs! Someday!



I've also been working on installing the drawer/door pulls in the kitchen. The door knobs were simple, I actually put all twelve of those on the hickory cabinets and the island a few weeks ago.


The drawer pulls, I think technically they might be called "bin pulls," those are quite another story. We have a total of 25 drawer/bin pulls to install. The other day I put on three, then had to buy longer screws because our cabinets are apparently built so well. Today I put on six more, so far. See?


The gorgeous hickory cabinets fronts did NOT come pre-drilled, not that I expected them to, but I just thought I would point that out. It's not as simple as putting some screws through existing holes and tightening them. Noooooo.

First, you have to determine where EXACTLY you want the pull. You have to measure for the center, both horizontally and vertically, but you can't only measure for the center, because you have to take into account the height of the pull. So that's a bit tricky. I made a mark on a wooden yard stick, so I can put the pull on the yard stick, line it up and mark the horizontal center directly on the front of the pull.

Then, I use a little trick that Catherine taught me. She learned it from her father-in-law, John, and it is really great. I chalk up the screw holes on the pull itself, you know, so the holes in the pull where the screws will go have chalk on them. I line up the center of the pull on the horizontal, holding a small level under the pull, make sure it's level and then press the pull onto the drawer front. Just to be sure, in case the chalk doesn't touch the drawer front for some reason, I also mark around the screw hole thingies with a little pencil. If I'm lucky, I'll have a chalk mark and a pencil mark, which is reassuring to me.

Then I get my drill. I carefully drill the holes through from the front, countersink from the back just to clean things up a bit, then install the pulls. It is getting a bit easier with each pull I install, but I will be very happy when this project is done!

Did you ever think this cowgirl was so handy? Number One is a lucky guy. And I'm lucky too: while I was working, Number One grilled some delicious burgers made out of venison and pork, with tomatoes and onions inside. A toasted bun = perfection!

Oh, and I almost forgot! In Pantry News, Number One finished his gorgeous shelves the other day!




The shelves were inspired by this Swedish Shelving from Williams-Sonoma (below), but the price of their corner unit alone is $199.00. (not including tax & shipping)


We were sure we could make shelves for less than that, and we were right! We paid just over $200 for all the materials it took to make ALL our shelves that run the length and width of the pantry, with two corners included! There's no telling how much Williams-Sonoma cash that would have cost us, maybe someday I'll do the math.

I drew up the plans and figured out how much wood we would need in a couple hours, and then Number One built the shelves. I think they turned out much nicer than the inspiration, and they are sturdy--both boys were perched on the upper shelves the other day, "helping" their dad!

I'll post more pantry pictures when it is fully stocked and organized too.