Back to the Beginning

Like the game "Sorry", just when you're nearing the end you get sent back to the beginning.

Once upon a time this bedroom was painted pink and lavender.

Not any more...

Above the chair rail the new color is "Rainforest Dew", which looked like key lime pie filling in the can. This is what I was doing the day after Christmas.

And below the chair rail is "Split Pea", which looked like you would expect. And this is what I was doing yesterday...

The new colors are a lot more sophisticated and work better now that this room will double as a guest bedroom on occasion.

Toasty 2

Or too, as the case may be.

Earlier in the week I spent a little time burping the air out of the lines where ever I could. A little came out at each bleed valve, but not much.

Then I started playing with the fancy manifold that's now behind a base cabinet.

First, I reset the flow meters at the bottom to make sure that they were fully open.

Then I adjusted the balance valves at the top of the manifold. As it turns out, what are described as "dust caps" for the valves (blue caps) also adjust the balance valves. A couple of turns and...

The sound of water rushing...

And then...

Heat.

Now all the little piggies are happy!

Toasty

Even though it was -20F over the weekend, this still felt toasty.

Not because I'm always hot, but because the in-floor heat is now working in the master bath.

Woohoo!

It's not quite working as designed in the kitchen yet, but I'm fiddling with it...

Interesting that the room with my crude hand-made manifold is working well when the room with the fancy store-bought one is not...

Ha!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

We always buy the tallest tree on the lot.

This one is still 9 feet tall, but it looks shorter because of the scale of the space...

These two always seem to enjoy the poinsettia forest...

The Twelve Days of Christmas...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Where I might settle down for a mid-winter nap...

Back To Painting

This one's for Rhonda since she lives vicariously through this blog... I know this entry isn't long enough to occupy your entire lunch break, but I'm all talked out this week due to other factors... ;-)

Lot's of what's happening now are little tasks to really finish projects that were started earlier or re-do things that have since gone backwards.

An example of the latter is today's project.

Avid readers will recall the attempt to get the old fridge up to the attic and what ended up happening as a result.

The original attempt to get the fridge up the attic stairs caused some damage to the walls and chipped paint on the moldings.

As I've been mudding other things over the summer and fall, I've hit the necessary areas on the attic stairs as well.

A week or so ago, I did the final sanding and was happy with the results.

Today, in between other things, I painted the walls. Two coats are on and it's nearly dry already.

I still have to touch up the woodwork, though that will wait until I have all the woodwork prepared in the back hall on the second floor.  I'll use oil-based paint and there's no sense in having to clean the brush multiple times.

My Assistant

Even now, there are a lot of projects where I need an assistant.

I have one, but there are times when she's not that helpful regarding getting things done.

She has other strengths, though.

Coming Out Of The Closet

The door to the back hall closet has long ago disappeared.

Being in the "servant area" of the house it didn't really bother me that much.

But it bothered SWMBO.

Naturally, "we" needed to come up with a solution.

We'd talked off-and-on about possibilities over time.

And. lo and behold, this curtain appeared in a recent snail-mail advert.

Yes, amazing as it is, we still get snail-mail adverts.

SWMBO ordered it online and it arrived a couple of days ago.

On one of my daily trips to the Big Orange Box, I purchased the necessary drapery rod and mounting hardware. And I installed it in about 15 minutes last night.

It coordinates nicely with the runner and blinds already in the back hall.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity...

More Kitchen Details

There are some interesting details and features in the cabinets as well.

First are the spice racks that pullout from either side of the range hood. Normally they appear to be columns that support the range hood cabinetry, but the pull out to reveal small shelves that are perfect for herbs and spices.

Also either side of the range, and below the counter-tops, are pullouts for oils and other taller items.

Additionally we have a pullout for trays and other baking pans.

And more adjustable dividers for larger items that are used less frequently.

There is also a silverware drawer with double-decker, pullout, divided trays.

And finally, since I'm weird and abhor lazy susans, an interesting set of pullouts for the corner.

Just In Time

The kitchen was completed just in the nick of time.

The last of the tape and builder paper protecting the floor was removed Friday. I installed the window hardware Saturday morning, so I could spend the afternoon cooking...

The reason we needed to get the kitchen done was a sudden date change in a charity event we agreed to co-host.  It was an "experience" auction item for the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania.

Saturday night we, and our next-door neighbor, gave tours of our homes and served a meal to the group of 8 people that purchased the experience.

The salad and appetizer course (Andrew Zimmern's Bacon and Onion Tart - best served warm, yum!) were at our house. The main course, dessert, and cheese were at the neighbor's.

The new oven was fabulous in its debut!

Kitchen Details

There are a few little details that make the space interesting.

One of which is the Arabesque-patterned tile behind the range. The contrasting grout really accentuates the pattern.

The main body of the tile is dark green with a mottled, verdigris tone to it. This, plus the subtle green tone that appears here-and-there in the stone counter-top, is why we picked "Mountain Moss" green for the walls.

There's also a bit of terra cotta or red undertone that is visible on the beveled edges. It coordinates nicely with the red and brown flecks that are in the stone counter-top.

We also paid homage to the historical tradition of subway tile for a back-splash, but picked a tile with a few twists.

These have an unusual aspect ratio; they are considerably wider than is traditional for the same height.

Also, they have a crackle finish, are cream rather than white, and vary a bit in thickness which provides extra depth and visual interest (the irregular shadow lines in particular).

The ell-shaped counter-top required two pieces of stone.  The fabricators used adjacent slabs from the quarry so they could "book-match" the joint. That is, the two sides of the joint are mirror images of one another.