Mid-January update

I guess it's later than "mid" January, and that's a relatively boring title for what seems to me to be an exciting post! Jeremy and Todd have been working feverishly on the house. Todd is a madman on stilts as he works to get the drywall mudded and ready for sanding, and Jeremy did a weekend's worth of work in a day yesterday by hooking up/installing the range hood, the instahot, and the soap dispenser, plus a couple of lights in the mudroom. We have not been without upsets, though, chief among them a mysterious illness that floored Jeremy and me for 3 days last week (hopefully Todd does not have it). The granite is 97% great, although our dealings with C-Stone Counters management leaves much to be desired and they will NOT get any recommendations from us. So . . . pictures, anyone?

First of all, what the kitchen looks like this morning from the front door.

Yes, we have some more work to do. We decided on and ordered pulls and knobs yesterday, and toady's missions include a trip to Lowe's to bring home yet more paint chips. Todd is hoping to get the drywall done early this week, and then he'll get to the bar top.

2. A picture of Todd. He is indeed tall, but he's 18" taller in this snap because he is on stilts.

3. I also have to post a picture of the cooktop and hood combo. Both appliances were on the difficult side to source, and I am happy to say that both (so far!) seem to be well worth the hassle. The cooktop (a Caldera) is 36" wide, big enough for 5 good-size pots on the burners all at once, and room for 2 cooks to work in peace at the same time (tested!). The hood (Sirius) was used for the first time yesterday on canadian bacon in the morning and pasta in the evening - quiet and efficient, as promised. Note the tile piles on the left of the cooktop - our eventual backsplash, or some ideas of what we'll use.

Other news is that we moved the temporary kitchen out of the "old" family room and put in the eating table. (we don't need it anymore!) The room is plenty big enough for such a set up, and we ate dinner in there last night with cousin James and his girlfriend Eliza - fire roaring and all. Nice inauguration! So we are moving right along. I'll keep everyone posted as to the party date, but I am hoping we can have a birthday bash for Jeremy along with a house-warming party.