Irish Coffee

At some point over the course of the next two nights, I will be making Deirdre a cup of Irish Coffee. It has been a while since I made this drink, but it is easy to make. When my parents were courting, they were both Air Force officers stationed at Parks Air Force Base outside of San Francisco. My father would sometimes take my mother out for dinner or a drink at places in the Bay Area. One place they frequented was a now world famous bar called the Buena Vista Cafe. Also known as the BV, the Buena Vista is located at the corner of Hyde and Beach just a few steps from Fisherman's Wharf. Years later, my parents took us to the Buena Vista during a family vacation to Californis and we realized why they liked San Francisco so much. The view of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate, the list could go on and on. We went back to the Buena Vista again years later when I was in Graduate School (and of legal drinking age!) and my father told me that he would happily buy me and any of my friends a round of Irish Coffee should we ever visit the Buena Vista. I was lucky enough to pull into San Francisco three times subsequent to his offer and each time I took a few close friends to the BV for a round of Irish Coffee, courtesy of my father. If you ever visit San Francisco, you must include a stop at the Buena Vista Cafe, if for nothing else to see the view of San Francisco Bay from the front of the cafe.

I made a change to the permissions to another blog

I have another blog that I am maintaining, it is called the East of the Equator Cafe. Originally, I restricted access only to invited guests. There has been a lot of foot traffic on the blog, so I thought it was time to open it up to anyone who wants to see it. Tied to this website is a Google Group where members of the group post recipes. Currently, there are over 50 recipes listed in this group and more continue to be added. Check out the blog and if you want an invitation to the Google Group, drop me a note and I will get you started.

HOW CAN A GAL GET SO LUCKY?

As some of you know, Dee and I have been suffering through a few plumbing problems the past few days. Our dishwasher has been leaking a small amount of water from somewhere. Our expert plumber Dave came by to see us the day after Christmas to snake out the drain line from our sink, but the dishwasher continued to leak a little water whenever it was doing it thing. We purchased this Whilrpool dishwasher in the fall of 2001, so we have had it a while and it never gave us a lick of trouble. This morning Dave returned to see if he could isolate the problem and allow us to use the dishwasher. Dave pulled out the dishwasher and discovered a seal might be leaking, so he made a quick adjustment to the connection and it appears that the leak has been repaired. However, if the leak returns, Dave suggested that we purchase a new dishwasher as the repair cost would most likely be almost as much as purchasing a new appliance. So if we have to get a new dishwasher, Dee will be the luckiest girl in East Grand Rapids. Not only did she get new tires for her car for Christmas, but if this repair does not take, she will get a new dishwasher, too!

One things that Dave discovered during the course of his repair work was an uncapped drain line underneath the dishwasher. At some point in the past, the previous owner of this house must have used either an unlicensed or an incompetent plumber. Instead of properly capping off this unused drain line, the plumber just stuffed it full of insulation and wrapped the top of the pipe with black electrical tape. Our plumber went right to work, cutting the pipe in the basement and properly capping it with a PVC stub. See his expert work in the photo to the right. Dave, a consummate professional, said to me, "I can't imagine what the plumber was thinking. You can't just stuff a drain line with insulation and expect it to work." So for at least the last 7 years we have been in this house, we have had an open pipe in our kitchen. Yet another reason to rehab the kitchen in the spring!

AND OH BY THE WAY..

I am happy to report that the vent fan in the remodeled bathroom has been installed and the bathroom project is now complete. Dave, the owner of HWC Homeworks, came by to see the project and go over the details with us. We could not be happier with how the bathroom turned out. Steve, the project manager for the company, called me late today to tell me that Jim will return and start on the second bathroom project on Monday, 14 January, 2008.

DEIRDRE'S NIGHTMARE...

Our meal on Christmas Night was nothing short of fantastic. We had a very relaxing day and enjoyed doing as little as possible throughout the day. Today, on Boxing Day, I was the first one up. Deirdre and Attila slept in a little, so I emptied the dishwasher and noticed that the sink in the kitchen was not draining properly. Yep, I quickly realized that we were facing a plumbing problem. I called our plumber, Dave, who arrived a few hours later. Dave snaked out the drain line. but he did not have enough time to work on a problem with the dishwasher. It looks like we will be doing dishes by hand until Dave can come back.

WEATHER NERD UPDATE...

Yesterday morning was an interesting day here in the Enchanted Mitten. The local weather wags had said that we were in a "Winter Storm Alert," so Deirdre was on the edge of her chair, constantly checking on the weather conditions. The forecast was for 1-3 inches of snow to fall, and Deirdre looked at me and said, "Don't believe it. I doubt that we will get 1-3 inches of snow." Of course, we were watching the Weather Channel. One feature of the Weather Channel is called "Local on the Eights," where the local conditions would be reported every 10 minutes. We had been watching the Weather Channel for perhaps 30 minutes, so I had heard the local conditions two or three times. Just before the "Local on the Eights," I changed the channel to ESPN and the Weather Nerd said to me in a stern voice, "What are you doing?!? It is time for Local on the Eights!" I said to her, "Sorry about that. I did not know that the weather had changed that much since the last update 10 minutes ago." I quickly returned to the Weather Channel and you know what? The conditions had not changed in the past 10 minutes.

And for the record, we did not have 1-3 inches of snow yesterday. We had 8-10 inches fall. Looks like it we will have a white Christmas after all!

Almost done!

I am happy to report that on Day 11 our new bathroom became operational. However, there is one more thing that needs to be done before we can use the shower: The vent fan needs to be installed. First, an update on what happened on Day 11 of the project. I suppose that we could use the shower as the bathroom has not had an exhaust vent in years, but we are willing to wait until the vent fan is installed. I also want to let you know that the lens of my camera is not dirty. The small round things on the image to the right are reflections from the dust floating around the bathroom.

Jim arrived at his customary time of 8:30AM and he immediately got to work. Today was the day to tie up all the loose ends and put the finishing touches on the project. Jim needed Lance the plumber and Paul the electrician to complete their work in order to finish the bathroom completely. The first thing Jim did was to set the remaining bullnose tile, then he put the hardware on the cabinets and drawers. I continue to be amazed at his attention to detail and his craftsmanship. He carefully measured each drawer and precisely attached the handles and knobs to the cabinet. One of the most critical projects of the day was installing the shower door assembly. I assisted Jim in this evolution and it was certainly a lot more challenging than either of us thought it would be. Jim expertly put up the track and guide assemblies, but attaching the handles to the sliding doors was quite a process. The next time any of you who read this blog pay us a visit, I will describe the process over an adult beverage or two!

Lance the plumber arrived and he immediately set to work, attaching the Moen faucets to the sinks. Lance and Jim put the sinks in place on top of the cabinets, and then Lance attached the water supply lines and the drain line from the sinks, and then he installed the shower accessories. In no time he then set the new Toto toilet and in a little more than 2 hours, he was done.

The "long pole in the tent" became Paul the electrician. Paul had a lot of work to do to day as he needed to install the lights over the sinks, the vent fan, the can light over the shower, the control switches for the lights & fan, and two electrical outlets. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete all of this work, but no matter, he will return on Monday and install the vent fan. Paul was a consummate professional, quietly and quickly setting to his tasks. To be honest, waiting a few more days before we can use the shower works out well, as the caulk Jim applied along the seams in the shower need 24 hours to cure.

Dee and I have a new problem: We now have a fantastic bathroom with wonderful walls that need something hung on them. Dee and I also have to do some cleaning up around the house this weekend as there is a little bit of dust pretty much everywhere!

Below are a few photos of the bathroom. Dee and I could not be more pleased with how this project turned out.

Deirdre's Chi

The fundamental life energy that permeates all living things. The movement of Chi harmonizes and invigorates, bringing greater health and vitality. To nurture Chi is the path of abundant aliveness.

"Chi - Breath of Life"

If you follow Deirdre's blog, you know that this bathroom project has disrupted her chi. The house is full of dust, despite my best efforts to stay ahead of the dust that Jim has been generating the past two weeks. Hopefully, Deirdre's chi will be back in balance once the bathroom is done and we have some time to dust and vacuum up all the dust. I just hope that we planned this project properly so that the feng shui of the house remains in balance and harmony.

Flooring and a second coat of paint

The bathroom is really starting to take shape. On Wednesday night Deb and I put down a second coat of paint on the ceiling and applied the first coat of paint on the walls. It is clear that the walls would need a second coat as we are coving a whitish-gray primer with a dark color. No matter, it is all part of the adventure! The big event today was the installation of the flooring. We chose a dark vinyl flooring with a pattern that went well with the cabinets. I helped Jim bring the roll into the house and we laid it out in the living room. Jim carefully measured the extant floor in the bathroom and carefully cut the out the rough pattern from the vinyl. Clearly, this was a job that calls for "Measure twice and cut once," for after the vinyl was cut, there was not a way to repair or fix a problem with the piece. Additionally today, Paul the electrician returned to remove the electrical outlet mentioned in a previous post. Jim was able to quickly patch up the hole, using his patented "Texas Hot Patch," so by 2PM I was able to apply the first coat of Kilz to the patch. I applied a second coat of Kilz about an hour later so the wall was ready to receive its first coat of paint Thursday night.



Deb arrived a little before 5PM and we went right to work, applying the first coat of paint to the wall that formerly had an electrical outlet in the middle of it. We wanted to get that first coat on that wall in the hope that by the time we finished the second coat on the rest of the walls that the heretofore singly coated wall. Our timing was perfect as the wall with the single coat was dry by the time Deb and I finished putting the second coat on the rest of the bathroom.



Friday will be the day that everything comes together. The plumber and the electrician will return to do the finish work on their particular part of the project. Jim will continue to do his finish work, too. He still needs to attach the sink to the cabinets, hang the new door, put the hardware on the cabinets and perhaps most importantly, install the shower door. The bathroom should be functional by sometime late Friday afternoon

Cabinets and the First Coat of Paint

I have learned a lot during this remodeling project. Some days, a tremendous amount of work is done, but there is little to show for it. Other days, it seems little work is done, but lots seems to have been accomplished. Today was a day when lots of work was done and it shows at the end of the day. Jim did a little more work on the tile in the shower enclosure, applied an underlayment for floor and he installed the cabinets. Needless to say, the project is really starting to look like a bathroom. Jim spent a while shimming in the cabinets as he wanted to ensure that they are perfectly level. Thankfully, the bathroom floor was pretty level and he was able to quickly level the three cabinets and attach them to the walls.

One "oops" that happened today was completely my fault. There was an electrical outlet along a wall that used to be hidden by the old vanity. I thought it was a good idea to keep the electrical outlet in place, despite the fact that two outlets will eventually be installed by each sink. This decision was a mistake as the outlet would interfere with the cabinet doors. Removing the outlet and covering up the hole will set the painting back by about a day. Jim arranged for Paul the electrician to come back to remove the outlet, then Jim will patch the hole, which in turn will allow me to prime and paint the wall.


Wednesday night we applied the first coat of paint to the other walls and I think that the color we selected really looks great. Deb arrived at the appointed hour of 4:30PM and we were painting just a few minutes later. It was apparent that we would need at least two coats of paint as the color, Brushwood, is dark and we applied it over a grey-ish/white primer. On Thursday night Deb will return and we will put the second coat on the other walls and get the first coat on the wall where the electrical outlet used to be. Jim will apply grout to tiles in the shower on Thursday and I can't wait to see how that looks. The planner, Jeff, came by today to look at the project and he "came clean" with me and told me that the large tiles were the wrong color! The tile we ordered was supposed to be the same color as the "bullnose" tile, which is the tile that goes around the edge of the shower and frames the nook in the shower. People who work with Dee would probably call this providential, but in my previous line of work when something like this would happen we would say, "It is better to be lucky than good!"

It is all coming together...

Day Eight is done and the bathroom is really taking shape. I mentioned to our craftsman Jim how the good the drywall work and the tile was looking. One thing that I have learned about the process is that some days it looks like nothing has been accomplished, when actually lots of things have been done. Jim spent the better part of Tuesday morning sanding the mud that he applied the day before, releasing lots of fine particulate dust into the air. I am confident that Deirdre and I will be dusting up the debris for weeks to come!

Jim cleared me to start paining on Wednesday night, and I enlisted the help of our friend, Deb Bakker. Deb is a professor at Calvin College, but she is also a fantastic painter who has helped me with other painting projects around our house in the past. Deb arrived at our house at 4:30PM and we immediately left for Home Depot to purchase some paint rollers and a can of primer for the drywall and the old walls. For those who have never painted before, there are two kinds of paint generally used in homes; water based latex or oil based enamel. Most older homes have the oil based paint as 30-40 years ago, the technology of latex based paint was not that advanced and oil based paint yielded a better finish. However, latex paint is now the paint of choice in most applications as it is a lot easier to work with and you can clean up with soap and water. Oil based paint requires turpentine or some other volatile cleaning fluid. Since this bathroom has a combination of new drywall and old oil based paint covering its walls, I was forced to use an oil based primer called Kilz. Kilz is a great primer, but it is very aromatic. Deb and I started to apply the primer and the drywall was literally drinking it up and it became apparent that I would need a second gallon of Kilz to get two coats of primer applied tonight. I ran back to the paint store to get some more Kilz while Deb continued painting. By the time I got back home, Deb had finished the first coat, so we waited for the primer to dry.


Meanwhile, Deirdre was cooking , which meant a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings, where she picked up some hot wings for us to enjoy while we waited for the Kilz primer to dry. Of course, we washed the wings down with a few adult beverages, and as soon as dinner was done Deb and I applied a second coat of primer. Kilz is amazing stuff as it adheres to darn near anything and forms a great base for the finsh coat. Our work was completed by 8:00PM and the three of us were we were able admire the work we had done applying the primer to the new walls. I still had more work to do on Wednesday morning, as I wanted to get the ceiling painted before Jim arrived. Thankfully, I was able to use latex based interior white paint to cover the ceiling. In a little less than an hour I managed to get a single coat of paint over the ceiling, and I was able to paint a stripe of white a few inches below the edge of the ceiling. Later today, Deb will return and we will paint the walls. The color for the walls is called Brushwood. Look for a photos of tonight's painting evolution soon!

Mortar and Mud... and Electricity

This is Day Seven of the project and the bathroom is really starting to take shape. Our master craftsman Jim spent most of the morning sanding down the mud he applied on Saturday and then applied some more mud. I guess that you could call it "finishing mud," as he is just about done with the "mud work" for the bathroom. Once he applied the last layer of mud, Jim began to apply mortar to the drywall surrounding the shower alcove and began to install the tile. Jim's attention to detail was clearly evident while he was putting the tiles in place. I watched him carefully measure and place the tiles, and he had to removed one tile because as he told me, "The tile was 1/16th of an inch out of line." I like his craftmanship!









Also today the rough electrical work was done. Yep, time to apply a little bit of Ohm's Law to the project. Paul the electrician came by in late afternoon and started to rough in the wiring for the lights over the sink, the two outlets (GFCI) by the sink, the can light over the shower and the light/vent fan and heater assembly. Much like Jim, Paul takes his work seriously and after looking at an electrical switch in our hall he said to me, "The switch in the hall is 51 inches off the floor. I normally install switches at 42-44 inches off the floor. Where would you like me to install the switches?" We settled on a height of 42 inches.



We are getting closer and closer to being able to paint the bathroom. Hopefully, Jim will give me the OK to paint on Tuesday night. Our friend Deb will be helping me complete this part of the project. Truth be told, I will be helping her! Deb is a fantastic painter and I know that with her help this part of the project will be a breeze. Now all Dee and I need to to is pick the color for the walls...

Motor City Kitties

A few weeks ago, the Detroit Lions were 6-2 and talking about playoffs. Before the traditional Thanksgiving Day game, the buzz was that if the Lions beat the Packers, that they would have a chance at winning the division. Well, in the six weeks since the Lions were 6-2, they have folded worse than any French army in recent memory. The buzz of "Restore the Roar" has been replaced with "What a pleasant purr." At least the Red Wings and Pistons are winning and the Tigers have made some major moves for next season.

The hapless Lions need to fire Millen, now. Since he became the General Manager of the Lions, they team has had the worst winning percentage in the NFL. Additionally, Millen has been the brains behind some of the worst first round draft picks ever made. Just where do Joey Harrington, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams play now? If Millen was the GM for any other NFL team, he would have been fired long ago. Until he is gone, the Lions will languish as a less than mediocre team.

Day 6: Mortar and Mud

Our expert carpenter Jim spent a few hours with us this Saturday afternoon to apply some more mud to the drywall and to put mortar in the joints surrounding the tub. We have made the house a little warmer to help the mud and mortar dry. Jim will be back on Monday morning to apply more mud and to hang the new door to the bathroom. Dee and I will need to pick the colors for the walls in the next day or two. We plan on a white ceiling. The wall color will be her call.

Day 5: Drywall and Mud

Friday was Day Five of our bathroom remodeling project and we are a little behind schedule. Jim thought that he could complete the demolition in a day and it took him two days to remove all the ugliness that used to be our main bathroom. Not to worry, Jim plans on coming by on Saturday afternoon to slap on another coat of mud on the walls and that should get us back on schedule. Many of you who read this blog are familiar with the world famous Marble and Mud blog, which is written and maintained by Super Mom. I encourage you all to visit Marble and Mud often for updates for life in the Valley of the Sun!



More about today's events in the bathroom project. Jim arrived loaded for bear, with lots of the water resistant drywall to install in the alcove that will become our shower. Jim spent the day putting up the drywall around the shower base, as well as in all the open spaces in the walls and ceiling. Once all the drywall was in place, he started to tape all the seams and then he mixed up some "20 minute mud." 20 minute mud is a compound that once mixed with water, begins to harden in approximately 20 minutes, so as soon as Jim added water to the mud, he was on the clock to apply the mud to the recently taped seams and openings in the dry wall. I told Jim as he was applying the mud, "This is where being a carpenter is more art than science." Jim deftly applied the mud in three batches, finishing his work for the day a little after 4PM. We shut the door to the bathroom so that the warm air from the newly installed vent duct could accumulate in the bathroom and dry the mud.



With a little luck, I will be able to start painting the bathroom on Tuesday night. What Dee and I have to do over the course of the next few days is pick out the colors to our new bathroom. We are thinking about a white ceiling and a soft, neutral color for the walls.