The Kitchen is done!

I am happy to report that the kitchen is done. Jim finished putting grout on the backsplash, installed the cabinet hardware and nailed in a few remaining pieces of trim.










































Yeah, we know that the fridge looks like the Tot has been here, but in the course of the next day or two we will get ahead of all the smudges on the stainless appliances. Dee and I will now spend the next few days moving stuff back into the kitchen. We are trying to take a very Zen approach to the move of the plates and pots and utensils. We are going to have to let the chi move around a little as we slowly put things away. We have a brand new kitchen with a completely different fit, form and flow than our old kitchen. Life agrees with us.

Soggy Sunday

It has been raining here in the Motherland since Friday morning. The rain began quietly, a little after 8AM and has been falling, on and off, for two days. It has been a warm, fall rain. At this point of the year, you sort of expect it to be cooler. I was hoping to cut our grass this weekend, but it would appear the earliest I can cut anything will be on Monday.

Back to the rain. I enjoy days like this. I enjoy the sound of the rain hitting the roof and the windows. I also like the way that the rain seems to muffle all other sounds. Today is a day that Hemingway would have liked. On a day like today he might have written:

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To die. In the rain.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is not done, yet, but it is operational. On Friday, Roper Electric hooked up the dishwasher and the disposal. I cannot tell you how great it is to no longer have to do the dishes in a deep sink. Roper Electric still has to work a few finishing touches to some switches. Persnickity Jim still has to grout the backsplash, install the door hardware and a few pieces of trim. Jim hopes to be done on Monday. Later today, we will head out to pick up a few things for the kitchen. Our next assignment after Jim completes his work will be to move the plates, cups, pots & pans from their current locations to a new spot in the kitchen.



Again, the transformation of our old nasty kitchen to what is looks like today is nothing short of amazing.

Dan

It has been seven years since my friend and shipmate, Commander Dan Shanower, USN, was murdered at his desk at the Pentagon. The fight continues.

Requiscat in Pace

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/dfshanower.htm

Countertops

Today was a major moment in the remodeling of our kitchen. The quartz countertops were installed. The countertops are actually about 95% natural quartz, with the remaining 5 percent color flecks and a binding agent. The countertops were measured, molds made and then a quarts slurry was poured into the mold and allowed to harden. They are amazing.











Jim continued to work on trim and he started to tile the backsplash. The plumbers from Grandville Plumbing also installed the sink and hooked up supply and return lines to the dishwasher, as well as the disposal.

Jim has a few more days of tiling to do, along with some final trim work. On Monday, Roper Electric will return to finish their work on the puck lights, dishwasher and disposal. The transformation is almost complete!

GE Profile Appliances

Today was a big day in the remodeling of our kitchen. Jim installed three of the remaining four appliances. He took the appliances out of the boxes in the garage and he installed the fridge:









The range/stove:











And last but not least, the beverage fridge:








The pictures for not do justice to how the kitchen looks. Tomorrow, Jim will grout the tile in the Mud Room, then work on more of the finish trim. Each day we are more and more impressed with Jim's craftmanship and the quality of his work.

Home again

I drove to Grosse Pointe on Saturday to spend the day and night with my parents. The drive to GP was uneventful and the weather was simply great. I wanted to capture a few images of Lake St. Clair, so I drove to the Lakeshore Drive and took a few happy snaps. It was good to see Lake St. Clair again.

Simply amazing...

The photos speak for themselves. Each day we come home from work, the kitchen looks even more amazing than the day before.









That is Persnickty Jim in the image to the left installing the tile. On Friday, he will grout the tile. Today Jim put the trim around the breakfast nook. The pictures do not do the work he did justice.










Jim also installed the pocket door:












And Roper installed all of the lights in the ceiling and a few under-counter lights. Amazing.

Tile update

More tile was installed today. However, the tile supplier shorted us a couple boxes of tile. The extra coupel of boxes of tile will be delivered on Friday at noon. No worries, there is still plenty for Jim to do. Paul from Roper Electric will be back tomorrow for some more electrical work and Jim has lots of trim to install. I spent an hour or so in the garage buffing down all the wood trim with 000 grade steel wool to rub out all the "bumps" in the clearcoat. Look for photos showing the floor and Jim's progress in tomorrow's posting.

Tile and such

OK, we are now starting to see the kitchen really take shape. Jim started to put the tile down and he got a lot more done than he had expected to get done today. Apparently, the floor was a lot more level than he thought, so he was able to do a lot of "open field running" with the tile. He plans on finishing up the tile tomorrow.

Grout cannot be far behind!