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Pals,
I’ve finally managed to set the sink, run GE’s finest clear sealant around the edge, install a new faucet, and turn on the water. Short of having a fit, or discussing design philosophy, or ruminating on ergonomic or economic decisions, I’ll just put up a couple pictures. Here’s the final product,
…and in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what I started with.
Maybe it was a mistake to mess with perfection, eh?
– bob
Friends,
This took much longer than I thought. Yeah, I put way too much water in the grout so I had to go to the local hardware store to get more (from a different brand in a different color). That’s not really what took so long, it just took a really long time.
Drying times, undercutting the underdone and way too sloppy grout with overly damp sponge. All the dumb mistakes of an amateur are here for your perusal. Behold!
The tiles are laid,
the sloppy grout was a mess,
but it turned out just swell. Don’t you think?
What a lovely day.
– bob
Let’s start with this. That electronic voting machine was the most convoluted gizmo I’ve seen in a very long time. I suppose the absurd level of Are You Sure That You’re Sure Syndrome is necessary for people who just aren’t all that sure their votes have been counted. But still, I was asked three times on the screen, then the paper printout scrolled behind a window. And scrolled. And scrolled. Even after all of that, I could change it again.
Absurd!
I feel not disenfranchised! Or something.
Your pal,
– bob
Here we go again…
I made a deal with my dear sister. I’ll host Thanksgiving at my place if we can go to her new digs on Christmas. There was some hesitation, so I sweetened the pot—with guilt! If we have America’s Biggest Meal at my house, I’ll have all new kitchen countertops installed before then!
Me and my big mouth.
Everyone in the family is excited about spending the holiday in the pines. They’ve all heard about the deal and thought it’d be neat to see my refurbished kitchen. Well, I’ve gotta tell you, me too.
New tile, new sink, new faucet for that new sink. It shouldn’t be too hard and it really hasn’t been so far. I was concerned that the water lines leading to the backsplash mounted faucet ran straight from the basement were unfounded. There were unions at a perfect spot to install new shutoff valves. Bits of panelling came out easily to allow for the new backsplash. We even got the entire field of countertop tiles laid today. That’s a lot for me to get done in a weekend.
I’ve got a little problem with taking plenty of time to do stuff. I sit, and I stare, and I think about how to complete a project for a very long time. Some might say way too long. The time deadline is good for me though, even though I’m feeling a little rushed (rushed? you’ve had the countertop extension in place for over a year. – ed The trees in the Money Orchard didn’t produce this year. More fertilizer? A trip to North Korea?).
I’ll just have to suck up the grand (so far) and make it so. And this, it’s turning out very nicely so far…
Things in kitchen go on table! Is crowded!
There we find the unions in a surprisingly accessible spot. We win!
The backerboard is laid, and my god is it sexy or what?
Can you feel the shut off valve love?
This is the original insulation in the house. Remember, this joint was built in 1949, so the “fireproofed cotton” isn’t really unexpected. Surely better than asbestos.
Ever hear of Lo-K? Throw your speculation into the comments, won’t you?
Hey look! It’s tile! The picture blows it out a bit, but the tiles trend towards green to go with the rest of the house.
Another tile shot that shows a mostly level countertop. How about that?
Your pal,
– bob
Friends,
I’m sure I’ll get tired of this teevee thing at some point, but Monday Night Football, people! The Cardinals are beating the Bears by 20 for the next couple minutes, so it’s been a decent game so far.
There’s too much to do around The Lodge though, so maybe I should cut back a little (that’s insane! you just paid a million dollars to talk to satellite number 161 to get those damn puppets to dance in that glass box of yours. now you’re “cutting back?” you’re killing me. -ed Gee, you sound upset.). Maybe just a little less?
By the way folks, it’s sure chilly up here in my little alpine nirvana. Autumn was pretty quick! Fog? Check. This morning for instance, I could barely see the pickup a car-length ahead. That’s fairly scary in the dark. Um, especially when you’re traveling at a rate that might perhaps exceed those prudent for the conditions. Meep.
And there’s this—anybody know what kind of oil I should use in the 5-speed transmission in the mighty moderately balky ’96 Dodge Dakota? The owner’s manual says motor oil. The service manual says gear oil. I think at this point it might have both in it and those shifts are getting kinda crunchy, especially when it’s cold. Like today! You know the drill… send those pearls of lubrication wisdom to info [crazy ‘at’ symbol] bobtherieau [period] com. Okay please?
Thank you please.
– bob