Our Christmas Surprise

It all started over 6 years ago... we were sitting around the table after Thanksgiving at Rodger's parents' house. Rodger's Dad starts to make a family announcement... you know the kind... where you know he's going to say something important so you all stop what you're doing to listen... well anyway, he started to say that he thought it was time that we all took a trip to Hawaii, now that the 6 grandchildren were at a good age. Not too young anymore, as Cameron and Jack were 2 years old. Well, it was then that I had to interrupt the big speech and say "Sounds awesome but I think you'll all have to go without us... we're pregnant." Fast forward to last Christmas... the conversation came up again as we were sitting around the table again, after a big meal. We were all missing Art, Michi, Kai and Hina who had moved to Japan. Let's go to Hawaii!! Yup, we're in this time! :-) We waited and waited to tell our kids. The others have known about this for awhile, but we really didn't want to hear "when are we going? Are we going yet? When are we going??" for a whole year! So we finally told them last night. It was awesome!! Rodger didn't video the first part, where I said "Kids, we have some bad news about Christmas this year. We're not going tubing at Mt. Hemlock with your cousins this year." They all groaned and were very disappointed. "Aw man, why not???" I said, we're going to be too busy this year, but we'll still see your cousins. Actually, we'll be seeing all of your cousins, including Kai and Hina! "Really?? Are you coming here?" Well, not exactly. So anyway, I asked them what they would like to do instead, this year. Some of their ideas were: skating, go-carting, snowmobiling, tabagonning down the hill at Grandma and Grandpa's, etc. So cute. As they were thinking of ideas, I had them close their eyes and I handed each of them a clue of what we were going to do... Cameron had a summer hat, Simon had a bottle of sunscreen, Ruby had a pair of sunglasses and I put on the snorkel mask.... This is what happened.

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I guess you can tell they are really excited!! We are leaving for Oahu on Dec. 28th and staying in a house with the whole Talstra gang, in Kailua. 4 houses from the beach! A gorgeous beach, I might add. Everyone is leaving on different days, but we are out of the house by Jan. 8th, and then our family of five is heading to Waikiki for 2 nights on our own. We booked a hotel room right in the heart of all the action and it's going to be so fun! 5 weeks and counting....

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The Big Reveal

Well, it took over 2 months from start to finish... but I'm done my kitchen!! Yay! (Okay, well, I'm not 100% done but I'm not painting my fridge until the Summer...then I'll be done.)

It's been almost 2 weeks since I started painting my countertops, and approx. 10 days since I finished. Today I'm slowly & carefully starting to move back into the kitchen - I'm anxious for my life to get back to normal. It's been difficult to live without a functioning kitchen for such a long time, but we managed. I set up a folding table in the family room for our toaster/coffee maker/bread box, and it worked pretty well. I also had a little white table in the kitchen for cooking/prepping... using this tiny table has made me appreciate how large my actual kitchen is!

I used Giani Granite paint on my counters and it turned out great! I used the Chocolate Brown kit. I was pretty nervous about messing up my perfectly good (pink and dated) counters, but after reading a ton of reviews on the product, I decided to order it on-line. I couldn't get it locally, so I paid an extra $35 for shipping, but I feel it was worth it anyway.

Here's some "During" photos... first you prime with black primer, then you sponge on the 3 mineral paints and then roll on 2 clear coats which need to harden and cure for 14 days.



After all my hard work, my kitchen went from this:



To this:





I am so HAPPY!! And I'm so proud of myself. Yay me.

Here's a breakdown on the cost of my Kitchen Makeover:

Wall Paint: $0
Cabinet Paint: $100
Counter Paint: $110
Hardware: $75
Backsplash wallpaper: $50
Light Fixtures: $50
Artwork & accessories: $100
Take-out Dinners: $0

Grand Total: $485

Was it worth it? Oh yeah... every penny. Now, if I could just find my sewing machine in all this chaos, I could whip up a quilted table runner tonight to jazz up my table... maybe I can do that while the Canucks are beating L.A. tonight??

Fences coming down

I've been reflecting on our fence for the past few weeks.... let me tell you a little story about it....

We know our immediate neighbours, but not really all that well. In fact, I don't even know their last names. Or maybe it's written down on a post-it note somewhere. Our neighbours keep to themselves, although they're polite and wave... if we engage first. And they all look forward to seeing our kids on Halloween so they can give them a special treat (because they're the only kids who come.)

On the one side is a retired couple who have lived in their house since it was built, in 1979. Glen's a nice guy, a good neighbour. But he likes his personal space so it took years for him to warm up to us... our choatic/noisy/normal kids, our super messy/weedy yard... he said hello if we said it first, but otherwise he kept to himself, puttering in his perfectly manicured oasis on the other side of the fence.

The fence was just the right height for the kids to climb up onto the bench and lean over to chat with Glen. And eventually, he seemed to actually enjoy the relentless chatter. Over time he started to engage in conversation with them, and us, more and more.

But the fence was just enough of a buffer, as if to say "You stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine." Personal space.

So anyway, a few weeks ago we had a really severe wind storm, which brought down massive trees all over our neighbourhood and left us without power or phones for days. It was incredible!

The next morning, we were looking out the window and surveying the damage in our yard. Things were knocked over and blown all over the place, and large branches/twigs littered the yard. It took us a few minutes to figure out what looked different... and then it hit us: our fence had fallen over into the neighbour's yard. "Oh oh!" I thought... "Glen's not going to like that. He's going to want us to fix it right away."

But an amazing thing happened. He agreed that we don't really need to rebuild it, "for now."

That very same day, I noticed another incredible sight... my kids were in his yard, hanging out with the neighbour. Again, I thought "oh, oh! He's not going to like that." But he really didn't seem to mind, which still amazes me.

Today the kids were in his yard, helping him with his fire, chatting and stacking rocks.

It took 9 years to knock that fence down. I hope it stays down for good.

Spring Break 2012

I'm always a little jealous of people who get 2 weeks off for Spring Break. We only get 1 week and it always goes by way too fast.

This year, as always, Auntie Shirley came to visit for a few days. But for the first time, we decided to take a little roadtrip with her, up-island, for an overnighter. I found a great hotel right on the ocean, at Qualicum Beach and it was fabulous. The weather was cold and rainy, but we still had a great time.

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We took our time getting to Qualicum, stopping at the Doghouse restaurant in Duncan for lunch because I missed the turnoff to Cowichan Bay.. .how is that possible? Must've been talking too much. We spent awhile at the Coombs market before heading to the Shorewater Resort. It was pouring but we wandered on the beach anyway, and enjoyed watching the migrating Brandt geese, seagulls and seals.

After the kids got thoroughly soaked to their underwear, we headed inside, got on our warm jammies and had Happy Hour... coke and cheetos! It's traditional when Auntie Shirley comes into town... Shirl and I had alot of wine instead of the coke, of course. We watched movies, did some knitting, had hot dogs (another tradition) and just hung out with the fire on. So much fun! The kids slept in the loft and Shirl and I bunked up on the bed downstairs.

In the morning we had a huge breakfast, went back on the beach for awhile, and then sadly checked out of the resort. We did some wandering around in town then slowly headed for home. We ended up at Cowichan Bay, just in time for the sun to come out (finally!) so we enjoyed an ice cream before going home. An awesome mini vacation!!

Before Shirley left for home we did some shopping in Victoria, went out for a fabulous lunch in Brentwood Bay and just hung out some more. Then she had to go...I also hate to say goodbye and I'm usually in a funk for a couple of days afterwards. Her visits are never long enough... but we'll take what we can get! Love my sister! :-)

Seriously...

Come on now... it's the end of March for crying out loud! (And believe me, I do cry out loud sometimes.)

Rain, rain, go fly a big kite
I'm tired of my dorky S.A.D. lite!

On a positive note, I don't enjoy wearing sunglasses anyway.

I need me some "HELP"!

Ever since I read the book "The Help" and watched the movie, I've been craving some good 'ol southern fried chicken.... so I googled a bunch of authentic recipes, watched a few U-Tubes on the subject, and bought a bunch of chicken, Crisco and Buttermilk.

Long story short, I stood at the stove with my hot bubbling Crisco for at least 1 1/2 hours, making chicken that was boring, greasy and only slightly crunchy. And marginally cooked... I had to put some pieces in the oven to continue cooking. Very disappointing.

I watched the U-Tube... why wasn't my chicken as good as that Chef's? He said "Let's just say, if I was stranded on an island and could only eat one thing for the rest of my life... this chicken would be it." If that were me, I'd be a very depressed 400 pound woman stuffed into a bikini, wishing Colonel Sanders would come back from the dead. meet me on the island and give me his secret recipe.

So the moral of this story is... drive to the nearest bucket place, it will save you time and frustration, even if the drive is 40 min. one-way.

Unless your name is Minnie, from Mississippi, save your Crisco people.

But my sweet cornbread turned out awesome, so dinner wasn't a complete bust. As an aside, I also made 2 loaves of whole wheat bread, a huge round Raisin Bread and dough to make buns.... but since I was so busy making cornbread and frying the chicken, I didn't get around to making the buns. The dough is currently in the garage, after rising at least twice. I don't know if I can save it??

"Wing It" Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm only documenting this because my Chicken Soup actually worked pretty good tonight. So I want to remember what I did for the next time. Given the fact that I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner at 4:42 pm, I managed to pull together a culinary delight, and even the kids liked it! (Although Simon pointed out that it wasn't really soup, it was more like noodles with a bit of liquid.) Call it what you like, as long as you eat it! :-)


So, this is my "never been done before" recipe:

2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove

Cook that and then add (estimations):

1 tbsp. Epicure Curry Dip Mix
3 tsp. Epicure Chicken Bouillon
1 tsp. Coriander
Bit of Salt

Mix that up and then add:

3 celery sticks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
Water - enough to cover liberally all ingredients.

Cook it until the veggies are tender

While simmering, throw in a whole bunch of instant noodles equal to about 3 pkgs. of the Ichiban size squares. Use whatever you have.

Cook for about 3 minutes, until noodles are soft. Then remove from heat and add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 cream if desired - about 1/2 cup

I served it with homemade whole wheat biscuits.

Voila!

Cabinets are done, done, DONE!!

I am so excited... and exhausted. After 12 long days, my kitchen cabinets are painted and re-hung, and my kitchen is back to normal. For now, that is. I'm not done the kitchen makeover just yet... but I am taking a short break before I tackle the next thing. I'm tired.

Anyway, here's a reminder of my "before" kitchen:



And here's some "during" photos:



And here's my "After"!



I LOVE MY NEW KITCHEN! But I have to admit, during the whole process I really struggled with my decision as to whether to paint the cabinets white or antique them. My original vision was to have a white kitchen, but when I started painting the cabinets, they just looked "flat" and not quite right. So I chose to use a glaze on them and I'm so happy I did.... the look/colour just fits so much better in my home.

Today I just sat at my table and just stared at my cabinets, as the sun streamed into my window (which is rare these days). The lighter, brighter kitchen just makes me so much happier. It better, after all that work. And let me tell you, it was ALOT of work!! Oh my word, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I don't regret it for a minute, it was worth all the pain, exhuastion, whining... No, I didn't whine, not me! :-)

During the whole process, I also cleaned/organized/de-cluttered inside all my cabinets. You would've been amazed at all the stuff I got rid of!

Okay, as you'll see from some of my photos.... I'm in desperate need of some sort of backsplash to bring some colour into the space. I'm looking at wallpaper options but haven't figured out which direction I want to take: faux tile type of wallpaper or just something fun/geometric for a completely different look?

I thought about taking all the crap off the fridge, but who am I kidding?? My fridge is going to look like this for years to come, and who cares anyway? Oh, and on Monday I am painting the small wall by the fridge because there is very little contrast between the cabinet and wall colours... I am painting it a dark red which I think will look great.

Mmmm.... my counters are very PINK... I have ideas for that too. Once I get some sleep and my arm muscles have recovered enough to hold a paintbrush again.

White or Glazed/Antique??

I've dismanted 1/3 of my kitchen and have done 2 coats of the base coat. I'm now at the point where I have to decide whether to keep the cabinets Quilter's White, or add some glazing to give them an antique finish.... if I keep them white, I will have to finish them with one more coat, as two coats doesn't cover that well. (And not to mention I will have to buy another $100 kit because I'll run out of stuff.)

What do you think of the glazed cabinets? Suggestions? I really wanted a clean, crisp white kitchen but maybe the cabinets will be too "flat" and lack dimension... but I haven't decided if I like the glazed look! Help please!!

Kitchen Progress

I've been slowly working on my kitchen transformation. Here's some new stuff:

A new vase thingy for my utensils... way, way better than our old "wine chiller" terra cotta thing we used to have! Not to mention, it was way too small and drove me crazy... it's amazing what you can live with for 14 years!


I love my new light fixtures, and they were a really great deal! And I was thrilled to stumble across the artwork... I really had this "blissful" idea of doing some crafty artwork with the kids for the kitchen... but when I saw this I was excited... cha ching! Add to basket!! :-) It wasn't a super, thrift-store kind of deal, more like a Winners/Home Sense kind of price. Anyway, I'm just glad to have something on the wall and be done with it! And the colours are perfect.

Okay, so next step is to paint the cabinets. I'm hoping to get started on Monday. I'm nervous/excited! It's gonna be a TON of work, and I won't be getting any help from Rodger, so I better know what I'm getting myself into! Eeek. Wish me luck!!

Oh, and what do you think about a wallpaper backsplash? I found this at Home Depot and the wallpaper is shiny and has a slight bumpy texture to it.... the colour scheme on the right would work well.

http://www.wallpaperstore.com/scripts/Detail.idc?ProductID=530810&LogID=16986618&Page=1

First Coat....

Okay, so here's my kitchen now... Lisa gave me a bucket of leftover "khaki" paint last night so today I did my first coat. What do you think? Too brown? Keep in mind that I will be painting my cabinets white-ish eventually.

Beige/khaki/brown wasn't my first choice in colour but I was having such a hard time finding a colour that worked with my existing "stuff"... I initially wanted something clean, fresh and brighter than my old colour. But maybe this is colour isn't so bad?

I don't know if I have enough to do a second coat, so either way I think I will be buying some paint. Either in this colour or something lighter/different.... let me know what you think!

Kitchen colours - Help!!

It's time to give my dated 1980's kitchen a facelift. 8 years ago my sister and her family came for a visit while Rodger was out of town for business. We decided to do our own episode of "While you Were Out" (remember that TV show?) and painted the kitchen, complete with faux tile backsplash. I've loved my cozy kitchen for a long time but lately I am so sick of the busy backsplash and textured walls. This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago.



Now, I have a "new to me" white smooth-top stove, and I flipped the almond-flavoured panels of my dishwasher for a quick facelift. I bought white appliance paint and plan to paint our fridge in the Spring, and also bought new light fixtures that need to be hung up, and installed new hardware. And... drum roll please... I am painting my cabinets antique white in the Spring as well!! Woot woot!

But in the meantime, I primed over the backsplash and bought 2 colour samples from Benjamin Moore... here's a few photos of my testers:





HELP!! Seriously, I'm getting so overwhelmed with colour choices. And whatever colour I choose, it has to match my tile, burgundy banquette and purplish/brown speckled counters. I want my kitchen to be cheerful and brighter than it currently is... I'm leaning towards a lighter version of the mauve colour, just to be completely different. What do you think?? I don't love the green because it's too similar to my hallway.

For my Benjamin Moore fans, the colours are: Porcelain 2113-60 and Sesame CC-638 (which looks remarkably like Camoflage 2143-40 (hallway).

Let's see if anyone actually reads my posts... Ev?? Help??