Hard Hat - Labor Day

With the help of Nick, Cody & Justin the cabinets and old paneling came down quite fast. After helping where they could, they settled in for computer games and movies while Jim and I worked with graph paper to decide what would go where. The new window is a blessing and a curse when it comes to laying out the wall. We charted the new location of cabinets then called it a night.

On Labor Day we labored. First order of business was purchasing our backsplash and countertop. Getting them into the van was difficult but with the help of a good Samaritan we were loaded and Jim and I crammed our seats so far up that I don't know how Jim drove! I was laughing about how squished we were until he mentioned that it would be a bad time for the airbags to go off. The rest of the trip I held my breath and kept my fingers crossed.

With our building materials, a new circular saw and a florescent green hard hat, we were ready to remodel. Jim measured twice and cut once, just like the carpenter he was trained to be. As he has always told me, prep work is the hardest part of any job and this was no exception. By late Monday evening we had only two sections of backsplash up. Our work is on standby until we get the window framed in and know our dimensions for the remaining backsplash. My new countertop is safely stored in the Volvo wagon, waiting for this turn to be added to our new kitchen. I have to admit that I am very impatient and would have worked through the night if we could have. My gimpy knee certainly isn't making the task any easier, either.

We looked at the window Jim had saved and decided that we might not use it after all. It's a much bigger window than we would have chosen and the frame has yellowed just a bit over the years. The final decision was based on the amount of space the existing window would take. If we go just a tad smaller we will have room for one more cabinet over the counter and that is a major factor in our small kitchen.