Cooking Made Difficult

this weekend we embarked on a new adventure...and adventure of living without a kitchen for at least the next few weeks. our kitchen now looks like this:

a gutted kitchen

a temporary kitchen...you can almost make your coffee from 

the shower

temporary pantry storage under the stairs

the fridge

oh the joys of remodeling!

this weekend we also put 24 tomato and 11 pepper plants in our garden. i knew i was buying this many plants, but it didn't hit me till i was home that 24 tomato plants is a lot of plants! yikes! 

peace,

eric

A Completed Project

Last night I finished the texturing of the walls and ceiling in the living room and dining room after spending about 6 hours standing on scaffolding. I think I spent about 30 hours total on this project alone, so it feels good to finally be done. It also took  6 1/2 buckets of drywall compound, at least we have a good supply of 5-gallon buckets now! Hannah spent the day stripping wallpaper in the kitchen and tackling the enormous mound of laundry and other cleaning tasks we have been neglecting over the past few weeks. Painting the living room and dining room and removing the remaining kitchen cabinets by next weekend? I think it can happen!


Peace,
Eric

Dreary Morning

It is a dreary morning here in our little corner of Nebraska. It rained, poured actually, during much of the night, which figures since I took the time yesterday to water the garden. And, they are calling for highs only in the low 60's for the next week. This is May to April! Where are the May flowers? Where are the Pilgrims? I suppose I could contribute part of my mood to the fact that I stayed up way to late last night reading. A few weeks ago I picked up the much talked about international best-seller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Now I am almost finished with the second book in the series The Girl Who Played With Fire. I wouldn't call it excellent writing (of course they were translated from Swedish) but they sure are great stories. I would highly recommend them. ...just be prepared to go to bed way to late.

Progress remains steady this week here at project house. We may even be placing primer on the walls by tomorrow afternoon. I am finding it hard to work from home and look around constantly at all that needs to be done and not be able to go do it. Hopefully I will be able to get into office space soon!

Peace,
Eric

Cool Interview

Krista Tippett's interview with Desmond Tutu was excellent. Take a listen!

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/tutu/

Cabinets!

Today our new kitchen cabinets arrived!

New kitchen cabinets waiting to be installed...

...many things left to do until that happens

I am meeting Hannah after work today to buy a microwave, the last appliance we are purchasing at this time. Our refrigerator and range have a warranty on them until the end of next January, so we are not going to replace them at this time.

...its been an expensive day in the remodeling world...

Peace,

Eric

Progress!

The past week and a half has seen noticeable progress for the first time in awhile. Recently, it seems, our projects, while important, have not yielded noticeable results. This past week we put up a wall, a change of pace from taking them down. Our kitchen had a strange little corner that was empty with nothing in it, but too full when a table was placed there. So, we decided to erect a wall to make the kitchen more a galley-style. The little walled off portion (approx. 8 sq. ft.) will eventually be part of a bathroom. For right now it is a little hidden room...anybody need a place to hide?

Before the new wall

After the new wall

Our refrigerator currently lives in the middle of the room

Our new cabinets should be in this week. Things should start to look dramatically different soon! Anybody who wants to come and help is welcome, we'll pay you with something grilled! ...since our kitchen is not very conducive to cooking inside.

The construction project may slow down a little though since I (Eric) have found a job! I am working with a brand new ecumenical supported youth center in Beatrice, NE. The 429 Factory will have a gymnasium, game tables, meeting rooms and more!  Our aim is to be up and running by the end of the summer. The space for the center already exists and is almost ready. I am really excited about this new position. My brain has not shut off since I was hired last week...you can ask Hannah.

I have uploaded more photos of the remodel to facebook if you want to see more of what we have been working on!

Peace,

Eric