Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

--I did not sulk, gripe, and pout as I lost a board game to my husband. And I definitely did not do that 2 nights in a row. No, not me….I’m not that immature.

--I am not refusing to face the fact that my son apparently wants to give up his morning nap. No, not at all… and I do not look forward to his nap times with great pleasure because it gives me a break and “me time”. So I certainly haven’t spent every morning struggling with him to get him to go to sleep, wasting more time than I would gain if he actually went to sleep.

--I did not give my son a “supper” of club crackers and raisins one night because we got home late and it was already his bedtime. No, I know that’s not healthy and I would never do that.

--I have most certainly not been letting the dirty dishes pile up all weekend because I don't have a kitchen sink. There's no way I just keep putting it off and watching the pile grow. Not me!

This Week...

So, things are going a little slower than hoped and planned with our kitchen, but that's kind of the way it goes with any remodeling project. One thing leads to another, to another, and to another. Last week finished one side of the kitchen as far as paint and cabinet installation. At the beginning of this week, Jeremy started tackling the tearing down of the old cabinets on the sink side of the kitchen:






Only to discover these cabinets were in fact the originals to this house, and had been built INTO the wall and ceiling, with sheetrock added around them.

The wall behind the cabinets was plaster and lathe, which was so old and damaged it crumbled with the slightest tap. Which led Jeremy to tear everything out and start all over from the studs:
Notice, there was NO insulation in this wall:







Starting (almost) from scratch. I've been without a sink or dishwasher since Tuesday.



This is what it looks like today. All the sheetrock is up and Jeremy's been working on putting plaster in the seams and filling holes, which is a very slow tedious process.




In between applications of plaster today he is working on the plumbing for the new sink, since we needed to replace ALL the pipes there.

In case you're wondering where all the "stuff" I took out of the kitchen is being stored, here's your answer:






What a mess!!!!!!!! :-)

So, this is where we stand as of this weekend. There is still quite a bit to do, including:

-Finish the plumbing
-Paint and border the remaining walls
-Paint the ceiling
-Install new cabinets and sink
-Cut and install countertops
-Tear out old carpet
-Put in new floor
-Trim the windows

-plus some other stuff I'm probably forgetting.

Shutting Detroit Down

I don't care if you're a country music fan....this song is awesome!!!!!



If you don't want to watch the video, here are the lyrics:

Shuttin' Detroit Down

My daddy taught me in this country everyone's the same.
You work hard for your dollar and you never pass the blame when it don't go your way.
Now I see all these bigshots crying on my evening news.
'Bout how they're losing billions and it's up to me and you to come running to the rescue.
Well, pardon me if I don't shed a tear.
'Cause they're selling make-believe and we don't buy that here.

chorus:
In the real world, they're shuttin' Detroit down.
While the boss-man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.
And D.C.'s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah, while they're living it up on Wall Street in that New York City town.
Here in the real world they're shuttin Detroit down.
Here in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down.

Well my granddaddy worked hard in that plant most all his life.
Now his pension plan's been cut in half and he can't afford to die.
And it's a crying shame. 'Cause he ain't the one to blame.
And when I look down and see his calloused hands.
Well, let me tell you friend it gets me fighting mad.

chorus:
In the real world, they're shuttin' Detroit down.
While the boss-man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.
And D.C.'s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah, while they're living it up on Wall Street in that New York City town.
Here in the real world they're shuttin Detroit down.
Here in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down.

Look Alikes?

A friend of mine has mentioned 2 or 3 times that she thinks Levi looks like the baby on the movie "Ice Age". I haven't seen the movie so I had to google a picture and see for myself. I guess I can see a slight resemblance...maybe. What do you think?

Another Chance to Win

I've run across another awesome camera giveaway. The family at "A Sister for the Bean" is working on bringing home Claire, a little girl from Korea. They are holding a raffle to raise money for all the related expenses. Tickets are only $5. Check it out and consider donating to a good cause.

Grieving the loss of an old friend

Progress

Well, we are now slowly but surely making visible progress on the kitchen. It's quite a mess at the moment!


Who needs a pantry when you have a windowsill??


There's nothing like getting down on the floor to put things in the microwave.


Notice the big hole in the wall behind the stove after we pulled the backsplash down.


Don't you love the groovy carpet that was under the old cupboards?? I personally think we should have went with this style. ;-)
The black plastic and duct tape are covering up an old asbestos panel we found and need to get rid of carefully.


Stove in the middle of the room.



Temporary storage space.


So, that's what the current status of my kitchen is. Needless to say, I'm not doing a whole lot of cooking. (just fixing stuff from the freezer) We have basically no counter space except a little beside the sink, which is where the dirty dishes always are. :-p