Cabinetry & Tables

The next time I build a kitchen where there will be cabinets hung on the wall (which pretty much describes every kitchen), I'm going to make a meticulous plan showing exactly how the cabinets are going to be supported by the framing, with extra studs in the walls to facilitate an equal distribution of the load across the wall.

There is a conspicuous misalignment between the placement of the studs in the wall and the edges of the cabinets. I had naively assumed that the cabinets would line up with 16-on-center wall framing, but when the cabinets range from thirty inch to eighteen inch widths, it turns out that they don't.

So some of the cabinets have a single vertical line of screws attaching them to the walls, and others have two. Or three. Depending on width and match-up to the wall studs.

The one I was most worried about was the microwave shelf, which will probably carry the most weight. It has two lines of screws, plus I anchored it to the adjoining cabinets for extra support.

Now that the cabinet-hanging is all done, Cheryl has started filling the cabinets with cups and mugs and glasses and plates and cookware and utensils and all the things one would need in a kitchen.

I'm moving on to other things, like securing the ledge boards and finishing the window frames and the door frames and the thresholds between rooms and - oh, yes, there's still some ceiling panels to finish up. 

 

Meanwhile, I realized that the picture of the new chairs I put up the other day didn't show how well they match with the actual color of the dining room table (because we had a white table cloth on it at the time), so here is what it really looks like:

Christmas Holiday Fun

being a compendium of activities for the Christmas Holiday in the Year of Our Lord 2016

Manhattan Clam Chowder

It's the first time we've done anything with "live" clams in our house. Most of the time, we buy the canned stuff and make our clam spaghetti, or buy the prepared Ivar's Chowder from Costco.

But today, we decided to make our own Manhatten clam chowder. Which starts with real, live clams. From Costco (of course).

So they were on ice for I don't know how long, until I bought them and dragged them home. Then they were weighed out into appropriate portions and plunked down into steaming pans of boiling water and poured out into bowls and checked for viability then gently scraped out until nothing was left but the soft, squishy parts.

Half of them went into the chowder, and the rest were set aside for simply eating with crackers. Yum!

We also had Crab Louie and Salmon with a lovely béarnaise sauce, but I failed to get pictures of those ... because I was too busy eating!

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The Table

This is the way it has been for years and years, with the antique dining room table surrounded by six white chairs borrowed from the breakfast set. It's been that way for a long time because Grandma Green never had a set of chairs to go with her lovely dining room table, and when the table became part of our set of household goods, we didn't have the money to go out and purchase any.

But the breakfast set worked fine.

This last couple of years, while the dining room and music room were crammed full of boxes from the basement (because the basement was being finished), we were unable to use our lovely dining room table, and it languished in the darkness.

With the advent of our basement completion, we were finally able to clear out the clutter and use the fancy dining room table again.

And it was a lovely table.

But it just looked ... wrong. 

Until Cheryl went online and found a set of lovely chairs at a consignment shop that perfectly!  Yay!

So on her birthday, we went to the consignment shop and bought the chairs and brought them home and set them up, and we all lived happily ever after.

Except the cat.

Who has to sit in her own chair.

And is not permitted to eat at the table.

(Although we're not above giving her a bit of salmon now and then on her own plate...)

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Cabinets

The cabinets for the kitchenette are in the process of being installed.

Now that the den has a nice table with chairs and a couch and a refrigerator and a hot plate and a teapot and the plumbing is hooked up, it just seemed like the thing to do. So that anyone staying downstairs can have plates and cups and forks and spoons and hot tea and sandwiches and snacks and cold beverages and actually have a place to put it all.

The hardest part is finding the studs in order to drill the support holes correctly. You would've thought that I might've put together some kind of plan when I first put up the frames so I would already know where the studs were, but, no, that would have been too logical.

So I'm doing what everyone else does - using the stud finder to try and locate the studs, then drilling the holes in the back of the cabinets, the hoping when I put the cabinet screws in that they actually find purchase in something solid.

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Candy-Making

Mary decided to make some caramel candies for handing out to our friends.

On Christmas Eve - and again on Christmas Day - she passed out bags of caramels to people at church. Especially to those with kids. So the kids would get all hyperactive and cause havoc when they went back home.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Note: We did save some to have around the house. But not too many. Because they're addictive!

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The Star

Tabea and James sent us a lighted star to hang in the living room next to the tree.

Which looks very lovely when all the other lights are off. Unfortunately, I can't take a picture of it because the camera's auto-focus doesn't work in dim light.

Not sure why.

But trust me. It's very pretty.

Thanks, Tabea and James!

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Cheryl's Birthday

On Cheryl's birthday, we went to Meijer Gardens to see all the pretty Christmas trees.

My Lovely Lady

We even stopped at the gift shop! And found a book of Fun Places to Go in Michigan! Which is kind of odd, considering we've been here for twelve years and should have gone to all those places already.

My Lovely Lady in the Gift Shop

But there's a difficulty in going to all the fun places when there is so very little time due to things like school, work, house repair, car repair, etc..

Maybe one of these days, someone will drop a a huge bucket of Time on our doorstep and we'll finally be able to go to all those wonderful places.

And after Michigan - what next?

Three Pretty Ladies Waiting for the Train

Reflections on Camera

Not so sure if I really want a Moth on my Tree

Happy the Christmas Elf

Panoramic View of the Pond at Meijer Gardens

Baby, It's Cold Outside (And Winter Just Started)

Yeah, it's cold outside, but it's not really cold yet. In fact, this is practically a heat wave in comparison to some of the winters we've had out here in MichiLand.

It's gonna warm up soon. Tomorrow it'll even be above freezing.

But this is only December. Real winter doesn't start around here until January. And then things will get very serious.

The wind will blow. The snow will fall. The Lake will send moisture up into the air where it will crystallize and expand and float like dust for miles and miles until it reaches our house, then it will be drawn to the ground like iron to a magnet, and our yard will become covered by a beautiful blanket of white.

The same fate will befall the driveway, but not so much as before; because with the influx of cars in the stable, there really isn't any room for it. In fact, at this point, there is only one car's length of blank concrete left uncovered.

I knew there was an advantage to having all these cars!

Today the snow was slow and blowing and inconsequential.  There were a few slippery spots on the way home, but nothing to worry about. Tomorrow (Saturday) it is going to more of the same, nothing but Lake-effect, kind of the like the constant drizzle we endured in Washington state. We just get used to it up here. Always bundle up. Two pairs of socks. Emergency supplies in the car. Keep a bucket of kitty litter in the trunk. Blankets.

Oh, and don't keep jugs of water in the car if you're parked outside. They're useless for drinking when they freeze solid. (Also, as I have learned the hard way, don't keep cases of Coke in the car either. Same problem with more tragic results.)

Sunday, though, is supposed to be the big Snow Day. Storm coming in from the West. Supposed to dump all day long. Which will make church attendance ... interesting. Definitely driving the Subarus to church.

Speaking of cars, that reminds me: I need to get new tires for Deb's Camry. The current ones don't have the tread for dealing with snow. And when she gets home for Winter Break next week, she's going to want to drive it.

Which means I'll go back to driving my Subaru again. Which I've not been doing, owing to the fact that it needs brake work. And a tune-up. And another tweak to the exhaust system.

But first, a little plumbing is in order for the basement. We have a guest coming tomorrow and I'd like to get the kitchenette sink working.

So ... toodle-oo! Have fun in the relatively-warm, not-snowing part of the country you live in! (Except those of you who ARE enjoying a real winter, in which case I sympathize with you, and urge you to stay inside by a warm fire with a good book, a lap cat, and a cup of tea or hot chocolate.)

Snow, Reprise

Cheryl settles down to a bit of laptop work whilst watching the telly.

 We were boring this weekend and did nothing particularly stressful.

On Friday night, Cheryl and Mary and I saw The Philadelphia Story at Calvin. On Saturday, I worked on the basement while Cheryl and Mary prepared the Christmas tree (and a few other household things). On Sunday, after church, Mary and I saw Noises Off at Sparta High School (about twelve miles north of Grand Rapids).

While we were enjoying the play, a winter storm waltzed in and left us with five inches of snow.  Good thing we were driving a Subaru!

The Monday morning should be quite interesting.

A winter storm stops by for a quick visit.