Saturday, March 27, 2010

Yippeee...Maine Pictures

As excited as we are to be in sunny Florida (that's a small inside joke down here…a very bitter inside joke. We have not been outside to sit, eat or entertain ALL season because of the cold weather. But that's a story for another time.) we were even more excited to receive pictures of the kitchen reno in the house in Maine.

Here's a look at what we started with…first the picture from the realtor's website. The second picture is how it looked after we moved in. To open up the gorgeous view, I took down the curtains and Chris took down a row of cabinets over the peninsula.



Here is a longer view from the living room toward the far wall of the kitchen. The windows are to the left of the big black round tray hanging on the wall. The door standing open to the right of the tray goes down to the garage. Lovely carpet on the floor, even in the kitchen - ick. This wall and doorway will be completely gone in the finished space.

The demolition begins!!! Yeee Haw! Now the kitchen is completely open to the living room. The smaller window to the left was over the kitchen sink, but it will be removed in the renovated kitchen. The other two windows will be replaced with new casements.

Layer upon layer it comes back together... Just look at that beautiful new wood floor. Tom did a fabulous job blending new and old flooring together. This picture offers a great look at the new 6' slider which replaced the old steel door out onto the front deck.


In the picture below, the wonderful vintage Frigidaire stove is in place.

The countertops are South American cherry, but still wrapped in plastic. The cabinets are off white except for the unpainted ones visible in the foreground. They will be painted a dark spruce green. The light fixtures are still just hanging by their wires from the ceiling, but they will eventually be put up flush with the ceiling.

Other details include wainscoting with a plate rail. The peninsula below waits for the sink and dishwasher.



This will be my view when I am standing at the sink - looking toward the living room. Just after is the living room picture from the realtor.

We can hardly wait to see it in person.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Celebrating the Irish in Me!


On Wednesday we had fun with a golf cart parade here at the resort. I decided on the theme Irish Spring...mostly because the stores were out of all things Irish by the time I got out there to shop and because the "flowers" were 40% off at Michaels. Saving money always pleasing to the Irish soul. And, no, I don't think the cart actually looks like the hanging gardens of Babylon.


I am one-quarter Irish from my mother's side of the family. The Rodgers hail from Peggy's Cove, near Halifax, Nova Scotia. My grandmother Rodgers was one of 18 - 3 girls and 15 boys. Family lore has it my great-grandmother could knit a pair of socks in one evening.


The other story I remember my mother telling was the night my great grandfather decided it was too cold for the draft horse to sleep in the barn, so he brought it into the kitchen...onto the new linoleum floor. I think they both ended up back in the barn that night. Seems great grand da had a love for a nip of the whiskey from time to time. Well, at least I know I come by it legally.

I look a lot like my mother, who looked a lot like her mother, so maybe someday I'll meet myself coming or going during a visit to Ireland. That would be fun. Visiting Peggy's Cove (of the famed Swiss Air jet crash) is also on my bucket list. With 17 great aunts and uncles there have got to be a few cousins running around up there!

Our board president, Tom, Grand Marshall Larry "O'Whitlow" and Chris waiting for the parade to start.


There are more pictures up on my Facebook page.