March 3 , 2010 – No More Painting
re-modeled Bay House kitchen 2
Re modeled bay house kitchen
I have just spent the last 48 hours painting the walls and trim in the kitchen of Pieceful Cottage -our vacation home….and I realized that taking off the painter’s tape is a little like finishing the binding on a quilt – it’s the Woo Hoo! moment. When the work is almost completed and you get to see the results. I thought I’d share a few pictures with you. It’s not my dream kitchen, but it’s way better than the old one with pink formica counters and dark oak cabinets. The flooring is next to be done, so try to image the floors as Oak, not the pink carpet and 1980’s laminate floor….well at least the wallpaper with the tiny pink tulips is all gone!
Happy Quilting
Betty
February 2, 2010 – Groundhog Day
What a silly tradition we have! Every February 2nd, we ask a groundhog to predict whether winter will continue for six more weeks, or shall we have an early spring. This year, the “official” groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did see his shadow, so he thinks we are in for more winter weather. And the weather forecasters seem to agree. We are expecting more snow tonight and maybe a bigger snow storm this weekend.
I spent all of last week at Pieceful Cottage, our retreat house in Wenona, Md on Deal Island. We are in the process of a kitchen re-do. I sanded and re-painted all 21 kitchen cabinet doors. We have new Silestone countertops ordered and we are addding a new deeper double sink. The cabinets are now a pretty off-white with brass handles for trim. There is also a new center island. We purchased this as unfinished wood, and we painted the base white and treated the top with a food safe stain. When finished the “new” kitchen will be stunning! I will post photos for all to see.
It snowed over the weekend. We had over 12 inches of snow in Wenona, Md. The locals told us it had been 20 years since they have seen that much snow on the Eastern Shore. The snow set back my ingenious plan for getting internet service to the bay house. Actually getting internet to Pieceful Cottage has been quite a challenge. When we first purchased the house, I was the one who vowed, NO TV, NO Phone, NO Internet! Well, we have phone and satellite TV and soon, maybe even internet. One week alone at the house convinced me that I am the one who needs the connection to the outside world via the internet. I actually started the search for an internet provider two months ago. Verizon contacted me by leaving a phone message, stating that “High Speed internet was now available in my area”. Wow! I thought, finally we can get connected. Since then, I have gone round and round with Verizon. It seems as though our house is located too far from a trunk line to get connected to their system. Boo hoo!
My next move was to contact the cable company. They said sure, no problem. They even gave me a price and an order number, things were looking good. But then, it came. A phone message stating I would need a site survey to see how far we were from the line. I scheduled the survey and on the morning that it was to happen, I got a call from the technician. He said he did not need to bother with the appointment, as he knew the cable line ended in Chance MD, on the mainland side of the causeway over to the island. Again no internet.
But I was not to be defeated. Last Monday, while I was at the library in Princess Anne, MD, using their internet connection to get my Block of the Week posted, I noticed that they had connections through a local satellite company. I phoned the satellite people and for a kings ransom, I can get connected. The work was scheduled to be done yesterday. At 7:30 am I received a call from the technician. He would not be able come out and install my system. He was snowed in! Unable to get out of his driveway, only had a front wheel drive vehicle. Foiled again!
The installation has been re-scheduled for this coming Monday. And so of course, there is much snow in the forecast….old man winter is out to get me again. Thanks Phil!
Happy Quilting!
Betty