Minivan (Revised With Corrected Information)

I'd take a picture, but I'm in my jammies and it's raining and the car isn't at the house, but in the parking lot at the office. Our ill fated minivan is up for grabs. It is a gray 1997 Dodge Caravan in good condition except for the transmission now, and motor mounts down the road. We had estimates on the transmission of $3000 for a brand new one installed or $1,000 to $1,200 for a rebuild (in Las Vegas)--both good shops. It has a little over 121,000 miles on it, which is one reason we bought it, thinking it still had a lot of good life in it. Now we have a good pickup truck and don't really need the minivan. Anyway, if anyone is in the market for a minivan, we'll sign over the title and you can take it from there. The interior is good. The body has a couple of dents, but nothing serious. Let me know, because if we don't have any takers we'll just donate or put it on Craigs List depending on how much patience I have.

At Last, Summit Kitchen

Let's start with the old. I found this picture in the "archive" and it shows most of my old kitchen. The door at the back goes into a small laundry area and another door beyond that leads to the garage. The door is the only part of the kitchen which didn't change. You can see a corner of the stove on the left. It was pretty small.

We blew out the back wall and incorporated part of the back porch into the new space. It didn't change the roof line or the footprint, but you can see the black pipes that were in the old exterior wall, and the holes in the concrete pad where the plumbing had to be moved--big, big job!

Here's the view from the living room into the new kitchen. I'm not much of a photographer, but we do love this kitchen. The big island contains the sink and dishwasher, and has enough room for up to 7 bar stools. There is only one upper cabinet, and since it contains the microwave, the shelf space is not very accessible. Therefore, the dishes and glasses are in drawers; we're getting used to it.

I didn't clean up before the photo shoot, so please ignore the mess. I love all the new appliances. The space is a little tight around the sink, but when it's just me it is super convenient. I will be shuffling things around to get them in the right places for awhile, and in the meantime I'll just enjoy it.

The dining table was a mess, and the picture I took of it was too dark. You are looking across the island to the dining area which is toward you on the right, and the back door. I just managed to delete the last picture!! But you get the idea. And yes, all those tomatoes, etc, are from my garden, harvested yesterday. Come and see us, and while you're at it, you can hang out in our new family kitchen. Window coverings are under contemplation. Any recommendations? I thought I would do custom (made by me) Roman shades, but I am reconsidering.

Greenhouse on a Snowy Spring Day

If I can find the pictures, you might want to see what is growing in my greenhouse on this snowy 9th of May. I love my greenhouse.

Under Construction

Well, scratch the "before" photos and skip to the "in progress" pictures. If you didn't see the "before" they probably won't mean much to you. Since I am challenged by the task of labeling the pictures, I will tell you about them and let you guess and wonder.

We added about 150 square feet to our kitchen/dining area. We had an 8 foot wide "porch" that ran the length of the house on the North side. We took about half of it and included it as part of the inside. It is a HUGE project--more than I imagined. They have now framed in the back and removed former rear wall of the house with the exception of the plumbing and wiring. I have lots of new windows, a new back door (yet to be installed and currently boarded in), and a new pantry/food storage area stolen from a corner of the garage and accessible through the kitchen.

We also gutted the master bathroom and closet, and are reconfiguring so we can make a separate tub and shower and use the space a little more efficiently, so that is a big mess as they had to cut through the concrete pad and dig a big hole to alter the plumbing.

Look and be amazed! (Oh, I intend to include a picture of the some of the color choices I am considering for cabinets and counters). OK, if you can figure this out, you deserve a prize.

I included a couple to show the utter chaos of our downstairs living quarters.

Kitchen Remodel

Dear Family, No pictures; no fanfare. We are in the process of planning a remodel of our Summit kitchen. We will not be re-using our lovely alder cabinets or appliances. If anyone has a use for the items we are replacing, we would be happy to share. I can't turn this into a new paragraph, but this is the beginning of the specifics of what I have: first, the cabinets are not alder; they are hickory. I will have sizes when I get there and can measure again, but base cabinets are two 24" wide, one with drawers, one with shelves, one 36" sink, one 36" shelf, one 30" shelf, and one narrow tray cabinet. The uppers are all 42" high, I think--they go to the ceiling: one 24", one 36", one over-the-refrigerator (smallish fridge), and one maybe 30 or 32". The stove is electric, slide-in. The dishwasher is a good dishwasher with a beige front; I don't remember the brand. The refrigerator is also that bisque/beige color, and on the small side. All the appliances are in very good working order and they are also in good condition. There is a double basin sink which I love as it is a composite material that doesn't stain or spot and is super easy to keep clean and looking nice. The stove is built into a peninsula, so there is a lot of hickory paneling on the back. I can take some pictures this weekend and post them. If you have specific questions, e mail and I'll respond.

Landscape, Part Deux

Maybe you saw the progress on the front yard last year. The back yard got started later in the year this year and is a little more involved, but here are some photos that show where we are. Some of the elements are a new woodshed since we now cannot pile wood in a heap in the weeds and dirt, a greenhouse (only the footings are there now, and it will go in at the end so as to avoid potential breakage of glass), raised planting beds for veggies (so I can sit on the wall and reach in to plant, weed and harvest), a patio with a firepit, a patch of grass, and a kid swingset. There is also a strip to plant shrubs for a little windbreak/privacy screen, and pathways to get around. I'll post the pictures, and hopefully you can figure it out. The picture of the front was not supposed to be there, but I can't figure out how to get rid of it.

The Red Bicycle

I have a picture of my red bicycle, but it is on my digital camera and the grief of loading it on my blog is more than I can handle. My red bike had a flat tire when I got back to Vegas last time. I went a week without the bike. I missed the bike. Greatly! Although I doubted my ability to fix a flat bike tire on a bike with gears and a derailer, I was desparate. Tonight I tackled the project in desparation. I'm happy to report that this grandma fixed that flat all by herself!! Then she took herself for a little spin around the block--pure joy! I'm baaaaaack! That's all.

Happy Birthday, Barbara

Just wanted to post a couple of comemorative photos. I was not in Provo, and these pictures were taken in SLC at my house, but there was snow this morning in Provo. Anyway, this will be one birthday Barb will remember, I think. Best wishes for a wonderful day!!

Happy Saturday

A few things of note today:
First, having recently been informed that one of my favorite LDS authors had published a book--M. Catherine Thomas, "Light in the Wilderness"-- I acquired it, have already dipped into it and am set to enjoy!
Second, I discovered that I really don't know how to use my bicycle pump. I didn't properly attach it to the stem on the inner tube, and was thus unable to pump up the tires. My bicycle has been languishing in the garage, then in the shed, for several years now for want of air in the tires. John, more knowledgeable in the use of the pump than I, did the honors and blew them up. With great delight I took a spin around the block just as it was getting a little too dark for comfort. I also discovered that this little town is a bit more hilly than I had realized on my casual strolls up and down the streets. I almost didn't make it up the side street back to the house, but once I got to the top I just coasted down to the driveway. I have been dreaming of riding my bike for many months, or maybe years. Dream fulfilled!
Third: It was a glorious day in Southern Utah--sunny, not windy; warm, not hot; light until around 8:30 this evening--makes me happy to be alive.
That's all. No pictures. No fanfare.

Why I Haven't Posted, etc.

1. No pictures: not that I haven't taken any or that my camera is on the blink. I lost the program on my computer that I used to download the pictures from my camera. I CAN do it another way, but it is more difficult and I don't like it. I guess I am getting old, because a lot of this is about not liking change.
2. Malfunctioning laptop: several months ago, maybe a year, the power cord on my laptop started shorting when I tried to recharge it. I finally got around to getting a new power cord. I hadn't had it for long when I picked up the computer, plugged into the power cord, and dropped it--not far and onto a soft surface, but it landed by chance right on the connection where it was plugged into the computer and broke it off, leaving the portion that plugs in stuck in the computer. I did find someone on the weekend in SLC who extracted the broken part--he thought the computer would work OK. It did for a while, but now the part that plugs into the computer doesn't connect properly and it only charges intermittently.
3. Decided that it was time for a new computer, and talked myself into a little netbook with a 10.2 inch screen. I think I mentioned I don't like change, and this was way too much change. It has Windows 7 "startup" and I don't even know what that means. Do I have to purchase Windows 7 to get the full program? The startup screen is confusing--I can't even tell when it is connected to the internet without attempting to get online. It is, I would say, skitzy, meaning that it is so jumpy that even when I am very careful it skips back to another line while I am typing and inserts, or even erases most of what I have just typed. And I really can't imagine why someone past 65 with eye surgeries in the past and future would think a 10 inch screen was a good idea.

Enough of that! Obstacles abound, and I haven't been energetic enough to overcome them. I think I have SAD--seasonal affective disorder. Every year as the days get shorter and the skies are dark and stormy, I kind of retreat into my shell and lose interest in life in general. I am a light seeking person and function best with lots of sunshine. I decided last week to try some St. John's Wort--an herb I had in my medicine cabinet which is supposed to help with depression. It said on the container to take one up to three times a day. I decided if one was good, I would just start with two. Who knew? Better than a shot of caffeine for me!! I was wired for a few hours and got a lot of stuff done. I have not since taken two at a time, but a couple a day seems to help stave off the winter blues.

One of the things that has delighted me was finding a set of measuring cups with a full complement of options. Imagine a picture here of this wonderful set: it has a quarter cup, third cup, half cup, two thirds cup, three fourths cup, and full cup. I discovered it browsing the isles of Hurst Ace Hardware in Cedar City--one of my favorite places. I used to have one from Tupperware that my mother-in-law gave me when I got married, but it has suffered the ravages of time. I don't do much baking these days, but that could change.

I have some Christmas cards sitting around along with a Christmas letter I typed up last year, duplicated, and never sent. If you don't get a Christmas card from me this year, and you are a friend or relative, please know that I am thinking of you and wishing you the best. Merry Christmas!

Landscaping

A major reason for installing a front yard at Summit was so the grandchildren would be able to go outside and play when they came to visit, and we were all anxiously awaiting the first visit after the completion of the project. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures while they were visiting, but they spent precious little time in the lovely front yard on the grass and patio. Instead they gravitated to the leftover rock and sand piles in the very much not landscaped back yard, picture included. Kids!! I should have known. They did spend extra time in the bathtub this trip.

I've Been Busy

Not seeing a possibility of remodeling my Summit kitchen in the near future, I have been fortunate (blessed!) with a couple of solutions that make the space much more usable. First, my landscape expert is a very versatile person and installed a couple of can lights in my kitchen dark spot over my stove--changes the way we use the house!! Next, my very limited cabinet space was expanded by the discovery of a cabinet insert (actually three inserts, two of which were on clearance) at the SLC Lowe's. I was able to put much of my food/pantry supply in one lower cabinet, which is also now very accessible. While I don't have a picture to illustrate, I also put a closet organizer in my half of the master bedroom closet. All this happened last week while David was back East drumming up business. I'm very pleased with the outcome of my efforts.

Front Yard, Home Stretch

I took the pictures toward the middle of the day, and they aren't very good, but maybe you can get some idea of the finished look. The planting beds are pretty much empty, and I am debating how much to try to plant before next spring. I have to say the pictures do not do justice to the end result, which is very much what I had envisioned when we started with a few exceptions. We love it. Notice the dozing king of the castle who nodded off overlooking his domain. I might try again tomorrow for some better shots.

Front Yard Landscape, Installment 2

After a week more of work I have documented additional progress with these pictures. The flagstone patio and walkway are in, the front porch is expanded, and the curbing which separates various elements of the landscape--rock, grass, planting beds--is installed. They also got started on the storage shed in the back yard, which is part of this project and will hopefully free up the garage for use to park cars this winter. Enjoy! Hopefully the end of this week will bring more of the finishing touches.

Front Yard - at long last

Apologies for no posts for forever. No excuses. At some point, in desparation, after 7+ years of dirt and weeds, I took some graph paper and pasted it together, took rough measurements, and put some ideas down for a front yard. David was very concerned about drainage, so I started with dry creekbeds to control the runoff, kept budget in mind, and found someone to make it happen. We are about 3-4 days into the transformation, which consists of river rock, crushed rock, grass, planting beds, a flagstone patio with pathways, a place under the tree for a bench, a 5-foot curved bridge, 7 new trees, and desert plants nestled among the rocks. Here are some pictures of progress thus far. If you haven't seen the Summit house, it might not mean anything to you, but it promises to be a substantial transformation in the end.