Kitchen update #5

We have had a good deal of progress lately, though no time to update things. My parents were here for the past 2 weeks, which allowed me to get a good deal of things done, that I have not gotten to in the past. Fixing old outlets, moving electrical boxes, getting trim pieces done, etc...

We also had the cabinet guys here and the installers for the stove and microwave. Amazingly it all came together and I was actually able to make a rib roast and popovers in the new oven. Also we had baked eggs and chorizo for Christmas day breakfast!!! Yum!!!

It is starting to look like a real kitchen again. The dining room table is cleared off and usable again. Now we need to finish up the walls, get the island hood installed, then finish the ceiling, do the trim, and get the floor done. Can that all really happen by the 2nd weekend in February? I hope so. Oh yeah, the countertops are coming in mid-January. The color we picked is a dark grey, which it turns out is called "Kendall grey" Coincidence or destiny?

Kitchen update #4

So, another week and more work done on the kitchen. We did get most of the painting done. The ceiling and soffets are done and look amazing. We got 2 coats of the granny apple green on the walls. Tomorrow the cabinets are supposed to be coming. The cabinets should be done by Wednesday, and hopefully the oven will get installed. We need to get a gas person here to get a line run for the stovetop, which might be a problem? Maybe we will even get the crap all put away off the dining room table and have dinner there!! We'll see....

Kitchen Update #3

Well, the work continues. After the third week we are finally getting to the end of the hard stuff. The second coat of mud is on, waiting to get sanded tomorrow. At least the majority of it. This week, the stove wire gets moved, allowing for the finally wall to be taken down and then built again. Hopefully we will get the gas line for the stive done as well. By next monday, we need to have the place ready for the cabinets to come in.

Everything seems to be falling in to place. Might even have a stove and oven form Christmas!!
Till next week.
r

Kitchen Update #2

The kitchen is consuming us! Poor Rich, having to do most of the work hasnt even gotten out to play or exercise at all! I can at least squeeze a run in between chores. Today we worked some more on the putting up the drywall. Rich had to figure out a very tricky corner which took the majority of the morning, it's now 3:00, we'll probably see if we can finish the dry wall this afternoon and call it good for this weekend.

The Kitchen Renovation Begins!

Yep, we did it... we started the kitchen! After years of talking about it, we decided this is the time to get going. We always said that when the stove died, we'd redo the space, but dang it! They made stuff to last back in 1976 and that stove is hanging tough. The idea is to make the kitchen much more user friendly, with an updated look and open the space a little. So...
Picture #1: The before - . We had already taken out the drop ceiling shortly after we moved in and put up the track lighting. We also added recessed lights over the counters.

Picture #2: The soffets come down to open up the ceiling even more. We had to leave the soffets in over the sink and fridge because there is a beam and some duct work in those.

Picture #3: Opening the walls. We wanted to open the space to make it seem bigger. What a difference!! We took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room. This will have a hanging vent between and a service bar into the dining room. We also took out the wall between the kitchen and the front hallway - boy does that sun stream in to the kitchen now! It's awesome.

The big pantry cabinet was moved over by the sliding glass door - a new vibrant green on the walls ...

More updates later!

Cyclocross

Well that cyclocross season has started!! A beautiful weekend here and nothing like getting waxed to celebrate!! I started in the Men's A 35+, which is where I usually race. Even took the usual last spot in line after the start (somethings never change). Usually I have the endurance to maintain contact and knock off a few guys toward the middle and end laps. Watching the B-Men's race before ours, I was starting to worry.The top five there were absolutely flying. Probably should be in the A's.
Anyway, here I am in last place at the end of lap 1 and I finally catch back on to the caboose (well, the guy in the main group). After getting by two guys, I am trying to ride comfortably and smooth. I come the a sharp right and decide, I can just turn without braking. Getting into the turn, I quickly find out that is not going to happen and go crashing straight into the chain link fence. So much for being smooth?! No worries, got right on, no one passed me, still not DFL!! Only a couple other little bobbles on the sandy corners and I manage to get 2 more passes so I think it went okay for the first time out. LOTS of bike set-up changes to make. Also, next time I am not going to rake leaves for 2 hours prior to the race. My back has been howling!! Live and learn. Till, next week, I'll be working on my starts!!

24hrs of Moab

Another Moab in the books. That makes three Moab and I think 9 Canaan/Snowshoe races. Man, I must be getting old. This year was great, as it marked the return to racing for my brother Brian. After 2 years of being the mechanic, he has been riding like a fiend, lost 20lbs and gave it a go. Pre-riding the course with him, I was reminded how great a descender he is, as he was stuck to my rear wheel through some truely technical riding, never having seen the course and on a borrowed bike with 2-inches less travel than he is used to. Crazy! Our result? A top 5 finish in the men's sport class!! I think that was the best we have done at any of the races in the past. It turned out almost perfect weather this year, with sun, cool temps and NO WIND!! The sand had been tamed, compared to prior years and the course was 99% rideable. Though I did have a bike with more than 1 gear this year, which may have helped?! Anyway, we started with the youngster of the group, Steve, first. He got off to a very fast start with a 1:07 lap or something utterly ridiculous. Brian followed with an excellent lap, just below 1:30, then Zach on his single speed again, around 1:17 and I was the old man caboose. I was pleasantly suprised to ride a 1:12, taking 3 minutes off my fastest lap from 5 years ago on a full suspension. This year, I again rode the irrepressably fast, comfy and stable Surly Karate Monkey hardtail!! I love that bike. As they say Steel is Real!!
The race continued without serious disasters until Zach came running in, after breaking his chain about a mile from the end. This must have been a bad omen, as my lap third lap went from okay to CRAP, quickly. It is always the third lap for me that is poor. This time it had gone okay until the 11 mile mark when I was coming up a rocky climb on the backside. As I rode up over the rocks, one grabbed my front tire, stopped it dead, catapulting the rear up in the air, with me still in the seat pedaling in the air, only to be slammed back down and toppled to the side, landing my ass on the rock. Since it was 4am, first, I thought maybe I was just dreaming? Alas, not to be. Got back up and started riding, pain in the ass not allowing full power to the left pedal, but luckily, not much climbing on this course. At the end of the long dirt road decent in the sand pit at the end, I pedaled half way though when my cranks suddenly pedaled round with no resistance. Dropped chain, crap. Dismounted and ran the rest of the way through. Put the chain on and took 1 pedal rev, dropped chain again, Crap. I focused my light on the chain, only to find 2 chain ring bolts gone, and the ring about 1 inch away from the crank, benty beyond repair. Double crap! So I ran (kind of, did I mention my ass?) the last mile pushing my bike. No bolt spacers to be found, my race was done. Steve, Brian and Zach finshed the day off in good style. A total of 16 laps, our most ever. All in all a great race. Everyone seemed pleased, happy and no injuries (my ass was better in a week). Everyyear, seems like it will be my last, but then I think of the sicko's who do it solo, the real sicko's who do it solo on singlespeeds, and the truely insane who do it solo on rigid singlespeeds and figure, I must not be that demented!!!