Well, if you didn’t already know, kitchens are probably the hardest room of the house to build. Duh, right? I personally think kitchens are impossible! How can such a simple room cause such headaches??? Well, I can tell you about a million reasons why actually, but I will try to keep my rants to a minimum.
First, the cabinets we ordered to reach all the way ceiling didn’t arrive in a week like we were told. They didn’t arrive in two weeks. Apparently, Thanksgiving delayed some of the orders and the cabinets took almost four weeks to get here. 4 weeks! Well, that delayed our plans a wee bit. And you can just imagine how patiently I waited for those cabinets to arrive! Right?
However, the cabinets finally arrived and we took the day to go pick them up. When we got to the house Jim’s dad was there working on the baseboard molding and installing the interior doors. He is quite the handyman to have in the family! He helped unload the cabinets and we put them in place as best we could. They looked lovely! I couldn’t wait to see them on the wall!
Doesn’t Maylin look cute in her snow gear? She was hoping and praying for snow and as it turns out she didn’t have to wait long. Oh, and that’s the tall cabinets we ordered sitting on the counter and on top of the refrigerator.
Then Jim and his dad started on the countertops. Let’s just say that neither of them will be volunteering to replace countertops anytime soon! Cutting them to the right measurements is the easy part. Getting the end pieces on and trimmed to the right length is almost impossible! I will spare you the troubles they went through that week, but I am surprised they didn’t throw in the towel. I think I might have! In the end, the countertops worked out well and looked lovely with the appliances.
While they worked on counters and installing the base wall cabinets, I kept trying to catch up with the counter guy at Lowe’s. We needed to order a matching counter for the island. (Unfortunatley, my DYI butcher block wasn’t a great idea. Jim’s dad showed me the error of my ways before I even got started, so I didn’t waste my time.)
Every time I went to Lowe’s, the counter guy either wasn’t there or he was busy. After a few weeks, I had Jim go with me. (It never hurts to have one of the biggest guys in the room with you!) The counter guy was with another customer, so we waited for almost 30 minutes. The kids were getting restless so we took them to look at some backsplash and when we came back the counter guy was gone. GONE! He had missed his lunch and since we weren’t in sight, he grabbed his opportunity.
Well, as much as I wanted to strangle the guy, he did need to eat. I mean, I can turn into a bear sometimes without food….or sleep….or quietness. So yeah, I couldn’t blame the guy for running to lunch when he had the chance. Run, man, Run!!
With our schedules, we couldn’t both get back to Lowe’s for another week. That wasn’t ideal at all since we really needed the countertop ordered about a week ago….So we called the Lowe’s in Asheville since it’s a much larger store. They were happy to help us that afternoon and even made us an appointment so we wouldn’t have to wait once we got there. How kind! I wonder if they serve appetizers as well? Sorry, we were talking about food earlier and I got a little hungry.
Anyway, Jim started asking a few questions about prices and how long it would take. I heard snippets of the conversation and before I knew it Jim was telling me the price of the counter top. My jaw dropped. It was triple what we had paid for the other counters! And it was nearly the same size! I am not kidding! It was only about 6 inches wider. How can that triple the price?? I have no clue. None what so ever….
Then Jim mentioned something about wood and the guy on the phone happened to mention that they had a special order countertop of butcher block that wasn’t ever picked up. Yes, butcher block, my first choice!! It was already there. It was roughly the right size. And it was hundreds of dollars cheaper than the other countertop!!! I couldn’t stop laughing! Thank you Lord for the hurdles you placed in my way until Jim stumbled upon the perfect countertop for the kitchen island!!
Needless, to say Jim hurried us home, dropped us off and then took Maleah with him to Asheville to pick up the counter. He bought the counter, the sealant for the butcher block and all the supplies to apply it and then took Maleah to the movies. He said he needed to celebrate finding me some counters without any tears. Ha!
Later that week, Jim was supposed to help his dad install the upper cabinets. Jim wasn’t feeling well though and all the kids were sick so they postposned for the next day. The next day, it snowed. SNOW DAY!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!
Our first snow of the winter!
We love the snow!!
The kiddos couldn’t wait for the snow to end before going out to play in it. Hmmm, I wonder if Jim taught them how to have a snow ball fight?
I took this picture just as Maylin threw this snow ball at me. How dare she???? Don’t worry, I quickly gave the camera to Jim and retaliated!
The girls love sledding. (Look at those smiles!) They will both sled for hours. Well, actually, Maleah will sled for hours. Maylin will sled for hours if you pull her back up the hill each time. Whew, talk about a workout!
Look at that sweet face!! Camden loved sledding last year. This year he prefers to run along beside the sled and then throw himself down the hill and roll the rest of the way. I actually tried it and it really is pretty fun. I will say that Camden’s method of self-sledding/rolling is for the much younger and much more agile person than myself. If you decide to try his new sport, expect bruises and general stiffness in all areas for several days.
I love sledding too. Maylin and I sledded down the hill and Camden ran down the other hill toward us. I have no idea why I have my hands up like I’m on a roller coaster. I’m such a goof ball!
Well, you can see that didn’t end so well. But we were all laughing, so we did it again!
I absolutely adore snow. In fact, as you can tell, I turn into a huge kid myself. Jim has always known how much I love the snow and waited to propose to me in the snow. Wasn’t that sweet?! His proposal in the snow is probably one of my favorite memories. Love that man!
The day after the snow we made it out to the farm to see the snow on the ground. I didn’t get any pictures of the Old Homestead in the snow last year. But I did this year. A few hundred snow pictures. Yep, I’m a happy camper.
Although some snow had already melted, it was still beautiful!
I cannot wait to sit on the porch and watch it snow. And then go sledding down the hill of course!
The cabinets didn’t go in until a few days later. Because there was snow to play in, of course. Eventually, Jim and his Dad both made it out to the property and were able to hang several of the cabinets!
The cabinets were hung by the chimney with care
in the hopes that St. Nick soon would be there…no, that’s not right.
This kitchen just needs a lovely butcher block countertop. Oh wait, I already have one! Whoo-hoo!! As you can imagine this is one of Camden’s favorite pictures, because he looks like the Flash. And he’s in a Flash stage right now, so I’m a wonderful mother who took the best photo ever. Love it!!
During this whole countertop/cabinet headache we had been waiting on the plumber. He had been really busy and hadn’t had the time to fit our house in. Once he finished with the final plumbing we could get our final inspection and get the power company to turn the power on. Then we would have lights and heat in our house. You can’t rush a plumber though. They get to you when they get to you, even if they are your friend.
So, we waited patiently, of course. Just like we always do. HA! We were surprised to go out there the day after the snow to find that Doug had started on the plumbing! We had faucets! He wasn’t done, but at least he had started! We are almost there!!
