Photos of Finishes

I finished painting the trim on our outdoor shower last evening:

C now says that he feels like he's on a tropical vacation when he uses it! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!

My buddy Carol reminded me that I had never posted finished photos of our kitchen reno, so here you go! By the way, all of these pictures enlarge if you click on them. This one is looking from the pool patio door into the kitchen. We still have not had the painting done, as I wanted to wait a while and get the feel for the space before adding any color. So, on the little table at the end of the island are paint chips and a magazine with another paint color that I am liking.

This is a view taken almost in reverse of the one above:

This is a bit more detailed look at the sink/range/fridge area:

I love my little nook with the hot water kettle and to its left is the garage that houses the toaster, coffee grinder, blender, mixer, and food processor. Above on the lazy susan are things I use most often when cooking, like olive oil, sea salt, etc, and below on the other lazy susan are my cannisters of flour, sugar, measuring spoons and cups, etc. The top drawers to the left of the corner house my spices, and the large middle and lower drawers hold our most often used pots, pans, skillets, and their lids. This countertop is a nonporous, heat resistant, synthetic called Hannestone, and the backsplash is granite.


This is the wall opposite the island, housing the microwave and the second sink:
If I had had my druthers, I would have put the microwave over the other side of the kitchen, but C insisted on it being there, and some things just aren't worth an argument!


This is our view out to the pool patio and my perennial garden. There used to be draperies there, but I am thinking of leaving the windows naked as I love the added light and the view. What do you think?

On the left you can see the door out to the patio, but if you were to continue left, you would be in my sewing room........so handy to the kitchen, with a beautiful view of the lake and both patios.

And here are the peonies I've just picked this morning (you can even see the dew still on the petals if you click on the picture!).......wish you could smell their lovely fragrance!

Happy Day!

PEACE

Light Fantastic

As promised, the electricians showed up bright and early this morning to finish installing our new lights. I love these pendants, and it is really nice to have the halogen cans up in the ceiling, rather than hanging down with all their glare.


Here's a little closer look at the pendants:


C has been keeping the guys busy rebuilding the old patio arbor. We have decreased its size from I believe 9 uprights to 3, added a little "roof" (to keep C and the grill dry when he is grilling in rainy weather), and may leave it natural, to match the new pool fencing. The men hadn't added the "roof" when I snapped this picture:


That is Pat, our contractor, on the left. I am so pleased with all of the work that he and his crew have done for us. They were great to work with, and even though both C and I treasure our privacy, I think we may actually miss having those guys around!

I had a few this afternoon to play with the silk charmeuse yardage that I showed you yesterday. I hope that I'll have a finished piece to display tomorrow..........so, stay tuned!!!

PEACE

Happy Good Friday and Easter Eve

Good Friday? Well, it is more than good for me...it was more like WONDERFUL!

Mickey and Wanda, our lady painters, arrived midmorning to paint our kitchen ceiling. Thanks be to God! Now the rest of our lights can be hung, and the can lights can go up into their little sockets.


Our daughter Kristin drove from Atlanta and she, C, and I took my Mom out to lunch at Red Lobster, Mom's favorite local restaurant. We had a great time, and she ate her fair share of lobster, shrimp and scallops!

Kristin headed back to Atlanta, and we packed our bags and left for the condo. It was a gorgeous afternoon and I kind of hated to leave home, but the city was calling.

I am finally getting a little more at ease going out onto our 14th floor balcony. Here is the view straight down:


Do the chaises remind you of piano keys? They do me! The pool is actually on the 7th floor, but the street that you see to the right is 14 floors below our little balcony.

Back inside, Barker has settled down for a bit of a nap.


And the moon rising was pretty incredible!


This morning's sunrise wasn't too shabby either:

We had a fun day: I spent some time knitting at Knitch, one of my new favorite haunts, the cableguy showed up and got us all hooked up, and C and I had a nice early dinner at Ted's Montana Grill downtown before taking in "Pure Confidence" at the Theatrical Outfit. Our tickets had originally been for last weekend, but with the tornado striking that part of downtown, last Saturday night's performance was cancelled and we had to reschedule. It was our first trip downtown since the tornado, and both C and I were horrified at the destruction just a few miles from our condo. So many windows were blown out of the Westin Hotel and other buildings in the area, the roof of the Tabernacle (where we saw Norah Jones in concert just last summer) is gone, and much damage to Grady Hospital, just to name a few things that we saw. Our waiter at Ted's said that he was tending bar when the storm hit, and the next thing he knew glass was flying everywhere. He ended up huddled with patrons and employees alike in the booths in the back of the restaurant. It is a wonder that no lives were lost.

C brought me this lovely orchid plant this afternoon, and it brought back memories of the orchid corsages that my Dad used to bring my Mom to adorn her Easter attire.

HAPPY EASTER

PEACE

All's Well!

First off, thanks to all of you for your emails, kind thoughts, and prayers during the hellacous tornadic weather that we in Atlanta experienced over the weekend.

My family and I were all very lucky and escaped unscathed. I feel like we dodged a huge bullet, and I am most thankful. C and I were preparing to move into our new (to us) condo in Midtown and were ending our day with a celebratory toddy in our as yet-to-be-furnished digs. We had purchased two leather chairs earlier in the evening and were just beginning to enjoy the city night lights when the thunder and lightening began. Without the aid of radio, tv or internet, we were peacefully sitting facing northeast, so never saw the action that was going on no more than a mile or two to the southeast of us. Our daughter and son-in-law (who live about 10 miles south of our condo) were out on their second story porch watching the storm as it approached their home from the west. They did see the flashes of electrical transformer lights and explosions, and also heard the "freight train" sound just before they sought shelter indoors. Thankfully the tornado also eluded them! It wasn't until later that evening that C and I returned to our "old" condo and turned on the TV and then realized that there had been a tornado in downtown Atlanta, and so many were without homes and power. We are all so thankful that so many lives were spared. It could have been so much worse!

Our movers arrived bright and early Saturday morning and C, Barker and I were moved out of our old digs and into our new condo by noon time. Unfortunately we had no cable and no internet, so I was unable to email or blog until this afternoon when we got back to "home/home".

I think both C and I are smitten with our new Midtown digs.....the condo couldn't suit us better, and the view is just phenomenal! I am enjoying everything about it: our neighbors, the management, the layout of our condo, etc. I cooked every meal after we moved in, as the kitchen is so handy and accomodating......not to mention the fact that I have really missed cooking, with our home kitchen being renovated!

On Sunday afternoon we were supposed to go to a play at the Balzer Theater, but it was cancelled due to the tornado, which ripped right through that part of town. (Thankfully the theater did not sustain any damage, but the area was littered with debris.) So C and I had a leisurely morning of reading the paper, organizing our master closet, hanging pictures, and other odds and ends. After lunch, we went shopping for fresh produce at the Dekalb Farmers' Market, purchasing some lovely sea scallops, brussels sprouts, an artichoke, some smoked cheese, and a bushel of Texas Rio Star grapefruit. (After listening to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" I almost feel guilty about this trip!) Our dinner last night was a fabulous feast!

I got up early this morning, not wanting to miss the sunrise. How is it that our bodies seem to snap to the wishes of our brains? At some point yesterday I had thought that it would be nice to get up early and watch the sunrise, and voila!!! It was still very dark when Barker and I first toddled out into the livingroom, but I could see a slight rosey tinge at the horizon. I snapped a few pics, but they were all blurry (need to get a tripod!). Here are a few of the better shots between about 7:15 and 7:45:

the "mound" just to the left of center is Stone Mountain

We came home late this morning to find our new kitchen in "move in" condition, with all appliances in working order! WooHoo! So I began unpacking boxes (again!) and trying to find good homes for all of the kitchen tools I have been collecting over the past 37+ years of marital bliss. I am more than ecstatic about how everything seems to work! Months, and actually years, of planning have all paid off!

Thanks again for all of your kind thoughts over the past hellacous weather weekend! It means more than you will ever know!

PEACE

All in a Day's Work

My own very personal "Christmas" arrived this morning at about 8:30. This was the day that I had been waiting for: how were the countertops and backsplashes going to tie in with everything else we had chosen? I've laid awake at night thinking this all out and, quite honestly, agonizing over a few of our decisions. I cannot imagine ever building a house, so my hat is off to all of you who have done so.

The first piece of granite that was installed was our little table/dining area at the end of the island:


My eyes welled up with tears when I saw this lovely piece in my new kitchen!

And then the island piece arrived on the scene:

I was getting a bit used to it then, so I just snapped pictures, and the two installers really thought I was nutso!

Unfortuantely, (or fortunately for the installers!) I had a teeth cleaning appointment at 2:00 PM, so I missed the grand finale! There were errands begging to be run, a much-needed visit to the gym, and then a good visit with my Mom. Barbara Brown Taylor was speaking at our church this evening (now she deserves a blog posting all on her own, but not tonight dear Barbara!), and then we had made plans to dine with friends after the program. Soooooo, it wasn't until almost 10:00 PM that I got to see the countertops and backsplashes all in place. So here they are:

This is the "bar area" looking towards the diningroom. We have Hannestone countertops there, with my favorite granite as the backsplash and the little bar top:


(Hannestone is like Silestone: heat resistant and nonporous.)

This is the Hannestone countertop on the area to the left of the wall oven:

There is now the granite backsplash in back of this area too...but I guess I took this pic before I went to visit the dentist.

Here is the island, finished:


I cannot help but recalling almost a year ago when my sister-in-law Molly and my good friend Bobbie and I stood around one morning planning this whole deal. I love my island!

This is the area behind the island where my range will be slid in and the hood will go above it. It's kind of a shame that some of that granite will be covered by the hood, but it will work! The reeded glass doors on the cabinets are also favorite features of mine. I've got to thank my good friend Shiela for suggesting the reeded glass!


While the countertops were being installed, I spent a couple of hours out in my studio discharging a couple of silk scarves that I had dyed yesterday. Here is the first one, a long, rectangular crepe de chine:


It is actually a lot more coral colored, with bits of grape infused. I just love how it came out!

The scarf below is a large square crepe de chine that I just loved even before the discharging. It reminded me of a tropical storm sky with varying shades of blue, pink, magenta. When I discharged it, the affected areas turned a lovely gold tone:

I discharged a hibiscus-like image on one of the corners:


And look who was waiting in the wings to have his picture snapped:


So, it has been a lovely, lovely day! Any one event (well, perhaps not the trip to have my teeth cleaned!) would have been enough for this gal, but all of them together made it truly spectacular!

PEACE

Take a Leap

Barker woke us up early this morning. I think he has gotten used to having the workmen here, and he enjoys their energy! He has always been "one of the guys", so he feels good about this reno!

The electricians arrived first and then the countertop template man appeared. Like Rayna, I had thought he'd have his arms full of paper, a sturdy tape measure, and a pencil: NOT! He used wood, similar to balsa and a hot glue gun to build his templates. Below is one that he has just completed of the countertop by the diningroom:

Here's another section layed out on the floor:

It was a tedious job, and he was there for at least six hours. So now we wait 7-10 business days for the countertops.

I was disappointed that the Nandina leaves I had brayered onto this t-shirt barely survived after drying and laundering. Better for me to find out than an unsuspecting customer! So, this afternoon I thickened some dyes and stamped on some fish:

This may go, along with the little girl's romper from yesterday, to our church's preschool fundraising auction.

I've been playing around with monoprinting on silk and also discharging, as you know if you have been following along on my blog. Here is the finished product of the 2-day process:

and a closeup:
And for my friend Jeannie out in Oregon, here's the latest development on C's tractor driving t-shirt:

I've done some discharging with a screen. It's always fun to see what colors will remain when the fabric is discharged. I doubt that he would wear this even if I paid him a billion bucks!

As for Leap Day, I read on a friend's website this morning that this is the day that ladies can propose to men, BUT they must do so in a RED petticoat! When I was visiting with my Mom this afternoon, she told me that she was instructing all of her single caregivers to go home and propose to their prospective lovers this evening! At almost 91, she rarely misses a beat!
God Bless Her!

PEACE

One Down, One to go....AND MORE!

We closed the sale of our present Midtown condo yesterday afternoon. So for the next couple of weeks we will be renting from Douglas, the new owner, while the present owners of our new condo find a home and prepare to move. That closing is set for March 10th, the our actual move to follow on the 15th.

We had a celebratory glass of dark ale with our realtor Michael at Silk, which is on the ground floor of our new condo building, then walked over to Mitra for a fabulous dinner. We shared the Chef's Choice Appetizer plate and a Hearts of romaine salad with Chipotle lime Caesar dressing. C enjoyed their surf and turf entree, while I had mustard encrusted lamb chops. MMMMMMM!

I had hoped to post kitchen pics this morning, but left my camera cable at home. Speaking of which, we are hurrying home as the cabinets are being installed this morning! WooHoo!!!!
I will close with the picture of my granite-to-be..........as I just love it!!!!

I posted the above earlier this morning, and now we are home again, after loading our new tile in the back of the Tahoe on our drive back to Gainesville. We found lots going on at home:
the cabinet installers are here and working away, and the tilemen are here, putting down the wonderboard. This is all very exciting to me!

Here is one of my pictures from yesterday afternoon:


Bill is hammering down the plywood flooring. The windows look out on the pool patio and an ugly old arbor that was pretty well covered in Confederate Jasmine. We both hated the arbor, as it blocked the view of the pool and my perennial garden beyond, not to mention our new and improved fence! So, since we've been in the demo mode, we asked Pat and his crew to remove it and build us a more sightly version. Here it is coming down:


Below you can see the beginnings of our new kitchen with the cabinets being installed. This is essentially what we saw when we walked in this morning:




This is how that wall looked yesterday, with Pat our contractor supervising the plywood floor installation:

The island will go in soon.......so I need to go take more pictures!!!

PEACE

Yesterday:

This has gotta be my most favorite part of the kitchen demo/reno thus far:

Bill is removing the !@#$%^& popcorn ceiling!!! I am so thrilled!!!!

Here we have two electricians and the hvac man:

When I first walked into the room, there was only one guy visible but many voices. It turned out that Rick, the gentleman in the red shirt was up in the attic working on the wiring, while "Rooster", the gentleman seated, was down under the floor. They finally figured out what that long dangling cord hanging down from the ceiling was: the phone line to the bedroom wing of the house. Actually, I figured it out when I tried to make a call and the phone in our bedroom was dead, but the ones in the main part of the house were still working. Live and learn!

In the art department, I'm working on some inkjet transfers. Here is my Grandpa Herman, recently transferred to a piece of rusted muslin. Quite appropriate since he is the husband of "Rusty Gusty"!

I'm elated to read how well Obama did in yesterday's primaries. Yes indeedy, there is hope!!

PEACE

'Twas a Verrrry Gooood Day!

The electricians and hvac men arrived right on time this morning. Fortunately we had taken Barker out for an early walk, so we were home and ready for them.

I got busy and finished a postcard I had promised Susan Lenz for her Cyber Fyber exhibit. I've been intrigued by the rusting craze for quite some time now, and had not used this piece of fabric which had lingered in a rusty bath for a few days a couple of weeks ago. I had also thrown those two little snippets of old lace from the thrift shop into the bath, and loved how they came out. I stamped the dragonfly onto the fabric using orange marmalade distress ink and then applied rusty embossing powder and zapped it with the heat gun. I liked the look:


It is highly recommended that you do not sew on rusty fabric with your sewing machine, and I can understand why! I tried it just to make sure the "rust authorities" were correct: and they were! It took me about two stitches to know that I didn't want to do anymore! So I sat down with C in front of the TV last night and did a bit of handwork on my postcard.

The electricians kept me busy off and on today, making decisions about switches, outlets, and asking where changes had been made in the blueprints. I don't really know how folks build houses and make so many major decisions! Just locating a few switches in the kitchen was a monumental task for me! Of course, more sheetrock had to be removed so as to work on the wiring. Here is how it all looked this evening when they left:



The tileman came and got all of the measuring completed and then called in our floor order. So we are in business in that respect as well. I need to make an appointment with the lighting man, so that I can finish with that little detail. That may be my last obligation! YEAH!!!

I escaped to the studio for a couple of hours of play time late this afternoon. I'm not sure where the days go, but they just fly by! I had done a bit of monoprinting with thickened Procion MX dyes on Saturday, then batched the pieces for about 36 hours. Here is how the first one looked after it had been washed and line dried:

There are a few little leaves printed into that piece. I was unhappy with how dark it turned out, so I thought I'd try my luck with a bit of Thiox. I screened on some plain, thickened Thiox first, then bubblewrapped a little on, then used a glass jar to make a few circles, and then came back in with the same checkerboard screen but this time added some Turquoise to the Thiox mixture (thanks Gerrie!):

At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but it has grown on me, and now I think it's rather stunning!

Here is the second piece that I had monoprinted on Saturday. This one also had leaves in one layer, but then some dried grasses in the final layer. I liked it a lot and was hesitant to do anymore to it:

The discharging was getting into my blood and I just couldn't stop, so I went out into the yard and picked up a few leaves. We had had a lot of rain last evening, so the leaves were supple and great for printing. Since this piece already possessed a botanical nature, I decided to just discharge a lot more leaves onto it, and mostly with the turquoise dye. I love it:

As I said above, the discharging was getting into my blood and I just couldn't stop! Fortunately Barker is already white, or I might have tried to discharge him! C has a "dye job t-shirt" that I am forever doctoring. It was originally a dark green, but he got some sort of bleaching agent on it and was whining because it had a spot, so I offered to overdye it a few years back. He loved the results and wore it all the time....when he was cutting the grass. Gradually the dye faded and so this past summer he requested a redye. I agreed but then only got so far before it got cold. It has been hanging around out in the studio, all burgundy and navy for several months now, so today it got a blast of the Thiox too..........I am no longer partial to any one thing! Here is said t-shirt:



I wonder if C will be brave enough to wear it even on his tractor! LOL

And last but not least: another rejected clothing item, but this time mine! I loved this old tank top, but the color was fading, so I had done a bit of discharge shibori on it. It was ok but not great, so I discharged a few stripes on it this afternoon:

Fortunately by the time I had finished with it, the temps were in the low 50's, the breeze was picking up, and my feet felt like blocks of ice, so I decided to call it a day! But oh what fun I had!!

Hope you had a great day too! Several of you haven't checked in in a while. I wish you would: I've missed hearing from you!

PEACE