The flooring project continues...

So now that a bazillion old flooring staples have been pulled, there are about a bazillion tiny holes all over the kitchen subfloor. A few nights ago it was late by the time we had called it quits. Dean and Jordan were finishing up in the kitchen and had turned out the lights. When they did so, thousands of little tiny points of light came shining up through the floor because the basement lights were still on. They called me in to see. It felt like we were walking on top of a planetarium screen! It is almost a shame to cover it up - but cover it up we will because it is now time to add some new holes when we lay down the plywood sheeting.

We decided to take some sage advice and lay down a 1/4 inch layer of plywood sheeting before we put in the Pergo. It is slow, tedious work to measure all of the various cut-outs along the cupboards in order to get each section to fit perfectly - which means it's the perfect job for my engineering husband. I get to use the nail gun, which is the perfect job for me! It goes way too fast though. Two minutes and 100 staples later and my fun is done until the next piece is measured and cut. :(

I like building stuff. I haven't flexed my building muscle in a long, long time. During the past few years, all of the building has been Dean's domain. The sandbox, composter, garden beds, basement wall and setting a couple of replacement fence posts have all been completed by Dean. And I was all too happy to step aside and just set myself to the task of keeping the kids away from the power tools and paint stuff here and there.

Back in my building hayday though, I was busy! In anticipation of the purchase of my first home, I felt that it was important for my dogs to have a dog house. The home was going to be new construction, with no yard or shelter, so they had to have a dog house. (Never mind that they were two of the biggest pansy-assed huskies you ever met. They were *inside* dogs...). So I bought a how-to book about basic framing, got a Skilsaw, fresh 2x4s, plywood sheeting, roofing paper, shingles, hurricane clips (yeah, I know..overkill) and set to work. I learned all about subfloors, sole plates, top plates, stud framing and how to make a 45 degree cut with the saw. It was the best experience ever. I learned so much.. And this was in the day and age before Google or YouTube! That dog house was absolutely huge, as it was meant for two dogs. When it came time to move it to the new house, it took six people to push and shove it out of the garage and onto the ramp of a flat bed trailer where a winch could do the work and pull it on the rest of the way. That dog house was hurricane proof, man! You know what the kicker was though? THE DOGS NEVER USED IT.... NOT EVEN ONCE. I managed to make a terrific home for spiders and other creepy crawlies.

But that experience is what started the building bug for me. Since my house was new construction, I had to fence in my yard, and I had no neighbors yet. I had to dig 42 post holes. I mixed 42 bags of concrete. I hung 84 stringers. I screwed in 2,500 pickets. (No exaggeration). I built two gates. I was tired. It took three months to get it done...and I think it took a few years off my life as well. I also built a very large fenced-in garden with raised beds and a huge pergola over my back patio. I loved trips to the lumber yard and the smell of damp cedar. I loved, loved using power tools. I worked outside every evening until the mosquitoes were bad enough to drive me inside. I went to bed sore and tired every night, but blissfully happy about the work that I got done that day. It is my fervent hope that all of our kids will learn basic building skills as well - because the satisfaction of doing yourself has no parallel.

So enough about me - back to our kitchen! The side panel of the cabinet adjacent to the fridge space had significant water damage, so a new panel was cut, stained and put into place, and the ugly pink (seriously! WHO puts PINK countertops into a kitchen!!) countertop is back in place so I can reload the cabinet with my baking pans. New countertops will happen eventually... We moved the cabinet above the fridge space up a couple of inches to accommodate the increased height of the new fridge. I store all of my grandma's china up there, so it was a chore to unload (thanks mom, for the help). It was a couple of nerve-wracking hours that I had to constantly shoo small children out of the kitchen until Dean got home from work and moved the cabinet up to the correct level. I could just picture the mayhem of broken china plates... (shudder). When Dean removed the cabinet at first, we discovered that it was attached to the wall and adjacent cabinet by a total of four screws.  FOUR. Do you know how heavy china is? It is a miracle it did not come crashing down. It has about eight screws now...that baby isn't going anywhere.

So here it is, Saturday morning and our new fridge is supposed to arrive between noon and 4 pm. This is what our kitchen currently looks like...

We have just a little more Pergo to get in place before they can move the fridge in. We've got a couple of hours yet...

This is what it currently looks like outside...

This picture does not do it justice. The snow is about 6-7 inches so far, blowing sideways and showing no sign of abating any time soon. I wonder if this will affect the delivery? (duh)

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