Last Day of Work (at least for Intelsat)

You know how you always take a picture of your kid as he goes out the door for his first day at school? Well, how about for his last day at work!

Christmas Day 2006 at Meadowview Drive

Nathan, Lisa, Elena and Jillian came for brunch. We read books, played with toys and tried on new snow hats. (Jillian was not that fond of hers.)

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Rusty and Cara and family came for the afternoon and evening. Bethany, Leah and Anna read books, played with toys and tried on new hats. Dinner was prime rib this year with the traditional Christmas sides. Ben, you missed your special sweet potato casserole. We had Nanny's Christmas angelfood cake for dessert.

Christmas in Richmond 2006

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We went to Matt's for the day on Saturday 12/23/06 and had a great time with the kids.
It was in the 60's so played outside .

Key to Christmas Card Photo

Top row:
Olivia in Princess Leia Halloween costume
Dean at Fetty Holiday festivities (Charlotte just behind)
Nathan holding Jillian and Lisa with Elena
Rusty and Cara at Thanksgiving
Second row:
Charlotte and Elena in Pop's vibrating chair
Jillian and Bethany cracking each other up
Anna at home on the occasion of Bethany's blessing
Charlotte looking cute
Third row:
Dean, Olivia, and Elena making Pop Fetty's B'Day cake
Grant having breakfast at Nana's house
Marian holding Charlotte and Matt holding Grant with Dean and Olivia in front
Miss Leah in fancy hat
Bottom row:
Susan and Ben out and about
Evelyn and Lynn on Mt. of Olives, Dome of the Rock in background
Lynn among the excavation of old Roman city in Israel
Lynn reading on beach at Rodanthe, little town on North Hatteras Island

Almost Done !!!!

We got the refrigerator through the diningroom door and into place. The stove went into it's spot too. Because we went with keeping the old cabinet over the microwave, we ended up with an 8-inch cabinet left over. I think it's going to go up under the current one next to the stove. You can see the end of it in the pix of the stove. We have to get Michael to make a finished surface for the end that shows before we put it into place.
I've been knitting like crazy. While shopping for yarn at Eleganza, a local LYS, I saw a knit hedgehog and fell in love. They had copies of the pattern there so I got one and had one done in a day. I'll make more the correct way with wool and felt his face and body. I'll post more pictures as I get them done.
Got most of the Christmas shopping done; ordered from Amazon.com. Now if it just gets here in time. I've eliminated 12-days-gifts this year - sorry, kids. With all the hubbub of the kitchen, I just didn't get it done. Next year I'll start earlier.
I think I'll do what Lisa did this year with my Christmas cards and write the newsletter (abbreviated) computer written in the card, stamp the front and TaDa - - - done!
I'm planning to start Christmas cookies today and make 2-3 batches each week to freeze for plates of cookies for HT, VT and neighbors. Besides it makes the house smell good. ;)

Now for Something Different - My Kitchen

Tuesday Jim Purcell came to install the countertops and sink. It's Granola Corian and I really like it.
Wednesday Mike Chamberlin and Antonio came to finish up the cabinets. They put in the cabinet over the microwave and mounted the microwave. They put up two little shelves for the phone and base unit and a shelf over the refrigerator bumpout. They installed the three drawer cabinet in the corner over the countertop. They put in drawer dividers and spice racks in the spice cabinet over the baking center and tidied up everything with shoe molding and trim.

Fetty Annual Holiday Bash

There were 44 in attendance at the Fetty holiday dinner this year.
Everybody brought their specialties and the food was GREAT!!! The kids had a great time and of course there was the traditional white elephant gift exchange. Chuck and three of his boys came in from Texas and we were all thrilled to see how they had grown up (Chuck too )

All Nine Grands in for Thanksgiving :)

Three boys with wives and kids in tow came to dinner on Thanksgiving. Matt and Marian, Dean, Olivia, Grant and Charlotte came Wednesday evening and stayed until Saturday. Rusty and Cara, Anna, Leah and Bethany stayed with the Campbells but had dinner with us and came back to our house after the WV trip for a kids frolick on Friday. Nathan and Lisa, Elena and Jillian came over for dinner and on Saturday to play with the Richmond cousins. We had pumpkin cheesecake for celebrating birthdays for Ben, Nathan, Evelyn, and Elena all within 8 days. Elena blew out the candle.

THE NEW CABINETS

Yesterday Mike and Bob brought the new custom cabinets and installed them.
















They also took out the hated corner cabinet and revamped it.








The color and style exactly match the original cabinets (the color in my pix doesn't look like it, but they DO) and we love them. They still have to install the small cabinet over the microwave, the three drawer unit in the corner, the shelf over the refrigerator bumpout and the shelves in the corner for the phone. They'll do all that after the counter and sink are put in which hopefully will be next week. Lynn brought the stove in last night so that I can cook again and have turkey for Thanksgiving. It will have to be removed to install the counters. The refrigerator is staying in the livingroom until after the counters are in.
Mike after after a hard day's work.

A Pox on Sox - Just Kidding - I love it!!!

Susan's got me into knitting socks. It's fun and I just finished a family of three pair. They've already found a home and are cuddling some cute feet.

GREEN NO MORE !

Before I finished all the painting, I was already sick of the green which turned out much darker when seen on a whole wall than it appeared on a little chip....so back to the drawing board.
After deciding on Granola as the color for the countertop, we chose "vanillin" as the wall color, kind of a cream with a touch of peach.
Jim Purcell is doing the countertops with Corian and is shown here making the template. He's ready to do it but the color is backordered and will be until after Thanksgiving before he can get it and install it. :(



Lynn finished installing the new lights and painting the ceiling. He also changed a bunch of the electrical stuff. We put up border with a leaf motif and carried it on to the switch plates ( that may or may not stay - we're trying it out to see if we like it or if it's too weird).
We brought the new microwave in and put it on the counter to use until it can be installed above the stove.
The stove is now gone and we're operating on nuking, crockpoting, rotisserie, takeout and sandwiches until the stove can be put in.






The guys from Potomac Tile and Carpet came today to install the floor. They put down a thin layer of plywood and then the Permastone. The color is "Lavastone" and is gray/green/brown.



Cabinets are due to go in Monday we think. Lynn says we can move the new stove into the kitchen temporarily for Thanksgiving cooking but take it into the diningroom for installing the countertops whenever that happens.

It's Not Easy Being Green

We've been getting ready and painting the last couple of days. So far, the old backsplash has had 2 coats of the gripper primer and one coat of the finished paint "Willow". All the rest of the walls that will show and some that won't have 2 coats of the tinted regular primer. I may get the first coat of Willow on the walls tonight. I even painted the inside of the bumpout which will be behind the refrigerator but you never know who may be looking there.
The part that is blue to the right of the taken-apart dishwasher will be behind a 3 drawer cabinet so is not getting painted. The dishwasher front is off and not in operation because it too has being painted with the gripper and has its first coat of "Bisque" to match the other appliances. Didn't want to replace it just to get the right color because it's still pretty new and works great but doesn't come with a bisque option for the front panel.
OK on to the floor. The cabinets are supposed to be installed by the first or second week in November. The floor is tentatively scheduled for November 16th, It's Permastone and is called "Lavastone" It is 16inch squares with fake grout/mortar/whatever you call that stuff on two sides. They are to be put in diagonally.
The little blocks that are on top of the sample are some of the choices for the Corian countertop. Those 4 are among the 30 choices that are in their get an upgrade without paying more promotion. You pay for "A" color but all these are "C" colors which would normally cost more. There are some "F's" among the choices but I don't like them as much. It looks like the bigger the little goobies in the pattern, the more expensive the countertop. The one to the far left is called "Moss" and is my current choice. The integrated sink is free and I think we're getting an extra deep one that is sort of an oval shape instead of rectangular.

Our day Saturday October 14, 2006

Limbs from the oak tree were beating against the house so Lynn rented a chainsaw-on-a-stick and cut limbs off and we hauled them over to the mulching place at Walkersville - quite the adventure.
We ended up having two loads of limbs.

Then on to the kitchen

We got the primer coat on the backsplash around the counter top so that we can paint over it.








And Lynn got the old light fixture taken down and the new ones put up.




We still have to put lenses and outer coverings on them, but they work.









Mike, the cabinet man, is working on them and is looking at installing first or second week in November.
Scott, the floor man, was back this week to remeasure and we put the order in. He will install after the cabinets are installed.
We got measurements etc. by one countertop contractor who forgot to bring samples. He'll bring them by on Monday. He is the son of the across-the-back- fence neighbor. I like him but we have another contractor to see about the countertops. We will most likely be getting Corian with an integrated sink.