Month: October 2011

Boy– it’s that time of the year — busy, busy around here with yard work, so not much time to post.  And that covert operation put me behind in the leaf gathering job.   THANKS for all your wonderful comments about my little job.  Several of you asked whether TheManoftheHouse was pleased — I think he must’ve been as he brought me these beautiful roses the next time he went shopping.  Happily, I don’t have to build a retaining wall every time to get pretty flowers!

I’ve also had several questions over the last few months about whether we ever finished the kitchen re-do.  The backsplash tile was FINALLY finished yesterday.  There are still a few little things to do (new drawer pulls, under/over cupboard lights, paint touch-ups) but if we wait until those jobs are done, we’ll probably never be officially done!  So, here are a few before and after shots.

The stove wall.  Before with microwave over the stove.  Our kitchen was never vented to the outside and that was one big change that I really wanted.  Luckily, there’s a linen closet on the second floor, just above the stove area, so they ran the venting through the kitchen ceiling, the back of the linen closest, the attic and then the roof.  As daunting as it sounds, that was probably the smoothest, easiest job of them all.  Here’s the before.

And the after.  The tile guy was a case.  I told him I wanted those little four patch tiles put in a random pattern.  He told me he didn’t do random very well and I chuckled.  I was off doing something else, and when I came back in the room, the little four patches on the left were all lined up in a row.  So, I made him move them and I showed him where I wanted the ones on the right.  When I checked again, he’d laid the ones on the right out in the same pattern as the left — which doesn’t make them very random.  {Sigh.}

Here’s a shot of the old sink and ugly green tile.  The old sink was porcelain (I think?) and was chipped in a few spots.

So, we went with stainless for the new sink.  And that’s one of those spiffy touch on/touch off water faucets.  I LOVE it.  When I have messy chicken or meatloaf or something on my hands, it’s so nice just to tap that faucet with my elbow and have it come on.  And look!  No. Tile.  I can roll out a pie crust or cookies on the countertops – what a treat!

Here’s a shot of the inside of the sink.  The left side is big enough to set a (dirty!) 12″ skillet with handle flat on the bottom of the sink.  The jury is still out on those grate things on the bottom of the sink — I think they’re more of a nuisance than anything else.

Here’s the only shot I could find of the old tile floor.

We replaced it with wood, which is sort of hard to see with the window glare, but I LOVE it!

One of my very favorite things is the bookcase we had added to the end of the cabinets.  My cookbooks used to be in the family room and now my favorites can live in the kitchen.

When I was planning the kitchen, NoBlog Ina sent me some pictures of her gorgeous new kitchen.  In the process we discovered that we had the same oak windsor chairs.  I mentioned to Ina that I would be painting mine black and she asked to see a picture — so this one’s for NoBlog Ina.  I love the chairs painted black, although, they show a LOT more dust.

So.  Overall, I’m pretty happy with the new kitchen, although it’s a lot of brown.  I think I need to spend less time on Pinterest, drooling over the beautiful white kitchens.  I just couldn’t see throwing out our perfectly good cabinets, so we worked with what we had.  At any rate, the Patisserie Dome seems to be MUCH happier.

Even if she has to sit empty ’cause there’s no time to bake this week!

Thanks for sticking it out to the end!

XOXO,
Anna

Or…alternate post title:

My Top 5 Tips for How to Build a Retaining Wall in Your Backyard in Secret

1. Be sure that your husband/significant other is working very long hours/seven days a week at the office for a week or two. And in the event he should come home during daylight hours, keep the window blinds closed at all times.

Trust me ladies…you do not want to hear him yelling from the other end of the house “Luuuucy!  You’ve got some ‘splainin to do!”  Can you see the difference?   Closed blinds are mandatory.

2.  When your husband/significant other leaves for work at the crack of dawn, complain about all the work that you have to get done that day. That way he’ll know you’re too busy to be up to anything.  Be careful though…be sure the work you complain about isn’t tangible, i.e., don’t complain about having to mow the lawn ’cause you’ll have to explain why it isn’t mowed when he gets home.  Try something like organizing all the pictures on your hard drive or taking your mother furniture shopping.
(Hey, check out my cute project manager!)

3.  Be sure and hide all the receipts for construction supplies so they can’t be accidentally discovered. Hide them someplace he won’t look for the duration of the project.  Try the cleaning supplies cabinet.

4.  Clean up after yourself after each day’s work. Make sure all the shovels/rakes are in their usual place in the garage.  Be careful not to track any dirt/gravel into the house.  And be sure that the truck you use to haul supplies isn’t sitting in the driveway when your hubby/so arrives home from work.

5.  Be prepared with a response in the event you get caught before your project is completed. You know… in case you suddenly hear “What the (*&$ is going on here?”, it’s best not to be caught speechless.  Practice one or more of the following choices:

“Retaining Wall????  WHAT retaining wall????”

“Holy Cow!!!!  Someone’s putting a retaining wall in our backyard!!!!”

“OhMyGosh!  The Retaining Wall Fairy has paid us a visit.  Who knew there even was a Retaining Wall Fairy???”

And one last little thought…just for fun, you might want to keep track of the number of times that you almost got caught. (My count was 5, but happily, the project was completed (well, with a few minor touchups needed next week)  two hours before discovery — yipee!!!)

XOXO,
Anna

*Disclaimer: Should you choose to attempt covert operations such as those described above, The Thimbleanna Blog assumes no responsibility in the event of injury to your body or your untimely demise. In addition, if you have small children, do not, I repeat DO NOT, attempt covert operations. Small children will rat you out every time!

**Apparently, thirty years of watching man-preferred mindless tv can come in handy!