Toasty!

Two days into the second week and the wiring has been installed.  The holes for the pot lights have been measured out, they also reinforced the centre box to hold the heavy lighting fixture to hang over the island.    The framing is in and the insulation is almost in (this is going to make a huge difference in keeping the kitchen warm and cozy all winter), as are the pipes for the gas cook top.

Today we had quite a crowd here!  The two electricians were here, and Mario, the kitchen installer from Rona was here.  Also Nick the Gas guy from Ilite Combustion, who's in charge of the pipes for the gas cook top.  Kateriina, the kitchen designer also popped in for a site visit.  This gave us a chance to discuss scheduling and have a Q and A.  I feel very fortunate to have such an amazing team working on this project!!

Tomorrow is going to be a quiet one, since the wallboard can't be put up until after 2 pm tomorrow to allow the inspector to check on the electrical wiring.  This means that Thurs and Fri will be devoted to wallboard installation.  Then it will take 3 days to get the mudding, sanding and priming done.  And the floors are scheduled to go in next week.  Three days is needed to install the heated floors and tiles.  So to get the floors in by the end of next week will be a squeeze!! 

I'm really pushing to stay on schedule, but I have come to the conclusion that having the appliances delivered June 14th is probably overly optimistic.  I would rather delay the delivery for a couple of days than risk having to climb over 4 appliance boxes in the dining room.

After work, my son and I finished planting the vegetable garden.  We put in tomatoes, basil, zucchini, butternut squash, English cucumbers, lettuce, and swiss chard.  We also planted some beet seeds.  I also have some cilantro and Italian parsley in pots on the patio.  It doesn't look like much yet, but I had to take a picture before the weeds grow back in.

Dinner tonight consisted of portabello mushroom burgers.  Super easy...  I marinated portabello mushroom caps in a mix of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.  They only took a few minutes on the Q.  While they were marinating, I chopped some veggies (red onion, zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms), sprinkled them with olive oil, salt, pepper, basil and oregano, and wrapped them in aluminum foil.  I tossed the veggie packet on the grill along with the burgers for about 15-20 minutes.  I'll use these grilled veggies to make grilled vegetable wraps for lunch tomorrow. 

Not bad for two days!!

One Week Down!!

What makes a renovation so stressful?  Yes, it is inconvenient, but we tend to plan for that and simplify things to compensate.  It's dirty....  but that can be ignored.  For me, I think it's the chaos of not having things in their place.  I tend to feel calmer when things are tidy and in their place.  This past week I have noticed that I have less patience with the kids, and the dog.  But the good news is that the longer you live with a situation, the more it begins to feel like the norm.  Things find new places, you develop a new way of doing things.  And hopefully the stress lessens.

I have included a picture of the corner bearing the evidence of a fire.  It's just in one corner, and the fact that only the outer walls are charred makes me think that it happened a VERY long time ago.  There is also evidence of a stove being in that corner at one point, so I'm guessing that was the source of the fire.  Close call!!

The project is progressing well.  The deconstruction is just about done, and the reconstruction has begun!  Thursday we went into Cornwall Lighting to pick up the rest of the lighting fixtures..... pot lights for the ceiling and strip lighting for the under cabinet lighting.  I chose LED lighting for the lighting over the stove, the sink and in the glass door cabinets.  This is supposed to be the most energy efficient choice.  Unfortunately, the LED pot lights on the market today are not strong enough for 10 foot ceilings, but eventually I should be able to replace the bulbs in my pot lights for LED bulbs when the technology has progressed.

Friday Kirk and his apprentice Adam from KMac Electric put in the new wiring.  And this week the plan is to finish the wiring, and put up all the dry wall on the ceiling and walls.  Very exciting!!

As I write, I have chili cooking in the crock pot.  These days I am all about simplicity.  I chopped up 2 onions, mushrooms, and some peppers.  Then I added a packet of chili seasoning, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of pureed tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, and a can of kidney beans.  I put it in the crock pot and put it on high for 6 hours.  It's starting to smell good!!  Hopefully this will fill our bellies for the next couple of days.

On to week two!!

Day 2

These guys are awesome!  They have torn out nearly the whole kitchen in 2 days!  And this isn't any shoddy construction either.  This is a house built in the 1890's  with logs and stones and railway ties!  There are over 100 years of layers of renovations, and they are going down to the bare bones!!  It's almost a shame to see the 100 year old wood torn out and thrown in the dumpster.  But I was not sorry to see the funky 60's ceiling go today!!  Why would they would install a drop ceiling 3 inches under the plaster ceiling??  And then build false bulkheads at different levels which didn't even conceal anything??  Was this fashionable at some point?

In yesterday's pictures you can see the inch wide strapping with plaster in between.  What remains now is 6 inch wide 3/4 inch thick tongue and groove boards.  In this corner there is evidence that the house was on fire at some point!!  In some places there are traces of two layers of old wallpaper remaining on the wall where the cupboards were.  I'm almost sad to see these little traces of history removed.  How many years has this been buried behind the cabinetry?  What did the room look like back then?  Was it always a kitchen?  I imagine at one point the room containing an old Hoosier and and ice box....  a big old enameled wood stove and a sink with a hand pump!  And here I am complaining about having to cook in the microwave and wash dishes in the bathroom sink!!

They managed to get the fridge down the narrow staircase to the basement this morning.  They had to remove the doors and still it barely fit!  I hope I never have to bring it back up!!

Despite the plastic barrier, everything in the house is covered in a layer of dust.   I had to take up the carpet in the dining room to ensure it's survival.  But we made it through day 2 on schedule.  And the cable mysteriously returned over night much to my son's relief.  The dumpster is already full.  I wonder where they are going to put the rest of the rubbish....

But for now, I think I will kick back and watch a film! 

Day 1

The first day of renovations is almost over and I am ready for a nice long bath.  The workers showed up all on time.  And I have to say they are a great bunch of guys.  Two workers from the kitchen renovation centre at Rona, KMac Electric's two guys, and the guy from the alarm company, and they all seem to know each other.  That is one of the amazing things about living in a small town!!

What was accomplished?  The doorways were blocked with plastic to try to contain the dust.  The alarm system was disconnected.  The electricity in the kitchen was disconnected.  All the cabinetry, the back splash, the first layer of wall board were all removed. The buffet was moved into the dining room.  I was pleased with the progress.  The kids got a kick out of finding a news paper from 1988 stuffed in the walls.  They were looking at the pictures and the prices of things and marvelling at how OLD it was.  When I pointed out that I had already graduated from high school in 1988, they began to marvel at how old I was!!

What didn't go according to plan?  The fridge was not moved to the basement (one more day of an accessible fridge can't be bad).  They will bring a dolly tomorrow to help with that job.  As well as no electricity in the kitchen, there is no electricity in my daughter's room.  I'm not sure how she will survive without her hair straightener!!  And for some reason, the cable is not working??  I don't know how that happened, but....  there you go! 

We have had to make a few adjustments.  We are now washing dishes in our downstairs powder room which we call the airplane bathroom due to it's size and the fact that it's tucked under the stairs which makes the ceiling slant down over the toilet.  So there is no vanity or counter to speak of and the sink is quite tiny.  I never thought I would be posting a picture of my bathroom.... but here it is....  We had a little production line going.  I washed, my son dried, and my daughter put the dishes back into their temporary homes.  Teamwork!!

While the workers were busily dissecting my kitchen, I couldn't really sit around and do nothing.  For some reason, I thought I was going to be needed during this initial work day to....  I don't know what.  But after some initial questions, mostly from me, they went about their work without my help.  So I decided, this would be a good time to work out in the garden.  I went to every garden centre in town and filled my car with bushes, grasses, ivies, geraniums...... Then the kids decided we needed more fish for the pond, so we got goldfish and pond plants as well.

Dinner consisted of veggie sausages on the BBQ.  Not elegant, but easy, and my daughter did the cooking, so I got to finish up with the flowers.

Tomorrow will begin with the arrival of the workers at 8:15 am.  The first order of the day is to move the fridge, so I will be emptying the fridge and freezer first thing.  In order to stay on schedule, they will need to finish the deconstruction by Friday, so that they can do the drywalling next week.  My fingers are crossed.  But now, it's time for a nice long bath.  I wonder if there is power in the bathroom....?

D Day

After years of planning and procrastinating, tomorrow is demolition day in my kitchen.  It marks the beginning of a 4 to 6 week adventure without a kitchen.  Needless to say weeks, no months of preparation have led up to this point.  Hours running around choosing cabinets, and door handles, floors and counter tops, pricing appliances, comparing....  I was surprised by the number of details, moldings, garbage bins, drawers and pantries.  Then comes the packing!!

I have included a couple of before pictures that shows the entire span of counter space and the 30 year old cook top and oven.  If you look closely, you might also notice the bulkhead and suspended ceiling straight out of an Austin Powers movie. 

As exciting as it is to know that I will end up with the kitchen of my dreams...  it is stressful, and even a little sad to see the kitchen I have cooked in, fed my family in and entertained my friends in be ripped apart.  The kitchen is most definitely the heart of my home and I have spent more hours in there than I can count. 

We have put together a temporary cooking area.  It consists of a microwave, a toaster, a kettle, a crock pot, an indoor grill, a waffle maker and a BBQ.  The cupboard on the left holds the food.  The fridge will be conveniently relocated to the basement, assuming it will fit down the stairs.  The rest is now located in various boxes strewn about the dining room.

I will spend the next few weeks sharing my kitchen renovation with you.  And how we cope as vegans without a kitchen in a small town with no vegan friendly restaurants!!  I have spent the last few hours making enough of my special oatmeal to last the week, and falafels for my son's lunch this week.  This should ward off starvation for the time being.  If need be, I know I can live off of oatmeal, miso soup and salad. 

Have any of you been through this experience?  I would love to hear your advice on surviving a kitchen reno without losing your mind.  Where the heck did you wash your dishes??

Ottawa's Veg Fest 2011

May 1st, and a beautiful sunny day.  It was a perfect day for a drive into the city to attend my first Veg Fest!!  I was so excited.  It was held in the Glebe Community Centre, and that in itself was a treat.  The Glebe is one of Ottawa's nicest neighborhoods, lined with old homes full of character.  I could stroll around there all day.

Admission to Veg Fest was free and they even had free parking!  Can't beat that!  They had guest speakers, food preparation demonstrations, a silent auction, and several exhibitors with amazing food and vegetarian and vegan products.  They even had a vegan cupcake contest.  Perhaps I should start perfecting my recipe for next year.

I bought some hand made soaps that smell good enough to eat!!  Kelp, lemongrass, almond, cinnamon and cloves, and something with coconut, I think.  They were 5 for 20$!!

 

It was hard to decide what to eat, but we settled on the plates from 'The Table'.  This is a great vegetarian buffet style restaurant on Wellington St.  I really wish I could have sampled everything there.  Antie Loo was there selling her awesome vegan treats...  cupcakes, brownies... and she had the most amazing cakes on display!  Including this increadible peacock cake.

I can hardly wait for next year!!