Home Is Where The Heart Is

"Home is where the heart is,
And my heart is anywhere you are.
Anywhere you are is home."

It has been said that the kitchen is the heart of the home. In my case, that couldn't be closer to the truth. Recognizing that, Ed has been working diligently to pull the rest of the kitchen together.


He put the window trim around the kitchen windows and started on the granite.











We set out the granite tiles for a dry fit throughout the entire kitchen before cutting anything. Good thing Ed knows what he's doing because I would have just started cutting and gluing. We had to raise the level of the stove top to accommodate the plywood, wonderboard, mastic and tile. Later when the grout is in, we'll lower the stove down where it belongs.











Ten years ago we bought a cheapie tile saw from Home Depot. That little $39.95 saw is like the Energizer Bunny...it just keeps going and going. Ed took all the tiles that needed to be cut, and did (most of) them in one trip.



Going up and down the stairs a gazillion times is a killer leg workout. Of course, I'm up on the landing at front door watching. He's down there working away, standing at the edge of the abyss.

The tile fit like a dream, and we got the kitchen and bathroom counter done in record time. Ed put the wood trim around the edge, and the grout in. I'm really loving the way it looks. We still have

to do some fine tuning. There are a few plug covers to go on, and the stove top height has to be adjusted.

The original plans called for the kitchen counter to make a el, with the stove top and eating counter. I changed it to make the counter run the length of the wall, to include a small desk, and have the stove top and eating counter in an island. We are really glad we changed it because it seems to be a better use of space.

Ed wanted to get the refrigerator out of the garage and up the stairs. In case it slipped your mind, I'll just say that a refrigerator is really big, really tall, and really really heavy. We had two problems. I can't help him get it upstairs, and the staircase is about an inch too narrow. Ed was gathering tools to do violence to the rail, when I had an idea.

I was originally thinking of ways to reduce the weight..(somehow that's always on my mind).

"What if we take off the doors?" I mused.

I'm a genius...who knew? The problem of the narrow staircase was solved!

Thursday Taylor came down to rototill the vegetable garden, and he and Ed moved the refrigerator upstairs.

Finally... a real kitchen...but wait!

We need actual running water, and a working drain. Ed started putting all the pieces together and he says. "Looks like some kind of weird musical instrument."

"Give it a try," I said,"It can't sound any worse than my bagpipes." And guess what? It doesn't!

But we needed a drain much more than we needed a drain and kazoo band, so he went with Plan A and installed the pipes under the sink.

The wood stove is on order, a Hearthstone Tribute stove, and should be here in a week. Wonder if we can get Taylor back to help get that upstairs?