Countertops - Day One

Yes, you read that right, day one.

I am not known for my patience so this is going to be hard.

I'm using this stinky paint to do the countertops on my island with.

It really stinks!  You also need to use mineral spirits to clean it up also.  Mineral spirits is not the best smelling either!  Good thing I have all the windows open.

Anyways.... my husband made this island for the new kitchen.  I love it!  One thing I wanted in the new kitchen was an island.

Would have been nice if I remembered to get a pic of it BEFORE I started to take it apart to paint!

Oy vey!!

When we took on this renovation, I wanted two different tones of cabinets.  I also wanted one type of granite on the counters and another one on the island.  The lower cabinets were going to be dark and the upper light.  But I changed my mind....  The island is going to be dark and all the other cabinets light.  One of these days we will get to putting in granite.  For now, I am using paint on the island to help me decide.  The other countertops are off the shelf formica tops from Lowe's.  Eventually those will get replaced too.  I've already painted the cabinets 3 times trying to decide what kind of finish I want on them.  Once I decide, we are planning on going back and replacing cabinets and countertops.

You can see the color of the formica in the first picture.  I really like it!  So for now, that is my "dark".  The island is going to be lighter.  I decided to do this because we are going on vacation on Friday for 10 days.  I want these to be able to cure while we are gone so I can reassemble them when we come back.

I'm also a glutton for punishment....

I got the first coat done on the underside....

....and the second coat.  I wanted to get this done so it can dry overnight and I can flip them to paint the other side.

The can says to let them dry for 12 hours.

Ugh!  I hate waiting!

So now we wait....

Did I mention I hate waiting?

The Best Laid Plans....

I really meant to have something fun to post, but no....

This happened....

....yes, that would be the well Bob.

For the 4th freaking time!

We finished up replacing ALL the plumbing pipes in the house PLUS the hot water heater, compression tank and water softener.  We also added a whole house filter to better our water.

We were stupid enough to think that we had solved all our problems.

But NOOOOOO!  The well pump went out!  Or so we thought.

We ended up pulling the well and all 165 feet of pipe that is attached to it.  Yeah, the well pump is at the other end of that 165 feet.  Replaced the well pump and put it back down the well.  Our luck is that while we were putting it BACK in, our son noticed that a piece of the wiring was exposed.  Yes, that was the problem, not the pump.

Oy vey!

Soooo now that that is done, I can get back to work on the drywall.

And the kitchen island

And the baseboards

And the stairs

Did I mention that we are also leaving for vacation on Friday?!  Guess I should start getting ready for that too.

I better get crack-a-lacking!

Derailed again....

It seems like just a few months ago I had tried to restart the blog.  Imagine my surprise that it was 2 years ago!  Woah....time flies when you are having fun right?!

I decided to start again now to hold myself accountable.  With everything that has been going on for the last 4 years, I seem to have gotten nothing done.  Maybe this will inspire me to "get'er done".  First, I revamped the blog to update it's look.  Like it?!  (Imagine me twirling when I said that.)  I've also been thinking of what I would like to concentrate on....hmmm....

You may have noticed the pages have changed.  We are still working on the farmhouse.  I fear this will be a neverending project.  (Insert ugly crying face)  We made a promise to NOT tear up anything until what we were working on was complete.  Even though it was is a huge project, it seemed feasible....until....we actually got into the project.  It seems that one thing leads to another and another and so on.  Considering that the only walls we didn't move were the outside walls, I guess we should have expected it.  Now I just want to finish it and get on to the fun stuff, like decorating.  Not deciding where this plug is going to go or where are we going to run that duct.  You are going to benefit though.  I plan on writing "How to" tutorials on remodeling. These can be located under the how to page.  

You may or may not have noticed a betta and Fontanini page added.  Both of these are my addictions.  Before we moved to the farmhouse, I raised and showed cichlids and bettas.  I love my fishies!  My oldest daughter has gotten me hooked recently on breeding and showing the bettas again.  Under this page you will find information on bettas and the different ones that I have.

My other passion is my Fontanini collection.  It only comes out at Christmas though.  My sister started my collection the year I got married by gifting me the Hallelujah angel.  Every year it has grown a bit.  Almost 20 years later, it is quite extensive.  Oops....  The only year I didn't put it up was the year I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I just didn't feel in the mood for it.  In fact, Christmas Eve I went to bed early.  I just needed some alone time to sort out my thoughts and feelings.  I heard my husband and kids in the living room laughing and playing around.  It made me sad to think I may not be here the following Christmas.  Christmas morning I woke up and went into the living room.  There was my Fontanini collection all set up!  I found out that they had worked for hours together putting it all up to surprise me.  They said it just wasn't Christmas without me or the Fontanini.  Since then, no matter how I am feeling I will be putting out the Fontanini.

This is only part of it since it is too large to be in one room.  If I can get my fat butt in gear, I can hopefully have the basement done to set it up this year.  Wish me luck!

The cooking section is going to change just a wee bit.  I am trying very hard to be vegeterian/vegan while the rest of the tribe is pure carnivore.  It's been quite an experience trying to satisfy everyone's needs.  My struggles are your gain though!  I am going to share how I accomplish this with a few modifications.

Well, I think that is about it.  I have a tutorial on how to drywall in the works, the boy's room to work on and the not so bitty one to get to gymnastics.  Life is anything but boring around here!