New York Renovator

There are days when I feel a very strong urge to just start pulling down walls here. We’ve managed to live with the lack of electricity upstairs, and the endless strings of extension cords throughout the house. But when it comes to this kitchen, I sometimes go tilt. Last week was like that.

Our kitchen was not the original room for the existing kitchen. I think this area may have been the housekeeper’s quarters. This area became the kitchen probably sometime in the 1940s or so, and then a very shabby remodel was done in the late 60s. It’s a dark corner of the house, and the kitchen is shoehorned between the dining room and the living room; so half of the small kitchen is a hallway and a stairwell and there’s a big (unused) chimney taking up space. And did I mention that it’s ugly as all get-out? Dark brown cabinets, bright orange laminate countertops, ugly yellow-brown busted tiles, a drop ceiling… and multiple paint jobs of bright pink, powder blue, dark brown wall paneling, and green paint? I detest this room. We’ve thought about getting new countertops, but I stubbornly resist. The kitchen is falling apart; to place new countertops in this crumbling kitchen is like putting a new paint job on a rusting Model T.

I am making serious plans to totally gut this room next summer. I just can’t stand it anymore. LOL!

Well, what started my desperation all over again was when we had to fix a plumbing leak under the sink. [...]

… they start to want the electronic gadgets.

Yep, I’ve managed to keep my kids away from the excessive electronica of our day for this long, but I’ve got a few sons who are suddenly into music. And cameras. And stereos. All we have around here is ONE CD player and one old cassette player (and I still have my old record player, by the way!). But problem is, we don’t buy CDs or cassettes anymore. Everything is moving to mp3 and digital files, and now that the boys like their music…. I guess I’m going to have to adapt. I am very comforted that they like good music, though– Hillsong, Kutless, Newsboys, Andres Segovia, etc. So while I do have to get them mp3 players, at least I don’t have to stomach the fingernails-on-chalkboard screeches of Metallica or anything. Whew!

So. MP3 player. Gosh, where do I begin?! They are expensive! $350 for an mp3 player, for a TEENAGER? That’s crazy! I don’t even have electricity in my upstairs bathroom! NO WAY am I getting an iPod or iPhone, NO WAY.

Ah, but looky here– an iPhone imposter! It’s very, very slick! It’s the V-Touch 8GB MP3/MP4 2.8″ Touch Screen, and it has a camera and earbuds, too. On sale right now for under $50, with free shipping. I love it, because it does everything a cell phone does except make and receive calls! (My sons have no need for a cell phone, but they like to play with mine because of all the features it has). The V-Touch has got a webcam, a digital camera, plays music and videos, has a voice recorder, an e-book function (very nice!), has a calendar, and more. I think this is perfect for kids, and not *too* expensive, either. It sure beats the $350 price tag for those other players. It’s on sale right now at Buy.com, along with sales on loads and loads of other stuff. I also use Buy.com for my household needs, such as small appliances and parts, garden supplies, etc. I love Buy.com! And I think my kids will love Buy.com, too. This gadget is definitely going on the Wish List!

We finally addressed the leaky sink plumbing this week! Got it fixed pretty easily, too (more on that later). Whenever we work on something around here- be in rearranging furniture, installing a computer, or working on plumbing– Livvy has GOT to be right in the middle of it. She’s quite the “helper.”

Can you find the helper?

I’m one of those women who LIKES getting housewares and appliances for gifts. I never liked chocolates, nor perfume, nor flowers (although I always like the intention behind them!). I do like the practical stuff, stuff that makes my kitchen and housework a little easier. So… *HINT HINT* to you(s) know(s) who(s)— check out this smashing item on sale from Buy.com: a Range Kleen wrought iron pot rack! And it’s a SHELF mount, not the kind you hang from the ceiling!

I do not like the ceiling ones, because I have a double dilemma: my kitchen has 9-foot ceilings (too high for me) and I have a 6-foot-1-inch high son, whose head (poor guy) is always dangerously close to my low-hanging chandeliers and hanging baskets! Seeing that I like the kid and would like to have him around for a long time, I’m avoiding heavy iron fixtures with swinging metal cookware hanging from the ceiling! I know, I’m such a devoted mom!

This shelf mount hanging pot rack is all iron, painted RED. I love it! Buy.com has it on sale for under $44, and it includes free shipping. It’s so classy. It would look beautiful in my Soon-To-Be-Renovated Kitchen, don’t you think? It comes in black, too, but I like the red. Classy!

Buy.com is having a huge sale on a lot of stuff right now. Their prices are always good, but there are some special deals just in time for the holidays. Buy.com has helpful gift-idea lists, too, where you can shop for things under certain dollar amounts. Check them out, I know you will find a lot of items for gift-giving. Plus, Buy.com covers a lot of the everyday household supplies that you need: vacuum cleaner parts and accessories, batteries, software, and much more. I love Buy.com! Many things qualify for free shipping, too. Happy shopping!

Well, boys and girls! It’s Friday once again, and you all know what that means! My kitty, Livvy, has been skulking! Some days her hiding places are really, really lame. And then other days, she’s in fine form. It just depends on her mood, I guess. — she’s in, she’s out, she’s back in. :-p

Sooo without further ado… CAN you find the kitty?!??! Click to enlarge if you need to. Note that my son, Beetle Bailey, is posing quite well for the photo opp….

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Brrrr. Got up at 6am to help the husband fix the car brakes. FUN. It was, what, 25 degrees outside!!

He’s a part-time rural carrier for the post office, and rural carriers use their own vehicles to deliver mail. I wonder if people have any idea the work that goes into such a job, especially if you have to deliver mail for 8-9 hours a day in your own family vehicle. It’s awfully tough on a car. We change the brakes almost every month. I don’t know why the postal service just doesn’t stop rural delivery– I mean, people have their OWN cars nowadays, right? They could come to the post office to pick up their mail on their way to the grocery store or work or something. Then again, that would require the post offices to hold and store a much greater volume of mail… I don’t know which choice is the most cost-effective…

Well, be kind to your rural carrier. He works hard. Especially in the winter! No cushy, warm offices for these guys…

Winter’s snows will soon be here…

Quite a number of weeks ago, I signed up for a Brylane Home freebie; since then, I’ve been getting their catalogs in the mail regularly. I’m not very fond of shopping catalogs at all, but I took a peek at the Brylane Home, and I’m pretty impressed– impressed enough to mention it here! I think they have excellent prices. I’ve been in need of some new cookware (and my bread machine died and I STILL haven’t replaced it), so I’ve been keen on housewares stores. I’ve been very dissatisfied with WalMart’s stuff– the stuff breaks or the non-stick coating wears off after minimal use— and refuse to buy any housewares there anymore. So I really like Brylane Home’s stuff, and I think things are very well priced. They have not asked me to mention them; I’m doing so because I like what I see and I thought you might benefit from it, too. The Brylane Home website is here. The prices on the website are the same as in the catalogs I get. While the inventory is good, you won’t find car accessories and everything under the sun here– just cookware, housewares, linens, bedding and bath stuff, etc. With the holidays coming and everyone’s attention turning to cooking and decorating the home, you may like the deals!

It seems I haven’t had much going on besides Find the Kitty these days. I’m up to my armpits in paperwork and office work around the house…. plus it’s a disaster since I haven’t tidied it in a while. I’m in a lull, I suppose, with a long list of projects but no time to devote to them.

On the other hand, there’s always time to fool around and play games with the kitty. Can you find her?

Ah yes, this is my disintegrating kitchen. It was originally a pantry or closet, I suppose, or a housekeeper’s quarters. It was converted into a kitchen sometime in the late 50s, and was completely remodeled in the disgusting 70s style. Thing is, when they redid the kitchen those two or three times, they never bothered to take down the previous layer. So there are three floors under that horrid pre-vinyl tiled floor; and there are several walls behind those cabinets: the original plaster which, judging by the wintry-fresh breezes that blow in when I open the cabinets, is mostly gone; some 50s drywall, some 70s paneling, wallpaper over the paneling, and paint over the wallpapered paneling.

ICK! Not to mention that whenever anyone did plumbing or electric in this house, they never bothered to close up the holes in the walls that had been made. That explains that big piece of drywall patch above the cabinets– I screwed that on when we were getting bats in the house, following the plumbing lines from attic to basement.

The cabinets were originally dark brown and black, and you could barely see your hand in front of you, it was so dark in this room. I started painting the cabinets white, but had to stop because the cabinet paint I was using gave me an allergic reaction (alkyds). Still, even a little of the white helped things.

It’s such an unpleasant room to work in, needless to say. I mean, you want to spend as little time as possible in this room, so you only cook and eat when you really must. Otherwise, you’d rather spend your time in the nice, remodeled, warm and cozy living room, in front of the computer, typing out Find the Kitty posts. Don’t you agree?

Someday we’ll get it fixed. I’ve been saying that for 10 years. But I MEAN IT! I just don’t know WHEN yet.

My cat Livvy is 15 months old, and she’s never had a hairball. Is that weird? Not that I’m disappointed or anything! It’s just that.. all my other tabby cats coughed up the little balls o’ barfy fuzz regularly (like, every other day, it seemed!) Livvy has not had one. She has emitted a “cough” from time to time; it’s something like a sneeze and a hack. Hmm. It’s kind of comical, when she does it. It’s sudden, loud, and then she acts like nothing has happened.

So today, we were all sitting in our Living Room, enjoying light conversation and our morning coffee before the day’s chores come crashing in. Our kitty Livvy was meandering around us, spying the assorted bagels that the children were munching. She came very close to sniff the one in my daughter’s hand, and suddenly let out a loud HACK. For a moment, I thought this was THE MOMENT. We stopped our chatting and looked at her, expecting one of those little balls o’…. well, you know…. at any moment.
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I can’t believe it’s Friday already! This week has been so busy… it seemed to fly right by. How did your week go?

Here she is! Can you find the kitty? Sorry the photos are a little dim; the kids used my nice “business” camera to capture the moment but don’t know how to use the flash. I actually like that warm color to the photos.

So do you see her? If you need a little help, click to read more…
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