4 wheel drive does not mean 4 wheel STOP

So we've been enjoying some warm March temperatures and looking forward to an early spring. With a winter storm forcasted I drove my 4 wheel drive to work and almost all the way back home. During a period of time that only lasted mere seconds but felt alot longer than that, I turned my vehicle into a daring adventure like ride better suited for Lagoon.
While driving due west, more or less as the road curves, on Pleasant View Drive I had the most amazing opportunity to get a 360 degree view of all parts south including the canal. Seeing as one near doughnut and recovery had been so much fun I then had the opportunity to inspect all parts north until I stood on the break with both feet and jumped the curb, but missed the power pole and the chain link fence and the lovely ancient pine tree.
The good news, after enlisting the help of a police officer with a hitch and a tow rope and a second one to block off the busy street (that had been as quiet as a ghost town while I did my best ballet moves with my car) I popped right back over the curb, none the worse for wear.

Here is evidence that I left the road sideways as the tire tracks are not as wide as the front of my car. This was lots scarier at night, and in the snowing conditions I had no idea I was that close to a house.

The midsection of my car straddled the curb. When I got out of my car I expected to drop into the snow bank but instead I was supported by the curb. Here is the chain link fence that I missed.

And this is all the damage I did to the car. And now I'm even more looking forward to spring.

Before and in between...

So at some point I'm hoping to post an amazing blog about what happened to my kitchen. I want to be so thankful for the dust and discomfort and I will be, just not yet. So here are the pictures of "before" and "in between".

Once upon a time I had a beautiful if not entirely functional kitchen .

This is what it looks like with the "bar" missing. It was one of the first casualties in the remodel.

Here is my husband in full on removal mode. It's a little sad but a lot exciting.

In addition to laying hardwood and moving water lines we also needed to be able to "power" our island. We were pleasantly surprised to see that "power" coming from the floor in just the right place for our island. We had thought it would have been powered from the wall, so we would have to "fish" the power line in place. Time saved one day.

And down came the cabinets. So it's patching and notice the new paint?

The fridge has moved to it's new location. Were hanging onto the sink cabinet as long as we can. When the sink comes out we will need to wash dishes in our bathtub for 2 weeks. That's the estimated time before the counter-tops will be ready to support a new sink.


 We had anticipated cabinet delivery on Monday, which was more days then our cabinet guy gave himself as a deadline. But, wait for it, wait for it. They are NOT READY for delivery. Not Tuesday and not Wednesday but with any luck, Thursday. To anyone considering remodeling....buy a new house. I made my husband a promise that I would divorce him before I would ask him to remodel the kitchen. He's not worried.

Creating the Perfect wildlife habitat

So long ago we built our home on a retired apple and pie cherry orchard. We have gleaned many times over from the generous and fertile soil. We have a natural spring that is latticed underneath our ground cover. The soil is too porous to bring the water to the surface but for living in a desert we do pretty good water wise.
It's not uncommon for us to view pheasant and other fowl from our back windows. We have even hosted a racoon family on occasion. But now we have become hosts to bigger visitors.

Back in the day we had a small dog that spent more hours outside than she does now. By my best estimation she is 18 and 1/2 years old and so has claimed as a benefit of her senior dog status that she can spent most waking hours in our garage. This leaves our backyard, quiet and predator free. Notice the green slide? My son who is now 12 no longer climbs his tree house so it has become a habitat for deer. It beats finding all the racoon scat up there.

Yes, those are horns. I recently posted pictures of a doe that has taken to munching on my flora and fauna. She brought back her boyfriend. He was very wary and kept track of us at our kitchen window.

This explains the bigger hoof prints that we have been seeing around the house. And it's kind of fun to host our winter guests.

The remodel continues

I'm that person that is always a little wary about what I wish for because I can see the big picture. Well, I wanted to update my kitchen and pretty soon that trickled into the family room and then pretty soon it was down the hall.
This is the current status of my living arrangements. My last remaining child at home is not happy to have to endure the inconveniences. He left for the bus earlier than normal this morning because in his words "there is a disgusting smell in our house" and disturbed a deer near our front porch making a meal of our honey suckle vine. So even the creatures outdoors are disturbed by our current mess indoors.

In case it is not readily apparent, yes that is my sofa and my dining room table on my bar. I used to give my youngest daughter so much grief for sitting up there. Yes, the standards have changed since she left home.

Long view, so you can see just how much hardwood has been laid. The window treatment is planned for removal later today.

Just ready for another coat of lacquer.

This is where all the things that can't remain on the hardwood have gone. I'm sure it is every little girls dream to have a huge compressor in her living room.

Yes, this is the entry way and my love seat. It's no wonder I never have guests anymore. They can't get through the front door.
With so much of our house out of commission it has turned meal time into a scavenger hunt. We still have access to the stove and fridge but nowhere to eat once it is prepared. So far we have resorted to eating in bed, yes full on meals, no crackers. Navigating to the basement and using the pingpong table. The only other seating arrangement is in the bathroom and I'm not letting anyone go there.  This looks so fun I bet you can hardly wait to start a remodeling job of your own, huh?

Beware a "handy-man" husband

So I thought it was time for an update on the project over taking my home and my life. I don't want to appear too whiny when I describe the mind numbing mess. I really didn't know I was so "OCD" about dust and that includes sawdust.

So the hardwood is wall to wall and this is the "un-cluttered" version. Suffice it to say that even bright and early when I am leaving home by 5:20 a.m. to get to work I have to turn on all the lights or risk taking out my hip with an unexpected fall.

The hardwood is 2/3 the way down the hall.

Yes, he is using the saw in the house. Truth me told I'm  beginning to wonder if Tony took on this project just so he could buy this new saw.

Notice the carpet pad stuffed in the "air intake" space. I would love to tell you it is reducing the dust and dirt recirculating with the furnace, but it would be a lie.

And there you have it, all the toys and the small stack of wood that is contributing to the hallway. Next week Tony plans to lacquer finish everything and then we start removing cabinets. We will probably try to function with only a fridge, crockpot and microwave for 3-4 weeks so if you have any great recipes, be sure to share. I'm sure hot cereal and sandwiches will get old very quickly.