Modest MO-bile Kitchen Face-lift

                          

                                 

Well major progress has been made on the kitchen re-muddle, as you can see.  It's hard to tell at a glance just how much work goes into even a simple re-do like this one but let me tell you...a lot!   The goal was a modest MO-bile face-lift bringing this 70's era beast into a  modern, industrial, functional and clean era.   Although there are several more smallish details to attend to and one not-so-small flooring issue to deal with, we are well on our way to checking this project off the list.   NO  we did not replace any appliances as they are all just fine and in great working order but down the road I am seeing some chic 'black' things making their way into the space.  YES  I said 'black' not stainless as I am,  if nothing else,  cheeky  when it comes to design preferences.   Obviously, there is enough 'stainless' in this kitchen already and any more would be just too 'Dexter-ish', if you get my drift. 

NO XQZS

Okay so maybe I have been a little busy but I know that is not a valid reason for not posting anything in so long.

I have had visitors.

Loads of visitors and have loved each and every one of them.

Bless their hearts.

They kept me busy with all the running around and then there was (is) the HEAT.  It has been so bloody hot here in the GREAT WHITE NORTH  that it has been hard to get worked up about anything except getting my fat ass into the river which btw was the recipient of a minor (35,000 liters) jet fuel spill a couple of weeks ago!

This resulted in a knock on the door at 1:30 am one morning and there stood 2 fully geared up firefighters informing us that we would need to turn off all the power to our house (except freezer & fridge  : ) and....

leave...as in EVACUATE...due to a the aforementioned jet fuel spill into our formerly pristine (you could drink it) river!

Oh...OH...oh...and another thing...the MO-bile kitchen re-muddling is in full schwing as of the last week.

So total and ultimate kitchen chaos is reigning supreme as we speak.

Kitchen crap is strewn everywhere and we are trying to keep up with the carpenter and his demands to "prime, paint, sand and move stuff out of my way!".....hey, aren't we paying him?   So why is he ordering us around?

I just do not know the answer to that.

   

I know these sound like xqzs but really they're not...

really....not.

 

   

Stepping Lightly

 

Prancing Pony on new floor.

We are all loving our new, indestructible (so they say) flooring.

Yes, I can see the white hairs from my constantly shedding dog, but with my new cordless vacuum it is so easy to zip on through the Mo-bile and

for minutes-on-end  we are fur-free.

small miracles

most of the time we hardly give it any notice but every once in awhile it just stuns...there above us only sky.   i think John Lennon said that or something similar.  so there you go.   a beautiful display played out for your viewing pleasure.   pretty spectacular but hardly unusual and only special when we dare to look up at a particular moment and deign to notice.   now that is a fun word -- 'deign'.  i am not sure i have ever used that before but i like it.  reminds me of 'uxorious' --  another fun word that is just not appreciated as much as i think it should.  okay, i know this sounds like rambling and it is and yes, i am under the influence of home brew (a nice dry chilean sauvignon blanc) but its been a sweet hot, summer day in rural british columbia and its good to be alive.   i am just seizing this day.

cheers.

--BLANK--

This is the PonyG's first snail encounter.  She was gobsmacked (I love that word).  Could barely get out the door.   Once outside she could not make eye contact with it for fear of provoking an attack.  

Thankfully, no fatalities occurred during this photo shoot.

 

Yes this is just a feeble attempt at a blog post due to a muddled mind as of late.  I suspect I will be reprimanded hotly by my total lack of regard for 

blogging in general.

But, sometimes you just have to put it out there to get things rolling again.

 

! pick colour !

What would a trip to the 'big city'  (that would be Vancouver) be, without a visit  to the mani-pedi hovel/spa?  Well, it just wouldn't be complete without that sweet experience of getting yelled at as soon as you pass the threshold of ....'Total Nail' or 'Tips Top Nail' or 'Lovely Pretty Nail'   or....you know what I'm talking about.   It is always the same shout out of   "pick colour!" and then again a little louder if you are too slow,   "PICK COLOUR!".   Okay, okay, so under duress you grab 2 bottles because you just can't decide so fast.   Apparently, our  'nail technicians'  are in quite a rush to service the other patrons-in-waiting (none that we can see)  in the shop.  Anyway, as soon as you have your 2 bottles clutched in your unmanicured claws  you are ordered to "sit here" and then again because you aren't quite clued in to the accent (come on now,  you know its true)...you are shouted at again  "SIT HEEERE".    Okay, okay you sit and then immediately the massage chair is turned on full throttle and you are ordered to put your feet into the too-hot water and then your technician and her pal (your girlfriend's tech) begin their private conversation  that effectively excludes any english-only speakers.   Of course, you can only assume because of their chuckles that they are totally talking about their current so very annoying customers.  In the meantime,  you are desperately trying to control the banging, rolling and shaking of the massage chair.  Once you get the chair under some control you can kind of settle in for a moment or two of enjoyment, but, only for a moment because so very soon the surgery begins.    Meanwhile their conversing/gossiping  never ends except for every once in awhile an order is barked (in english) to you to do...something?...and of course it must be repeated because we are a pathetic people. 
      There is cutting and jabbing and rinsing and massaging and so it goes.  Then comes the time for the 'colour!' and you have to decide between the two that you were rushed into picking and of course, you are not in love with either,  but getting up and choosing another one in NOT an option so you just resign yourself to one.   With any luck at all,  once its applied you actually like it (!)  because if not,  there will be much rumination and regret to follow.     This is  always followed by  a comparison about who got the better job--you or your friend.   It's always  your friend. 
        
       
         
      

Fun & Games

Part of any DIY home remuddling involves physical injuries and lately I have been the recipient of a couple of doozies.   Both self-inflicted and due to my tendency to get really (really) excited when I can see the end of a project.  So  yesterday I dropped a crowbar on my foot.  Ow.  Those things are heavy in a way that was a bit unexpected.  The top of my foot swelled up very fast and looked like a blue golf ball was lodged under my skin.  Of course I imagined it to be a blood clot that would quickly make its way up to my heart and blah,blah, blah.  No, no pictures, just use your imagination.

Then this morning I decided to hang this framed item that had been leaning against a wall for far too long.   Upon discovering that the screw would not screw so easily into the stud (yes, I have a trusty stud finder but can also find  studs without said stud finder) decided to help it in by banging a nail in part way first.    Yes,  things slipped and I nailed my finger instead of stud.  Briefly, there was lots of dripping blood which was annoyingly getting on everything and I had to stop to wrap the finger in a paper towel secured with blue painter's tape.  All I wanted to do was get that thing on the wall and no way was my bloody stump going to slow me down.   Side note:  LOVE the painter's tape when used for medical purposes as actually sticks to itself better than to anything else.

This obviously has nothing to do with the pics posted here of my newly installed glass blocks.  I just adore them.   Now, as I sit here at my laptop and gaze lovingly up at them,  they make me so happy that I forget the foot and the finger and all the other bruises, bumps, aches & pains of reality renovating.   Sound familiar to anyone?

Love in Captivity

Just thinking about 'love' and 'big love' and  'lost love'  and 'misunderstood love' and just 'love'  in general,  and how it never really goes away or falls by the by and by.  It has a life of its own and screw the rules (what rules?) .    I suspect this to be a very good thing in the grande scheme of our very short lives or quite possibly  the only thing of substance left when all else is said & done.   I keep my love  safe and close and captive

and most little cowgirls like it that way.

 

 

  

MAD MAX

                                                 the tree....before

                   MAD MAX himself (I like his equipment)

        

I know to most real Canadians this is not such an amazing sight but to me it caught my attention in a big way.  I have never, I repeat never seen someone climb up a tree (this tall) and cut off all the branches on the way up and then start to chop it down in sections.  These guys were fearless and I know, its something they do everyday and they assured me it was 'a piece of cake' and  'so easy' but still....really?  When I looked up and saw Mad Max at the tippy top of the tree,  I stopped breathing....it scared me big time.    But, within an hour the larch tree was down and the guys were gone but not forgotten.  

I love how things get done in  Canadia, oh, Canadia .

Oh Happy Day

signing off for earth hour