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Three different stain colors had to be
chosen for this little patch of siding. |
Paint and stain colors, flooring, cabinet material, countertops, door, windows, tiles, all that's been chosen. There’s a lot of other little things that remain yet to be sourced. We had picked out the knobs and handles for the cabinets, but neglected to write the information down anywhere or tell the contractors. So it was back to the hardware store, where we were promptly overwhelmed by choices, again.
At a recent site meeting we were asked to specify light fixtures for the guest bath, and shelving for the pantry and linen closet. To do this, we needed to check some measurements. One dark and stormy night found us prowling around the house with a flashlight, notebook and measuring tape, measuring closets and appliances to
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| Family sized laundry |
figure out what would fit (meanwhile hoping the neighbors didn't think we were burglars). Happily, we don’t have to replace the washer and dryer. The pair that came with the house will fit into the laundry space, with a little bit of room to spare. Who knows what we’ll do with such large capacity machines after all those years of using little ones.
We spent a long morning wandering the endless concrete pathways of Ikea, looking for light fixtures and storage for the front hall. Everyone in Ikea shuffled along at the same slow pace, in the same direction, as if we were on a conveyor belt. I felt like an extra in a zombie film. It was a successful trip, at least in terms of inexpensive, functional lighting. But the storage we liked wasn't the right size for stowing bike bags. On the other hand, we avoided buying anything flat-packed that needs assembly.
It seems we've spent most of our time recently, shopping for ironmongery, fixtures and hardware. Roughly half of our cookware won’t work on an induction cooktop, including our moka espresso pot and tea kettle. January is a good time to buy pans, as they have excellent sales. We got an extra discount because we bought the floor model.
It’s a pity our stainless steel kettle won’t work on the new cooktop, because most of what we found out there is poorly designed, ugly, or not induction compatible. No wonder folks are going for the built-in, hot water on demand spigots. Yes, we know we can boil water in a saucepan, and yes we have induction compatible saucepans. But they don’t whistle. A whistle is essential for absent minded folk like us.
During one of our shopping trips, D. phoned the head carpenter to check on something. During this conversation, J. sheepishly admitted they managed to lose the kitchen sink. Oddly, the disposal unit that was attached to it was found in the garage, but not the sink. The plan was to reuse the stainless steel sink that was in the house when we bought it. The sink, diningroom light fixture, a bathroom vanity, a mirror and lots of light fixtures and bulbs were stored in the garage for safekeeping. It does look a bit overstuffed, even after they tidied it up. But seriously, how do you lose the kitchen sink?
