Another Message From Above...

... or below, depending on how you look at it. 

Some People found another message under the floorboards in the attic while evicting mice. If you were if you are struggling with a bout of 'rheumatiz,' you might find the following advice handy:

Last time I had 'rheumatiz,' 20 hops really helped!

By the way, if you missed the last installment of profound advice, you can see it here: A Message from Above...

Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #5 (Wherein Stuff Continues to Happen)

Some People are playing catch-up with the blog. Because of this, Some People will keep the words to a minimum. 

Some People have taped & mudded the ceiling, as well as the walls (see previous installment) & Some People did the dreaded deed: sanding the drywall mud. The end result was that Some People looked a bit like zombis & the entirety of Some People's possessions (at least those inside the house) were lightly dusted, as if the powdered sugar fairies had a blowout while passing through...

Trying to salvage the ceiling by taping.

Soooo much tape.

Mid sanding.

Is that zombi powder we see?
Mmmmm...must... mud...

Even More Bird Spam

Some of our backyard birds paid a call.

Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #4 (Wherein Even More Stuff Happens)

Some People are fully into the painting process & haven't had time to post about their kitchen because it takes effort from everyone to keep certain highly mobile & curious Changelings out of the fray (& the paint). So, Some People will refrain from verbosity & just offer up the mostly-mudded, pre-paint pictures:

East

South

Northeast corner

Northwest

West hallway

Gratuitous photograph of sunset through living room window.

Valentine's What-the-Heck?

What the heck?!?

Who let Martha Stewart into our kitchen?

Whoah, look at the colors!

Amazing ziploc baggie piping!

Some People's Preschool is getting a treat tomorrow!

A Message from Above...

... or below, depending on how you look at it. 

Some People found this message under the floorboards in the attic while wire wrangling. If you are wondering how to proceed with your life, perhaps you should:

Sound advice from above.

11 Months Old!

Happy... hey, what year is it?

This morning at 11 months, Hawthorn was scaling rocks under the big elm tree...

This is serious business.

Now that's some careful shuffling... shuffling over to the refreshments!

Hey, thanks Bro! I needed that.

 Hooray for 11 months! Hooray for big brothers too!

Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #3 (Wherein More Stuff Happens)

After taking much stuff apart (see Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #2), Some People got going on putting stuff back together.


Part 1: Playing with Electricity

Just look at the delightfully assembled & super-safe wiring Chris got to tackle!

Lookie! New wires! Remember the old ones?

Some People got the ceiling fixture rewired
AND straight this time!

Some People are Super-Shoppers! Hooray for Some People!
(They just might stay within their budget!)

Makin' space for the fixture, or...
an excuse to use power tools?

Oooh, la la! Let there be light (over the kitchen sink)!

Part 2: Tackling That Ceiling (if you can call it a "ceiling")

Remember?

Some People had what they thought was a clever plan for an easy, inexpensive, temporary solution to the ceiling issue: pre-paint plywood veneer panels, lay them up & voila! bad ceiling disappears. They are lightweight, easier to lift & less expensive than drywall.

Painting veneer panels.
Looks like Some People could use a landscaper or two (or maybe a fleet).

Lots of screws were needed. More than anticipated.
They also didn't sink well.

Snapping lines.
Awww, crap! Some People forgot the house IS NOT SQUARE.

Boo. Can't get plywood to sit flush.

Some People forgot that Some Houses are not square. Some People's clever plan had to be rethought. Some People have a band-aid plan for the band-aid, but you will have to wait for later installments to find out. The good part of the bad band-aid is this: between the cleanup upstairs & the veneer downstairs, the mousey house insulation fluff-showers are over. Hooray for band-aids!

Part 3: Mudding Walls. 

Some People have begun the mudding of the walls as well. Some People's houses have some seriously funky walls. Some People like to describe them as "organic" in nature.

Mud, mud, mud. Miles of it.

Don't be fooled by Some People's smiles.
Some People are only smiling because they are cleaning up!

So there you have it. More therapy. Don't you feel better?

Stay tuned. There is much more to report about Some People's kitchen mayhem: more mudding, more light fixtures, carpet capers, some more mud, fixing of band-aids, mud, paint choices, creative backsplash solutions, mud, dishwasher discussions & even more mud!

Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #2 (Wherein Stuff Happens)

Welcome back to Some People's Kitchen Revamp Extreme-Spectacular! Otherwise known as "Feeling-Better-At-Some-People's-Expense Therapy!"

Some People have been busy tearing it up. Literally. Some People have to tear it all up in order to put it back together. It looks a bit like this. OK... it looks exactly like this:

Time to clear out the mouse motel.
I mean, plaster & insulation.

A mouse's view of the kitchen. Hey! Nice orange kettle!
Nicer still, cloth wiring. Chew it! It makes nice nest material.

Ooooh! Lookie! So clean!

HEEEEY! Now THAT'S some fancy wiring!
Where does it all go?

Digging out channels in the brick to replace wiring.

Look! We can see the house's insides!

Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #1 (Before Photos)

Some People have ceased in their elaborate procrastinations & diversions. Some People have begun the kitchen project in earnest. Before Some People get into what is being done (and what has already been done) let's share some "Before" pictures. Don't laugh. Some People can hear you all the way over there.

Some People's Kitchen BEFORE

(a prodigious collection of photos taken beginning in the West, moving counterclockwise)

West wall with built-in cabinetry & sexy linoleum.

South wall with built-in, plus areas where beadboard has 

been removed, exposing built-in shelving in dining room.

Southeast corner w/doorway to dining room.
Note the fabulous plasterwork & very safe-looking wiring.

Northwest corner.
Lovely, lovely carpet. So clean too!

Let's take a closer look at the awesome storage in this corner.

Ah, ceiling, plaster, carpet... a thing of beauty! Who would want
to fix this? How about that electrical staple job to the stove? Nice.
Especially nice is when the mice in the attic drop stuff thru the
ceiling onto the stove. Delish!

Mouse portal. I mean, ceiling lath &... oops, no plaster.

Northeast corner. Loving the patchwork carpets.
Feels like Raggedy Ann & Andy's house! Cute!

Northeast corner ceiling.
So glad they scotch taped that wallpaper back up.

Expertly mounted track lighting.
That's the key to making this kitchen so bright & airy. 

This is how Some People feel about this project.
(note more expertly placed electrical in the foreground)

So there you go. Bet you feel super good about your kitchen after reading this. It's like Jerry Springer therapy. Feeling down? Let's go laugh at Some (other) People's condition! See... things could be worse! Stay tuned for the next installment of Feeling-Better-At-Some-People's-Expense Therapy!