the kitchen project

We painted our kitchen. It seemed like it would be a simple enough thing to do and we've wanted to get rid of our AWESOME blue cupboards for quite a while (like since we moved in) so I decided that last Saturday was going to be the day it began. I had it all planned out to finish late Sunday night. Needless to say, it took a bit longer than that...

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First, we scrubbed up the walls and prepped them for texture. Previously (and I really wish I had a picture of this) the walls had a texture that looked like paint drips evenly dispersed across the walls. They also had a mat finish that seemed to soak up grime. Don't I look fierce!

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Next we splattered on the putty (which, by the way, is officially called all-purpose joint compound for those of you who want to find it in a hardware store without sounding like a yuppie). Rhea found a good way of getting the texture we wanted with the putty knives through a few minutes of experimentation.

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Then we primed it and put a coat of cream base paint on it and I painted it this HORRIBLE color!!! That's actually a glaze. We wanted to show off the new texture with a glaze, but this green turned out to not work so well as a glaze. Rhea came home (not allowed to breathe the fumes, so I kicked her out of the house) and said something like "hmurmnem" - only in an encouraging tone of voice.
I skeptically asked, "What do you think?"
"What do you think?" came her reply.
"I want to know what you think first." I smiled at her and tried not to laugh.
"I don't like it." she said.
"Good, I think it's awful!" I responded.

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So we went to Home Depot the next day and picked out a glaze and base coat from a pamphlet. Three coats of base paint over the split pea soup, one coat of glaze over that, and you've got yourself the makings for inspiration to replace the floor. Oh yeah, the old kitchen faucet broke on Sunday, so we got a new one of those too...

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The floors went down without any major problems as long as you don't count sore knees - man, I'm getting old (probably ought to get a convertible soon).

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And the finished kitchen! Yes, it is dark outside. We're finally DONE!



Here's the cupboards too. All in all, it took a week and a half. Now about that counter top...

Yeast

Ok, so I think I must have a thing for yeast. Sounds a bit creepy when you just say it like that, but let me explain: I get a real kick out of doing things that mankind has done for eons in a really simple way that works without requiring sterility and mass marketing. Like making beer. My beer tastes alright, and it's simple enough to make that a kindergarten kid can assist (in the making, not the consumption - sheesh you guys!). As I do it more, I learn how to make it taste pretty good - at least as good as some of the stuff that people buy because they've been told they'll earn the interest of pretty bikini girls if they do. Anyway, I digress... I like stuff that reminds me that this modern life - including much of the pressure to do everything at lightning speed - isn't how humans have been existing for the majority of our history. So far, the evidence for this fondness includes my hero-worship of Dick Proenneke, my enjoyment of hiking, chess and brewing, and now...

Sourdough Bread Making!!!

That's right folks. I've got a jar full of fermenting flour and water in my office sitting on top of my fermenting grain-based beverage, which is basically flour and water... hmm... It really does make me stop and appreciate this microorganism that has helped us survive as a species for so long.


I suppose in fairness, I should have titled this post Yeast and Grain. In any case, we started some sourdough today. Rhea and Ian followed a recipe like most people use, including packaged yeast and sugar. The smaller jar is my purist version - one that could be made even if you couldn't buy supplies at a grocery store: water and flour. Nothing else. Here's hoping it actually works! Rhea and Ian's should be ready to make some bread with in three days. Mine won't be ready to leaven a loaf for at least a week. We'll certainly keep you all posted on the development of these all-important loaves as they make their way to the oven.



On that note, Rhea and Oliver had a checkup on Monday. They're both healthy, but the older of the two is feeling anxious to have it all over with. The younger wouldn't comment - I asked him and he kicked me in the ear.

From Left: Bread on Beer in the office, Ian is really excited to do some baking, Sadie guarding my Yeast Projects (don't worry, she does an even more enthusiastic job guarding the project Rhea has growing).