Blog de Puree

The excitement continued today and yesterday, with the testing of the dishwasher on Saturday morning. We loaded it up with all of our daily dishwear, testing the slots and spots where the respective dishes might fit. The dishwasher takes a boat-load of stuff. And to my military mind, it was nice to see the dishes and utensils lined up in the correct holes, dress-right-dress.

It was a good feeling to unload the boxes of dishes laying around upstairs so that we can start reclaiming the rumpus room, aka. The Cherrystone Lounge. Trying to find where everything was around the house was like tracking down a kitchen diaspora.

“Knives, forks, plates, return to your homeland!”

Once the washer was loaded up, we pulled out the manual for that. The main question: What the heck do all these buttons do? Another question that popped up was whether we have soft, medium or hard water? In short order, Randye had it under control and the dishwasher was quietly humming away. Very quietly.

Late Saturday morning I sanded and prepared the new floor transitions, new bits of trim and an addition to the back door threshold. Tedious work, but as it was not a lot to do, it took about 30 minutes. Wondering about the process? Check out one of our earlier posts on woodworking. Then it was time to stain. As it takes at least four hours before you can add a second coat of stain, I applied the first coat a little before noon. Then came back and applied the 2nd coat around 4 p.m. We wanted to give the pieces enough time to dry before we polyurethaned everything today.

Between the coats of stain, we finished moving everything into the kitchen. The last of the wedding gifts have finally been freed from their boxes. And holy smokes, there’s room to spare!

Today it was all about the polyurethane. But not before I cleaned the bathroom, where we spent a lot of time cleaning dishes and such. And not a moment too soon. The tub was starting to get a little manky. And now, the Queen of England herself would be proud to bathe her naughty bits in our bathroom. Thank you Uncle Sam, for teaching me how to expertly clean bathrooms during basic training.

After cleaning the executive suite, the fine, bristle brushes came out and the intoxicating aroma of clear finish filled the house. It was a windy day, the remnants of a bit of a northeaster that rained it’s way through this weekend and the welcome gusts coming in the open windows helped to thin the air as we carefully applied the first coat of poly. Every inch of stained and treated wood was given a coat, and for some areas, the first of two or three coats.

The best part was yet to come. As I was finishing the final areas that Randye couldn’t reach by ladder or otherwise, she broke the kitchen in proper-dopper! Today was the first of many, many mouth-watering, sumptuous, nutritious and de-licious meals . And what better way to break in a Jewish kitchen? With roast chicken, of course. A little lemon and sage walnut pesto rubbed into and on the chicken on a bed of carrots and onions. Along with a side of Stove Top stuffing, it was a meal fit for a king. And the perfect way to break in our new kitchen.

Don’t be fooled though. We’re not completely finished. The plumber has to install the radiator, the electrician must put in the extra circuit box and a few other items and the contractor has to finish installing a couple of cabinets and wrap up some other odds and ends. Cross your fingers and by the end of the week, we’ll be able to put the Kerstein kitchen project of 2006 behind us.

And then there’s the painting. Oh, the dreadful painting.

And Randye adds, “Now the decorating can begin. And we’ll need a dining room furniture. And…”

Here’s Randye with her hands in the chicken’s nether regions: