SPLAT

And my dining room table looks like this. AGAIN. And I wouldn't be surprised if this is not the last time.

Sun porch

True to the promise I made myself and an attempt at distraction while waiting for the tileman, and, well, it was long over due, I cleaned the sun porch and, not only did I ORDER new curtains, I HUNG 'em too!

And true to my typical style, it may look half done, but it's not. I have only hung two of the three curtains. The third one is purple and is meant to hang to the right of the yellow one, in place of the burlap and in order to fill in the corner of the room. I want the window that is left of the purple one bare, so I can watch what is going on outside. The other two windows are where the sun sets and it gets mighty hot in here when they are bare. For now though, I have left the burlap curtain up.

See my dog, behind the chair, trying to steal the cat food. 

I went to the fabric store in search of industrial size rolls of gauze. They used to carry this, 10 years ago. I had bought some blue and off white gauze. Alas, this industrial roll is discontinued. These curtains work well, plus they are hemmed and finished. via UrbanOutfitters - gauze.

Kitchen update

I can see clearly now the ... fridge ... is gone.

Sitting in the dining room at the computer and looking to the right into the kitchen, I have a good feeling about the soon to be completed kitchen transformation.

The layout

Its been a long, long haul (kitchen gutted in feb 2011). I am tired of this dirty looking sandblasted sub floor, the spotted walls, the pet hair...oh wait, that is not going anywhere. Hmmm, oh well. Ever since decisions had been made several months ago, not much has been going on but receiving purchases (fun) and waiting. Not literally of course. I have not whittled a paddle or twiddled my thumbs, but am patiently waiting, keeping my sanity.



The design board

After a few consults with a kitchen designer and LOTS of kitchen inspiration pictures, I took the DIY approach and came up with a layout that I thought best suited the kitchen space, with out tearing down walls or MOVING the kitchen to another room ... oh, well I guess we did bust down one wall, replacing a rotted window with french doors.
  
Some work in progress, before and after. Access to the outside. "The Parisian Balcony"

I KNOW the kitchen will be better then what it was; more counter space, more space overall, lighter, brighter, airier..., But someone else, seeing it for the first time, might wonder why this layout. I don't think I have ever posted before pictures because it was so dirty, dark, outdated and depressing so we will wait and compare when its done.

Counter samples, cabinets and floor samples.

The small update: I had craigslisted the old fridge, needed it moved out so the floor can be tiled. Fridge was working and contractor was sure I would get lots of calls from landlords. True that, but little response after the first contact. After a week I wasn't so sure if any of the callers would follow through and imagined the ad getting lost in the deep list of other items for sale. Until last night... Fridge sold and gone!  This should motivated the contractor to come and do the flooring. I pushed the temporary cutting board counter and recycle storage tower into the corner, clearing the middle of the kitchen and allowing me to visualize this. This picture I found one day, that solidified my plans. The awkward corner, that may look this dreamy when I am done.

Inspiration:

Source: keenandfitting.blogspot.com via Sara on Pinterest

There are a few things to work out, such as the sink. And the pantry. But Im sort of done talking about it. tick tock, tick tock.

You can see all my kitchen inspiration here, on pinterest.

all things Turkey - Cappadocia - Part 1

I was recently prompted to gather hotel, tours and other information from our trip in the Cappadocia region in 2008 and discovered I had started a post last year, but never finished it.  There is the post about fairy chimneys, volcanic ash and pottery but it was more photographic then informative. 

******************

photo credit: Chaz R. Davies

One of my favourite photos as it stirs up delicious memories of our tour around Cappadocia. A typical Turkish breakfast, al fresco w/ the sounds of classical music surrounding us and the extensive landscape views. Olives, feta cheese, hard boiled eggs. And bazlama, a Turkish flat bread, cooked beside us over a hot plate.

Cappadocia is an area east of Ankara, central Turkey. A phenomenal geographical area to explore. Flat lands and volcanic peaks and ash transformations. Fairy chimneys, underground cities used since the Bronze age, tunnels & rooms dug out of the side of volcanic ash. Christian cave art, frescoes, dating from the 9th and 10th centuries. Dry, desert like area. A beer at the end of the day never tasted better.

Getting there
Traveling by commuter boat across the Bosphorous Strait, to get to the main train station. Night Train to Ankara, bus to Cappadocia region. Our stop, Ürgüp.

train station, Anatolian side

Accommodations:
We were there in the summer of 2008. We chose the town Ürgüp (based on pictures and hotels, a flip of the coin) and stayed in a cave hotel, Elke Pevi Hotel.  Check out the link, our room is the lighted arched entryway on the left side of the photo, 1st floor. It was beautiful.  There was a writer, renting a room a few doors down. He was there for the long haul.

Chaz, relaxing on the patio of cave room.

view from hotel / Ürgü

Bazlama for breakfast, prepared table side

We were given access to a pool at another hotel, just a walk down a path and around the corner.

socks up, camera ready.

Day 1: Arranged by the hotel staff, we hired a taxi to explore the area. We opted for a taxi as there were three of us, including a 6 year old and we don't normally book tours, but felt we needed some guidance to explore this vast area. The taxi was very comfortable and this was an efficient way to travel to all the hot spots. Some stops were a small walk off the side of the road, to view the different fairy chimneys and view the valleys. Other stops were at museums or significant temples.  Places of interest; Town of Avanos, Göreme Open-Air museum, Uçhisar Hill and Castle.   

TIP: We kept meeting up with this couple at each destination. They were traveling by a rented motorcycle. Possibly following a self-guide tour or maybe just a travelers book. The roads were quite empty and looked easy to travel.

TIP: I recommend a bottle of water, camera and a bandana - when it gets hot, dry hot, it was nice to breath into the fabric, or cover your head.

TIP: Eventually I figured out to take picture of the NAME of the museum we were entering in efforts to help organize the photos. But I didn't figure that out until the next day.

fairy chimney

A stop in Avanos, known for pottery and carpets. We toured a carpet show room and production site.  We met some of the weavers and were shown the intricate methods of weaving. One woman may work on ONE carpet for several months in order to keep the tightness of the weave consistent with her method. The carpets are pieces of art. We saw the silk process, dying process, weavers etc. If you aren't interested in purchasing a carpet, be strong!  Go ahead and take the tour, look at their carpets, drink some tea, learn about the patterns. But its ok to say no thank you and be on your way, although I am not strong and I did buy a beautiful woven kilim in neutral brown colours.

We were also taken to a Pottery showroom and work area in the same town. The pottery was beautiful, the people were proud of their work.

Göreme Open-Air museum - Exploring monasteries & churches carved out of volcanic ash (2000 years ago)

Cobble stone paths and steps leading into the rooms.

Insides filled with 2000 year old frescoes (dating from the ninth century to the eleventh century.)

An all day tour. My trooper, the 6 year old - keen and enthusiastic for every nook and cranny he discovered.

Tuckered by the end of the day.

Our last stop of the day was at Uçhisar Hill and Castle, watching the sun set. I recall driving up the hill and thinking Uçhisar would also be a good town to book a hotel.

Day 2 we toured an underground city and the Ihlara Valley ... continued in next post.

La Serviette

Dirt still under my fingernails, napping child, occupied boy with friends, lawn cut and approximately an hour of alone time I tap into my inner creative side and launch into the sewing machine.

A yard of this cotton, poly, linen blend, a couple frayed edges and a couple hemmed edges and I now have a curtain for the half bath and serviettes for the table.

Perfectly frayed edges.

1/2 yard gets me 2 adult size napkins and 3 kid size.

Now, what to make for dinner. Perhaps take out.


Disclaimer & notes:
1) I am unsure whether serviette is feminine or masculine, a half assed search indicates la. Feminine she is!
2) Once I find the hooks, somewhere in the house, Ill be able to install the bathroom curtain and post it
3) I love cotton/linen serviettes and pleased to add these to my collection. You can never have enough serviettes 
4) I don't own an iron. I gave it away when the bottom got gooky. Never replaced it. Although the linen table cloth may look better ironed, its overrated. 
5) My mom used to iron our underwear, and everything else.