BOO!

... alright, last minute and I'll join in with the Halloween festivities, (me and my bad, broken camera)!

Moustache Mania - A favourite carved jack-o-lnatern, last week on a pumpkin trail hike.

This is what we looked like on that late night jack-o-lantern hike. No flashes allowed. Thank goodness for glow sticks.

Dragon or Bear. Wont know until tonight!

Eerie Bunny, Comical Bunny Jedi or Monkey Jedi (So many options! - I like the fuzzy face bunny, most spookilicious).

And this pre-occupied mama forget to get pumpkins to carve! Oops.

 Oh well, 

Happy Halloween

&

Safe Travels

Kitchen

Here is my cooktop. And oven. And soapstone. This was shortly after it was installed and oiled up, a few weeks ago.

There is this huge list ... have I complained about it yet? I keep going through it, moving items around, striking things off, reorganizing it in hopes of it looking better and easier to manage.   The items range from as simple as finding mineral oil bottle that was left for counters to gooping off the goop on the oven to installing door fronts and fillers to ... postponing until January, such as building pantry. And although I have been using the kitchen this weekend I hope to tackle a few of the things on the list, none that get my excited, but at least I will be happy when completed.

After today's unseasonable high temperatures, a hurricane is headed north, with potential snow storms.  Frakenstorm they call it! Maybe cold wet weather is what I need to keep me inside and get stuff done.

Green tomatoes

This summer I had planted three tomato plants. One plum shaped orange tomato plant flourished. The other two regular heirloom red tomato plants did ok. I often plucked the almost ripe tomatoes off, bagged them and left them on my friends porches.  And they often returned the favour by bringing me a bowl of stew or garden soup made with said tomatoes. Clever, eh. ;).  I also managed to give a pocket full of green tomatoes away during my sons bday party - one parent exclaiming his wife had southern roots and often made fried green tomatoes.

Fall is well upon us with the first frost coming around the corner. I was getting eager to clean up the garden but there were still tonnes of green tomatoes dangling on the vine.   Taking advantage of a beautiful day, I went with the frost notion and decided to pluck all the tomatoes and dig up the plants. I'm not sure if these ones will ripen.  Some of them look ok on the outside, but when I cut them, the have already gone bad.  I have heard wrapping in newspaper helps them along to ripen.

Growing is fun, but next year I will just plant one plant.  Now, what to do with the rest, sitting on my front stoop{in the rain} isn't going to help them ripen. Waiting for some grand scheme. Stray deers, cats come on over.

FYI: Here is tomato harvesting and ripening site. I should have read it last week, I like the idea of extracting the entire plant, roots, tomatoes and all, and hanging it upside down in the basement.

My favourite sofa

The Jasper sofa, from Room & Board.
Yep, Im on the lookout for another sofa, again.

Pretty things

Pretty little things:

via Etsy shops: Fabric bunny doll, Nesting felt bowls, Paper Mache masks, Star garland

Stuff, links and a list

I haven't posted for the past few days. Not sure why; I have a lot to say.  And it is autumn, the most beautiful time to take pictures.

Maybe because my Rebel broke. Luckily I still have a pocket sized camera.

Maybe because assembling the drawers and door fronts on the kitchen  cabinets have gotten the best of me. Or the worst of me.

Maybe because after the climatic kitchen renovation install, I made a list and discovered I still have a gazzillion things to do before I can officially close this renovation saga.

Maybe because I have done a 180 and am now focusing all my attention on relocating my work office by the end of the month.

I did manage to take care of a few kitchen decor details and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.

I can say I am thoroughly enjoying my new appliances, counter and lay out. Have baked banana bread, brownies, croissants and a birthday cake. Made some red lentil, spicy soup and aromatic brown rice and lentils. Some french toast, pancakes and more pancakes. And last night, pesto salmon. Yes cooking lots and loving my new space.

I can also say I took full advantage of the beautiful fall morning yesterday and tore down the dead climbing vines, plucked off all the green tomatoes and tore out the plants. Dug and turned some soil. And hopefully will get to plant something before the first frost.

I can also say I just won a giveaway on a lovely lifestyle blog. A very cool score of many items - a tea towel for my new kitchen and half my Christmas shopping now looked after :).  Mostly, it really made my day when I discovered the win and made me want to post again and share. Check out the blog which, besides hosting weekly giveaway's, she digs up and discusses many interesting topics from travel, home, work, day to day, fashion ...etc. And the store that provided the loot.

Decade

I've been a mother for a decade.  Sniffing in that baby scent, oh so divine.

He is everything a mother could hope for. Adventurous, smart, silly and goofy. Sometimes polite, sometimes grumpy. Funny and always forgiving. Sweet and growing, yet still my baby. I worry that he will grow up too fast and my job will be done.  I miss him when I'm at work and he at school; I worry I'm not fully engaged and taking advantage of my time in his presence.  I hope he likes his childhood; I hope he has fond memories.

He is lucky in that he gets several different celebrations. One with his grandparents on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, another with his immediate family on his actual birth date. And another with his friends.

I'm lucky to be blessed with him as my son AND my contractor who made every effort to install the oven and cooktop before the party, along side the counter installers.  Right down to the day before the party, while the contractor made one more attempt at getting the oven in the cabinet (gas line was in the way), I stuck around and started organizing the dining room; moving the kitchen items back into the kitchen.  First thing Saturday morning, batter went in to the newly installed oven and  out came a cake, first one baked at home in several years.

It was a hectic, crazy few weeks leading up to his birthday weekend, but the party was considered a success, I was challenged as a mother, wanting to do what ever I could to make my child happy. And now I can now work at a regular pace to put the rest of the kitchen together. And we can all enjoy the more organized space called home.

3 guys and a rock (aka soapstone counter)

And the counter is in!  Sink too!  Look at those beautiful edges and rounded corner.  The sink looks better installed then I imagined. The white and black contrast, great. One can plan and imagine, but never be sure that all will look good when its put together. At the permanent stage. Luckily/thankfully, I'm really excited about how its coming together, and secretly, phew!  12 hours later and the counter is still oily. Gotta wait a bit before I can hug it.

Two strapping  guys carried this large chunk of rock in, placed it on cabinets and fitted the cut out notch perfectly into that 5" "beam - not".  (Guy number three was my contractor. He installed the sink.)

Unpolished soapstone:

 

A notch cut out for the sink:

The pattern, not really a pattern:

AH, the cook top counter. It arrived with just a few triangles cut out. He then taped it up and cut out the hole. I got to keep the chunk, in case I want to make a side table.  They bring the rock to the location this way, to avoid breakage.

They applied the first coat of mineral oil. Optional. One can leave it untreated, or cover it in mineral oil or almond oil. Almond oil gives it a waxy look, which I kind of like, but I chose mineral oil for now. They left the bottle for me. When it dries up, reapply. As desired.

Three guys at work.

The counter, oiled. And a comparison shot against the floor.

And a sink. 15 days going up and down stairs with either a handful of dirty dishes or a handful of clean dishes. I was using the laundry sink in the basement and the washing machine as a drying rack. Laundry piled up. All is copasetic now. 

The sink is a drop in and merely rests on the counter. The metal piece below the sink is to support the cabinet, not hold the sink. A bit of silicone was used underneath the edge of sink, to protect the cabinet and keep water from sitting and possibly molding. A garbage disposal was also installed.

Here is where we left off yesterday evening. The stove in the middle of the kitchen, on the rug that we use to lug it around.   The stove fits into its cabinet. The cooktop sort of fits into its cutout. And what I mean by sort of, it doesn't but it will.

Now, what are the chances I will be able to bake a cake and host a sleep over for a boys 10th birthday. This is important stuff, you know.  And the big 10th is this Friday.  


-------------------
The counters were a HUGE part of this kitchen reno, but here is a HUGE list of things still to do:

• paint walls & trim
• install trim (first, then paint).
• toe kick
• install drawers and fronts
• pick out hardware
• buy spice shelf, plate shelf
• sort out wee, little problem about cook top NOT fitting on top of oven.
• install panels (2)
• install main beehive light
• pick out and install task lighting
• pick out and install dishwasher
• install a couple of thresholds
• paint bathroom sliding door, and basement door
• eventually replace basement door with original historical type door.
• install upper cabinets above fridge and prep area.
• install microwave shelf above prep area.
• build pantry
• buy new camera. Rebel no longer working. (:

Kitchen accessories

Very soon I will be at the fun stage of this kitchen renovation. Decorating and Accessories.

There is a counter installation date set early next week. Then I have to shove the oven into its hole, stick the cooktop on and hopefully be able to bake a cake for my kids' 10th birthday party and host a sleepover that weekend. Its gonna be tight, but Im still hopeful. Oh and the kitchen sink, that has to be plumbed in too.

Im debating between a fun yellow task light or cool antique industrial light.

From left top, clockwise:
Schmidt Brothers @ West Elm Knives
Ceramic bowls via this Etsy Shop
Fun yellow task light
or
Industrial rustic antique task light
Salvaged exotic wood spice shelf via Etsy Shop
Morris Stool via Anthropologie
Overdyed rug via UrbanOutfitters
West Elm prep table

Brick wall, puddle jumping, and sweater weather

We started out to take some "Brick Wall" photos. But when I found an acorn and gave it to Lucy and told her squirrels eat acorns...

 

....hmmm, which way are the squirrels?

Lucy humoured me for a bit, but posing was no longer of interest.  Spoon in one hand and an acorn in the other, running down the alley shouting "SQUIRREL, SQUIRREL, where are you?"

Along came a curb and being a successful curb jumper now, and when opportunity arises, one must jump. And jump.

Oh look, A PUDDLE.

A little drenched and squirrelless, she traded in the acorn for a piece of chocolate and headed home.

On Lucy
Sweater: gifted hand knit
Hat: Hand knit @ found at flea market
Jeans: Old Navy
Scarf belt:
Boots: H&M
Socks: Hand knit