Kitchen progress...and more!

It’s been a fun week and a half since last checking in. We’ve seen two old friends visiting from Chicago, celebrated with a baby shower, and started on the kitchen in earnest.

Our dear friend, Meaghan Burritt, graced us with her presence for about 4 days over the weekend. Her visit inspired us to take a couple days off and actually enjoy the Bay Area. We visited Point Reyes (a first for Andy), saw elephant seals (another first), visited the Pixar exhibit at the Oakland Museum of Art with Eliza in tow, and Meaghan helped out with the baby shower. She also made the best batch of Burritt dip that I’ve ever had.

A portrait of two pregnant ladies at the Oakland Museum

Pili and Alice after a romp at Crissy Field with Meaghan and Eliza

The baby shower was more than I ever could have imagined. It was perfectly small, intimate, and meaningful. We played games that weren’t lame, laughed a lot, and ate some great food. There’s nothing better than kibbutzing with close family and girlfriends.

On Sunday, Joey Feinstein came to see the house and have dinner with us. We had a great evening of Burmese food followed by cardomom and bay laurel ice cream. Yum! We miss both Joey and Meaghan very much, but we were so excited to spend time with them.

Back at the ranch, we’ve been working late and making slow progress. In addition to finishing up the last vestiges of painting (touch-ups, second coats, etc.), Andy has been plugging away at the bathtub surround. However, the timing of the kitchen countertop installation has put that project on hold for another day or two with the hopes that we can install the kitchen countertop by the time Margerie and Marty come visit for Christmas. With Larry’s help, we assembled the bathroom vanity and plumbed it, so now we have running water inside the house! Additionally, we had a very special guest come by to inaugurate the installation of the refrigerator. Climate Cycle’s Executive Director, Joey Feinstein, held a ribbon cutting ceremony and was in attendance at the fridge’s first jolt to life.

Climate Cycle Executive Director, Joey Feinstein, joins Andy for a ribbon-cutting ceremony

Guess who helped plumb the sink?

Progress on the bathtub surround

As I mentioned, we’re currently dealing with the countertop deadline. We encountered an interesting hiccup in the whole kitchen installation. We knew all along that the windows in the kitchen were somewhat low, and that the countertop would likely butt up against the sill. However, it wasn’t until we had the exact measurements of the toekick, the cabinets, the plywood under the quartz countertop, and the countertop itself until we knew how close we were. As it was, we figured out that we had to modify the window trim to accommodate the countertop. But when we factored in the apron front kitchen sink (that sits on top of the countertop), we realized we were in trouble. We had two choices: a.) build a custom box (instead of the IKEA provided legs) to shave off the 5/8” needed, or b.) rebuild the window box to make it a picture window. With the help and advise of our friend and carpenter, Cassie, we decided on option b. Andy removed the sill Thursday morning, and we anticipate we’ll rebuild it once the countertop is installed. Fingers crossed, the installers will squeeze us in to their schedule right before Christmas. If not, we’ll throw some plywood down and welcome mom and Marty into our home, as it is!

Andy demonstrating the principle, "measure twice, cut once"

There are lots of requests for pictures of the belly. It seems that the belly has a celebrity all it’s own. Well, here you are! In this picture, I’m 35 weeks pregnant. Feeling good all around, but definitely textbook pregnant with all the symptoms. Thank goodness for an excellent pre-natal chiropractor and yoga!

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