A New Addition to the Kitchen

When we were looking to buy this house, I knew from the moment I saw it that I would tear out the old kitchen and put in a new one.  (One day, I'll have to do a big 'before and after' post on our kitchen ... not any time soon, I'm afraid.)  I researched every aspect of the new kitchen, buying exactly what I wanted without compromise.  That's not EXACTLY true, there was one compromise ... the range.  Out here in the country, we don't have natural gas service, and I wasn't sure about installing propane, so we chose a top of the line Frigidaire electric range, with a flat cooking surface and double ovens.

I have hated the cooktop portion of this range since the moment I first turned it on.  It takes forever for pans to preheat, but it only takes an instant to go from not-hot-enough to I-just-burned-dinner.  For the past four years, I have tried to figure out a way to deal with this, and now I am giving up.  Out goes the electric range, and in comes my new love ...

The GE Cafe Dual Fuel range.

This is a photo of the range at the showroom.

Yesterday afternoon, the nice man from the propane company (Hi, Gene!) came to give us a price on installing LP gas to the kitchen for the new range.  The installation will be very straight-forward and the price is reasonable, and I quickly signed the contract to get the process started.  After the permit is processed by the county, we will schedule them to come set the new tank and run the lines.

Look at this stove!!  Isn't it gorgeous?  What's even better is that it should cook as good as it looks.  This range is Dual Fuel, which means that the cooktop portion of this range is gas and the ovens are electric.  No longer will I have to tolerate an electric cooktop with a thermostat that cycles the burners on and off to maintain temperature.  The flame I set is the flame I get, and I expect cooking to become fun again.  The new range has dual ovens like my current one ... that bottom drawer you see is a small oven that can be used to bake or as a warming drawer.  This range has a lot of function in a very compact package.

As soon as the gas is installed and the range arrives, I'll show you how it looks.

I'm really, REALLY excited about this!!

Experimenting With Deer Fencing

Up until this year, I have had no problem letting the deer browse a bit in the rose garden as they roam through the property in the wee hours of the morning or evening.  I have plenty of roses, and a little nip here or there didn't hurt them a bit.  This year, however, the deer seem to be spending more time munching and less time traveling.  Many of my smaller roses have had a tough time keeping any of their new growth.

A photo from earlier this year.  Imagine what this rose COULD have been, if the deer hadn't gnawed off all the buds like they did.

The Austin Garden is in a particularly difficult spot ... in a direct line, midway between the grape vines at the winery (deer love grapes as much as people do) and my other neighbor's pond.  The deer have been nipping the taller new growth all season long.  I have to do something.

Folks have suggested that I use a deer repellant chemical.  I bought Liquid Fence last year (or was it the year before?) because this one seems to be rated the best.  The stuff REEKS, which is why it repels the deer ... and it also is quite effective at repelling people.  I thought it was stupid to try to protect my sweet-smelling roses by making them stink.   (Plus, the stuff is expensive, the deer can become accustomed to it, and it gummed up my sprayer.)

There are other chemical/scent/barrier ideas that I have heard about.  I decided against using bars of deodorant soap, or human hair, or rotten eggs, or tiger dung (where do they come up with this stuff).  I could try to fence them out, but a traditional deer fence is at least 8 feet high, and must enclose the area to be protected.  This would be expensive and completely impractical on our open property.

A visitor and I were talking about this a couple of weeks ago  (Hi, Donna!)  She had a suggestion that I AM going to try, which was given to her by the owner of the fabulous garden at Mount Sharon, who swears by its effectiveness.  This is enough of an endorsement for me.

I bought an armload of 4-foot fiberglass plant stakes at Big Lots.  They are a lovely,color-of-grass, unobtrusive green, and they only cost 70 cents each.  (Tractor Supply has similar stakes in pale grey for $1.09.)  I hammered the stakes into the ground at four-foot intervals around the perimeter of the Austin Garden.

Remember, you're supposed to be concentrating on the fence ... not the weeds.

Donna told me to loosely attach two strands of fishing line between the stakes -- one at the top of the stake and one near the middle.  She said that this is enough of a barrier to aggravate the deer, and they'll move on.  I used small zip ties to keep the fishing line in place.

Working by myself, it only took a little over an hour for me to do the whole garden.  The green stakes blend nicely with the grass, and the fishing line is all but invisible.

Since this fence can't have a true gate, I left an access point by overlapping two layers of the fence across the path and I can zig-zag into the garden through this opening ... if that makes sense.

My next challenge, if this experiment in the Austin Garden is successful, is trying to figure out how to use fencing like this to help protect the Rose Field.  This will be a LOT more complicated.

(edited to add:  Donna just emailed me and told me that I have to tighten up my fishing line.  I guess I know what I'll be outside doing later this morning.)

As Seen at the Highway Rest Stop

There are times when I'm really glad that I carry a small digital camera in my purse all the time.

This was inside the door in a stall in the ladies' room.  The picture speaks for itself.  It wouldn't be nearly as funny if I tried to describe it to you.

Motivation

This sign hangs over the back door in our kitchen.

I use its simple message to inspire me to clear life of extra stuff and stress.  Truthfully, I'm not doing as good a job of it as I would like, but I see progress peeking over the horizon and I'm doing what I can to go toward it.  Baby steps.

Today is a mental health day ... I seem to need more of these lately.  I am going away for the day with friends (remember the wedding hats?) and we will eat, and shop, and talk ... mostly eat and talk in my case, because there's nothing I need to shop for.  We also have planning to do to promote our Canine Cancer benefit in November ... more on how you can help with this coming soon.

I hope it doesn't cause a problem, but I am going to turn my Word Verification back on at least temporarily.  It's either that or get rid of Anonymous comments.  (The Russian spammers have been VERY busy.)

The Big Green Cupboard Is Home!

The disorganization in my basement workshop has reached a crisis level.  As we have worked on other basement projects, we have absolutely trashed my once-organized workshop.  Some of it was necessary, because we had to clear out a wall to do the plumbing work for the bathroom, and we cleared things again to repair the plumbing leak in the ceiling of the workshop earlier this year.  Things weren't put back properly either time.

It is to the point where I practically have to play 'Where's Waldo' to gather the tools and supplies to do any sort of project.  I needed more storage space, and the big green cupboard in the basement of my in-laws' former house is one solution.

I first introduced you to this cupboard in THIS post from February.  My father-in-law built it out of 3/4" plywood, and it is heavy, heavy, HEAVY.  In order for The Husband and I to carry it out of the basement and load it into our truck, we first took off all the doors.

It was still heavy, but at least it we could lift it like this without hurting ourselves.  Here it is loaded into the truck for the trip to its new home.

We have the perfect place for it along the back wall of our basement workshop.  It fits right between some pipes in the corner and the edge of the window ... almost like it was made for this spot.  We raised it off the floor with bricks and shims, and screwed it to the wall ... so it won't fall over and crush someone.

The cupboard is 6 feet high and 5 1/2 feet wide.

Look at all this space!  Now, imagine it filled with bins of screws, and scrapers, and all sorts of other tools and supplies.  A place for everything, and everything in its place ... that's what I'm aiming for.

Now I don't have an excuse to avoid tackling this.  (Viewer discretion is advised ... this next photo is may be upsetting.)

I will work at it a little at a time, and eventually I'll get the place whipped into shape.

Wish me luck.

Playing Hooky ... and Thrifting

The pressure of managing Emma's problems, the roses, the family, and whatever else all at once, was weighing heavily last week.  It got to the point where I was really crabby, and I was snapping at people for the smallest things.  I needed an afternoon to myself to regain some perspective. 

I decided to head to Richmond to the Habitat Store to see if they had a couple of windows to finish off the plan to redo my greenhouse.  (That way I could accomplish something useful while I escaped.)  When I arrived, I found that the store was closed ... should have check this BEFORE I drove the hour to get there.  Since I was already in town, there are LOTS of other places to hunt for junk ... so I set off to see what I could find.

First stop was Diversity Thrift.  I love this shop, though I rarely find anything that I can use.  Mostly, I see things that would be wonderful and imaginative for folks who are setting up housekeeping.  Let's see what caught my eye.

The chairs with this dining set were HEAVY and well made.  I loved their lines.  The table had two leaves.

This dining set was wonderful ... a table and six chairs with this much style for $120!  There was a little bit of damage to one of the chairs (see second photo).  Honestly, whoever buys this is going to paint it, so the damage will be a lot less noticeable once it's finished.

This little rattan dinette would be perfect in someone's sunroom or on a large porch.  The chairs swivel, and everything was in great condition.

Imagine this buffet with a coat of paint, and perhaps some light distressing.  Be still my heart!!

My favorite thing was this set of four Parson's chairs.  They would be SO easy to reupholster or slipcover.

What did I buy here, you ask?  Nothing eventful, I assure you.  I left with a comforter to add to my stash of dog blankets for the car, a retro lamp with flowers that look a bit like roses, and a dog print to donate to the Greyhounds Rock benefit auction in November.

A thrifting trip to Richmond is never complete without a stop at my favorite store, Class and Trash on Route 1 in Glen Allen.  I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have NEVER left this store without buying at least one item ... and I have been shopping here for as long as I can remember ... well before the current ownership.  This place is paradise!

Since my original reason for going to Richmond was to look for windows, I checked out the stash of windows in the outdoor area here.  These beauties were ALMOST what I was looking for ... not quite the right size, though.  RATS!!

Inside the store, I visited for a minute with Lisa, one of the owners, then I set off to see what kind of treasures were to be found.  You NEVER know what you will find at Class and Trash.  The prices are incredibly reasonable, and stock turns over very quickly.  You do NOT leave a piece you love behind to think about it, because you can guarantee that it won't be there when you get back.

I looked at this lamp, and decided not to buy it.  (I had already bought a lamp at Diversity Thrift, remember?)

How about this painted bedroom set?  It had a headboard, footboard, dresser, chest of drawers, AND a night stand!

These French-style headboards were beautiful.  The church pew was a great size ... and you already know that I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage oriental-style rugs.

This sign was great!  (It said "Road Under Construction" on the other side.)

For those of you with nautical decor, this lobster trap is a winner.

Tobacco baskets can be used SO many ways!

This vintage mover's dolly has great patina.

I loved these industrial light fixtures ... too bad I don't have a place to put them right now.

Here's one ...

... and there's two more over here.

THIS was the light that I drooled over the most ... but I left it behind.

If someone is renovating a vintage bathroom, like I did in our basement, this medicine cabinet would be perfect.

Things like this vintage industrial cart are all over the 'Web right now.

This Empire-style sofa was in beautiful condition, and ready to be a feature in some lucky person's living room.

There was something about this little retro chair that I found appealing.  I love the shape of the side table beside it, but not the yellow paint.  Paint is easily changed, though.

How about an old-school locker to add storage to a narrow space?

There was a time when I would have been all over these Luray cups and saucers.  I began buying Luray in the early 1980s, and I have managed to collect a huge set of dishes and serving pieces. 

With all this treasure to choose from, let me show you what I bought.

This 1960s school desk will be a perfect bedside table.  I love the color ... all it needs is a good scrubbing, and it's read to use.  (There's even a wad of petrified gum still stuck to the underside.)

I added this chamberpot to my budding collection of ironstone.  It's in perfect condition.

If the other one didn't have a flowery decal on it, it would have also come home with me.

When I got home with my treasures, I wasn't quite so crabby anymore.

(For other posts about Class and Trash, click HERE.) 

Sunday Snapshot -- Soon-to-be Grandson #2

Our oldest daughter and her husband are expecting a baby boy at the end of September.  For her birthday last week, our youngest daughter bought her sister a gift certificate for two trips to 'Sneek a Peek' ... to have 3D/4D ultrasound 'visits' with their baby.

I would like to introduce, for the first time on the Internet, the soon-to-be newest member of our family.

Gone are the days of ultrasound images that look like flash photos of a snow storm.  Fingers look like fingers, and faces have personality.

The image below is my favorite one.

It will be almost three months until this little guy makes his appearance.  I can't wait!