Kitchen Renovations: the Before (...35)

It's time to take advantage of this extra time via layoff to do some major DIYing on the kitchen.  I'll leave the plumbing and electricity to the Pros but I'll get my hands filthy dirty with demolition, scraping, painting, hanging, and anything else I can do.  And, I play the part of general contractor, so there's no end to planning, re-planning, and disaster prevention work.  It's a satisfying gig and I developed some good skills on my last project, the bathroom renovation:

DIY vanity and toilet install, & kitchen faucet plumbing (shh...inspectional services wouldn't like this)

DIY door and drawers refinishing.

I ordered my appliances during a Memorial Day weekend super sale for a celebration-worthy price.  I think I settled on a sink, faucet, and garbage disposal today.  I have two $50 coupons to spend at a local lighting store.  I sold my microwave already.  And today I've been emailing with folks on craigslist who I hope to sell my old appliances and cabinets too.  Getting some cash for the old stuff will be icing on the cake.  Not only does it mean money toward me kitchen budget, it's a whole heck of a lot easier than disposing of it myself!

As I'm measuring and planning the layout I'm putting blue painters tape in areas where new items, like the kitchen island, will go.  My housemate Alex comes home to find a new odd change daily.  One day it's more blue tape, another day the island or range has been shifted around.  It helps me visualize what it would be like with a new layout.

It will be a welcome change to have a garbage disposal and dishwasher.  I can't wait to get rid of my dish drying rack and the old dishtowels under it!  Better storage will be convenient.  I'm sure I'll grow very fond of a fridge that won't require a pie pan to catch internal drips.  But I'm most excited to see how the floor will look when it's refinished.  About 5 years ago I pulled up a layer of laminate from the kitchen floor, only to discover a layer of plywood underneath.  Laboriously I pulled up thousands of tiny, thin, long staples holding the plywood down.  After that, a layer of glue was removed with hot towels and and focused scrubbing.  Finally, a real wood floor was revealed.  It's old, splotchy wood with a few splinters that show the age of this circa 1900 home.  After it's sanded and coated with polyurethane, I expect the result will be spectacular.  I'm not anticipating "new," I'm hoping for that old Irish pub type feel that has had a slight face lift.

In a home, I like the combination of old and new.  Period charm plus contemporary function makes the perfect combination.  Terence Conran is one designer geek I admire for making this combination work beautifully.  His books are stacked high in one of my cabinets.  If I could, I'd text him right now to ask what he'd suggest for a kitchen island.  I dislike the typical kitchen island made of cabinets and a counter top, but it's functional and easy and straightforward when trying to do a quick reno on a budget.  If I could I'd browse every antique market and craigslist to find a deal on a funky wood piece that could be topped with butcher block or granite remnant.  It takes a lot of time and a lot of luck to find a piece that works.  My goal with this kitchen is to improve function and looks but not make it my dream kitchen.  That's for a different house.  Some day.

Just looking at these "before" kitchen pictures makes me miss my lovely red kitchen.  Even as decrepit and dysfunctional as it is, it's a charmer.

Blue tape...not sure how wide to go with the island...

Pantry plan:  replace base, DIY upper shelves.

Great stove served made many a grande meal.

Old wood floor and ugly tile:  get out of here.

What I hope to make happen is a kitchen layout pretty close to this layout.  It was made in photoshop today.  Pretty straightforward but with huge function upgrade.  Crossing my fingers it's a good investment!

Putterham to Provincetown by Bike (...36)

One hobby I'm getting to enjoy more during this layoff period is biking.  I biked as a kid, but when my sister re-introduced me to it in 1999 in the form of triathlon racing, I began to love it.  It's become a serious passion.  In fact, since then, each year I enjoy it more.  I'm stronger, fitter, faster, and more skilled every season.  I've read Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers, in which he says it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. This is something like 10 years if you can put in 3 hours a day.  I'm over 10 years in to my biking practice, but probably only halfway there because I get well under 3 hours in of a day of biking.  How exciting to think I could get even better over the next 10 years!

My next goal is to do a road race or criterium.   I've had this goal for several years.  For the last few years, since shattering my collar bone in a triathlon race, I've been too fearful to enter a road race or a crit.  The speed factor scares me. The need to ride several tight corners in a crit, among a group of cyclists, terrifies me.  It requires a riding strategy with which I'm not yet familiar.  But I know conquering this fear would be good for my sense of confidence on the bike.  And, of course, it's just plain thrilling to conquer a fear!  I hope to do it this summer.  If I muster up the courage, I may love road racing.  If I don't love it, then simply completely one race would satisfy me.  That, and learning to bike with no hands would be terrific.

Today, I did a bike event of a whole other variety: an endurance cycling event of 130 miles.  I rose at 2:25AM, road to meet a few riders about 4 miles from my house, road to Putterham, an area in Brookline, MA, and from there began a ride to Provincetown, MA with about 200 other riders.  We finished around noon.  After a delicious cold beer, sandwich, and some salty snacks, we grabbed the ferry back to Boston, bike in tow.  I road my bike through Boston to ride 5 miles back home.  Ouch.   It's a leetle bit uncomfortable to hop on the bike when your bum is sore from a century plus ride.

Somerville to Provincetown bike ride: 130 miles

 

This is the ride marker, spray painted  along 130 miles of road from Boston to Provincetown.  The marker in this picture indicates to a biker to take the next right turn.  It's such a handy way to mark a ride so you don't have to refer to a printed cue sheet.

Heads of bikers at the 95 mile stop.  We revived ourselves with peanut butter, Nutella, and Fluff on bread!  Plus bananas and fig newtons.  So much better than more powerbars, and gu.

Mile 95:  Looking tired but ready for more miles.

 Entering Provincetown, MA mile 125

Waiting for the ferry back to Boston I spotted these riders and their impressively bright tandem bike.  So neat!  There are 4 water bottles on that machine!

Beautiful view from the ferry dock.  At this point I was soooo looking forward to getting home and so very grateful to be able to sleep in tomorrow.

I met such a variety of people on this ride, many of whom have switched careers several times already.  It was inspiring to hear about significant career shifts, like one who was a psychologist turned sous chef.  Another started as a marine biologist and went back to school for finance.  This gives me hope that it's not near impossible as it can feel to switch career gears drastically and find success and satisfaction in it. 

 

Just Puttering Around Like I'm Unemployed...oh yeah, I am. (...37)

Today is one of those days I feel like I'm not doing enough on the job-search-career analysis-reading-and-research front.  But, I'm grateful for the time to do errands, research home renovation plans, cook, and simply read a good novel. 

I've almost reached my age in days left until my severance pay ends.  As I get closer to being without a full weekly paycheck, I'm not as worried as perhaps I should be.  I'm hoping not to hit a nail-biting, cuticle-picking, nervous and anxious period soon.  I want to retain the feeling I have that things will work out well one way or another if I keep doing what I like to do to learn what I could do for work.  So far, I'm enjoying this time to try a few new things, explore what it is that I'd like to do for work, and take time for some important hobbies.  Just like the weather tomorrow, so many things about the future are truly unpredictable.  I like what's been falling into my lap so far during this time, so I'll keep chuggin' along hoping I learn what I need to and find a satisfying place for myself in the work world.

Heavenly Food and Drink (aka post hike eating) (...38)

From the start of our hike home, we talked most about what warm drinks and sweet eats we would get when we got back home.  A warm drink seems like a luxurious treat after a cold night and cold morning.  I thought most of hot coffee, eggs, and toast.  Bill talked about hot chocolate and omelets.  We had just these things at the Tilton Diner, a favorite spot, in New Hampshire, about an hour from the mountains where we hiked.  This place is meant to look like it's right out of the 50s.  The waitresses are peppy and sweet, calling us "Darlin'" and asking "Are you happy now, Sweetheart?" referring to your meal.  We weren't at our most impressive with messy, matted looking hair, dirt on our face and clothes, and noticeable body odor, but customers at the counter chatted with us interestedly about our hike.

In the evening, too fatigued to make diner, we went to The Republic.  Wow, this place is GREAT!  It's my favorite place in Manchester now.  A cafe slash bar slash bistro, I'd call it.  The food is local, there's an ever changing chalkboard menu of specials, and the inside is beautifully done.  Tall ceilings have been stripped to reveal old wide beams.  Old fashioned looking fans and light are hung in a line along the booths and large paintings are displayed high on a ridge along the restaurant walls. 

In the mood for something rich and fatty with protein, I ordered the Falafel Fried Cod with cut fries. So good.  Bill had the Hake with kale.  So good.  We almost fell out of our seats over how good the food was. And because we sharied a bottle of wine.  This wine is one to write down.  It was a Cote du Rhone called Le Pas de la Beaume.  So very good and delicious (hiccup).

Le Pas de la Beaume

Capping off our gluttonous dinner, we drank coffee and ate biscotti...chocolate dipped fresh baked biscotti! 

So good. So good.

Tired hiker Bill...

Hot and steaming coffee from The Republic, Manchester, NH

A harrowing hike followed by a great meal makes me feel like a Queen.  The food, the wine, the biscotti for dessert felt that luxurious after sleeping on a hard surface in the cold.  It reminds me that I do not want to be unemployed for long.  I like having a roof over my head.  I like good food, my bed, and heat.  I like choosing to rough it sometimes and to be pampered other times.  I like having choices.

Q. Harrowing, Near-Death Experience? A. My Weekend Hike. (...40...39)

Near entrance to the Garfield trail

The hike this Saturday started off just fine.  Wearing shorts, cotton t-shirt, and baseball cap, I felt great.  The temps were cool but perfect for a moderate hike.  The terrain was challenging enough that we worked up a sweat pretty early on and needed to stop every hour to refuel.  There was rain once in a while, but under tree cover, we didn't get much of it.  About a mile and a half from the campsite we felt confident we could get our tent set up, drop our bags, hike a mile more to see the view from the summit, and then return for dinner.

When we got to this area, a christmasy, pineconey, smell filled the air.  We were walking through a misty cloud among these pine trees:

Pine trees

 
This was where things got steeper, colder, and windier.  It started raining harder and we were closer to the tree line with less coverage so started getting wet.  Still, we were moving, so felt okay.  A sign directed us left and down a steep incline of rocks to the Garfield Camp Site.  It seemed unlikely by the looks of it.  The path changed from a somewhat rocky path to all rocks and very steep.  With rain, in became slippery.  A little ways in, here's the view looking back up:

Down this rocky path, a few short switchbacks, and then upward again, we found the campsite.  By this time we were soaked and cold.  The plan to look at the summit was dropped.  We opted to take refuge in a wood shelter rather than set a tent up because the ground was getting wet and there was a strong wind.  In the shelter, we quickly stripped out of wet clothes and put dry ones on.  I expected to warm up after this as it was only in the mid-50s, but I couldn't get warm.  I got in a sleeping bag, ate, drank water, and started to panic a bit.  I couldn't stop shivering and my throat, neck, and jaw muscles were clenching tightly.  This was new to me.  I think I was panicking.  More than once I heard myself think "I give up! Take me now! Please."  I wouldn't make it as a bag lady in New England.  

The camp site director gave me boiled water in a bottle to stuff in the sleeping bag.  After a 2nd hot bottle I started to warm up.  By then, exhausted and a little out of it, I stayed in the sleeping bag while one hiker after another filled the shelter.  All of them experienced hikers, decked out in high-tech gear with high-end clothing, had decided to cut their hikes short because the weather was so bad.  One pair of men, finishing a 26 mile hike that day, were on their last day of an 1800 mile hiking trip.  After hearing they were miserable in this weather, we felt less wimpy for feeling so miserable ourselves. 

Pictures from the Garfield campsite:

Shelter with 14 hikers

A composting toilet on the site was "flushed" with a handful of bark

water source

During the night, our camp shelter reached full capacity with 14 hikers lying like sardines along the floor.  The shelter, built to resemble a box car, has a wide open front.  In the summer, this would be a welcome feature.  On Saturday night, this was unfortunate.  We stayed dry, despite ongoing rain, but the wind gusted in, preventing us from getting toasty enough to sleep well.  I envied the two pro hikers who brought small bottles of Wild Turkey bourbon.  A night cap like that could have helped me sleep.  Nevertheless, we were still alive in the morning, packed up quickly, and hauled ourselves back up the steep rocky path to the main trail.  Three hours downhill from there to our car.  We were grateful for the adventure and glad to be only a few hours drive from warm food and drink.

Mt. Garfield, Here I Come! (...41)

Tonight I'm making food and packing up for a hike in the White Mountains!  We're heading toward the mountains in the early morning and parking at about 1500 feet elevation.  We'll hike to about 4500 feet elevation to reach the Garfield Ridge Campfire to spend the night.  It's a moderate hike and my first overnight hike, except for 1 I did at age 12 in a summer camp.

Hiking destination: Garfield Ridge Campsite

This is gourmet hiking food:  banana bread, bacon, hardboiled eggs, peanuts, cashews, meatballs, bananas.  YUM-EE!

I have no hiking gear or even the basic knowledge of what to bring.  Thankfully my trusty hiking companion does.  He's got the gear and the wisdom, I've got the fear and the questions.  For one thing, what do we bring?  Luckily there's an easy answer to this on many hiking sites. What I read says if you're going for most of a day or more, you need to bring "The 10 Essentials of Hiking."  These are them:

1. Navigation
2. Sun protection
3. Insulation
4. Illumination
5. First aid supplies
6. Fire
7. Repair kit and tools
8. Nutrition (extra food)
9. Hydration (extra water)
10. Emergency shelter

For another thing, how do I fight a bear?  In the White Mountains there's wildlife, like white-tailed deer, moose, foxes, and black bears.  I'd love to see the first three.  Bears, I prefer not to encounter.  I'd like to see a black bear, from the shelter of an armored car, but I'm not interested in shaking hands or making eye contact.  WikiHow has 7 suggestions on how to fight a bear.  Basically, stay calm, make noise, act "big" by waving your arms, and take cover.  The Discovery Channel website has 2 suggestions.  The first one I can't help but laugh about:  "If the bear sees you, you should start talking to the bear in a calm, firm voice."  Hhmmm...I'm stickin' to WikiHow's 1st suggestion: "Avoid it."

With my two main questions answered, I'm now just hoping we don't get rained on.  Sleeping in a tent, on a mountain, in the rain, with a temperature of 51F could get chilly.  This forecast is a little unfortunate, but I'm so excited to hike and eat on the go with my hiking partner that I don't care about the weather.  I'm thrilled to head up the mountain and spend the night under the stars! 

Weather forecast for June 10, 2011

Auntie Em! Auntie Em! (...42)

Holy cow, look what's outside my window!  Today is a nice day to not have a commute home from work.  I love thunderstorms...the anticipation, the downpours, the cracks and snaps of thunder and lightening, but it's less enjoyable to drive on the mean streets of Boston when folks are acting a little more harried than usual.  Not 10 minutes after I finished a very hot and humid bike ride I took this picture from my front porch:

Storm clouds in Somerville!

So glad to be tucked away in my house and happily listening to the noise outside.   Now back to work.