At last! -- May 6, 2022

I mentioned a while back that Jimmy and I were having our kitchen remodeled ... and that I'd have a show-and-tell photo blog for you ... a before and after study, plus a few in-between shots of how it looked for a couple of weeks.  The kitchen has been finished for quite a while now, but I've either been too busy or too lazy to a) take the after pics and b) write this post.  At last, the time has come to show it off!  Before I go any further, I'll say this up front:  I love my new kitchen.  Love, love, love!

The first pic below shows the sink-end of the kitchen before.  Serviceable, yes, but dark, dated and showing its age.  The next pic shows how it looks now from the same angle.  

When Jimmy and I decided to "go for it," we tapped a contractor we'd used several years earlier.  He quoted us a price neither of us wanted to pay, but son, Matt, stepped up with a cost-only price and we said, "let's go!"  He knew the subcontractors to use, the way to get new appliances, all of that jazz.  And it all worked out well.

The stove area is transformed!

So much brighter and lighter and cleaner and less cluttered.  We purchased an LG freestanding range/oven, fridge, and microwave that were all in stock, with no waiting!  Had to get a GE dishwasher 'cause LG brand wasn't available.

We had different crews -- the demo crew, followed the very NEXT day by the cabinet crew, and then the drywall fixer, and finally the backsplash guy.  The dust and crud generated by the demo was awful.  They taped up one end of the kitchen, but the other end was semi-open, allowing a lot of that "crap" to filter into the rest of the house.  Oh well, stuff happens.  It's all good now.  But, everything moved along handily, with no great gaps between successive phases.

The (shallow) sink is removed, along with the garbage disposal and our water filter system!  I wasn't watching, so I didn't see those two things go.  We have a new disposal 😊 and are now using a Brita filter.  BTW, we kept our faucet, as we'd replaced that not long ago.

This area needed to be remediated by the plumber we hired -- a hole was discovered in the old copper pipe, and it's now tidy, dry, and soooo nice under the sink.

The different crews worked around the existing fridge, which we appreciated.  Our microwave moved to the dining room table and we used that quite a lot while we had no stove.  I also used the stove in the RV a couple of times.  You see the original oak wood flooring wasn't installed under the cabinets. 

Old termite damage was also discovered on the back wall above.  Jonathan, the cabinet guy, had already begun installing new cabinets.  Gray for the bottom, white on top.

Matt drove up one day to check the progress, and here he's talking with Jonathan the cabinet guy, left, while Jimmy measures the vent hood area.  This was the end of February.

Below:  We really liked our 3 x 5 Boos Block table at the far end of the kitchen, opposite the pantry, but it sucked up a lot of room and just didn't allow for much storage.  Great place for clutter!  Boo hiss on the trash can.

Ah, but look at it now!  The new six-and-a-half feet (by 2+ ft) bank of drawers is ideal.  The room feels much roomier and IS a lot roomier!  And so much lighter.  We replaced the light fixtures, too, because, well, it's a new kitchen!

You can definitely see the difference in the above two photos!

I hadn't realized how dark the kitchen was ... till THIS (below)!

When I first saw this 10" deep two-holer sink, I thought, "why did Matt order this thing!"  So deep and with grating, too.  Oh my, I guess 'cause he's smart.  This sink is wonderful.  Jimmy, the dishwasher in our family, thinks so, too.  Just one more goodie to love in the new kitchen.

I took a lot more photos of the various stages of remodel, but you get the idea.  We'd thought to paint an "accent" wall, maybe a red or yellow/ish, but we were hooked early on with the brightness of our kitchen and decided to keep it that way.  Jimmy and I did the painting ourselves, and our shoulders let us know we didn't need to do the rest of the house!  We chose Swiss Coffee for the walls and Bone for the trim, in case you were wondering.

There you have it.  Our 1965-era house now has a 2022 workable and lovely kitchen.  We are happy!

Hooray for friends! Monday, 4/4/22

Travel broadens the mind, it's said.  True and, for many, travel nets us new friends.  Since retiring, Jimmy and I have taken a number of Road Scholar trips abroad -- one of which was to India for roughly three weeks in November 2017.  Hard to believe that was almost five years ago.  Denise was on that tour with us.  I'm not sure how this works, but I'm glad it does -- how you can just "click" with a person, someone who becomes a friend, a pal.  That's what happened with Denise and Jimmy and I.

Everybody knows COVID put the kibosh on traveling for at least one, more like two, years, so the last time we saw Denise was in 2018 when she visited NorCal.  She lives in Massachusetts, so we don't get to visit in person very often.  She's back in NorCal, and we were happy to spend the better part of today on the Buttermilk Bend trail in South Yuba River St Pk, followed by lunch at Tofanelli's in Grass Valley.  Fun times again!

Cool morning start, morphed into a warm and sunny afternoon.  Here we are to greet you.  We were on a wildflower quest, hoping enough spring color would be left before hot weather turned flowers into seeds.

We weren't disappointed, either.  The hike was more of a walk, with plenty of stops to admire a flower or take a picture, chatting as we went along.  Exactly what we wanted.  Lupines (above) continued to be a major eye-catcher. 

Holy cannoli -- another school of fish!  Bet one would taste good on my dinner plate, but this is a state park and no fishing allowed.  Probably the fish know that and feel safe at this spot.  I might be kidding about the fish knowing.

A few wildflowers were on the wane, but others popped up to take their place.  L-R, top:  Pretty Faces, Canyon Dudleya.  Bottom L-R:  Wally Basket, Common Hareleaf (with visitors).

The South Yuba River is still flowing fast, though the water level is down.  It must feel good to sit on the rocks with friends, catching some rays, soaking up that Vitamin D, and watching the river roll by.

Poppies and Lupines, the pair's a real winner!

Especially en masse.

By gum, another newbie for Jimmy and me at this park.  Standing on the bridge above French Corral Creek (a tributary), we spied a big Fire Newt in shallow water.  It's maybe six inches or so, good sized.

Last time we were on this trail, the group saw one or two Chinese Houses.  Today's treat was a whole city of Chinese Houses perched on a hillside!  We've never seen this wildflower outside of this park.  Wowzers!

If you're feeling ambitious and don't mind hopping across the boulders to get "there," take your gold pan with you and give it a try.  The water level is low and perhaps, just perhaps, you can find a nugget (or a flake) in your pan.  The fella to the right of the red checkmark is trying his luck.  Enlarge the pic.  Panning for gold is allowed in the state park, but no sluices or hydraulics, etc.  Hands and pans only.

We walked to the end of the trail and back, glad when we saw our cars in the parking lot (getting hungry).  Really nice place to walk/hike, always within earshot of the surging Yuba as it tumbles downstream, always so scenic and thronged with wildflowers.  I'm pretty sure Denise enjoyed it; I know we always do. 

Denise and I rode together to Tofanelli's, stopping first at Bitney Springs to refill water bottles with sweet spring water.  Oh my -- look at the food on those plates!  We did our lunches justice, and I'll tell you that Denise was the only one who asked for a "go" box.  Jimmy and I, well, we polished off those burgers (oink oink).

We had a lovely time.  Thanks for coming to see us, Denise.  Fingers crossed -- hope we get to travel together again.  Maybe we'll see you this summer!

Hey, welcome! Wed, 3/23/22

 

Jimmy and I are happy that the States of California and Oregon are next door to each other, mostly within a day's drive. Both have gorgeous coastlines and good people! We're fortunate to have friends who live in Oregon and who are willing to come see us and our quaint town -- new friends made through our overseas travels and our blogs. As they come here, so we go visit them. Win-win. We've become pals!

When Sheila, who lives in Bend, Oregon, wrote to say she'd be in town for a few days and would love to get together, we were delighted.  This was a postponed trip from two years ago when COVID canceled everything.  We were due for a visit (last time we saw her was in Switzerland in 2019).  She was traveling with her hiking buddy, Leslie, and they'd be staying in a B&B near downtown Nevada City.  We arranged to meet for dinner at Lefty's Grill on Sunday evening -- great food and conversation.  The four of us decided to leave a day open for hiking ...

... agreeing to meet on Wednesday at nine in the morning.  Yet, I tell you, by afternoon we wished we'd had an earlier start!  Nevada City has had some warm weather, but we'd been in record-breaking territory for a couple of days, and it looked as though today would be the capper on heat.  Nobody likes hiking in the heat.  We did all right, but I think everyone was done in by the time we headed home.

Above you see me, Leslie, and Sheila in front of the covered bridge at South Yuba River St Pk.  Jimmy and I hike these trails a few times a year and are always ready to come here.  Besides, spring is wildflower time at this park, and the women were eager to see what was blooming.  We were in for a treat today!  This day we'd hike both the Point Defiance and Buttermilk Bend trails, roughly six miles.

But first was fish -- a whole school of fish in the So Yuba River.

Big fish.  Trout? 

It wasn't long before we spotted bloomers.  I think we were all amazed at seeing wildflowers we'd not seen before, or at least not on these trails.  L-R, Globe lily, Twining snake lily, and Sierra fawn lily.

Whoa, then there was this guy -- Western Fence Lizard.

Four pairs of eyes is much better than two.  One of us was looking either up or down all the time, luckily, and Leslie spied this Bald Eagle at the confluence.  Never saw a baldy in this park before (zoomed in).

The Yuba before the confluence appears placid and richly colored.

And the flowers just kept on coming!  Top L-R:  Dutchmans Pipe; Bowl-tube Iris -- lots of Iris.  Bottom L-R:  Foothill Shooting Star, California Saxifrage; and Zig-Zag Larkspur.

Leslie leads as we return to the Point Defiance trailhead down the green-green-green switchbacks.  The oaks had leafed out and we appreciated the shade (any shade!).  Leslie was followed by Sheila and Jimmy.  My Jimmy is such a good sport. 💗

Yikes, I almost stepped on this fella!  I think it's a Gopher snake.  First time we've seen a snake next to the river.  It turned tail when it saw Jimmy's foot.  We spotted this guy on our way to eat our packed lunches on the other side of the river, between the two trails.

The beautiful aqua-blue South Yuba River,

decorated with masses of flowers on its banks.

Look at all the Narrow-leaf Lupines,

beauteous blooms!

I couldn't include all the photos of flowers, but here are a few more.  It was a stellar wildflower hike.  Top L-R:  Canyon Dudlea (fixin' to bloom); Pretty Face.  Bottom L-R:  Chinese Houses; Woodland Star.  Correct me if I'm wrong on idenification.

Tufted Poppies!  A gazillion of them.  How could anyone feel ill-humored around so much cheery color?  Poppies and Lupines, what a combination!  Purple and gold, Nannie!

Walkin' the Buttermilk Bend.  Wishing for shade.  When we reached the end of the trail, we zipped down to the river.  Sheila and Leslie took off their lightweight over-shirts, dunked them till they were soaked, wrung 'em out a bit and then put 'em back on ... to cool off.  I plucked a bandana from my pack and did likewise, draping it over my head and neck.  The temp was 84°-85° (in March!), and the spring sun was hot and bright.  At trail's end, one mile later, our wet cotton was dry.

Yes, the water level is low for this favorite river.  Weather prognosticators offer little hope for needed rain/snow this late in the rainy season.  But we can hope, anyway.

Sheila came to eat with us Wednesday night.  (Leslie didn't make it.)  We ate (hot dogs!) and talked, and it was nice to sit (really nice to sit) and plan more trips!  By gum, we did, too!  Sheila and Leslie pulled out the next morning, Oregon-bound, after what I can only assume was a good night's sleep!  I know Jimmy and I were dead to the world early and didn't know a thing till eight the next morning.  Thanks for coming, you two!  We enjoyed your visit.

Plus, early next month we'll get to spend time with another fellow traveler.  Aren't we the lucky ones?

Party Time! Feb-Mar 2022

 

We haven't been lounging on the sofa for the past month-plus.  Nope, we've been partying and working and hiking and ... well, living!  We have been busy.  Outdoors, it's nothing short of miraculous seeing spring emerge from winter's grip here in Nevada City, almost imperceptible at first and then, bang! flowers and birds and everything in sight kicks!

A kitchen remodel is what's been going on at our house.  Jimmy and I moved into the house nearly ten years ago and it was time for a change.  We got one bid that we deemed high (but it probably wasn't) and when son, Matt, said he could do it for less than half the bid price, we gave him an enthusiastic yes!  He's a realtor and he's been "flipping" homes for a while -- you know, he turns neglected homes into very nice ones.  So he knew how to take care of our kitchen remodel.  I'll post before/after pictures when we finish painting -- we haven't started yet.  Finding the right color isn't easy!

Speaking of Matt, he turned 42 years old on Feb 28th.  I can hardly believe it myself, but it's true.  Seemed like a few years ago he was 20!  Jimmy and I took him a small cake and we all sang happy birthday ... t'was a very low-key kind of celebration.

Then, on March 15th, Evie had her big day.  The family had a party for her the following Saturday in Roseville at her other grandparents' place.  How can she be five already?  Time is zipping by faster and faster, yikes!  I tell you, though, she was "up" for her birthday!  The theme was unicorns and they were everywhere!

When she saw the presents on the table, she said, "I bet everybody wants me to open presents first!"  That worked!  She seemed happy with her birthday loot.

Burgers on the grill for dinner came before festive cupcakes and the official singing.  We'd never seen a candle like the one on fire above, and Evie certainly was entranced.  Hard to describe it, but the birthday song played as it revolved, with all its candles lit.  Next, a sparkler on her cupcake lit and when that thing fired up, she reared back like it would bite.  Not to worry -- when the singing began, the joy on her pretty face was beautiful.

This was fun.  A unicorn piñata hung from the eave.

She went after the piñata with everything she had, but she couldn't break it open.  Eventually the thing fell from the eave and she had to stomp on it to crack it wide.  Her dad helped out some.  

And then candy spilled onto the patio,

and she offered each of us a piece of her choice!

Haha, this made her laugh.  Gramma wearing her birthday hat like a unicorn!  "But, Gramma, unicorns have horns on their heads, not their noses.  You're a piggie!"  So I made piggie snorting noises, which sent her into gales of laughter.

The party was a great success.  Everyone had a good time, especially this sweet little girl.  She'll be five for another 365 days before launching up to the next level:  SIX.

One of our Oregon Grape plants sent out a plenitude of flowers this year.  Bees were appreciative.  Can you spot one, above?

A pair of White-breasted Nuthatches took up residence in the pink house, above.  We can watch them from our kitchen window as they fly into their box with nesting material.  They're creepers, scampering up and down the tree trunk, half the time upside down.  I think they're cute.

A family of Lesser Goldfinches work on emptying the above bird feeder in the back yard.  While I sat on the deck one afternoon, I saw a white butterfly flutter around and near him for quite a while, almost as though it wanted to whisper a secret ....

Somewhere during the month, I drove to Fair Oaks to spend the afternoon with Evie.  She and I walked down to the American River, which isn't too far, maybe a quarter mile.  So much to see along the way!  We took a couple of bread heels to feed the ducks.  As you see, she attracted a crowd.  Geese, ducks and gulls.  She'd picked up a stick so she could "go fishing."  She's holding the stick in one hand, above, and bread in the other.

And here she is, fishing.  I also had a stick (no line).

But neither of us caught a fish. 😉

This post catches us up on our goings-on.  Friends have come and gone, and we've enjoyed coffee as well as dinners out with friends.  I have so many kitchen pics, showing how it evolved from old to new, and I hope to get them to you soon.  Meanwhile, Spring is Busting Out all Over!