Gardening at Night: 2 Years On

A couple of days ago, we celebrated two years of living here in The Ear. We've made so many changes to the house in that time, from stripping off most of the wallpaper, giving all the walls and ceilings a fresh coat of paint, changing out some light fixtures, installing a new sink and cabinets in the bathroom, and of course, the redoing the kitchen, our biggest project yet.

We're always working on improvements outside too, both large and small. Lately we've been focussing on edibles in the back, and our tulips have bloomed as well. It's a beautiful Easter-time scene. Happy spring!

Germinated seeds to plant:


Arugula seedlings:


Lettuce mix seedlings:


Collards:


Strawberry plants!


Mr. MJ keeping the weeds in check:


Dark purple tulips framing our birdbath:


Beautiful tulips:


Next project:

Gardening at Night: Bulbs Coming Up

While we worked on our kitchen, our front garden was stirring to life. Last week, we finally got some flowers:







The tulips are just starting to come in, and maybe we'll have some alliums before long too (if the squirrels didn't eat them all over the winter).

Kitchen Conundrum: Fine in the Sunshine

This is not a grand reveal, as we still have several bits, pieces, odds, and ends to finish up or find homes for in the new kitchen. But first, remember this room?



Yeah, me neither; or, just barely. Because our Kitchen Conundrum has officially become our Kitchen Contentment. We love being in and using this room now, so much so that lately our refrigerator is bursting with leftovers from all the cooking we feel inspired to do! Here's a taste:

Kitchen Conundrum: Moving On, Moving In

We spent the past weekend cleaning (and cleaning and cleaning!) the kitchen, finishing the paint touch-ups, and finally moving back in. It was fine to be stuck inside doing these things, since we woke up to a white world on Saturday.

Our front yard:


Lincoln Park a few blocks to the south:


Another reason to feel glad about the arrival of winter is the excuse to make warm, stew-y food. Our first real meal to cook in our new kitchen was beef short ribs braised in red wine. Yum.


More pics to come of the new , complete kitchen soon, right after all the odds and ends find homes. For now, it's so nice to eat food that doesn't come out of the microwave. Hurrah!

Kitchen Conundrum: Hang Ups

Yesterday afternoon, after the replacement stove was delivered, I started in on some more finishing touches. We decided to hang some shelves and pot rails near the sink and stove to keep pots and soap and dishtowels handy. I knew I would need some major hardware to accomplish this task (along with some major drill skills -- one wall we wanted to hang on is brick under the plaster).

I decided to use the kind of anchors (self-drilling nylons ones) I uncovered when I took down the previous shelves.


Here's an in-progress shot. This is the brick wall -- super tough!



Here's the finished product: shelves for pots, hooks for skillets.


And more hooks directly opposite, behind the sink.


But here's the big news: tonight, we are cooking with gas!


Cross your fingers & toes for us; we aim to have this project wrapped up by the end of the weekend, just in time for Chinese New Year.

Kitchen Conundrum: Just a Trim

Yesterday I added some moulding around the top of the bead board. I started by cutting each piece to size and giving them two coats of yellow paint. Then I drilled some pilot holes...



...and applied some construction adhesive (I labelled each piece on the back to keep track of where they all were to go).


This trim, originally intended to be crown moulding, gives the bead board a more finished appearance I think.


I even included it in the really small places:


I'm not so good at making mitered corners. But I am pretty good at filling in gaps with caulk!

Kitchen Conundrum: Another Weekend, Part 2

When we decided to use beadboard panelling, we first thought we'd just do the backsplash area. But when we realized we could benefit from a lot more color in the kitchen, we decided to extend the panelling all the way around the room.

After cutting the panels down to size and painting them, we began installing them on the wall using construction adhesive and finishing nails.


Construction adhesive on the wall:


Panelling going up on the wall that will be behind the refrigerator (hence the bits-and-pieces approach -- it won't be too visible). Note our inept cutouts for the electrical outlets (we got better at this part).


Backsplash in place:


Finished panelling, with seems caulked and awaiting paint touch-ups and trim:


Cheerful, sunny, and bright!