Rising Sun Earthworks

Thursday is the kids’ last day of school.  I think I will take those two days off and dive into my New Annotated Dracula!  I just reconnected with my best friend from high school and she sent me two Dracula books for my birthday (Thanks Wendy)!  I can’t believe all the people I’ve found on facebook!  Lots and lots of memories.

After those two days,  I’ve really got to finish up the 54 guinea pig show awards I’ve been working on.  I’ve been having glaze issues which has taken up a lot of time and the deadline is fast approaching!

I am SO happy with the tile I chose for the kitchen.  It hides dirt so well, which was my intention.  Heh heh… Oh- and the color in the grout is slowly coming back!  So I think a good vinegar scrub and then sealing the grout will do the trick.  Yay!

We are now waiting for countertops- 3 weeks!  They will be this color of silestone.  The black sink and faucet will go in at the same time.

While we are waiting,  we will put the trim on that covers the bottom toekick, and the crown molding at the top of the cabinets.  Handles and knobs will need to be installed, and we still need to put in the cabinet above the fridge and the microwave above the stove.   I also still need to make allll the tiles for the backsplash O_o .  That will take a while!  Still not sure if I am going to do a pattern, or textures, or what.  I’m thinking a diagonal, though, to tie in with the floor, and definitely floating blue in color:

Bare planks over joists:

Plywood underlayment, followed by cement board:

Radiant heat floor mats laid- these are what gave me so much trouble:

Most of floor tile laid- very tricky getting them level over the heat mats:

I will come back and post a finished pic after I lay the edge pieces and grout!

ETA:  Here it is!  Unfortunately the grout is drying far too light- it’s supposed to look like the grout in the center of the picture, but it’s drying like the grout on the far left. 

 …or devolving!

The last one is a beaut, isn’t it?  Mike finally rented a little jackhammer (lower right) to get the tile off.  Underneath is some super retro swirly mosaic patterned linoleum.  I did not participate today as I threw my pathetically out-of-shape back out while shoveling mulch.

We took Louie to be euthanized on Tuesday, May 26, at 11 a.m.

He was 15 1/2 years old.  1/3 my age.  He was our baby before the kids came along.  He was crabby, opinionated and funny, and loved me unconditionally.  His favorite place to sleep was under the covers, curled up behind my knees.  He hated the kids, cement trucks, and the vet.  He loved a good wrestling match, ice cream, and the beach (but not the water).

I’ll miss you Louie!

Wow- look!

Poo colored tile backsplash gone.

Nasty old cabinets gone.

Dorky hubby hamming it up!

Spiffy new cabinets up!  Upper ones, anyway.  And we put them up TWICE.  Because the first time they were 1/2 inch too high :-T

Today (if everyone gets home from baseball and guitar that is) we will have the doors on, the shelves in, and the stuff inside back inside and out of the sunroom where they have been malingering in rubbermaid bins.  I even went out and bought some groovy new shelf paper this morning!  Yay me!

My kitchen has been so nice and orderly since we started deconstruction, hasn’t it?  :red face:

These were homemade cabinets, so you just don’t unzip a couple of screws and take them down, you have to rip off every piece, piece by piece, because they were built in place.  Ugh.  I was hoping to re-use them in my studio or something, but by the time they are removed, they are just random sticks and nails and screws.

With my love, Twilight!  I was invited to a twilight themed stocking at Huckleberry Knits.  I was so inspired I came up with 9 mugs!  Here are a few, in no particular order…

Some detail

…and there’s more!  They all go on sale on the 21st at 12:30, at Huckleberry Knits.

Grease was last Thursday through Saturday and the kids were amazing.  I am so proud of John! I am going to make some Grease mugs for the 5 teachers that put this thing together.  I should have had them ready by the performances, but I was so busy this month!

I’m so proud of me, too!  I finished all but two customs and one is in the kiln cooling right now.  I still have to throw a mug for the other one- should have that done in a day or two.  I hope to glaze this weekend and have that last custom out next week.

Then, we will start dismantling the kitchen…

I got some pictures of John as Danny Zuko!

“Grease” starts in 2 days and I am petrified…