The island is done as of today and it’s just what I wanted!
The top came out really well
Lots of storage
Large but not too imposing
Plenty of room to work
I’m in the process of filling the drawers with the hopes of getting rid of the upper cabinets at some point. At least the ones on the stove wall.
Work on the island has come to a bit of a standstill. Last thing I did was put a coat of wax on it after the Hubs finished the sanding. I complained about it being really hard, so he ordered a buffer thingee for his drill. But no one has gone out there to put a second coat of wax on.
We decided other chores need doing this weekend, so other than a coat of wax, no island work will be completed.
While I was at a show with the Kraken Saturday, BIL was at my house and they got the kitchen fan swapped out for this:
This fixture has been sitting in my office for weeks. I was not sure I actually liked it or how it would look. The box it hangs from is in a decidedly weird place, but the lighting in this house is really lacking, so I felt kinda stuck. The Hubs and BIL got rid of the fan and put this up and I got a tentative text about it! I’ll admit if I was rewiring the kitchen, I would have made a different choice, but given what we have and where we have it, I’m not hating on this.
It’s been a few days now, it’s really dark at dinner time so we’ve used it and it throws really good light. I look at it while I’m eating and it’s definitely growing on me. Much like most of my choices, it’s not for everyone, but it’s working for me.
Yesterday I dug the caulk out of the vanity. It’s been bugging me because it was dirty, and it was repelling the paint (first pic). I really should have done it when I originally painted, but here we are. After it was all cleaned up, I used some mud to help smooth the wall and cover up whatever I missed.
It’s not my best work, and I kinda don’t care because one day this will be replaced. I worked at it a couple times last night, and today I put down a new bead of paintable caulk. The wall’s not smooth, the bead isn’t perfect, but it’s better than it was and I’m gonna live with it until I can’t! I just need to wait for the caulk to dry so I can paint it a little neater than it was.
This weekend we’re gonna check out a local church. We’ve been attending one online forever that we love, but I feel like maybe I need more. I’m not looking for friends per se, just a line on volunteering. I’m not sure if this pastor is what we want (unflinching Bible truth), but at the very least I might find an outlet for my extra time.
I’ve been feeling a lot of rage lately. I finally decided it was all the political junk I’ve been consuming. Election day this week really brought it all to a head. I’m disappointed in my fellow humans. I’m slickened at the antisemitism out there. I’m disgusted that people cheered at Charlie Kirk’s murder, and how they are saying he was so hateful. I’m stunned that there are people walking around so uninformed that in spite of all the failures, think socialism and/or communism is actually the answer for this country. I just can’t with these people.
So yeah, rage.
And no more political information for me.
After more of a polish than a sand:
We flipped the counter over to do the top.
I’ll admit, it has some things I’m not thrilled about, like this:
Not sure how that even happened. But the Hubs thinks he can make it disappear with minimal effort. There are a couple of dark spots I don’t love. I’m hoping it’s more like a foot print than a feature of the wood, and can be sanded out.
I love how this picture makes it look impossibly long!
This is where we are starting from. A couple of sessions with 220, 320, 400, and 600 grit sanding ought to make this baby feel like glass.
I was headed out to the shop this morning when I saw this:
Mayhem looking just as sassy as can be sitting on the ledge in the stairwell. He’s such a funny boy. Not sure if he’s planning on jumping onto the Hubs from here, or if he’s hiding on Havoc. He was still there when I came back in.
Would have been sad/funny if he was just sitting there trying to figure out how to get back on solid floor!
This morning between meetings, the Hubs sanded the counter. I was thinking a quick 400-grit sand. When I went out there the top looked like I never even touched it.
Come to find out, he did the 400, then the 600, then the 1200. He is certainly dedicated.
Once the dust was wiped off, you could tell it had been done:
I did the second coat:
We have the heat on in the shop so it dries by tonight. The Hubs will do the sanding, then we will flip it over and start again.
The topside will be waxed a couple of times after it gets sanded. I’m not really looking forward to that part, as it’s a ton of elbow grease – wax on, wax off. Multiple times.
Because we can’t sit still, last night we drove to the outer parts of Martinsburg to pick up a couple of filing cabinets. I was not expecting them to be so rough, but when they got loaded, ugh. This is gonna be a job to bring them back to life.
The Hubs is gonna have to fashion some sort of bottom for these to protect the damaged parts from getting worse. One of these is going in the house, so it will have to pass muster before it gets rolled through the door! The other will stay in the shop and do its job out there.
Once we get them cleaned up and inspect the actual damage, we can start restoration.
But this will start after the island is finished.
I put on my big girl panties and used the man-door to the shop today.
I know it doesn’t seem like much, but the juicy spiders are working overtime in there and I like to use the overhead door to give myself a LOT of freaking out room if I need it.
So using the man-door – and closing it behind me was a big event.
It’s getting colder here, and I want the shop to stay at a relative temperature while we’re working with the counter top. I do worry about nights in the 30s, but thus far the shop seems to be able to hold its own and stay pretty constant.
We have talked about turning on the heat to about 65 and just leaving it on all winter, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’m not sure it should because it’s getting up into the 60s during the day right now.
Anyway, not my department.
After lunch, I went over and wiped down the counter top. Then I started the poly.
I’m doing the cut edges and the bottom. Some of the sapele seems like it’s glowing red. It’s a cool effect.
I knew there would be a big difference, but I don’t think I was expecting this. I’m really happy with the ways it’s turning out.
There are a few weird anomalies, like the wiggle along the bottom, but it’s the underside so I’m not too worried about it. Now if some weirdness shows up on the top, I’m not sure how I’ll feel. Probably will like it because it makes it unique and we like that around here.
The best part was one of the overhead lights was flashing. Not sure if it’s chilly or dying. Either way, it contributes to the creepy feeling of the shop. I was trying not to notice how much I did not like being alone in there with the doors closed.
While I’m writing this, Havoc is camped out on my desk, I’m trying to get her to fall asleep so I can cut her nails, but she’s onto me and keeps waking up!
Maybe tonight, but probably tomorrow, the Hubs will do a light sanding, so I can re-coat the counter. Once that layer is dry, he’ll polish it and we’ll turn it over and start the process of sanding the other side.
We – and when I say “we” I mean the Hubs – sanded the underside of the counter last night.
I know you can’t tell, but this is after he sanded with 100-grit paper. He said he doubted there was the 120-grit sand they claimed.
I told you, he’s pretty tenacious about this.
I stood around taking pictures while he worked – it’s what I do best!
This is the making of a 320 sand:
Complete with the hole left by the bracing piece.
He did the corners:
And then the 400 sand. He insists I found this product, but I don’t really remember buying it. It’s not paper, but a screen, so the dust doesn’t get clogged while sanding. This is a bit of magic I wish we’d known about sooner!
Can’t you just see how smooth it is?
Once this is wiped down, it’ll be ready for the first coat of poly. I’m using a satin because we have it. If it were the top I would have wanted matte. But it’s the underside, so we’re using what we have.
It’s here!!!! It’s HERE!!!
Today we picked up the counter top. We had to rent a truck and that sucked. But the people at the mill (6 of them) loaded the counter into the truck for us and when we got it home, the Hubs and I somehow got it into the shop.
It’s sanded to only 120 grit right now. We took off the cross pieces, and it’s ready to sand for real. We’re taking this side to about a 400 grit finish, then we’ll put an oil-based sealer on it. Once that is dry we’ll flip it over – no small feat.
On the top the Hubs wants to do a 1200 grit finish and then wax it.
Honestly, I’ll be happy if the saw horses don’t give out during this process!
Not sure of the actual time line, but in my mind we’ll be installing the island over the weekend. I’m ready to get this project into the home stretch!
I’m excited to see how it cleans up. Right now it’s a little rough and new-looking. Once it’s got some sanding and sealing the whole thing will look totally different.
Warning… The Hubs wants the process well-documented, so I will be boring you with the step-by-step on this!!
And just like that, it’s installed!
Because a lot of the prep work was done ahead of time, the Hubs was able to use his superior skills to make the pantry happen on Saturday.
We moved the fridge and freezer aside, moved the water line to the fridge and gave ourselves some working room.
OK, who are we kidding, my part was done, I provided window dressing and an extra pair of hands, but not much else!
Once this part was done, the rest kinda just built itself.
I’m happy to report there was minimal swearing, and no “whoops” moments.
Before dark, we were done!
Sunday I did the touchups and we put it all back together.
This should take a lot of pressure off the upstairs pantry and be useful for storing big, awkward, and little used items.
And I just noticed there’s no baseboard behind the unit.
Dammit
Oh well, soon it will be blocked and I won’t see it. We’ll have to address that when we paint the space.
I’m gonna wait a week to fill it, so the paint has a chance to cure. In the meanwhile, Mayhem is much enamored with this whole set up. From the top of the fridge he can headbutt the ceiling tiles. He has not yet gone up into the void, but I need to fill that space before he decides he can do it.
Sunday Will came over and dropped a giant piece of furniture for us to store for the Kraken. She doesn’t have room for it, but loves it. I have yet to figure out where to put it. I might fill it up if I find a good spot for it. I mean why not? It’s here for the duration. I might as well!
And now the only project I have left til the island starts is to organize and clean up my office.
I wonder what else I can distract myself with…
I know you never thought I’d ever say this, but it’s official. My love of painting is being tested.
For weeks now I have been painting. Trim, bead board, shelves, supports. If you can name it, I’ve painted it.
Today marks the almost done part.
I have one last coat on 3 planks and then it’s done.
Well, except the touch-up because we will certainly mess up my beautiful paint job upon install.
What you’re looking at is some pantry shelves. We are planning to at least start installing them on Saturday. I’m really looking forward to getting a bunch of stuff off the floor in the basement.
Monday night we used some really complicated math to mark off the island lighting placement.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but there was probably geometry involved. This was after my great idea of marking the floor and then using a flashlight to mark the ceiling. In my defense, I really thought it would work! It didn’t. But the Hubs indulged me (he probably knew it wouldn’t work), and saved the day by using math.
The electricians showed up as promised, which surprised me because we were ready for them, and no one shows up when they say they will. They took about 3 hours to run a network cable and install the lights. And we didn’t have to go in the attic.
Now all we need is an island.
As it gets darker earlier, it sure is nice to have lights over the table.
Currently, the counter is about a week plus away from being fabricated. After that I’d say a solid weekend of sanding, maybe more, and then the following weekend we can start the install. The Hubs has enlisted the help of his brother, so maybe it will go smoothly. On the other hand, it might be like the blind leading the blind as none of us have ever attempted this before.
It’ll be a learning experience.
And that’ll be fun, too.
If you don’t recall, that was the day Hamas attacked Israel.
In the 2 years that have followed, we have seen our Republic become fractured and violence skyrocket.
I don’t pretend to know all the geopolitical ramifications, but I do know what it is doing to my beloved country. We are tearing ourselves apart with division. And a lot of people shouting don’t even know what they are shouting about.
Our pastor explained it all in great detail. I would encourage you to take some time and watch this. He uses maps and history to get the truth of it all out there.
Even if you’re not a believer, it’s a great history lesson. And who knows, maybe you will be intrigued enough to study further and maybe accidentally listen to more and become a believer!
This morning PragerU posted a 5-minute video on the same topic. This one is eye opening. In the culture of worshipping evil and trashing good, it’s a stark reminder of where that road leads.
A little hint: It isn’t to Heaven, or Nirvana, or anyplace good. Evil leads to evil. And to me that means Hell. If that’s where you want to end up, I’m sorry for you, but I’m not going there.
Stand with Israel. They are the Children of God and you can never go wrong with that.
Yellow House 
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