Rain, rain ... GO AWAY!

So, for any of you who have talked to us over the past 2 months know that it's been raining here, like, non-stop.  For 2 months.  I'm not joking.  We've had no Spring, and now it's about to be over 80+ degrees and muggy.  And, for anyone who has ever even talked to me - I hate being hot*.  Ughhh.

*Unless I just have to lay by a pool or on the beach or some other outdoor activity that warrants good sun and heat, then it's pretty freakin' awesome.

So, here are the stats, and pics of what the outside has looked like for as long as we can remember now.  Really, it has been that long!

• A total of 8.72" of rain fell in April 2011 - second in stats only to 1996, when they had 9.2".
• A total of 5.91" has fallen in May so far.
• It rained 19 days in April, but the sun only popped out for 5 days - the rest were cloudy and dreary (with possible drizzle, but no measurable rain, apparently).
• It has rained 18 days so far in May; the sun has popped out 5 days - the rest were cloudy and dreary (again, with possible drizzle, but no measurable rain, apparently).
• April's mean temperature was 54.7 degrees.
• May's mean temperature has been 65 degrees.
• Ohio's WORST planting season in 53 years - it could cost millions, and we might not have good corn this year (ditto for soybeans, but who cares, right?).

Here's the standard view from our front porch ...

And what they do to our TV when there are storms - because it's a BIG deal around here.  Mainly it's Fox ... which is also ABC ... they are dumb.  I called and complained because it was the American Idol Final - and I lost the fantasy draft to Scotty - SCOTTY the (non-existent) BODY. 
I'm still mad.
About the tv, not the bet.

It's supposed to be really nice this weekend.  Here's to hoping ... our fingers are crossed.  But, the temps to follow on Saturday - Tuesday are: 78, 88, 89, 90 ... etc.  Seriously, I'm P-O'ed about skipping the 70s.  But, no one in this region can complain about it now - so I'm keeping my mouth shut, for the most part.

Also, Pat has made a fine feathered friend ... who has nested and laid eggs in my hanging basket.
I should have an update post, post-Memorial Day weekend. We should have a lot to show ... so long as the weather cooperates! Have a great holiday!

The Kitchen. Part 2.

I think that before we're done with this thing, there might be 1 million parts to "The Kitchen" blog postings.

So, the flooring is now in!  YAY!  There were some real issues along the way (I know, it's hard to imagine; but sometimes when you rip floor up five layers of floor, you don't find awesomeness underneath.)

First, everyone who tried had a hard time ripping up the multi-layered flooring; so I'm giving Pat props for doing as much as he did in the beginning.  The contractors, even with all their right tools, had a hell of a time demo-ing the floor.  Then, there was a hump issue.  A hump in the middle of the floor that might create some problems down the line.  And, the remedy to "fix" the hump issue in the past was ... (this is a doozey) ... to pound nails into it in an effort to hold it down.  Many contractors would have just floored over the hump - I mean, by the time it created any issues in the joints, they'd be long gone.  But, our guys ... well, they do things right.  Apparently, one of the contractors took time out of his day to pull out nails pounded into the floor in one big pile.  (I wish I would have been home to get a picture of that.)  They spent an entire afternoon sanding that hump & pulling nails to make sure everything was proper.  Which means that everything in the kitchen was once again dusty and dirty ... I'm about done cleaning everything in the kitchen whenever I don't cook or use the dishes!

And, tonight, we put all of the pulls on the cabinets and drawers!  So exciting!  They look great too. We only had an issue with 1 cabinet, and once we got the pull on and screwed in ... you can barely tell that we had to drill a MASSIVE hole underneath because things didn't line up.  It was the drill's fault.

Anywho, here are the pics of the process and the finished product of our new cork floors!  (They feel squishy and it's cool!)

The grossness under the dishwasher.

Some "before and after's" of the flooring ... vent area, door molding, the molding under the cabinets, and fixing the enormous cuts into the door frames to fit all of those layers of flooring!

 

Notice how they matched the door frame molding and also the baseboards in here too ... it makes SUCH a difference!

MASSIVE HOLE (top one obviously!) ... surprisingly, it doesn't really show with the pull on the door?

All the dust on the floor, and in the cabinets, and in the drawers ... luckily I DID NOT have to re-wash everything again tonight after NOT cooking ... because we have a dust buster!  One of the single greatest gifts from our wedding ... we didn't even know we needed one, and we use it all. the. time.  (Thanks Peggy!)

  

 

Up next ... PAINTING!!!  

(which means more sanding = more dust = more cleaning (without cooking), and finally painting.)