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October 29, 2008
Kitchen: Won't Be Long Now...
We have cabinets, counters, Advantium, sink (w/ faucet), and dishwasher all installed and operational.
The vent hood and stove are the only major bits left - and the rest is "finish work" - trim, baseboards, and the like.
We might have a working kitchen by weeks end.
I'm all a-quiver with antici-
Continue reading "Kitchen: Won't Be Long Now..."
Posted by dberger at 12:53 PM
October 24, 2008
You Dropped your Rock
The granite guys are here - big slabs of granite in tow. By this afternoon, we'll have counters (knock woodstone).
Then we paint this weekend, and Dan hangs the uppers, installs the dishwasher, and we've got a kitchen again.
I can almost taste it...
Posted by dberger at 9:07 AM | Comments (2)
October 22, 2008
I'm a bad citizen
I mentioned being distressed by the notion of rational ignorance as presented in The Logic of Life, well, tonight I sat down to read through the voter pamphlet for the upcoming election...
Continue reading "I'm a bad citizen"
Posted by dberger at 7:35 PM
October 19, 2008
Point-Counter-Point
The other day I got email from the library that The Logic of Life was waiting to be picked up. With Dawnise out of town, I've had more time to read than I normally find myself with (not a complaint, just an observation) and I worked through it pretty quickly. Tim Harford writes well, and the book is quite interesting, but I found it less compelling than my "other" recent economic read (Predictably Irrational).
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Posted by dberger at 9:47 PM
October 18, 2008
Civilized
It's an absolutely gorgeous day out - cool, clear, lots of big fluffy clouds. I wandered out to take a walk around the neighborhood, and returned home to the sultry sounds of Diana Krall.
I think I'll make a cup of tea and see about making some progress on my latest read.
Posted by dberger at 2:14 PM | Comments (1)
And They're Off...
I dropped Vince and Dawnise off at SEATAC this morning for a 7am flight (which means up before 5, for those playing along at home). They're headed down to Southern California to attend their annual high holiday service at Knotts Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt.
Continue reading "And They're Off..."
Posted by dberger at 6:27 AM
October 16, 2008
Another Day, Another Disappointing Meal...
Dawnise and I quite enjoy Mongolian BBQ, though we haven't had any in a couple years, We decided to break that trend tonight, and turned, once again, to Yelp (silly me) for guidance. There were two in the immediate vicinity - one got a paltry 2.5 stars, the other 3.5. Neither a ringing endorsement, but we figured we'd try the better of the two anyway.
I mean, fresh veggies, thin sliced meat - how bad could you really screw that up?
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Posted by dberger at 8:03 PM
October 15, 2008
It Begins
L4D is available for pre-purchase.
Posted by dberger at 3:47 PM
October 14, 2008
Dinner, Redeux
I'm getting really tired of not having a kitchen - and the bad news is we're at least two weeks away from it being done.
We started our quest for dinner looking for a Mongolian BBQ place Dawnise remembered passing near the house, we didn't find it, and decided to let the GPS guide us to an alternative. I recognized "The Whistle Stop Ale House" from a previous Yelp search for breakfast places, and we (I) decided to give it a shot.
Turned out to be a mistake...
Continue reading "Dinner, Redeux"
Posted by dberger at 8:35 PM
October 13, 2008
Memories of Bobby McGee's
There's a place in Brea - the last of a small franchise - called Bobby McGee's. We used to go there at least a couple times a year to celebrate various events - birthdays, mostly. They were great at accommodating large parties, and never kicked us out for throwing things (<cough>jelly-beans</cough>).
What I always looked forward to was the pepercorn steak - a new york steak crusted in cracked peppercorns (an item sadly missing from their current menu).
Tonight Dawnise and I tried The Keg across from the factoria mall, and while there was no help-your-self-to-all-the-jelly-beans-you-want salad-bar, the pepper steak was pretty damn respectable. Not Daniel's quality meat, but definitely repeatable.
Posted by dberger at 8:13 PM | Comments (2)
Music for a Monday Morning
The sensual sounds of John Coltrane - along with a good americano - are a nearly perfect way to start a Monday, despite feeling under the weather.
Posted by dberger at 8:40 AM
October 11, 2008
I didn't like the others, they were all too flat...
We went down to Kent today to choose "our" granite.
The counters have been a bit of a conundrum since the beginning of the project.
We've looked at probably a hundred granite samples, and never really did find one that was both aesthetically exciting and fiscally reasonable. One outfit had their samples labeled with terms like "low-end", "mid-range," "high end," and "$!$!$!$". Of course all the really pretty and unique ones were in the high-to-obscene price range, and I'm more of a mid-grade kinda spender.
Continue reading "I didn't like the others, they were all too flat..."
Posted by dberger at 4:05 PM | Comments (1)
October 10, 2008
The State of the Kitchen...
Since my last update on the 2nd, we've had definite progress on the kitchen. Good to their word, the cabinet maker delivered the corrected base cabinets yesterday, and our contractor has had the pipe fitter out to install the NG line for the new range and yesterday was the electrician installing the new lighting (and installing single pole double-throw switches, so we can actuate the lights from either door to the kitchen). Today is the electrical inspection, and this afternoon the granite installers come to template.
As of yesterday, we've turned the corner from "tear it apart" to "put it back together" - drywall soon, then uppers. Counter install is scheduled for two weeks from today, which should be the final step.
Course once that's all done, the hardwood floors, which needed refinishing when we moved in, will look really pathetic. Once the bank account recovers a bit we'll look into doing something about that...
Posted by dberger at 7:14 AM
October 5, 2008
Grimspace
I've forgotten who recommended Grimspace to me, but I grabbed it from the library the other day and finished it on the ferry home last night (we hopped over to the island for dinner @ the pub and the Edge improv show).
It was reasonably well written, but mostly predictable and archetypical, and none of the characters really "grabbed" me. I certainly didn't hate it, but neither am I rushing out to read the sequel.
Posted by dberger at 8:42 AM
October 2, 2008
A Shoe Has Dropped
Well, we're no longer waiting for something to go sideways on the kitchen - we (well, Dawnise) discovered that one of the base cabinets was made incorrectly. It was 9" shorter than we expected, and (it turns out) 6" shorter than the plans they were fabricating from.
The details of the snafu aren't terribly interesting, though it wasn't "our fault" so it only affects the time-line of the project, not the cost. It does mean that the cabinet has to be re-made, and that I had to call the granite company and tell them they can't come template tomorrow.
The cabinet maker has committed to having the replacement on-site by next Thursday, so tomorrow morning I'll call and see if I can get back on the granite installers calendar.
Posted by dberger at 10:16 PM