My renewal...

Thank you guys! I like the bigger tiles they have now. The contractor mentioned that they are getting even bigger, which is why they need the membrane to prevent cracking. I have been through enough remodeling, I should know better.

I think the tile guy got a bit of an a$$ chewing because he was here at 7:00 am on the dot and they immediately went to work. None of their normal chitchat. Kitchen is almost done already.

I should have listened to you wise ladies on the Brain oil! I have been just using a teaspoon of it and thought I would a little extra to see if it helped move things along. It did very quickly and with nasty cramps. At one point I was hot and nauseous. Everything has calmed down now but I will stick to my teaspoon in the future! But I am no longer feeling gross and out of sorts!

I think it is time to start looking more seriously for a part time volunteer opportunity. I have been looking at various things but after the new year, I need to start making actual inquiries. I am so fortunate and am feeling the need to help those around me. I have been pondering one of the local animal shelter or a food pantry. It can't be too public facing because of the germs and I worry that I will come home with every dog in the shelter.

We decided not to put up a tree. There are dishes and tubs full of kitchen stuff everywhere. The clutter is already stressing me out and I think tree will be even more. I think we will get a wreath or two to decorate and maybe some garland for the living room archway. I usually love putting up the Christmas tree but since we are going to E's parents house on Christmas Eve, it seems pointless to have one here this year.

Restraint on decorations seems sensible. The clutter makes me crazy so we rarely do anything - maybe some sparkly outside lights... I too think what we've seen of the remodel looks great. Can't wait to see more as it progresses.

Good plan on the tree with everything going on.

I’d probably bring home all the dogs too.

The floor is done and the cabinets are here! They start putting them in tomorrow. The tile guy had to come yesterday to do the grout. It looks great! But we still have a ways to go.

To not be or feel like total grinches, we got some pretty Christmas potpourri and candles yesterday. Today we did a major clean of the living room area and filled some of pretty bowls the with potpourri. And we put a Christmas table cloth on the bistro table. Looks nice. And smells even better.

It is a gray and rainy day so we have been having a lazy day after the house work. The washer and dryer were moved into the garage so there is no laindry that can be done. There is a ham, green bean, potato and bone broth soup in the instapot. A very relaxing day.

Yesterday we got in a 2.7 mile hike yesterday between grocery shopping and Csa pick up. Ms. Daisy had a good time meeting a few other dogs. After that we went to a local mall, where the Christmas Tubas were Christmas music. It was a fun concept.

Still need to sauté my mushrooms for the week. WCE is going well. I have decided to add the coconut yogurt into it since i need probiotics, it has all acceptable ingredients and it is delicious! Based on the rulesI am not sure it qualifies but I doing this more for the sugar and treat detox. E made an amazing hamburger stroganoff using the yogurt. It was so good!

Yah, too much brain oil...for me that meant disaster pants. I'm sure you know what I mean. I use 1 tsp brain oil and 1 tsp Kerrygold.

After Mark's sellout I wonder if Bulletproof is next! Hope not!

I'm happy for the two of you that your kitchen is coming together especially considering the holidays.

I had never heard of coconut yogurt. I can no longer find full fat yogurt where I shop.

The tablecloth and potpourri sounds excellent and something I should think about as my house just seems dismal this time of year. No sense decorating as I'm so busy with other things and away but if institute your ideas perhaps I'll feel more in the game.

I love those tiles! They are all the rage here right now. All the new houses are being built with those rectangular tiles. I also love the colours you have chosen. I can't wait to see it with the new cupboards in.

TW, one teaspoon and a little coconut milk is where it is at!

Pam, there are lots of non-dairy yogurts now but most are full of icky gums and have weird textures. Coho is the best I have tried so far. It is definitely full fat!

Ontario, the tiles look better now that they di the grout.

The cabinets are almost all in.  The lower cabinets are in and ready to have the countertop templates done. The appliances are here and the new washer and dryer are installed. We had another clogged drain in the basement. The plumber cleared it out and they are going to have to remove the old house trap, which continues to clog.  Yay, more construction mess!  

Looking forward to our weekend away!  It is going to cold but clear.

I am excited about my new washer.  It has a much larger capacity than the old one so I will be washing our quilt and Daisy's bedding today too.  No workers today so I plan on getting some serious housework done.

Progress! It is all looking very nice

Looking so nice. Know how happy you both are to make these updates.

Have a great getaway.

Looks wonderful.

It also appears you got the same washer I just did. If it’s the same, you will love it. Does yours have the agitator? Mine does and cleans like a dream.

Enjoy getting things done.

I love the contrast between the cupboards and the floor. It looks really nice. I would love to see the vent hood you pick out. Are you doing a backsplash?

Looking good! Enjoy your weekend away.

I love the color scheme. It is going to be beautiful.

Have a great weekend.

So fabulous!

Thanks everyone! The guys are back today to finish installing the remaining seven upper cabinets right now.

Ontario, we will have a taupe glass tile backsplash in the kitchen. In the laundry room, the backsplash will be the same material as the quartz countertop. The hood will be nothing fancy, just a lowprile under cabinet one in stainless steel.

NM, my new washer has an impeller. I wanted to be able to wash comforters, rugs and dog beds. The interior is huge! I was worried about it becoming unbalanced when I was washing big items but I followed the instructions on how to load bulky things and it worked pretty well.

Today I have an eye doctor today. I need a better pair of glasses for driving at night and my eyes have been really dry. They talked me into trifocals last time and I never adjusted to them so I went back to my old ones. Then we leave for the Catskills!

Wow....I hated the trifocals too. That was way back in the olden days -- 1985 or so.

I am now going to laundromat and I finally read the signs....no doggie, etc. beds. Oops I have been breaking the law!

Glad you like your new washer. I am in the market and listening to everyone's ideas.

Have a wonderful trip.

Even with the agitator the tub is huge. Really I wanted something much smaller, but I had DH’s wash to think of. And naturally, after I get this monster, his washing is finished. It will take my comforter so that will be good, but won’t get a whole lot of work with just me here most of the time. . Oh and dog beds still fit too.

Happy to hear it worked well for you with the big bulky load. If it cleans as well as mine you will definitely love it.

Have fun in the Catskills

All this talk about agitator/impeller in a top load washing machine had me turn to Google... in Europe a top loader has a drum, just like front loaders do... and if you want a truly large machine you're bound to buy a front loader; is it true that you don't get to set the temperature?

Kitchen and laundry room are turning out awesome, V & E! A pleasure to work in,  I can imagine, and so much space... great thinking/planning.

Have fun in the Catskills! Daisy too.

Hope your new glasses will turn out better than the last.

The remodel is looking great! How fun to have all new and fresh!!

LB - while we don’t get Number temps like in the UK, mine at least has 5 different settinging for temp ranging from Hot to cold. This is working better for me than my last front loader. My small front loader was awesome and did have temps (not longer made) all the way to almost boil.

We had an amazing time in the Catskills but it was very cold!   We took a short hike down to a viewing platform for a waterfall and the trail was covered in hard, icy snow.  We decided the trail to the bottom, which was lots of steps, might not be too safe, especially with Daisy.  It was beautiful though.  We will have to go back to it again when the weather is a little more agreeable.  This picture does not do justice to how big the falls are and you can't see the the one on the bottom..



After that we went to the Smokehouse of the Catskills and bought an embarrassing amount of smoked meat. We got bacon, smoked pork chops, three kinds of kielbasa, including venison, and some venison salami.  E got some smoked Gouda.  Even Daisy got a treat, smoked pigs ears.  Later today I will vacuum sealing them into meal size portions and expect to get at least 20 to 25 portions from everything we got, not including the snacky stuff.

After we dropped off the princess at the hotel, we went and did a tour of the Vanderbilt house in Hyde Park and went to the open house at the FDR house and library. I would recommend visiting both if you are near there.   We had visited the FDR house and library before and will go about again when the gardens are growing.  There are a few other houses we want to visit while we are there.  The only down side was it was so cold!  I think it was around 26f most of the day and breezy. Without the wind it would not have been bad.  We need to upgrade our winter hiking gear.

Food was mostly good but I had a hot toddy after the hike and had a gf bagel this morning. I now know that gf bagels do not agree with me as I had almost a immediately negative response to eating it. On a positive note, I seem to tolerate egg yolks well.  Most people are sensitive to the white and that is what seems to bother me.

Tomorrow is my six month MRI to see if there is any change in the nodule on my left adrenal gland.  It is still the same size, we will just monitor it annually from now on.   Hoping it is as easy as the last one.

Your trip sounds great! So good to hear from the World of v and e!

I have the same troubles with GF bread things - many of them seem worse than actual gluten! There is one brand I can trust, the others not so much...but I have to admit that I enjoy having some now and then. The brand I like is called Bürgen. I'm pretty sure it isn't available in the U.S. Even if it was, the ingredients would be different. The soy is different here - it is illegal to use Roundup on soy, and so the variety is the old fashioned kind.

Best wishes on the MRI, both for an easy experience and for good results.

Sounds like an amazing weekend. The picture is beautiful.

Great job with all the meat stuffs for meals and snacks.