Down to the trim and Christmas time!

Over the last 2 months, we have continued our focus on finishing up the house.  With the cabinets installed, we were able to order countertops.  They were installed a few weeks ago and, with them, a new kitchen sink!  After more than a year of having to go into the bathroom to get water, wash hands and get dish water, it was amazing to have a sink in the kitchen.  All of the sudden, we could really wash dishes like normal people again! 

We decided to order a butcher block top for the kitchen island.  We found one very reasonably priced through MSC Industrial supply.  Everything on the order looked perfect and it was set to arrive the same week as the counter tops were due to be installed.  I planned to take that day off work to finish the butcher block while the other counter tops were being placed - it was going to be perfect!  I should have known it wouldn't work out that way.  When I checked the tracking information online, I found a note that the butcherblock delivery address was illegible and it was being returned to the MSC distribution center in Georgia after it had made it all the way to Kansas City.  Then I had to wait several days and make SEVERAL phone calls to get them to re-ship one to us.  It finally arrived and after a light sanding with ultrafine grit sandpaper, I sealed it up and it is beautiful!  We love it!

With that finished, we started digging out all the rest of the boxes of kitchen stuff that have been in storage for well over a year.  Our pie plates, cookie sheets, bread pans, cookie cutters and a host of other kitchen tools are all carefully stored away in the new kitchen cabinets now. 

Then it was time to get the last lighting circuit done (finally).  The dining room light was first.  We found this fixture at the Habitat Restore several months ago.  It reminds us of Jeremy's grandparents cabin light fixtures so it was a natural fit for our house.  With it complete, I turned to the other 2 light fixtures in the kitchen.  It took a bit of work to get all the wires run, boxes built and lights mounted, but the result is just what we wanted.

Out of all the rooms in the house, we put the most thought into the kitchen and it shows.  We spend most of our time at home in the kitchen - our lives revolve around food in so many ways that it is only natural for us to spend most of our waking hours doing some form of food work.  Despite having a very small house (less than 1000 sq feet all told), 6 people can work comfortably in our kitchen.  We're looking forward to it finally being the center of our lives again (instead of our lives revolving around building a house).

The list of things left to do before the house is completely finished is getting very short.  We need to get the oven vent hood installed, build the linen closet upstairs, install the cedar trim around the window and door wells downstairs, install the cedar chair rail in the living/dining room and do all the trim work downstairs.  Those aren't simple tasks, but given where we've come from it is a very manageable list of things to check off.  Jeremy is well into working on the cedar for the window and door wells.  Some of those boards may make their way into place this week even.  I am working on the plans for both the vent hood and the linen closet.  Its getting very close.

With the reduction in things still undone, our lives have continued returning to normal.  We put up the Christmas tree on time this year (the weekend after Thanksgiving).  We are making and decorating sugar cookies again this year.  It has been several years since we really did that for the holidays and it feels so good to bring back that holiday tradition.

As another bonus, now that we have finished more of the weather stripping around the doors and capped off all the input pipes around the foundation, our little house is staying nice and warm with just our little wood stove!