Sorry…I’ve been “playing assistant”

Sorry my post was late today…I accidentally hit the “publish” button for MARCH 1st, not February 1st…*guess I’m trying to speed up Spring a little bit!*

[PLEASE NOTE: If you missed seeing the link for the doll I was selling, you can see her HERE or click on her picture at the right side bar.]

Playing assistant to my hubby that is! We are undertaking a project at our church for our upcoming 30th Anniversary! A new kitchen to be exact! I know, I know… I’m supposed to be doing my kitchen first, aren’t I? I said the same thing! But, I certainly couldn’t let my hubby do this all by himself…most of the men work in the day, and his best friend just fell and broke 4 ribs, and I do enjoy a good challenge so I said I would help when he asked! And this is “quite” the challenge! I’m not sure how old the building is that we are working in, but it’s old, and crooked and pretty hodge-podge! It’s not our main kitchen but one in the building we call the Sunday School house.

If you click on the pictures they enlarge.

Yesterday my hubby worked on moving the 2 freezers out of the kitchen into another room and putting in new outlets for them. I started scraping up the tile floor with a big scraper. I rather enjoyed it… even though it was hard work. I loved watching those tiles pop up and slide across the floor… You know how it is with prep work… it seems to take longer than anything!

Today my hubby got the sink disconnected, the plumbing “sort of” fixed… he’s not finished… and I finished up the tiles. There was all the stuff like moving things out of cabinets, cleaning out the frig, moving the stove… OH….here’s a story for you! Before we moved the stove, he opened it up to make sure no pans were in it… well, guess what? There was a pan in there… a foil one, covered with more foil… and inside were 2 long slabs of RIBS!!!!! Yes, as gross as you can imagine…molded like you’ve never seen! It had been in there….SINCE CHRISTMAS! Someone forgot to take it out and it’s been in there all this time… but you didn’t smell it at all…(thank goodness) I guess it was all that salt!!! Now isn’t that a great story to start your day? Aren’t you glad you decided TODAY I’M GONNA READ JEANNE’S POST?

Finally after all kinds of interruptions that had to be taken care of, my hubby was ready with the big guns… his sledge hammer! Boy, can this guy swing one. It took about 4 big pounds and this island was toast! He pulled it apart with his hands… but they had built it with nails instead of screws, so he spent considerable time pulling nails out of the back wall where it was attached.

It was a goofy design with the sink protruding out into the room and a narrow walkway to get around. The plan is to put brick hardboard on the long wall and run everything along it… starting at the left… drawers, stove, drawers, sink, cabinets with doors, and maybe a narrow pantry by the window… We’re going to use the same flooring as we used in our house… The walls and trim will be painted and then we’ll do the other side. I didn’t take any pictures of that side. When we left at 8:30 tonight it looked like this…one girl even came in and said the floor was an improvement!

Oh well, I know I should be sewing Valentine’s dresses, but I just can’t let my hubby do all this by himself… he asked for my help and we do work very well together! Besides, I do have an ulterior motive… he said if I helped him with this project, he would begin on “this” project!

Yes… those are MINE! I’ve had them since November, but moving momma kind of got us behind, then it was Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then he had a little setback and had to take it easy, and now the church kitchen… BUT he said, “I’m next!” All my cabinets are in the sitting room in the back of our house.. it could be called Wiedlocher’s Warehouse! Everyday I go by and open and close my drawers!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

14 thoughts on “Sorry…I’ve been “playing assistant””

  1. Demo Day for the church kitchen .. now a clean slate! You are such a sweetheart to put aside your own dreams to make the church’s come true:)!

    Can’t wait for photos of BOTH!

    1. Thanks Shara,
      The sooner we get this kitchen done, the sooner we’ll get to mine. Somehow that makes it easier to do!!
      Thanks for your kind words, Shara,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. Now I’m worried! Those tiles look like they are full of asbestos. Hope you were wearing a respirator. If unbroken, removal might be ok, but any broken/chipped tiles are a big no no. They would have hazmat in their white suits out after you. Out here, the solution would be to just go over the existing tile with underlay and leave them undisturbed. Then tile or lay flooring right over them. (Can you tell we’ve done this before?) Guess what? We removed like you and fortunately are still with the living.
    A trick for George for a nailed on cabinet, is to not pull the nails, but cut them with a reciprocating saw or Dremel. After pulling out the cabinet a bit, there is room for a saw. Then the cut off ends can be just pounded in. A real time saver.
    Loved that truck full of cabinets. Hope they are moving from the sitting room into the kitchen very soon. What a wonderful spring project at your house.
    On another note, we have the annual Cal Fire/Forestry crab feed this weekend. Can’t wait. After the fires, all profits are going to fire victims this year.

    1. Hi Joy,
      George said he didn’t think they had asbestos in them. ..I certainly hope not.
      There were holes in the floor that had to be patched so the tiles had to come up…one of the freezers leaked and the floor got all wet underneath…
      He had some hammer that pulled them out okay…they were just in clusters of 3 nails to a spot. It would have ruined the blade on his sawzall so he just yanked them with a board behind so he didn’t punch a big hole in the wall…even though it’s going to be covered.
      Ooooo. Eat a crab cake for me if they serve any!!
      Thanks Joy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. Oh what a wonderful truck of cabinets! That is so exciting! I can’t wait until you can start posting pictures of your kitchen.
    Looks like you made quick work of the church kitchen. I think they new layout will make much better sense.
    Hope you have a good day.
    Take care.

    1. Yes, Charlotte,
      A truckload of cabinets IS a wonderful thing!!! An even more wonderful thing is putting them in!!!
      Our pastor was so excited with the new ideas, he drove an hour to get the brick hardboatd…they were out at our Menards store…
      Thanks Charlotte,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. I hadn’t thought of asbestos. George doesn’t need related problems and neither do you. Checking it out and taking precautions is probably a good idea, and this is a great reminder for the rest of us. Many thanks, Joy.
    I did check on the blog a couple of times and hoped everything was ok. It’s good to know that it was. How did you find out that the blog was missing?
    I am so pleased that you have your cabinets. Having them is a huge step toward having them in your kitchen. It’s going to be great fun to see the church kitchen pictures and I think all of us are looking forward to seeing your cabinets go in. It’s going to be a very nice spring.
    Addy’s dress was lovely yesterday. Is this your one and only Addy?
    It’s snowing here, but there’s not supposed to be much and the temperatures will be warmer tomorrow.

    1. Hi Marilyn,
      I woke up at 7:00 this morning and looked at my phone…it said my post was “scheduled” instead of “published” so I knew something was wrong…it took me a little while to find my mistake with March and not February…

      I might decide I like this brick hardboard and use it on my backsplash…

      The Addy used for the pink dress was my first Addy…I have a different one now…she’s not the Beforever one, but must be the Mattel one.

      It’s snowing here too…and very cold. The temps are dropping all afternoon and in the morning it’s supposed to be 15 degrees!!! BRRR
      Thanks Marilyn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. Oh, I finally found you on the internet, Jeanne, when you didn’t show up in my email today! I was so worried for awhile there!
    You and George should have a TV show on HGTV! You know” Fixer Upper” is in it’s last season, don’t you? Well, there you go!
    Our church also remodeled the kitchen last year, and what an improvement! All new equipment make a difference, for sure and it looks like you will have a better layout! I can’t imagine how anyone would make and then leave ribs in the oven!
    Oh gosh, that truckload of cabinets is wonderful, but even more wonderful, it will be when they get put in the kitchen! What a lovely spring you will have, and you can make a yummy Easter dinner while you are enjoying the cabinets!

    1. Hi Linda,
      Just a silly mistake I made on the new month coming in!!!
      Last night someone came in the kitchen when we were working and she hugged me and said, “Hi, Joanna!!!” To which I replied… “Oh, let me introduce you to my hubby…Chip!” We both laughed!
      We’ll never let the guy who left the ribs in the oven ever live that one down…

      I am very excited to get “this” kitchen done so mjne can start!!!
      Thanks, Linda,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. Well, those tiles look like what we had covering the family room floor years ago. And yes they were asbestos. Any tile made before the late 1980’s had asbestos. They have photos online of the various types. You might want to be very careful with any dust too and where it all goes. Probably should be bagged and sealed. Just me being cautious. 🙂
    On the fun crab note, out here, no one would know about crab cakes. The crab feeds done annually, usually for charity, involve fresh crab. We love the marinated crab. Has olive oil/garlic etc. which is poured over the night before after the main cracking is done. All the crab is partially cracked before serving. Refrigerated of course. They also have crab in cioppino sauce. They are both good. It is all you can eat served with green salad with shrimp and garlic French bread. They have big containers along the long tables where you put the shells after cracking them off. It’s messy but oh so good. And then everyone goes back and gets more crab and goes at it again. I’ve found that the bodies are the easiest to crack. The legs are more difficult. We’ve been going to the crab feed for at least 30 years. Wow, getting old.

    1. Hi Joy,
      We ran into a carpenter friend from church and I showed him the pictures of the floor…he said the 9″ tiles were most likely asbestos. Eek!
      I did actually have some trouble breathing last night…I was sort of wheezing when I exhaled…

      I think maybe my throat and maybe my lungs did get a little irritated. I did look up about asbestos and it said a one time exposure probably wouldn’t too much…just cause irritation. It said it takes years of exposure to cause real damage. I’m praying that’s right. I might plug in our vaporizer tonight just for some soothing and non dry air…

      Your crab feed sounds really fun!!! If I were there, I’d beg you to take me along!! :o)
      Thanks Joy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. It may be “Fixer Upper” time at the church kitchen, but soon you will be “Home Town” proud of your new cabinets! An ulterior motive, indeed, but your servant’s heart will be well rewarded. Good luck with your transformations, Jeanne. I love a good “reveal” and will look forward to your “Tale of Two Kitchens.” 😉 Even more excited for Spring, now!

    1. Thank you, Anne,
      I am so excited to get this job finished and then start on mine…It has been really hard to keep my cabinets a secret! Now that the cat is out of the bag, I’m even more excited.
      I’ve got to keep my mind on sewing though!!
      Thanks Anne,
      Blessings, Jeanne

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