Two Trees Grew on Beachway

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our 2 Bradford Pear trees that were, unfortunately in the way of 0ur new construction. We will miss them terribly, but they had to go. Both trees were about 25 years old, and were becoming brittle as Bradfords do. The larger of the 2 trees had lost a huge limb last year during a violent summer storm, and once the tree is weakened like that it's only a matter of time until others fall. I was worried that we'd have an ice storm that would take them out this winter.

Below is a pic I took of them in sprint 2007 in full bloom:

Here's view from the deck that M took yesterday:

Here's a snap he took of the two of them yesterday, before Joaquin's crew got started:

Joaquin and another man, dispatched our Bradfords and the dying maple that you can see to the right of Joaquin next to the fence. The also ground out the roots, and took out the scraggly evergreen shrubs next to the deck. M said they had a wood chipper going too, so that all that was left of our ill-fated trees was sawdust when they were through.

So here is what we have post Bradfords. It's REALLY SUNNY! This is good for my veggie garden, but probably bad for energy efficiency. This morning it we kept thinking that we'd left a light on in our home office, because it was so BRIGHT.

Here's a close up of the deck, post-Bradfords. The trees made it a nice place for long afternoon al fresco lunches.

We were sorry to see them go, and sad that our friends the birds and other critters wouldn't have them to perch on anymore. But, they had to go so we could achieve our new space.

S'all for now,

cc

Cheryl L - I am back in the pizza making bid-ness

Pizza on the Grill?!??

I am so totally going to try this!

Getting closer, then Joaquin bails!

Meaningless aside:  Facebook is really neat...I discovered thru an update, that my friend Bugs, was taking relatives to IKEA in Woodbridge, VA yesterday morning.  M and I always load up on their candles when we go there, because they are about $0.50 each in a box of 20, or there abouts, as opposed to $2 each anywhere else for your basic taper.  I gave him a shout on his mobile and asked him to pick up 2 boxes for us.  Thanks, Bugs!

M and I delivered a load of stuff to the storage unit afterwork yesterday.  I made a really good spaghetti sauce, which we enjoyed with pasta.  Then more packing!  I have the kitchen mostly packed up now. It's time to start assembling a garage kitchen that I'll use during construction.

Garcia's Tree service  was supposed to come today and cut down 3 trees, but it's rainy and murky in the DC area, so Joaquin called M's mobile at about 7:30am and said he'd come tomorrow morning. M had arranged to work from home today, but whatchagonnado?  He's re-arranging his day tomorrow so he can do the same tomorrow.  

I am ready for a little sunshine, how 'bout y'all?

L8r,

CC

The Pre-Construction Meeting, etc

So, Monday morning at precisely 9am, Kelvin Pierce and Alan Bennett arrived at the house for our pre-construction meeting.  Kelvin is the co-owner of Commonwealth along with this wife Susan, the architect. Alan is to be our project manager for the duration.  Celebrities they most resemble?  Hmm, thoughie, but glad you axed, Kelvin resembles a younger, circa "The Right Stuff", Scott Glenn, Alan, I'll have to think about, I have a character actor in mind but I can't remember what he was in...I digress. 

M had met and spoke to Kelvin on the phone, but neither of us had met Alan.  He's a decent guy, and we got a really good feeling about him.  We walked Alan throughout the house and around the perimeter of the house and we learned the following:  

1. They are going to need one of our garage bays as a staging area. We'd heard that before, but now it's official, so we have to do something with any stuff on that side of the garage.
2. This was a bit distressing, but not unexpected; they'll need access to our electrical junction box throughout the project, so we have to clear a space to it.  Unfortunately, it's behind a sectional sofa in the den, so the sofa, will need to be about four feet away from the wall for 3 months.
3. He suggested we pact up small knick-knacky items anywhere in the house that are difficult to clean, M is going to have to pack up his refridgerator magnet collection...it's rather extensive if you haven't seen it.   I am going to need to pack up all the stereo equipment, keeping only a dvd player and the cable box.  We'd just purchased a 46" Samsung LCD HD television for x-mas, and it's going back into the box for the duration...out comes the ancient (1994), but reliable Magnavox.  I am going to miss being able to read end credits.  
4. The construction won't extend out as far as we thought it would into our back yard, Alan said that they needed a 6 foot perimeter, which saves some of the plantings we were concerned about.   
5. They are having to replace a window on our second floor that interferes with the roofline of the new addition.  Alan said they are going to do this in the 2nd week of construction if the window is here.  We didn't realise it would be that soon.

They were there for the better part of 2 hours.  Kelvin had a checklist of items he was supposed to discuss with us.   Towards the end he went over the client emotion checklist.  He said that during the duration of this project (approx 3 months, they say), we will go through highs and lows.  He said that the two main LOW periods will be during the demolition, which is messy and will lead to dark thoughts of "WHAT THE $%&# HAVE WE DONE!!!", and the other period will  be when the drywall goes up, which is also messy, and he said that everyone has a similar reaction to the results, where they remark that the new space is much smaller than they thought it was.  

They left around 10:35am and we headed into work.

Monday night, we had broiled pork chops, whole wheat couscous and okra and tomatoes (One of the last 3 bags of okra from last years garden).  After, M cleaned up we packed up more china, glassware and kitchen crap.  There's one more nights work in the kitchen and it'll be done.

Have a great day everyone!

CC

wrap, pack, move, repeat

Happy Easter everyone...

This was packing weekend. M and I packed up and moved a lot of stuff to the Public Storage unit that we've rented for the duration. My music collection took up 14 boxes...I have a music problem. We were super productive yesterday. We've completely packed everything in the living room, and about 1/2 of the kitchen.

Last week I put a shoutout on our community bulletin board for 3 items, that I didn't want to purchase. A 2-burner hot-plate, a rice cooker and a small bistro table, and amazingly by Thursday I'd lined all three things up! The hot plate appears not to have been used in a decade or so, it works like a champ. I fired it up on Saturday morning and I made a batch of astoundingly good apple walnut pancakes.

Later that morning Joaquin, from Garcia's Tree Service came by to give us an estimate on removing 3 trees.  We have to remove 2 Bradford pear trees that are next to our deck and a 3rd tree that is adjacent to our next door neighbors and is dying.  We hate to lose the Bradfords, because they are beautiful in the spring and autumn, and our cirtters love them.  But they are nearing 25 years old and are at then end of their lives, having already lost some limbs.  We thought the estimate was resonable.

The rice cooker is a small 3-cup model and it also works really well. The lady that I borrowed it from said that it had only been used a couple of times.

Saturday night we had dinner, (steaks, fried potatoes and stir-fried broccoli), then caught up on DVR'd episodes of "Dollhouse" and "Lost".  Anyone, not watching Josh Whedon's "Dollhouse" on FOX is really missing a thrill ride of a series.  Unfortunately it will probably be cancelled soon, it's in a lethal timeslot for episodic series  (Friday night, 9pm), and it's a really complex story with lots of layers, subplots and intrigue...translation, it's doomed unless FOX sticks with it.

Sunday, M and I went to service at Clarendon Presbyterian.  Pastor Ensign gave a barnshaker of a sermon!  Our friend James Fisher invited us over to have an Easter lunch of homemade quiche, fruit salad, and asaparus.  Also in attendance were James' nephew Adam, niece Carey, and Adam's galpal also named Cary, but spelled different.  A grand time was had by all, and James was a wonderful host as usual.

M and I spent the rest of the day getting ready for the week ahead.  I cooked out some chicken chests for dinner (and lunch meat for the week ahead), made some brown rice in the new cooker, and made a really quick creamed spinach.  

Today, Kelvin, Commonwealth owner, and our project manager, Alan will be here at 9am to discuss the upcoming project and what we MUST do in the next week to prepare.  

More on that later,

CC

De Plans, De Plans, Part 3, Kitchen Porn

Any of these photos can be clicked to enlarge them...

THIS is the oven/cooktop wall.  We chose an GE Advantium Oven and a GE Monogram Wall oven.  The Cooktop and Hood are both GE Monogram.  The backsplash is an eggshell porcelin and the smaller squares will be glass tile, in colors of gold, brown and rust.   The cabinetry is maple with a natural cherry stain.  The dark square on the far right is an appliance garage so I can store all my stuff.   On the right, base corner cabinet is a 3-bin trash/recycle cabinet.  This is great because now our garbage can is underneath our sink, and this way you can throw something away without bothering the person standing at the sink. Does that ever happen in your kitchen?

So this is the Sink view.  We chose a 2 tub sink with the disposal in a smaller prep sink.  The main sink is really deep which is great for those bigger items you wash.  We're having a water filter installed as well.  

Here's the refrigerator/pantry wall, that faces the cooktop/oven wall.  The Refridgerator we chose was a Jenn Air with the freezer compartment pullout.  The Pantry has a series of pullout shelves.  To the right of the 'fridge, is my baking center, another appliance garage to hold a Kitchenaid mixer, and a Soda Club CO2 charger (its really tall). Above this are 2 bookshelves for cookbooks.  The far right is a lower cabinet that serves as a peninsula/buffet for the dining room.  The far left is an end cabinet, that has room for brooms, mops, cleaning supplies or extra pantry items.

This is the Message Center / Hall wall,  it's on the other side of the Refridgerator wall.  You can see the message will be a small nook that can hold all our stuff that we come in with in the evening.  M even said that he could pay bills there.  To the right that is blank wall for an art hanging or something.  at the far right are the 3 sheetrock shelves, that we had put in to use the deadspace behind the pantry.  The extreme far right is the other side of the broom closet.

SO, there you have it.  There will be more to come.

Next Moving Weekend!  EEEEK!

Have a great Easter weekend everyone.

cc

De Plans, De Plans, The reason for 3 months of sheer hatefulness...

Here's Commonwealth's solution:

Click to enlarge. 

The addition is approx 16' x 22'.  It will include a gas fireplace on the eastern wall, surrounded by windows that are openable.   It was important to us that we have a view of the backyard, and this way there's nothing in obstructing the view.  There will be a ceiling fan in the room and two strips of those small halogen spots.   There will be a smaller deck on the side of our house. 

We moved the Dining Room to the front of the house, and put two small stub walls on either side so that when you walk in you feel a sense of separation between the DR and the entry way.  

The Kitchen is the amazing bit of the plan.  A gas GE Monogram cooktop will now be along what is now our Dining Room wall.  To the Left of that will be a single GE Monogram wall oven, topped with  a GE Advantium oven (it's a combo microwave/convection oven).  The backsplash will be a design composed of porceline tiles and small glass squares.  We chose a maple cabinetry manufactured by Diamond Cabinets.  The color will be a natural cherry stain.  We wanted natural cherry, but the price difference was HUGE. We chose a Bosch Dishwasher and a JennAire Refridgerator.  

Now, on the right side of the plans you see the small powder room with a pocket door.  This was important to us because we wanted to have this level be the main entertaining level, so that guests do not have to go upstairs to use the restrooms on the bedroom levels.  

Directly accross from the Stairwell on the wall facing the new powder room, is a nook they called a Message Center.  It's literally a place we can dump all our crap when we come in, and pick it back up when we leave.  So laptops, keys, cellphones, security bagdes, i.e. all of our modern ornaments.  We've noticed a lot of new construction houses have these nooks.  Three feet down from there is an indent in the wall.  M and I noticed that there was dead space behind the pantry on the other side so we asked the designer, Melissa, if something could go there, and they are going to put 3 drywall shelves, for objets de arte, or whatever.  

That's all for now, next up, computer drawings of what it interiors will look like.