DIY project starts simple, expands
Late winter, early spring is shoulder season for those indoor DIY projects. In early March, Bert decided that after three decades of our kitchen walls covered in hideous brickwork from ceiling to countertop, this would be the time to replace it.
It was no small amount of work to pry it off to the Sheetrock but once it was removed we went shopping for tile. Then he set out to install the tile, which of course required a few new tools.
While we were at the home improvement store I spotted some small sparkly tiles to insert as accents above the stove. As the beautiful new tile backsplash transformed our circa 1980s kitchen it became apparent that as long as that project was in progress we may as well replace the similarly hideous harvest gold laminate countertops with new laminate. More tools required for cutting the laminate, of course.
Once that was in progress, Bert said he thought maybe we should go ahead and replace our old kitchen sink with a new stainless-steel sink before we replaced the countertops. Back to the home improvement store we went.
I had no idea there were so many different depths and choices of kitchen sinks. The removal of the old sink and installation of the new sink tested the patience and enthusiasm of my normally very patient husband but there was eventual success. The new stainless steel sink inspired changing out the electrical outlet plates in the new tile back splash.
These projects were happening after work and on weekends around other activities and March Madness basketball games. The dining room has been the repository since the beginning of tools, materials and displaced kitchen appliances and everything that had been located on the countertops. As we looked at our transformed kitchen we thought maybe we should replace a free-standing breakfast bar with a free-standing pantry for reorganizing. So off in search of one we went. We’re thinking this is the final piece of the 2017 Kitchen Update.
Within the next week I’m hoping that everything will be back in place, tools put away, Bert’s sense of humor restored and a bit of breathing room before the nice weather arrives and a whole new list of outdoor projects sprouts.
We’re also thinking that living in the same home for three decades has a downside and it’s not just needing to replace things like fences and countertops and garage doors ... there’s the “stuff” that collects and expands and fills the spaces once occupied by the children who are now adults. We’ve been empty-nesting for more than two decades but the nest isn’t empty, just filled with “stuff.” Let the Purge of 2017 begin!
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Places to Go: There’s great fun in store on Friday night with the sixth annual Cowboy Ball at the fairgrounds to benefit the North Idaho Fair & Rodeo Foundation.
Another of those “I Love Where I Live” events celebrates Arbor Day with the annual Free Tree Day at Q’emiln Park in Post Falls on Saturday. The event is coordinated by the Post Falls Parks and Urban Forestry departments and made possible by generous sponsors and community volunteers. Several varieties of trees and shrubs will be available starting at 9 a.m.
Saturday at the Jacklin Arts Center, Nine Pint Coggies perform at 7 p.m. with Celtic music and entertainment.
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Happy birthday today to Sharon Stevenson, Terri McTavish, Sharon Wagner, Kelli Hawkins, John Negaard, Jamie Dallas and Gail Osterson.
Tomorrow Bruce Hough, Jeff Cox, Caitlin Hodl and Tyler Bush take another trip around the sun.
Carrie Gridley, Katie Keane, Mary Epstein, Melaine Spalding (40!) and Eli Gonzales have their cake and eat it, too, on Friday.
Saturday celebrants are Amy Bartoo, Wilma Higgins, Greg Prado, Kevin Kram, Patrick Hughes, Veldon Lee and Shanna Riske.
On Sunday Nicole Medlock, Jodi McKenzie, John Hays, Caleb Peck, Carol Graham, Marvin Erickson, Joan Nowoj-Phelps, Cynthia Taggart and Tom Messina mark the anniversary of their birth.
Dianna Scott, Sandra Borg, Jim Hightower, Darin McEvers, Sharon Finnerty, Kathryn Rosia and Nancy Benjamin put on their party hats on Monday.
On Tuesday Idella Mansfield, Lonna Duncan, David Bond, Karen Zande, Doreen Johnson, Karen Reagan and DiAnna Macklin (60!) will celebrate.
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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.