It's finished!!!

Finally the kitchen is all done, all is left are just a few tweaks here and there, some curtains and accessories, but the main thing is finished. Now comes the putting things back in the cabinets, drawers etc. , this will take some time. I really think it looks good :)

We've been having a lot of eating out and take out, so now we can go back to our regular routine. Today Marvin is grilling pork ribs, to go with gratin potatoes and southwest salad.

School is going well, still 15 kids, not too bad lol. Next week is our Back to School meeting with parents, our new K team is working out OK, although I would much rather have Jennifer back.

Summer is almost gone, the Autumnal equinox is just around the corner, I hope that means cooler days, we had a very hot August and September, but it seems to start cooling down a little bit.

I will post some more kitchen pictures in Facebook.

Have a great week!!!

Back to work

School started early this year, September 2. I only have 15 children in my class, so far. That's the smallest class ever for me, and I like it! We only had 3 days of school, and then the long Labor Day weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow.

On other news, our neighbors Patty and Leon moved out also on September 2, and the same day, the new neighbors moved in. They are a young couple with no children. I already met the husband but not the wife.

The kitchen is not yet finished. Hopefully they can finish it tomorrow. They need to finish painting, I'd like the gray to be a little darker, maybe it will be with the next coat of paint. They need to hook up the stove top, change the hinges in the cabinets and put the knobs on. So far it looks very nice. I will certainly take pictures when is all finished :)

Marvin is planning on going to Utah on Thursday for a couple of weeks, if the kitchen is all finished.

The fires around Los Angeles seem to be under control, and today was a most wonderful bright sunny day!

And I agree with Sandy, every week should be a 4 day work week :)

More stuff

Here you can see part of the floor and the finished granite counter top

The kitchen is progressing along nicely. Today they installed the floor, looks good :) All it needs now is finishing the cabinets, putting on the stove top, placing the refrigerator back and painting!

On Tuesday, Marvin and I both went to the optometrist, Marvin's glasses were old, so he'll get new ones for computer work. My right eye is still very blurry, I have a staph infection in the eyelids so the doctor gave me some ointment and directions to take care of it.

Today I went to have the always entertaining mammogram lol. Other than that, I didn't do much of anything, just enjoying my last vacation weekend.

Our next door neighbors are moving on September 2nd, I hope the new neighbors are as nice and trouble free as they were.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Just stuff

First, a kitchen update. When they came to install the granite on Saturday, Marvin noticed it was not the right color, we chose "blue pearl" and what they brought looked a lot more like "gray pearl", we were not happy because it looked too dark. The installers were not happy, they kept on saying there's different dimensions and tones to blue pearl however it really looked nothing like the one we wanted. Later on they called us to go to El Monte to the granite warehouse and choose the slabs we wanted color wise. Marvin and I drove there and looked at all the granite (we needed 5 slabs) and even though we didn't see any exactly like the one we originally chose, we chose some that was similar, just not as blue.

Now the granite and the sink are in place and it looks great, the porch is also finished.

In other news, on Sunday we had Marvin's family over to celebrate Bettie and Lee's 40th Anniversary. It was a challenge to organize it without a functioning kitchen, but it all worked very well. We were happy Lizzie came too :) I think they all had a good time. As usual Marvin did a great job deciding on the food and getting things ready.

I also started back to work this week. School begins September 2, but we had to test the new kindergarten children prior to assign them to the classrooms. We also needed to get the classrooms ready. It's hard to wake up early lol. This year we have another new Kindergarten team. It seems like every year we get someone different!

This is now

Wednesday is the day when they are going to start working on the kitchen. We had been talking about remodeling for a long time, and the time is here. We are not going to have a full remodel way toooo much money), we are going to keep the kitchen cabinets, but get a new sink, dishwasher, new floor and paint, and granite countertops. We are also getting another kitchen cabinet that will stretch to the far wall thus giving us more counter space.

Marvin and I have spent all day moving things from the kitchen to boxes etc. of course we need to take everything out of the kitchen, that's a lot of work! Tomorrow I have to go to work but I will try to get home right after lunch anf finish things off. By the way, that means eating for a couple oif weeks lol.

We are also going to have the front porch redone, it had come apart and now we don't have a porch ocver.

Happily Marvin's surgery went well and he's feeling fine. He's going back the 20th to get his stitches removed.

Memorials etc.

On Saturday I went to a Memorial Service for the mother of one of the staff members in my school. I had met the lady once at a school Christmas party at her house. She died at 83 of Lou Gehrig's disease, she was born in Scotland, moved to Canada, and lived most of her adult life in California.

I have to tell you when the Scottish piper came down the aisle, I had a meltdown! I just cried and cried, it was interesting. I am a crier by nature, but this was way over. I was seated in the family row and I think most people thought I was like a long lost daughter or something.

I think what happened is I was mourning my mother . I never went to her funeral and maybe this memorial service (complete with family members talking about her and a slide show) did bring me closure.

Nice day

Lavender Farm in Mona, Utah

Today I woke up by 10. We had a repairman come to fix the oven, then Marvin went to do some errands while I had a danish for breakfast . Later I went to the movies to see "Julie $ Julia" it was the first day and it was full house! I enjoyed the movie, Meryl Streep does a great Julia Child. Is there any character she cannot do???

After the movie I went shopping for school clothes, and all I ended up with is a nice top. I don't like to try clothes on but still I felt I wanted something new.

At home, I kept on cleaning the drawers in my chest of drawers 12 down and 3 to go! then I will work on the closet. It just has to be done. Prior to going to Utah, I went through boxes of old clothes and shoes and had a few boxes to give to Goodwill. I guess I am in a cleaning mood.

At night, Marvin made BLT's and I had a Estrella Damm beer -the beer brewed in Barcelona- available at World Market. Yum I had missed that taste.

In the night, under a full moon, I had a relaxing time in the Jacuzzi. Even when the days are hot, it really cools nicely in the evening, and it was great!