Step One: Cut Hole in House

Nothing more nerve-racking than cutting a giant hole in the side of your house, especially on one of the coldest days of spring. But sure enough, Mason came through once again.

Within 10 minutes of cutting out the hole, the new window was screwed into place, and WHAMMO, what a difference with so much more light inside!

The next step is ripping up the floor. We're gonna put in a tile floor (checkboard, gray and off-white, on the diagonal) in the kitchen. The rest of the house will get new off-white stained wood floors once we're certain we can afford it. But before we can tile the kitchen floor, we're gonna go buy the new gas range (!!) and IKEA cabinets. People, this is very VERY exciting. DO you SEE that stove in the photo (which is now and for the next two months, probably, in the middle of the room!) that I've been living with for that past 15 months? Even one of my bestest friends, Cindy, deemed it "grimey." The girl don't sugar-coat it. Let the good times begin ...

Let the Kitchen Remodel Begin

Today at 3 p.m., after several hours of puttering -- making breakfast, walking Nick the Dog, baking some molasses cookies, contemplating life in general -- the kitchen remodel officially began. Let me warn you now, don't expect any quick progress.

To start, here's the official "before" photo (note that last summer we added the stainless propane-powered fridge on the back wall):

Yes, those are "country oak" cabinets with seriously warped (and sticky) doors. When we moved in, the stainless sink was more of an ashtray than a sink. All of the food is now stored in those green tubs, and the pots, pans, dishes and Tupperware are in the gray tubs. The stove is the very one that once hosted a squirrel's nest in its broiler. We removed the upper cabinets soon after moving in, in a bid to get more light, so since then the mouse-turd infested insulation has been exposed. Also, please also note the pull-chain light bulb in the upper left corner.

Oh yes, it's a fixer-upper, even by Flat Top standards. Today, Mason worked on rerouting and adding some electrical. For the first time in 15 months, I now can flip a switch to get a light over the dining room table, instead of having to plug in the light in the far-from-code plug in the wall. Next up is adding another window to let in more light.

Can't say I look forward to a couple of months of upheaval in the kitchen, but then again, it really can't be any worse than the past 15 months. But then again, even on our worst day, life is good.

Fellow Cabin Renovators

It takes a certain kind of person to take on a cabin in the woods. That's apparently why we got along so well with our latest visitors, former co-worker Jackie Crosby, above, a Star Tribune business reporter, and her man, Chris. About the same time that we moved to the Tennessee backwoods, Chris and Jackie bought a heap of a cabin on a Wisconsin lake. So for four people who didn't know each other all that well just a few days ago, we found a whole lot in common.

On Monday and Tuesday, after they drove up during a trip to Atlanta to see how our project was coming along, there was lots of talk about septic tanks, propane tanks and creative repurposing of supplies. They tore down the cabin on their lakefront lot and have been building a new one that incorporates a super cool "Weehouse," a modern architectural pod -- check it out on her blog: lovelesslake.blogspot.com.

We both apparently have been thinking about building adirondack chairs; Chris wins the creativity award for  his plan to build some out of old snow skis. And they were helpful with ideas for our kitchen remodel, which is next up here on Flat Top.

There was also lots of talk about beer, because Chris is about to launch into homebrewing. We brewed up a batch while they were here, just to show him how easy it is! They were even good sports when we told them about our latest fitness effort: 25 push-ups before every homebrew.

Both were also quite forgiving of Nick the Dog, who begged for food incessantly from them, then ungratefully bared his teeth a couple of times. And we thought Nick was getting more socialized. ... Luckily they're dog people.

And as they say in the South, they're good people.

Oh, and one more thing. Look what they brought in their luggage! Sweet gifts from my sweet sweet friends, Courtnay and Leslie! Thanks so much, ladies!

  

Spring Break

Leave it to us to persuade the Balafases to spend their spring break in the backwoods of Tennessee. But we think once the week was over, no one was too disappointed with the adventure. Well, maybe Tiko, their white fluffball of a dog, who by Day 4 was sticking real close to their car so he didn't get left.

We fished, shot up some things, even baked cookies and sticky buns. Dino did a lot of grilling for us, and believe me, no one went hungry. Well, maybe Matthew, but he's a teenage boy; he's always hungry. There was card playing (and sadly, yes, videogame playing), catnapping (that's Karen in the hammock, above), hair braiding, hiking and even tractor rides.

And they also took one for the team (for any future visitors, that is), checking out Chattanooga's famed Ruby Falls (worth it if you've never been in a cave) and Rock City (sooo not worth it).

Some photos from the week:

Shooting clay pigeons

Tascha, our skeet thrower ("Pull! ... Yes, NOW.")

Matthew taking a 12-gauge butt to the shoulder

Ceviche and cervezas on the front porch

Tascha making the famous Balafas cookies

Matthew on the iPad

"Hunger Games"-crazed Tascha braided a "Katniss" in Nan's hair 

Nan's braiding attempt in Tascha's hair

And Tiko, in his safe place, watching Dino ride the tractor

Guest Bedroom: Before and After

Before: Flying squirrels living in the ceiling; walls covered in wood planks of all sorts of sizes, none of them the same; half-dozen leaks in the roof; a light powered by an extension cord; vinyl tiles atop laminate atop rotting subfloor.

And after (OK, the desk isn't finished yet. Get off our backs!):

Now accepting reservations. Mid-April and mid-June are already booked! Not to mention today's arrival of the Balafas family!!

Welcome Home To Us!

These beautiful hot-pink azaleas were a welcome sight Monday, when we returned to the mountain after two weeks in Texas. Gorgeous!!

Ahhh, Texas! Nothing like two solid weeks of crowds, traffic, chores, countless meals out and family to remind us why we retreated to the mountain in the first place! OK, OK, the family, meals and chores weren't so bad, but the traffic and the crowds? How did we ever deal with all those "too many people in the world" on a daily basis?

As soon as we got home, we cracked open a home brew and took our positions on the front porch, listening to the birds and soaking up the sunset.

But our moment of rest is now over. We're cranked up in visitors-are-coming mode. Our good friends from Minnesota -- Karen, Dino, Matthew and Tascha -- are coming on Monday for spring break, and we can't wait to see them! (Bonus: We're getting a clay-pigeon thrower thingee so we can all shoot stuff while they're here. Believe it or not, we haven't fired off any rounds in the 14 months we've been here. Oddballs, we are, by Tennessee standards.)

And the guest room is SO almost ready for them. Yes, that's right, by Monday, I'll finally get those before-and-after photos posted.

Sneak Peak of Spring -- and The Room

While we were busy working on the guest room, spring officially arrived: My peach tree has blossomed! For you gardening types, I'm also eagerly awaiting my first hellebore bloom. Very exciting stuff! ("Yawn," sez Mason.)

As for the bedroom, we're getting so close! Here's a sneak peak of the new whitewashed wood wall, paint and carpet:

We're working on the finishing touches now: the built-in desk and the closet shelving. Of course, poor Mason is still trying to build stuff while I'm dragging in rugs and chairs and artwork, and sweating over real important stuff such as bedskirts and curtains.

We're making the desk out of some of the wood planks that we took off the walls (do I get points for repurposing, Lo?). I know the wall planks had a cabin charm to them, but the main part of the cabin has the wood planking throughout, so we thought the guest room could use a bit of relief.

 The new desk planks are on their 3rd coat of varnish; I think one more will do the job. See:

We promise, the official before-and-after pix are coming soon!