DISHWASHER!

Oh man, if I am this excited to have a new dishwasher, I can’t believe the kind of craziness I will feel when we do the whole kitchen. Woo hoo! Speaking of doing the whole kitchen, I’m sure this is a pretty good mini representation of what that will be like. Hopefully I am learning the skills and inhuman-like patience I know I will need when the time comes. But first things first.

I had to get the old dishwasher out. A few days ago Ty and I both reached a crisis and decided to spend a Saturday going to IKEA to order a new dishwasher. We’d already spent months debating about what kind of dishwasher we would want: brands, finishes, features, etc. It is achingly difficult to get a fair idea of what a dishwasher will be like before you buy it. Finally we were desperate, and we thought one that blended in with the cabinets would be best for our small kitchen. And since we plan to do the whole kitchen in IKEA…

So Saturday we went, browsed, and purchased. Drop-off was scheduled for Monday, so of course I avoided doing dishes on Sunday assuming, in my naivete, I’d be throwing them all in the dishwasher by Monday night. I’m just really glad that I took the IKEA guy at his word when he said they wouldn’t hook up the new dishwasher. Monday I decided I better take out the old one since if they don’t hook it up, they probably won’t take it out either. Good thinking, Adrian.

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Monday morning I looked up a bunch of videos on Youtube and basically figured out what to do. I went up and down the stairs about 10 times trying to find the breaker (which was not listed) for the electricity to the dishwasher before flipping about 5 at a time out of shear desperation. That did it, and I pulled out the little electrical box and disconnected the power. Now to the water.

Normally disconnecting the water should be a very simple thing. Underneath the sink there is a shut off valve for the hot water, and the cold water, that run to the kitchen tap, and branching from the hot water line is a line that goes to the dishwasher and is equipped with it’s own shut off valve. Mine had that set up, but the valve was so corroded that it was not moving. It was even all bent like someone had tried really hard to shut it before and failed miserably. I left that alone for the time being, hoping that guy hands would get it done.

Next, I disconnected the drainage line. This was the quickest and easiest, just used some pliers to loosen the ring that held it to the dishwasher and voila.

Last, the dishwasher had to be separated from the counter itself. Before this day I hadn’t even realized that dishwashers are actually screwed into place underneath the counter’s edge. Did you know that? I got a screwdriver and that was no problem. After that I started to get other things done around the house, figuring that the delivery guys would know enough to help me a little with the rest. Erroneous assumption.

The guys showed up, and didn’t know they were taking the old one away. Oh yes, boys, we did not pay that delivery fee to have an old nasty dishwasher taking up space in our kitchen. They decided they could take it (no duh, I wasn’t letting them leave without it), but I still needed to get it all the way out. Of course they were on a schedule, and a little antsy, so when their man hands couldn’t get the valve to close either, I frantically turned off the water to the whole house, then took a utility knife to the multiple layers of flooring vinyl that were holding the dishwasher in it’s place. A little bit of brute force later, it came out and I waved it goodbye in the back of someone else’s truck. Perfect.

Now I just have to install the new one.

Did I mention the corroded valve and that I turned off all the water in the house? Yeah. As soon as the boys with more brawn than practical know-how drove off, I knew I needed to fix the water situation. I figured I could at least get the cold water on so we wouldn’t be without any water. This would be so much easier with another adult in the house. I actually had a neighbor girl come over quickly to help me out, but I could figure out which was hot and which was cold and felt bad keeping her too long. Meanwhile I called a couple people for help with the valve. My sweet, wonderful, and very handy Uncle said he could come over the next morning. My sweet, wonderful, and learning-to-be handy husband came home later and together we got the cold water running.

Half the lights in the house were still off, but I wasn’t about to tinker with that while bare wires were poking out from my kitchen floor. Instead we used flashlights and cellphones for the time being. “The time being” ended up being 3 days.

Tuesday morning my aforementioned Uncle came over with all his tools and know how, and deemed the pipe and two hot water valves needed replacing. He and my hubby went to the hardware store for some items, and before I knew it, my uncle had cut the pipe down, soldered on a new piece and attached this nifty (and majorly updated) double valve which now took care of the hot water running to the sink and the dishwasher. Turn the hot water back on and let me take a shower, baby!

I did the dishes by hand.

I gained some gratitude for running water this week. Particularly hot water.

Now that we had that valve fixed I could really get down to putting in the new dishwasher. We had to cut out more vinyl before it would wedge into place. Once in place I learned something else that hadn’t occurred to me before; parts on your new appliance will not necessarily be in the same place as they were on your old appliance. It would probably have been funny for anyone watching to see me crouching on the floor and Ty in the basement playing tug of war with the electrical connections, trying to wedge them into place…it didn’t work.

I think it was the next day (Wednesday) that I pulled the dishwasher out of place just enough to make room to hook up the electricity and shove it back into the cupboard. I think I also attached the drainage tube to the dishwasher and garbage disposal that day. I even attached the brackets and screwed it to the counter. The only thing left to do was attach the water supply line.

Unfortunately, the original supply line, which I planned to reuse, was not going to work. It was an old copper line that just would not reach the hookup on the dishwasher, so installing was delayed while I found time to go the hardware store…twice…before getting a new flexible line that would work. Thursday found that complete. Woo hoo!

I put the toekick in place, I turned on the electricity, and four days after delivery, I ran a load of dishes. So so great. Once it was functional I put the dishwasher on hold so I could take some days to put the house back in order. It was getting a little out of control with all the attention I’d been giving to the dishwasher.

Monday I pulled out the drill, did some measurements, and got the front panel (including a very nifty handle) installed. Now I was really done. Since then I’ve been amazed at how much easier it is to keep the kitchen clean, at how quiet it runs, and at the fact that I’ve been doing all the dishes by hand for almost eight months. Never again.

the potty place

Someday I look forward to redoing this bathroom. It’s just a little half bath off the kitchen and is woefully outdated. And I abhor the paint color in there. I just don’t tend to like any wall color that has yellow in it. That combined with the usual tungsten light just makes things look dingy. But anyway.

Since it’s off the kitchen it is slated to be done about the same time, but I had to do something about the wooden seat. I couldn’t live with that in the meantime. It takes dingy to a power of 10. So I got a new white seat with a soft-close lid – Liam loved to slam the heavy wooden one shut which made me nervous for his safety and hurt my ears – and put it in. It was a jiffy project and it makes me think I can handle the avocado toilet for a few more months.

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yoga bag

K, not exactly home improvement, or maybe it is in that I no longer have that unwanted ball of yarn laying around the house. I pretty much made it up as I went along. I think I started over about four times before I got the effect and size I wanted, but here it is, the final product. I’m glad it is done, and that it is roomy enough to fit a yoga block, for someday when I have one.

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the peanut gallery is so overrated

So I love our place, even if it is old. It’s kind of in a state of transition where some owners are, or have been, renovating, but others still have lots of the old original trimmings. I’m just really glad that the siding happened to get done the summer we moved in. Now I know this blog is supposed to be things that I do myself, but this project is so big to the appearance of our place that I couldn’t leave it out over the little detail that the HOA helped pay for it and professionals installed it. And I thought you might like to see.

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In the end the new color is a light to medium grey (Harbor Grey to be exact). Picking the new color was, of course, kind of an ordeal. When there are 12 units and more residents, there is bound to be some confict. Although, everyone didn’t care, those who did care cared a lot. I’m really happy with the medium grey that got chosen, but I find it hilarious to imagine anyone saying it looks “bad.” I mean, the entire 38 colors (or something like that) that we had to choose from were ALL neutrals. I mean, really, we could have had any of them and it would have looked fine. That said, I like the grey and am really glad it’s not brown…or green.

I’m just glad we didn’t have to include the whole neighborhood in picking the color. And I’m coming to terms with everybody on the planet having their opinions. I mean, a neighbor actually told me that she and her husband had decided the new color looks best kind of at night, or in the shade. Oh really? So it looks best when it’s dark outside and no one can see it? Thanks for the input.

I am now looking forward to the months in the future when everyone is so used to it they don’t feel like they have to talk about it anymore…and I can just like it, unmolested.

support your local tomato

So after my peas died I decided to give it another shot. Especially because my Dad was in town one week. He’s always grown humongous gardens, so going to the nursery with him was a little confidence booster. I got two tomato plants, and one Cinderella pumpkin. The pumpkin plant is already taking over what feels like the whole front yard. I hope it gives us some yummy pumpkins come fall, I’ll make us some bread and cookies…maybe soup.

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The tomatoes were also growing pretty well, but getting too big for themselves. They needed some help and I didn’t want to spend the big bucks on wire cages, so I went to the good ol’ Restore and found these (I think they come from wire shelving) for a dollar a piece. Awesome. A little heavy gauge wire later and I think they make a pretty and practical addition to my front yard garden. Now if only we could get some tomatoes.

bathroom hooks

This was done way before I even thought to do this blog. We have a huge bathroom upstairs, which is great, but there is virtually no storage, which is not so great. We plan to redo the whole thing someday, but other renovations are more pressing. In the meantime, I took what was a huge blank wall and added some wall hooks for towels, swim suits and whatever.

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This project was basically free since Ty had the hooks from IKEA (he got them years ago), the board from a catered 6-foot sub (he was actually at a party when the sandwiches were delivered and he rescued the boards – the other one is a coat rack), and the screws. I pulled out my nifty reciprocating saw and Ty’s drill and an afternoon later we at least have somewhere else to put some of something.

Also, I centered and measured so that the hooks are evenly spaced and both boards are screwed into the studs in the walls. I’m pretty sure I could hang a swing from those babies and we would be good.

boom box cabinet

I love clean counter tops! And I have even more of them since I finished this project. It’s back to that one cupboard that is sort of becoming one huge experiment. I’ve had a stereo sitting underneath it, cause it’s fun to jam with some tunes while cleaning up in the kitchen, but everything else also collects there becoming a big, jumbled, untidy mess. I figured if the stereo could fit inside the cabinet most of the problem could be solved. Super.

First I had to get rid of some things. All my cupboards were full of dishes and pans and such, but I also know I don’t need them all. I mean, how many mixing bowls to I ever actually use at a time? Maybe three, tops, that means the other 97 can go. Thank you Deseret Industries. Then I shifted what I was keeping into the other cupboards and really got to work.

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I got to use that huge saw-like drill bit to make a whole in the bottom for the stereo cord to fit in. That was new, and fun, and harder than I thought it would be. I also used my husband’s drill press to make most of the holes in the front of the cupboard. Man, that thing is awesome. It makes drilling holes like cutting butter, too bad it couldn’t reach toward the center of the cupboard door, so I had to use the hand drill on those.

My idea was that if I drilled holes I could listen to my music with the cupboard shut and looking nice, however, this is an experiment that kind of failed. I mean, I could listen to it like that, but it sounds pretty awful. Oh well, that’s what experimentation is for, so I just leave the door open when in use.

I was able to squeeze each stereo component onto separate selves, and I am overall very pleased. The door has to be opened for it to sound good, but I can close it when not in use, and my counter looks so much nicer without that huge thing sitting there! I am totally going to plan for something like this when we put in our new kitchen, only with a door solution that doesn’t dampen the sound. There will be a place for a stereo, and hand towels, rags, and knives…ok, spices too. That is gonna be so great.

rag time

Why is there never a convenient spot in a kitchen to hang a rag or a hand towel? I plan to make one in my new kitchen, but was desperate for a solution now. My towels hang over the cupboard doors under the sink, and I had this jar with flowers in it sitting behind my sink. So I took a dowel, cut it to size and – presto – an out-of-the-way place for my rags to dry. I think I’d like to get some new, taller flowers to steal some attention upward, and to look pretty. I’m still not sure if it looks totally ridiculous or not, but sometimes function wins out over form. In the end, I am a pragmatic girl.

strip of knives

Here is a smallee, but goodie. I’m not such a fan of knife blocks. I mean, you wouldn’t know it from looking at my counter top, but I really hate having things there (seriously, it is one of my eternal struggles to create empty tops of counters). I’m also not a fan of keeping all my knives on top of my microwave like I’ve been doing for the past few months. They were in a drawer, but my little boy got big and smart enough to get into that drawer and I wanted to avoid any horrific accidents (less-than-horrific accidents I’m not really opposed too, thus the styrofoam stools that have no safety rails).

Enter the genius who created the magnetic strip which acts as a hanging-off-the-counter solution. Next enter the other genius who created IKEA.

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I’ve looked for magnetic strips here and there, but they are all too arts-and-crafts or tradesman style for me, however IKEA had this super simple and strong stainless steel one that was perfect. I am always impressed at the ingenuity of IKEA products. They are so simple to put together, but also clever and always sturdy, how do they do it? This product is basically two strips of stainless steel, and one of those strips has several small, but super strong, magnets glued to its interior. One strip gets screwed to wherever (in my case the side of a cabinet) and the other strip magnetically attaches to the first. So the magnets keep the outer part that you see attached to the cabinet and also secures the knives to the strip. Clever, right?

Super easy and super sleek, I pretty much love it.

magic pea stalk

Here is a mini project that kind of represents what I’m all about. Find a need, know what ready-made products can be bought for it, then figure out a different solution that uses stuff you already have laying around. I wanted to plant peas, but these were the kind that needed to climb. Normally you would make a support arch that stuck into the ground, but my peas were growing in an above-ground planter, so I didn’t think that would be sturdy enough. Instead I looked at what I had and where the planter sat, and this is what I came up with.

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I liked how it looked better than I would have liked some big dorky trellis thing, and I think they would have climbed higher, but it got too hot for them and they died before producing much. Just a handful of yummy pea pods. I still really like the idea, though, so maybe I’ll try it with beans some other time, or be smarter about helping my peas germinate earlier next year. Just one more bit of experience under my novice belt.