Are The Guys Coming Today?

Riley is very interested in having workmen here as often as possible these days.  They have coffee.  They pour cold coffee out on the grass.  Riley loves coffee flavored grass.

 The guys came over to work on the window framing (outside) and the clapboards.  You can see my new granite slab and the posts.  The posts will eventually be "clad" and look more like proper posts and not like treated wood.  I hope.   In the furthest right side of the picture you can see the two year old "helper" on the ladder.  She spent most of this cold day in the car watching movies.  I was at work so I couldn't play with her.

My itchy rash is back.  All around my eyes.  It's tolerable if I don't touch that area.  Skin is very dry. Once I touch it--it's like fire.  Nothing I am using is different.  Same products I have used for years and years.  I have no idea why.  And now the ball joint in my left hip has decided it doesn't want to walk UP stairs (down stairs is perfectly okay) and it I have to stand still for a moment when rising from a chair.  To give my hip socket time to recalibrate.  I have a "feeling" the Aleve I take for the hip pain is causing my eyes to swell.  And is probably causing the high blood pressure.

Long ago I had this crunching/grinding sound (and pain) in my knees when I walked up stairs.  The doctor gave me Celabrex and the pain disappeared (the sound did not) and my blood pressure soared.  They wanted to put me on BP meds but I chose to stop taking the Celabrex and lose weigh instead.  BP went down and stayed down until this summer and the nightly dose of Aleve or Advil PM for my hip pain.  So I have stopped.  I did take a Benadryl last night for the rash.  It didn't help so now I will be pain med free for a week and see if the rash goes away.

My view from the inside of the house.  I have so many decisions to make on the kitchen.  A new stove.  Cabinet fronts.  Drawer pulls.  Counter tops.  Had a "field trip" to the stone salesroom.  If I drive to Boston I could possibly find a brownish soapstone.  Not in Maine.  I can get honed granite or marble here.  In many different colors and veining.  Or I could choose manmade.  Or wood.

I found a website with photos and realize (now) that dark cabinets must have a light colored counter top and light cabinets a dark top.  No dark on dark.  Makes the 120 by 63 island I will have look small.  If you are going for a LARGE island--then don't minimize it with dark colors.  And, yes, there are big pieces of stone that will go on in one piece.  I was looking at pieces that were 147 by 74.  I didn't even want to know how much they cost.

I do know--now--- that EVERYTHING has to be HERE in the house or garage (except the stone) before any work begins.  Cabinets are 6 to 8 weeks out from day I choose them.  And we have the holidays.  So I am thinking the kitchen stays as it is until late January at the earliest.  By then I will doing our taxes.  Shudder.