Can't Stop Making Cutting Boards

We have now been using the kitchen for the month that we've lived in the house and everything is functioning beautifully. Our plan all along in the kitchen was to get the lower cabinets finished, then just live with it for the summer (switching to outdoor activities), and resume the upper kitchen cabinets in the fall.

One of the final details for the lower cabinets that had been planned in was a series of small cutting boards that tuck in a holder immediately above the Yam-Onion-Potato baskets. I made four cutting boards out of Beech about 12" wide and 8" deep and carved letters into the front edge to specify their uses. No more garlic tasting breakfast toast!

Crows vs. Robins

Last spring, Karen had an ongoing battle with Mama Robin who persistently tried and tried to build a nest in the rafters of the roof over our bedroom balcony. Wanting to avoid the mess, Karen would knock down the new nest and the Robin would rebuild - again and again.

I simply couldn't face another confrontation this spring, so I set aside kitchen cabinet doors and drawers for a few hours and built a couple of decoy crows. My plan was to mount the crows near the potential nesting site and hope that Mama Robin would consider building elsewhere. The crow bodies were rough bandsawn, textured with a carving gouge and painted black over a few evenings. I purchased 4 forks at the nearby Salvation Army Thrift store ($.29 ea.) which made perfect "crows feet".

All was well for a couple of days but in the middle picture you can see the beginning of a Robin's nest in the background. This leads me to wonder, are Robins so smart that they can recognize the Crows are fake, or so dumb they haven't noticed a predator 5 feet away? Next year.....Eagles!

Counter Top and Cutting Board

We've just spent our second full week in the new house and although we've begun to relax a bit following the drive for occupancy, there is still lots to do. Our biggest focus has been getting all of the countertops completed in the kitchen. In addition to the teak (south wall) and concrete (east wall) we have completed some plastic laminate counters around on the north and short west walls. The pattern is called "tangled smoke". We've integrated a 26" diameter cutting board into the counter with a compost pail set in. The other two accessories are a knife block that uses 1700 bamboo skewers in a wooden box to house the knives keeping them both sharp and safe, as well as a pair of adapted wicker baskets for spuds, onions & yams.

We Have Occupancy!!!

Only one picture with this posting as in this case a picture is really worth 1000 words. This weekend was spent getting the kitchen ready for use so the big move is scheduled for next weekend.

Concrete Countertops Installed

Many hands made light work this morning as the countertops were hauled over from the garage and into the kitchen. Everything fit just fine and now gravity and a bead of silicone will keep them in place for years to come. Many thanks to Noah, Brad and Mike for the muscles!

Concrete Countertops Progress

The countertops have now cured for a few days and the grinding/polishing has progressed through 50 & 100 grits to expose the glass pieces and aggregate, then 200, 400 grits before a slurry was applied to fill the various holes and gaps in the concrete, then finally a bit more with 400 grit, 800 and finally 1500. All of the grinding/polishing is done wet so a fine spray of muddy water shoots all over the area. The plastic sheets have kept the mess contained to one area of the garage.

With a final few coats of sealer the countertops will be ready to install on Saturday. Luckily we have our nephew Brad and a few of his young, strong biking friends staying with us this weekend which should be very helpful getting the 200 pound countertops over to the house and settled in their final places.

Kitchen Countertops: The Big Pour

After work today, we finally poured the concrete countertops. This involved mixing the high strength concrete mix with the colourant, chopped fibre and some crushed glass. The concrete pretty much had to be placed in the forms by hand, then vibrated, screeded and floated. The whole thing now has to sit for 4 days to cure so stay tuned for the results!