We were delighted to have Mom and Dad Foutz visit this past week. They came out to help on the house as well as to visit. Their trip was just the energy we needed to finish up some long “listed” projects. There were several smallish projects in the kitchen that have long driven me crazy, but that I haven’t been sure how to fix. Namely we had one cabinet next to our dishwasher that we had to take out the side wood bar for to insert our dishwasher, we never put it back in so for the past year we have had this gaping hole. Secondly, above the fridge we had to tear out the bottom shelf in order to make room for our extra large refrigerator, and never got around, or more wasn’t sure how to deal with the left over wood on the walls. Our third issue was that after tiling our floors suddenly this little counter on the other side of the stove started wheeling around more freely, and wobbled more. Often people would come over and lean on it, and become immediately aware of its instability as they slipped awkwardly. I tried putting some cardboard under the back wheel to raise it up so at least it didn’t wobble so much. It lasted a week. The fourth issue was this old door that we had patched and repatched, both times with little success. We could actually see snow blowing under it in the winter, and it froze shut for several weeks this winter. It’s horribly inefficient, and do to three too many holes for past door handles, nearly impossible to restore to its original splendor. So what did Stan do- He fixed ALL of those things. Behold his handy work.

Kitchen Door:

This shot wasn’t taken as a before picture for this project, unfortunately. But you can see next to the dishwasher the missing cabinet. You can also see the old door, which before the harsh winter looked great.
   

 

   

The cabinets:

   

Before

After (P.S. Looking at these pictures makes me think- Any ideas on decorating above a fridge when there are about seven speakers on it! hahah)

The decor:

Meanwhile while the boys were doing projects with power tools, Pam and I went to this great Antique garage sale. This guy collects antiques all year long and then has this once a year sale. His collection was impressive and we came away with some great finds. Thanks Pam for all your help!

The baseboards and quarter round:

Beyond working on the house we also enjoyed a lot of great conversations. A delicious and memorable meal at Aldo’s, Tom’s favorite Italian restaurant. As well as an introduction to the incredible amount of work Pam has done on their genealogy. (Several of their lines go back to the 800s!) Thanks Mom and Dad for all your help, for the burst of energy you added to our home renovation projects, as well as the love and support you showed. We love you!