We Made a Thing

We obviously haven't been motivated to work on house projects, but we went to the Portland Saturday Market a few weeks ago and cutting boards were more than $200! As usual, I decided we could make our own. And we did!

We made up a YouTube playlist of how to make end-grain cutting boards and watched some of them then we got to work in the garage cutting up a few boards from our huge pile of scrap wood. All these slabs of wood were different thicknesses so we decided to cut them a fixed thickness and rotate them 90 degrees to glue them.

We should have measured the width as this was too wide to fit in our planer, so we cut off the left two boards so it would fit in our 13" planer. We need to change the blades in the planer; it chewed up the wood a little bit on this project.

And here it is after oiling! Sadly, it's a little more difficult to see the difference between the wood tones.

It is actually much nicer than the cutting board we looked at at the market and cost a lot less (assuming you don't count the cost of the tools).

$2500 Drippy Faucet

Last fall, our kitchen faucet developed a slow, nagging drip. At first, if you tightened the handles really hard, it would stop. But over time, the drips grew more frequent and more pronounced. So, when we decided to move some plumbing lines in the basement this February, I saw the perfect opportunity to have the plumber fix the faucet too. I provided her with the make and model, and she ordered the replacement cartridges in advance—$40 for parts plus her hourly rate for both projects.

When she arrived and dismantled the faucet, we hit our first snag: the cartridges wouldn’t fit. It turned out the schematics on the manufacturer's website didn’t match our model. After more digging, we discovered that Newport Brass had updated the internal components. We found what we thought were the old schematics and ordered another set of cartridges for $80, and we scheduled a second plumber visit. Unfortunately, these didn’t fix it either.

Frustrated, I reached out to Newport Brass but received no response. Further research revealed I'd need about $500 worth of parts from several different suppliers, as no single repair kit was available for this model. Reluctantly, I decided to replace the entire faucet instead and ordered a Fairfield Bridge Faucet from Perigold for $1,489 in March.

Another appointment with the plumber was set, but delivery delays led to rescheduling—twice. The faucet finally arrived last Sunday, and thanks to a cancellation, the plumber was available Tuesday.

But the saga wasn’t over. We discovered the new faucet wouldn’t fit the existing holes in our soapstone counter, they'd changed the size of the posts.

After the plumber left, I scrambled to find someone to redrill the holes, eventually getting help from the original installers, Portland MarbleWorks, who charged $180.

With no functioning kitchen faucet, we seized the opportunity to dine out for a couple of days. By Thursday morning, the plumber squeezed us in early, and at last, we have a functioning, drip-free faucet. The final cost for this visit and the previous quick visits totaled $360. (The plumber nicely added all the time together in one bill, rather than charging her minimum each visit.)

So, was it worth nearly $2,500 to fix a drippy faucet? It pained me to see gallons of water wasted every day, but $2,500 could have paid for quite a few water bills. But, I'm fully expecting it will be worth it in the long run.

Hired a Cleaner

It's been quite a while since the kitchen was this clean. With Jeff working again, we have a budget to hire some cleaning help because goodness knows I stink at cleaning because without the deadline, it just doesn't happen enough. But when we hire someone to help us, I usually spend the whole day beforehand sifting and putting things away and tossing lots of stuff in the trash so they can focus on cleaning.

This visit was our first round and they just cleaned the kitchen and the bathrooms. I'm hoping by the next visit we'll have cleared out the living and dining rooms⏤they're still a mess of boxes from moving out of storage⏤and we'll get those rooms looking as good. 

Finally, a New Range

This past Wednesday⏤more than 11 months after we initially ordered it from BASCO⏤we finally got our new induction range. I meant to blog about it sooner, but I've been busy trying to get the basement finished.

I was tempted very many times to cancel our order and go elsewhere to buy the appliance, but I wasn't sure we would get it any faster if we had to go back to the end of the line. I freely admit that I would have preferred the green Ilve range, but Jeff is loving the features of the Fisher & Paykel. It has a warming drawer and has a low-heat setting for rising bread dough.

It's been a very long time since we had a glass cooktop. I forgot what a pain they are to clean. On the bright side, though, we can actually cook on top of silicone mats so hopefully, there will be less scratching from the bottom of pots.

I've ordered a couple of round silicone mats that are specifically designed for the purpose.

Loaner Range

BASCO finally brought us a loaner range today after I had a good rant at them last week. Yeah, Thanksgiving sucked with no oven. This is on loan until our Fisher & Paykel comes in. 

BASCO did not order the new range until this week so it is likely it will be more likely the end of January before we get it. I very much regret ordering the Ilve back in May; I never would have if I'd had any idea of the headache it would turn into.

For Jeff's birthday in November, I bought him an Oculus Quest 2. He immediately signed up for the Supernatural exercise app at the recommendation of a friend. We've really been enjoying exercising to music. We actually had to empty out the front parlor area to make space for us to stand there and swing around our arms. It's the only space on the main floor that has enough clearance below the light fixtures.

Our main floor is going to be quite cramped with the addition of the TV and gaming computer. We're planning to take most of the furniture to storage to make room during the basement project.

More News About Our Range

Our Ilve Range finally arrived in Portland, and it's the wrong f-ing color! It is gray, not green. I am not kidding. It is the worst possible color. Needless to say, I am not taking delivery. So, it looks like there won't be a thanksgiving dinner this year.

BASCO is therefore trying to fix it for us. Obviously, it is not really an option to wait for another range to come from Italy. I didn't get the final word yet, but I think we actually ended up ordering the Fisher & Paykel in black because it comes from Mexico and supposedly it will be here by mid-December. They say December, but I don't know if that's a wishful thinking due date. I hope not. I guess we shall see.

I am so tired of this. Though, possibly not as tired as Jeff, who does the cooking.

Range Rant

Do you guys remember this drama from last May? Our BlueStar range started on fire and we called out the fire department to put it out. (Jeff thought the gas line was burning and couldn't reach to get it turned off.)

We went back to BASCO in May and ordered a new range but we decided to try an induction range from Ilve that came in emerald green. Boy, was that ever a mistake. It was originally scheduled to come in mid-August, but it didn't. Then they gave us a revised date of the end of October. Well, I spoke to BASCO again yesterday, and now they're saying we won't get our range yet and they don't want to give any delivery date. 

I am so frustrated. First, BASCO sucks at communication. They basically ignore the situation until I call in looking for my range and then they have to figure out what's happening. And two, what was I thinking ordering a semi-custom range during a pandemic? Sigh.

Anyway, it's not actually clear whether we'll have a range by Thanksgiving. Finally, now BASCO will let me cancel the order (I put down a 50% non-refundable deposit) but do I really want to get in the back of the line for a new appliance?

So, I may start looking around and see if there is anything else that can be found. The space is 36" and most hardware store ranges are only 30" so I doubt we can walk into Lowes or Home Depot and just buy something off the floor.

On the bright side, Jeff has gotten quite good at cooking with the Instant Pot and toaster oven. He's been amazing dealing with our kitchen situation, but I am past ready for it to end, so I need to get on the phone and start calling around and see if I can find a different option.

Electrical Fire

Yesterday evening, we had a bit of excitement. Jeff put on a pot to boil for dinner and the range started on fire. He didn't notice immediately because he had left the room. After a few minutes, the kitchen filled with smoke and all the smoke alarms started going off. 

Jeff thought it was perhaps a leak in the gas line that was burning, but we couldn't find the shutoff to the range and when we couldn't figure out how to turn off the gas to the house, I called the Fire Dept. They came within five minutes of the call and finally extinguished the last of the fire in the range and turned off our gas for us. Our Blue Star Range is kaput, poor thing.

This is likely where the fire started. Apparently, it was an electrical fire.

I am so thankful we only lost the range. While it was happening, I had visions of our whole house bursting into flames. Beyond the range, the only "damage" is a fine layer of soot on everything the smoke touched. Jeff and I have spent a couple hours cleaning up the soot, but there is still plenty left to clean.

Today, obviously, I was compelled to do some shopping for a replacement range. We've been talking about getting an induction range for "the next house." This obviously, gives us the chance. If I was not picky, I could have bought a Wolf 36" Transitional Induction Range and it would be installed by the end of the week. But, alas, I am picky. Very picky. I just don't want a stainless steel range in this kitchen.

When I discovered the Ilve Majestic II 36" Range had an option for induction burners and came in Emerald Green, we had to track one down to take a look. 

Unfortunately, it will take up to 14 WEEKS to arrive. Despite the horrific wait time, Jeff and I decided to order this range so there is a good chance we will not have an operating range in our kitchen until the end of August. I guess there will be no canning this summer.

Luckily, Jeff does a lot of cooking with the Instant Pot. And perhaps we'll finally get some use out of our new-last-year BBQ.

Kitchen Dreaming

The kitchen is my highest priority in the Prineville house because it must be done before we move in. I am debating whether to stick with the current cabinetry and just replace the counter and appliances, whether to reface the cabinets and add a couple more, or whether to replace it all.

Jeff loves his Blue Star Range in Portland, so we want to buy another for the new house which means we'd no longer need the wall oven and we would have to rearrange the base cabinets. Also, the current vent over the stove doesn't vent outside of the house; that will have to be changed.

I'm thinking about refacing the current cabinets or replacing with ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets, depending on the cost. I love cherry, but I'll also consider other woods without a dark grain, i.e. maple, fir, etc. I don't know why, but I've just never really been a fan of the heavy grain in oak. I've had plenty of oak wood furnishings in my life, but given a choice, I'll take cherry any day.

While I'm binging on Netflix I've been cruising around window shopping for some possible materials to use for the kitchen. Here are some of my current top choices. (I mostly make these posts so I can record the information.)

Backsplash: Philadelphia Scabos Travertine 1x2 Basketweave Honed with Black Dot Mosaic Tile
Cabinetry: Shaker-style Cabinetry Shown in cherry, but I may get maple or birch or fir, depending on cost.
Counter: Blackish Soapstone (I assume I can't find the amazing green soapstone again, so I'll simply make the black soapstone work)
Flooring: Bottom: Four color choices of Mannington ColorFields Smooth surface rubber flooring: L to R: Battleship, Oak, Mesa or Scroll (I'll use whichever matches the backsplash best.)

Backsplash: Georgia 3" x 6" Travertine Subway Tile in Mediterranean Ivory
Border: Crema Marfil Border 3 1/8"x 12"
Floor: Mannington ColorFields Smooth surface rubber flooring: Trumpet (or whichever matches best)

Appliances: Stainless steel, or a matched color.
Range: BlueStar 30" RNB-series Range
Dishwasher: I still love my Miele dishwasher so I'm planning to get another.
Refrigerator: Another 36" built-in. We have Sub Zero now, but we may try a BlueStar in case we want to get a color and we'll be able to have it match. :)
Hood: I could get a matching BlueStar Hood

Refrigerator Panel Finally Repaired

Yes, it's been broken for a year and a half. It had been broken for so long, we had quite gotten used to opening it from the little metal ridge on the edge. It's pathetic that it's taken so long, but initially, I had hoped the contractor would repair it. When he refused I had these illusions that I would fight him and make him repair it, but I never did anything. I'm not good at confrontation. So, FYI, Craftsman Design & Renovation doesn't stand behind their work.

Originally, the frame holding the panel onto the refrigerator was simply stapled to it. No glue, no screws, nothing besides the staples. So, every time we opened the refrigerator door, it was slowly pulling the panel off the frame. After four years, it fell off in Jeff's hands.

Well, this time, Jeff not only glued the frame to the panel, but he also put in a number of screws from the backside to secure the two together. It should be a lot more secure. And once he finished, he was a little embarrassed it took this long. But, I'm just glad to have the panel back. Thanks Jeff!!

We've both been busy this month participating in National Novel Writing Month, usually called NaNoWriMo. We are both on target to meet the 50K word goal by the end of the month. I've been working on a novel set in the medieval period and I do quite a lot of google searches and I kept ranting about Pinterest. Pinterest has basically ruined google searches because quite often the picture you like leads you to Pinterest, which doesn't load the pin, it loads some page of pins and the image you want may or may not actually appear. I kept ranting about it, and then Jeff wisely looked up how to exclude Pinterest from search results. (Jeff is my hero.)

I'm going to share the solution with you guys, in case you're interested. When entering a search in google add -site:pinterest.** at the end of the search, i.e.

medieval clothing -site:pinterest.**

The two ** are wildcard characters because pinterest has a number of domains so the wildcard characters get rid of all of their sites.

Summer Update

With our crazy weather this year, and lacking motivation, we have gotten very little finished on the house. We did manage to set up a pantry rack for Jeff down in the basement.

Before we did this, Jeff observed he had a lot of cans that he had no idea how old they were. When we first moved in after the remodel, we were pretty good about dating cans with a marker, but even that stopped happening a while ago.

Anyway, Jeff wanted twelve tubs labeled with the months. So now when he goes shopping, he can deliberately buy twelve cans of things and spread them out throughout the year. We're hoping this will help keep our food pantry rotated. We still need to finish sifting all the cans already in our pantry and either toss them or spread them out into these tubs so they finally get used.

As far as the shed project, it still stands un-sided. Eric got busy and asked us to have Aaron help us finish it. Aaron lost his rental and has been busy packing to move out of state, so he hasn't been available either. So, I am tentatively exploring the possibility of having Tim Austin help us finish the exterior. He is the good guy who built our garage for us. He's going to come out and look at the project and I'm hoping his quote is something we can afford.

Finally, the Laurelhurst neighborhood is trying to apply for Historic District status to slow down the pace of demolitions. I have (obviously) gotten back into poking around my old research. I have also done a bit more research with old Oregonian issues. Our county library has a research tool where we can search old issues and I've done a bunch of research to fill in history between the 1920s (where I left off last time) and current day. I'd still really like to find the article where the city decided to tear down our sandstone Arch on Multnomah and 32nd. I guess we can be happy to have one of them left.

Refrigerator Panel Broke

Looking at this thing, it's actually surprising it held on so long because it was attached with staples!! And the door handle was just screwed into the wood, and not into the metal frame, so every time we pulled the refrigerator door open, it was slowly pulling out the staples. Not cool. It will be interesting to see if Craftsman Design & Renovation is going to fix this for us.

Barrett (our tile guy) still sucks. He originally said he'd be here at 2PM, but then he wrote later asking if he could start work today after 5PM. I said No. I'm tired of him taking advantage of us.

Alex Vertikoff's Photos

In stark contrast to the ugly pictures outside, I have been given permission to share the photographs Alex Vertikoff took of our house back in July 2013. They turned out really beautiful!

I'm a little embarrassed about this one. I wasn't expecting him to include the sewing room in the background so I didn't have it totally cleaned up. The rainbow of threads is pretty though. LOL

Misc. Period Pictures

I've been poking through period publications looking for bathrooms. As usual, when I see an interesting picture I will take a screenshot. I'll share them here, in case you guys are interested.

Cheery green house exterior from "The Color Book" c. 1920s

Color Suggestions for House Exteriors from Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company Paint Catalog, 1923.

I'll put a break into this post so it won't have to load all the images everytime folks visit the blog.

Period Book: Interiors Beautiful (1922)

This week's installment showing excerpts from period books brings you Interiors Beautiful by M.L. Keith, dated 1922, available from Internet Archive here. As was typical for the time period, the photos are done in black and white, but there are some very lovely interiors.

My one criticism of the book is almost all the houses seemed to run on the side of "great" houses, i.e. those with numerous huge rooms that most people couldn't afford. However, the decor ideas would work for inspiration. I do wish the scan was a higher resolution.

The book went over a series of rules for papering or coloring walls, depending on the exposure of the room, season of use, and the height and size of the room. Probably still sound advice, but too many variations to include here.

Then it went over many furnishings one might want to purchase for their home, discussing the quality of some of the current brands available at the time.

Shopping for Period Style Kitchen Items

I have spent literally hours trying to find period style items for my kitchen. It is surprising how difficult it is to find modern kitchen items that resemble those I found in the period photos. I really thought it would be easier; after all, how much would canisters and crocks change?

These were the containers I really liked.

I spent hours and hours trying to find modern reproductions with no luck. I finally had some success with finding similar canisters when I tried ebay and etsy. If you want to search ebay or etsy, I suggest using the search terms "german porcelain canisters" or "mepoco german" or "block canisters" or other variants. (There are actually some beautiful sets on eBay right now, but they'll be gone too quickly to make it worth preserving the links here.) It is especially difficult to find a good set that still has all the pieces and all the lids and when you do, they're not inexpensive.

Since I never found a set that coordinated with my kitchen—most sets with an acceptable pattern were delft blue which really didn't work for me—I finally compromised on a modern good-enough-for-now round copper set and I continue to keep my eye out for a nice antique or reproduction set. (The copper set is already showing signs of wear after less than 2 years of use.)

I have to admit I gave up on the drainer. Rubbermaid does carry a large chrome dish drainer but the reviews for it complain that it starts to rust almost immediately. It is also possible to find quite a few vintage wire dish racks, but again, I imagine they'll all suffer the same rusting fate. So, for now, I content myself with a plastic-coated rubbermaid dish rack. I am on the look out for a decent looking option in stainless steel and when I find one, I'll update this post and buy it.

Fortunately wire bale jars are very easy to find. They're literally carried all over; here is a 12 pack at Amazon. The lids for mason jars look to have gotten smaller, but they're also period as well. They're carried everywhere, especially at your neighborhood garage sales which is the most affordable way I've found to pick up quite a few of them.

One great place to shop for old style kitchen gear is Lehman's. (No, I'm not being paid for the endorsement in anyway; I'm just a happy customer.) They cater to amish and other folks off the grid and they carry non-electric versions of a whole lot of kitchen gadgets. And especially of note, if you need those little rubber rings for your old bale close jars, they carry them. They also currently have a beautiful set of heritage blue stripe stoneware that would be tempting if my kitchen cabinets were not already bulging.

I did manage to score a 1914 toaster off eBay that didn't cost a fortune.

In examining the old pictures, there seemed to be a lot of enamel-coated bowls and cooking pots in the photos. You can still buy those too, but they are NOT cheap. A reputable brand, Le Creuset, is having a sale right now—their 11-piece set is $1000! And while you can find less expensive alternatives at places like Target, I have no idea how they would hold up to regular use.

In concluding this post, when I first started shopping for our kitchen, I actually expected I would be able to find more period-style items, but it was disappointingly difficult. With our current disposable everything-made-in-China culture, I guess we have moved on. The good stuff made to last is too expensive and the cheap stuff just doesn't look like the traditional items anymore. There is just so much stuff made from plastic now.