Board by board

The framing continues and with every 2x4 that is added, I get a clearer picture of my new kitchen. I think it's going to be even bigger than I anticipated, which is very exciting.

I'm also getting a little taste of what it will be like when the guys are working inside. The driveway bumpout is small enough that the work noise really carries inside. I know it's hushed compared to what we'll be hearing soon.

The current plan is to move us out of the upstairs kitchen either between Christmas and New Year's, or just after New Years. We're going to salvage and donate the old cabinets, and do some sort of Formica/fluorescent light exorcism ceremony.

Mike the Tile Guru, it's time to prove yourself

If you were not a remodeling-induced hallucination, we'd be really happy to get a quote sometime soon.

If you were a hallucination, never mind.

Going vertical

Thanks to a few 2x4s and a worker who's not afraid of a little snow, I now have a MUCH better idea of what the big bumpout will look like. I can picture the window groupings, see that my desk will be just as big as Cathee and Nelson promised, and imagine us going in through the new back door. It's thrilling.

The space looks bigger to me now that we're going vertical. I told Cathee that and she said, "Well, it is eight by fourteen feet!"

Thanks to the 14" of snow on the ground plus 50 mph wind gusts, we're anticipating no work for the next day or two.

Meanwhile, though, we have finally ordered the windows. After getting revised quotes from Pella and Marvin based on standard sizes, the Architect Series windows ended up costing a bit less than Marvin. They also could be delivered in 2 weeks, rather than 3-4. So, we're back with Pella after all.

Naturally, everything we like is A) available but B) more expensive. The list includes satin nickel hardware, almond cladding to match our other windows, and more. But these windows are going to be here for a long time, so I think we'll be glad we splurged a bit.

We were able to cut costs by switching to standard sizes (always the intent) and in a couple of places, using two standard-width windows instead of three narrower ones.

So the only group of three windows is now the group by the kitchen sink. As Cathee explained, that's a window I'll be looking through very often, and with just two windows there, I'd be looking at the connection between the windows all the time. This way there is a window in the center.

We're still cooking up a storm while the upstairs kitchen is functional. Yesterday I learned that refrigerating Spritz cookie dough is a bad idea. It takes a long, long time for it to warm up enough to go through the cookie press.

In case you're in the mood to bake, here's my mom's recipe for the cookies:

Quick-Mix Spritz

2 1/4 C. flour

3/4 C. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 C. shortening

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a bowl.

2. With a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture is full of very fine lumps. It will resemble pie crust or biscuit mix, although not as coarse.

3. Measure the egg in a measuring cup. A large egg will measure 1/4 C. If it does not, add water to the 1/4 C. line.

4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat the mixture very well.

5. Fill cookie press and form cookies on ungreased cookie sheets.

6. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

7. Remove at once to cooking racks! If you wait, cookies are hard to remove without breaking them.