dennisjudd.com

still working on figuring out what we want….harder choice than we thought it would be.

school starts monday and I’ve been trying to get the master bathroom project done by then. clearly that isn’t going to happen ….

so many choices to pick from for the tile….

It all started with a door shelf full of condiment falling on Jen’s head and from there it just snowballed into a kitchen full of new appliances. She was so frustrated with the current refrigerator that had it not been inanimate I’m sure it would have been curled up in a corner and weeping after some of the things she said to it.
Here is what we had both the fridge and stove/microwave:

So here we are ….she doesn’t like the fridge and she’s not a fan of the stove/microwave either. The microwave doesn’t have a turn table even and the handle has been broken (and re-broken) since we moved in here. In fact thanks to an extra strong friend of ours it was actually held together with zip ties. The stove also didn’t have enough burners for the meals she makes.
So we started with wanting a new fridge….which led to a new stove….and of course that also required a new microwave. $3500 later we arrive a whole new kitchen pretty much appliance wise of course. Now this is the point in the story where I screwed myself: I decided to make it all a surprise and not tell her.
Now I like surprises…well at least to give them. What I didn’t realize is that a project of this magnitude just doesn’t “surprise” well….it’s more like “holy crap there’s a f**k ton of work to do from out of no where”. So again I reiterate that you plan together little details like what to do with an entire fridge of food when you have to move it and wait 2 hours for the new fridge to get cold enough for it.
So anyways we wake up saturday morning and while changing Connor’s diaper I casually mention that today is when her surprise arrives. My cellphone rings and it’s the delivery guys….about an hour later this is what the kitchen looks like:

I figured being a somewhat healthy thirty something year old that I could save a few bucks on the installation fee and install everything myself. The fridge was easy except for having to shut off the water supply for the whole house because the saddle valve wouldn’t turn for the water feed. The stove also looked like it was going to be easy because all you have to do is hook up the gas line and shove it in. Little did I know that it was the microwave that was going to be the biggest issue.
Take a look and see if you can spot the problem…

How did I forget about needing power???
Apparently microwave technology hasn’t advanced to the point where they run on happy thoughts and unicorn farts. So we had to make a Home Depot run for a few supplies before I could get the microwave or stove installed.

That’s better…..
I only got as far as the wall support for the microwave before the kids naptime stopped me from moving forward.

That hole was already there when I started….I swear!
Anyways got the microwave and new stove installed….the amount of work room available now is amazing! The old microwave used to stop below the cabinets even so it’s just shocking how open the space is now.

And the fridge got “indoctrinated” with our magnets…..almost feel bad considering how much that thing cost.

So that’s pretty much it….everything beeps and boops now so we’re getting used to things. There is only one last thing to mention and that when I replaced the gas line I found the brass nipple on the gas valve to be severly damaged for some reason:

What the hell happened to this brass natural gas nipple???
I know brass and natural gas aren’t friends per say but I’ve never seen damage this extensive before. I replaced it with a stainless steel nipple but I wonder if it was installed that way or not….I guess we’ll never know.