Some More

Serious cooking once again!

Finally Hooked

This is the first step to have a normal kitchen back. Sammy finally got plumbing job done after many trip to Lowes and other hardware shop. We can not remember how many packages we bought and error and try sessions. But it still saves a big time to hire plumber. We had first hand experience how expensive the plumbing can be. Ikea's faucet is beautiful but the hook up is bitch. It uses not common dimensions. Just does not make sense.

Check out our first successful load of dish washer.

Destruction outside the construction

It has been a fun ride for the all kitchen thing. Carry on a lot of hard work and exhaustion while enjoying every progress. Well sure a lot of frustration was carried along. Well we finally have had sink and dish washer in place. However we have a problem to find a right switch to connect faucets to water pipes. We have been back and forward to lowe's four times. Fortunately it only takes 3-5 minutes to drive there. Well We just gave up and left the problem for tomorrow. We are getting close to have a functioning kitchen after half years cooking outside. The tunnel is near the end.

While we constructed inside, I noticed a creature conducted destructive action right outside our kitchen windows in this cold snowing day. Sammy found out weeks ago that a squirrel peeled barks off the tree. I am not sure if the tree will survive since the bark of main branch is gone. This morning I spoted the squirrel peeling bark again and bundling the peels together. I thought that he ate the peel at first. Now I think that he tried to build his net with barks for preparing a very cold evening. I just can not be fond of squirrels. We had squirrel nightmares when we lived in Atlanta. They are terrorists for real.

Mr President, do you have a plan for us to eradicate them?

The Touch!

I have worked a whole day on painting moulding. When we looked for moulding for the bottom edge of upper cabinets, I almost exhausted all the moulding in Lowe's. Surely it did not have many groovy ones. I almost gave up before I found this relative less striking pattern - reed bundle with maple leaves. We both just loved it. Well the store only had 3 pieces and couple pieces short of what we needed. We bought all of them. Since, we had checked the store every time we went to local lowe's to no avail. Finally I had to stop by another lowe's store on the way to work. Well I was lucky to find the last couple pieces.

I started experiement with different combination among brown, red and blue for faux painting. We love the blue as base, brown for shadow and red on leaves. The turnout is just amazing, Sammy thinks that David Hicks would give A+ if he lived today. It is beautifully rustic! Ideas have evolved along with the progress of renovation. It has been taken ourselves by surprise.

Mod on the floor, rustic above the celling and Zen in between. We have had every elements we desir before even realized them.

The moudling is just the magic touch!

Night After Snowing

Our new acquired aesthetic movement ebonized buffet, Customed made hippie lamp left by former owner, our friend John's painting "Safeguard" with the background of Sammy's hand painted strip pattern wall.















My steps in the snow leading to the front door















Our house sourrended by snow in the night



























My neighor's house across the street

When The Toaster Popped

One morning, We got up early to start another day without kitchen. We finally demolished the kitchen completely. A mini temporary one was set up in the bathroom next to the kitchen since it is the only place to have tap water. We stacked up toaster, microwave and mobile oven wherever we can in the tiny bathroom.Sammy's mom and BC bought the oven for us when they visited here. It is surely very helpful. Thanks Pat and BC! We actually can find way to cook very decent meals with what we have.

Back to that morning. We were in hurry. As usual, Sammy had the bagels in the toaster and left them alone before popping. He went back to pick them up a while after the pop. Well the bagels were gone by then. It did not take long before our bagels were found floating in the toilet. No effort was needed to have it in but was a bit dirty job to have them out. Now we know well of minding our bagel when having them toasted right behind the toilet.



That night, I felt that I had to cook some Chinese outside on the grill after eating out because of demolition and sawdust. It was a bit cold but pleasant night. I realized flakes starting flowing around. I reacted to cover my food on the stove. Sawdust come to my mind before the flakes melted on my hands. it felt soft and smooth. It was simply beautiful to touch and feel this magic surrounding - snowing while cooking. I know that we will have this wonderful feeling everytime we cook in our new kitchen when our hard work is complete and vision turns into reality. I can not wait while I have been enjoying work in progress before wait is over.

What A Marvel!

Chic Mod Water Cube and Rustic Bird's Nest. Here they are

Main Stadium and the Acquatic Center for Bejing Olympics. It surely has gone through a full cycle in so short time. I was never able to imagine that Chinese could dream this big when I was kid. I was anxiously looking forward to the American dream when I stepped of my homeland and into a totally new one. I just can not be happier that Chinese finally can have dream big and for the better. I hope that the upcoming Bejing games will stage not only the modern marvels that Chinese is capable of but also humanity accumulated throught her 5000 year civilization that is yet to rediscover.

Happy Holidays For Now

I had been always greeting my friends and relatives Merry Christmas and Happy New Year during the holiday season. Just simply natural thing to say.

A quite while ago, I had this co-worker from South Carolina. One day we chatted about my upcoming trip to CA during Christmas time and might visit my mother's friend there. Suddenly he said to me why your Chinese celebrates Christmas anyway. That is Jesus' birthday. It surely seemed to me that it was odd for him to have Christian Chinese or Chinese just was not qualified to celebrate period. I thought that he was just crazy as he looked(He might not agree). But I never quite figured out why then.

A while ago, WalMart tried to embrace Gay and Lesbian communty for whatever purpose is. That certainly did not look right to those religion fanatics. They launched a boycott against WalMart. Finally WalMart retreated a bit and agreed on saying "Christmas Sale" instead of "Holiday Sale", "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". Obviously those fanatics think that they own the domain of Jesus' birthday. I am not sure that Jesus would agree.

It is just odd it can go. They claim that they own it and have to force others to use it. Well I do not have any problem to let those freaks have it. I am much than happy to greet my relative and friends happy Holidays for now. The spirit is still the same for me. We feel grateful to be able to love and be loved.

Happy Holidays to everyone that makes my life meaningful!