Range Hood

This has been a two-day project: I finally got that range hood installed. And it's only been five months since I bought the stupid thing!

The first time I attempted this project, I ran into a wall stud I was unwilling to cut (the left wall, in this photo):

It wasn't until I was messing around with Christmas lights that I realized the back of the house is not one continuous line: about three and a half feet of the wall behind the cabinets is actually exterior wall!

That realization, combined with the plan to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house (it's a small group this year, and that way Brianna stays close to our hospital) led to me installing the range hood this weekend.

Saturday was very good weather - forty five degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. So I installed the exterior vent first. Sunday, when I took this photo, was of course snowy, which made me glad I got this part out of the way early:

Yes, I still have to take down the masking tape.

Once that was done, I prepped the range hood and started work on running the ducting through the cabinets:

I had also trimmed down the top of the cabinets to keep the ducting low:

With Brianna's help, I got the range hood into place:

At this point, I made a mistake. I assembled the in-cabinet ducting, but forgot about the back-draft preventer, which I had left in another room. I had already cut the ducting to size without it, and had to spend quite a bit of time taking things apart and fixing them in order get the back-draft preventer in place. However, things did fit together (in terms of matching diameters) much better once that missing piece was in place.

After that fiasco, I got the electrical sorted out:

And then I cleaned up my mess and called it a night.

Today, I worked on the ducting on top of the cabinets. I made myself an L shape:

And then made all the connections above the cabinets.

In the process, I made a (very small) blood sacrifice to the gods of home improvement. I think that's actually the first one for this house! (Electrical shocks are a different matter)

Later on, and hopefully with some help, I'll get some crown molding on top of the cabinets, which will hide the ducting from sight completely. For now, the vent hood actually looks pretty decent, and is very functional:

...Darn - you can't see in this photo, but all the steam from the skillet on the front burner is going into the hood - and it was on the "low" setting!

Comparing the work I did this weekend to work I've seen someone like my Uncle Gary do is a little disheartening - my "carpentry skills" have a looooong way to go. Fortunately, I can call for advice - Thanks for taking my phone call, Uncle Gary!

Using the Grill for the First Time

I took a break from painting to get the grill hooked up to the natural gas line. Turns out I wasn't missing an adapter - there was an extra adapter I didn't need in the way.

Brianna cooked steak on the grill for dinner tonight, and it was delicious. It was pretty dark out there though - I think we're going to need to figure out a second outdoor backyard light next to the grill.

More Nesting

Well, the primary working hours tonight got hijacked for nesting purposes.

Brianna and I put together several freezer meals in the kitchen before dinner, which was probably a wise thing to do.

After dinner, we did more organizing in the nursery. I have to admit, and I actually laughed when Brianna tried to lay down the law about how to fold a onesie. We'll see how long that lasts.

But man, some of these baby clothes are super cute. And we haven't purchased a single one! Thanks for all the gifts!

Poor Little Dog

Have you ever seen a dog that wanted a bite of Brian's pizza more than this little one?

(I ate ALL my pizza, and enjoyed every bite)

Cake

Brianna baked a "PE-Completion Cake" to celebrate all the spare time she has now that she is no longer studying for the PE exam. (We'll find out in December if she passed).

Anyone who wants a slice can have one. Just get here before, say, five minutes ago (...burp).

Brianna is Done with the PE Exam!

Brianna spent all day taking the PE exam today - four hours in the morning, and four hours in the afternoon. She came out smiling!

...and then she demanded Ethiopian food.

Bountiful Baskets CO-OP

This Saturday morning, I got up early to pick up my goodies from the Co-op that I had contributed to on Monday. Tried out this CO-op last weekend when I went to Colorado Springs to visit my family while Brian painted. This time I tried the site that is close to my house... Only problem, you have to pick your food up between 7 & 7:20am!   I was a few minutes late and it wasn't a problem as there was a line in the 45 degree morning.

I gathered my fruit & veggies from the two baskets, signed for my add-ons, 5 loaves of 9-grain organic bread and granola, then toted the haul to my car. 

The fruit and vegetables are an ever changing variety and you don't know what you will get until you show up. I am amazed at how much they pack into a $15 mix!

This week:

 2 small cantaloupes
 2 Apple/Pears (never had these before)
 8 bartlett pears
 5 bananas
 7 very large limes
 5 very tiny lemons
 7 small apples
 3 avocados
 9 anaheim peppers
 2 1lb-bags of baby carrots
 3 heads of broccoli
 1 bunch of spinach
 1 head of lettuce

Let us see what I do with those Anaheim peppers to get my husband to unknowingly eat them!

Baby Shower at Work

Brianna's coworkers threw her a baby shower today! (I was in attendance, too).

They really went all out: the conference room was decorated, there was a full buffet/potluck lunch, we played baby-themed games, we opened gifts and the cupcakes were freaking amazing.

Jaccard Meat Tenderizer

Picked up one of these meat tenderizers on sale at Amazon, and got to try it out this weekend. It works surprisingly well! I think it's going to be great tool to have around with a pregnant lady (who craves and needs protein) in the house!

Baking Day!

Betsy came down from Fort Collins today to have a baking day with Brianna. They made soup, cheesecake, pecan pie and scones, some gluten free, some not!

Bike Ride and Dinner Out

I left my gym bag on the dining room table when I left for work yesterday. The daily thunderstorm was running a few hours late when I got home from work, so I yanked my bike out of the shed, pumped up the tires, and went on a quick, 30-minute bike ride on the trail system outside our house. Sadly, this was my first bike ride from our house.

The bike needs some tender loving care after spending last winter outside on the apartment balcony. And I need to dig out my biking shorts and gloves for my next ride.

Dinner was a send-off for Mike, who is heading back to Michigan today. We got together with Heather and Jordan again at the Old Chicago Pizza and Alehouse and had a pleasant dinner.

By the time we got home, it was bedtime!

Tonight is our first childbirth class at the hospital. We're getting closer and closer to the due date (Dec. 2nd)!

Second Anniversary

Brianna and I celebrated two years of marriage by inviting a bunch of coworkers out to a burger joint (without telling them it was our anniversary). We wound up with a group of seven, and had a very pleasant meal!

The food was good, the company was technically inclined and everyone was in their mid-twenties (except me. At 28, I was the old man of the group).

Not exactly traditional, but Brianna and I have spent the majority of the last six months working on the house and growing a baby. Having a social evening out was well worth it.

Getting Back on Track

I'm not sure how much (if any) time I made up today after taking yesterday off, but it certainly felt like a fairly productive evening. I emptied out the kitchen and taped the new areas off, and then slapped on a coat of primer.

I followed that up by pulling everything off and out of the walls and ceiling of the main floor hallway, putting putty in nail holes, taping down painters' plastic, sanding down the putty and a few other protuberances, and then priming the hallway as well.

(That blue "pigtail" on the right-hand wall is twisted up tape attached to the thermostat wires, to make sure they don't fall down behind the drywall. Hopefully Bob the cat doesn't "play" with it too much).

And since you'll all get a chuckle out of it: I had bachelor chow for dinner after I finished painting (at 10:15PM):

I'll admit it ain't classy, but the cleanup is phenomenal.