"Day-off Fun!"

After a rather slow start, our day took off when we headed over to Baldwin around 9:30 to visit Sam and family. We had heard they were working on a kitchen project (see the Aho blog) and wanted to check it out for ourselves. Besides, it was a beautiful day for a drive and I had spent WAY too much time here at home this past week. We got there around 1:00, in time to order a late lunch of pizza, delivered to the door (something we don't get to do, living in the country!).

As you can see at their blog, Scott did a terrific job of pulling out the built-in cupboard to make room for the dishwasher. The counter-top is the same, and he just had to frame it in (beautiful woodworking!) and make back panels to cover up behind the diswasher. There had been an overhang to create a small eating counter, which they lost in the reformation. One can still sit up to the counter with a cup of coffee or whatever, but sideways like you do on the south side of ours. My first impression when we walked in was that there was more room between the end of the counter and the stove. That was just an illusion, as they hadn't changed the counter length. They will have to do a bit of re-organizing to find places for the things that were in that lower cupboard, but they figured they could make better use of the cupboards they have. Where there's a will....

His Mama had some extra milk in the fridge, so I got to give Sam a bottle and rock him to sleep. There is nothing like a sleepy baby in your arms! I was able to get him down for a nap so Mama and I could make a quick run to the grocery store while Daddy and Grandpa finished hooking up the dishwasher. Scott had it all figured out, Dan just provided the extra pair of hands and saved Scott a trip or two up and down the stairs. I think they worked together pretty well. When Sally and I got back (only gone about 20 minutes or so), there was no sign of anybody and the baby monitor wasn't on the counter where she had left it. A quick investigation showed that the two guys were downstairs finishing up the wiring and Sam was still sleeping (they had the monitor with them). Sally loaded up the dishwasher with the dirty dishes she had been stockpiling, to try it out. It worked like a charm! No leaks, and no popped breakers! Scott wants to get some insulation to put on the back to help cut down on the noise before he finishes closing it in, otherwise it is good to go! Congrats to them on their new "addition"! I never had a dishwasher, so I don't miss it but I am sure it will be really nice for them, since they are both working. Everyone who has one says they would never be without one again. I use washing dishes as a way to warm my hands up. I also subscribe to the cartoon I saw years ago: the gist of it was, if you wanted to have some time to yourself (away from the kids) start running dishwater! Poof! There they were - gone! Works every time!

We hung out with the kids until a little after 5:00 and then headed towards home. We got home around 9:00 (stopped for a snack along the way) and Dan visited with Josh on the phone for nearly an hour. We had a call from Mara on Saturday night, so we got to spend "time" with all of our kids this weekend! Sounds like a recipe for a great weekend to me!