Kitchen Redo-Walls Painted and Trim Work Begins

I know,it's been a while since I've posted. Our remodel has been chugging along,a bit at a time. Now that Christmas is on our doorstep,the work is grinding to a temporary halt.

The last photos I showed you was of the new insulation in the wall,I believe.Here are how things look now:

Drywall on the ceiling and the wall waiting to be painted:

Last Friday-Sunday,we painted the walls and the ceiling:

Once that was painted,we brought in the new cabinet,which went where the oven once was.You can see the white bead board under the cabinet. We didn't paint it,as the tin back splash is going there. We decided to just leave the bead board on this wall and around the door to the living room.We placed a couple of boards on the cabinet as a temporary counter top:

The fridge looks like it's sticking out into the walk way,but it's just the angle of the photo. Where the butcher block is will be a closet.It will store our coats,etc,until the mud room is weatherproofed,and then it will be used for storage-brooms,ironing board,etc:

Another view of the new cabinet.It makes such a difference. The room actually looks longer with a whole row of bottom cabinets,without the stove stopping the flow:

The finished ceiling.We will be getting new light,and this one will go into the mudroom:

Yesterday,Rick worked on putting the molding back up. He cleaned it all up first. There is a small space in between the ceiling and the molding,since the ceiling is now a tad higher than it was. We are considering using a half round stained the proper color to fill in the little space.I'm not sure why it shows blue in the photo:

After the cabinet molding was put back up,Rick and Brother B started putting up the rest of the old molding. We just decided to keep it,at least for now. You can see it to the left of the photo. The door frame either had to be completely taken down and redone so the new door molding would fit properly,or shaved down.Rick decided to shave it down:

I took this photo before the top was put on the door molding. The ceiling molding is going to ripped,making it smaller so it will fit,because the width of the door molding will not allow it to be put back up in it's current width:

The boys took the window molding down. All the moldings in the kitchen (throughout the house,actually)were just regular boards put up.Now the moldings that we put in the living room will be put throughout the whole house:

The new molding is just temporarily tacked up,for aesthetics.It will have to come back down for when the new counter top is put in.The molding makes the window look so much bigger than those old wide  boards:

The window next to the stove will also have molding "tacked" on so it can be easily removed. The new cabinet still needs to be attached to the other cabinet,and the trim will have to come down for the new counter top,anyway.

Yesterday,while Rick and Brother B were working in the kitchen,I did some little jobs that needed doing for Christmas Eve. I polished my oil lamp chimneys,got old useless wax out of votive candle holders,washed them and put fresh candles in them. I also planned my table centerpiece:my poinsettia on top of greenery,with candles here and there. Monday,I made two pork pies,one for our neighbor,and one for Brother Dale. Our neighbor,Jean,and her husband,Ron,are an older couple who are good folks.Their son and granddaughter live with them.Jean asked me one year to make her a pork pie and it's now our gift to them at Christmas time. It was still hot when I gave it to her son at the bus stop,and an hour later Jean called me and thanked me for the pie.She claimed it was the best I had made so far. It also was appreciated because her other son had knee replacement surgery that day,and she and Ron had spent most of the day at the hospital. Those of you who have been at the hospital for a day know how exhausting it is. This way,neither of them had to cook!!!

Today I am making a pecan pie for Dad (Rick's Dad),which is also an annual tradition.It's his favorite. I am also making Nephew Brody a pumpkin pie from my homemade pumpkin puree. Last year,I didn't have enough puree to make him one,and he has been reminding me ever since :) I made sure that I had enough puree this year.

Friday I am going to make our pork pies for Christmas Eve,so all I have to do is reheat them.I am going to make stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer on Christmas Eve afternoon,though. My Mom,sister Linda,and Linda's hubby Tom will be coming up to spend Christmas Eve with us. When Mom got to the point where Christmas Eve was too much work for her,I gladly took over the tradition of having pork pies at my house.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends! I hope it's fabulous!