The kitchen's pictures after finished!

Somehow I never posted the "after" (you know the ones that everything is clean and spiffy looking) pictures of the kitchen!  So here on this Friday afternoon, I took a break, snapped a couple of pictures and made a post!  Then I am off to clean some more in preparation for some weekend company!  Happy Labor Day Weekend!

And

if you are new here (or just want to peek again)  if you want to see what it looked like before you can go here or here! 

Lots of Work and a Little Relaxation!

So if you aren't bored with my kitchen pictures you will be!  ;~)  BUT it looks soooooo good!  I worked my hind end off last week, but it was so worth it although I was worn out when our company came and that wasn't good!  BUT we did have a great visit!!!  We went to the Zoo on Saturday and met some family for a get together!

But here is what we accomplished....

*  Painted and coated counter tops
*  Patiently waited 5 days before putting anything on top of the countertops  (with the second coat of
    Envirotex Lite it took a little longer)
*  Installed a new range hood (I love it)
*  Installed a new sink it is the coolest thing
*  Installed new faucets
*  Installed Ceiling Tin Backsplash from this place m-boss
*  Installed an  under the counter water filter
*  Installed a new garbage disposal

SEE I told you one thing leads to another!

I have purchased under the cabinet lighting and will soon get those put in also!  Oh and you will notice there are NO outlet covers on because why YES we are replacing the outlets too!

I love how this is looking!!!!!

Sink with the little sink and colander in place (it also has an awesome cutting board)

And a picture without the accessories that go in the sink!

Mark and his Mother feeding birds (he was a magnet to them)

Little Miss Smiley Pants!

We even got to feed the giraffes!  Would you look at that tongue?

And of course the dinosaur 

Papa Barr holding Caitlyn

Team effort up the hill

Caitlyn,  Jill and Mike

Christian and Mimi

Kevin and Megan

Mark and I (oh yeah I went and got my hair whacked off....it is spikey in the back... umm I cried... but getting used to it)

AND there you have it we had a busy week but yet a great weekend!  Nancy

Yep, I did it.... redid the Kitchen Counter tops!

If you recall...... soon to be two years ago I painted our kitchen countertops with a Gianni Countertop Kit... I did it in a Black Granite look.... well I was never REALLY happy with the outcome although I would have happily lived with it... but because the sealant they provided was a polyacrylic it just didn't last!  About 9 months ago the paint around the kitchen sink started chipping away until in front of the sink was pretty much bare.... yes, I should of taken pictures of that!

SO in the mean time I have done some investigating on other blogs to see what people were doing for a top coat... in doing so I came to this conclusion .... it doesn't matter what you paint onto the counter tops, if they are not properly sealed it doesn't really matter cause honey it is gonna come off!  In saying that I have seen people put a base coat down of anything from a primer that has been tinted to just sponging layers of acrylic paint!

HERE is what I did!  I didn't bother taking any of the old painted surface off that was already on there other than to sand the areas that my old paint job had come off of!

I painted a base coat of a tinted Rustoleum (around $20. buckaroos) counter top paint I added in some Valspar silver glitter (very fine)  ., I then had to decide whether I could live with a plain color.... nope not me...... the glitter was not showing up a whole lot.... so here is what I did, I took a container of Modge Podge and added two different glitters, one was a coppery color and the other a brownish color... and used a sea sponge and sponged away!  No that wasn't enough either so I had some light chocolate brown latex sample paint and sponged that on all over!  I used Envirotex Lite pour on High Gloss sealant, we ended up putting two coats on and am thankful my sweet husband helped me!

Words of advice if you decide to do this no you do not have to replace your sink like I am doing but it would be quite helpful to lift the sink up an inch or so ...I am told you can do this without hurting the plumbing.... put plastic all around under the lip of your counter top this stuff WILL drip!  Make sure you protect your floors! AND make sure that if you use glitter you sand down any rough edges BEFORE putting on the Envirotex Epoxy sealer!  That is why we had to put a second coat on! (oh and by the way we waited a day and a half between coats, and wiped the counters down with rubbing alcohol before we put the second coat on and if you have any areas that need sanding lightly this would be the time to do it!)  We just spent the last 3 1/2 hours doing this... you also need a blow torch for any bubbles that may (WILL) appear!  have a large squeegee to help spread the top coat around plus a wide sponge brush to help on the upper back of counter top plus to get the drips along the edges! And don't do it all at once, do an area and get it done before you head onto the next section of countertop!

So we ended up using 10 kits.... they each cover 8 square feet and were $18.98 each I got mine at Menards, but am told you can get them at Hobby Lobby and you can use coupons!

Can I say LOVE IT?????  I cannot wait to get the backsplash up and the new sink in and also the new exhaust fan!!! (you know one thing leads to another!!!) shhhhhh don't tell my husband!!


So WHAT do you think?


Nancy

****edited to say that I woke up at 4 am and decided I needed to check the drip areas on the edges and I used a paring knife on the underside of the counter edges to cut them off, yes it took a little patience to do that... but an hour later I was done and the counter tops are dry to touch this morning but need to cure for up to 72 hours before setting anything back on the counters, and oh by the way we have a cute little gnat that got stuck.... ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!  oh well..... ;~)  nwb

A Wedding for Amber

A few years back my daughter Amber was a High School Counselor, in a small town High School.  During her time as a counselor she encountered a young woman who her heart went out to and her name was Amber also, the younger Amber had lost both of her parents at a young age and was being raised by her elderly grandmother who was doing the best she could.  On the last day of school my Amber gave this young lady her phone number and told her if she ever needed anything to call her... Well young Amber did make a call one day and needed some assistance.... In doing so she has become a part of our family.  She is generally at each birthday party and at each holiday event that Amber and Dan have.  Amber and her husband Dan have helped to nurture this young lady and show her the love  of Christ, in doing so, she has looked to them for guidance in so many ways.  Amber and Dan have done this while raising their own family.  The two of them  have a heart bigger than you can possibly imagine! In saying all of this the younger Amber has found someone to love and to cherish.  She and Roger got married this past weekend and I attended the wedding.  My son in law gave her away, and my grandchildren were in the wedding.  Best wishes to the two of them for a life full of wedded bliss!

Congratulation Roger and Amber!

Nancy

A life well lived!

My sweet mother went to be with Jesus in the early hours of Sunday morning July 22, 2012.  My mother was one of the kindest souls you would ever want to meet!  My mother was a woman of faith and she walked the talk each and every day of her life!  She has been reunited with my Dad who has been gone 12 years.  I am sure they are skating together on a golden rink!  (they met on a skating rink)  I know she is basking in all of God's Glory!

This picture was taken in 1956 of my family in its early years..

front row left to right  (me trying to get away, my mother, John and Jean (twins) back row Pat, Dad and Jim

These are some things my daughter and my niece posted on Facebook.


"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. (oh and could she ever laugh) She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. (never a bad or cross word about anything) She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (she was always there for her family and her hands were always working. Idleness was not in her dna.) Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. (Oh we all know what a gem we had. Grandpa definitely thought she was a special lady. She is probably the only person who didn't know due to her extreme humbleness.) "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." (she most certainly surpassed them all.) Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31: 25-31 {so much of the entire passage describes my Grandmother. I am most definitely sure that she was greeted at the gates of heaven in the wee hours of the morning with a pat on the back and a "well done good and faithful servant" for she had a true servants heart!} ~jala


and the following from my sweet niece Kim:

I know a woman who is an inspiration.  She is a woman full of grace, love and kindness.   Sometimes I wonder if she ever had any idea on how amazing she was.  I doubt it.  She’s a humble woman.  Did she ever have any idea that she was showing everyone around her love, simply by her attitude?   Sometimes I wonder, is it possible for me to do the same?  I sure hope it is.  What made this woman so different?  I know what it was.  It was her letting Jesus shine through her.  It was her faith.  She is leaving a legacy.  She is a Godly woman and with all that she has in her, she made an effort to point to the Lord, to seek the Lord, to show the love of the Lord. 

This woman is 90 years old and is still inspiring.  However, time has taken it’s toll and she is just waiting for her time to be called home and it appears that it may be soon.  Is it sad?  Of course.  However, I can honestly say that I also feel a sense of celebration for her.  Why?  Because, I know where she’s going to be spending eternity.  This isn’t the end for her.  When she leaves this world, she will be welcomed into Heaven with open arms.  She will be meeting her Savior and she will be reunited with the love of her life. It is going to be a celebration when she gets there.  It is going to be far better than anything you can possibly imagine.  And, for this reason, I am celebrating for her, too. 

As great as she is,  she won’t be going to heaven because she is a good person.  Believe me, she is a great woman, but no one can ever be good enough.  When you lay your head down to sleep, do you know without a doubt where you will be spending eternity?  There was a time, I didn’t know.  But, I do now.  If you aren’t sure, all you have to do is open your heart.  Ask the Lord for forgiveness and as Jesus to be the leader of your life and your heart.  It IS that simple.  We try to make it difficult when it is not.  We try to add all sorts of our own rules and ways to make it all come together.  But, plain and simple:  God wants to have a relationship with you.  He wants to love on you and to guide you.   He wants to spend eternity with YOU! 

This woman is someone who inspires me to be more like her.  I hope that someday people will be able to look at me and know that I am a follower of Christ…not because I go to church or because my Facebook page says that I’m a Christian….but, because I am showing the love of the Lord.  I am trying, but I am a work in progress.  God’s not done with me yet.  And, I praise Him for that!  I hope that when he is ready to call me home that I will have been an inspiration like she was.  She is beautiful inside and out.  She is my Grandma, Fay Williams.

Mom and Kim early 2012

Rain, Rain, Where Art Thou?

I am sure it is no different here in Eastern Iowa than it is anywhere else.... WE NEED RAIN!  Oh and while I am asking.... we could use some cooler days also!

I recently traveled south (well actually several times since last posting)....

I did see some gorgeous flowers at my daughters house...

The crops down south looked HORRIBLE...  Her flowers and vegetable garden only looked good because they had been watering....

I celebrated my grandsons' 2nd Birthday....

Was home a few days and headed south again.... My mother is 90 years old (A says she is 99)  Really she is 90...  and she isn't doing so well after having her gall bladder taken out a month ago...  She hasn't bounced back... They have called in Hospice for her at the Nursing Home.. It is so sad to see her like that. Little Miss A knew that her Great Granny wasn't doing so well and she insisted that she was 99 after all she went to her Birthday Party a few weeks back...  My conversation with little Miss A went something like this...

Ab:  Nana, Granny is going to die isn't she?
Me:  Yes, Abigail Granny is going to die sometime and her time here is not so long...
Ab:  Oh I am sad she is going to die...
Me:  Well Ab, you know what?  She and Grandpa met on a skating rink and I will just bet that he is up
         there waiting for her to skate with him again, and you know what else?  She will see Papa Gary
         too!  And better than that even.. she will see Jesus!
Ab:  I know it just makes me sad, cause I will miss her!

 Please keep my family in your prayers.  It could be days, weeks or months.

Thus the absence from my blog....

Hope you are staying cool wherever you might be!

Nancy

A mother's heart.....

I know this blog is really about, our old home, crafting things I do, but it s also about the lives of those who live here! My mother turned 90 the end of May and had been ill for several weeks, then the 6th of June she had gall bladder surgery. She just hasn't bounced back very well! I do realize that her days are numbered.... But I received a phone call Monday evening that Hospice had been called in for her at the Nursing Home... Mom has demensia, she still knows me most of the time when she sees me. I drove down to where she is at to spend some time with her and possibly tell her goodbye, of course each time I leave her I never know if I will see her again this side of Heaven! She had not been eating very well if at all for a number of weeks, but she seems to be eating better now....