Kitchen – Day 1

We decided to tackle the lighting first! But we are doing it in two steps  – no reason to rush into this right 😉

First up was the 4 lights, that are inside the glass door cabinets.

It turned out to be a fiddly process. As you can see from the picture below, there wasn’t much room to work with. I tried to remove the very thin sliver between my cabinets and ceiling, but my dad (when installing this) have obviously just about “velcroed” it together with acrylic, and I almost broke it trying to remove 😦

So I promptly had to give up on that! Which left me we only the small holes the old lamps was in, and the not even 2 fingers high sliver of an opening on top, to navigate all the wires/cables/transformers. As you can see from the picture, I ended up using a lot of rope (I figured this would be the only way I could pull the new wires).

Removing the old stuff was a pain. I have to admit my dad had done a good job installing everything, when we put the kitchen together originally, but removing the stuff!!! Seriously finger twisting work 😉

Installing the new stuff on the other hand, went like a breeze  – probably had something to do with all that rope already in place 😉

It looks really good, but I’ve come to realise one small mistake. Installing the lights, you could either fasten them with small screws or a clip, I used the clip (it was easy), but have realised that if I ever need to change them out later, I will have to “break” the rim of the lights, to push them through the cabinet, as the spring loaded clip won’t let me remove them the right way. In hindsight, I should have tried to use the screws or a small dollop of acrylic to fasten them. That would have made any potential future removal easier.

Hopefully I won’t ever have any issues with these, and since they are of a type where it is possible to change the led lights without changing out the whole lamp, there is hope I will never have to change the lamps again! I just figured I’d give you a heads up, if you are ever installing upper cabinet lighting, and have less to no space to work with (like me), my recommendation is to not use the clips, if they won’t let you remove the lamp the same way it goes in.

Any-ways! At least I realised this before my next 5 lights 😉

During and Done
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Kitchen work – DIY

It’s seem like I’m working on a “thousand” small projects these days. I’ll tell you all about them, but right now I want to let you in on one of the “bigger” ones.

I have a reasonable new house (2006) and there is no reason why this should have happened at all, but a few months ago (July I think) my kitchen sink, an under-mount stainless steel sink, suddenly came loose from the kitchen counter!!! Not a fun moment, believe me!

Well that didn’t make sense to me that an expensive under-mounted sink suddenly should come loose after only a few years. So I went down to the kitchen store and complained. It seems like the people I ordered my kitchen countertop from, thought the same.

There is no way to fix the under-mounted sink in it’s place, they told me this has to be done at the factory. So they decided to give me a new countertop and sink, even though it was outside of warranty. Which I have to say, was nice of them! Now, installation on the other hand, not included…

Fast forward to late September and I picked up my new kitchen counter. Which is currently laying on my living room floor 🙂

It’s time to tackle the kitchen project, so over the next few days a friend of mine have dedicated some time to help me out.

While working on the kitchen any ways, I figured this is a good time as ever, to fix some issues I’ve had with one of my under cabinet spotlights, that never really would work. So I’ve decided to go ahead and swap all my cabinet lights, over to new LED lights. Just to really give us some work 😉

As you know, my kitchen ain’t big, so swapping things out, pretty much means tearing the kitchen “apart”. Groan!!

I figured I might as well let you in on the chaos in my house, so I’ll be posting as we move along.

Wish us luck, will ya!  🙂

Kitchen before “hell” broke loose, and new kitchen counter on the floor.
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TV Detox!

Lately I’ve gotten into a bad habit of turning the TV on early, and even though I don’t always look at it, it steels my attention and the result is that I’ve been spending way (and I mean waaaay) too much time in front of the tube. Yesterday I realized I need to give myself a detox. A TV detox.

Now, since there are a couple of programs that gives me immensely joy to watch, I’m giving myself a daily limit.

And my daily TV limit is – 1 hour.

I know for some this sounds like a lot, but from where I’ve been going lately, this is a severe restriction.

The same goes for my smartphone/iPad time. I tend to get a little engrossed when surfing the web, and before you know it, it’s been hours. So just for measures, I’m going to throw in some restrictions on this as well.

So here it is – no more than 1 hour combined Smartphone/iPad/PC use daily.

There might be one and only one exception to this rule! Sometimes preparing a post takes me longer than an hour. So should I run into that issue during my enforced detox, I have hereby granted myself permission to finish my post 🙂

Now, how long will this detox last? Hmmmmm, let’s see… Why don’t I start with two weeks and see how that goes.

So what if I fail? Then what?

Then! I get no TV whatsoever for a while….

When do I start? Well actually, I started today 😉

Why do I do it? Because I need to be more mindful on what I spend my time on…

And to steal a detail from my friend over at What I shed Today – Shedding style: reduce 😉

 

Packing up for winter…

It’s been getting colder and colder outside, and it’s time to prepare the garden for the winter season.

On the west coast of Norway we never really know what winter we will have. A couple of winters ago we had so much snow it wasn’t funny (well actually it was 🙂 ), then there is the no-snow-freezing winter and last year we had a mild wet winter. So you see.. it’s hard to know what to prepare the garden for.

Last weekend, I cleaned up my water-feature and packed away the power, pump and lining. I packed away the pump/filter for my automatic watering system and cleared away some pots and plants.

I’ve started to pull my Begonias from the ground (have one big pot left I’ll take care off this weekend), I store the tubers indoors during winter. And I have one big pot of Dahlia which I’m keeping outside until the first frost and then it’s going in, just like the Begonias. Fortunately for me I have a friend that have a storage room that I can keep bulbs and tubers in (you see, my storage room is warmer than my house 😦  )

I’ve washed all my patio furniture and yesterday they were all packed together under the furniture cover (living in 807 square feet.. I have NO storage for my outdoor furnitures, except the pillows).

I have to admit, I’m not to fond of this time a year, when I have to pack “summer” away. It makes my patio (and me) a little sad 😦 The view from the living-room isn’t quite as cosy as it it during the summer months.

It’s not like I don’t like winter. Winter can be really beautiful, especially when we have those beautiful cold crystal clear days.

I’m just not quite ready to welcome the winter yet 🙂 Fortunately, I don’t have to, as there are still plants that are flowering in the yard, so I’m hanging on to “summer” a little while longer 😉

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“Homemade” apple juice

My step mum have two apple trees on her allotment. One little one and one big brute of a tree! Somewhere along the way she decided it be a good idea to pick the apples, but she didn’t want any.. would I?

Saturday last weekend, a friend of mine and me, moseyed over there and picked the trees clean. With the exception of about 6 apples hanging so high there was no way I was going to get to them, without risking my “life”. Yes.. had a little “scare” when my ladder started to slip because a branch gave in, or rather to be absolutely frank with you, it broke! Not a comfy feeling let me tell you 😉 So I caved and left the last ones on the tree. Better safe than sorry.. right? 😉

There are a couple of places in town that lets you do something about your apples.

One place will exchange 1,25 kg of apples for a 0,7 litre bottle already made apple juice (of the type that has been treated to last a while). You pay for the juice, but you pay less than normal, since you are bringing the apples.

There is another place in town where they will press apples into fresh apple juice for a small fee. Since this is not treated apple juice (pure fresh, as if you used a juicer yourself) they will only last a few days, so you will be needing some room in your freezer for storage.

Since this was the first time ever, trying this (and we had no clue if the apples were good or not), we decided it be a good idea to try both of the options above.

So off we went with about 60 kg worth of apples 🙂

We delivered about 38 kg to the “swap” place! Which amounted to 30 bottles of juice at reduced price. But since we had no idea if that juice was any good or not, we decided to buy only 15 bottles this time, which gives us a another 15 we can buy later.

Then we delivered  22/23 kg at the apple press place, and would you believe it, it amounted to about 17,5 litres of freshly pressed! Woohoo 🙂 How’s that for utilising our resources, and they are guaranteed organic (since nobody have done didli squat with the trees in years) 🙂

Which one tasted the best? As nice as the juice at the swap place is, I have to admit the freshly pressed is way better. So guess which version I’ll be doing next year? Yepp, the freshly pressed way (depending on how much room I can borrow in my friends freezers 😉 )

Did we save some? Yes, off course! The little tree had some really nice red tasty apples, and these are kept outdoors in my garden box. So right now, I’m eating apples like a crazy person 😉

 

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September tally!

It’s that time again! That monthly catch up to let you know how I did with my decluttering task last month 🙂

So how did I do? Well, actually not to bad for a change. Much better than the last few months.

SEPTEMBER TALLY of things “out-the-door” =  103 items!

81 – items on my – Another crazy purge! And a very happy neighbour. – day!

  • 5 notebooks
  • 2 “baskets”
  • 1 furry pillowcase
  • 1 furry blanket
  • 1 wool carpet
  • 1 file organizer
  • 1 Ikea storage box
  • 40 hangers – counted as 1
  • 4 packs of hanging “lamps”
  • 1 empty tea box
  • 1 roll of stretchable wire
  • 1 wineglass box
  • 3 presentation portfolios
  • 2 packs of table decorations
  • 1 sauté pan
  • 2 purple pillowcases
  • 2 large candles
  • 1 glass container for candles or flowers
  • 1 picture from Virgin Islands
  • 6 cloth place mats
  • 6 plastic place mats
  • 4 Texas cloth napkins – counted a 1
  • 1 plastic table runner
  • 1 red cloth pot holder
  • 2 green glasses
  • 1 bag of decorative rocks
  • 1 glass soap dispenser
  • 1 bamboo plate
  • 2 more large candles
  • 4 bags of decorative stones
  • 6 white wine glasses
  • 6 red wine glasses
  • 2 camping chairs
  • 4 flowerpots
  • 2 glass plant watering things
  • 1 outdoor recliner
  • 2 big floor flowerpots

What else? Lets see – there was:

  • 15 KLM Delft Blue Miniature Houses – that I gave to a friend in – A Tiny Village
  • 1 garden storage box – as part of my – Garden give aways! – together with
  • 3 flowerpots
  • 2 trays for the flowerpots
  • and one of my Hydrangeas

Now…  There is just one thing! As you know, I’ve just had a birthday and as part of having a birthday I added some items to my possession. Between the birthday celebration in Stavanger late August which I told you about in – I’ve been partying 😉 and my celebration trip to Houston (where my suitcase also got lost for a few days) written about in – What I gained this trip – a few items have made it in-the-door!

Let’s see… oh my gosh it’s – 33 items in-the-door!!!

Stavanger party – 6 items in-the-door

  • 1 Birdhouse w/seeds
  • 1 decorative glass elephant
  • 2 small decorative candle holders – counted as 1 since it was a set
  • 1 notebook + sticky notes – counted as 1 since it was a set
  • 1 pink IKEA box that the “birdhouse” gift came in
  • 1 garden book
  • Bunch of champagne bottles, but they don’t count as we drank them 😉
  • and a bunch of birthday cards – think I’ll count them together with the ones I got in Houston

Houston trip – 27 items in-the-door

  • 8 T-shirts
  • 1 shirt
  • 2 bras
  • 3 undies
  • 2 sleep shorts
  • 2 pair of jeans
  • 5 books
  • 2 notebooks
  • 1 ring
  • and a bunch of birthday cards

So… I got a question for you!

When items comes in-the-door, should these be offset against items out-the-door? (I kinda think so)

Or do should I get to keep my out-the-door items “intact” for my final count for the year? What do you think?

 

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Garden give aways!

Before I left for Houston, a few of my outdoor items was moved over to my step-mums allotment. She needed a garden storage box and I had one to many 😉

At the same time I figured I could clear out some more stuff, and she ended up with 3 flowerpots, 2 trays for the flowerpots and one of my Hydrangeas, in addition to the garden storage box.

At the time I totally forgot to take the pictures for my blog 😦

Today though, I went over to her allotment to pick some apples from one of her apple trees 🙂 and I figured it was as good a time as any, to show you the things that made it out-the-door (or out-of-garden as it was) before I left for my Houston trip.

I guess.. better late than never.. right? 😉

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What I gained this trip!

As you all know, I’ve been on this mission to declutter and get rid of stuff!

Going to Houston I had plans to buy 2 t- shirts and 1 pair of jeans as replacement for worn out stuff. That was, until my luggage went missing!

Yes you heard right! Upon landing in Houston, my luggage was still sitting in Stavanger. It had never made it on the plane… ???

“Well” I thought “that’s OK, it will make it here tomorrow… No sweat”

Turns out tomorrow came and went, and so did the next day, and the next, and during my “hunt” for information, nobody and I mean nobody seemed to have any idea where in the world my luggage was!

Fortunately the friend I was staying with, is of the generous type, but after three days of walking around in oversized men’s clothing, I caved and went shopping.

2 t-shirts, 2 bras, 3 undies, 1 sleep shorts and a couple of jeans later, I get the phone call I had been waiting for “We have your luggage ma’am, it will be delivered today”!

“Well that don’t sound too bad”, you’re thinking, “you were going to buy some of that anyway”. You’re right, I was… but what I promptly forgot in the middle of all this, is that I went to Houston to celebrate my birthday. And just because my intentions were no birthday gifts…. 😉

So here I am, returning from my “wasn’t going to buy anything trip” with an extra set of items in my luggage:

  • 8 T-shirts
  • 1 shirt
  • 2 bras
  • 3 undies
  • 2 sleep shorts
  • 2 pair of jeans
  • 5 books
  • 2 notebooks
  • 1 ring
  • and a bunch of birthday cards

That’s 27 new items in-the-door!

This was not quite according to plan!

I must say though, I kinda really did need a few replacement pieces of clothing… 😉 and I am very appreciative of my wonderful friends gifts, which have given me some new favourite pieces 🙂

Hmm, guess this means, I will have to start a hunt for items to shed, to make up for what just came into my house…

HELP!!!

How do you guys handle unexpected gifts coming into your house?

 

A Tiny Village

Since 1952 KLM have been handing out Delft Blue Miniature Houses that are replicas of some of the Old Dutch Houses situated along the canals in Amsterdam and other age-old towns in Holland. These are normally given to people that travel in business class.

I’ve been traveling a bit over the years and between me and friends traveling on KLM, I have acquired quite a collection of these houses.

In the name of decluttering, I have decided to downsize this collection a little, I don’t really need them all, and they take up space. So I’m keeping 9 (for now) and giving away the rest.

I have a friend of mine in Houston, and his mother is a big collector of the KLM houses. So guess where my left over houses are going?

YEPP, you’ve guessed it 😉 I’ve packed about half of the give always in my suitcase coming over to Houston, and I’m handing them over today!

So today! 15 Tiny houses goes out-the-door (or out-of-suitcase as it is) 🙂

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Woohoo – Houston here I come!

I can’t believe it’s September 12th already, and I’m about to get on a plane to jolly old Houston!

It’s going to be a fun but busy trip! There are birthdays to celebrate (no, not just mine), friends to meet,lunches, dinners and not to forget a spa day 🙂

I’ll try my best to stay connected while I’m enjoying the warm days in shorts, t-shirt, flip-flops and hopefully a frozen margaritas in my hand 😉