Good to catch up with everyone! Summer is always a busy time here. Lots of visitors who want to go the the ocean, and that means the whole day. Then having something cooked so when we get back we can have dinner. When my son and dil are here with their 4 little ones, it is VERY busy, and it takes a few days of down time to catch up with chores, etc. I do try to keep up with some blog events, and today I posted pics of the kitchen improvements we did.. I will link it so you can look if you like..I know some of you asked.. Betty, Congrats! How wonderful! Hope your dh is doing well too! Mo, good thoughts for you! Hope all turns out well. Speaking of which, Jane was having some medical concerns too, so please have positive thoughts for her too! OA, that's great! What do you use to show movies? An outdoor projector of some kind? It plays dvd's?? Cool! That would be great for here at the beach pavilion..although we have gnat issues here.. No bugs at night by you? Mary Ruth, I thought you had moved already! I remember when you said you were taking a break from HTE and Wicker Chair to get ready for the move.. And how is Judith? I know you are good friends.. Jay, good to hear from you too...You have been busy! DD have a good trip to the US! I have never been to your fair country! NCNana, we do out share of babysitting too.. 8 yo gdau has been a cast since school got out, and she won't get it off till Sept. Terrible time to break your arm..roller blades..ugh! Luvs, so good of you to start this thread.. Lynne, best wishes for your dau..I will pray for her.. and thank her for her service for me! Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen updates

Thanks for the re-welcoming responses everyone! :) Skip the individual replies below and go to the next post to read more about kitchen details... Julie - the crossing of your body parts is WORKING! Dianalo - thanks for the fingers crossing - it's totally working - and yes I agree there has been too much drama! Johnliu - thank you! That's a major super kind compliment - especially considering how many pictures you see on this forum! :) I really appreciate it and thanks for thinking of me. It's going better now, at least re. the kitchen! Aliris19 - I KNOW! Crazy weird. I don't get it - the best I can come up with is that I somehow acquired some bad karma! Kathe - thank you. It's finally working out - yay! More details below, about the kitchen. Re. my husband, I'd love to give you some better news but yesterday we went to the doc after he had a second echocardiogram (sp?) and much to our surprise (since he's feeling and looking better and has adjusted well to the meds) they said he wasn't doing as well as they'd hoped - especially for his relatively younger age and relative health. His heart hasn't decreased in size and his EF% did get to a safer/higher number (between 30-35 as opposed to the 20-25 it was before) but it has to be 40 or above to be able to prevent getting a pacemaker put in. :( So now he's facing that and he's incredibly discouraged after how well he was feeling. Also, some of his heart is apparently dead now (?) - forget the terminology - so a second advantage of the pacemaker is that a third wire can be put in which will help sort of stimulate that area, if I'm understanding correctly. The doc says the way my husband's heart is now, he has a 5-10% chance of dying which is of course high, though he thinks on the low end cause of his general health. But still that's high!!! I forgot what the number is after the pacemaker though. He said he recommends doing it soon but he said an alternative would be up the meds (which is happening either way/regardless) and then wait 6 weeks to see if his EF# gets up to 40 but he said that's very unlikely and that postponing things is a risk, especially since we have 3 kids (and no life insurance, thank you very much...or you can thank my husband very much...we fought about this so many times prior to his diagnosis - it kills me to think about!). My husband wants to wait the 6 weeks, which is a pretty big concern - I'm pretty worried about this. I mean if you look at this as "how much luck is this couple having lately" - it points to HAVE THE SURGERY DONE NOW. Doesn't it?! Thanks for inquiring, and sorry to have such a long reply! Marcolo - thank you! You can see the details about the hubby in the above post - and thanks for thinking of him! As for the Jaclo faucet, here's what I have to say about it TODAY anyway: I love so much about it, but the particular one I ordered has had some issues which appear to be a major fluke based on everything I've read and heard about them. The company has been very good about responding appropriately and they're about to send me a brand spanking new one. They've send some individual replacement parts which have worked out relatively well but not well enough for the amount the faucet costs! In other words for the price, this thing needs to be tight and working beautifully in every way, IMO! The man who's helping me said that the moment the order comes in from my local store (I won't be charged) he's going to take it off the shelf himself and make sure there's no jiggling in the neck and that everything else looks and works perfectly. I've been wanting to talk about the faucet on here but have been waiting to see if the issues could get resolved first so that I can give a thorough and fair review. I do love the faucet though, even with the issues. I just love how funky and different it is while also appearing period-appropriate...I love the hidden sprayer that doesn't require putting holes in your countertop, I love the choice of very high-end levers/colors or the stainless wheels option and I love love love the gorgeous polished solid stainless body that isn't as cold as chrome - it's much more like polished nickel warmth-wise but more durable. Also, because my countertop is stainless, it's a perfect match. Not blue as chrome or yellow as nickel. :) Fori - thank you! Flwrs n co - your positive juju is working! I'm going to be able to show pics soon it appears. The paint on the upper original cabs and crappy old windows (lead paint, mind you) is another matter. Not sure how to afford that but it looks terrible compared to all the other nice work. But you'll just have to look past that! :) Thank you for the well-wishes. We'll take any and all that we (he) can get right now. Honorbiltkit - I can picture this dance in my mind, perfectly. Why do I have a feeling you're a writer? Cluelessincolorado - it's good to know if I'm gone too long, you'll head up the search party! ;) #3 is making me so happy. Read below to hear all about it. Thank you for the well-wishes, including for my badly-needed sanity...you have NO IDEA, honestly (they're talking about sending me away for a week so I can get some respite - but that's mostly cause the kids are making me crazy. I think I'm developing a tick!!)!!!! Details about kitchen in the next post below...

After 40+ years of infallible service with never a repair from my loyal classic Maytag, I am shopping for a new washer & dryer. I am considering Miele compact Classic W1 and T1 (for its regular 120 electric outlet plug) because all regular sizes have become too large for my small laundry area. Yes, it is an investment to pay $400 more (plus taxes) for each Miele, but I was justifying the solid German quality. But now reading about Miele bearings failing in such a short time (5-7 years) makes me wonder if any brand can assure us of its reliability. I never heard of washer bearings with my classic workhorse Maytag; are these bearings a technology of modern times that has proven problematic for all brands? Of course, the company would encourage you to buy their extended warranty for $320 (after you overpaid $400 for each Classic Miele. I understand the frustrated Miele customers who opt to just buy cheaper brands that they would not be upset replacing every 7 years.

Well the water problem is fixed. Mike and I went to the hardware store yesterday and he bought what he needed to fix the problem. I am so lucky he was taught by his father to do many things. We came back to the RV and within half an hour we had running water. It sure is good to be able to turn on the faucet again. We now have 10 gallons of water in the shower.