69. Rounding the edges…

June 19, 2013September 8, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

While I was having fun in the sun on the first ever Sisters’ Vacation, Mr. H.C. was hard at work. When I asked him over the phone what he was doing, he said, “Oh, working…” So I let it alone, and wondered what project he was doing… He had permission to organize his shop, lay in the hammock under the trees, and take naps.

He admitted to laying in the hammock for fifteen minutes one evening (see post 18. Gifts of Time.) but he declined to take any naps. This is the almost-finished project that greeted me on Saturday evening.

This project included insulating the space that was “the cave under the cottage“, wiring the cave so there would be a permanent light there, hanging and electrifying the schoolhouse light fixture over the counter, finishing the outlets and wall switch, bolting the two cabinets together, and adding the butcher block top. (And pouring glasses of wine…)

On Monday, I added the doors to the cupboards — it took me hours to find the hinges, spray paint the hinges, find screws that would fit, and put the closers on the doors. I wouldn’t do well being paid for my labor, but the end result was pleasing. New counter top in kitchen

The butcher block top is not yet bolted down; we are still trying to decide which side will get the overhang — the kitchen or the dining room. I was thinking of voting for a symmetrical look of even on both sides.

I’m thinking that the countertop is too square; Mr. H.C. doesn’t want to hear it. I would like to curve the ends on one side. Correction: I would like Mr. H.C. to get out whatever saw will work and curve the ends on one side. He’s still thinking about that; the other option would be to round the edges on the end — you know, where everyone would walk through, bump against the corners, and bruise their hips? Kind of like life? Rounded edges are better than sharp corners…

Here’s the photo that was my inspiration:

See how the edges of the island are gently curved on one side?

Do any of you out there in reader-land have an opinion on this?

67. Gadget stuff

May 30, 2013October 20, 2014 / Apple Hill Cottage / 12 Comments

This is part 5 of several posts discussing Richard Foster’s chapter on Simplicity in Celebration of Discipline.

I ~~need~~ want a new IPhone.

There is nothing wrong with mine, except it’s old. A 3GS. If you’re not up on IPhones, that’s 3 models ago. The 4, 4S, and 5 have come out since. A few months ago, I got Mr. H.C. an upgrade for his. He needed one; his little slider thingy (technical jargon) was broken, and he couldn’t silence it, plus it was looking pretty bad because he is a construction guy, and his phone gets a lot of hard use, and he just needed a new phone.

He didn’t want one. Mr. H.C. is not a tekkie; he uses his phone for convenience and work and just wants a phone that will do everything for him and has a short learning curve. (He’s a busy guy.) So I bought him a 4 — not that much different from his old 3G, but it has Siri, and it has a great camera. Yes, a great camera. That’s why I ~~need~~ want one.

Unfortunately Richard Foster reminds me (yet again) that I am falling short here too. I know, I know, we all fall short…

Victoria Elizabeth Barnes, said in a recent blog post, “Incidentally— when you start a blog, you have NO IDEA that you need to take 12,000 pictures of EVERYTHING.” And yes, she is absolutely right! Not only does one need space for one’s thousands of photos, the new IPhone cameras take Panoramic shots, which one absolutely needs if one is trying to show a room transformation… Look at these panoramic shots of the kitchen:

Apple Hill Kitchen

Panorama Apple Hill Kitchen
Yes, these were taken by Mr. H.C’s phone. And not only does it have Panorama options, it also has HDR capabilities. Right! I’m not really a tekkie either, so I only recently learned what this is. It means High Dynamic Range imaging; a few posts ago I complained about not being able to get a good photo of the inside and outside of the kitchen windows in the same shot. That’s what HDR does —

By definition, photography is the art of recording light. This act must be done with the camera sensor — which is only capable of capturing a certain range of light intensity at any given time. Even the most expensive and most professional cameras on the market are not equipped with sensors that can capture all ranges of light in one photograph. That’s where “HDR photography” comes in.”

This was from an article on IPhoneography that I went back to study. So, this photo was taken with Mr. H.C.’s camera as well:

HDR technology at work — this is the shot I could never get with either my Canon or my IPhone. I deleted all the tries or I would show you the difference.

If I had my priorities straight, I could be in agreement with TWO of Mr. Foster’s rules for a simple life here.

Refuse to be propagandized by custodians of modern gadgetry.
Learn to enjoy things without owning them. (See post 65. More Stuff on Stuff.)

Most of the time Mr. H. C. is agreeable when I ask to borrow his phone. Last weekend I took eight pictures with it. But sometimes he wants to use it himself? Like tonight, for instance, I wanted to upload the photos onto the Mac and he said, “Well how long will it take?”
Right. Never mind, I’ll do it later.

Convenience! That’s what we want, and we want it now. (Sigh) Oh those wants vs. needs… They are so troublesome. Especially when it comes to tech gadgets. Those custodians of modern gadgetry sure have us propagandized, don’t they? Face it, I have three perfectly good digital cameras at my fingertips, and I’m not satisfied? There is something wrong with this picture. (It must not be in HDR!)

64. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Kitchen…

May 11, 2013January 20, 2016 / Apple Hill Cottage / 9 Comments

Everywhere I look
Finished walls and doors,
beautiful shiny floors
What a grand place to cook!

Yes, yes, I know. Bad rhymes again. But every time I walk into the kitchen I feel like singing (and dancing on the checkerboard floor). We’re getting close to the drum roll, but not yet. Still no stove. Still no French doors. But we redded up the place on Saturday in preparation for visitors — it is spring after all — and it looks almost like a real kitchen.

This is the built-in floor to ceiling spice rack. The bottom shelves are larger to hold olive oil and larger bottles.

It was well that we neatened everything up, because we had more visitors on Saturday than we’ve ever had in one day. We even had our first international guests — our son-in-law’s parents from Spain are here visiting. Such a lovely time we had; I would have given anything to speak the same language…

His mom is an artist, and I was so pleased she noticed the kitchen windows. For outside the windows is the green green grass of spring, and inside the windows on the wall is Blooming Grove green.

The inside green and the outside green are separated by the creamy white of the windows, and I love it. I can’t manage a photo of it though. When I take a shot of the grass outside, the inside green is too dark; when I take a shot of the interior walls, the outside blurs. If someone out there in readerland is a photographer and can tell me how to do this, I’d be happy. In the meantime, you’ll have to look at these two photos and pretend.

the green green grass of spring

Sunlight, Shadows, and Metamerism

We’ve also put wainscoting on the short wall that flows out to the peninsula between the living room and dining room. We’re still working on the rest of the wall as it turns the corner. The beam that separates the two rooms has to go up first. This is good because it means that we can finally get rid of these 2x4s that we’ve been walking around and through for the past year.

Hey, the human species is very adaptable — we can get used to almost anything! (Washing dishes in the bathroom sink was tough though…)

We’ve put the island back in place. A dark oak cupboard will go on the wall next to the green door.

We actually ate dinner in the kitchen on Monday night — on stools around the island — even though the stove is still in the living room. It was still a little too cool to eat on the porch, but it is ready for spring.