Day 14: Progress, I think.

Things were nailed and drilled (into the framework, get your mind out of the gutter), and now the outside of the house has some plastic sheeting on it. KWC fixtures were delivered (woo hoo! Faucets and sinks!) and I saw a box of something that had been delivered, with the words “this side up” printed upside-down on the side. The far right photo shows the hole Mr. FB stepped into during the progress meeting last Friday. Put his foot clear into the basement. Nothing was hurt but his pride.

Stats: Weather: Freaking HOT. Drivers with Connecticut Plates: Numerous. Driving skill on a scale of 1 to 10: 3. (If anyone can tell me why Connecticut people are always around here and why they are such lousy drivers, I’d appreciate it. Thx in advance.) Hours I saw Firstie: 1/10, if you count watching him drive off.

Day 13: The Nanas Near; Finnish Folk Metal; Human Weapons

As you can see, it looks about the same. I’m committed to posting something every work day until the kitchen is done and in case you were wondering: yeah, it’s kind of dull to me, too.

So, there it is.

What I call my Reeducation in music genres has taken a new turn: Metal. I didn’t know there was Christian Metal, Death Metal, Country Metal … but apparently, there’s something called Finnish Folk Metal. They sing in Finnish (or whatever Fins speak — maybe Finspeak?) and it sounds a little like a polka band. My sons like it, and Firstie insists that his planned trip to Amsterdam, Finland and Germany next year is not for legal pot and hookers, but for Metal music. Sigh.

Secondie and his friend with the cool hat are watching a show about Human Weapons, and I said it looks like nunchuks to me.

Eyes rolled as I was informed that the whatever-sticks are not, in fact, nunchuks: 4

Approximate number of times the lovely Desiree said, “please,” as she kicked my butt at the gym today: 12.

Mushrooms Moved, Hydroponics, Firstborn’s Home

that about sums up the Famiglia Foodbabe’s weekend.

Mushrooms Moved: Secondborn has constructed a mushroom laboratory (ahem: pronounced like in Dexter’s Lab: lah BORRR atory) and hydroponic growing system in our basement. Previously, the mushrooms were being grown in his room — on purpose. If all goes as planned, he’ll be harvesting morels, chanterelles, and maitaki (sp? better check) and has big plans to sell them for lots of $$ to restaurants around town. I told him he’d have the best chance of that, if he doesn’t tell his favorite joke: “How do you make a small fortune in the restaurant business?” (egad, don’t ask for the punch line. It makes me wince, and makes him and his friends laugh their butts off. Okay, you got it out of me: “You start with a large fortune!” pa-dum-PUM. Thank you, he’ll be here all week.)

We spent four hours Saturday in Nyack (which he insists on pronouncing “n’yack,” as in “n’yuk n’yuk n’yuk”), purchasing black buckets, little clay ball thingies and other stuff that no one at the store believed was going to be used to grow hot peppers. More on that as it develops.

Firstie came home tonight after a nice long visit to his girlfriend’s house in Glendale, California. Yes, California. I love driving home from JFK after one of these trips; he’s usually in a talkative mood and tonight we talked a lot about him going off to college in a few weeks. He says he’s set: three pairs of jeans, a t-shirt, some shoes, and his iPod and computer is all he’ll need. Oh — and a refrigerator for his dorm room. Nothing else, though. But money. And some food. And a credit card …

Day 12: Removing Windows and Releasing The Hound

As you can see, we no longer have windows — just plywood. We no longer have wooden supports holding up the second floor– just steel beams. We no longer have water or heat ducts to the third floor, but you’ll have to trust me on that. CE assures me that soon we’ll have a “box” to work with — all the plumbing, wiring, etc., will be done, and the walls and floors and ceiling closed — and then the detailing will begin.

Jean-Luc escaped today and I had to go out into the neighborhood to find him. I had to stop and think what interests him the most: Food, garbage cans, other dogs/kids, construction workers? Hah! Try “people in the neighborhood who despise dogs and think tiny kittens are filthy creatures.” Of course he was at that house and thankfully, no one was home. When he saw me, he raced full-tilt and then tried to avoid me and run away. But since he’s a Basset Hound, sometimes breeding takes over, and I nearly had to carry him the 1/4 mile home.

Workouts skipped today: 1 Donuts consumed: 1/2 Naps taken: 0 Inches I feel like my butt has sagged: 5.

Day 11: Steel Beams and Architectural Details

Well, the steel beams are in, both the supporting beams and the one that runs the length of the kitchen space. The second floor is still on the second floor, and I have a sneaking suspicion these guys have done this before! Nice job, everyone. Now, teach me how to cuss in Russian (note to self: Google it first, then surprise them). The beams are a nice dark red color and go straight down the middle of the photo. Next to that photo is the back of the house, ready for them Nanawalls I keep yapping about (about which I yap?).

Annmarie, Architect Extraordinaire and mother of three (aged 6, 3 and 2 weeks) called today with a terrific detail. Once again, I found myself nodding as she spoke. This has happened a good bit during the process; her eye misses nothing, and I’m SO lucky to have her on my side. She owns this kitchen and if I were her, I’d have slapped me a while ago.

Day 10: More help at home than at work

So I get to work today and most of my staff didn’t show. One was in lockdown, one was AWOL, and the one who did come in for one shift is a sweet kid, a terrific help and showed real talent in stretching pizza dough and stirring seasonings into tomato sauce. Then he went to play basketball.

The jobsite here had lots and lots of people wiring things, taking things out, putting things in, and taking things off trucks. If I photographed my garage, you’d see lots more stuff piled on top of other stuff. If I’d photographed the lumber truck or the electrician’s truck or the contractor’s truck, they’d think I was nuts and I’d like them to think I’m perfect for just a few more days. So I just photographed the interior walls AGAIN.

I promise, there’ll be more in another day or so.

This morning, I went to the gym and Nick, who used to be a sweetheart but now is very mean to me, made me do Core Strengthening. Bleah! Yeah, I know it’s good for me and yeah, I know I’m at “that age” when I have to think of flexibility and all that but damn, I’d rather pump iron. Makes me feel like She-Ra, Princess of Power.

Miscellaneous stats: People I offended: 1. Amount I care: 0% Evil grins I’m wearing just remembering … one big one!

Day 9: At Least We Had Water!

What a nice plumber! Instead of turning things off today and letting Secondie have his bathroom back sometime Thursday, he is coming back Thursday to shut us down, reroute pipes, and do whatever plumbers do. You know, for the Nanawalls. Because once the flitch beam (flitch beam, flitch beam) is installed, well, life will be better, my teeth will be whiter, my children more attractive and well behaved (if that’s possible!), etc.

Jean-Luc broke into the job site via the outdoors today, and none of us know how he managed to get the door to the outside open, unless he sprouted opposable thumbs and didn’t tell us. Though maybe that’s what he was trying to do the other day when I thought he was getting ready to hurl.

Two of the younger boys at work today tried to hit me up for a quarter. The security guard apologized for leaving me alone with a few of them for a half-hour. I guess I better work on my Jujitsu. We made chili and they did a terrific job, though they all dissed my corn bread (wasn’t my fault, officer!) and I did a long critique of my own work at the end of the night. Golfers and cooks are never happy with their work. It can always be a lit-tle bit better.

Hey, I need to remember that this is a Renovation blog. It’s hard right now to see what’s been done, because like books that do not translate well into movies, the conflict is internal (ewww, that stinks, but I’m leaving it in). Speaking of external conflicts, Mr. Foodbabe,who is usually mild-mannered, is irritated about Secondie’s mushroom project which is a story for another day. Off I go to moderate — but first, a photo. All that really looks different from yesterday, is the plywood on the outside of two of the soon-to-be-replaced patio doors. The photo on the right is of a couple of timbers that I don’t recall from yesterday. Plus, there was a wire hanging down that definitely was not there yesterday. Yes, I’m obsessing and yes, I know how weird it is.

Day 8: Fabby Saves The Day!

and yes, the workers showed up and yes, they worked and drilled and sawed and all that. The rooms look pretty much the same, and the Nanawalls are taking shape in the garage. That’s Jean-Luc, surveying the day’s work. He checks in every now and then to see if everyone’s cool, if they have what they need.

My first day on the job was interesting. I teach at-risk teenaged boys how to cook. For our first night, it was Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, sausages, fruit. After a few attempts to ignite the stove (including someone else’s lofty assumption that I had my head up my butt and didn’t know HOW to turn it on — until s/he couldn’t do it either), we learned that the propane tank that fueled the stove had been removed some time ago. Despair settled over the Village Store until I went to the trunk of the car and pulled out my trusty Toastmaster Electric Griddle which I’d loaded earlier in the day, just in case. Voila! Breakfast for Dinner.

Did you miss me?

All was quite Casa Foodbabe over the weekend. Firstie took off for a last trip to California, to see his girlfriend and spend some time at Venice beach (not in the weight pen — and he says he watches the PETA protests while munching on a hot dog). Secondie’s mushroom project is moving along very well and he’s hoping to have Morels for me by the fall.

Today on the jobsite is going to be interesting: Plumbing and electrical rerouting, more Nanwall preparation, and I start a job. A part-time job, but a good one, and I’m very excited about it. Technically, that’s not on ‘this’ jobsite, but I had to toss it in there.

When I post this evening, I’ll have more to say about all of it. Until then, I leave you with these thoughts: Some Irish guy won a British golf tournament. Basset Hounds smell best the day after they are bathed. When I listen to Heavy Metal music I think of Animal from Sesame Street in the back of the band, playing drums.

Check in around 9 p.m. for a bit on Fabby’s First Day of Teaching At Risk Youth how to cook. Until then –

Day 7: Oooh, that smell!

Yes, we had a little Lynrd Skynrd AND some glue-gun action on the site yesterday. In addition, Jean-Luc broke into the workers’ areas and ate their donuts. It came back to haunt him at 4:30 a.m. and you know how it is with these doggies: if it haunts them, it haunts us. Glad to start your day with such a nice visual!

You can see that all things lead to the Nanawalls’ impending installtion: Supporting beams being built so that the second floor stays put while the steel beam goes in, and the removal of the windows that let us look out onto our deck (and let half the neighborhood look in). We also had the little built-in slider door from the kitchen to the dining room removed. Not gonna miss that.