How to buy a refrigerator...by John and Michele Rietz

Our shiny, brand new refrigerator

To say that we have a hard time making decisions and actually following through is a HUGE understatement!  So, for us to actually have a new refrigerator purchased, brought home and installed in our kitchen, well, that is news-worthy if anything ever was.

Our old refrigerator is original with our house (1992) and although it still kept our food cold, it was only a matter of time before we would have been shopping around for a new one.  It was already a little moody, and more than once froze our poor lettuce and a few other unsuspecting vegetables.  So, we decided to be proactive and buy a new one before we were desperate and HAD to buy something on a moment's notice (see above:)

Follow these steps for a fool-proof way to select the perfect refrigerator for your home.

1- Measure your space and determine it is not tall enough for one of the new full size French Door models.
2 - Become discouraged and stop even thinking about it. (Do steps 1 & 2 several years ahead of time)
3 - See a counter depth fridge at a friend's home and open the conversation again.
4 - Stop in at an appliance store and see how much more money a counter depth fridge is, for less capacity.
Repeat step 2, but only sit on it for about a week.
5 - Stop at the appliance section of Home Depot and re-visit the issue.  Realize that you actually have the height necessary.  Do a little happy dance!
6 - Look at several fridges at different appliance stores and find one you really like.  Check the reviews on-line to find out how many people regret buying it.  Stop dancing.
7 - Invoke the powers of the Refrigerator Fairy to just drop the perfect one in your kitchen.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 several times.
8 - Finally find two models that are the right size, have the right features and are even on sale.  Decide to go ahead and give in on the Stainless Steel fight because you really like the 2-drawer freezer idea.
9 - Measure the space you have to get the appliance through to get into the kitchen.  Realize you would have to take it up and over the bar!  (Remember the first part of Step 2? and Step 7?)
10 - Look at the options you have left.
11 - Realize there is also a potential problem with the cupboard next to the refrigerator.  Do a little measuring and confirm those suspicions.  (By now you are automatically reverting to Steps 2 and 7.  No conscious effort is necessary.)
12 - Go look one more time at what seems to be your one and only option.  Confirm that it is, bite the bullet, and hand over your credit card.
12A - DO NOT LOOK AT ANY REVIEWS!
13 - Wait to receive the call that it is in at the store, ask a friend for help to pick it up (with his pick up) and get it into your kitchen ASAP.
14 - Share your "fool-proof" method so others can benefit from your experience.

You are welcome.

And if any of you remember this post from a while ago, you'll notice the front of my new fridge is pretty empty.  I am making a conscious effort to NOT put stuff on it for now.  Just to see if I like it better.  We'll see...

"Uncle"

As a general rule, I consider myself pretty good at adapting to change.  I know it is a necessary part of life, and yet, occasionally, there comes a situation that I just can't embrace.  This is the story of when I had to recently cry "Uncle".

The story starts about a year ago.  We got serious about changing our 23 year-old countertops as the old ones were, well, you can go here if you really want to see them.  (They were beyond starting to look worn out, so the color wasn't the only reason they needed to change.)

Not being ones to rush into things, we finally got the new ones installed in June, and got the backsplash installed shortly there after.  I love the new look.  I think it suits our style very well and I feel like our kitchen has come into the 21st century.  (Yes, I know there are still orange cabinets.  Do not be looking for those to change anytime soon.  I guess I have to change my statement to say that "part" of the kitchen is now in the 21st century!  :)  There were a few things I wanted done differently, but as I didn't get my way, I will just have to continue working on getting over those.  :)  

One thing, though, was a problem from the minute I started putting things back on the countertops.  My beloved KitchenAid would NOT slide under the cabinet in its usual spot!  No way, no how!  Believe me, I tried.  There was one space it fit, but it was across the room.  Now, I my kitchen isn't huge, but it also isn't a galley kitchen, so across the room was a big adjustment.  I was left with 2 choices when I wanted to use my mixer - 

1 - Use it where it was and make trips back and forth for supplies and ingredients, or

2 - Carry it to the bar which is more conveniently located to most things. (I know, not the heaviest appliance in the world, but still not feather-light either!)

They were both workable ideas, and I tried them both for about 6 months, but a few weeks ago, I finally threw in the towel, tilted the mixer enough so I could get it under the lip of the cabinet, and cried "Uncle", really loud!  There it will stay.  It will not come sliding out every time I want to use it.  It will be harder to clean up spills and spatters, blah, blah, blah.  I know, first world problems and I should just be grateful I even have a KitchenAid, because believe me, I use it and I love it!  But...the spoiled part of me is still a little ticked at the whole thing.  Ticked and a little suspicious of why there is one part of the kitchen it WILL fit in, when it won't anywhere else.  It must mean the countertops and/or cabinets are not truly level, but I'm going to pretend that isn't a possibility and not waste my time trying to figure it out.  I'd rather waste it ranting about the fact that it plain doesn't fit where I am used to it being. Because, if you can't change it, the next best thing is a good rant!  

Apparently, I cannot adjust to change in all things.  

Now, I guess, the only thing I can do is figure out how to embrace this and move on...(I'm working on it!)

Complete - The kitchen remodel (finally!)

If you ask any of our kids, they will tell you, as decision makers, John and I rank between slow and downright tortoise-like.  

Our pending kitchen remodel was no exception.  I started the process in December of last year.  Although, as far as choosing materials, and most of the other details, that stuff went pretty fast.  Getting a bid was a little slower, but that wasn't the problem either.  The problem was a difference of opinion that just couldn't be solved.  I won't go into the gruesome details, but suffice to say, someone isn't entirely happy with the way things ended up, but is choosing to not be bitter, as the rest of it is lovely, and such an improvement over the "before".  

A good representation of the "before".  I'm still wondering what possessed me to choose the green laminate all those years ago!!

"After" - I love it!  Note the new chairs as well.  I love the low profile back.

Here are the countertop and backsplash close up.  We love the skinny tiles, but take note - they are a huge pain to work with.  Especially getting the edges straight for an exposed edge. 

John gets high marks for being the man in the trenches and placing each tile sheet and figuring out the best way to cut the strips.  (I tried that last part and failed miserably.  More proof that Math and I just don't like each other.)  My strong suit was piecing odd stips together, and I did a lot of the grouting.  Although, I did a terrible job of wiping off the first section, and have some SERIOUS tile scraping to do.  That grout isn't coming off without a little elbow grease!  You can imagine those little tile pieces will take forever!!!  Just a note about tiling supplies.  We tried a product called Simple Mat and loved it.  You apply the two-sided, sticky sheets to the wall, and then stick the tile to it.  It worked really well, and was much less messy than the mortar would have been.  There is enough grit left after the grouting - I can't imagine how much of a mess the thin set would have been.  We also used pre-mixed grout, called Simple Grout, which we also highly recommend.  Both products were more expensive, a convenience tax, I suppose, but we felt the extra cost was worth it.  And as for the grit, I have a feeling we'll be dealing with that for at least a week, if not longer.  You think you have it all cleaned up, but the tell-tale scratchy sound comes right back when you set an item down on the counter.  Sigh!!

My other main contribution was being the Home Depot runner, sometimes going twice in one day!  That always makes me a little crazy!  And I have at least one more trip ahead of me to return the leftover materials.  That will be made less painful when I see the credit from Home Depot on my credit card statement.

There was a happy unexpected mama moment during this project.  I put the REO Speedwagon station on Pandora and we worked to LOTS of good late 70's/early 80's music.  That is the music John and I listened to in high school (before we knew each other) and then in college (part of which was when we were dating), two good things, plus, it is such great music!!!  A huge smile come to my face when my teenagers sang along with A LOT of the songs.  They love them also!  Just a little bridge between the generations!  I love it!!!

 I love the countertops.  They are quartz, and remind me of the bottom of a little streambed.  I also do really love the tile, despite the difficulty of installing it.  (Maybe it would have been easier for someone more experienced, and some of our issues came from being tile novices.  Who knows?)  I think when my older girls see it in person, they will say, "Yep, it looks just like something Mom would like", and I do.  

The feel of the kitchen is much warmer than before.  And a little richer.  It's all so good!

And, most important of all - it is finally done!!

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink, or water with, or (insert use)

Well, not "not a drop" but "not enough".  You would think living in a town bordered by two rivers, and not small ones at that, a well would last long enough to fill a family's needs, but alas, it is not so.  Our faithful well, that has served us for 22+ years is diminishing, and there's nothing we can do to save it.  Well, that isn't entirely accurate either.  We could spend an incredibly large amount of money to deepen it, but of course, as with all well-drilling operations, there is no guarantee.  So our solution is to join the local irrigation district and start paying for our water!  Gulp!!  That will be a hard pill for us, who are very spoiled, to swallow!!  Made even harder by the quantities we use during the summer to keep our yard looking so nice.  (Big round of applause to John who works hard to make and keep it looking that way!)  

So, that brings us to today's project - Dig a hole around the area where our well connects to our house and get it ready for the water people to connect us.  The area is in a flower bed at the side of our house, so there was a little plant rescue involved, but not too much, as most of the plants affected by the digging were plants that had spread a little (or a lot) farther than I wanted them to, so they were easily disposed of.  Trevor and John did the lion's share of the work, while I mainly took a turn here or there, and Kristin spent more time than me helping.  It took a large part of the day, and Trev and John are both spent.  Kristin and I recovered pretty quickly!  :)  

We are ready for the next step which involves a trencher, some plumbing knowledge and several valves, etc.  We called in a professional to take it from here.  (We know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em!)

John and I both thought this part of the day looked like a little "government work"!

Rarely does Trev turn down a chance to run the tractor.

Sadly, this blurry picture is the only one I took of Kristin doing her part.  (It does show her very cool bun, though.)

You can't see it in this picture, but along with the dirt on his face and neck creases, he also had dirt in his "belly button crease".  He deserved every drop of the precious water he used for his shower!

Fourteen Things to Note (plus one more)

My victorious candle extinguishing job!  There aren't 50 candles, but there were enough!  (Note the Scrabble tiles in the foreground!  My opponents probably let me win since it was my birthday!  NOT!! :)

Our picture perfect turkey on Thanksgiving!  Too bad we couldn't eat it right away, as my new meat thermometer did me wrong and it wasn't cooked all the way.  Luckily, we had turkey #1 at the ready.  And it was cooked!

Dallin is always up for a project!  He hung these fabric covered boards for me above the stairs.  I love, love them!

We took a hike down by Hell's Gate State Park.  It was a drizzly day, and thankfully the rain held off until we made it back to the car.  We made it to the top and had a lovely view of the river, and Tammany Creek Road.

We spied this majestic creature on our way down.  He didn't stick around long after  he spied us.

I truly think this is the largest tumbleweed I have ever seen!!!

The girls' Hobbit House

The boys' Male Mansion.  May I introduce you to Ryan?  He's the male on the right.   He came to visit for a few days before heading home for Christmas.  ( He mainly came to visit Alli, but he was a good sport and hung out with the rest of us also.  :)

The Male Mansion is full of all things "male".  We just have to use our imagination to see them.   See the sign on the Hobbit House? It says "No admittance except on party business."

Alli's 21st Birthday!  Strawberry Rhubarb and Banana Cream Pie!!

At Locomotive Park.  Cold but very pretty!  

Christmas morning post-present opening

The puzzle project, completed.  You can't tell, but the puzzle pieces are made up of tiny pictures!  It was hard, but the crew worked diligently and completed it in a few days.

A portion of the Grinch quilt.  My goal was to finish it before Christmas, so while Alli and Kristin made the Clam Chowder for Christmas Eve dinner, I finished the binding!  I LOVE this quilt.  It may be one of the top 3 favorites I have made.  (One of the many things I love about it is the pearl cotton I used to quilt it.  I think the bigger stitches suit this quilt perfectly.)

I couldn't resist including a picture of the whole quilt!   I think I will have to talk myself out of keeping it out all year!!
That is how much I love it!!

The Sewing Room Mascot

This is my thread cabinet.  Just one of the many things I love about my laundry/sewing room. John made it for me from a pattern I found and ordered.  I really love this cabinet! See the yardstick around the cabinet door?  I found those yardsticks on ebay and they are original, from West Virginia and old (circa 1950).  You can see the old fashioned phone number listed - RE 4-5511. Believe it or not, by the time I was born, they were using the present-day seven digit phone number, but I always found the letter/number combo a bit intriguing.  See the tin on the top?  That is a relic from my childhood and is quite bizarre, but I like it, always have, always will.  The mini oval-shaped box?  That really means nothing, other than I am drawn to toile patterns, and it has that toile look. The photo in the middle is one Alli took in her LHS photography class.  It is Trevor's hand catching drops of water from the spigot.  Clever and artistic.  The ribbon hanging on the side is close to impossible to make out, but that is an "Award of Merit" for a quilt I entered in the fair a few years ago - Square Deal, a wall hanging.  I remember how nervous I was when I saw the judges begin their judging process, then how happy I was to see them pull out their camera to snap a picture of it!  They really loved it!  I took it as a great compliment.  The assortment of threads are a little less than exciting, but hope to remedy soon by adding some bright spools to give a little "pop" to the cabinet.  Not really part of the thread cabinet, but another top favorite of the room is the beautiful orange walls! They are a Christmas gift from Dallin and Chelsie.  I love, love, love them!!!

Looking a little closer, you can see one of the quotes I have stuck in the corner.  Amber used that for one of her YCL favors at camp 2 years ago.  It  is a great quote, and I loved it before she used it, so I was happy she had a leftover I could have.  The other quote is about the pleasure of a bike ride by JFK.  Not such a pretty presentation, but a quote about a great subject.

But did you notice this guy tucked in the corner of the yellow thread section?   He started life as two balls of sticky tack, one yellow lump, and one obviously white.  One day, I realized he had been created!  Soooo cute!  I'm not sure which of my kids made him.  I have a guess who, but I kind of like not being sure!  I smile when I see him, and like to think he is keeping an eye on the room, just in case the scissors decide to rebel or the pins rise up in revolt.  He'll keep things in check!  Haven't thought much about a name, I'm not sure what fits him.  I will have to think about that!  I think he's pretty cute and looking at him, brings me happiness, but more than that, knowing one of the kids took time to make him for me makes me feel special!   That probably wasn't the intent of the sculptor, I have a feeling creativity just took over, but I love it when my kids do little, unexpected things for me!  The word special is often overused, which is too bad, because there is really not another word I could use to describe how I feel - special! 

Team Tinsel vs. Team Frosty

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and now we are back to our regular lives. Our little gingerbread couple welcome you to our remembrance of Christmas 2011!
Meet the Gingerbread House Decorating Teams.

Team Tinsel
Team Frosty
Gingerbread house decorating became more like Gingerbread house landscaping. Yes, the houses did get a little candy and frosting, but check out the yards of these little cottages.
Team Tinsel's yard contained the requisite pink flamingo in the yard. Also a bench to rest your weary self on, and a lovely swing.

Team Frosty's yard ended up with a mini swimming pool with a floating chair, and a log pile ready to be worked by a hefty lumberjack. The axe is sharp and ready to make the chips fly! You may also notice the wood pile is in front of an outdoor fireplace. Charming!



Chelsie and Kristin were in charge of the Christmas Eve Cinnamon rolls. Delish!

Here is the group all dressed in their new jammies/yoga pants/shorts/thermal underwear for the annual Christmas Eve slumber party.

The marshmallow guns came out of the gun safe for a little friendly competition. Eye protection was a must and luckily there was furniture to use as a shield when necessary. I'm still finding hard marshmallows upstairs!


Chelsie and Dallin are standing in the freshly painted laundry room. A Christmas present to me from them! I love it!

And finally, because there is already plenty going on, Amber's Chemistry project was due right before Christmas break. With a lot of help from Dad, she crafted a very nice model of a Carbon atom.

Welcome to the 70's

For 3 weeks we have been living in the 70's.

No, we're not wearing headbands and peace signs.
We're not driving around in an orange pinto or
a little brown gremlin. We are not watching the
Carol Burnett show, or Little House on the
Prairie.

What we are doing is living without a microwave.


Sparks flew, it stopped and the repairman said
get it fixed for this amount of money, or get a
new one. Since the new one was just a little more
than fixing this one, a new one is on the way.

Unfortunately, the 2 weeks arrival date has come
and gone, and now that we are going on the 3rd
week, we are tired of waiting, and some of us are
getting a little impatient. The email saying it
will be shipped soon brought a smile to my
face, but not as big as the one that will appear
when the delivery truck is in the driveway.

Do you know how hard leftover night is without a
microwave?

Do you know that instant oatmeal is not quite as
good when you make it with boiling water?

Do you know that a cup of hot chocolate is not an
instant pleasure without a microwave?

Okay, I know this is whining and we
are spoiled and used to instant gratification, but
should any of you find yourself in a similar predicament,
just give me a call, I will be VERY sympathetic!

And...welcome to the 70's.

Can you say "Soccer all day"? That's what Saturday brought for us. Soccer Storm, the annual 3 on 3 tournament found Kristin, Amber and Trevor all on teams.
Here is Trevor with his team, the White Knights. Paige, Trevor, Flat Stanley (who didn't actually play, just got in the picture), Sean and Nick







As National Honor Society Secretary, Chelsie (3rd from the right) got to read the names of the new inductees at the ceremony this week. She did a fine job, and paused just long enough to let each student get to the stairs before she read the next one. I love this picture because she is standing next to Steven Heitzman (2nd from the right) and he is verrrry tall, and she is not. They have been friends since kindergarten when they started playing soccer together. They also share the same birthday. The height difference isn't as striking in the photo, but it person, I got a kick out of
it.
















Amber's team - October Blues with their very cool tie dyed shirts and socks. Jill, Maranda, Makayla, and Amber. (Okay, not really sure which twin is which, just a best guess. I could tell if I saw the back of their shirts.) They came in third, which they weren't thrilled with, but no doubt came out of the tournament having had fun.




The White Knights with their 3rd place ribbons. The team they were supposed to play for 3rd or 4th didn't show up, so they won 3rd by forfeit. I don't think they really understood what forfeit meant, but they were excited to tell everyone that's how they won anyway.














Here is Kristin with her team (clockwise from Kristin) Michael, Kian and Ashley. aka Team Extreme















Here is Team Extreme with their 1st place place trophies and their very nice coach, Mr. Murphey. (Remember him Ash?) FYI - the X on their forehead is for Extreme. They had to explain it to me.




And our last news item from the world of sports is very exciting. Allison and her partner, Cindy, qualified for state in girls doubles this weekend. They will travel with the team from LHS to Boise next weekend to play in the State Tournament. All but 3 of the Varsity team qualified. There will be lots of Purple and Gold in Boise next week. (no picture available)

Yard work continues and John and I worked on Friday to build a little retaining wall at the back of the house. One project checked off the list, too many to count still there)

(editor's note) I'm having trouble formatting this blog and will work on it, but at this time, you'll just have to bear with me. Sorry.

He'll forever be a fox!

John received his Wood Badge beads at a court of honor last Wednesday. (I didn't remember to put it in last week's blog. Still learning!!!)
He was in the fox group, so now whenever scouts are gathered he can sing the Wood Badge song with all the other foxes. Way to go, John.






In other John news... he has begun to put back together our yard which was made to look like a war zone after the remodel. Those big trucks really took a toll on the yard, not to mention the trench (moat) that they dug right through the front yard (strip of dirt behind John) which he has to re-seed, but not before he fixes all of the underground sprinklers that were broken, pipes too, throughout the project. It will keep him off the streets and out of trouble for much of the summer I imagine!! In this picture, he's building a retaining wall to build up the front yard to be level with the new porch.

Welcome Flat Stanley!
We do have a guest for the next couple of weeks. Flat Stanley came to stay courtesy of Burke Jensen, Trevor's friend who moved to Indiana. He's supposed to be having grand adventures, but so far the most adventurous thing he's done is go see Kristin's Duck Stamp drawing. (To the right of Stanley.) We have a few more weeks to take him fun places.




Prom, 2008

Prom was last night. Here is Allison with her friends, left to right, Abby, Erin, and Kaitlyn. They had fun getting ready together and having their dates pick them up together.














Putting on the boy's flowers proved tricky for most of the girls.











Allison and her date, Jake Leavitt

Sadly, these are all the pictures I got of them before they left. I had to leave in a rush because there was a problem with Chelsie's dress. ....















Here is the dress that I have been working on for the past 2 weeks. It over all went well, ,and I have to say, it was my best invisible zipper ever, Unfortunately, said zipper got caught in the lining, which I also thought I did a nice job on, and it wouldn't budge. I got to Sena's house and Mandy was stitching up the rest of the zipper by hand. In the end it looked okay, but what a way to end a project. Chelsie loved the dress though, so all was well.








Here is the group that Chelsie went with. From top to bottom - Michael, Janie, Ryan, Chelsie, Ryan, Marika, Sena, Ryan. (I think Michael should have just changed his name for the night, hmm, Ryan would have been a good choice.)













Princesses Chelsie and Janie, with their boys. In place of the coach, they got the Hummer treatment. A fun time was had by all. And that is the Prom 2008 report.







In other family news, Amber had a doubleheader in Spokane. One game ended in a tie, and one game they were the victorious ones. 5 - 1. Saturday for those who were home, (John, Michele, Kristin and Trevor) was spent doing yard work. (I think I can see a trend for most of the Saturday's in the future)

Allison goes to regionals this week for tennis. She said she and her partner have a good shot at making State. You go girls!