Before & After

Give Dean a few days, some tools, a basic plan and tada - I have a new kitchen!  Actually it took a bit more than a few days and there is one more step to do before we can say that everything is completely complete but for now it's a done deal as far as we're concerned - especially since we've both had some surgical procedures and a trip back to Iowa in the mix!

Here is the original room when we bought the house:

Now after we moved in: 

The top oven didn't work and one of the burners 

on the stovetop was a little iffy sometimes

 

I know how to clutter up a counter! 

I used the dishwasher about 1 to 2 times a week and it was pretty wasteful 

on water and electricity in my book.

I wanted a "real" stove and a bit more counter space which meant I would lose the cupboards above and below the wall oven.  The only thing to do was to remove the dishwasher - OK by me - not so much with Dean - he thought his dishwashing helper status was over when we moved in! 

To accommodate a regular sized stove he had to move a wall a few inches:

We had great help from a friend who does this kind of work all the time back home in Minnesota.  His only requirement?  I stay out of the way!!  I could work with that but I did forget a couple of times since I needed to get food and water!

Cupboards were repainted, white board was put as the surround for the stove (easy to keep clean) and tile was picked out to put up later on the walls.  We delayed taking out the dishwasher until absolutely necessary!  

In place of the stovetop I got a wonderful new area to use for hot dishes and more counter space: 

This authentic Mexican tile actually matches the paint!

Here we are - all done - no more dishwasher and lots more cupboard space!

 

 I can still manage to find enough stuff to put on the counters!

Our little freezer is the latest addition and really fits in the 

space nicely.  The picture above I did as a project in high school

for my mother as a Christmas present.  My father made the frame.

It's OLD!

We have only to put up a wallpaper border now to cover the original and we'll be done.  Dean wanted a bit of a rest before he tackled that project.  We have all the supplies, we're just waiting for the inspiration!  In the meantime, he installed a new stool in our bathroom today - just for something to do to keep him busy (and to keep our water bill down!)

In the meantime, we've had monsoon rains, high humidity, hot temperatures, trips to the doctor for check-ups and just plain down days to relax.  But then that's the way things are here.  He also did another project for me but that's for another day!  Have a great day in your part of the world - it's been a great day here in the valley!

Shh - He's Sleeping!

It's been a long few days since Dean's latest procedure and he's finally getting some much needed rest!  As I mentioned in my last post in mid-June we had to return home in order to stay close to the doctor's office because of the clinical study that Dean is participating in that was going to involve the implantation of another device to help his heart and stabilize his blood pressure.  It finally happened this past Saturday after 2 delays - the waiting was as bad as the procedure I think.  

Due to the amount of people involved in the surgery - surgeons, nurses, clinical study representatives and our doctor's personal representative for the study - and the other normal people in any operating room it was plenty crowded - 15 in all!  It took about 3 hours instead of the 90 minutes they were allotting but that was because Dean was the very first person in the Phoenix area to have this done so procedures were slow and meticulous.  He spent all afternoon in recovery as his oxygen level kept fluctuating so they tweaked his pacemaker up a notch and we finally got home about 6pm - almost 11 hours after we arrived at the surgical center.  His neck, on the right side is bandaged and he has a bandage on the right side parallel to his pacemaker on the left.  Turning his head to the right is very restricted and laying on that side is forbidden at this point - thus the sleeping problem.  Last night was a real bear and his blood pressure sky rocketed so off to the doctor's office we went this morning.  

They tweaked the pacemaker again and we're watching the BP for any drastic changes upward.  We'll return to the office tomorrow for a bandage change and for the doctor to take a look at the incision sight.  We've never been a part of a clinical study -all this is new to us and to the rep at the office - we are all learning things together!  The paperwork on her end has been endless!  I am so thankful he has finally fallen asleep.  A nap will make many things right and aid in the healing process. 

In the process of waiting for Saturday to arrive, I received a call from the doctor's office (Dean's cardiologist is also mine!) stating I needed to come in on Monday (yesterday) because the device I had implanted in April had triggered the monitor sending a message to their office.  Gotta love this modern technology!  We went in, I had my device checked and spoke with the doctor only to discover I have AFib - that's been the underlying problem with the episodes I've been having.  So they put me on some medication for the next month and we'll see how I feel when I go back in mid-August.  Funny thing though, it's the same medicine Dean is taking only a much higher dose!  We are a pair!  So - at this point we've made the trip twice and will make a third trip to the same doctor tomorrow!  They've decided we're only there to see the movie playing on the TV in the waiting room!

That's our latest health bulletin.  I hope it hasn't been a boring one.  According to one of my friends out here, it's always an interesting new chapter when we get together!  Oh - and it rained last night - yippee!  The monsoon season has officially begun.  Unfortunately we did have some damage here in the park that will take some time to clear up.  That's always the downside of this time of the year.  But hearing the rain on the roof last night was certainly a welcome sound.  

Here's hoping that it's a wonderful day in your corner of the world.  It's quiet, peaceful and we're beginning to heal here in ours.  God Bless!