The ceiling will be a bit paler than this. I already own the cooktop and fridge. Still deciding on tile. Imagine there is a Dutch Door in here too, with glass on the top half.
2.18.2014
My New Kitchen
I found a fun new app, Polyvore, which is way more fun than finding places for all the stuff that got hauled out of the kitchen yesterday.
The ceiling will be a bit paler than this. I already own the cooktop and fridge. Still deciding on tile. Imagine there is a Dutch Door in here too, with glass on the top half.
The ceiling will be a bit paler than this. I already own the cooktop and fridge. Still deciding on tile. Imagine there is a Dutch Door in here too, with glass on the top half.
Best Apps for Remodeling
Well you know I love techno gadgets, so naturally starting a remodel means find new apps.
HomeZada: free. This is my desktop budgeting app. It auto-populated a long list of things a typical kitchen remodel needs. I deleted some items and added some others, and then I entered educated guesses for what things would cost. It tallied up my totals for me so I could see if what I had in the savings account was close to what I was going to need. As actual figures come in of course those totals are adjusted.
Houzz: free. This is a great tearsheet app. When my mom was remodeling we tore sheets of paper out of magazines and kept the scraps of paper in a big pile. Houzz is the iPhone generation's version of that. See something pretty you like? And it to your Houzz collection. It's rather like Pinterest only more dedicated to home improvement and decor.
And of course, there is an iphone Houzz app.
What remodeling apps do you favor?
I tried a bunch of them. Here are the ones that I'm keeping.
IKEA Kitchen Planner: free. This is awesome for entering the dimensions of the room and then moving cabinets etc. around to see what would fit where. Then we could visualize it as a Birdseye or 3-D WalkThrough.
I struggled with couple of things for a bit. Here they are so that you can avoid the hassle.
- When saving, if you use your mouse at all it won't let you change the name and save multiple drafts.
- Also to see it in high-resolution, you have to hit shift-control-alt-H. There's no documentation for that, I just learned it from the IKEA salesman. The high-resoltion only works on Windows computers.
ToDo Cloud: not free. This works on my phone, my desktop as an app, and on the web. It is a list multi-user app that allows us to keep track of all of the things we have to do. All the subtasks. All the deadlines. We can allocate certain subtasks to either one of us. And we can include on any task contact information for outside vendors, price comparisons, whatever. We can comment on our own, and each other's tasks. We can assign priority. We can schedule delivery dates. It is the brain of the project.
Also, we can tag a subtask to a certain location (actually they call it "setting a context"). If it is something we need to look at at Lowe's we can tag it accordingly. And then when we are at Lowe's, we can have it show us a list of all the stuff we need to look at. Note bene: take a screenshot of your Lowe's list in case you get in there and lose service.
This screenshot shows all the tasks that have a high priority setting or that have a subtask with that setting. These are all things that need to be taken care of first.
This screenshot shows all the details of the Windows task. You can see how each is assigned. I starred "Shop for Bargains" to indicate that that is in the works. I am waiting on bids.
This screenshot shows all the tasks that have a high priority setting or that have a subtask with that setting. These are all things that need to be taken care of first.
HomeZada: free. This is my desktop budgeting app. It auto-populated a long list of things a typical kitchen remodel needs. I deleted some items and added some others, and then I entered educated guesses for what things would cost. It tallied up my totals for me so I could see if what I had in the savings account was close to what I was going to need. As actual figures come in of course those totals are adjusted.
HomeZada has a mobile app, but it's not nearly as robust. Even though it does offer a comparison-shopping feature, I won't use it. I far prefer the To Do Cloud memo function for that. Here is the link, in case you want to try it.
Houzz: free. This is a great tearsheet app. When my mom was remodeling we tore sheets of paper out of magazines and kept the scraps of paper in a big pile. Houzz is the iPhone generation's version of that. See something pretty you like? And it to your Houzz collection. It's rather like Pinterest only more dedicated to home improvement and decor.
And of course, there is an iphone Houzz app.
My Measures & Dimensions PRO: not free. Remodeling means measuring everything and keeping track of the dimensions everything. With My Measure Pro, you take picture and then you can overlay the measurements onto the picture.
I'm using it to keep track of appliances I need to find homes for. I'm hoping to house these two in a coffee garage. This shows me the height, width, and depth in a way that make sense to me.
It's also really handy when I am getting window bids.
I'm using it to keep track of appliances I need to find homes for. I'm hoping to house these two in a coffee garage. This shows me the height, width, and depth in a way that make sense to me.
What remodeling apps do you favor?
2.16.2014
The Great Kitchen Project
This is what we had, in all it's messy horror:
Yesterday we went to IKEA. The new kitchen arrives in early March.
Notice all that nice counter space next to the cooktop? No, I couldn't find it either.
Top quality cabinetry here. Not.
That little L on the left is all the built-in counter-top the kitchen came with. I've supplemented with IKEA free-standing tables etc., but it wasn't cutting it.
Yesterday we went to IKEA. The new kitchen arrives in early March.
11.01.2013
November
November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.
With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.
- Elizabeth Coatsworth
10.04.2013
"God’s World" by Edna St. Vincent Millay
God’s World
O World,
I cannot hold thee close enough
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists that roll and rise.
Thy wood, this autumn day, that ache and sag.
And all but cry with colour!
That gaunt crag To crush!
To lift the lean of that black bluff.
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough.
Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this:
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart –
Lord I do fear
Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me – let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.
-- Edna St. Vincent Millay
10.03.2013
"October" by Robert Frost
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost –
For the grape’s sake along the wall.
-- Robert Frost
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost –
For the grape’s sake along the wall.
-- Robert Frost
9.25.2013
favorite iPhone apps: Mailbox
I am having so much fun with my birthday iPhone. And more than merely fun, it is turning into an essential tool.
Here are some of my favorite apps.
Mailbox by Orchestra. Oh this is a beauty. Set it up to handle all your gmail. When you get an email, you can chose to Archive, Delete, or Save for Later. Whatever you choose will be updated across all your platforms (phone, tablet, or computer).
Save for Later is awesome as it will let you take that email about where and when to drop off your child next Tuesday and set it to reappear in your inbox next Tuesday. You don't need to think about it until then, so why have it sitting in your inbox all weekend?
So, if an email is read-only, that is, no action on my part is required, I just read it and archive it. If action is required of me, I can deal with it immediately, or save it for later. Alas, it is not yet available for my desktop, but it is coming.
Here are some of my favorite apps.
Mailbox by Orchestra. Oh this is a beauty. Set it up to handle all your gmail. When you get an email, you can chose to Archive, Delete, or Save for Later. Whatever you choose will be updated across all your platforms (phone, tablet, or computer).
Save for Later is awesome as it will let you take that email about where and when to drop off your child next Tuesday and set it to reappear in your inbox next Tuesday. You don't need to think about it until then, so why have it sitting in your inbox all weekend?
So, if an email is read-only, that is, no action on my part is required, I just read it and archive it. If action is required of me, I can deal with it immediately, or save it for later. Alas, it is not yet available for my desktop, but it is coming.
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