A few pics from Caren's Phone

Finally a daylight shot of the stove and its accompanying backdrop. Eventually we will hang an iron pot rack from the ceiling to house all of the copper pots... yet another Craigslist find. Caren also found a place that has replacement thermostats, the only part that doesn't work, for the stove.

 If you'll pardon the mess... A longshot of the kitchen. There are doors for the backside of the island... they just haven't been finished yet. The counter top on the island is quite a story. I mentioned a little about it in a previous post. It now has been lovingly sanded and finished. All that is left is a final coat of varnish to toughen it up a bit.

And we're finally done!!! The fireplace is finished. See numerous previous posts for all of the labor that went into it. Caren and I spent all day last Saturday placing the ledge stone and making the final connections for the electrical and venting. On Sunday I milled, finished and placed all of the final trimwork. I am particularly pleased with the trim around the hearth. One of my first posts described all the angst that tying the rockwork to the flooring caused me. Turns out it was a relatively simple task, and Caren and I both think it looks great.

One of the reasons that there are no doors on the island pictured above is because Caren thinks that the same barnwood that is used above the mantle would look great on the backside of the island. I'm not entirely sold yet, but can see how it would tie everything together... elements of the fireplace behind the stove, elements of the of the mantle work on the countertop, elements of the island above the fireplace... you get the picture.

 The bear holds a tea light candle. Kelby picked it up for us on one of his adventures and thought it would fit the place perfectly... guess you could call it our first housewarming gift. Love the candle, but wanted to include this pic so one can see some of the detail work on the fireplace. My mitering skills are improving... as well they should be after all the mistakes I've made... I'm beginning to develop a few little tricks that help to make those pesky corners come out nearly perfect. I now see how much effort finish carpenters put into their work and why finish carpentry is truly a lifetime's trade.