Home Improvement - Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen Project 2024 - Get the Cabinets Painted

I originally considered having the cabinets refaced. I contacted two different companies but one wouldn't work in downtown Minneapolis and the other company never got back to me!

My kitchen cabinets aren't really top quality and will probably need to be replaced at some point but in the meanwhile, I decided to have them painted. I saw blue cabinets on HGTV's "Love It or List It" and I really like blue so decided that would be the color. I also like the idea of having lighter top cabinets. I was inspired by the pillowcases on my bed!

I completely underestimated the impact this project would have on my and Maggie's lives. I hired an excellent painter, but this project required that I remove everything from the cabinets, select and purchase paint, and not use my kitchen for an extended period of time. I lost access to the refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, sink, etc.

The painter and his one-man crew did an excellent job masking off everything. It was a crazy combination of paper, plastic, and painter's tape. Since the kitchen is part of one big room, it was not a straightforward job.

We also had problems with the grey paint. I won't bore you with the details, but it took 3 tries to get enough of the right paint. And picking cabinet hardware! Oh, my. After scrolling through pages on Amazon and visiting multiple stores, I ended up choosing something very similar to what was on the cabinets in the first place! Ha!

I am very happy and pleased with the final project. Here is the link to my video (of course, there is a video)

PS - this project kind of celebrates my 3rd anniversary living downtown. I closed on the condo 3 years ago March 26th.

A Short Trip Up North

Click on the image to view the video

FYI the video is best viewed in landscape mode.

Apparently, I can't spend more than a month or so at home without needing to go somewhere. I decided a short trip up the North Shore of Lake Superior would be a good option. And why not go to Thunder Bay, Canada, so I could 1) visit a new place and 2) say I left the country.

My friend Bud agreed to join me and Maggie (my cat). Maggie was way overdue for a road trip and to try out our new cat-carrying backpack.

We left Minneapolis Wednesday morning. Stopped in Duluth at the Duluth Grill for brunch. If you have not eaten here, you should. The food is crazy good. Headed up Highway 61 to Lutsen to stay at Solbakken Resorts which was the only pet-friendly resort I could find in the area. We made really good time and got to the resort before check-in time. We went on up to Grand Marais and stopped at Voyageur Brewery for a beer.

Back at Solbakken where Maggie got comfortable and we relaxed...honestly, I think all three of us fell asleep. Woke up in time to see a beautiful sunset. Solbakken is right on the Lake so we walked down to the water to see all the colors.

There is virtually no snow anywhere! And it wasn't super cold. There was also NO ice on Lake Superior. It has been a very strange winter. After napping and sunsetting, we went up Lutsen Mountain to have dinner at Moguls restaurant.

Thursday Maggie got back in the car and we started our trip to Canada stopping in Grand Marais at Java Moose for coffee. I follow the owner of Jave Moose on Instagram. She wasn't there but the coffee shop is right on the bay and such a lovely, friendly place. I had never been past Grand Portage and Thunder Bay is only about an hour away so getting to Canada is a piece of cake. There is an incredible overlook at the top of Mount Josephine that gives a full 180 view of Lake Superior.

The border between the US and Canada is the Pigeon River. The Grand Portage State Park is also there as is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota! The Grand Portage Ojibwe people along with the MN Department of Resources have created an accessible trail to view the falls. It is a super easy 1 mile there and back. With little to no snow there were just a few places where the boardwalk was icy. The views of the falls are spectacular.

From the State Park it is just a few hundred yards to the border crossing. I assured the Canadian border agent that Maggie would not be let free in Canada and we were allowed to pass. One odd geographic thing once in Canada was how flat the Canadian side is. After a short way into Canada, you are in the Slate River valley and lots of farmland. Northern Minnesota is not like this as it is hilly and tree covered.

Maggie in the backpack

Okay, Thunder Bay...I had been warned that there wasn't much to Thunder Bay and Bud and I have to agree. It is an amalgamation of two "towns" Port Arthur and Fort William. There are a lot of train tracks and apparently a port. The city doesn't really take in the "Bay" that it is on. We asked about an "old town" or touristy area and were told there isn't really any. We ate lunch at an okay place and walked around Port Arthur Park (Maggie got to get her first backpack adventure) but headed back to the US in short order. If you do plan a trip to Thunder Bay, be aware that it is in the Eastern time zone!

Back in Minnesota, we drove through a small grove of old growth trees on the Arrowhead Trail. This is something I had seen on one of my Boundary Waters trips. To be honest it isn't that impressive, but it is nice to know it is still there.

Back at Solbakken, we rested before having a very nice dinner at Cascade Lodge Restaurant. Friday we headed home first stopping at Coho Cafe in Tofte for breakfast.

Click here for link to the trip video.

Master Bath Vanity Light Upgrade

Two things I did not like about the vanity light in the master bathroom. It was outdated and it didn't actually reach from sink to sink. You had to stand in the middle of the vanity to get full light (both sides of your face) but that meant there wasn't a sink below you. Not optimal.

Turns out you really cannot get a multi-light vanity fixture that is much wider than the one I had. I came across LED light bars that come in various lengths. To stretch from sink to sink it had to be at least 48 inches long. Turns out Maxim Lighting available at Creative Lighting in St. Paul has LED light bars in various lengths including one 48" long.

I was able to easily install the new fixture in a few minutes. It was a little tricky getting the wire nuts on as the unit is a bit wonky being so long. But it is very light weight, and I was able to maneuver it.

I really like the amount of light it puts out. The light is also dispersed really well.

I can now see both sides of my face when standing at either sink. Since the fixture is LED, I don't expect it to burn out any time soon...which is a good thing because I'm not sure if you can replace the LED bulb(s). There are no instructions.

I decided to use the old fixture with 4 lamps in the guest bathroom which had the same fixture but with only 3 lamps.

It looks good and brightens that bathroom as well.

The most time consuming part of the whole thing was cleaning the old fixtures. Apparently when the bathrooms were painted, the painter didn't worry about taking the glass globes off let alone the fixtures. The fixtures had paint on them that took some Goo Gone and elbow grease to remove.

Furniture upgrade - Burrow sofa (update)

02/22/2024 update. The fabric got its first stain test. Unfortunately, Maggie had one of her projectile vomiting episodes and the first go round was on the ottoman.

As you can see the accompanying photo collage, the stain cleaned up nicely. It took a few go rounds. First with Oxi-Clean Laundry Stain Remover and with Folex Carpet Spot Remover. In the future I won't use the Oxi-Clean. I think it is too strong.

I am very pleased that the fabric held up to the cleaning and the stain is gone.

Mazatlán 2024

Back for a second year to Mazatlán, Mexico. The sunsets here are spectacular. This year's condo location as Las Gavias Grand which has a truly grand heated pool - probably the largest pool I've ever seen.

This year we were able to play pickleball at a set of courts right across the street. I went for one nice run on the blue path though this year the path was torn up with construction.

The highlight of the trip this year was a visit to the brand-new Mazatlán aquarium. The displays are fantastic. The map of the site is not so fantastic. Granted our Spanish is not great, but the map was absolutely undecipherable. We did manage to visit most of the exhibits...we think.

The enormous main "tank" with sharks and groupers and thousands of fish.

The eel display was especially fun.

There are several bird exhibits as well.

I did manage to get into the ocean a couple of times. The area is not conducive to swimming as there are hidden rocks and the waves can be rough. I'm not a fan of swimming where I can't see what is below me. I enjoyed walking along the beach.

Here is a link to last year's Mazatlán visit post.

Low Key Birthday

This year's birthday event was fairly low key. I thought Smash Park in Roseville would be a fun place so folks could choose different games to play. You have to rent/reserve most of the games in advance and it is expensive, so I went the cheap route and didn't rent/reserve anything.

I truly appreciated those people that came and enjoyed playing corn hole a few times.

Cozumel 2023

This might be my favorite photo.
These are just very common Bermuda Chub
but the photo composition of color and light
represents the feel of being there.

One of these days I'm going to start editing the photos and writing the blog during vacation so that it doesn't come out so much later than the actual event. One of the good things about being slow to putting this together is that I get to revisit the fun and beauty all over again while working on the story.

The video is long this year. Jenny and I are getting better at taking the underwater photos and this year there were so many things to photograph. But I get ahead of myself.

There were more guests this year for the week after Thanksgiving. Jenny B., JT, Ellen, and Dave M. joined me. Jenny stayed another few days of the second week before I finished out the second week by myself.

It was more humid this year than I remember this time of year. For those that don't know, I have a timeshare at Coral Princess on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. Coral Princess has been around for a long, long time. The accommodations are not top-of-the-line but I enjoy it. There is a kitchen, living room, massive bedroom and stunning balcony. Dave had his own room and JT and Ellen their own suite.

But the best part is the Coral Princess staff. The same staff have been here for years, and they always treat me and my guests with such care. There is so much laughter.

The snorkeling this year was amazing. Even though I've been going to Cozumel for years, I still see things that are new to me. This year we saw Southern Sting Ray, Scorpion Fish, Porcupine Puffer Fish, and Jenny saw an Octopus! The water was crazy clear though a few days there were tiny jellyfish that gave little stings.

On land we saw and interacted with Mapachi, a small raccoon.

We went to our usual restaurants - Pancho's Backyard, The Mission, Guido's, and, of course, Casa Dennis. We also did more "homecooking" which made it feel even more comfy cozy.

It kind of goes without saying, but I look forward to this trip every year. It is a good way to hang on to summer before diving into a Minnesota winter. It is also a great way to spend time with friends.

Click here to watch the video. It is 8 minutes long (there were LOTS of fish 😊) and best viewed in landscape.