Wasted Wednesday

Home Makeover ~ Big Brown Edition

After one hundred and fourteen LONG days of our kitchen bein' out of order, I am happy - NO make that ECSTATIC to announce that our kitchen is once again open and functional.

(Crowd goes wild as the new addition is revealed)

Come on in, I'll show ya 'round.

Because the kitchen grew, so also did my room. My PUs call it the mud room which may not look muddy now, but given time, I will see to it that it lives up to it's name. I will spend many a day here meditatin' on life, critters and foodables.

(Much better than before, don't you think?)

My room now has runnin' water so fresh drinks will always be available. I also think that if I shut the door and the water runs long enough, I could turn this whole mud room into my own indoor swimmin' pool.

The kitchen now has plenty of storage shelves to hold the tools necessary for creatin' nomalicious foodables.

This next pic is of what I believe to be one of the greatest inventions ever.

Mom calls it a "Whirl-a-gig" but the technical term is "Lazy Susan"

Whatever you wanna call it, the turnin' shelves are perfect for storin' cats, crackers, or cats named Cracker. Thanks to Nigel Bugger's kitteh for helpin' to demonstrate my theory.

"Round and round he goes, where he stops.......nobody knows!!!"

Once the cabinetry was put into place, the countertops had to be installed. I won't go into detail but my PUs had troubles figgerin' out what they liked best. In fact, they had settled on two different styles and designs before finally pickin' this last one. They said it was hard when they only had a small sample like this to choose from:

I think it was meant to be 'cuz oncet it was installed, Mom and I couldn't hardly believe our eyes when we realized that the countertop very closely resembles Zoe's furs - my gal pal over at Dogs Rock!!

  As cool as that is, I still had to put the new countertop to the surfability test.

Yep, the new countertop is totally surf-able. I just hope it doesn't decide to take off at break-neck speed like Zoe does. If so, I could be in for one wild ride!

Next thing to be taken care of was appliances. Figgerin' I could save my PUs some cash, I promptly volunteered for the position of dishwasher....

....but when Mom told me that yellow cord had to be inserted into an outlet, I quickly withdrew my offer. That's way too kinky for this Big Brown dawg!

Ok, that about sums it up but I'll leave you with a couple of before and after pics:

(South Wall before)

(South Wall after)

(North Wall before)

(North Wall after)

The PUs still have some cosmetic things to do like paint that door - but who cares as long as our home is once again filled with the odors of yummy foodables bein' cooked, along with tasty tidbits frequently fallin' to the floor in the process!!!

UPDATE!!!

The tile backsplash was installed yesterday and as you're readin' this, Mr. Tile Man is probably smearin' the grout all over it to finish the job.

This is a pre-grout/sneak peek photo:

Thanks for stoppin' by and takin' a tour of our new kitchen.

You can let your tips in the jar at the back door.

I accept VISA, cash and/or biscuits.

I hope you have a yummy weekend!!!

Chester ;0=)

WW4K (Will Work for Kibble)

"The Life of Riley" was a popular American radio situation comedy series from the 1940's. In 1949 it was adapted into a feature film and then it bcame a long runnin' television show in the 1950's. The first season, well-known Jackie Gleason starred in the role of Riley and then William Bendix took over the role for the next six seasons. Bendix's character was (get this!) Chester A. Riley, a blunderin' wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. His frequent exclamation of "What a revoltin' development this is!" became a very popular catch phrase of the era.

This brings me to my point: a revoltin' development also occurred here over the weekend. All was goin' down per our usual weekend ritual, my breakfast consistin' of 2 cups of kibble lightly seasoned with a fish oil tablet and a half a bucket of water, give or take a couple slurps. A trip outside to take care of bizness and check the perimeters for illegals, then back inside to await what sort of entertainment my PUs had in store for me.

I soon realized that I would not be accompanyin' Mom to see my GrandPUs - sumpthin' about them havin' a lot of important papers to be sorted and not needin' me there to help. I pride myself on my ability to sort and shred what I deem to be unnecessary, but - whatever! That meant that I would be with Dad who spends most of his time outside which is just fine by me. I only had to do one more thing before Mom left and that was to remind her that my kibble bag was near empty. I also informed her that if she didn't take care of the situation, I would not be held responsible for my actions.

The day unfolded and I supervised Dad as he took care of the outside chores. To lighten his load and to prevent dullness from settin' in, I took my ball to him occassionally so he was not all work and no play. Much was accomplished by the time that Mom finally rolled in. To my delight, she unloaded a brand spankin' new bag of kibble. Premature drool started to form on my jowls even though I knew I had a few hours before dinner would be served.

Finally the wait was over and Mom asked me if I wanted my supper. DUH! Like why would you even ask? Of course I am always ready to eat. My exterior portrait of patience belied the waves of tumult washin' through my innerds. You see, I have been brainwashed taught that I must wait for the "okay" before divin' in.

Chester's Mom: Okay!

(slurp, crunch, lick, crunch, inhale, lick, slurp..........head tilts with question)

Chester: Excuse me, I do believe you shorted me.

Chester's Mom: I did not short you - this is your portion from here on out.

Chester: Nope, I distinctly counted and I am 43 pieces of kibble short.

Chester's Mom: That was intentional and like I said, this is your portion for each meal starting today.

Chester: You've got some 'splainin' to do and you need to start NOW!!!

Apparently I was already startin' to feel faint from weakness because the words that I was hearin' come outta her mouth were beyond comprehension. She was sayin' that the 2 legger who sells my food told her that the diagram on the food bag that shows the rate of kibble to be dispensed per weight of dog is for workin' dawgs and generally not the rate for your average household pet. My mind cleared for just a second because I know for sure that my job title as head of Homeland Security is clearly that of a workin' dawg.

Chester: So tell me again Mom, why am I still bein' shorted 43 pieces of kibble?

Chester's Mom: You are correct in that you are head of Homeland Security around here and I feel much safer knowing that no groundhogs or squirrels will invade the comforts of our home but....your job is not the same as a dog who is on the go all day long. Your days in bed are gradually starting to soften your shape and I'd like to stop this progression before it becomes a problem.

Chester: Look here woman, I am comfortable in my own skin and am not tryin' to impress anybody with a rock hard body.

Chester's Mom: It's too late, your father and I have already discussed this and we both agree you're on the verge of becoming overweight. You do realize don't you, that if you are overweight, you are not going to be as fast and could affect your groundhog count.

Oh no!!! Dad's been brainwashed too. Now I really got my work cut out for me.

It's Monday and as you can see, I'm gonna do whatever it takes

to earn my kibble this week, as I'm sure you will too.

I hope your benefits are better'n mine.

Chester ;0=)

Trashy Thoughts Thursday

 

Windpipe Wednesday

Top Chef

The older I get, the more I realize the days of my youth were spent in frivolous pursuits. I wandered and explored at every turn of the PUs' backs. My whims led me from room to room, seein' interestin' new sights and sniffin' rare smells that I had never encountered in the stable where I first lived. Some might argue that it is good to leave no stone unturned, that traversin' one's domain at a young age actually helps to find what will satisfy one's spirit as the years go by. This may be true so I won't belittle the point, but sumtimes I now wonder if I had concentrated more on the kitchen area maybe my culinary skills would have been that of a top chef.


Not to say that my interests in the other parts of our home have subsided. No, not in the least. It's just that when Mom's in the kitchen I am right by her side, watchin' her every move and ready at a moment's notice to assist. I am entranced as I watch her move from the 'fridge to the counter to the stove and back to the 'fridge time and time again. Foodables movin' to and fro as rivers of drool drop steadily from my jaw and my nose tingles in the wake of their scent.

Nevertheless, I am a quick study and have absorbed much. Choppin', gratin', stirrin', pourin' are tasks of which I have perceived as bein' the greatest of the food preparation skills. To the untrained eye, they may seem menial and common. To me they are the most interestin' simply because the more the foodables move, the more likely they are to be dropped and or spilled. This is where my competent clean-up assistance is a highly regarded talent. Had I been more interested as a pup, would my culinary career be further along? We may never know. But, my zeal and attention to the task at hand (or in this case, paw) was noticed by my mentor who has given me the title, "The Quicker Picker Upper".

Not one to waste an opportunity, I am excited to announce the development of

my own personal line of kitchen products. Here is the first of what I

hope is to be many :

*Comin' soon to a grocery store near you.

Now the weekend is just around the corner,
and I don't know of any quicker picker upper than that!


Bone Appetit!
Chester ;0=)

Carnivorous Habits

It's Friday ~ are you ready to tear into the weekend?

Okay then, if you've got three minutes to spare,

grab yourself a snack and push >.

Hopefully that steers you in the right direction
for whatever weekend habits you enjoy.


Chester ;0=)