Renovations

Although we love the nostalgic essence of the kitchen at the Breton Bay house, it's not the most practical when it comes to cooking a big meal. The oven is tiny and we also need more counter space.

We decided to tackle this section of the kitchen last weekend:


Here are some pictures of the demolition:

Who's got the raw end of this deal?

Two layers of wallpaper under the current one... the one revealed when the range hood was removed has historical nautical scenes. Apparently, this was put up in the late 70's and was there until the early 2000's.

It's all coming along nicely...

We thought maybe we'd have the new stove, a dishwasher and lower cabinets installed for our annual Saturday after Thanksgiving gathering, but Mike and Johnny decided to finish up with the uppers too.

And here's the result of a day and a half's work:

These are just stock cabinets and a laminate counter from the DIY store. Eventually, there will be a microwave above the range, providing much needed counter space. A soffit above the cabinets will be built and a little patch-up of the wallpaper will finish off this corner.

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It turned out soooo awesome! I'm excited to be able to fit more than just a turkey in the oven -- the old one wouldn't allow for anything else. And it will also be nice to have the cooking oils and spices closer to the stove. We lost storage space for large items, like the crab pot, but emptying out the cabinets provided an opportunity to get rid of of old cookware, appliances and containers.

That's all from Breton Bay for now. Not much else going on otherwise.

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Breton Bay 2009

As spring turns into summer, we field the "When's your party?" question by many of our friends. This year's party came a little later than normal, but despite being August, the weather was beautiful and (hopefully) a good time was had by all.

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Check out the few pictures I took HERE.

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We welcomed a few newcomers to the bay but were sad so many were unable to make the party. Maybe next year?

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Fun Times

Thanks to everyone who came down to Breton Bay for our party! We're sad some of our friends and family were unable to attend, but hope they can make it next year.

I didn't take very many pictures... The Chumados may have some posted soon. I missed Cuello Rojo climbing up the tree to rescue the stuck volleyballs. And boat rides.

As per every year, we found some things in the yard:


Sparkly pink flip flops, some SPF 6 sunscreen, sun glasses (only one pair this year!) and a pink towel. Oh! And Little Tony's red Nationals cap. If you recognize these items and know their owners, please let us know!

Thanks to everyone for another fun party!
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Breton Bay Summer Smash Highlights

It was a fun party. I should have taken more pictures! Actually, looking back, it seems like a big blur but I think everyone had a good time. My ankles still hurt though. Next year, I have to remember to sit down for longer than 2 minutes at a time!

Many thanks to everyone for contributing sides, desserts and drinks! We have ample amounts of everyone's favorite party favor, Miller Lite. It will be making its way to the next gathering, for sure. Of course, being the horrible food blogger that I am, I forgot to take a picture of the food before it was almost all gone:



Joe and Devan found a shady, breezy spot between the houses to chill out. This was definitely the place to be if you were outdoors!



Of course, what's a party at Breton Bay without lots of volleyball?



Brady. Tony and Evan enjoy the evening with popsicles:



And Nicole takes the last group (Chris, Mike, Julie, Little Talli, Hayley, Devan and Joe) out for an evening cruise on the bay:



Little Susie enjoyed the 8 oz, 10 oz and 12 oz beers, but not necessarily in that order.



Much love to everyone who trekked all the way down to southern Maryland to join us for the festivities! We hope to see you all again next year!

A Birthday and a Crash

This weekend, John and I headed down to Breton Bay so John and his bro, Mike, could work on a couple house projects. We went down Friday night and had dinner with Mike and Jossy at Cerro Grande, a new Mexican restaurant that took over the former Nooks & Monks dinner theater at the town square. The food was very tasty!

Saturday, while I went to Target and the yarn store, the guys fixed the screen door on the porch facing the water. They replaced the screen and put up a metal doggie screen on the bottom half of the door. Mike's stepfather-in-law came by with his tractor and helped level out some trench digging that had been done about two years ago. It certainly took no time at all, compared to using a shovel!

Saturday evening, we all headed out to Arizona Pizza to celebrate Mike's 44th. I opted for the Mushroom and Tomato White Pizza. YUM!

Sunday morning, the boys put in a new (actually, used, but new to the house) dishwasher. We ate leftovers for lunch and then headed home.

John and I stopped by my parents' to help set up an EZ-Pass account for them. We walked in to find they were all banged up from a head-on collision Thursday evening. They were about two minutes from home when a guy failed to stay on his side of the road and slammed right into them. Apparently, while my parents were trying to grasp what had happened (crash, airbags, etc...), the driver of the other car got out and started running away. Thankfully, some folks in the neighborhood heard the crash and called for ambulances, where my folks were taken up the road to Holy Cross. They found out later the driver was DRUNK. I'm so grateful my parents are okay, despite their typical car crash aches and bruises. My mom had some injuries on her knees, but overall, they're doing as well as can be expected. Only time will tell if the back pains and such will be long lasting.

Did anyone get any sleep Sunday night with all the wind? We don't have any big trees near our house, but it sure sounded like the branches were smashing against our roof all night long! I didn't get much sleep. I'm hoping tonight won't be a repeat, as windy as it is!

Well, I'm off to eat some dinner, maybe work some more on my sweater (which is going to be too small (NUTS!)) and then get some shut-eye. Hope everyone had a good weekend!