We just bought an older home(built in 1946 as a 2 story duplex) we are remodeling the kitchen and I like dark colors He likes lighter colors we have compromised somewhat on medium colors rustic pine wood floors and cabinets are new spice from Aorora now we need a countertop and backsplash……… ANY SUGGESTIONS
Hi,
Due to carelessness of my tenant, my laminate countertop is stained with cooking oil mild grease. Once I’ve known, I quickly wiped off the stain with mild soap. The grease is gone with mild stains on the top. Then I poured Magiclean bathroom stain remover on it and suddenly the stains are spread through the liquid. now I can see quite a big mild stain spot on top and I want to get rid of it.
Please suggest whether I should use Baking Powder paste to remove it or there is any better idea.
Thank you very much
This is my second story and i think it is a good idea, please tell your comments and I’ll do my best to make it better.
CHAPTER ONE
I didn’t know anything about my past, but everyone else seemed to know. My adoptive father taught me about the magic in life and that what’s behind you isn’t important. I lived in my own world, where no one knew who I really was, or where there was no one else for that matter. My father is MY father. No matter what my DNA tests will tell me, he is my father whether he adopted me at 2 months or not. You can call me Star.
As soon as I learned to talk he was not “dad”, he was Jay. The Willow Weep orphanage found me on the sidewalk in front of the humble building wrapped in a blanket and cold, a newborn. I had a secret distaste for my real parents, because if they wanted to leave me to fend for myself as a NEWBORN, then they must not be very good people. I mean, what’s not to love about a cute new baby girl, unnamed for you to care for, the ultimate picture of an ideal baby? I guess they thought I was ugly or just downright terrible. But Jay adopted me, single and lonely. He wasn’t looking for love. I was what he had and that was all he needed. Or so he said.
“Jay, I’m home,” I slung my tan messenger bag with the clouds on it on the easy chair and headed to the kitchen. “What’s that….Oh.” Jay was standing in front of the stove cooking. Jay was cooking. What medication did he start taking today?
“Hey there tiger,” He ruffled my hair, “We’re going to have company tonight. We have a new adult student in my art class and I thought she might need some welcoming to shabby old Willow Weep.”
“She? Since when do you allow strangers, and a female stranger at that, into our house for dinner, which is usually something that only me and you could like?” I peeked into the pot that smelled of fatty food. Ugh, Spaghetti. My least favorite modern food. We lived a little back nowadays. We grow our veggies and fruits and eat strictly things that are healthy.
“She’s new, Hannah!” I winced at the sound of my real name. I gripped the edge of the countertop for support. He sighed. “Star, she was really timid at the class so I thought maybe we could help her out with the new start thing. And guess what? She has a son your age, his name is Liam. Let’s be nice tonight, OK?” I nodded and began to play with a piece of home-grown lettuce dropped from the salad bowls.
“I’ll try.” Before I could say another word the knocker on the front door smacked against the green painted wood. I looked at Jay, who was putting the meatballs in the noodles. “Don’t strain yourself, Jay.” I mumbled under my breath. As soon as I tugged on the cool metal handle a pretty blond rushed into the room.
“Jay!” She screeched. Then she opened her eye shadow smothered eyes and scowled at me. “You, uh, must be Jay’s daughter. Um, nice to meet you.” She frowned at my jeans, ripped at both knees, blue tank top, and messy scarlet curls.
“You too,” I smiled and leaned to the side to see a boy my age. “You must be Liam. I’m Star.” He was cute, very cute. He had curly blond hair that matched his mothers, just touching the tips of his ears.
“Yeah.” He flipped his hair out of his face with a jerk of his neck, just to let it fall back into place when he moved his head again.
“Let’s go eat! I’m starved!” I turned on my heels to face the dining room where Jay was ready to seat us.
“Hello Jen! You and I can sit on this side of the table, and Star and Liam can sit on the other.” He pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in when she sat. I could see that watching them talk all night was going to seem like a decade. Especially when I have to slip spaghetti into my napkin when no one is paying attention.
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PLOT –
Star is an adopted child, living with her adoptive father, Jay. He has always been single until he meets a woman, Jen, that makes him fall in love with her.But he isn’t the only one falling in love. Star and Jen’s son, Liam, catch on in a secret relationship in which they have adventures and Star teaches him the magic in life. They’re secret is revealed when Jay catches Star and Liam in their secret hiding place, and he does what he thinks will be best for Star, Tells Jen it’s over. Star sees that without Jen, Jay is sad and doesnt want to be an artist anymore. She has to make one of the biggest decision of her life, involving Jen and her plot Star uncovers, that might cost her love, the magic, and maybe even her life.
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Please let me know what you think!
I am remodeling my kitchen and have white cabinets (not super white but nice white). I selected black counter top with small yellowish stones but I am having second thoughts if black counter top is a good idea. This is what I am getting http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=64
I have been told that countertop should be contrast to cabinets and that is one reason I picked black. Should I keep the black counter top, should I get something different? if different which color would compliment white nicely? I like dark green too.
Thanks for your replies, really appreciate it. I have been busy remodeling my kitchen the whole week, countertop is next and need to decide by tomorrow!
The black I am getting is no the hight end is not so expensive but has a nice yellowish stone and I looked at slightly large sample and color looks a little dull (lacks shine) which in turn i fear will look dusty even thought it is not. I am leaning towards a light color..a whitish with small greenish stones.
There is a good size living room between my kitchen and the window so I fear black may make my kitchen a little darker? The whitish stone seems bright and no sign of dust. It is just a slight shade difference from the white cabinets specially with abundance of small stones. Will this look all right or lack of any contrast will be noticed to the point it will look dull? I have new stainless steal appliances. I would really appreciate your input.
Posted by: Admin : Category: UncategorizedHow do you tactfully say to a person you considered for child care that their house is too disgusting and messy to send your 9 month old daughter to?
I went last night to meet with a lady who says she looks after children. Once I got there, I couldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind sending their kids there. She lives in subsidized housing, so her neighbours would be questionable, for one. When I walked in the house, there was a smell that was a combination of cigarette smoke, sweat, and cat urine. There was an ant trail on the floor. Dishes piled up in the sink, food stuck to pots and pans (even though it wasn’t right after supper, it was 7:30pm, it should have been cleaned by then), and pizza and other empty food boxes piled up on the countertop and floor. She asked me to excuse the mess because they were "renovating" the kitchen. (?!)
The living room was no better. The carpet was peeling up in the corners, and the floor was covered with pebbles that were tracked in from the entryway, old food bits, and other things that I couldn’t identify. The nasty smell I smelled coming in turned out to be the circa 1970’s couch and chair. And I’m not talking about a classic piece of furniture, but there was definitely cat pee and smoke all over them.
The sweaty smell I smelled was probably her and her kids. Their hair was greasy and unwashed. She knew I was coming well in advance, so to impress me she chose to wear skinny jeans and a tank top which accentuated her protruding gut. I mean really, if you know someone is coming to meet with you, you clean yourself up a little.
When she asked when she could start, I didn’t want to say "ew, gross", but I was vague and said "maybe we could look at her coming here for a day to see how it goes". I had hoped it would buy me some time. I got home and she had already emailed me, asking what day would work, and how she was so excited.
What do I say? How do I say it without coming across as insulting? I had honestly never seen a house in such a state, but she obviously doesn’t see a thing wrong with it. She was interviewed with a Home Daycare Agency to see if she could be government approved, and they turned her down. She has no idea why, she can’t fathom it!
Not a sweetie: "You shouldn’t even have gone there knowing she’s been turned down."
Uhhh…how was I supposed to know I’d turn her down because of the home an her hygiene until I went there? I’m not turning her down because I get jollies off of turning people down. You seem to think that.
I know that she was turned down because when I got home, I phoned the Agency in the hopes that they could find a good placement for my daughter (I didn’t know it existed until I did more research when I got home). When I called, I mentioned how I went to this home and how bad it was. The director said that she had been there and it was just as bad then, 2 months ago, when she went and declined her application. So no, I didn’t call the agency first. I didn’t know the agency existed first.
cathrl69: Supper dishes not washed by 7:30 is one thing. It’s quite another when it’s obviously built up over the course of 7 or 8 meals. One does not have pizza, 3 pots, 2 frying pans, and countless serving utensils with dried, caked on food and say it’s "just from tonight’s supper". Plus where do you think the ant trails were leading to? Think I’m fussy now?
Thanks in advance for any replies. I have a large kitchen with white walls, white appliances, light oak floor, lower cabinets are white, upper cabinets are white with patina’d copper inserts. I am going to buy new laminate countertops and have no idea what color to choose. There is also a woden valance above the upper cabinets that I need to paint. HELP!!!
Posted by: Admin : Category: UncategorizedHow do you tactfully say to a person you considered for child care that their house is too disgusting and messy to send your 9 month old daughter to?
I went last night to meet with a lady who says she looks after children. Once I got there, I couldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind sending their kids there. She lives in subsidized housing, so her neighbours would be questionable, for one. When I walked in the house, there was a smell that was a combination of cigarette smoke, sweat, and cat urine. There was an ant trail on the floor. Dishes piled up in the sink, food stuck to pots and pans (even though it wasn’t right after supper, it was 7:30pm, it should have been cleaned by then), and pizza and other empty food boxes piled up on the countertop and floor. She asked me to excuse the mess because they were "renovating" the kitchen. (?!)
The living room was no better. The carpet was peeling up in the corners, and the floor was covered with pebbles that were tracked in from the entryway, old food bits, and other things that I couldn’t identify. The nasty smell I smelled coming in turned out to be the circa 1970’s couch and chair. And I’m not talking about a classic piece of furniture, but there was definitely cat pee and smoke all over them.
The sweaty smell I smelled was probably her and her kids. Their hair was greasy and unwashed. She knew I was coming well in advance, so to impress me she chose to wear skinny jeans and a tank top which accentuated her protruding gut. I mean really, if you know someone is coming to meet with you, you clean yourself up a little.
When she asked when she could start, I didn’t want to say "ew, gross", but I was vague and said "maybe we could look at her coming here for a day to see how it goes". I had hoped it would buy me some time. I got home and she had already emailed me, asking what day would work, and how she was so excited.
What do I say? How do I say it without coming across as insulting? I had honestly never seen a house in such a state, but she obviously doesn’t see a thing wrong with it. She was interviewed with a Home Daycare Agency to see if she could be government approved, and they turned her down. She has no idea why, she can’t fathom it!
Dolphin_Blue21: You said, "If she grew up in an evironment like that it is probably the norm for her."
That is EXACTLY the reason why I want to be tactful with her. I honestly don’t think she realizes that it is an unsafe environment. If it’s okay for her kids, fine, but it’s not okay for mine. And yes, the Agency was up front about their reasoning, and also by law she’s not allowed to open a business in subsidized housing, which was another reason they turned her down (I phoned them). I want her to realize that she honestly seemed like a good mother to me, but her living conditions are not acceptable to send children to. But again, I can’t think of anything to tell her other than "your house is too dirty"!
Jen: This isn’t just recent dirt, grim, and clutter. Her house is unclean because I think she NEVER cleans it. I don’t think it’s because she doesn’t have time for a few days in a row. I mean, our house gets disorganized, too, but when I see a speck of dirt on the floor, I know what it is. And I don’t (and I imagine you don’t, either), have a trail of ants inside the house getting the food off the pots and pans in the kitchen. That has to have been there a while otherwise it wouldn’t have attracted the ants in the first place.
Really, it’s not a matter of "oh, she didn’t have time to clean". it’s "wow, she never cleans". You really can tell the difference.
K, I can’t believe YOU of all people are insinuating that this is somehow acceptable. It’s not that she’s poor. It’s that she’s in a sketchy area (would you send your kid to stay at a place that looks like it’s run by druggies and gangs?), and she knew that I was coming and still didn’t bother to make her house look relatively safe or clean. Cords laying everywhere. ANT TRAILS, for god’s sake. Plus, I looked after kids before. If I knew I was meeting with a potential employer (and that’s what it is, an employer/employee relationship), I dressed up a little. Nothing over the top, but enough that my gut was covered and my cleavage wasn’t showing, and my tattoos, if I had any to show, weren’t visible. It’s just respectful to the other person.
We are looking into redoing our kitchen and I just LOVE the look of the butcher block countertops…I have some questions for anyone who also has them in their kitchen…
1) Do you use some sort of urethane or do you use mineral oil…if use mineral oil, how often do you rub it onto the countertop?
2) Wear and tear…how is it? what about stains?
3) How does the counter hold up near the sink…does it leave water marks?
4) Must I be careful putting hot things on the surface?
5) Where should I shop for these countertops for good quality yet reasonably priced …I looked into Lumber Liquidators and they had good reviews…also, Ikea’s are cheap in price, but I have no idea of the quality.
Any other advice I’d greatly appreciate…thank you in advanced.
We have received one quote and are about to add another for getting granite countertops installed in our kitchen. The first price quote we got was about /square foot which includes installation, a sink, and haul-away of the older countertops. We have about 55 square feet of countertop space (including an island). I know there can be a big range, but can someone give me a ballpark idea of what a middle of the road granite countertop should cost per square foot?
We are looking into redoing our kitchen and I just LOVE the look of the butcher block countertops…I have some questions for anyone who also has them in their kitchen…
1) Do you use some sort of urethane or do you use mineral oil…if use mineral oil, how often do you rub it onto the countertop?
2) Wear and tear…how is it? what about stains?
3) How does the counter hold up near the sink…does it leave water marks?
4) Must I be careful putting hot things on the surface?
5) Where should I shop for these countertops for good quality yet reasonably priced …I looked into Lumber Liquidators and they had good reviews…also, Ikea’s are cheap in price, but I have no idea of the quality.
Any other advice I’d greatly appreciate…thank you in advanced.
