frigidgeddon

-5degrees this AM at la casa de Roughrider.  WTH!  I thought we left that all behind back in the great white north.

rare indeed: a thermometer pegged in the desert southwest

Now if you'll excuse me, I need make a call to notify myself I'll be on a 2-hr delay for work.

Edit: NM Governor has now declared state of emergency as the entire state is literally running on fumes.  We are apparently dangerously low on the natural gas reserves that fuel everyone's furnace in this state- a bunch of communities are actually out.  Of natural gas! 

Jeebus, it's getting like the Road Warrior out there.  

Area 51: Bialetti Espresso Maker

Yep, you read that right- I am indeed a latte drinkin', blog writin', pedal driven, lover of fishes.  Dam proud too.

Bialetti man giving me the finger?

Celebrated our first coffee production out of the new kitchen (yay!), a rather creative endeavor given the fact we are still without a kitchen sink.

Wanted to review this little beauty for some time, a Christmas gift from my parents.  As an espresso devotee, I've been wondering how to carry that addiction out into the field, looks like Bialetti has the answer.  Who knew we'd be field testing it in the kitchen?!

Bialetti makes a variety of these, sized by the number of ounce servings of espresso each machine churns out.  We have the 6-oz size, perfect for one cup of coffee.

bottom basin fills w/ water

filter w/ coffee fits above basin

bialetti heats on the range

while the bialetti heats up, churn a hot cup o milk

aerolatte whisk foams milk in seconds- thx kids!

black gold

damn near perfect latte

Start to finish, it's a 5 minute cup o joe.  Dam good too- better than our elec espresso machine by a long shot, dint expect that.

All in all, I'm looking forward to espresso around the campfire this summer, can't beat that with a stick!

EDIT: March 2011.  Finally got to field test the Bialetti in Moab. 

Ever crave a basecamp latte?  

 Bring the coffee bar with you.

basecamp latte?  Awesome.

Edit: Christmas 2011 Large 12-cup Bialetti is adopted into la familia.  Makes enough for two latte grandes or 4 cups o joe. 

Both Bialettis brew a superb cup on par with your favorite coffee house espresso.

cookin with gas

caught mrs wulff wiping away tears of joy just now- dual LG appliances installed today

real life

As many of you might have guessed, I'm up to my eyeballs juggling real life responsibilities as they say.  Taking a few days off to work over the kitchen now has me working the weekend in valiant if somewhat vain attempt to catch up at the office.  In the meantime, we're still shopping and ordering materials for the kitchen project.  Oh and yeah, kids basketball and soccer wait for no man.

Adding insult to injury, I'm now heading into partial redesign on one project at work + deadline on another- well you get the drift. 

So yeah, that leaves little time for chasing fins or, ye-gads!, take the ole Yeti for a spin.  Good thing I saw this coming, put her into the shop for a coupla upgrades:

Now I can ditch that silly bell, I'm thinking those trail runners will hear me now, ya think?

substantial completion

Stage 4 of the kitchen renovation de la casa de Roughrider achieved Substantial Completion precisely at 11.40am this day.

Awesome.

Counter guys template the counters this PM, while our team continues with baseboards, misc drywall + paint work.  

Mechanical range venting scheduled, range + microwave hood arrive Monday.

Glass tile for backsplash on its way.

Whew!  Maybe a hall pass for some fishing is in my near future, you think? ;-)

cabinets!

Progress photo from the day: future bartop + pantry cab's.

stage 3

Today's checklist:

• fix emergency plumbing leak- yikes!
• set final tiles
• final door trim
• final drywall
• texture
• paint
• grand finale: grout travertine

Cabinet installation begins tomorrow 7am.  Thankfully, time to hand this project off to the professionals.  Be glad to get back to the office, I'm sooo totally spent, I need the rest!

final cut

thank Dog

the eagle has landed

new cabs have arrived- let the demolition begin!

good day's work done

The day's last tile set- whew! Cabinets arrive tomorrow~

first batch

first tiles- a breather before diving into second batch

time = money

floor scraper: awesome

Saturday:

• VCT floor removal: check
• Install drywall + remove same + replumb wall (#%@^!) + re-drywall + 1st coat of mud: check
• Level floor: check.  That self-leveler: cool stuff!

No divorce attorneys on retainer just yet, fingers crossed!