The Kitchen

I know people want to see pictures of the kitchen. I will add more later, but here are some pictures.

The mantle over the range was installed Easter weekend. Sue, Polly, John and I lifted it up onto the base cabinets. This piece was slightly damaged in transit and was reassembled by John and Polly. The two small doors on either side are pull-outs for spices and cooking oils.

We were lucky that there was an exsisting opening in the stone wall for the vent right where we needed one. There must have been a stove of some description there before. John installed and wired the the vent which is tucked up inside the mantle. The power is on to the vent and it's working perfectly.

This is really the centerpeice of the kitchen and I think the proportions of the panels are just right, Jim Kroll did a great job here.

Crown molding, subway tile and painting still to do on this section of the kitchen.

Mantle.Click to enlarge. 



The granite is Venetian Gold. The slab on the island is one piece and there are two smaller pieces of granite beside the range. We were looking for a granite with the same colors as the stone fireplace and were lucky to find such a good match. The fireplace can be seen in the background of this picture.

Granite.Click to enlarge. 



This is the pantry/bar area. The maple top was made by Jim Kroll and fitted by John. John cut the holes and installed the sink and faucet. A small refrigerator will go in the opening.

Jim Kroll delivered this piece stained but John had to take it back down to the natural wood and restain after cutting the bar sink opening. Fortunately Jim provided additional stain so we were able to match the color. There are about 10 coats of urathane on the maple so hopefully it will wear well.

Maple Top.Click to enlarge. 



I love the refrigerator, it is totally integrated and looks fabulous. John has fitted the freezer drawer panels, the drawers are going to be replaced by subzero because they are cock-eyed.

Refrigerator.Click to enlarge. 

My Aunt Jean

My Aunt Jean passed away on March 16th. John's parents kindly came to New Hampshire to take Polly to the airport for me so I could travel to Hornell, NY for my Aunt's funeral.

Jack and Noreen were able to see Polly race at Waterville valley on March 18th. The weather was lovely, unfortunately Polly did not have a good day in the gates. I know she was pleased they came to see her race.


Aunt Jean was smart and funny and all about family. She was the family historian, she knew all the stories and told them well. We shared a common interest in political matters. Aunt Jean knew more about politics than anyone I've ever met.

My Aunt Jean had a wonderful collection of old family photographs. I was able to scan a selection and have uploaded them to the picture hosting website I use. You can find the entire collection at Flickr, the link is here.

The picture below is from my Aunt Jean's collection. My father is the little boy at far left, with my Aunt Ann, Aunt Jean, and Aunt Helen. There were eventually seven children in the O'Connor family. Pictures of my Uncle Patrick, Aunt Marguerite and Aunt Maureen can be found at the collection of family pictures.


O'Connor Family.Click to enlarge. 

New Hampshire

I was in New Hampshire with Polly from March 8th through March 18th. Polly's coach from Elk Mountain came up to see Polly race in New Hampshire. Rob and John drove up from PA in a snow storm arriving at about 6:00 Saturday evening. It was a great surprise for Polly, she had no idea they were coming and was thrilled to see Rob again. A friend, Ed Baldoni took a picture of Polly and Rob. I will try to get a copy to post here.

Holderness has a 10 day period in March where they do Special Programs. The Freshman Class program is "Artward Bound". The Sophomore Class spends 10 days in Virgina working with Habitat for Humanity. The Junior's spend 10 days in the mountains in New Hampshire, with 3 days on there own called "Outback". The Senior's do individual Senior Projects.

Polly's week of art included a Watercolor Class, Break Dancing, Pottery, and Improvisation. I was lucky to see the kids performance, the Break Dancing was amazing and the Improv hysterical.

Polly painted the scene at the top of the website in her Watercolor Class.


Braefield Farm.Click to enlarge. 

My New Computer

Sorry I've been so long away from posting here. I've been away for much of March and have had computer problems. My computer crashed eariler this month and Polly's computer which I use in New Hampshire also crashed.

We now have a new computer, but the protective software I've installed to protect this computer is driving me crazy. I haven't even been able to load this website for some unknown reason and the software that I use to write here doesn't like my new computer either.

Winter at Braefield Farm

Polly took this picture last year, it was taken from the front door. This is the same shot as the summer scene at the top of the website.

Braefield Farm.Click to enlarge. 

Elk

We went to Elk Mountain this weekend. We picked the perfect weekend to go... the PA Cup finals were at Elk this weekend, so friends from across the state were there and the Elk Ski Club had their big end of season party Saturday night (these guys know how to throw a party). The kids wanted to know how Polly is doing and said to tell her they say hi and the coaches said to tell Polly that they've been watching her ski results and they are pleased she is skiing so well. It was great to see so many old friends, we had a fabulous weekend.

This picture of the Elk Team at the 2004 Pennsylvania State Championships was taken by Ed Baldoni. Ed had 8x10 copies made for all the kids last year.

In the back row.. Mike Kutch, Dusty Kilgore, Dario Baldoni, Matt Sibio, Rebekah Cawley, Michaela Stahlnecker, amd Taylor Myer... Jake Bradley is kneeling in front, Vincent Todd is the one being held up by the group, and Polly is in front wearing bib #3.

2004 Elk Ski Team

Visitors

John's parents stopped by last Friday on the way back from Florida. They camped out here Friday night and were on their way Saturday morning. There has been lots of progress since the last time they were here, the kitchen cabinets had just arrived and the floors were still unfinished. Interestingly, they said that the pictures I've been posting don't really give the feel of the new space. I will try to take some pictures from different angles.

Jack and Noreen

My sister is coming to visit today. Sue hasn't been here since last June for Polly's graduation. I think all that had been done at that point on the addition was digging the foundation, so she will be seeing big changes.

Sue

Happy birthday John!!!!

Carrie's Birthday

Carrie recieved some great birthday presents. Ugg boots from Mom and Dad (she says she wears them everyday), $$$ (always welcome) from Grammy and Papa, Nana added to Carrie's portfolio (look out Wall Street), and A GUITAR.

Carrie has been asking for a guitar for a couple of years now. I think she's told just about everyone that she wanted to play guitar. Finally someone paid attention, Jason sent Carrie a guitar for her birthday. She is delighted and is learning how to tune it and trying some simple songs.

Rock and Roll.