The floor that ate my husband

or "Why you shouldn't lay two floors in one month (a cautionary tale)."

Here's the guilty party.

Marmoleum Click in the mudroom. It's installed in a checkerboard pattern with Barbados and Eternity. The gray is reminiscent of soapstone, a dark gray that leans the tiniest bit green. The colors work beautifully together and give the same classic, retro feel as a white/black floor, but in more muted tones.

Installation was very easy and swift once Will figured out the trick. Note: installation does not involve lots of furious hammering. We were both feeling quite smug. Finally! We had flooring that wasn't torn and stained sheet vinyl or plywood. Fantastic!

Then yesterday, Will woke up with non-working knee. He didn't call a doctor. He said it's okay, and it will probably just get better in a few days. Meanwhile, this is what I heard when he was up and about. Limp, limp, (muffled curse), pause, limp, pause, gritted teeth. Yes. You can hear gritted teeth.

So I, the sage veteran of two knee surgeries, leaped into diagnostic mode. Torn meniscus? ACL injury? Anyway, whatever it is, this is relatively severe. The knee can't support weight unless locked straight. So won't you please call the freakin' doctor?!?!?

A warning for you DIYers out there (especially those who are 40+ like us). Take it easy. I'd worried about all sorts of things from nail gun punctures to gory saw-inflicted gashes. A knee injury never crossed my mind.

Update: Severe bursitis. My husband has housemaid's knee!

Grilled brown sugar pork chops

This past week, I've slid quietly into an inspiration-free food funk. Takeout. Deli meat and crackers. Whatever is ripe in the garden. (Three cheers for overachieving cucumbers and cherry tomatoes!) My tolerance for living in renovation chaos is lower than I'd estimated. Okay. Yes. I'm a reno wimp.

So many thanks to Will for grilling up this delicious dinner yesterday. Sometimes takeout just doesn't satisfy. This is a great transitional fall dish and would be delicious served with root vegetables.

Grilled brown sugar pork chops

Adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 boneless pork chops (for best results on the grill, choose thick pork chops and not butterflied)

Directions:
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

In a sauce pan, mix brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, vinegar, oil, soy sauce, and ginger. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch. Whisk this mixture into the brown sugar sauce and bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced slightly.

Brush grate lightly with oil before placing pork chops on the grill. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Brush with sauce just before removing chops from grill. Serve with remaining sauce.

Creating a custom blend

yourself is c-r-a-z-y. Gibbering, hair-standing-on-end insanity, I tell you. Making the design look random (but not too random) while making sure that the colors are balanced throughout. I'm seriously thinking about fleeing to Home Depot and grabbing up some crackled cream subway tile.

We are not trained professionals. Do not try this at home.

To make matters more fun, it looks like we're just short on tiles. Last-minute road trip to New Hampshire with little kids! Because of the long weekend, we have to wait until Tuesday to find out if tiles are even available. Deep, even breaths. Whooo.

Counter dance

Like a table dance, only much more expensive and performed fully clothed.

Countertops were installed yesterday. BFR did a beautiful job with the fabrication and installation. The slabs were Beleza soapstone from Dorado on the Cooking Apple Green cabinets. Honed Mountain White Danby marble (a great deal if you're looking, by the way) on the Old White cabinets.

I don't think this photo captures the color of the marble. It is white with gorgeous charcoal veining. The veining has a very slight green cast that marries it perfectly with the soapstone. This Beleza slab has an unusual tone-on-tone movement. I was worried it was too wild, but in the space, I don't think so.

On a side note, our Rohl faucet is still on a truck somewhere so Yale Appliance gave us a loaner faucet to site the countertop holes. When I ordered the faucet, I was very specific about when it was needed. Obviously it didn't arrive on time. However, the mark of a service-oriented company is how it responds to issues that inevitably crop up. We're relieved that Yale agreed to a loaner. It was so helpful, especially because both our sink (the Franke Orca) and our faucet (we call it the "Dalek") are unusually shaped.

From ACK with love

I'm catching a breath this afternoon after ploughing through a huge mound of work. After the leisurely pace of island life, jumping back into renovation and back-to-school craziness feels as shocking as plunging into the icy Atlantic.

So I'm sneaking a quiet moment (well...as quiet as it gets around here) and browsing through my Nantucket photos. Just looking at them relaxes me. I'd love to share some favorites with you.

The first few days of our stay were gray and chilly. It didn't stop us from riding the waves.

These damp, gray days made for light traffic in town...

...but any day was a good day for ice cream from The Juice Bar. Delicious concoctions, including Crantucket and Native Blueberry.

Finally, the weather grew sunny. We basked in the sun.

And so did the local wildlife.

Time to fly. I'm currently chest-deep in a PTO project and am ramping up for working in my youngest's preschool. More photos later. From ACK (and me) with love.