Outlets and Cabinet Update from the Ice Queen of the North

In a recent previous post, I was bragging about how great the weather is in Virginia, even in the winter.  Apparently, I spoke too soon.  It seems that the weather is actually only nice now in Virginia when I'm not there.  Yup - it can be 60 degrees and sunny during the week and when the weekend comes and I arrive at the project, the temperature suddenly plummets to that more fitting of an arctic clime, the wind picks up drastically, and we generally freeze our patooties off.  It seems that I simply cannot escape the winter cold these days.  The connection between my arrival and the weather taking an ugly downward plunge has become so apparent that Rob called me the "Ice Queen of the North" this entire last visit.  Apparently there is much celebrating in the Glenlochan "kingdom" when I take my leave back to Philly and the weather drastically improves for everyone else.

The worst part of this weather?  Cold hineys.  Nope, I sure don't mean a nice cold beverage at the end of a long day:

Trust me, the Porto is NOT heated and I do my level best to stop drinking liquids after 5 PM to avoid the middle of the night run to the icy Porto.

My most recent trip to VA was no exception and despite the cold, we gamely did a walk-through with the electrician in preparation for the upcoming wiring of the home.  "Walk-through" is a misnomer - it wasn't even a crawl-through.  Room by room we painstakingly went through the house, every nook, every cranny, selecting the location of every outlet, every overhead and wall light, every switch, every tv, and which items had to be wired to which switch - and don't forget the outside outlets, porches, and yard lighting....  I'm a fan of lots of outlets (thankfully, so is our electrician), so I was glad to have the opportunity to give input, but planning ahead to this extent without the benefit of even walls to guide me was pretty excruciating.  Admittedly, it would have been more fun in warmer temps and it is very exciting to think we'll actually have walls, switches, outlets and lights, let alone a tv, in the house.  But, this walk-through was on the heels of Rob and I doing our own walk-through prior to the arrival of the electrician, and another later in the day, following his departure to talk about the types and styles of fixtures.  Needless to say, I was akin to an ice cube and had to take a few trips to the camper to get warmed up and my blood flowing again.

We also had another appointment with the cabinet maker at his workshop to discuss cabinet door details and to see the paint we had selected on the bases.  From debating mitered corners to butt joints (we went with the latter as more period) to how many "nooks" we needed on each door to catch the glaze and add to the look of the cabinets (the proper term is the "profile" of the door), there were lots of decisions to make.  Donald had our bases all set up in the layout of our kitchen, so it was great to see, feel and touch them:

Very exciting progress despite the winter cold.  Although I like to complain, way too much, I really am thankful that we have ways to get warm and hate that others do not.  And, when I'm super cold, I try to again imagine the sweat running down my body and my hair sticking so uncomfortably to my head inside those hot and non-porous Tyvek suits we often wore in the extreme heat and humidity of the summer during the demolition phase - progress indeed!