Kitchen progress.

Last week, I promised y'all a look at the kitchen redo. It's not 100 percent done (more on that below), but I did finish the grout. So here are a few photos.

First, the before and after (in reverse order): 

After! Lynne Cantwell 2024

Before! Lynne Cantwell 2024

I discovered when the installers took the old microwave down that the kitchen originally didn't have a microwave above the stove. Instead, it had one of those old-fashioned range hoods, as evidenced by the backsplash tile pattern -- there are two more rows of those flower tiles, one behind the stove and one behind the microwave. Once they put the old microwave up, you couldn't see the whole backsplash design. After weighing various layouts for my new tile, and realizing that the Day of the Dead tiles were 4.25" by 4.25" instead of the 4"x4" of the solid blue, I decided to just do the whole area behind the stove in the Day of the Dead tiles. I did not, however, try to pull down the microwave by myself. So someday when somebody decides they'd rather not have a microwave over the stove -- surprise!

I decided on the spur of the moment to tile the whole backsplash on the stove side of the kitchen, hence the addition of the white tiles. I also went down an extra row of tile behind the stove, because eventually I want to get an induction stove (mainly because induction is safer for old farts) and most of them are slide-in models without the panel of controls along the back.

I bought the swirly knobs and cup pulls with the antique copper finish on clearance quite some time ago. Then sometime last year, I spotted the swirly switchplate covers, also in antique copper. I was so excited that I ordered them immediately. They have been sitting in a box because the old backsplash came up about a quarter inch too high for the copper covers to fit. When I put up the new tile on the sink side, you bet I made sure the new backsplash was low enough to accommodate those switchplate covers. (Interestingly, or maybe just interesting to me, when I pulled off the plain plastic covers, I realized the bottom edge of one had been trimmed off. Something tells me the tile guy wasn't communicating with the finish guy...)

Lynne Cantwell 2024

There's an additional issue for the plug on the stove side. I need to turn off power to the plug and raise it up to be flush with the tile, using spacers called caterpillars.

All the weeks I've spent watching old episodes of Ask This Old House have paid off. I learned how to: pop old tiles off a wall, patch a wall damaged by the countertop installers when they took down my old tile, install tile, and use a table saw. I sprung for a small wet tile saw after seeing the pros use them on the show (and after the nice lady at Artesano's here in Santa Fe told me that it's about the same price to buy a little one than to rent one), and used it successfully on this project -- which is to say that the tiles that needed to be cut were cut, and I still have all my fingers.

I still have to caulk the edges along the countertop, the tops, and the sides. I also need to seal the grout lines. And at some point, I need to paint (I'm 98 percent sure that I'm going with this color). But it's close enough to done that I unfurled the runner that I got from Ruggable. 

This is the way. 
Lynne Cantwell 2024

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The details -- skip this part if you're already bored: Countertops are solid surface from Lowe's in Terrazzo Sea Glass; 50-50 split undermount sink was free with the countertops; faucet is the Ophelia by Delta; cabinet pulls and knobs were on clearance at Westwoods Cabinet Hardware; switchplate covers came from Switch Hits; Day of the Dead tiles are from La Fuente Imports. The grout is Polyblend Plus in (heh) Bone; the caulk is going to be the same color. This is the wet tile saw I bought; I'll use it again if/when I redo the bathroom. Total cost, not counting the appliances, was less than $6,500, $5,000 of which was for the countertops and plumber.

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Funny story about the grout: The nice lady at Artesano's said not to get a goofy color, but to match it to the countertop. So I dutifully took my countertop sample to the big box hardware store -- and then I had to laugh. The countertop is white with terrazzo-style flecks of light brown and light gray. It goes with everything. I finally just picked a grout color at random. Didn't even occur to me that I'd grabbed "Bone" to go with the Day of the Dead tiles 'til later.

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These moments of renovational blogginess have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Stay safe!

Darmok and Jalad on the road.

The problem with memes is that everyone who sees them needs to speak the same language. 

I was reminded of this yesterday, when I shared two memes on Facebook. One hit its mark with almost all of my friends; with the other, I inadvertently started a fight. 

Let me back up and explain why I didn't write a post last weekend: I was visiting friends in California. They live near Temecula, which is inland from the coast. It wasn't my first trip to the state (naturally, as I nailed all 50 states several years ago), but it was my first time in this part of the state. We saw a bunch of stuff and had a fine time. 

Harveston Lake Park, Temecula, CA | Lynne Cantwell 2024

Joshua Tree National Park, CA | Lynne Cantwell 2024

La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, CA | Lynne Cantwell 2024

California is a big, beautiful state. There are big cities and rural areas, mountains and deserts and the Pacific Ocean. But because it is so big, to experience it, you pretty much have to spend a lot of time on the road -- and as in big cities all over the world, if you're driving, you're going to be in heavy traffic. 

I mean, I lived near DC for more than 30 years. One thing I don't miss about it is the traffic. I once met a woman who always brought a knitting project along when she drove herself to work, so she could work on the socks or whatever when she was stuck in traffic.

So anyway, after I got back to Santa Fe, where heavy traffic means waiting through an extra light cycle to make a left, I happened to see this meme. 

Stolen from somebody on Facebook

It made me laugh, so I shared it. 

Then all hell broke loose. The Californians, insulted, were like, "Not all of California!" The Texans were like, "Parts of Texas look like that photo of California!" The New Mexicans didn't say anything (I presume they were chuckling to themselves).

Let's pause here and talk about the other meme I mentioned. It's the one where Pooh and Piglet are having a conversation -- except in this version, Piglet says, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," and Pooh replies, "Shaka, when the walls fell." The dialogue comes from my very favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which Picard and crew make first contact with a civilization that communicates only in metaphor. The phrases encapsulate the culture's allegorical myths; for example, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" refers to a story about two enemies who teamed up to fight a mutual enemy and, through that experience, became friends. But you have to know the myth to get the meaning.

Now back to the driving meme. Part of the reason I thought it was funny was that it sums up some New Mexicans' (and some Coloradans') view of both Californians and Texans: that they're carpetbaggers who escape the high cost of living in their home states by moving to other states, thereby driving up prices for housing and everything else. In reality, lots of factors go into rising prices, including corporate greed, but if you're looking for an excuse for why X is suddenly so expensive, people are suddenly so rude, traffic is suddenly so horrible, and so on, new arrivals are an easy target.

Of course, as a (relatively) new arrival to New Mexico myself, I'm aware that I'm part of the "problem". Self-awareness is important, I think. So is agreeing with the locals to blend in, right?

Anyway. To me, the driving meme sums up the stereotypical views of the three states held by New Mexicans: California might be pretty, but the traffic is horrible; Texas is miles and miles of nothing at all; and New Mexico has no traffic and beautiful scenery. Therefore, New Mexico is best.

To get the meme, you have to know the myth.

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Besides stirring up trouble on social media, I've been putting up new tile in my kitchen this week. It took me longer than I expected (every home improvement project takes longer than you expect...) and still needs to be grouted. So I'll share photos next week.

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These moments of communicative blogginess have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Peace to all -- or as a Tamarian would say, "Temba, his arms wide."

"Your data likes this. Here's more!"

I'll get to the cryptic post title in a sec. But first I thought I'd update y'all on my progress on the runner rug. I finished the weaving Friday night, a titch ahead of schedule, and cut it off the loom the same night. Here's how it looked when it was halfway off the loom. I'm stoked that my idea for the center diamond worked as planned. (Yes, the motif is supposed to be off center. I'm okay with that.)

Lynne Cantwell 2024

As you can see, it's Tigs approved -- so far. We'll see how he feels about it when it's stretched out on the bathroom floor.

Right now, the rug has been soaked and is hanging to dry. Then I'll iron it and hem it on the sewing machine. I'm hoping to finish it tonight. 

(Before someone asks: The Ruggable box contains a runner for the kitchen. It's still in the box because the new kitchen counters are going to be installed tomorrow -- at last! -- and then I have to tile the backsplash. I'll put the rug down once all the construction is done. But for those who can't wait to see it: this is the way.)

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Now about that quote.

Longtime hearth/myth readers will remember when I was all excited about tiny houses. I spent years exploring the idea of downsizing to a tiny house on wheels. I even blogged about it here, here, here, here, here, and probably some other times when I didn't tag it. It wasn't the "wheels" part that excited me, but the tiny-dwelling part. Back then, I was living in an 850-square-foot apartment. It had a generously-sized living/dining room and a great galley kitchen. The bedroom was big enough for a loveseat and occasional table along with the bed and dresser. I thought it had a lot of wasted space. I was sure I could downsize to 500 square feet with no problem. (And I did when I first moved to Santa Fe. But I needed another closet, so I bought the condo, which is about 1,000 square feet.) 

Eventually, though, I dropped the idea of getting a tiny house. It wasn't the size of the living space that put me off; it was the inability to get one close enough to urban, or even suburban, amenities. Cities don't want tiny dwellings unless they're temporary units for unhoused persons. They're just now beginning to approve accessory dwelling units for folks with single-family houses to put in their backyards for Grandma to live in. But a sub-750-square-foot house by itself on a city lot is beyond the pale for a bunch of reasons, including city infrastructure, density, tax base, etc., etc., etc. So by the time I retired in 2020, I had given up on the idea.

Mama Google, though, remembers all. As recently as this week, Google's news page on my phone has suggested an article about tiny houses to me. It's been four freaking years since I moved to Santa Fe, lady -- give it a rest already!

But that speaks to the quote in the title, doesn't it? The search algorithm just keeps serving up links like the links you've already clicked on, whether you're still interested in the thing or not.

The quote is from Jordan Klepper, one of the hosts on The Daily Show when Jon Stewart isn't there. Klepper and his co-host, Ronny Chieng, were interviewing Kyle Chayka, a staff writer for the New Yorker who has a written a book called Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture. I haven't read the book, although it sounds interesting. But that quote struck me so forcefully that I wrote it down. 

Here's the thing about algorithms: When they have you pegged, how do you break free? I talked here recently about kitchen renovations. That same Google news page on my phone has been serving up kitchen remodeling articles, even though I've already past the decision phase on the kitchen. I started looking up other home improvement topics to get it to quit showing me kitchen stuff. It hasn't worked very well.

This is a minor topic to be inundated with links about. But what about major topics? What about, say, politics? One of the points Chayka made in the interview, and presumably in the book as well, is that algorithms peg our politics and then keep us pegged. Voters in the US have been funneled into one of two political buckets. How do you climb out of the bucket you're in? It ain't easy. And as many others have observed, the polarization of our electorate is damaging the country as a whole.

I wish I had an answer, but I don't think we're going to get one any time soon. For sure, the solution won't come from an algorithm.

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These moments of algorithmic blogginess have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Stay safe!