I realize I’m probably at least a couple weeks late in posting these, but here are some pictures of our house all decorated for Christmas.  Better late than never!

Our Christmas Tree

Garland on the Stairs

The Dining Room Table

My Christmas Village

The Fireplace

About a month ago (I’m so behind in posting!), we bought a new buffet for our dining room.  It’s part of the Canopy collection of assemble-it-yourself furniture at Wal-Mart and it’s actually called an “Anywhere Console”.

New Buffet for Dining Room

At first, we were a little leary about purchasing something like this at Wal-Mart, but it seemed like it was pretty good quality and the price was right, so we thought we’d give it a try.  Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the furniture.  It’s constructed of solid wood, so it’s a really substantial, sturdy piece of furniture, and the finish is very rich.  The fine print on the assembly instructions said it was made by Sauder, but it seems a lot nicer than any of the other Sauder furniture we’ve ever had.  Assembly was pretty unique – the whole thing went together with just a hammer and a block of wood.

So far, it’s provided some much-needed storage for our “good” china, which had previously been taking over the kitchen cabinets.  We weren’t sure how much weight the shelves would be able to support, so we decided it was best to not load them up with stacks of heavy plates, but there’s still a lot of room for completer pieces and some of the smaller dishes.

The Inside of the Buffet Cabinet

The buffet also came with two additional drawers that can be used in place of having the two shelves in the middle.  I liked the idea of using the shelves to display some of our dishes now since we don’t have a glass china cabinet, but figured if we ever move the cabinet to another room, the drawers will help it feel more like a console table and less like a buffet.

We haven’t had it long enough to really be able to comment on how well it holds up, but from everything we’ve seen so far, we’d highly recommend it.  It looks really good without costing much at all.

In our kitchen, we have a Mac Mini with a small 15″ monitor that we use mostly for surfing the web and watching television that was recorded on another computer using MythTV.  For as long as we’ve had the Mac Mini, we’ve always used a wireless connection with it, which has worked pretty well for the most part, but there are times when the wireless signal is so weak we aren’t able to stream television or music to that computer, which can be pretty annoying since all of our multimedia content is stored elsewhere.  Using a wireless connection also has the downside of being interrupted every time the microwave runs, which is equally as annoying.  Recently, the network connection problems seem to be occurring more frequently, so we decided it was time to think about running a wired connection to the kitchen.

The New Network Jack

Of all of the rooms where we have computers located, the kitchen is actually the easiest location for fishing a network cable.  Even though it’s an insulated wall, the basement below it has an unfinished ceiling and there was already a coax cable running into the box where we wanted to locate the network cable, so we could use it as a guide.  We started by tying (and taping) multiple strings to the coax cable that had already been fished through the wall where we wanted the network cable to be and then we pulled it back down into the basement so that only the strings were left in the wall.  We then tied (and taped) a network cable to one of the strings and tried pulling it up from the basement.  It took a couple of tries (and we broke one of the strings in the process, which is why we were glad we’d thought to run several through the wall), but we were eventually able to fish the network cable into the electrical box in the kitchen.  Once we had the cable in place, we wired it to a network jack & face plate that we bought at Radio Shack and fixed the plate to the wall.  In the basement, we ran a long (30-foot?) cable across to “server room” on the other side of the house, where we plugged it in to our router.  (Our next project will be to neatly tuck this cable up into the rafters …)

When we first plugged a network cable into the new jack and the Mac, we had trouble getting the computer to detect the wired connection (it was giving an error message that the “Cable for Built in Ethernet is not plugged in”).  We thought maybe it was because we had used a standard Ethernet cable (rather than a cross-over cable, which is required for some Apple products), but after spending way too much time checking that we had wired the cable to the jack correctly and researching the problem online, we finally discovered that there was a problem with the Ethernet port on the Mac Mini.  One of the little “wires” used to make a connection with the Ethernet cable was bent down and kind of wedged behind another of the “wires”.  We think it must have been a manufacturing defect that we’d never noticed in the 4 years we’d had the computer because we’d never tried to use it with a wired network connection.  Luckily, we were able to use a couple of small needles to delicately pry up the wire that was preventing the computer from detecting the network connection and it now works fine.

The "Wired" Mac Mini

As always, the project took a little longer than we anticipated, but it was worth it to be able to play music or watch tv while we run the microwave.  We’re still noticing the playback skipping sometimes, but it’s much reduced from before and we’re blaming what’s happening now on the fact that the Mac is continually running more slowly and probably needs to be rebuilt …

About a year ago, we painted and got new furniture for our sun room, which we’re now using as a family room.  The new furniture has worked out great and we really enjoy having a TV room on the main floor of the house, but the room has never quite felt “finished”.  So, this week, I placed an order for a few more smaller pieces of furniture to place along the walls and in the corners of the room to help make it feel more complete.

Leaning Bookshelves

The first pieces we purchased were the 25.5″ Leaning Bookshelves from JCPenney.  I’ve liked this style of shelf for a while because it’s so airy and seems like it won’t take up so much visual space in the room, but most of the ones we see are too wide to fit the space in the sun room.  At 25.5″ wide, these are just the right size to fit between the patio doors and the corners of the room, with one shelf placed on each side of the door.  I’m still a little concerned about the quality of the shelves, but since we plan to use them just for pictures and other decorative items that won’t be as heavy as books, I’m hoping we won’t have a problem.  The reviews on JCPenney’s website indicated that the shelves in the espresso finish (the color we ordered) seem to be of higher quality materials than the same shelves in a black finish.  It seems a little strange to me that the material would be different based on the color, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be happy with the quality when we receive them.

Accent Table

I also ordered an 18″ diameter accent table from Target for placing in an opposite corner of the room.  It will be just the right size to tuck into the corner and hold a smaller potted plant or two that are now awkwardly sitting on the floor.  My only concern with this piece is that the wood color blends well with the color of the rest of the furniture in the room (which I’m hoping shouldn’t be a problem since there are multiple wood tones in the table top).

I haven’t received shipment notifications on either one yet, so it’s probably wishful thinking that they’ll be here by the end of this week, but I can’t wait to get everything assembled to see how it looks in the room.  Hopefully we won’t be disappointed!

We recently decided it was time to install a new dishwasher in our kitchen. This is the second one we’ve put in (we replaced the one on our old house too) and the process was pretty similar in both cases.

Here’s a copy of the installation instructions for the Bosch SHX43M0xUC dishwasher we just installed. We wound up making a few modifications to the process because of the location of our electrical and water supply lines. Here are the steps we followed in case anyone else finds them useful:

Removing the Old Dishwasher

Remove the kick plate panel by first removing the screws connecting it to the dishwasher.

Removing the kick plate

Flip the breaker for the dishwasher and verify that there is no power going to it. This took several tries for us … we had two breakers labeled “Dishwasher” and neither of them actually powered the dishwasher.

Locating the breaker for the dishwasher

Disconnect the electrical from the dishwasher by removing the junction box cover, removing the wire nuts connecting the hot and neutral wires to the dishwasher, and disconnecting the ground. Then loosen and remove the strain relief connecting the electrical wire to the strain relief plate and feed the wire through the strain relief plate to completely disconnect it from the dishwasher.

Unhooking the electrical connection

Locate the shut-off valve for the supply line and turn off the water supply.

The shut-off valve for the hot water supply

Disconnect the supply line from the dishwasher. In our case, we had trouble loosening this connection from the old dishwasher, so we chose to disconnect the supply line from the copper pipe in the basement and feed it up through the floor in order to remove the dishwasher. We were then able to remove the braided supply line from the dishwasher after it was pulled out from between the cabinets.

Detaching the supply line

Disconnect the drain hose. It’s a good idea to have a bucket handy for this part to catch any water still in the drain hose.

Detatching the drain connection

Remove the screws from the brackets attaching the dishwasher to the counter top.

Remove the Screws Connecting the Dishwasher to the Counter

Adjust the leveling feet and slide the dishwasher out from the opening in the cabinets, being careful not to scratch the floor. We found it useful to use the cardboard from the new dishwasher for sliding the old (and new) dishwashers in to and out from between the cabinets.

Removing the Dishwasher

Installing the New Dishwasher

Unpack the new dishwasher and remove the kick plate panel. It was so cold when ours arrived that the inside was covered in frost.

Unpacking the new dishwasher

Adjust the front leveling feet to the approximate height needed for the installation and connect the drain tube to the back of the dishwasher.

Adjusting the leveling feet

Test fit the dishwasher in the opening to verify that the electrical and water supply line connections can be made. When sliding the dishwasher into place, feed the drain tube into the cabinet under the sink, leaving any extra tubing coiled behind the dishwasher. If necessary, mark the location of new holes to be drilled for running the water and electrical lines to the dishwasher. Slide the dishwasher out and drill the new holes. Then put the dishwasher back in place.

Relocating the electrical and water supply lines in the basement

Make the electrical connection by connecting the strain relief to the strain relief plate, feeding the electrical wire through it, and clamping it tight so that the electrical wire is held in place. Then, connect the hot, neutral, and ground wires to the dishwasher and replace the junction box cover.

Making the Electrical Connection

Connect the hot water supply line by attaching a 90-degree elbow joint to the dishwasher using thread seal tape and then connecting the braided supply line to the elbow joint.

Connecting the Hot Water Supply Line

Connect the drain tube to the drain under the kitchen sink. Our set-up is a little different than the typical arrangement where the dishwasher drains through the garbage disposal or kitchen sink drain, but the idea is the same.

Connecting the Drain

Finish leveling the dishwasher and attach it to the counter. Our dishwasher had a screw in front for adjusting the back leveling leg which made the process of leveling it much easier.

Attaching to the Counter Top

Restore power and water to the dishwasher and check for leaks by starting a cycle and then canceling it so that the dishwasher fills and then drains.
Install the kick plate by screwing it in place.

The Newly-Installed Dishwasher

Last week, we decided we’d finally had enough of the nastiness that was our old dishwasher and concluded it was time to upgrade.  Our old dishwasher was a KitchenAid that really didn’t look all

The Old Dishwasher

that old or particularly abused and we’d had pretty good luck with a KitchenAid that we’d installed in our old house, so we were a little reluctant to give in to the fact that it just wasn’t working right.  After using it for a little more than a year, though, the dishes were still coming out with food particles stuck to them … glasses had always been a challenge, but it was even to the point where the plates weren’t getting clean any more.  So, we decided it was time to give up on the KitchenAid and try something different.

We started our research with the Consumer Reports Buying Guide, which recommended the Kenmore 1374x and the Bosch SHE33M0xUC as “CR Best Buys” under $1000.  Since we’d had problems with the old KitchenAid dishwasher and also because Consumer Reports listed them as a brand more likely to need repairs, we decided to not consider any models of that brand.  Between the Kenmore and Bosch models, we really liked the fact that the Bosch had a stainless steel interior at a much lower price than it was available in the Kenmore models.  It also seemed that the Bosch dishwashers consistently got good reviews and high marks for their ability to clean dishes efficiently and quietly, so we decided to go with a Bosch for our next dishwasher.

Although the SHE33M0xUC model (part of Bosch’s Evolution line) was the model reviewed and recommended by Consumer Reports, we had trouble finding one at Lowe’s or Sears and there weren’t any other local retailers that carried the Bosch brand.  After looking at the models in stores, though, we also decided that we liked the controls being hidden on the top of the dishwasher panel instead of the front, so even if we could have found the exact model reviewed by Consumer Reports, we probably would have purchased something a little different …

We had a little trouble identifying the differences between all of the models in the Bosch product line, but the best we could tell was that the higher priced models were a little quieter, came with more flexible rack configurations, and maybe added a cycle or two.  Otherwise, they all appeared to be about the same dishwasher.  We wound up buying the SHX43M0xUC dishwasher, which is part of the Integra line (with hidden controls) in black.  It’s rated at 54 decibels and is significantly quieter than our old dishwasher (which I didn’t think was loud).  The Bosch has also done a great job of cleaning the dishes so far.  It’s definitely an improvement overwhat we were working with before – I haven’t had to re-wash anything!  One negative I read in a lot of reviews of the dishwasher was with respect to the “Condensation Drying” feature, which others felt left the dishes too wet when the cycle completed.  For us, the drying of the Bosch dishwasher seems as good or better than the “Energy Saving Dry” feature of our KitchenAid and we’ve got no complaints.

The New Dishwasher

The only couple of places where we see room for improvement are the fact that there’s no light on the front of the dishwasher to indicate whether or not the cycle is complete (which is hard to tell since it’s silent during the drying cycle) and that the silverware basket is positioned in the middle of the bottom rack and can’t be relocated, which makes loading the dishwasher a little more challenging.  Both of these gripes, however, are addressed in the upper models of the Bosch line if we’d been willing to pay a little more.

All-in-all, we’re really happy with the decision to purchase the Bosch so far.  It’s an amazing improvement over the old dishwasher, for sure!