A Wall is Born

The kitchen is about as sparse as it could be right about now.   Studs. Insulation. Wires.  Plywood floor.  I'd say that it has shrunk, but really, as things are removed, it becomes larger and larger.    It is a large rectangular room with a stove it in.

Everything has been removed and now we begin to add things again.   And adding things will make the space smaller.

One thing being added is a section of wall.   It is roughed in right now and that should be simple... right?     You knew it was going to happen.    We have encountered a bit of sag in our ceiling that really should be corrected because it will affect something else, which will change something else...and so on.  Correcting a sag in a ceiling is a bit more involved than correcting posture in people, for example. 

So the design process is a kind of  birthing process.  Amazing how many people are involved with bringing about the end result, in shaping the outcome, and how much fun we can have along the way.

I like fun.      

Letting Go

My stove sits forlornly in the middle of the room.   My heart has to do the work of what my head already knows...that I have to close one chapter before the next one can begin. 

So I have to let go...

Goodbye old girl, it's been a slice.  We've gotten to know each other's idiosyncrasies.  I've accepted that you were never calibrated properly, that I couldn't trust your thermostat, and I accepted you just the way you are. You didn't complain about the times that smoke was pouring out of all your orifices.   You worked hand in hand with the smoke detector that way.  I only hope the next stove can achieve a similar level of team work. We've been on some grand culinary adventures but also some inedible epic failures. We're ruined some great pans together, you and I.

So I have to let go.....

Okay....I'm over it.  And today?  I got the best deal on a new stove!!!

Seriously!!  Just don't tell the new stove how fickle I can be after 20 years.

The Bare Minimum

Little by little the kitchen disappears and now consists of only the stove....

The sink is downstairs in the TV room and the fridge is in the living room.

And sometimes you have to brush your teeth without running water. It's actually a lot like camping. ...without the view, or the canoe.

I miss camping.

It's On

 Now you see it.

Now you don't.

And so it goes.....

Fairly Young....

My contractor, Bert Duister, showed me this little stamp on one of the cabinets.
The kitchen is older than I am.

Apparently the fence is too!

It blew down yesterday in the crazy winds we had.
A friend has a pine tree in her pool....

One Last Look...

Sunny. 
Wide open space.
That was Sunday afternoon and I thought it would be neat to have one last photo of the dog the way she stretches out flat across the wood floor when she flakes out.  
But...as usual she comes over to explore what is so interesting and plops down right in front.
And this is what she sees.  

Real Time Glimpse

We are moving along at a steady clip, even though nothing has really changed in appearance when you look at the main floor.

What you don't see is that I have packed up everything in the cabinets.  I have a tub with cooking stuff, a tub with dishes and cutlery, and a pots and pans tub. So I'm ready. I'm okay with little steps.

You can't see that there is one piece of furniture in the "lounge" and for a while it wasn't even functional since I brought one of the couch cushions to the carpet store....and left it there.    I basically just help myself there and am on first name basis with all the sales people.   Love living in a small town and shopping local.  

We make all kinds of "epidemic", "contagion", and "vapor lock" references to this plastic sheeting.  It reminds us everyday that black clothes in a reno zone, just aren't a good idea...from a laundry perspective.

A Little Pounding

...is good for the soul.
I should have a much better day now :)

I'm going to miss the blind that always hangs crooked.  
Okay...probably not.

 And now the tile is no more....off to the dump as we speak.
We were supposed to have a killer frost last night so I brought in a couple of tulips.....it wasn't so bad.  But now I get to enjoy them inside.   Nice to bring some beauty into the dust.    

Before And During...

 

.... and long way to go until....after.  :)

Um...I kind of like having the fridge in the living room and all that extra space in the kitchen.

See the edge of the beige carpet and the kitchen floor?  That's where the hallway used to start. 

Good bye pantry cupboard!

Goodbye weird bi-fold door!

Floors I've Known

Goodbye green carpet!
And no...there is no hardwood underneath.

Cute little Blixie feet.

And then below...
some treasures from another era.

Flexs of gold shag emerged from under the baseboard once they were removed, and there was lovely goldish paint behind some cabinets....

I'm sensing a theme.

Sometimes change is good.  Real good.
....and time marches on...and leaves gold shag behind in the dust.

And as Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

The original kitchen floor....and then another layer..

...and then another one.

Dream a Little Dream

Stain samples for the cabinets.  Everyone has a different idea of what they like best.  

Planning. Dreaming.  Choosing.

Big Little Things

When I see this bag, I see my friend with whom I paint, and all the painting jobs we have done together. I see a splotch of Muffin Tan.  I see the first set of flannel sheets we bought for the guest room bed.  I see 18 year old crib sheets on which  both my boys and a whole flock of daycare kids slept.  

And I anticipate the fun we're going to have in a couple of weeks when we paint the living room, hall and kitchen.

Can't wait.

Working Together

Scraping the ceiling.  A fun family project inviting all those with large muscles to make a large job...small.

No big deal.

And this is Joe's typical work ethic....

The Start of Something Good

It's so cool to start something new.
A new leaf.
Fresh start.
Remake.
Redo.
Reno.

Want to walk with me?

Here are the kitchen and other upstairs before photos.   Taken last month.
Giddyup!

 I have some before photos of the upstairs bathroom reno.  So much fun to show those to the kids and then see how great the after looks.   Wow.