I can’t wait to show you guys! Getting sooo close.
This is happening right now
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Category Archives: Ranch house renovation
Oh, the sight of this
Can you guess what we’re up to? Aside from the interminable kitchen renovation, that is.
Here’s a hint. (It’s more than just shelves, btw.) I can barely sit still – the sight of this excites me more than is probably rational.
More soon!
Breathing space in small corners
It’s wonderful.
I’ve never felt this way about a house before. Comfort. Nest. Nourish. Place. Those words come to mind.
There are doves in the back yard. Last night after dinner, the kid looked out the window at the slanting sunlight and cried, “It’s the magic hour!” In seconds, she’d pulled on her coat. I could watch her running across the grass from my kitchen window. Finally.
This morning, I cried. In a blink, over the growling of the coffee grinder, I went from sleep-bleary to weeping. Everything felt like a mess. Boxes. Dirty dishes in the beautiful, new sink. I have no idea where my saucepans are.
Those old, mean words, my harsh companions: always, never, why, won’t.
So I took a walk through the rooms and looked around. The key to this phase, I think, is making breathing space in small corners. Then let the breathing space grow. Give it time. Box by box. Switch plate by washer hookup by shelf bracket.
Happy day
So grateful.
Found, no. 3: Slo-Cooker Plus
Ed. note: We’re all moved in and moving through our first day at the new house. So happy. Little visions of the future in every corner. No backsplash or range hood, no dining room light, no idea where the towels or forks are. But it’s home. Here’s a post I prepped for this week – a recipe appropriately named for the moment, below. Enjoy! ;)
I imagine it was a Christmas gift from a well-meaning aunt. A forgotten wedding gift, stuck in the back of the linen closet until long after the marriage ended, well past the time for party fondue or chicken for two.
Until we found it (truly, in the back of the linen closet). Barring any ugly research findings on vintage Teflon’s (?) effect on food, we might put it to work. It’s mint condition, never used, as evidenced by the cord still neatly coiled inside, the instruction manual intact, the metal rack shiny as the day it was born.
Please enjoy a serving of Chicken Booyah.
Carpets!
Sliding in just under the wire, bedroom carpet. Yes, it’s white. I know.
Moving is ugly
Let’s be honest.
This is not a post with cheery recommendations on color-coded labeling systems.
No.
Moving sucks. It’s messy and ugly. It’s like turning over an old log to reveal all the crawly things underneath the sheen of your daily life.
Tallyho!
Goodbye old cabinets, hello new
Bye bye, vintage cabinets. I really liked you. Habitat for Humanity will take great care of you. Farewell, old cast iron tub, stove, and hideous ceiling fan.
Hello, new kitchen drawers. I really love you.
Stove and sink!
We’re going to be light on words here for the next few days – with photo posts on the fly. I will say this – I am giddy with excitement at today’s kitchen developments. It’s happening people!
Sink in place, stove up and running! Years of grime scrubbed away from walls, doors, floors, toilets. And at least half our stuff packed.
Which leads me to an important public declaration of gratitude. None of this would be happening the right way or be any fun at all without my sister-in-law, whom I owe in so many ways right now. So many.
Lookie!
The countertops are here!
Yahoo!
This Bendable Life 