It is so hard to imagine how things changed for our house!
Right now we are on a holding pattern waiting for the trim and 2 interior doors to come in.
Meanwhile, I am still 'unpacking' the old kitchen and getting used to the 'new' kitchen.
Last night I was able to cook a very nice meal. I'd received Turnips from my 'up the hill' or Upstairs neighbor and sauteed them with an onion from our garden.
I made Southern Fried Chicken but did it in strips. I did it the old fashioned way and actually used my Kindle on the countertop to read and follow a recipe.
At least as much as I cared to follow it. I have a habit of modifying things to my own way.
This was a pretty big accomplishment for me. For the past 20 years I really did not like to cook in our incredibly small cramped kitchen. I found out what a luxury it was to be able to spread the items out!
We had supper in our eating area and then settled in on the porch.
I'd picked flowers from our garden to add a bit of my 'touch'.
The next room that we have to work on is the eating area. The old dark siding that goes around the lower half of the wall is going.
It will be replaced with pine 'beadboard' which will be nice and light...and airy.
The carpet in the living room will be torn out and we'll be putting the same flooring as what we had installed in the downstairs bedroom to match.
Here is a snapshot of the sample...
It will be fun and very weathered looking.
The work outside in the yard has yet to begin. We'll be doing most of that ourselves. But the task looks pretty daunting right at the moment.
Thursday the guys showed up and started to work as usual.
Another fellow and his small crew came and installed gutters and downspouts. They did their work and off they went. We now have gutters and downspouts to help direct the rainfall.
Kurt and his team went at the house with gusto.
They built the stair railing to the basement finished off the kitchen floor, and put my washer, dryer, and stove into place.
Suddenly I had a kitchen!
After they left for the long Holiday weekend I started to unpack things and put them away.
I was giddy with excitement to use my new washing machine. Wow, have washers come along way since in the past 20 years!
I got out my old wooden soda crate that I'd re-furbished and set it up on the counter to hold my spices.
It does its job well and even looks great! I want to keep the counter as free from clutter as possible. Of course the old Ritz can will hold coffee, and the golden chicken will have cookies!
The only thing left now is the trim around the windows and the new doors. One for the bathroom [currently we are using a sheet tacked to the wall] and one for the closet just opposite the bathroom.
We are still working on storage for the bathroom. Right now I have some wooden crates stacked for the storage of towels and toilet paper. I just got a little organizer to put in the top crate so I can start to unpack another tote of 'stuff'.
Now I have to figure out where I want to put things. The kitchen is SO huge compared to what I am used to.
Here are a couple of views of the kitchen.
This is the new door and the new entry/mud room/ kitchen area. The shot doesn't show the area where we will hang our coats and take off our boots.
We are still working on ideas for a bench/storage area.
My goal is to keep it clean and simple though.
The other half of the counter the door handle to the fridge is at my side.
For the first time since June 5th I made a nice supper and was surprised at how much room I had!
I was able to lay out plates on the counter and serve the meal up.
Do you recall what the old kitchen looked like?
Yes, I think I'd call this a great improvement.
This week I'll get some more shots of the other portions of construction. I'll get shots of the basement, the stairs, and more after I get the area cleaned up a bit.
My grand daughter has been staying with us this week and learning how to ride our mule Fred so I've been pretty busy.
Oh...here is the eating area.
Well, we haven't really been using it as we've been eating our meals out on the porch.
Plus, dear husband has to clean his 'stuff' off from the table. I took this shot after cleaning the kitchen floor. I have to figure out a good spot for the mop and floor 'duster' I use.
The cubby hole around the washer and dryer will get trim also with a folding door.
The trim and the rest of the work should be completed by next week, Friday.
I can say so far that this work has been worth all of the small growing pains that we had dealing with the construction.
Finally!
We have the living room and the old part of the house to finish off now to make our little cottage look nice and new!
